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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen Departs; American Tourist Freed After Ransom Payment; Mick Mulvaney, Dems Will Never See Trump Taxes; Baylor Wins Women's NCAA Title; Missing Boy's Dad Speak Out; Texas Tech Celebrations Gets Out Of Hand. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired April 08, 2019 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN HOST: Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen forced to resign. The latest domino to fall as the border situation worsens.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN HOST: An American tourist is freed after being kidnapped in Uganda. Reports are a ransom was paid. Could the payment encourage future kidnappings?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Democrats will never see the president's tax returns.
MICK MULVANEY, ACTING WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Oh, no, never.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The White House rejecting demands for the president's tax returns sets up another major battle with House Democrats.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On a drive for the lead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: And the Baylor Lady Bears are NCAA champions. Their third title since 2012. The men's champ will be crowned tonight. Welcome back to "Early Start," I'm Christine Romans. It's Monday night. You're against the Monday night schedule.
BRIGGS: No, its fine, it's like it's six. The kids missed the game. And while the coast misses the game and we encourage Virginia and Texas Tech students behave tonight. Go celebrate, don't flipped over cars. I'm Dave Briggs, 31 minutes pass the hour. Happy Monday, breaking news overnight.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is out. Nielsen has become the face of President Trump's hard line stance on immigration. They were together at the border just Friday. But he has become increasingly frustrated with the crisis at the border and the growing influx of migrants from Central America.
Juts days, ago, the president abruptly withdrew the nomination of Ron Vitiello to head up ICE and he cut aid to Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala for failing to stem the tide of migrants.
ROMANS: A senior administration official tells CNN, Nielsen quote, believed the situation was becoming untenable with the president. I mean, his unreasonable and even impossible request, one person close to Nielsen said she felt in limbo for the last week and it wasn't her choice to leave. For more, we turn to White House correspondent, Boris Sanchez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dave and Christine, a source close to Kirstjen Nielsen tells CNN that she did not resign willingly. We were told that she was under pressure from President Trump to hand in her resignation letter. We are also told that she didn't fight to try to keep the job and she didn't grovel or beg the president to stay in her post as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
We understand that Nielsen came to the Sunday meeting at the White House not expecting to have to resign, but prepared to do so. In fact, I want to read you a portion of her resignation later. Listen to this quote, despite our progress in reforming Homeland Security for a new age, I have determined that it is the right time for me to step aside.
I hope that the next secretary will have the support of Congress and the courts in fixing the laws, which have been impeded our ability to fully secure America's borders and which have contributed to discord in our nation's discourse. Our country and the men and women of DHS deserve to have all the tools and resources they need to execute the mission entrusted to them. I can say with confidence our homeland is safer than when I joined the administration.
A White House official told me that frustration was mounting on the White House's side as well. They said quote, it's about time. I'm told that President Trump was rarely happy with Nielsen's work. She was brought in at the behest of former chief of staff, John Kelly and when he left the administration in December, the door was open for her to be replaced, but I'm told that President Trump was happy with her performance during negotiating sessions over the government shut down with Democrats, but ultimately that faded away and the president wanted to restart, wanted to hit the restart button on his Department of Homeland Security, deciding to force Kirstjen Nielsen to resign. Dave and Christine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: OK. Boris, thank you, sir. Nielsen says she will stay on the job at DHS until Wednesday to ensure an orderly transition. President Trump announcing Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, Kevin McAleenan will become acting DHS secretary, but that presents a problem. McAleenan's appointment skips over acting DHS Deputy Secretary, Claire Grady who is legally next in line for the post, so she will have to go in order for McAleenan to assume the role. There was a similar issue a few months ago when the president appointed Matthew Whitaker acting Attorney General.
[04:35:00] ROMANS: If McAleenan becomes temporary DHS secretary, there would be five acting cabinet level officials. A source tells CNN's Pamela Brown, one of the reasons Nielsen stayed on the job this long was to repair her image. She felt she had become the face of the administrations child separation policy.
Over the weekend we learned it could take up to two years to identify potentially thousands of additional immigrant families that U.S. authorities separated at the border. And late last night, more threats by the president to shut down the border, he tweets, Mexico must apprehend all illegals or we will have no other choice. Our country is full.
