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DHS Pressured To Release Migrants Into Sanctuary Cities; WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Faces Extradition To U.S.; Monster Storm Takes Aim At Northern Plains And Midwest. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired April 12, 2019 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:30:33] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Sources tell CNN President Trump wanted to release detained migrants into sanctuary cities in the hopes of hurting Democrats.
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Julian Assange facing extradition to the U.S. where more charges could await the WikiLeaks founder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. PETE BUTTIGIEG (R-IN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If he wanted to clear this up, he could come out today and say he's changed his mind.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg taking on the Vice President of the United States and surging in two new 2020 presidential polls.
BRIGGS: A Minnesota state trooper blown over by the driving winds of a blizzard that dropped up to two feet of snow in some places. It's one of those falls you just hate when people look, man. You know, you take that fall and you look around and you're on camera.
Welcome back to EARLY START. Happy Friday. I'm Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: He's all right, by the way, I'm happy to report.
BRIGGS: He's fine. He's fine or I wouldn't joke.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It is 31 minutes past the hour.
Let's begin with this. CNN confirming last night that the Trump administration pushed the Department of Homeland Security to release detained migrants into so-called sanctuary cities. Sources tell us the aim was partly to retaliate against Democrats who oppose President Trump's plan for a border wall.
The president personally pushed then-Homeland Security Sec. Kirstjen Nielsen to follow through on the plan. Sources say she resisted. An analysis by DHS lawyers concluded it would be illegal and that ultimately killed it. A DHS official confirmed there was such a proposal, telling CNN,
quote, "These are human beings, not game pieces."
BRIGGS: Meantime, Vice President Pence touring the border in Arizona exclusively with CNN. He says the Trump administration has no plans to return to separating families as a way to deter illegal immigration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The president made it very clear this week we're not rethinking bringing back family separation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Pence's comments contradict multiple sources who tell us the president was considering more extreme measures to enforce a zero tolerance immigration policies.
Among the proposals the president considered to deter migrants, once again separating children from their parents at our southern border.
ROMANS: All right. Joining us live from Washington, "Politico" reporter Daniel Lippman, the co-author of "Politico Playbook." Good morning, Daniel.
BRIGGS: Good morning.
DANIEL LIPPMAN, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, POLITICO, CO-AUTHOR, POLITICAL PLAYBOOK: Good morning, guys.
ROMANS: Daniel, this new reporting will have the president -- I mean, just imagine the imagery of busloads of migrants being dropped off in downtown San Francisco. I mean, that's imagery that the president -- his instinct heading into an election year is to go back to what got him here -- a very hardline immigration approach, something that Nancy Pelosi called cruel, but something that the president obviously things would have worked for him.
LIPPMAN: Yes, he always thinks in terms of T.V. imagery. And I talked to one former White House official, Cliff Sims, who wrote that book "Team of Vipers" --
ROMANS: Yes.
LIPPMAN: -- for a separate story a few days ago -- about how he likes to fire people and he's obsessed with optics -- and so, either on policy or personnel.
And so, Bill Shine was part of that apparatus in thinking of how do we frame things to make it look good on T.V.
And he clearly thought he could get Democratic mayors, and congressmen, and senators who have -- who represent these people in sanctuary cities kind of off their feet -- you know, on their heels if they're like well, you know, here are those -- here are those immigrants that you really care about. You can do whatever you want with them.
BRIGGS: Politics and optics aside, though, it is a real crisis at our southern border. We're talking about a 12-year high of apprehensions, but you could argue it's a problem of this administration's own making. They had two years of Senate and House control and a Republican president and no proposal to solve this problem.
But, then there's the 2020 candidates on the left and no one talking immigration, aside from Julian Castro last night on CNN.
And here's what Nancy Pelosi says about their proposals -- their feelings about all of this. "The American people have resoundingly rejected this administration's toxic anti-immigrant policies and Democrats will continue to advance immigration policies that keep us safe and honor our values."
What are those proposals?
LIPPMAN: If they don't -- Democrats used to talk about comprehensive immigration reform as kind of the end-all of these types of proposals, but they don't really talk about that as much anymore because the debate has shifted both on the left and on the right.
[05:35:00] And so there's very little incentive for a 2020 Democratic candidate or pretty much any other top Democrat who is running for federal office to talk about border security that much. Their voters on the left want to hear about fighting back against the Trump administration, not trying to help DHS round up more immigrants.
ROMANS: Interesting, talking about voters -- voters on the left. A couple of polls where Pete Buttigieg --
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: -- Mayor Pete rising up the leaderboard here.
In Iowa, he's cracking nine percent after Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden. In New Hampshire, he does double-digits at 11 percent. California, doing well -- he's at seven percent there behind -- number four behind Kamala Harris.
