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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Democrats Cast Wide Net in New Trump Probes; Alabama Governor Issues Major Disaster Declaration After Deadly Tornadoes; Aired 4:30- 5a ET
Aired March 05, 2019 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:20] REP. JERRY NADLER (D), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Our goal is to hold the administration accountable.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No collusion. It's all a hoax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Corruption, obstruction, hush money, collusion and much more. House Democrats want to hear from the president's allies, both public private.
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: An NSA program that collects domestic phone records may be winding down. Why the White House may end the much scrutinized practice.
ROMANS: The cleanup just beginning after tornados in Alabama. The Lee County community supporting families of 23 people killed, including three children.
BRIGGS: Some big medical news overnight. A patient in London may be the second person to be cured of HIV.
Welcome back to EARLY START, everybody, on a Tuesday. I'm Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: Good morning, Dave Briggs.
BRIGGS: Good morning.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It is 31 minutes past the hour. And we begin with House Democrats, their investigation or investigations, plural, of President Trump just beginning.
The House Judiciary Committee sending out a stack of far reaching document requests, seeking information from the president's sons, his business associates, and his political confidants. The Democrats' probe will look into possible corruption, obstruction, hush money paid to women, alleged Russian collusion, and more.
BRIGGS: The investigations' wide scope may bolster the Republican claim that House Democrats are trying to cripple the president's re- election effort. But Judiciary chairman Jerry Nadler says his committee is just seeking to uphold its oversight responsibility. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NADLER: Our goal is to hold the administration accountable for the obstruction of justice, the -- the abuse of power and the corruption. We have to find out what's been going on. And we have to lay out a case to the American people, and reveal it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The president was asked about the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, are you going to cooperate with Mr. Nadler?
TRUMP: I cooperate all the time with everybody. And you know the beautiful thing? No collusion. It's all a hoax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: "No collusion. It's all a hoax." The scope of the panel's document request is even broader than expected.
More on that from CNN's Manu Raju on Capitol Hill.
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and Dave. Now the House Judiciary Committee moving forward with an aggressive investigation into all aspects of the president's political life, his business life, and even his personal life, looking into whether or not the president misused his office, whether or not the president obstructed justice, whether or not the president committed any crimes.
These requests from -- to 81 individuals connected to the Trump Org include the president's two sons, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. They include people very high up in the Trump Organization, including Allen Weisselberg, who's the CFO of the Trump Organization. And it also includes entities like the White House and the Justice Department, like the FBI, asking for a number of documents including questions about whether the president dangled any pardons towards Michael Cohen, Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, to prevent them from cooperating with the government.
Two weeks is only the time that the Judiciary Committee is asking these people and these entities to respond by. If they do not get the responses, expect the fight to intensify, subpoenas, possibly public hearings. The question now is whether or not the administration will comply with these requests or whether we'll see a protracted fight between the White House and Capitol Hill -- Christine and Dave.
BRIGGS: All right, Manu Raju, thank you.
Disgraceful, abusive, and shameful are just some of the way the White House describes this investigation. Press Secretary Sarah Sanders accusing Chairman Nadler and Democrats of embarking on a, quote, "fishing expedition" because they are terrified that their two-year false narrative of Russia collusion is crumbling. Sanders claims the Democrats are not after the truth. They're after the president.
We should note one name not on the Democrats' list is Ivanka Trump. But CNN has learned the list of 81 names is just a starting point with more requests on more topics expected in the future.
ROMANS: House Democrats also want to know what was discussed between President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin behind closed doors. Democratic chairs of three committees sending letters to the State Department and the White House targeting the communications between the two leaders. Now reports indicate Mr. Trump personally confiscated the interpreter's notes from those sessions. Response to the latest round of letters is due by March 15th.
BRIGGS: The "Wall Street Journal" reports a lawyer for Michael Cohen approached President Trump's attorneys last April about the possibility of a pardon. The request was reportedly made after Cohen was raided by the FBI. The "Journal" reports the president's legal team dismissed the idea but Rudy Giuliani left the prospect of a future pardon open.
[04:35:01] It should be noted Cohen told Congress under oath last week he never asked for help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER LAWYER TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: I have never asked for nor would I accept a pardon from President Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The "Journal" reports there is no indication Cohen personally asked for a Trump pardon. A spokesman for Cohen says he stands by his testimony.
