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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Paul Manafort Gets 3 Years, 11 Months in Prison; Vladimir Putin Clamps Down on Free Speech; Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired March 08, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:18] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Four years in prison, but that's better than expected for Paul Manafort. He avoids a virtual life sentence for now. And Democrats lashing out at that sentence.
JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: A measure condemning hate passes the House. Can Nancy Pelosi get her caucus back in order?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Michael Jackson. It's true. I'm with your father in a mental institution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: A classic "Simpsons" episode will never be seen again. Producers pulled the plug after a disturbing documentary about Michael Jackson.
DEAN: And on this International Women's Day a basketball star keeps his promise. Steph Curry shoes now available for girls.
Good morning and welcome to EARLY START.
BRIGGS: It's true.
DEAN: Yes. On this International Women's Day, hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean in for Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: Good to have you here.
DEAN: Thanks.
BRIGGS: Welcome. I'm Dave Briggs. It is Friday, March 8th, 4:00 in the East. It is 3:00 a.m. in Little Rock, Arkansas, where I presume a few people are watching you this morning. If they can be awake.
DEAN: Maybe my mom. Maybe.
BRIGGS: Yes, maybe. Me too.
DEAN: Yes.
BRIGGS: 2:00 a.m. in Denver. OK. Never has a four-year sentenced seemed so short. That was the
prison term, though, handed down to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. The sentence imposed for defrauding banks and the government, and for failing to pay taxes on millions he earned from political consulting in Ukraine.
DEAN: Forty-seven months is the longest sentence stemming from the Mueller probe but it's well short of what was expected even though as the judge noted Manafort did not express regret for his crimes.
CNN crime and justice reporter Shimon Prokupecz has more now from Washington.
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Good morning, Dave and Jessica.
Paul Manafort received 47 months in prison, much lower than the recommendation of prosecutors who had asked the judge for 19 to 24 years. The judge calling the sentencing guidelines out of whack, gave Manafort a nearly four-year prison term.
Now Manafort, he spoke briefly, telling the judge how prayer and faith have helped him get through this time and asked the judge to be compassionate. He told the judge that the last two years have been the most difficult years for his family and him.
And the judge said that he thought the sentence and recommendation was in fact excessive, adding that he believed Manafort lived an otherwise blameless life, was a good friend and generous person to others before he handed down the sentence.
Now Manafort, he is due back in court next week in D.C. for a separate case where he's expected to get up to 10 years in prison -- Dave, Jessica.
BRIGGS: Shimon, thanks.
The judge also gave Manafort credit for those nine months served which reduces the sentence further. As Judge T.S. Ellis read the sentence, there was no visible reaction from Manafort or from his wife Kathleen who was watching in the gallery. After the hearing Manafort was wheeled out of the room. His eye seeming blood shot.
Democrats quickly criticized the judge's 47-month sentence, says far too short to fit the crime. Now remember, many of them, the same Democrats who warned President Trump's attacks on judges threatened the justice system.
DEAN: It is true the sentence was considerably below the sentencing guidelines and many lawyers object that less well-known defendants get harsher sentences for lesser crimes, but Judge Ellis argued his sentence was more in line with those imposed on others convicted of similar crimes, saying, quote, "I'm convinced that's a just sentence for that conduct."
BRIGGS: Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democrats meanwhile looking to move forward after the House overwhelmingly passes a very broad measure condemning hate. This caps the week of bitter infighting within the party over how to respond to comments by Representative Ilhan Omar. She linked Jewish money to congressional support for Israel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: One resolution addressing these forms of hatred not mentioning her name because it's not about her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The resolution was revised and expanded repeatedly this week, wound up covering hatred towards Jews, Muslims, African-Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian-Americans, Hindu, Sikhs, the LGBTQ community and immigrants.
DEAN: Twenty-three Republicans voted against it, claiming it was too broad. They wanted it focused only on anti-Semitism. And despite voting for the resolution, some Democrats actually agreed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ELIOT ENGEL (D), NEW YORK: I wish we had had a separate resolution about anti-Semitism. I think we deserved it. I think it was wrong not to have it. I don't think we should mix everything. No member of Congress should be making anti-Semitic statements. No member of Congress should be saying hurtful things and then not apologizing for them.
REP. TED DEUTCH (D), FLORIDA: Why are we unable to singularly condemn anti-Semitism? If Jews' families were persecuted or attacked or killed are talking about how anti-Semitic words can lead at their most hateful and violent extremes, then it's anti-Semitism.
[04:05:10] Now take my word for it, if you continue to do that, then please understand that an anti-Semite will hear those words as a dog whistle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: The week-long debate over the hate resolution overshadowed all other Democratic initiatives like climate change and health care. Those proposals are expected to be rolled out in the coming months.
