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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Russia Investigation: Privilege is Both Legal & Political Matter; Historic Floods in Nebraska; Boeing's CEO Speaks Out; Nowitzki Passes Chamberlain On NBA Scoring List. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired March 19, 2019 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The 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 American public.
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: The death toll is rising from floods in Nebraska. Historic flooding blanketing dozens of counties, as the vice president heads there today.
[05:00:04] ROMANS: And Boeing's CEO has a message for air travelers in the wake of those two plane crashes. What he says the company is doing to prevent more disasters.
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. It is Tuesday, March 19th, 5:00 a.m. in the East.
The Trump of the Tropics, Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, at the White House today. That will be an interesting press conference in the 1:00 hour. Very similar rhetoric from these two.
We start, though, with the White House as well 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 make public, sources tell us that White House lawyers expect to review it first.
ROMANS: They will be considering if and when to claim executive privilege. The president does have a legal right to withhold information, but should he claim if revealing it would disrupt the decision making progress, 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)
BRIGGS: Pamela, thanks.
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 warrants from the case. Grant our requests from CNN and other media outlets. Redactions will certainly be made because some aspects of the Cohen investigation are ongoing. The FBI 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.
Democratic hopeful Elizabeth Warren making a 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 and got a big ovation when she announced for the first time she supports replacing the Electoral College.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Come a general election, presidential candidates don't come to places like Mississippi because we're not the battleground states. Well, my view is that every vote matters. That means get rid of the Electoral College and everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The idea of abandoning the electoral college is gaining traction among Democrats. In the popular vote, Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump by 3 million votes. Al Gore beat George Bush, yet both lost the election. Twelve states and Washington, D.C. have said they plan to assign Electoral College votes to the winner of the popular vote regardless of who wins their states.
BRIGGS: The switch could only happen once enough states have signed on to secure 270 electoral votes, that is enough to win the Electoral College. Warren also on board with Medicare-for-All. She says she is open to mull paths to universal coverage, including less aggressive transitions that might keep the private insurance industry's relevance.
ROMANS: Selecting the right running mate and securing key endorsements on top of Joe Biden's agenda right now as the former vice president prepares for an anticipated 2020 announcement in April. Last week, he created some buzz, meeting privately with Stacey Abrams, a rising Democratic star who lost a tight race for governor of Georgia last fall.
A person familiar with their meeting says policy and politics were discussed, but not the possibility of joining the tickets. Biden is considering scenarios for a campaign launch, which possibly involved locations such as Wilmington, Delaware, or Biden's birthplace, Scranton Pennsylvania.
ROMANS: Boeing's CEO trying to reassure the flying public after two deadly crashes, all 737 MAX jets were grounded worldwide after accidents in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed nearly 350 people. In a video message, the Boeing chief Dennis Muilenburg says the company is doing whatever is necessary to ensure the safety of the MAX planes going forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[05:05:09] 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 release soon a software update and related pilot training for the plane that will address concerns following the Lion Air crash back in October.
Vice President Mike Pence will head to Nebraska today to tour flood damage, 74 cities, 65 counties, four tribal areas declared emergencies in the wake of heavy flooding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. PETE RICKETTS (R), NEBRASKA: Yes, this really is the most devastating flooding we've probably ever had in our state's history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Farm animals stuck in floodwaters are being rescued, crews rounding up ponies, donkey, sheep and even alpacas on air boats. BRIGGS: Hamburg, Iowa, also dealing with intense flooding. A barrier
the town had built to reinforce broke, filling basements with feet of water. And look at this whirlpool in Dodge County as floodwaters break a road apart. The flood is blamed for the a least four deaths in two states. And there is more rain coming to the Midwest.
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.
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: Stephanie Elam, (INAUDIBLE) American farmers already had farm vacancies on the rise.
A majority of the Americans gave the economy though a glowing review. In a new CNN poll, 71 percent say the U.S. economy is in good shape. That's the highest since February 2001. It's also, of course, the best rating of Trump's presidency.
