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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Search For Woman Connected To Colorado School Threats; Redacted Mueller Report Comes Out Thursday; Effort To Preserve And Rebuild Notre Dame Begins. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired April 17, 2019 - 05:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[05:30:08] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN PHILLIPS, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, FBI: She has made some concerning comments in the past. She has expressed an infatuation with Columbine. Because of that we were concerned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Armed, dangerous, and infatuated with Columbine. Police in Colorado are looking for the woman whose threats have shut down hundreds of schools today.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: We are one day away from the redacted Mueller report. The president sees it as vindication but some of his aides are concerned it could paint an unflattering picture.

SANCHEZ: And the long road to recovery begins for Notre Dame Cathedral. Officials looking into what sparked the inferno as stories of heroism emerge.

ROMANS: And it appears Felicity Huffman will go to jail for her role in the college admissions scandal. Now prosecutors have begun alerting others they could be next to face charges.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm Christine Romans.

SANCHEZ: Great to be here with you, Christine. I'm Boris Sanchez in for Dave Briggs. We are half past the hour.

And we start with something happening right now in Colorado. Authorities urgently searching for this woman they say is infatuated with Columbine High School.

Threats led to lockouts Tuesday at Denver area schools, including Columbine where, of course, a mass shooting occurred in 1999.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: She has made some concerning comments in the past. She has expressed an infatuation with Columbine and the events -- the shooting there that happened. She was last seen out towards the Foothills and we have been trying to find her ever since. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Now, hundreds of schools in about 20 districts in and around Denver will be closed today.

We get more from CNN's Scott McLean.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, Boris, police in suburban Denver are searching for an 18-year-old woman they say is armed and dangerous, who has made credible but non-specific threats against schools in Jefferson County. Her name is Sol Pais.

According to the "Be on the Lookout" alert that the FBI sent to local law enforcement, Pais was infatuated with Columbine. According to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, she came to Colorado only on Monday.

PHILLIPS: She departed the airport and went to a store where she did procure a weapon. She obtained a pump-action shotgun and ammunition.

We have no specific information about any specific threat to any particular school. We don't have that sort of credible information but we do consider her to be a credible threat to the community.

MCLEAN: Some area schools, including Columbine High School and others, went into lockout on Tuesday, which means it is business as usual on the inside but no one can come or go from the building.

Now, when the schools were let out, it was with extra police officers and security.

Now, this is not the first time there have been threats against Columbine but this is an especially sensitive time given that Saturday will mark 20 years since 13 people were killed there in a school shooting -- Christine, Boris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: All right, Scott. Thanks for that.

In just about 24 hours, the Justice Department will release the redacted version of the Mueller report. President Trump is ready, already putting his spin on it sight unseen, tweeting something you may have heard once or twice before. "No collusion, no obstruction."

Though, some current and former White House officials aren't so sure the report is going to be flattering. While few are predicting bombshells, there's plenty of apprehension.

ROMANS: Advisers believe the full report will provide the most credible account so far of chaos inside the West Wing.

The report will not be based on the kind of anonymous sources the president likes to attack. Instead, this account will be attributed to current and former officials and allies -- witnesses who could face felony charges if they lied to investigators.

CNN's Kaitlin Collins has the latest from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAITLIN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine and Boris, sources tell CNN that the president is eager for that Mueller report to come out on Thursday. He thinks it's going to back up his claim that he's been exonerated.

But people surrounding the president are not so sure. Instead, they're worried that even though the report is going to be redacted by the attorney general Bill Barr, they think that while it may not reveal sensitive information it could still reveal embarrassing information.

There are tons of people inside the White House, who used to be at the White House, and allies of the president who sat down with the special counsel and his team for hours upon hours -- some of them dozens of hours -- revealing information about not only central events related to his investigation, but also details about the president, his temper, his work habits, that they fear could embarrass the president. And then, in the aftermath of the report coming out on Thursday, they're going to have to deal with that.

Now, the president is not expected to read this report page-by-page, line-by-line when it comes out.

[05:35:00] Instead, we've been told by one White House official that the president's legal team is going to read it and then brief him upon the key findings of it and what's notable in it, even though sources say that most White House officials have said they will do -- will want to read this report. Maybe they'll wait until they get home from work but they are curious about what could be inside the report.

However, the question is going to be what it is going to reveal? Is it going to reveal this massive level of detail that these current and former White House officials fear, and whether or not it's going to be embarrassing for the president because as one source told us today, they think that the best case scenario, it's going to paint a pretty unflattering portrait of what's been going on inside the walls of the West Wing throughout Robert Mueller's investigation -- Christine and Boris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, Kaitlin Collins.