And he -- last night, Ellen DeGeneres tweeted -- you know, sent out a little link to a sound bite. He'll be on her show today. Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUTTIGIEG: I'm not critical of his faith. I'm critical of bad policies.
I don't have a problem with religion. I'm religious, too. I have a problem with religion being used as a justification to harm people and -- especially, in the LGBTQ community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Sorry, the "him" there is Vice President Mike Pence.
What do you make of the slow rise of Pete Buttigieg and kind of the -- I guess, the airtime and the interest he's getting?
LIPPMAN: You know, we don't hear that much in recent days about Beto O'Rourke. He's kind of gone silent. And so, Mayor Pete has assumed the role of kind of the insurgent right now in the field against someone who has not even declared -- Joe Biden.
Mayor Pete has long been talked about as having presidential timber. He served in Afghanistan, he was the successful mayor of a city that faced many challenges. And he's kind of the opposite of Trump in that he is not a very ideological or divisive figure, and so he is definitely going places.
And the fact that he talks about his faith is very important because most Democrats are not bringing that up as much.
ROMANS: And he brings it up unprompted. That's -- it's a part of his conversation.
BRIGGS: In this case, he was not. Ellen DeGeneres --
ROMANS: Right.
BRIGGS: -- read him a statement directly from the vice president, Mike Pence.
Let's rewind a little bit before that and here is what Mike Pence said about Buttigieg on Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PENCE: I hope that Pete will offer more to the American people than attacks on my Christian faith or attacks on the president as he -- as he seeks the highest office in the land.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, he argues that your quarrel is with him as a gay man and that he says --
PENCE: No.
BASH: -- I was born this way and this is the way God made me. That's just not your belief?
PENCE: Well, I think -- I think Pete's quarrel is with the First Amendment.
BASH: How so?
PENCE: All of us in this country have the right to our religious beliefs.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRIGGS: Mike Pence being very careful with Pete Buttigieg. Not sure Donald Trump would be, but time will tell about that.
Can a Democrat use religion to campaign? We haven't often seen that, if ever.
LIPPMAN: I think they can only use it if it's genuine and you can't really fake this stuff.
And, Mayor Pete is a pretty dedicated Christian. He says his faith makes him a better person and that actually being married makes him closer -- feel closer to God. And so, that's very hard for someone like Mike Pence to fight against.
And we have that -- as a backdrop, the country -- we don't even talk too much about is the country ready for a gay president. And the fact that we don't actually talk about that means that it likely is --
ROMANS: Yes.
LIPPMAN: -- given that is not something conservatives would find very fruitful in attacking Mayor Pete on.
You know, most people have gay friends and they are happy to vote for a candidate if they serve their interests and align with their values, no matter whether that person is straight or gay.
BRIGGS: Yes. You get a sense that Buttigieg would love to debate religion and scripture in the Bible with President Trump. That would be some interesting television.
ROMANS: That would be a short debate.
LIPPMAN: Would President Trump, like, say scripture verses that just don't exist? Remember that --
BRIGGS: I don't know, man. That would be some --
LIPPMAN: -- during the campaign?
BRIGGS: -- must-see television to see that.
ROMANS: I do.
BRIGGS: All right, Daniel Lippman. Good to see you, my friend.
ROMANS: Nice to see you.
BRIGGS: Enjoy the weekend.
LIPPMAN: Thank you, guys -- you, too.
BRIGGS: OK.
Julian Assange in custody in Britain this morning. Police in London yesterday dragged the WikiLeaks founder out of the Ecuadorian embassy where he's been living under asylum for almost seven years. He's been charged with jumping bail and now awaits extradition requested by the United States.
For more on all of this, we go to Isa Soares, live in London. Good morning.
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Dave. Good morning to you, Christine.
After more than 2,400 days, Julian Assange, who was holed up at the embassy -- the Ecuadorian embassy just behind me -- has gone from one confined space to another. This time, in a cell waiting to be heard regarding his extradition -- this extradition request that's coming from the United States.
[05:40:10] There were two charges put against him yesterday. One, an extradition request from the United States; the other one relating to skipping bail, which he could get as many as 12 months in prison.
Now, the date for the extradition request hearing -- that will be on the second of May. And so what we do know now is that authorities have until -- prosecutors have a period of 45 days, in fact, to present -- or 65 days, I should say, to present their case to authorities here.
And once the judge has the hand -- gets handed all of that paperwork, they will look at aspects of whether to extradite him, which include could he face the death penalty if he is extradited?
Is this a political -- is this politically-motivated? Is there reason to believe he, indeed, took part -- so the guilt element. All of these factors will be considered.
This is both a political, as well as a legal aspect. Both will play influence in this.