Now, it's a different story when you zero in on how Trump is handling the American finances. On the heels of his 2020 project proposal, projected large deficits and growing public debt, his ratings for handling the budget are negative, 56 percent disapprove, while just 34 percent approve.
The White House view is huge corporate tax cuts enough to rein in the deficit. That hasn't happened yet. And a new report from the Council on Economic Advisers says that the president won't get a sustained boom in the economy without more, without major legislative changes. White House forecast the economy will grow at an average of 3 percent each year over the next decade including 3.2 percent in 2019. "The Washington Post" reports the White House sees the administration
would need a big infrastructure bill, permanent individual tax cuts, maybe more tax cuts and continued deregulation in order to get the economic boom he promised. Economists have said that growth would decline as the sugar high of the Republican-backed tax cuts fade without other means of a supercharged economy.
BRIGGS: Other means. Can they get any other means with the Democratic House?
ROMANS: I don't know. I mean the assumption is that to get where they need to go, they will need a little bit more.
BRIGGS: I can't imagine what could get through in the short term.
ROMANS: Isn't infrastructure where you could see agreement?
BRIGGS: Theoretically, where we've had about a dozen infrastructure weeks, and no plan from the White House.
Ahead, the White House wants to cap how much undergraduate students can borrow to pay for college.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:13:21] BRIGGS: The Trump administration wants to put a limit on student loan borrowing. Right now, the amount of undergraduate student can borrow from the federal government is capped at $57,500. But graduate students and parents face no limits. The administration is not saying what its proposed limit would be, 43 million borrowers or more than $1.4 trillion in federal student loans.
ROMANS: And some think that availability of credit allows the universities to charge whatever they want, because if there is a big availability of credit, then tuition just rises and rises.
All right. The USC is blocking students who may be connected to the college emission scandal from registering for classes while the school investigates. The university is not saying how many students are affected. But says that they have been notified their status is under review.
Ultimately, USC could revoke their admission. USC could expel them. The university previously announced that applicants tied to the alleged cheating, the applicants will be denied admission.
BRIGGS: Black smoke still rising from a spectacular fire at a petrochemical plant in suburban Houston. It has burned since Sunday. Fire officials say it could take until Wednesday to extinguish the flames and tanks filled with gas, oil and chemicals.
They hope once the fire is contained they can close the tank valves and the fire will put itself out. Air quality in Deer Park and surrounding communities remains normal. Schools and businesses are set to reopen today and the cause of huge is still under investigation.
ROMANS: Four top Democrats are demanding a new FBI investigation into President Trump's apparent ties to Cindy Yang. Yang is the former owner of a chain of Florida massage parlors.
[05:15:00] Democrats want to find out if she illegally leveraged her relationship with the president by selling access to Chinese investors.
Last month, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was charged with soliciting prostitution at a massage parlor that was founded by Yang. She sold her interest in that company years ago.
BRIGGS: Could cameras on airplane seats be recording you? A bipartisan pair of senators want answers to that question. Democrat Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Republican John Kennedy of Louisiana written to several airlines demanding to clarify how the cameras are used. Tech experts suggest the cameras could be hacked.
Senators say the notion that in-flight cameras may monitor passengers while they sleep, eat or have private conversations is troubling. Airlines contacted by CNN Travel said the cameras are not in use.
ROMANS: Why are they even there?
BRIGGS: Why are they there?
ROMANS: That's my question.
All right. A crackdown on so-called ghost guns in New Jersey. The attorney general announcing the first criminal charges for illegally trafficking these 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 wired takedown as part of a drug dealing network in and around Camden County. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill outlawing those ghost guns in November.
BRIGGS: 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. The amount he was paid is significantly higher than the company usually offers, according to the report.
ROMANS: 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 "Enquirer", of extortion and blackmail. Sanchez told "The Journal" he didn't want to dignify its reporting, calling it nothing but old rumors.