ROMANS: All right. Breaking overnight, the National Security Agency, the NSA, abandoned a much scrutinized surveillance program. It relied on bulk data collected from domestic phone records. Last year the NSA revealed there were technical problems that led to unauthorized collection of some data -- some phone records.
According to a Republican congressional source the Trump administration might not reauthorize the program at the end of the year. The surveillance was originally implemented under the Obama administration to replace an earlier program that was famously disclosed in leaks by Edward Snowden.
BRIGGS: House members could vote as soon as Wednesday on a resolution condemning anti-Semitism. The measure by House Democratic leaders including Nancy Pelosi. A reaction to outrage over comments Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar made last week at an event. The freshman Democrat suggesting pro-Israel groups are pushing, quote, "allegiance to a foreign country."
About a dozen Jewish groups have called on House leadership to remove Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee. So far the congresswoman is standing by her comments. This is her second time under fire for remarks deemed anti-Semitic. Last time she apologized amid bipartisan backlash.
ROMANS: All right. The Democratic field for president expanding and shrinking. The next announcement is expected to come later this morning from Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley. He has been considering a White House run but must also decide whether he will seek re-election to the Senate next year.
Entering the race on Monday, John Hickenlooper. The former Colorado government are looking to find a moderate lane.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN HICKENLOOPER (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that not only can I beat Donald Trump, but that I am the person that can bring people together on the other side, and actually get stuff done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: He's been spending a lot of time in Iowa. One potential Democratic contender who will not be entering the 2020 race is Eric Holder. The former attorney general says he will instead focus his efforts on redistricting and other voting rights issues.
BRIGGS: Residents of eastern Alabama hurting and holding on tight to one another this morning following the deadliest tornado to hit the United States in six years. The death toll remains at 23 with 10 people still hospitalized. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signing an expedited major disaster declaration request asking the president for immediate assistance. Three of the victims were children ages 6, 9 and 10.
ROMANS: The youngest victim identified as Armando Hernandez, fourth grader Taylor Thornton also killed. CNN spoke to Opelika, Alabama, resident Jessica Chandler. The twister missed her by minutes because she took her two kids to the store to buy baby formula. Her boyfriend was inside when the tornado hit their mobile home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA CHANDLER, OPELIKA, ALABAMA RESIDENT: He has a fractured leg. His ribs are broken. He has puncture wounds, cuts, bruises. He's really sore. I mean, he got out of the hospital last night. We're thankful he's alive. The front porch is like a patio. He seen that fly up and he said he had just enough time to dive to the couch, which the couch is about a foot away from the screen door. And he just held on to the couch for dear life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The situation remains desperate this morning in Lee County, Alabama.
Drew Griffin is there. DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Dave, they will start
another search today. But there has been good news overnight in that the missing persons list has been reconciled. They no longer believe they have double digit numbers of people missing. That means that the death toll looks like it's going to hold, although the coroner said it is possible they might find more victims in the debris as they continue to meticulously go through it.
But again, this was a devastating tornado that came through here, 170 miles an hour. And just like in so many places across this country, just picked up this mobile home and threw it into the trees. The people here are now having to deal with trying to rebuild their lives, basically from scratch -- Christine, Dave.
ROMANS: All right. Drew, thank for that.
For more information about how you can help the victims of the Alabama tornadoes, go to CNN.com/impact.
BRIGGS: Breaking medical news overnight. A patient in London might be the second HIV patient ever cured outright. According to a case study published in the journal "Nature" the so-called London patient was being treated for cancer, not HIV, but is now in sustained remission from both diseases. This case comes more than 10 years after a Berlin patient was cured using similar stem cell transplants from donors who carry a rare genetic mutation. Doctors say the method used in both cases is not appropriate for general use but does offer hope for new treatment.
[04:40:07] Nearly one million people die each year from HIV related causes.
ROMANS: All right. Facebook facing criticism again, this time for not letting users opt out of a feature that lets people look them up using their phone number or e-mail address. Now this includes users who only added their phone numbers to set up two-factor authentication and believed it would only be used for security purposes. Users can specify who they want to share the phone number, e-mail addresses with, everyone, friends of friends or friends, under the privacy settings, but there is no way to opt out entirely.
A spokesperson for Facebook said the feature is supposed to make it easier to find people you know but aren't yet friends with on Facebook. Users could upload their cellphone contacts to Facebook to search for friends or message a phone number on the Messenger app. The spokesperson added, quote, "We appreciate the feedback we received about these settings and will take it into account."