The idea of waiting to get home from work -- you know, you don't --

SANCHEZ: To read it.

ROMANS: You don't want to hide it in your newspaper while you're reading at the White House.

SANCHEZ: Plenty to discuss. Joining us live from Washington, "Politico" reporter Daniel Lippman.

He's the co-author of "Politico Playbook." Daniel, good morning.

ROMANS: Good morning.

SANCHEZ: Thank you so much for joining us.

DANIEL LIPPMAN, REPORTER, POLITICO, CO-AUTHOR, POLITICO'S PLAYBOOK: Hi, guys.

SANCHEZ: I want to start with something that Stephen Collinson wrote for CNN, writing about the Mueller report.

He writes, quote, "Once, Mueller's report loomed as a moment of national catharsis that could finally lay out what happened in the bitter 2016 election. But after 2,800 subpoenas, 500 search warrants, 500 witness interviews, and partly because of a relentless campaign by Trump to discredit Mueller, it's clear that such hopes were misplaced."

Do you think that the White House's and Rudy Giuliani's efforts to discredit Robert Mueller, to discredit this investigation may have backfired, Daniel?

LIPPMAN: I think they were actually successful in many respects, in terms of keeping President Trump's base on his side. That was what they most cared about. If the base had strayed and believed that Mueller -- who is a Republican and someone who is widely respected in Washington -- was going to do a good job, then their effort would have been for naught.

But this was not about the mainstream opinion. This was about keeping the 35 percent of Americans on Trump's side. And so, I think given that -- all of those tweets from Trump, they clearly had a -- made a difference. And now, both sides are just kind of not even looking forward to this report --

ROMANS: Yes.

LIPPMAN: -- because Democrats feel like there's not going to be enough there.

ROMANS: And insiders, though, are dreading it -- dreading it for a different reason. They think it won't show collusion, right, but they are worried that they were on the record with Mueller under penalty of perjury, essentially, and they said exactly what was happening in the White House and exactly what things were like.

Among those people who met with Mueller, Sarah Sanders, Jared Kushner. I mean, overall, 500 witness interviewers.

They're kind of bracing for blowback from the president for what kind of picture this new report could paint about just kind of chaos in the White House.

LIPPMAN: And just the fact that they cooperated. But isn't it a good thing when people tell the truth?

ROMANS: Yes, it is.

LIPPMAN: And so, I don't think you should be -- that could -- if society is broken down to the point that it's a bad thing to tell prosecutors what actually happened, then we have bigger problems.

But I think those Trump aides are worried about covering for themselves because they want to stay on the president's good side. But remember, this was a legal strategy that he endorsed, which was to cooperate fully, to turn over hundreds of thousands of pages of documents. And that was their strategy for basically a year and then they switched tacts (ph).

But, Trump approved this and so he shouldn't be that mad at his aides for following his orders.

SANCHEZ: Still, the president demands loyalty and we know --

ROMANS: He does.

SANCHEZ: -- he does not like negative press coverage. And in this case, he can't just say these are made-up sources. These are people in his White House.

I want to move on to some of the requests that are coming from Congress -- subpoenas of banks, requests for the president's tax returns.

Here's something that was written in "The Washington Post" yesterday about Trump resisting some of these requests.

Quote, "The administration does not plan to turn over information being sought about how particular individuals received their security clearances, Trump's meetings with foreign leaders, and other topics that they plan to argue are subject to executive privilege, according to several aides familiar with internal discussions."

So, the White House is essentially denying Democrats in the House anything that they want. A lot of this could wind up in court and this could set a really serious precedent for future administrations, right, if the Executive Branch essentially looks at Congress and says no, we're not going to give you anything you want.

LIPPMAN: Yes, this is something that future administrations can point to. Hey look, what the Trump administration did -- they didn't turn down -- didn't turn over any of this. But it will be interesting to see how the courts actually rule on this.

And, Jamie Raskin, the congressman from Maryland, is quoted in that story as saying this is something that the courts will have to litigate and decide.

[05:40:03] And so, the Trump administration could very lose most of these battles. It's going to take a long time to actually get -- wind their way through the courts because there is a legitimate public interest in learning exactly how senior White House officials got security clearances, even if they had issues in their background that should have prevented them.

ROMANS: Yes.

LIPPMAN: The career professionals, they said no way -- don't give them the top security clearance, and they still got them.

ROMANS: All right, Daniel Lippman from "Politico." Have a great morning.

