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Michael Cohen Set for Three days of Testimony; House to Vote on Stopping Emergency Declaration; Trump Lands This Morning in Vietnam; Univision News Crew Detained in Venezuela; LeBron James Calls Out Teammates After Loss. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired February 26, 2019 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[05:00:07] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Critical hours ahead for the Trump presidency. His former lawyer Michael Cohen testifies this morning on Capitol Hill.
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: The Democratic controlled House votes today on blocking President Trump's national emergency declaration for the border.
ROMANS: North Korea's Kim Jong-un already in Vietnam with President Trump arriving soon for their high stakes summit.
BRIGGS: Breaking overnight, veteran journalist Jorge Ramos and his crew freed after being held against their will in Venezuela. Wait until you hear why.
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Tuesday, February 26th, 5:00 a.m. exactly in the East. It is 5:00 p.m. in Hanoi. Michelle Kosinski is live there in just a moment with a story there.
But in 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, in fact to the Intel Committee specifically.
The president's son Don Jr. appearing on Fox News to drive home that 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) BRIGGS: Former FBI 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 FBI 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)
BRIGGS: Republicans sure to take Don Jr.'s lead and hammer Cohen on credibility. Here's what Cohen told ABC News about his former boss's honesty 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)
BRIGGS: A critical week on Capitol Hill for Cohen and his former boss.
We get more now on that 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)
ROMANS: All right. Pamela Brown at the White House, thank you, Pamela.
Rod Rosenstein appears to be suggesting that the Justice Department may not be completely transparent with Robert Mueller's report. Now, 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 in government, but there are a lot of reasons not to be transparent about what we do in government.
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, then we have no business making allegations against American citizens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: 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.
[05:05:08] I warned the 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 threatened to subpoena both Mueller and the report if it's not released in full.
BRIGGS: House Democrats showdown with president over his emergency declaration comes to a climax today, where Democrats in control of the House 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 goes to the Republican-controlled Senate where its fate is far from certain.
CNN's Sunlen Serfaty with 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: Thank you so much for that, Sunlen.
At least one Republican senator plans to vote against the national emergency. Thom Tillis of North Carolina says he favors border security, but he's worried that the president has overreached. . In a "Washington Post" op-ed, Senator Tillis writes, quote, as a conservative, I cannot endorse a precedent that I know future left wing presidents will exploit to advance radical policies that will erode economic and individual freedoms.
GOP Senator Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski have also said they plan to vote to block the emergency declaration.
BRIGGS: In just a few hours, President Trump lands in Vietnam for a second high stakes summit with Kim Jong-un. The North Korean dictator arrived in a heavily armored train, his preferred mode of travel. The two leaders planning to build on their first meeting and their agreement to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
Michelle Kosinski is live this morning in Hanoi with the latest.
Michelle, good morning to you.
Expectations have been lowered dramatically for this second summit.
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT: Right. I mean, the stakes are high as you said. The pressure is high on both the Trump administration and on Kim Jong-un because so little has been done towards actual denuclearization since the last summit in June. So, Kim Jong-un doesn't want to do very much until the U.S. does. The U.S. doesn't want to give away too much before it knows for certain that Kim Jong-un is serious about denuclearization.
And just think about that. U.S. officials have said they are still not sure that he is serious about denuclearization. So, what happens then? What could be done? I mean, what could come out of this is possibly an agreement on the part of North Korea to open up some of its sites for inspection or to close certain things.
But it all depends on what sites these are because that would be the difference between it being something new and something real and it being just more symbolic. Like if it lets inspectors into a site that really is insignificant in its nuclear program, that is not going to be seen as big a deal.
Or if there is some agreement between the U.S. and North Korea on the very definition of what denuclearization means. I mean, we're not even at that point yet where each side agrees on what it see as the process of denuclearization. So, any one of these steps would be something. It is just going to remain to be seen when experts look at this how big of a step it really is and does it truly indicate that Kim Jong-un is serious.
So, yes, there is a lot riding on this, but no one is certain, you know, what is going to happen out of this.
[05:10:01] So, the ground work is laid. Kim Jong-un is here. In fact, he is now moving from his hotel, we're waiting to see where he is going for one of his first stops since arriving here. And then President Trump arrives in a few hours, Dave.
BRIGGS: Just amazing ahead of a second summit, we still don't have an agreed upon, mutually agreed upon definition of complete denuclearization.
Michelle Kosinski, great to have you on this morning live from Vietnam. Thanks.
ROMANS: All right. President Trump criticizing Senate Democrats for blocking a Republican-sponsored abortion bill. Now, that bill would punish any doctor who fails to provide medical care for a child born alive after an attempted abortion. Democrats' filibuster denied the measure the 60 votes needed for a final vote.
The president tweeted apparently from Air Force One on his way to Vietnam. Democrat position on abortion is now so extreme that they don't mind executing babies after birth. This will be remembered as one of the most shocking votes in the history of Congress.
BRIGGS: Lawyers for Cardinal George Pell appealing his conviction on child sexual abuse charges. Pell was convicted of sexually assaulting two choir boys in Melbourne, Australia, 22 years ago. The jury's verdict, guilty verdict was reached in December but remained sealed until Monday. The 77-year-old Vatican treasurer, the highest ranking member of the Catholic Church to be found guilty of child sex offenses. The sentencing hearing is on Wednesday and after which the judge plans to revoke his bail.
