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Sri Lankan Officials Say Attacks Were Revenge For Christ Church Mosque Killings; CNN Town Hall Hosts Five Democrats In A Row; Kim Jong Un To Meet With Vladimir Putin. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired April 23, 2019 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:30:39] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking this morning, the Easter Sunday bombings were in retaliation for the New Zealand mosque attacks last month. We are live in Sri Lanka with the latest.
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN ANCHOR: Battle lines drawn at CNN's 2020 Democratic town halls. What five top candidates have to say on felon voting, free college, and yes, impeachment.
Another subpoena from House Democrats. This one for Don McGahn, the former White House counsel who refused to fire Robert Mueller.
BRIGGS: And the U.S. closing in on a record it would rather avoid, the largest measles outbreak since the disease was eliminated almost 20 years ago.
Welcome back to EARLY START on a Tuesday, everybody. I'm Dave Briggs.
KOSINSKI: I'm Michelle Kosinski. It's 31 minutes past the hour.
BRIGGS: All right, we start in Sri Lanka with some breaking news this morning. A top Sri Lankan security official says the Easter Sunday bombings were in retaliation for the Christ Church shootings in New Zealand last month.
The death toll in the coordinated terror attacks has climbed to 321 people. Overnight, families of the victims killed in the attack held a memorial service.
CNN's Ivan Watson live at St. Sebastian Church in Negombo, Sri Lanka on a national day of mourning. Ivan, good morning.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave.
A pretty startling assertion coming from Sri Lanka's state defense minister in Parliament, saying that he believes a local extremist Islamist group called National Thowheed Jamath organized the just staggeringly violent attacks on Easter Sunday that killed at least 321 innocent people and wounded more than 500, and that this was justified somehow as retaliation for last month's vicious mass shootings at two mosques in Christ Church, New Zealand. If you want to get a sense of just the blind barbarism of this carnage just take a look here in St. Sebastian Church where the forensics police officers are doing their investigation here. More than 100 worshippers killed when a suicide bomber caught on security cameras walked in with a giant backpack, patted a little girl on the head in the courtyard where I'm standing before walking in and slaughtering the innocent people inside.
If, in fact, people are justifying their attacks as retaliation then you can see the twisted logic that these killers are working with.
Now, when it comes to the investigation, the Sri Lankans say they've arrested at least 40 suspects all believed to be Sri Lankans.
We don't know very much about this group, the National Thowheed Jamath, because up until now they were best known for vandalizing a Buddhist statue in this country. The U.S. government says there must have been links to some kind of international network to put on something so complicated and so violent, but this raises some real questions.
And members of the Christian minority here in Sri Lanka telling me they're afraid that they could be targeted. The police have been imposing curfews, not taking any chances because they believe clearly that a threat may still be out there -- Dave and Michelle.
BRIGGS: It was clearly a massive intelligence failure.
Ivan Watson live, just past 3:00 p.m. in Sri Lanka -- thanks.
KOSINSKI: Thanks, Ivan.
At least four American citizens are among those dead in Sri Lanka. One of them is Kieran Shafritz de Zoysa, a fifth-grader from Washington, D.C. Here is his heartbroken father.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX ARROW, VICTIM'S FATHER: A brilliant mind who was going to be a neuroscientist and now he won't make it to his 12th -- his 12th birthday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSINSKI: We're hearing more about many of the victims. Also killed Dieter Kowalski of Colorado. He was sent to Sri Lanka on business.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARVIN KOWALSKI, VICTIM'S FATHER: He was only 40 years old and you never expect that you would outlive your son. I always hoped that I would go first but it didn't happen that way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[05:35:02] KOSINSKI: Before he left, Dieter posted his excitement on Facebook, telling friends, "And the fun begins. Love these work trips. See you soon in Sri Lanka."
BRIGGS: OK, back to politics now.
Five Democrats, one stage, one goal, reclaiming the White House in 2020. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg all in New Hampshire for a CNN town hall.
Everyone was asked about a key issue for the party. That's whether or not to impeachment President Trump over the findings in the Mueller report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The impeachment proceedings are up to the House. They are going to have to make that decision. I am in the Senate and I believe that we are the jury.
There is a third way to hold this president accountable and that is by defeating him in the 2020 election.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If any other human being in this country had done what's documented in the Mueller report they would be arrested and put in jail. If there's going to be any accountability that accountability has to come from the Congress, and the tool that we are given for that accountability is the impeachment process.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If -- and this is an if -- if for the next year, year and a half, going right into the heart of the election, all that the Congress is talking about is impeaching Trump and Trump, Trump, Trump and Mueller, Mueller, Mueller, and we're not talking about health care, we're not talking about raising the minimum wage to a living wage --
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think we have very good reason to believe that there is an investigation that has been conducted which has produced evidence that tells us that this president and his administration engaged in obstruction of justice. I believe Congress should take the steps toward impeachment.
MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think he's made it pretty clear that he deserves impeachment. My role in the process is trying to relegate Trumpism to the dustbin of history, and I think there's no more decisive way to do that, especially to get Republicans to abandon this kind of deal with the devil they made, than to have just an absolute thumping at the ballot box.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: So, impeachment opinions all over the map in the party.
Joining us to discuss, "Washington Post" congressional reporter Rachael Bade, a CNN political analyst. Good morning.
KOSINSKI: Hello.
RACHAEL BADE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, CONGRESSIONAL REPORT, THE WASHINGTON POST: Good morning.
BRIGGS: Good to see you, my friend.
So look, those are senators and 2020 candidates so let's set them aside because impeachment never will get through the Senate based on the numbers.
It all comes down to the House and specifically, Nancy Pelosi. She held her caucus in line on the midterms focusing on health care, not responding to every Donald Trump slight, lie or insult.
Can she do it with impeachment? Where's this headed?
BADE: I mean, right now, she's the Speaker of the House and she makes the decisions, and she's not ready to go there.
Just a couple of hours before that town hall, Pelosi, in this nationwide caucus call with her members who are on recess and scattered back in their districts right now, basically said we're not opening impeachment proceedings right now. The plan is to continue investigating and let's see where it leads.
Notably, she did not completely rule it out, and I think part of that has something to do with this blowback she might see from the far left.
A lot of people, after the Mueller report -- a lot of Democrats think it's time and that if Democrats do not impeach the president now after these Mueller findings that they would be basically greenlighting this type of behavior from a president or presidential candidate in the future, and they think they just can't do that.
However, Pelosi and Sanders, right there -- you know, it's funny. He talks about Mueller, Mueller, Mueller, Trump, Trump, Trump. He doesn't want to talk about it out on the campaign trail. Pelosi feels the same way.
KOSINSKI: Yes.
BADE: But a lot of -- you know, a lot of people are worried about blowback and what that might mean for their messaging in 2020 and their attempt to oust Trump from the White House.
KOSINSKI: Yes, and I think they're worried about risk moving in either direction.
BRIGGS: Sure.
KOSINSKI: Doing something versus not doing something.
And, of course, impeachment is going to be a momentous decision if they move forward. It's always going to be a difficult decision. But going back and forth publicly, almost thinking out loud and having this discussion publicly -- and at some points, it's very confusing probably to voters.
In Pelosi's letter to Democrats she said that the president engaged in highly unethical behavior, unscrupulous behavior. It's almost like saying it without saying it.
Does it hurt Dems to have this all air out and be debated publicly?
BADE: I think it's a reflection of the Democratic Party across the country. And I think that Democrats really are grappling with this question in the sense that they feel Trump did something very unethical, even potentially broke the law.
I've talked to Democrats who said they think he obstructed justice but who still do not want to impeach him because of the blowback. And this is really a -- it's really an internal strife we're seeing right now, not just against each other but against themselves a little bit.
KOSINSKI: Exactly.
BADE: You know, there's six in 10 Democrats before the report came out, but after Barr put his letter out saying no charges would be filed against the president, six in 10 Democrats in our polling at "The Washington Post" supported impeachment. Only 41 percent of the country did. And those Independent voters, Democrats know they need them for 2020.
[05:40:09] BRIGGS: Yes, cannot win without those Independent voters.
A lot of these Democratic candidates, at least at this town hall, not a whole lot of daylight between them on a lot of issues.
Say, for one, voting rights really became a bit of an issue last night because Bernie Sanders essentially said everyone, no matter what crime you've committed, has the right to vote -- listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDERS: I think the right to vote is inherent to our democracy. Yes, even for terrible people.
HARRIS: I agree that the right to vote is one of the very important components of citizenship. I think we should have that conversation.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Should people convicted of sexual assault -- the Boston Marathon bomber -- should they be able to vote?
BUTTIGIEG: While incarcerated?
COOPER: Yes.
BUTTIGIEG: No. Part of the punishment when you are -- when you are convicted of a crime and you're incarcerated is you lose certain rights. You lose your freedom. And I think during that period it does not make sense to have an exception for the right to vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Kamala Harris in the middle, clearly punting on this.
Where is the country on that and is Bernie Sanders really vulnerable there?
BADE: Yes. I think that clip -- those clips you played right there are a perfect snapshot of 2020 and what I sort of expect over the next few months as we get closer to the election.
Look, you've got Bernie Sanders taking on a far-left position that a lot of Americans do not agree with.
KOSINSKI: Did you say (INAUDIBLE)?
BADE: A risky platform that could undercut him in the future, potentially.
You've got Harris who doesn't want to say no to something that the far-left potentially likes, so she gives this sort of wishy-washy answer, and that could hurt her in the future.
And then, Pete Buttigieg, who has really sort of made a name for himself by pushing back against the far-left and saying no, I don't think so. And that's why he's -- in part, he's become sort of this rising star --
BRIGGS: Yes.
