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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Cohen to Testify Before Senate Intel Committee; House to Vote on Stopping Emergency Declaration; Trump Lands This Morning in Vietnam; Univision News Crew Detained in Venezuela. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired February 26, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:23] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen testifies for the first time on Capitol Hill just hours from now.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Democratic controlled House votes today on overturning President Trump's national emergency declaration for the border.
BRIGGS: North Korea's Kim Jong-un already in Vietnam with President Trump arriving soon for their high stakes summit.
ROMANS: And breaking overnight, veteran journalist Jorge Ramos and his crew freed after being held against their will in Venezuela. Wait until you hear why. So much for free press.
Good morning and welcome to EARLY START, everyone. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: Good morning. Good morning to all of you. I'm Dave Briggs. It is Tuesday, February 26. It's 4:00 a.m. here in the East, 4:00 p.m. in Hanoi, Vietnam, and 8:00 p.m. in Melbourne, Australia. We're live there both shortly.
But we start in the nation's capital where in a matter of hours, Michael Cohen begins three days of potentially explosive testimony on Capitol Hill and what he says could redefine the Trump presidency. The first stop for the president's former lawyer, an appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee this morning. This one will take place behind closed doors. Cohen was sentenced in December to three years in prison for crimes that include lying to Congress.
The president's son Don Jr. appearing on Fox News to drive home the point ahead of Cohen's testimony.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, JR., PRESIDENT TRUMP'S SON: You got a president trying to deal with a major world issue and to try to, you know, distract or whatever it is by bringing in a convicted felon and known liar? I mean, it's pretty pathetic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Former FBI director -- Deputy Director Andrew McCabe does not see it that way. He tells CNN the perspective of the president's former fixer could be critical.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW MCCABE, FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR: I think Mr. Cohen has been in a position to have heard conversations and seen actions taken and maybe be able to provide that sort of insider's view on what the intent of the folks at the center of this investigation truly was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. Republicans sure to take Don Jr.'s lead and hammer Cohen on credibility. Here's what the president's long time fixer told ABC News about that back in December.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER ATTORNEY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP: The man doesn't tell the truth. And it is sad that I should take responsibility for his dirty deeds. I will not be the villain of his story.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: A critical week on Capitol Hill for Cohen and his former boss.
More now from CNN's Pamela Brown.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and Dave.
This is certainly a high stakes week for President Trump. Not only because of the second summit with North Korea in Vietnam, but also because the president's former fixer and attorney Michael Cohen is meeting with three committees both privately and publicly. Now, today, he will meet with the Senate Intelligence Committee behind closed doors, but this, of course, is public testimony in front of the House Oversight Committee that is garnering the most attention and the most anticipation, because Michael Cohen is expected to talk about a breadth of issues related to President Trump -- personal dealings, business dealings outside of the Russia scope.
Whether the president broke any laws, any tax laws, conflicts of interests, the payments to the two women during the election that Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to in the campaign finance violation. There are several areas that lawmakers plan on delving in it. Now, expect Republicans to go after Michael Cohen and his credibility, but no doubt about it, Michael Cohen is one of Donald Trump's closest aides, that will be testifying on Capitol Hill.
Now, it is true that Donald Trump has, of course, distanced himself from Michael Cohen since he pleaded guilty, but that doesn't mean that he won't offer some interesting new information that lawmakers will be asking him about. Now, what will be interesting to see is whether he provides documentation to corroborate some of what he says. Of course he said previously that the president directed him to pay off those two women during the election.
So that is something else to look out for. But certainly there is a lot of anticipation to hear from Michael Cohen on Capitol Hill this week.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRIGGS: Pamela Brown, thanks.
Rod Rosenstein appears to be suggesting that the Justice Department may not be completely transparent with Robert Mueller's report. The outgoing deputy attorney general made an appearance last night at an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He offered no time line for the special counsel's Russian report and cautioned the audience about DOJ policy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROD ROSENSTEIN, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: It is a knee jerk reaction to suggest that we should be transparent about what we do, but there are a lot of reasons not to be transparent about what we do in government.
[04:05:03] Just because the government collects information doesn't mean that the information is accurate and it can be misleading if you are overly transparent about information that the government collects. So, I think we do need to really cautious about that. If we aren't prepared to prove our case beyond reasonable doubt in court, we have no business making allegations against American citizens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: House Intel Chairman Adam Schiff firing back on Twitter saying this double standard won't cut it. For two years, I sounded the alarm about the DOJ's deviation from just that principle as it turned over hundreds of thousands of pages in closed or ongoing investigations. I warn that DOJ would need to live by this precedent and it will.
Schiff seems to be referring to Justice Department actions during the Clinton e-mail investigation. He has subpoenaed -- threatened to subpoena both Mueller and the report if it's not released in full.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: House Democrats showdown with president over his emergency declaration comes to a head today, with Democrats in control of the House. It is all but certain to pass blocking one of the president's main tools for funding construction of his border wall. From there, the resolution of disapproval will go to the Republican controlled Senate where its fate is far from certain.
CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has more from Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and Dave.
This is just the first step in the pushback coming from Capitol Hill. Later today, the House will be voting on that legislation to try to block President Trump's national emergency declaration to get his border wall. There will be no drama in the House. That will sail right through.
They will send it over to the Senate and that is where there is a big test for Senate Republicans. Many of whom have been very openly critical of this move by President Trump, the question is, will they vote against it, will they defy President Trump? House Democrats rallying support last night on Capitol Hill for them to do so.
JULIAN CASTRO (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There have been many senators, Democrats and also conservative Republicans, who have sounded the alarm about President Trump's declaration. I hope that they will vote their conscience, that they for a moment will put the country above any worry of their own political concerns or futures.
SERFATY: And if this passes in the House and Senate, that will be sent to President Trump's desk for his signature, but he has been very clear in advance of all this that he intends to veto it.
TRUMP: Will I veto it? One hundred percent, 100 percent. And I don't think it survives a veto. We have too many smart people that want border security. So I can't imagine it could survive the veto, but I will veto it, yes.
SERFATY: If he does, the conversation will quickly turn to if they have enough votes on Capitol Hill to override that veto -- Christine and Dave.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRIGGS: Sunlen, thanks.
At least one Republican senator plans to vote against President Trump's national emergency for declaring border wall funding. Thom Tillis of North Carolina says he favors strong border security, but he is worried the president has overreached. In a "Washington Post" op- ed, Senator Tillis writes, as a conservative, I cannot endorse a president that I know future left wing presidents will exploit to advance radical policies that will erode economic and individual freedoms.
ROMANS: In just a few hours, President Trump lands in Vietnam for a second summit with Kim Jong-un. The North Korean dictator has already arrived in Hanoi, in a heavily armed train, his preferred mode of travel. He took a train all across China. The two leaders planning to build on their first meeting and their agreement to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
Senior diplomatic correspondent Michelle Kosinski standing by live this morning. She's in Hanoi with the very latest developments.
Good morning. Good afternoon to you, Michelle.
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Christine.
Well, everybody has arrived. So, those are the developments as of now. It was interesting to see Kim Jong-un come by that train that he likes to travel on whenever possible, the red carpet treatment that he got, everyone there to greet him, the pomp and circumstance. He always seems very happy to get that kind of reception.
But, of course, this visit had to be with at least some drama. And even before the meetings have started with President Trump, there was some strange drama. The hotel where he was staying for days had been rumored to be the same hotel where the White House press corps was supposed to stay. So, you can see how that would be a big clashing of interests.
And sure enough, at the last minute, the White House press corps was told by the Vietnamese government that they had to pack up and leave. And this is not just a group of journalists staying there. This is where they have their live shots set up with tons of equipment. This is where they have a filing center and place to do briefings if necessary.
I mean, this is a setup that takes days to prepare for. And all of a sudden, the White House press has told it needs to move to a different hotel, to accommodate Kim Jong-un and his entourage.
[04:10:04] So, that was a big inconvenience and a big deal at least for the press. So, right now, everybody is in position and just waiting for these meetings to start later on today, with a dinner between Kim Jong-un and President Trump.
ROMANS: A very small intimate dinner with a couple of aides each and translators, of course. And we will see if word comes out that the two are still in love as President Trump said about his first meeting with the dictator, that they fell in love.
All right. Michelle, thank you so much.
BRIGGS: All right. The latest in the Catholic Church abuse scandal. Lawyers for Cardinal George Pell appealing his conviction on child sex abuse charges. Pell was convicted of sexually assaulting two 13-year- old choir boys in Melbourne, Australia, 22 years ago. The jury's guilty verdict was reached in December but remained sealed until Monday.
The 77-year-old Vatican treasurer is the highest ranking member of the Catholic Church to be found guilty of child sex offenses. Pell will attend a sentencing hearing on Wednesday after which the judge plans to revoke his bail.
ROMANS: Warren Buffett already knows which billionaire he likes for president. During a CNBC interview Monday, Buffett said that he would get behind former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARREN BUFFETT, CEO, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY: I think he would be a very good president. He and I disagree on some things, but I think that he knows how to run things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Bloomberg has not declared that he is running for office in 2020. A person familiar with his plan says the former mayor will not decide whether to run until March at the earliest. Bloomberg was elected as a Republican in New York, but is now a Democrat. Buffett says the businessman has the right priorities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUFFETT: I think that he's got the right goal for America. He understands people. He understands the market system and he understands the problems that go into the market system. I would have no trouble being for him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: One billionaire Buffett would not support, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz who also has not declared if he is running for president in 2020. But the entire exchange had a lot of people equipping that big billionaire prefers another billionaire over a smaller billionaire for president of the United States, only in America.