BRIGGS: Some vague relief as an American tourist and her guide return alive. They were abducted they in Uganda's Queen Elizabeth National Park last week, these pictures captured just moments after Kimberly Sue Endicott and her guide were rescued from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Officials say the handover was quiet and peaceful. Both are in good health.
ROMANS: Reports say, a ransom was paid for their release by tour company Wild Frontiers. Now, governments often avoid ransom payments, fearful it will encourage more kidnappings. At this point it's not clear who the kidnappers are, who they worked for, and whether Endicott was targeted because she is American. The U.S. military did provide support to Ugandan security forces including intelligence and surveillance.
BRIGGS: The White House is prepared to fight the release of the president's taxes, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman, Richard Neil has already requested six years of Mr. Trump's personal returns. Citing a little known part of the tax code in his request to the IRS. Neil is also asking for tax returns from eight of the president's business entities. But acting Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney says, that is not going to happen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be clear, you believe Democrats will never see the president's tax returns.
MICK MULVANEY, ACTING WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Oh, no. Never. Nor should they. Keep in mind that is an issue that was already litigated during the election. Voters knew the president could have given his tax returns. They knew that he didn't and they elected him anyway, which of course is what drives the Democrats crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. Note that the president (inaudible), he insists he can't release his returns, because he is still being audited. A claim that has never been verified. You can be sure the Democrats are looking into that. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DAN KILDEE (D-MI): We are looking very carefully right now as to whether or not the IRS is properly auditing and enforcing tax law on the president of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Trump Attorney Jay Sekulow says Democrats have no legitimate legislative purpose for pursuing the president's tax returns and he insists there is no legal requirement for the president to release them.
BRIGGS: As Washington waits to learn how much of the Mueller report will be made public, tension is growing among one group with a unique stake in how the push for transparency plays out. Past and present administration officials who cooperated with the Special Counsel probe, are concerned that their descriptions of the president's temper and work habits will infuriate him if they are made public. One GOP source tells us quote, he cooperated in and had to tell the truth, he is going to go bonkers.
ROMANS: House Democrats already voted to authorize a subpoena for the unredacted report and underlying materials. Trump lawyer, Rudy Giuliani says put it all out there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GUILIANI, ATTORNEY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP: The Attorney General has told everybody, the world, I am comfortable with everything being released. Now, the president can't change the law. Now the Attorney General has to apply that. He wants to do maximum transparency. I'm sure we'll get just about all of it. I hope we get all of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Attorney General Bill Barr set to testify to Congress tomorrow and Wednesday. Officially, he will talk about the Justice Department's budget request, but Democrats are sure to ask Barr about the Mueller report and its release. The Justice Department has said it will put out some version by mid-April if not sooner.
BRIGGS: A blunt warning for Democrats from Barack Obama, the former president concerned about progressives in the party becoming too inflexible. He says that could pose problems when they start jockeying for a position on policies and identity politics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One of the things I do worry about sometimes among progressives in the United States, maybe it's true here as well, is a certain kind of rigidity, where we're saying, I'm sorry, this is how it's going to be and then we start sometimes, creating what's called a circular firing squad, where you start shooting at your allies, because one of them is straying from purity on the issues. And when that happens, typically the overall effort and movement weakens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Senator Cory Booker's fundraising numbers, meanwhile, released this weekend is $5.1 million haul falling well short of most candidates reporting so far, including South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
[04:40:00] ROMANS: A recent surge has vaulted Buttigieg in into the national conversation, he appeared over the weekend at an event for a group that supports LGBT candidates, the South Bend, Indiana, Mayor, who is gay is using the occasion to call out Vice President Mike Pence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), MAYOR OF SOUTH BEND INDIANA: My marriage has made me a better man. And yes, Mr. Vice president, it has moved me closer to God.
Speaking only for myself. I can tell you that if me being gay was a choice, it was a choice that was made far, far above my pay grade and that is the thing that I wish the Mike Pence's of the world would understand. That if you got a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me, your quarrel, sir, is with my creator.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Buttigieg says he wants to quote, change the channel from this mesmerizing horror show that is happening in Washington.
BRIGGS: More trouble for Boeing this morning, American airlines announcing it's now cancelling flights all the way into early June, due to the grounding of the 737 Max. American had already cancelled flights through late April. It says that by proactively cancelling more flights, it can provide better rebooking options.