BRIGGS: Well, you may have been tackling your holiday shopping 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, quote, fireballs. The super meteor vaporized.
Last December was the second most powerful in 30 years. Scientists only just noticed it because the shooting star exploded over the Bering Strait which is extremely remote.
ROMANS: All right. This is not the kind of bracket bust ESPN had in mind. The network is apologizing after it accidently aired brackets for the NCAA women's basketball tournament hours before the scheduled release. You can see them on the right side of the screen on Monday.
ESPN says in the midst of our preparation, the bracket was mistakenly posted on ESPNU. We deeply regret the error and extend our apology to the NCAA and the women's basketball community. The NCAA women's tournament begins on Friday. Top seeds are Baylor, Mississippi State, Notre Dame and Louisville.
BRIGGS: And shocker was that UConn women are not a one seed for the first time since 2006. But they'll probably get back to the Final Four.
Ahead, Steph Curry just made the longest three point shot in the NBA this year. Andy Scholes with the long range highlights in the "Bleacher Report."
(COMMERCILA BREAK)
[05:22:46]B RIGGS: The great Dirk Nowitzki giving fans in Dallas another chance to celebrate his legendary career. Dirk passing Wilt Chamberlain for sixth on the all-time scoring list.
Andy Scholes has the story in the "Bleacher Report".
Good morning, my friend.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Dave.
You know, this is Dirk's 21st season in the NBA. It's likely his last. You know, he hasn't said he is retiring yet, but the fans around the league continue to celebrate him like this is his last hoorah. Dirk entered last night's game needing just four points to pass Wilt and the sellout crowd was buzzing in anticipation of the big moment.
In the first quarter, Dirk delivering the jumper from the top of the key, Mavs fans giving Dirks standing ovation there. After the game, Dirk said it was a very special moment to Chamberlain on the all-time scoring list.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIRK NOWITZKI, MAVERICKS FORWARD: The Big Dipper, huh? Amazing obviously. It's been a long time coming this season, you know. The team has kept looking for me, kept telling me to shoot. So I'm glad it is over with now.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SCHOLES: Here is a look at that all-time scoring list. Dirk now right behind Michael Jordan. And this top six will stay the same for a very long time. Only active player with a chance of getting in there in the next five years is Kevin Durant and right now he is 31st on the list.
Warriors taking on the Spurs last night in San Antonio. Steph Curry makes an impressive shot. End of the first quarter, Curry from inside the opposing three point line banks it in. Pretty proud of himself.
The 61 footer was the longest shot in the NBA this season. Of all the people to make that shot, I guess Steph Curry is the least surprising.
Warriors ended up losing the game 111-105. San Antonio now won a season best nine in a row.
The NCAA tournament gets started tonight with the first four in Dayton, Ohio. Fairleigh Dickson and Prairie View A&M going to tip things off at 6:40 eastern on TruTV. Winner gets the rise to lose to Gonzaga in the first round. Temple takes on Belmont.
Still plenty of time to fill out those brackets and be sure to play with us along here at CNN.
[05:25:01] Go to CNN.com/brackets to fill them out before Thursday's game tips off.
All right. Finally, if you're struggling with today and need some motivation, look no further than Kirk Wint's performance at the Special Olympics. Wint, a paraplegic, competed using his arms to propel him.
And the 17-year-old Jamaican nearly won it, still finished second, Dave, taking home the silver. I tell you what, that didn't get you ready for today and motivated, I don't know what will.
BRIGGS: And being from Jamaica, let's hope that young man can meet the great Usain Bolt because that is an incredible story.
Thank you so much, Andy Scholes. We all needed that.
Romans, what's coming up?
SCHOLES: Sure, Dave. All right. Thanks, guys.
Twenty-five 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 gets to see it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRIGGS: The first look at the Mueller report goes to the White House. Why the president's lawyers will review it before it goes to Congress.
END
