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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
White House Will Get First Look at Mueller Report; Historic Floods in Nebraska; Boeing's CEO Speaks Out. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired March 19, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:20] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: First look at the Mueller report goes to the White House. Why the president's lawyers will review it before it goes to Congress and the public.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The death toll rising from the floods in the Midwest, historic Nebraska flooding blankets dozens of counties. The vice president heads there today.
BRIGGS: And Boeing CEO has a message for air travelers in the wake of two plane crashes. What he says the company is doing to prevent more disasters.
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: Good morning.
I'm Christine Romans. It's Tuesday, March 19th, 4:00 a.m. in the East.
We begin here with the world waiting for the Mueller report, but the White House will get the first look and maybe a first edit. Whatever part of the report Attorney General Bill Barr decides to submit to Congress and maybe made public, sources tell us White House lawyers expect to review it first.
BRIGGS: They will be considering if and when to claim executive privilege. Now, the president does have a legal right to withhold information if revealing it would disrupt the decision making process. But should he claim that right?
CNN's Pamela Brown has more from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Christine and Dave.
We have learned that White House lawyers expect to review whatever version of Mueller's report Attorney General Barr submits to Congress before it reaches lawmakers and the public. And this is a potential flash point, a political battle over the hotly anticipated document. The attorneys want the White House to have an opportunity to claim executive privilege over information in documents and interviews with White House officials over the last couple years, these sources said, but the White House's review of executive privilege claims are within its legal purview, but this could set up this political battle over the perception at the very least that President Trump trying to shield certain information from the public about an investigation that has swirled around him since the first day of his presidency.
As one source close to the White House put it, there has always been tension between what looks best politically and what represents the interests of the institution. But preserving executive privilege, Trump's political optics and the White House views. We should know, executive privilege allows the president's conversations with other officials be kept confidential if he chooses to assert it.
Now, Justice Department lawyers could advise him against certain assertions if they don't feel that it's legally defensible, but if President Trump does exert executive privilege, the decision could be litigated in court if it's challenged, which Democrats would almost certainly do.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Pamela, thank you for that.
In a matter of hours, we could learn a lot more about the events leading up to the Michael Cohen raid. A federal judge has ordered the release of search warrant materials from the case, granting requests from CNN and other media outlets. Redactions will be made because some aspects of the Cohen investigation are ongoing. The FBI, you'll recall raided the home, office and hotel room of the president's former lawyer last April. Cohen is scheduled to start a three-year prison sentence in May.
BRIGGS: There is growing fallout after President Trump's wild weekend on Twitter when he went after pretty much everyone and everything from GM and the autoworkers union, to an "SNL" rerun, to Hillary Clinton, Robert Mueller run, even Fox News. He also attacked the late Senator John McCain.
On Monday, McCain's daughter Meghan returned fire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEGHAN MCCAIN, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": He spends his weekend obsessing over great men because he knows it and I know and all of you know it, he will never be a great men. Your life is spent on your weekends not with your family, not with your friends but obsessing, obsessing over great men you could never live up to. That tells you everything you need to know about his pathetic life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Out there strongly defending her dad.
Attorney George Conway is the husband of Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, he is questioning the president's mental fitness on Twitter, saying his condition is get being worse and Americans should be thinking seriously now about Trump's mental condition. Conway also tweeted clinical definitions of narcissistic and anti-social personality disorders. Not surprisingly, Conway's wife Kellyanne does not share his concerns.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLYANNE CONWAY, WHITE HOUSE COUNSELOR: No, I don't share those concerns and I was getting -- I have four kids and I was getting them out of house this morning before I got here, so I haven't talked to the president about substance. So I may not be up to speed on all of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The Trump re-election campaign manager Brad Parscale claims George Conway is jealous of his wife's success and is undermining her career.
ROMANS: OK, Mike Pompeo insists he has no plans to leave his post as secretary of state. Political observers have speculated Pompeo may have his eye on an open Senate seat in Kansas in 2020. He was in his home state on Monday and was asked about his future at a global entrepreneurship summit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[04:05:08] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How long do you plan to be there?
MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: So I'm going to be there until he tweets me out of office, which -- which I'm not counting on, at least today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: You may recall Pompeo's predecessor, Rex Tillerson, was fired by President Trump in a tweet.
BRIGGS: Yes, of course.
The State Department held a rare media briefing conference call with Secretary Pompeo on Monday, but it barred the mainstream press corps, would not release a transcript and refused to say who attended. Officials say the call on the topic of international freedom was restricted to faith-based media. It would not say whether a range of faiths were included.
CNN RSVP'ed to organizers, asking to be included. We received no reply.
ROMANS: All right. Democratic hopeful Elizabeth Warren making her pitch to Southern voters at a CNN town hall last night in Jackson, Mississippi. A notorious policy wonk, she rattled off a long list of proposals. She received a big ovation when she announced for the first time she supports replacing the Electoral College. BRIGGS: She wants to go with the popular vote. We'll play you that
sound bite in just a bit. The idea of abandoning the Electoral College gaining traction among Democrats and across the country. Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump, of course, in the popular vote and Al Gore beat George Bush, but both lost the election.