BRIGGS: The Trump administration considering a move that would reveal the actual cost of your health care for the first time. It would require hospitals, doctors and other providers to publicly disclose the secretly negotiated prices they arrange with insurance companies. The idea here, put more decision-making power in the hands of patients, posting rates so consumers can shop around could lower co- pays or deductibles.
DEAN: The Department of Health and Human Services is seeking public comment, but that request has been largely overlooked because it's been buried in a 700-page draft regulation released last month on improving patient access to electronic health records.
Now this move is likely to meet fierce opposition and possible legal challenges from doctors, groups and insurers.
BRIGGS: Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper officially launching his presidential campaign in Denver. Hick casting himself as a pragmatic leader, but he also appealed to the party base with progressive positions like universal health care and closing tax loopholes used by corporations and the wealthy. Hickenlooper says beating President Trump is essential but that's not enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN HICKENLOOPER (D-CO), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our country stopped making progress when we hunkered down on opposite sides of the continental divides, red versus blue, rich and poor, urban and rural. It's time to end this American crisis of division.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: In the meantime, you can scratch one name off the list for 2020. Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, he told advisers his listening tours in those early primary states helped him see he wasn't fully committed to a long shot primary campaign.
And this programming note for you. Not one, not two, three CNN town halls Sunday night live from South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. Former Congressman John Delaney at 7:00, Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard at 8:00, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 9:00. Jake Tapper and Dana Bash moderate Sunday night starting at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.
Cameras in the Supreme Court? Well, not anytime soon. That's according to Justices Samuel Alito and Elena Kagan. The two appeared before House lawmakers Thursday. Video from inside the court is something members of Congress and public interest groups have long advocated. But both justices say the topic hasn't even been discussed in recent years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELENA KAGAN, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: If seeing it came at the expense of the way the institution functioned, that would be a very bad bargain.
SAMUEL ALITO, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: Lawyers would find it irresistible to try to put in a little sound bite. That would detract from the value of the arguments in the decision-making process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: The Supreme Court has put links to audio recordings on its Web site at the end of each week's hearings.
BRIGGS: All right. It looks like the economy will turn in a strong month of job growth in February even amid concerns of a potential slowdown. The Labor Department will turn in numbers for last month at 8:30 a.m. Economists forecast that employers added another 185,000 jobs while the unemployment rate ticked down to 3.9 percent. That would be the lowest number since last September.
Economists also estimate that hourly earnings rose 3.3 percent. That's in line with wage growth over the last several months of 2018, which turned in the fastest pace of growth since the Great Recession. Despite a drop-off in home sales, business investment, consumer spending, employers added an average of 234,000 jobs every month over the past year.
All of that will make it more difficult for Democrat in 2020 with this strong economy, where do they come in with an economic argument?
DEAN: That's right.
BRIGGS: We shall see.
DEAN: And Trump will keep after that, that's for sure.
BRIGGS: He will.
DEAN: Well, a Texas jury convicted a woman for sex trafficking but the judge had asked them to reconsider. You won't believe why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:13:34] DEAN: An all-time classic "Simpsons" episode featuring Michael Jackson's voice is being pulled from circulation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello? Who's this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Michael Jackson.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Michael Jackson? No way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's true. I'm with your father in a mental institution.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uh-huh. And is Elvis with you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He could be. It's a big hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah, come on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Producers James Brooks, Matt Groening and Al Jean decided to pull the "Stark Raving Dad" episode after watching the HBO documentary "Leaving Neverland" which details graphic sexual abuse allegations against the late pop star.
BRIGGS: In the 1991 "Simpsons" episode Jackson voiced a character name Leon Kompowsky who's in a mental institution with Homer Simpson. The character believes he is Michael Jackson. Producer James Brooks calls it a treasured episode but, quote, "There are a lot of great memories we have wrapped up in that one and this certainly doesn't allow them to remain."
DEAN: A suspect in the fatal shooting of an Illinois sheriff's deputy is now in custody after an hours-long standoff with police. Deputy Jacob Keltner, a 13-year veteran of the McHenry County Sheriff's Office, was gunned down while serving a warrant at a hotel where that suspect was staying. The suspect Floyd Brown was arrested after a standoff. That followed a police chase on an Interstate through Illinois. Police say he crashed his car and barricaded himself in the vehicle for several hours. He will now face a state and federal murder charge.
[04:15:05] BRIGGS: God wanted to acquit a woman charged with sex trafficking. That's what a Texas judge actually told a jury. Now that judge has been publicly warned by the state's judicial commission.
In January of last year, Judge Jack Robison was presiding over the trial of Gloria Ramiro Perez. He walked into the jury room at the end of deliberations and told the jurors he'd been praying about the case. Robison said God informed him the defendant was innocent. He asked the jurors to reverse their guilty verdict. They refused. Robison told the judicial panel he'd been under extreme stress. Doctors said Robison has been suffering from a mental condition, but that it was temporary. The sex trafficking case was eventually ruled a mistrial.