The airline has 24 737 Max jets in its fleet. Only now says it has cutting back production on all 737's from 52 to 42 per month. The 737 Max was grounded indefinitely worldwide after those two fatal crashes killing 346 people in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
ROMANS: All right. The first quarter is over, and that means big American companies will reveal just how much money they made. It could be a rare quarter where profit fell.
Now, for investors overall, look, the returns have been fantastic in the stock market, the DOW is up 13 percent so far this year. The S&P 500 up 15 percent. Look at the NASDAQ up nearly 20 percent. Now, investors will pay close attention to what CEO's are saying about the first quarter and about the rest of the year in their earnings call.
Delta will report its earnings Wednesday, the airline is expected -- expecting better earnings for the first quarter, because of fuel costs rising at a less dramatic pace than they had originally planned for. Delta has held up better than other U.S. airlines, because it does not have any Boeing 737 Max jets in its fleet.
J.P Morgan Chase, And Wells Fargo report their earnings on Friday, the J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Diamond recently told investors the bank's profits were boosted last year from those big corporate tax cuts. The revenue is expected to be flat at J.P. Morgan chase in the first quarter and down at Wells Fargo.
There will be questions for Wells Fargo as well, now that CEO Tim Sloan has stepped down, and it also concerns about how low interest rates will affect their businesses. We're going to get a peek under the hood of big American companies for this first quarter earnings season, and it will be probably a rare profit to climb overall for S&P 500 companies. But what do they say about the rest of the year? That's where I'm interested in.
BRIGGS: Overall, pretty healthy. Job numbers are up.
ROMANS: Job numbers are good, but you know, you see growth slowing from high 2s to maybe low 2s or mid-2s, right.
BRIGGS: Yes. All right. Ahead, another state requires you be at least 21 to buy tobacco products. The latest state in a growing trend, next.
[04:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRIGGS: 4:47 Eastern Time on a Monday. We are now hearing from the father of Timothy Pitzen a boy who went missing in Illinois nearly eight years ago. James Pitzen telling NBC news, there may be an upside to the hoax last week by a 23-year-old man who claimed to be his son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PITZEN: (Inaudible), we'll get his face out back out there. He is alive somewhere. I know he is. You can't give up hope. As soon as you give up hope then what should I do? Declare him dead? I mean, I'm not going to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Timothy would be 14 years old now, eight years since his mother took him out of school, brought him to a motel and ultimately killed herself. Last week, a man claiming to be Timothy surface in Kentucky, but DNA test proved he was a fraud. James Pitzen says the experience was like ripping off a scab, but he says now he you've got to wait for the scab to heal.
BRIGGS: A horrific accident in Phoenix leaves three people dead including a six-month old child. Authorities say, a fire truck on route to a structure fire on Sunday morning collided with a pickup. An adult man and a woman in the pick-up were killed along with the child. The cause of the accident under investigation. Reports say, the firetruck had its lights on and sirens as well, three firefighters were taken to the hospital. They are said to be in stable condition. Motel six will pay $12 million to settle a lawsuit after several
locations provided guest lists to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents between 2015 and 2017. Seven Motel Six locations in Washington State shared personal information, violating guest's expectation of privacy. The state Attorney General's office said the disclosures resulted in ICE investigations. Many guests with Latino sounding names. Motel Six spokesperson confirms the settlement says the chain would continue to enforce its guest privacy policy.
ROMANS: All right. Illinois is raising the legal age for purchasing tobacco products. Governor J.B. Pritzker signing legislation Sunday, that raises the legal age from 18 to 21. The new law takes effect July 1st, Illinois joins a growing list of states adopting tobacco 21 policy. New laws are already in effect in six states. They are set to take effect in four more including Illinois. Statistics show the younger people are when they start smoking, the more likely they are to become addicted. Teens smoking rate has declined over the years, but the Public Health advocates warn that the popularity of vaping threatens to reverse that progress.
[04:50:00] BRIGGS: This right here, one enormous snake. Scientists just captured a record length python in Florida. The Burmese python is one of the largest snake species in the world. This one, a female, more than 17 feet long, weighing 140 pounds, and had 73 developing eggs.