LIPPMAN: You, too -- thanks.

ROMANS: Great rest of your morning, bright and early -- thanks.

SANCHEZ: Well, it looks like we finally got an answer to a big question after Monday's fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. It appears to have been an accident.

Specialists are now inside the 850-year-old Gothic church securing its structure. They expect it's going to take some 48 hours before Notre Dame will be safe enough to allow firefighters and preservationists to enter.

The French president, Emanuel Macron, is setting an ambitious timeline on efforts to rebuild -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE (through translator): I tell you tonight with strength, we are a nation of builders. We have so much to construct.

So, yes, we will rebuild Notre Dame even more beautiful, and I want that to be done in the next five years. We can do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Experts, though, say it could take much longer, perhaps 10 to 15 years. You can see the before and after looks here.

The effort to rebuild already drawing help from around the world. Donations by French philanthropists and businesses topping $700 million.

Back in Paris, hundreds took to the streets last night in song and prayer.

For the very latest, let's bring in CNN's Jim Bittermann in Paris.

And, Jim, the front pages of all of the American newspapers this morning -- all of them have pictures of the devastated -- the devastated altar there. I mean, this is world-gripped by how this country is going to take this important landmark and fix it.

What are we learning? JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, and that's what Emanuel Macron said last night. He wants it fixed in five years. That's in time for the 2024 Olympics.

Now, this morning we have seen some work going on here. If you can see up on the top of the north tower -- north bell tower there, there are workers up there. That tower was apparently weakened somewhat by the fire and they're checking it out, I guess, this morning. And it was also seen in the north transept area where the roof actually collapsed in the north transept area.

Stories are starting to come out about the blaze itself and what happened. A number of the workers who were on site said they left -- at least through their company spokesman, they said they left an hour before the fire broke out and nothing was going on when they left. And, of course, the company -- one of the many companies who were doing work at Notre Dame is denying all sorts of responsibility.

The other kind of stories that are coming out are the kind of the human stories. The chaplain for the fire department said that, in fact, he was part of a human chain that got some of the artifacts and relics out of the church just before the roof started collapsing and they were unable to do any further saving of the various treasures from the church -- Christine.

ROMANS: It will be another maybe 48 hours before preservationists can get in there and see what happened to those beautiful templo and all of the -- all of the amazing artwork inside that cathedral.

Thank you so much, Jim Bittermann.

Forty-three minutes past the hour.

A guilty plea and an apology may not be enough to keep Felicity Huffman out of jail. A source telling us prosecutors plan to seek a four- to 10-month sentence for Huffman's role in the college admissions scandal.

The "DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES" star and a dozen other parents, last week, agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud.

SANCHEZ: Ultimately, Huffman's sentence is going to be up to a federal judge. She's due back in court May 21st.

As CNN had reported, more arrests are expected in the scandal. Prosecutors have started sending so-called target letters to the suspects they have in their sights.

ROMANS: Breaking overnight, two officials tell CNN Sudan's ousted president, Omar al-Bashir, was transferred to prison Tuesday evening. They say he's being held separately from other regime figures and is under stepped-up security.

Al-Bashir was ousted by the military in a coup last week. The African Union Peace and Security Council has warned the Sudanese military to hand the country over to civilian rule within two weeks or it will revoke Sudan's membership in the Council.

All right, Netflix on the brink of reaching 150 million subscribers as the streaming wars rage.

SANCHEZ: And see what happens when victims and offenders of violent crimes meet face-to-face on CNN's new original series, "THE REDEMPTION PROJECT WITH VAN JONES." The series premiere this Sunday, April 28th, at 9:00 p.m.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:49:49] ROMANS: Let's get a check on "CNN Business" this morning.

Your leading indicator today, 376 points -- the very short distance to record highs in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The stock market has shown remarkable resilience this year.

[05:50:03] Right now, futures -- Dow futures are higher this year. The Dow was up 13 percent, slowly grinding higher, even amid thorny trade talks with China and an earnings season. Reports today from PepsiCo and Morgan Stanley.

Tuesday, the Dow added 68 points. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq gained as well.

Taking a look at global markets right now, there's optimism in global stock markets this morning after data shows China's economy performed well in the first quarter. The world's second-biggest economy grew by 6.4 percent compared to a year ago.

All right.

Netflix on the brink of 150 million subscribers, adding a record 9.6 million new subscribers in the first quarter, about 1.74 million of those in the U.S. But with higher prices and a lot more competition, Netflix expects to add only five million the second quarter, and that is lower than analysts expected.