Last year Facebook removed the ability to enter someone's phone number and e-mail address into the Facebook search bar amid privacy concerns.
And again, I mean, this is the story of our time, the technology.
BRIGGS: Sure is.
ROMANS: Is that is there really privacy. I mean I just think people should assume that there are so many -- your information is out there if you sign up and are part of the social media world.
BRIGGS: Very important story.
All right. Ahead, iconic "90210" heartthrob Luke Perry has died.
Hear how one of his co-stars is remembering the iconic actor.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:45:45] ROMANS: All right. Roger Stone may have stepped in it again. Attorneys for the longtime Trump associate telling a federal judge it did not occur to them to notify her about the publication of a book that may violate her gag order. Stone attacks Robert Mueller as crooked and accuses deep state liberals of seeking to silence him in an updated introduction to his book about the Trump 2016 campaign.
Now the special counsel charged Stone with lying to Congress and obstructing justice. Judge Amy Berman Jackson tightened a gag order on Stone after a post on his Instagram page showed her with what appeared to be crosshairs. Stone could get another warning from the judge, a fine or he could go to jail if she determines that he broke the gag order.
BRIGGS: New elections have been scheduled in North Carolina's Ninth Congressional District. Primaries will take place May 14th. The general election will be held September 10th. If a primary runoff is needed, that will happen on September 10th. The general election will be pushed back to November 5th.
The state Board of Elections voted unanimously to hold a new election. The decision followed ballot tampering allegations against a campaign operative hired by Republican candidate Mark Harris. The operative at the center of fraud allegations, Leslie McCrae Dowless, has been indicted on seven felony counts.
ROMANS: A group of Southern California high school students sparking outrage with these party pictures posted on social media, showing these young people giving Nazi salutes with their beer cups arranged in the shape of a swastika. Principals from three Orange County schools faced hundreds of angry and concerned parents at a community meeting Monday.
Jewish students at the meeting say they are not surprised by the partying students. They say swastikas are carved into bathroom walls and desks on campus and they have learned to ignore Jewish jokes.
According to the Anti-Defamation League anti-Semitic incidents in American schools were up 94 percent in 2017.
BRIGGS: State officials in Missouri moving to revoke the license of a daycare center. It comes after video surfaced last month showing a worker throwing a toddler across the room. The 3-year-old was hospitalized after the incident at the Brighter Daycare and Preschool in St. Louis. The facility plans to appeal the revocation of their license. An attorney says in a statement, "We hope and pray that those in our community will not rush to judgment." Until then the daycare center will operate as usual but under close supervision.
ROMANS: I think cameras are great for all daycare facilities.
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: Thirty-nine states now dealing with ground water contaminated with waste ash coming from hundreds of coal fire power plants. According to a report by two environmental groups using data from the EPA, toxic substances like arsenic, lithium and mercury have reached drinking water supplies in more than a dozen cases. The full extent of the impact on drinking water supplies not known because private sources of drinking water are not tested.
According to the report, ponds and landfills used to store coal ash are frequently unlined. That allows toxins to leach into ground water.
BRIGGS: A South Carolina resident has finally come forward to claim that $1.5 billion lottery prize. The winner wants to remain anonymous as you might imagine. It's the largest single winner Mega Millions jackpot. The drawing was back in October but the prize wasn't claimed until Monday. The winner opted to take the cash option of a one-time payment of nearly $878 million.
The win is also a boon for South Carolina. The state will collect the cool of $61 million in income taxes from the Mega Millions winner.
ROMANS: All right. Sad news this morning, fans and friends are sharing their remembrances of actor Luke Perry. He died Monday a few days after suffering a massive stroke. He was just 52 years old. He rose to fame in the 1990s mega-hit series "Beverly Hills 90210" playing the bad boy heartthrob Dylan McKay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUKE PERRY, ACTOR: I'm saying that that was that. Some people do change, Kelly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The show was both wildly popular and also criticized for its willingness to take on such topics as teen sexuality. Here's a 1991 interview with Luke Perry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[04:50:01] PERRY: Let's remember what makes the show so good. The show is good, and I'll say that, yes, I'm in a good show. The show is good because it's an ensemble piece, everybody works and everybody brings something to it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The show is legend. Perry's "90210" co-star Shannon Doherty telling "People" magazine, "I am in shock, heartbroken, devastated by the loss of my friend. I have so many memories with Luke that made me smile and that are forever imprinted on my heart and my mind."