It's the largest python ever found and removed from the big Cyprus National Preserve near Miami. Ranger credit research a new tracking technology, using male pythons with radio transmitters to locate a breeding females.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's Jackson on the drive for the lead. Three points.
ROMANS: The Baylor Lady Bears holding off Notre Dame, 82-81 to win the NCAA women's basketball championship. Baylor lead by as many as 17, but needed the last second heroic by star guard Chloe Jackson, she finished with 26 points and was named outstanding player in the final four. Baylor wins its third national title.
BRIGGS: A new men's champion will be crowned tonight in Minneapolis when Virginia plays Texas Tech's, both schools are looking for their first ever national title after Texas Tech's final four win on Saturday. The celebration got way out of hand as you can see. Students flipping cars and putting bonfires, the school has cancelled all classes after 5:00 p/m/ today, hoping for better behavior from the Tech faithful. And speaking of Tech, Christine Romans reminds you, you are all holding camera phones, you are all on Facebook, you are all on Twitter and Instagram, should be easy for the University to identify the morons that flipped the cars.
ROMANS: Yes. I just, I'm speechless. All right, really dumb, 51 minutes past the hour, all the single ladies, are you ready for the Beyonce documentary. BRIGGS: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
If you like it then you should have put a ring on it
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: CNN Business has details next.
[04:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRIGGS: The U.K. revealing a landmark plan for holding tech companies responsible for spreading violent content. The proposal would allow the British government to fine or otherwise penalize tech companies like Facebook and Google if they don't immediately act to remove violent content like child exploitation, terrorism and graphic violence raises the possibility top executives of major tech companies could be held directly liable for failing to police their platforms. The U.K's digital secretary says the era of self-regulation for online companies is over.
ROMANS: Let's check on CNN business this Monday morning. Global stock markets are down around the world here. Just with the exception of Hong Kong up slightly here. On Wall Street, looking at futures, they are down a little bit here ahead of the beginning of earnings season. The DOW gained about 40 points Friday. For the week, the DOW close up just over 1/2 percent, the S&P 500, finished up about 1 percent. The NASDAQ get a little better than the other two.
Now markets are close to setting new record highs for the first time since last year, very close. On Wednesday, the Fed will release minutes from its March meeting. The Fed has held rates steady, lowered its economic forecast and signaled that no further rate hikes are coming this year. Investors will hunt for clues about whether some members think the Fed should actually be cutting rates.
Pinterest is getting ready to go public. The "Wall Street Journal" reports Pinterest plans to set a price range below its last valuation. The image search company recently sold shares to pre-IPO investors in 2017 at a range of -- at a price of $21.54 each. Value start up at roughly 12 billion.
Pinterest begins its road show to investors today, it's the latest unicorn to stampede toward Wall Street. Slack, (inaudible), and Uber all expect to make their debuts later this year.
ROMANS: With beginning of Beyonce's documentary next week. Netflix tweeted a tease last night that simply said homecoming with some Greek letters work in. While Netflix has not specifically said homecoming is about Beyonce, she does have a fashion collection called homecoming with items that featured Greek letters. Beyonce also launched the homecoming scholar's award program last year. That program provided for -- it's directly by colleges and universities, each of $25,000 scholarship to award to a student of their choice. She just said homecoming is about when it comes out April 17.
BRIGGS: Fantastic, very excited. "Early Start" continues right now with another Trump administration cabinet official on the way out.
Kirstjen Nielsen, the Homeland Security Secretary on her way out of the administration, another acting cabinet member on the way in.
ROMANS: An American tourist is freed after being kidnapped in Uganda. Reports are a ransom was paid. Could the payment encourage future kidnappings?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Democrats will never see the president's tax returns.
MULVANEY: Oh, no. Never?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The White House rejecting demands for the president's tax returns, setting up another major battle with House Democrats.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's Jackson, on the drive for the lead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: And the Baylor Lady Bears are NCAA champions. Their third title since 2012. The men's champ will be crowned tonight. And then we're done with basketball. Good morning everyone.
BRIGGS: You sound relief is on the way. It's all baseball season is the downside.
ROMANS: Good morning and welcome to "Early Start," I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. 4L59 Eastern Time, Monday, April 8th. Good morning everyone. We start with the breaking news out of the nation's capital Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, she's out.
END