Twelve states and D.C. say they will assign Electoral College votes to the winner of the popular vote regardless of who wins their state, the switch, though, can only happen once enough states have signed on to win the Electoral College, meaning 270 votes, would only add 181, as you can see.
Warren also faced a question about her Native American heritage claim and the backlash it caused.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I learned about my family from my family. And based on that, that's -- that is just kind of who I am. And I do the best I can with it. You know, there was an investigation, nothing I ever did or my family played any role in any job I ever got.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Warren is on board with Medicare-for-All. She says she is open to multiple path universal coverage, including less aggressive transitions that might keep the private insurance industry relevant.
ROMANS: All right. Selecting the right running mate and security key endorsements are at the top of the agenda of Joe Biden's agenda right now as the former vice president prepares for an anticipated 2020 announcement in April. Last week, Biden created some buzz meeting privately with Stacey Abrams, arising Democratic star who lost her tight race for governor of Georgia last fall.
BRIGGS: A person familiar with their meeting says that policy and politics were discussed, but not the possibility of joining the ticket. Biden's team is now considering scenarios for a campaign launch, including possible locations in Wilmington, Delaware, and Biden's birth place of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
ROMANS: Boeing CEO is trying to reassure the flying public after two deadly crashes. All 737 MAX jets were grounded worldwide after accidents in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed nearly 350 people. In the video message, the Boeing chief Dennis Muilenburg says that the company is doing whatever is necessary to ensure the safety of the MAX planes going forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENNIS MUILENBURG, BOEING CEO: We're united with our airline customers, international regulators and government authorities in our efforts to support the most recent investigation. Understand the facts of what happened, and help prevent future tragedies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: He says Boeing will soon release a software update and related pilot training for the 737 MAX will address concerns discovered following the Lion Air crash back in October.
BRIGGS: Today, Vice President Mike Pence heads to Nebraska to tour flood damage. Seventy-four cities, 65 counties and four tribal areas have declared emergencies in the wake of devastating flooding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, this really is the most devastating flooding we've probably ever had in our state's history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Farm animals stuck in floodwaters also being rescued, as you can see here, rounding up ponies, donkeys, sheep and even alpacas on air boats.
ROMAN: Hamburg, Iowa, also dealing with intense flooding. A barrier the town built and reinforced broke, filling basements with feet of water. The floods blamed in at least four deaths in two states. It could go from bad to worse. More rain is coming to the Midwest.
CNN's Stephanie Elam is on the ground in Nebraska.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Dave, this is Winslow, Nebraska, and for several days, the people who live here in the small town of less than 200 people couldn't even get here to see what it looks like. Now, they are able to clear away some of the debris on the roadway.
[04:10:02] But as you can see, look at the speed limit sign, you see how high the water still is, how high up it is on these houses. And every one of the houses in this town are surrounded by water. You can see so many things have been pushed away -- toys, picnic benches, even stairs moved far away from the homes that they used to stand next to.
Right now, while they are able to get closer, they still cannot get into their homes and they don't know when they will be able to because there is still so much water in here. And this is just one system where the water is starting to recede where others, it is still cresting. So this is just a microcosm, a small picture of what is happening throughout Nebraska with these massive devastating floods.
I talked to one couple that has lived here for several decades, over 30 years and I asked them if they were going to rebuild and he said, we have nowhere else to go, this where we belong -- Dave and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Yes, the mighty Missouri River is way outside of its banks. BRIGGS: Ahead, the White House wants to cap how much undergraduate
students can borrow to pay for college.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:15:12] ROMANS: All right. A majority of Americans give the economy a glowing review. In a new CNN poll, 71 percent say the U.S. economy is in good shape, the highest since February 2001. It is also the best rating, of course, of Trump's presidency.
Now, it's a different story, though, when you zero in on how Trump is handling America's finances on the heels of his 2020 budget proposal projected large deficits and, of course, swelling public debt. His ratings for handling the budget are 56 percent approve and 34 percent disapprove. The White House view with tax cuts enough to rein in the deficit, but that hasn't happened.
In a new report from the Council of Economic Advisers, it says that the president won't get his boom in the economy without major legislative changes. The White House forecasts the economy will grow an average 3 percent each year over the next decade, including 3.2 percent in 2019. But how you're going to get there, what "The Washington Post" reports, Trump would need a big infrastructure bill, more tax cuts and more deregulation in order to get the economic boom he promised. Economists have said that growth could decline as the sugar high if the Republican-backed tax cuts fade.
BRIGGS: The Trump administration wants to put a limit on student loan borrowing. Right now, the amount an undergraduate can borrow from the federal government is capped at $57,500. But graduate students and parents of undergraduates face no limit and can borrow up to the full cost of attending a school. The administration is not saying what its proposed limit would be, it's also proposing a simplification of student loan repayments along with an expansion of the Pell grant program to low income students enrolled in short term career training programs.