It burned through $3 billion last year to pay for original content, like "BIRD BOX." And, Beyonce's "HOMECOMING" documentary dropped overnight.

On Wall Street, the stock dipped slightly after weak guidance -- that weak guidance for the next quarter as subscriber growth slows and as pricing increases. It closed up three percent in the end, though, up 34.3 percent for the year. Watch it this morning. It looks a little soft here in premarket trading.

Netflix growth could take a hit as Apple and Disney launch their own services later this year. Disney Plus, which launches in mid- November, comes loaded with content to attract viewers. The biggest selling point may be its price. Disney Plus will cost half of what Netflix charges -- $6.99 a month.

Disney is up -- stock is up 11.4 percent since that Disney Plus announcement. SANCHEZ: Newly-revealed text messages in the Jussie Smollett case show how exasperating the experience was for Chicago prosecutor Kim Foxx. In messages to her staff, she describes the embattled actor as "washed-up celebrity who lied to cops."

Foxx also wrote, quote, "When people accuse us of overcharging cases, Smollett's case becomes exhibit A. Pedophile with four victims, 10 counts. Washed-up celeb who lied to cops, 16. Just because we can charge something doesn't mean we should."

Last month, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office dropped 16 felony charges against the "EMPIRE" actor. You may recall Smollett was accused of staging a hate crime against himself in Chicago.

Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:56:24] SANCHEZ: If you're a fan of Chips Ahoy! cookies, listen up.

The manufacturer recalling 13-ounce packages of its chewy cookies. It says that in some instances the cornstarch didn't fully incorporate and solidify in the baking process. There have been reports of possible adverse health effects.

The affected packages have a "Best When Used By" date of September 7th, 8th, 14th, and 15th. For more information log onto cnn.com.

ROMANS: All right.

Brick and mortar store closing spiking across the country. U.S. retailers announcing 6,000 closures already this year. That's more than all of last year, according to a report from Coresight Research.

Payless, Gymboree, Charlotte Russe, and Shopko have all filed for bankruptcy this year and will close a combined 3,720 stores.

Even thriving retailers like Target and Walmart are quietly closing a handful of stores, although those companies are opening new ones, too.

SANCHEZ: As millions of dollars roll in to help rebuild the historic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, people have been inspired to donate to help rebuild three predominantly black churches in Louisiana that were intentionally burned down.

Fundraising efforts for the churches started last week. On Tuesday, the GoFundMe campaign skyrocketed to more than $950,000.

The fundraising campaign started by the Seventh District Baptist Association is working with government officials and local leaders to make sure that all the money that's raised is given to these three churches.

ROMANS: All right. As the fire began to engulf the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral, you may have heard President Trump tweeted out his advice to put out the flames.

While you were sleeping, comedian Stephen Colbert gave his analysis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, CBS, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": In the midst of all this when the fire was just raging at its hottest, Donald Trump offered his help, tweeting, "So horrible to watch the massive fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Perhaps flying water tankers could be used to put it out. Must act quickly!"

What does -- does he think every time there's an emergency in France they're like, "Claude, ze Cathedral is on fire. We must check Donald Trump's Twitter feed.

What is going on? Oh, no. Quelle horreur! Sacrebleu! He says we must act quickly!

Get the hoses, get the water. Why did we not think of water? We've been using -- we've been using cheese -- delicious cheese."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: For the record, French officials say Trump's suggestion would risk the collapse of Notre Dame.

And earlier in the day, the president was tweeting to Boeing --

SANCHEZ: Right.

ROMANS: -- about how it could rebrand itself. You know, giving business advice to Boeing. Later in the day, giving firefighting advice to France.

SANCHEZ: I, for one, find inspiration, even rejuvenation from the president's Twitter feed.

ROMANS: Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.

SANCHEZ: And I'm Boris Sanchez. "NEW DAY" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBY PHILLIPS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The president is feeling good. His aides are concerned that his mood might change once he sees what's in the report.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: They're worried about his wrath. You don't want to have the president coming down on you publicly.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: We're not looking at it that way at all. We know how we already feel, which is no collusion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It isn't just Paris. The whole world has come together.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The structure is going to stand and that outpouring of emotion continues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has got the whole country rising up to say they are not going to destroy something we love.

(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 Wednesday, April 17th, 6:00 here in New York.

John Berman is off this week. Poppy Harlow joins me. I promised you it would be an exciting week. I feel I've kept up my end of the bargain.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: You absolutely have. Again, no woman I'd rather be sitting next to.

CAMEROTA: Thank you.

END