DEAN: Police in Boulder, Colorado, launching an internal investigation after an officer pulled a gun on a black man collecting trash on his own property.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take your hand off your gun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're on my property with a gun in your hand like you're going to shoot me because I'm picking up trash.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's picking up trash and you have your hand on your gun? Go home. Go home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: A witness recorded the video and it shows the officer confronting a man who was holding a bucket and a metal trash rubber in the front yard of his own townhouse complex. The officer thought the tool was a weapon and then called for backup.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You came on to my property with your weapons drawn threatening me at the (EXPLETIVE DELETED). How do you feel about that? How do you feel about that? (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Shoot me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no one is going to shoot you --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Or you're going to taze me and arrest me and beat the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of me like every other (EXPLETIVE DELETED) person. Don't tell me what to do. Get off my property. Get off my property.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm asking your name.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get off my property.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Boulder Police in a statement say the man was uncooperative and unwilling to put down a blunt object. They say officers took no further action once it was determined the man had a legal right to be on the property. But the officer at the center of the incident who has not been identified has been placed on administrative leave.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's security clearance is reportedly under review by the Pentagon. According to Bloomberg, it comes after he smoked marijuana during an appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast last September. SpaceX has a range of government contracts including a deal to launch a secretive spy satellite.
BRIGGS: The company is also overseeing the first ever mission of its Crew Dragon capsule designed to carry astronauts into space. The spacecraft is scheduled to return home today from its historic mission to the International Space Station.
Today is International Women's Day. And NBA star Steph Curry marking the occasion by making good on a promise he made to a young girl. 9- year-old Riley Morrison wrote to Curry last fall. She asked why his signature shoes were only sold in boy sizes. Well, Curry told her he would do something about it. And today the Curry 6, "United We Win" shoe by Under Armour making its debut.
DEAN: Plus those shoes will be a blend of purple and deep orchid. They also have a sock liner that Riley helped designed with two girls playing basketball. The words "Be Fearless" and "Girl Power," right there on there.
Yesterday Curry surprised Riley with her own pair of "United We Win" shoes and proceeds will be going towards a scholarship the Curry Family Foundation and Under Armour created for college-bound female students in the Bay Area.
BRIGGS: Apple's CEO Tim Cook having a little fun with the presidential blooper. Cook met with President Trump at a Workforce Policy Board meeting earlier in the week but Mr. Trump had a little slip of the tongue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You've really put a big investment in our country. We appreciate it very much, Tim Apple.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Cook did the not flinch in that moment but he is reacting now. "Tim Apple" is now verified on Twitter. Noticed how the CEO altered his handle there. Just for good measure only Mac and IOS users can see that actual Apple logo.
DEAN: Hey, Tim Apple.
BRIGGS: Good fund. Good play by --
DEAN: There he is.
BRIGGS: Mr. Apple.
DEAN: Maybe the most ironic story of all time, lawmakers in Russia passing a bill to outlaw fake news. We're live in Moscow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:23:51] BRIGGS: Vladimir Putin touts himself as a strong man. Remember these pictures of his shirtless astride a horse? Well, it seems fear is growing signs of erosion of his power at home. Among his responses a new law clamping down on free speech. The bill approved by the Russian parliament this week bans criticism of authorities including Putin.
Senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen joins us from Russia with the latest -- Fred.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Dave. And one of the things we always have to keep in mind in all this is that Russia of course already very, very restrictive when it comes to free speech, when it comes, for instance, few demonstrations and also of course criticizing the government as well.
Just to give you an idea about how this new law is going to work, it's going to potentially make things even more restrictive. But at the General Prosecutors Office here in Russia, they are going to be monitoring both the Internet but also media companies as well. And if there are things that they believe could destabilize Russia as they put it and also of course criticism of Putin as well, then they are going to tell the platform to take the content down, fine it and potentially there could be prison sentences as well, up to 15 days of administrative detention.
[04:25:01] And you're absolutely right. All of this coming as Vladimir Putin does face historically low approval ratings. For American standard, still pretty high. He's still hovering below -- around about 60 percent. But for Russian standard, that is quite low but it is someone who used to have 80 percent, up to 80 percent approval ratings.
So you can see kind of a clamp down there on free speech here in Russia even more so than before, and this comes only two days after Vladimir Putin gave a speech to spy services saying he believes that the West and the U.S. is not only trying to infiltrate Russia, but also steal some of its military secrets and destabilize the country as well -- Dave.
BRIGGS: Autocrats continue to adopt this fake news language.
Fred Pleitgen, live for us this morning in Moscow, thank you.
DEAN: Democrats are lashing out after a four-year prison sentence for the president's former campaign chief. He avoids a virtual life sentence, for now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEAN: Four years in prison, but that's better than expected for Paul Manafort.
(END)