ROMANS: He had been starring as the father of Archie Andrews in the CW teen drama "Riverdale." Production on "Riverdale" has temporarily halted due to his untimely death. Perry's final film role is in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood." That's due out in July. He leaves behind two children and a fiance.
And certainly our thoughts are with him this morning.
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: He is somebody who -- I mean, honestly he was the first fake boyfriend of an entire generation of American women, right? You know what I mean?
BRIGGS: Including my wife and yourself.
ROMANS: He was just -- just a real name and face of that era. And still working.
BRIGGS: With the "90210" generation really.
ROMANS: Yes. I think we actually are. All right.
BRIGGS: He's an underrated actor.
ROMANS: Fifty-one minutes past the hour. Amazon's grocery plans go way beyond Whole Foods. It plans to open dozens of its own grocery stores across the country. CNN Business is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:55:44] BRIGGS: 4:55 Eastern Time. CNN has learned U.S. intelligence on at least one secret North Korea nuclear plant may have been a factor in President Trump's decision to walk away from North Korea's Kim Jong-un. Sources say during summit talks, Kim offered to dismantle the main nuclear site called Yongbyon in exchange for sanctions relief, but Trump apparently wanted more. Experts say North Korea has at least one secret nuclear plant named Kyungsung. The Kim regime has never acknowledged that site but Trump apparently said it must be shut down as well.
ROMANS: Today the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will get a closed-door briefing by U.S. special representative for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, about the summit. The director of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog group reports there are indications of ongoing construction work at North Korea's experimental light water reactor. But the U.N. says there is no sign the reactor has been in operation since December.
BRIGGS: While you were sleeping, Stephen Colbert came back from vacation and took aim at the president's never-ending address at CPAC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": Before Trump even started talking --
He's dry-humping old glory. Yes. I believe that is the first time a flag has ever volunteered to be burned.
TRUMP: They're trying to take you out with (EXPLETIVE DELETED). OK?
COLBERT: Very presidential. I'm reminded of Abraham Lincoln's famous declaration. Hey, Robert E. Lee, (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you.
TRUMP: Please get us the e-mails. Please.
COLBERT: I thought I had a bad Trump impression.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Stephen Colbert, nice to see you this morning.
All right. Let's get a check on CNN Business right now. Markets mostly higher around the world here. Wall Street futures, you know, leaning up a little bit. Slightly higher as investors look for developments in the possible U.S.-China trade deal.
Now the Dow fell 207 points Monday. It has been up by as much as 130 points at the beginning of the day. The S&P 500, the Nasdaq also fell slightly.
Could Purdue Pharma file for bankruptcy? Now Reuters is reporting the Oxycontin maker is exploring the option as a way to contain liability from thousands of lawsuits. Lawsuits alleging that Purdue Pharma knowingly contributed to the deadly opioid crisis sweeping the U.S. Pushing those pills for profit.
Filing for Chapter 11 protection would halt the lawsuits and allow Purdue to negotiate legal claims with plaintiffs under the supervision of a bankruptcy judge. Purdue Pharma would not comment on its financial or legal strategy but said this, quote, "We have ample liquidity and remain committed to meeting our obligations to the patients who benefit from our medicine, our suppliers and other business partners."
Amazon's grocery plans go way beyond Whole Foods. Two years after it bought Whole Foods, Amazon plans to open dozens of its own grocery stores in major U.S. cities. The stores will offer different cheaper products in Whole Foods including beauty and health items. According to TJI Research Amazon has nearly 140 of its own brands in food, health and beauty and household essentials. Amazon's new grocery chain could offer mainstream brands to win a broader range of shoppers.
It's so fascinating to me. Jeff Bezos --
BRIGGS: Just thinking.
ROMANS: Like changed the business model so you don't go to a store and then now you're going to a store.
BRIGGS: And then just -- yes.
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: Global domination well within their sights.
ROMANS: There you go.
BRIGGS: EARLY START continues right now with the investigations focused on the Trump administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NADLER: Our goal is to hold the administration accountable.
TRUMP: No collusion. It's all a hoax.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Corruption, obstruction, hush money, collusion and more. House Democrats want to hear from the president's allies both public and private.
BRIGGS: An NASA program that collects domestic phone records may be winding down. Why the White House may end the much scrutinized practice.
ROMANS: The cleanup just beginning after tornadoes in Alabama. The Lee County community now supporting families of 23 people killed including three children.
BRIGGS: And some big medical news overnight.