ROMANS: All right. Black smoke is still rising from a spectacular fire at a petrochemical plant in suburban Houston. It has been burning since Sunday. Fire officials say it could take until Wednesday to extinguish the flames and tanks filled with gas and oil chemicals. They hope once the fire is contained, they can close the tank valves and the fire would put itself out.
Air quality in Deer Pak and surrounding communities remains normal. Schools and businesses are set to reopen today. The cause of the huge fire is still under investigation.
BRIGGS: A crackdown on so-called ghost guns in New Jersey, the attorney general announcing the first criminal charges for illegally trafficking weapons. Ghost guns are assembled from kits purchased online, they are untraceable, no registration, no serial numbers. Four men were charged as part of a wider takedown of a suspected drug dealing network in and around Camden County. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill outlawing ghost guns in November. According to "The Wall Street Journal", the "National Enquirer" paid
$200,000 to the brother of Jeff Bezos' lover in exchange for leaked photos and steamy texts. Michael Sanchez's sister Lauren is in a romantic relationship with the Amazon CEO. And the amount he was paid is significantly higher than the company usually offers according to this report.
BRIGGS: The battle between Bezos and "The Enquirer" began after the magazine published an 11-page story in January that included racy text messages. Bezos has accused AMI, the owner of "The Enquirer", of extortion, blackmail.
Sanchez told "The Journal" he didn't want to dignify its reporting, calling it nothing but old rumors.
ROMANS: All right. You may have been tackling your holiday shopping lists last December 18th. That is when unbeknownst to nearly all of us, a giant space rock exploded 16 miles above the Earth with ten times the energy of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. NASA calls them fireballs. The super meteor vaporized last December was the second most powerful in 30 years.
NASA's Lindley Johnson has this awesome title, planetary defense officer. He tells the BBC fireballs this powerful only happen a few times each century.
BRIGGS: Wow.
ROMANS: All right. Life goes on apparently. All is fine.
Eighteen -- 19 minutes past the hour.
All victims of New Zealand terror attack expected to be back with their families by tomorrow. What New Zealand's prime minister says and what she doesn't.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[04:23:45] JACINDA ARDERN, PRIME MINISTER OF NEW ZEALAND: Speak the names of those who were lost rather than the name of the man who took them. He may have sort notoriety, but we in New Zealand will give him nothing. Not even his name.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The prime minister of New Zealand there pledging solidarity with all Muslims as her country's parliament convenes for the first time since 50 people were murdered in two mosques. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern refusing to speak the name of the killer and reiterating her vow to reform New Zealand's gun laws.
Let's go live to Christchurch and bring in CNN's Ivan Watson.
And, Ivan, just so fast, remarkable the speed at which they are promising reforms. Good morning.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It certainly is. And some of that, they are taking an example from Australia which moved very quickly after a gun massacre in '96 and dramatically reduced the number of guns in that country. The prime minister also while she doesn't want to say the chief suspect's name, she called him an extremist, a terrorist and a criminal and said that she wants to focus the attention on the victims.
The police here in New Zealand say they are still on high alert. There are concerns about the possibility of copycat patterns.
[04:25:02] And that's why you'll see police walking around with rifles strapped on to their chests, which is a very unusual scene and image here in New Zealand. The people say they are not accustomed to seeing their law enforcement carrying weapons like that out on the streets in front of hospitals for example.
The police have had a hard time, the authorities, with the shear loss of life in what was the deadliest terror attack in New Zealand's modern history last Friday. They have completed postmortem examinations of the bodies of 50 victims. They have identified 12 bodies thus far and have only just begun returning six of those victims to anguished families who are desperate to bid farewell, a final farewell, to their families, to bury their missing loved ones.
And as one Muslim community leader here put it, Dave, it's not just the Muslim community that are victims of this attack, it is all New Zealanders since the country has never seen loss of life on this scale before -- Dave and Christine.
BRIGGS: And real solidarity you're seeing there, Ivan. At 9:30, people still coming to show their respects.
ROMANS: All right. Thank you so much for that, Ivan Watson.
BRIGGS: Ivan, thanks.
ROMANS: I want to -- just for full disclosure, I want to correct some numbers that I gave you a few minutes ago. We got the numbers flipped on the president's handling of the budget. There's one number, I skipped one number on the screen, I just want to make it real clear, this is the new CNN polling.
His ratings for handling the budget are negative, 56 percent disapprove, while just 34 percent approve. I had those flipped last time when I read those. Apologize for that error.
Seventy-one percent do say that the U.S. economy is in good shape and that is the highest since February 2001.
All right. For the record, just clear that up.
BRIGGS: Got it.
ROMANS: Thank you very much. All right. Twenty-seven minutes past the hour. Who gets the first
look at the Mueller report? It turns out the White House. Why the president's lawyers will review it before Congress and the public.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