BRIGGS: Against the billionaire who is currently president as well. Wow.
A TV anchor held against his will overnight in Venezuela. He is now free. What happened to Univision's Jorge Ramos, next.
ROMANS: And the tweet that may have gotten Tesla's Elon Musk in trouble again.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:16:41]R OMANS: Breaking overnight, a team of Univision journalists has been released after they were detained briefly at the presidential palace in Venezuela. Now, the network says the crew of six including veteran anchorman Jorge Ramos where in Caracas to interview embattled President Nicolas Maduro on Monday.
The spokesman says Maduro didn't like the line of questioning, he stopped the interview shortly after it began and government aides confiscated the news team's equipment. Ramos called Univision to report the incident, but as he was talking to his editors, the phone was taken away in the middle of the call. The Maduro government had set up multiple interviews with American journalists amid the country's deepening crisis. BRIGGS: Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro refusing to resign despite
international president. In a new interview released overnight by ABC News, Maduro accuses the Trump administration of trying to provoke a war to seize his country's huge oil reserves.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLAS MADURO, EMBATTLED VENEZUELA PRESIDEN (through translator): The United States wants Venezuela's oil and they are willing to go to war for that oil. Everything that the United States government has done has been condemned. They are trying to fabricate a crisis to justify political escalation and a military intervention in Venezuela to bring a war to South America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Maduro's interview released after Vice President Mike Pence gave a forceful speech slamming Maduro and backing his rival Juan Guaido for the presidency.
Senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh has more from Bogota, Colombia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, Dave, Vice President Mike Pence's visit on Monday to Bogota was really about sharing as much international solidarity as possible for Venezuela's opposition after the violence of last weekend, and he came here along with many regional allies in that movement, part of what's called the Lima Group, to express that solidarity. In fact assuring that self declared interim president of the Venezuela, the opposition leader Juan Guaido who was here on a rare trip outside of the country, but no options are taken off the table.
Now, that obviously is a sort of veiled reference towards military force here, still a distant option frankly. But here's what Mike Pence had to say.
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What we've seen in the last two days wasn't a bold stroke by a triumphant leader. It was the desperate act of a tyrant clinging to power with violence and intimidation. Our efforts to date will not only continue, they will be increased. Despite Maduro's brutality, we will press on.
WALSH: Now, the question is, with this renewed statement of solidarity, what next? There is no new time table for trying to get humanitarian aid in, against the violence clashes perhaps of last weekend putting people off that idea. There was a loss of life there.
And what comes now for Juan Guaido? He's left Vvnezuela where he says he is the president for a rare trip here to try to get the aid across. Does he go back in? What is his next step? Does he risk are arrest if he returns to inside Venezuela?
Well, the U.S. announced some sanctions on Monday against key governors who assisted Nicolas Maduro in that crackdown and there may be more to come. Is that enough to shift the balance?
[04:20:00] We don't simply know -- Christine and Dave.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Nick for us in Bogota this morning, thank you so much for that.
All right. In Hollywood, their undeniable chemistry paid off literally. More on Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRIGGS: Four-twenty-four Eastern Time.
And New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft allegedly solicited prostitution just hours before his Patriots played in the AFC championship game last month. Court documents reveal it was his second visit to the Florida massage parlor in less than 24 hours. The 77-year-old Kraft is charged with two misdemeanor counts of solicitation, the charges stem from a months-long investigation into sex trafficking that focused on several central Florida day spas and massage parlors suspected of being used in prostitution.
[04:25:12] The spokesman denies Kraft is engaged in any illegal activity.
ROMANS: The Securities Exchange Commission, the SEC, is asking a federal judge to hold Tesla CEO Elon Musk in contempt. The SEC accuses Musk of violating a settlement deal reached last year after the CEO's aborted bid to take the company private. Regulators claimed Musk last week published inaccurate and material information about Tesla production to his more than 24 million Twitter followers and they say he didn't ask for or receive company approval before publishing his tweet as was stipulated in the 2018 settlement.
Tesla agreed to establish a board committee to oversee those Elon Musk social media post. A new committee for that.
BRIGGS: Yes, you do.
No host, no problem. Ratings for the 91st Oscars jumped 12 percent albeit from last year's record low. More than 29.5 million viewers tuned into Sunday's show, the first Oscar telecast without a host in 30 years.
One of the big highlights, of course, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper performing "Shallow" from "A Star is Born" was a real show stopper. Monday night, the Oscar-winning Lady Gaga tweeted: Nothing could be more special than sharing this moment at the Oscars with a true friend and artistic genius. That performance spurred a lot of theories out there.
ROMANS: They are either great actors or they are madly in love. They are great actors. All right. This is a pivotal week for President Trump ramps in the coming hours as the president heads to a high stakes summit overseas, his former lawyer is ready to testify on Capitol Hill. Full coverage, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