ROMANS: Warren Buffett already knows which billionaire he like for president. During a CNBC interview Monday, Buffett said he would get behind former New York City 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, of course, has not declared that he is running for office in 2020. Yet a person familiar with his plan says the former mayor will not decide whether to run for president 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: A bit of a billionaire love fest.
But guess what? No love fest for another billionaire, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who also has not declared if he is running for president in 2020.
BRIGGS: So a billionaire weighing in on the two billionaires who are going to challenge the other billionaire.
ROMANS: Yes, there you go. Only in America.
BRIGGS: All right. A TV anchor held against his will overnight in Venezuela is now free, but what happened to Univision's Jorge Ramos? ROMANS: Plus, why almost 200 people are stranded right now on an
Amtrak train in the snow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:17:05] ROMANS: Breaking overnight, a team of Univision journalists has been released after being detained briefly at the presidential palace in Venezuela. The network says the crew of six including veteran anchorman Jorge Ramos were in Caracas to interview embattled President Nicolas Maduro on Monday. The spokesman says Maduro didn't like the line of questioning, stopped the interview shortly after it began while government aides confiscated their equipment.
Ramos called Univision to report the incident but had his phone taken away in the middle of that phone call. The Maduro government had set up multiple interviews with American journalists amid the country's deepening crisis.
BRIGGS: One hundred eighty-three people stranded on an Amtrak train since Sunday in Oak Ridge, Oregon, are now venting their frustrations. Amtrak's Coast Starlight Train 11 was traveling from Seattle to Los Angeles when it hit a tree that had fallen on to the tracks. Winter weather conditions making it unsafe to evacuate everyone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been stuck here for 24 hours now. We're running low on supplies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of this was out of Amtrak's control, and I get that, but I feel like they are not telling us what the hell is going on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Can you imagine their frustration?
ROMANS: Wow.
BRIGGS: Amtrak says it is actively working with Union Pacific to clear the right of way and get passengers off that train.
ROMANS: What a nightmare.
All right. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft allegedly solicited prostitution just hours before his Patriots played in the AFC championship game last month. Courts 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 accounts for solicitation. The charges stemmed from a months long investigation into sex trafficking. It focused on several central Florida day spas and massage parlors suspected of being used for prostitution. A spokesman denies crafts has engaged in engaged in any illegal activity.
BRIGGS: Curious to hear what the league does ahead of all this. Do they suspend him six or eight games and fine? We shall see.
Ahead, classy might not do justice to the move by Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers to honor the Mavs Dirk Nowitzki on his farewell tour. Andy Scholes has the story in the "Bleacher Report."
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[05:23:41] BRIGGS: For the first time in more than a decade, it looks like we're headed towards the NBA playoffs without LeBron James.
Not good, Andy Scholes. Good to see you, my friend.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Good morning, Dave.
You know, it is officially time to hit the panic button in Laker land. L.A. now down to 11th place in the West after losing to the Grizzlies last night.
Now, LeBron did become the first time in NBA history to rank in the top ten in both scoring and career assists after passing Andre Miller number ten on the assist list. But there was nothing to celebrate after the 110-105 loss in Memphis. LeBron saying after the game that the Lakers, the wrong franchise to play for if you can't concentrate on winning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEBRON JAMES, LAKERS FORWARD: At this point, if you are still allowing distractions to affect how the way you play, then this is -- this is the wrong franchise to be a part of and you should be like listen, I can't do this. Like seriously, if you are distracted by playoff pushes and all the stuff that has been talked about, that is like what you want. That is what you want every game, feel like you are fighting for something.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns returning to action last night, he missed the first game of his career on Saturday after being in a car accident on the way to the airport. A semi truck slammed into the back of the vehicle he was riding in.
[05:25:05] And he estimated that it was between 35 and 45 miles per hour. Towns says he is lucky to be alive after that accident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS, TIMBERWOLVES CENTER: I'd say had 5 percent a chance of making it out alive. I hit the 5 percent mark. And then I say 4 percent be seriously injured. One percent would be minorly injured.
And I came out with 1 percent. So not bad. So, it could have been much worse, you know? In all honesty, probably should not have made it out like I did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Finally, this was cool in Los Angeles, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers called a time-out with just seconds to go in the game and he got on the mic to honor the Mavs' Dirk Nowitzki.
Doc imploring the crowd to give one more big ovation in his likely last game in L.A. Dirk who is in his 20th season still not officially said he is going to retire, Dave, but it sure is looking that way. Forty-one years old, kind of been on the retirement tour like Dwyane Wade this NBA season. And pretty cool for Doc Rivers to get the crowd to give him a standing ovation.
BRIGGS: I covered Doc in Boston. Class act he has always been.
Andy Scholes, thank you, my friend.
SCHOLES: All right.
BRIGGS: Romans, over to you.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Dave.
This pivotal week for President Trump ramps up in coming hours as the president heads to a high stake summit overseas. His former lawyer gets ready to testify on Capitol Hill. Full coverage, next.
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