I spoke to -- we heard from the WikiLeaks editor yesterday who said this about the case. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTINN HRAFNSSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, WIKILEAKS: Legally, of course, the extradition would be fought in the courts here. That's with every means possible. It will be exposed that this is a politically- motivated prosecution and therefore, a persecution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: And the lawyer for Julian Assange telling CNN yesterday, as well, that this sets a dangerous precedent for journalists and journalism right around the world -- Dave, Christine.
BRIGGS: All right, a lot to discuss moving forward. Isa Soares, live for us in London this morning. Thank you.
ROMANS: All right. Herman Cain's Federal Reserve Board bid dead on arrival and he hasn't even been formally nominated yet. He just doesn't have the votes.
Senator Kevin Cramer said Thursday he would vote no to confirm Cain. Other GOP Senators Mitt Romney, Cory Gardner, and Lisa Murkowski also opposed to Cain's nomination.
Cain is currently undergoing a background check. So is Trump's other controversial Fed pick, Stephen Moore.
Now, Moore defended himself against accusations that he is unqualified for the role and he contradicted, though, his own record about going back to the gold standard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN MOORE, BOARD OF GOVERNORS NOMINEE, FEDERAL RESERVE: I don't think I've ever really said anything much about the gold -- I'm not in favor a gold standard. I'm in favor of using commodities as a forward-looking indicator for where prices are.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR, "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT": So I want to play something then for you.
MOORE: OK.
BURNETT: Do we have -- Steve -- for Steve? OK, so here you are.
MOORE: I think we have to reestablish some kind of gold standard in America.
We need to go back to a gold standard. We really do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is your opinion on the gold standard and would you advocate that to Mr. Trump because to make American great again you've got to make the money great again?
MOORE: Yes. This is about monetary policy and let me just say this. Yes, I like the idea of going to a gold standard and restoring value.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right.
The Fed, of course, conducts modern monetary policy. And even when you go back to sort of the Reagan administration there was a big commission, including gold bugs on the commission --
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: -- to look at what would happen. Would it be good for the United States to go back to the gold standard, and the response was it would be disastrous for the United States to go backwards to a gold standard.
BRIGGS: And on Herman Cain. So, four Republican senators are against him, 47 are in favor of Herman Cain being on the Fed board.
ROMANS: And there's a --
BRIGGS: Forty-seven of Republicans senators think he's qualified to be on the Fed board. I found that --
ROMANS: Yes. Well, I wonder what's going to happen with the Moore nomination because the idea here is that maybe --
BRIGGS: Yes, we don't know.
ROMANS: -- if they sink the Herman Cain one, Republican senators will say well, one of Trump's guys in the broader Fed board would be not --
BRIGGS: We could take --
ROMANS: -- as dangerous, right.
BRIGGS: OK.
Ahead, the blizzard that struck from the Rockies to the Plains has now turned deadly. The latest, next.
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[05:48:15] BRIGGS: Five forty-eight Eastern time.
And a monster spring snowstorm has knocked out power for tens of thousands in the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest. Parts of South Dakota and Minnesota could also see as much as 30 inches of snow.
Fargo, North Dakota has closed all non-essential city offices. In Denver, a driver was killed when he lost control of his truck and slammed into a snow plow.
Take a look at this Minnesota state trooper knocked to the ground by a wind gust and I think some ice there as well. He was not injured. The state trooper says the video is a reminder of the conditions caused by this snowstorm.
ROMANS: All right. Those conditions will slowly wind down across the Midwest today, just in time for some possible severe weather in the South.
Meteorologist Derek Van Dam has the forecast for us -- Derek.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Great Friday morning, Dave and Christine.
Although our winter storm is starting to die down we're still feeling the effects of our brutal blizzard across the Northern Plains, and some of the heftier snowfall and stronger winds stretches into the Great Lakes as well. You can see the watches and warnings still in effect. Breezy conditions wrapping in behind the storm system and a cold front marching eastward that will eventually bring showers to the East Coast later tonight and into the day on Saturday.
Double-check your flight plans out of Chicago all the way to Minneapolis. Winds in excess of 30 to 40 miles per hour as the system starts to wind down and move further north.
By this evening we'll have a few showers move into the New York City region. It will pick up in intensity later tonight and into the early morning hours of Saturday.
But I want to start focusing on the southern states. We have the potential for severe storms today across central portions of Texas, but it really fires up into Louisiana and parts of Arkansas for the day tomorrow. That's where the Storm Prediction Center has a moderate risk of severe weather.
[05:50:04] Sixty-three today in the Big Apple.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Derek.
Let's get a check on "CNN Business" this morning.
Global markets are mostly higher here. On Wall Street, we're looking for maybe a bit of a rally at the opening bell here.
There was little change in markets Thursday -- really treading water, I would say. The Dow fell 14 points, the S&P flat. The Nasdaq down slightly.
We've got a big batch of corporate earnings that will be coming out here so we're really waiting to find some direction.
A reminder, by the way. If you have not already done it, file your taxes this weekend. Tax day is Monday.
The details about Disney Plus are finally here. Disney's new streaming service will launch November 12th and cost $6.99 a month. And there's plenty of content coming with this service.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was an idea to bring together a group of remarkable people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right, Marvel, "Star Wars," National Geographic, "The Simpsons." Also classics like "Bambi", "The Jungle Book", "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", "Aladdin." All of this will be available on the service. Disney Plus, the latest addition to the crowded streaming service market. Disney said it expects to have 60 million to 90 million subscribers by the end of the fiscal year.
All right, the final season of "GAME OF THRONES" doesn't start until Sunday and it's already a hit on Twitter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're coming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: There have already been more than 15 million tweets about the hit HBO series this year. It's racked up more than 200 million tweets since it first premiered in 2011.
"Forbes" reported season eight was the most expensive -- a $90 million budget there. The final season premieres Sunday, April 14th.
BRIGGS: So, me and everyone else who has never seen it will wake up Monday feeling out of the loop, once again.
ROMANS: You will be out of the loop. You will.
BRIGGS: Alexa, are you listening? The better question, who else is listening? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:56:36] ROMANS: All right.
It's not only Alexa who's listening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Alexa, how many tablespoons are in three-fourths cup?
ALEXA: Three-fourths cup is 12 tablespoons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: An Amazon employee may also be on the line when you speak into an Amazon Echo smart speaker. "Bloomberg" reports the company employs a global team that transcribes the voice commands captured after the wake word is detected. It then feeds them back into the software to help improve Alexa's grasp of human speech so it can respond more efficiently.
Amazon tells CNN yes, it does hire people to listen to what customers say to Alexa -- that's to make it better -- and it takes the security and privacy of its customers seriously.
BRIGGS: An Israeli spacecraft fails in its attempt to pull off the first privately-funded moon landing. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have the main engine back on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it's not -- no, no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: After some momentary confusion at mission control, it became clear that the spacecraft did not stick the landing, crashing on the lunar surface after engine trouble.
Israel had hoped to become the fourth nation to land a spacecraft on the moon.
ROMANS: The city of Chicago is suing actor Jussie Smollett in an effort to recoup $130,000 for the investigation of what police say was a staged hate crime attack.
The civil suit comes after the actor refused to pay the bill to cover the cost of police overtime. The suit says more than two dozen police officers and detectives spent more than 1,800 overtime hours working on that Smollett case.
The city also wants him to pay $1,000 for each false statement he made to police and to cover attorneys' fees and other legal costs.
No comment from Smollett's attorney on that suit.
All right, 58 minutes past the hour. Enjoy the rest of your day, everybody.
Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs and I'll be back on this set. Christine Romans will be back on this set --
ROMANS: Vacation.
BRIGGS: -- but you will never see this, I think, ever again.
ROMANS: No.
BRIGGS: We are moving to a new building and I believe the next time we rendezvous --
ROMANS: We'll be in the new building.
BRIGGS: -- it's at a new set. There's a tease.
ROMANS: I'll be here next week.
BRIGGS: Join us on Instagram. We'll talk more about that.
Have a great weekend. Here's "NEW DAY."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They lean on ICE to consider moving undocumented immigrants to sanctuary cities.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't believe we should be releasing anyone who crosses the border illegally. These are human beings. To treat them like a plague is grotesque.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What he said was true. There was spying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The attorney general testified to an audience of one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was most certainly surveillance. That should be open to examination.
PENCE: I hope that Pete will offer more than attacks on my faith as he seeks the highest office.
BUTTIGIEG: I'm not critical of his faith, I'm critical of bad policies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Friday, April 12th, 6:00 here in New York. Happy Friday.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Happy is for Friday, I like to say.
CAMEROTA: It's gone quickly --
BERMAN: Yes.
CAMEROTA: -- I feel, this week.
BERMAN: What has, the week?
CAMEROTA: Yes.
BERMAN: Oh, I thought like these last 10 minutes have gone quickly.
CAMEROTA: Yes. Well, that is also true.
BERMAN: Yes.
CAMEROTA: OK. Up first, we have this new report to tell you about. It reveals an extreme idea that the White House was considering to deal with undocumented immigrants at the border.
CNN has learned that President Trump personally pushed his ousted Homeland Security secretary to release undocumented migrants onto the streets of so-called sanctuary cities in order to target his political foes. A source tells CNN that Kirstjen Nielsen resisted that plan.
END