BADE: -- in the Democratic Party.
So the clip is a perfect example of where we see people coming out right now.
KOSINSKI: Yes, and he says everybody means everybody, so --
BRIGGS: That's right.
KOSINSKI: OK, that's everybody.
BRIGGS: And looming over all of this, of course, is Joe Biden, the 20th potential candidate running for 2020, expected to get in later this week.
Rachael Bade, thank you. Good to have you on this morning.
KOSINSKI: Thanks a lot.
BADE: Thank you.
All right. Former White House counsel Don McGahn subpoenaed by the House Judiciary Committee. Democrats want his testimony as part of an investigation of President Trump for alleged obstruction of justice.
The Mueller report says McGahn refused the president's order to fire Mueller, but that's not exactly how the president remembers it. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAITLIN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Are you worried that your staff is ignoring your orders, as the Mueller report portrays?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Nobody disobeys my orders.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: For the record, the Mueller report lists at least a dozen examples of Trump staffers essentially saving the president from himself by ignoring or disobeying orders.
KOSINSKI: Health officials say we're near a record for the largest measles outbreak since the disease was declared to be eliminated in the U.S. in 2000.
According to the CDC, there have been 626 cases so far this year, 71 in the last week alone. Twenty-two states have been affected.
The current record is 667 cases for the year back in 2014. And right now, of course, it's close to that and it's only April.
BRIGGS: A source tells CNN 72 percent of the cases involve people who have not been vaccinated. Authorities say anti-vaccine rhetoric is contributing to the measles spread.
New York has seen the most cases. Last month, New York City declared a public health emergency requiring proof of immunity or vaccination in the most heavily-affected zip codes.
KOSINSKI: Another big summit coming up for Kim Jong Un, but it's not with President Trump. Who he's meeting with and why it matters, next.
BRIGGS: And see what happens when victims and violent criminals meet face-to-face on CNN's new original series "THE REDEMPTION PROJECT WITH VAN JONES." The series premieres Sunday night at 9:00 Eastern.
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[05:48:13] KOSINSKI: Kim Jong Un has another high-profile summit on his agenda but this time the North Korean leader will be meeting with Vladimir Putin. According to North Korea's state media, the summit will happen, quote, "soon."
So, Matthew Chance is live from the Russian port city of Vladivostok.
So what is this, Matthew? Is Putin trying to get in on this action or is he jealous, perhaps, that Trump and Kim Jong Un have fallen in love?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it certainly looks like that, doesn't it? It's like a race to see who could be the biggest buddy of Kim Jong Un. That's what it looks like from here. I mean, as if the details of this summit between Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin weren't opaque enough, you can see behind me a thick pea soup-like fog has now descended over Vladivostok so we can't actually see the city at all.
And what the Russians say is that when this happens -- and they haven't given us the timing -- they say it will happen soon -- but when it happens it will be about denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. Russia has an interest in not seeing North Korea became a major sort of nuclear power. It's got a short land border, of course, with North Korea.
But what it's really about is the Kremlin sort of watching from the sidelines as President Trump cozied up to Kim Jong Un and saying hey, we want to be at that table as well. And so it's Russia and Putin sort of asserting itself, once again -- inserting itself into that big diplomatic issue -- that big global issue of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.
Russia, more than anything else, particularly under Vladimir Putin, wants to be seen once again as a major player (audio gap).
[05:50:00] KOSINSKI: Thanks for that.
BRIGGS: Pea soup fog.
All right, 5:49 and a check on "CNN Business" this morning.
Markets around the world are lower. Asian markets closed mostly lower. European markets lower at the start of trading there.
And on Wall Street, futures are pointing slightly lower. Stocks ended Monday's trading day mixed. The Dow finished down 48 percent -- 48 points, excuse me. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both closed up slightly higher.
U.S. oil prices soared Monday after the White House pledged to deepen its crackdown on Iran. Crude oil climbed nearly three percent to $65.70 a barrel for the first time since Halloween.
The Trump administration vowed to bring Iran's oil exports to zero by not renewing waivers for five countries that buy oil from Iran. That's China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Turkey. The announcement adds to mounting supply concerns in the oil market.
Meanwhile, gas prices also rising. Data from AAA shows the national average hit $2.84 a gallon on Monday. That's up from $2.61 in March.
We are just days away from one of the biggest movies of the year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
"AVENGERS: END GAME" TRAILER: Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRIGGS: That's right. "Avengers: End Game" comes out Thursday night and AMC Theatres will hold round-the-clock showings during its opening weekend. So far, 17 locations will be open for four straight days or 96 hours for fans to watch the team take on Thanos.
"Endgame" has racked up more advanced ticket sales than any title in history. Analysts estimate the film could score the biggest opening of all time with $850 million to $900 million at the global box office.
I'm all Captain America this morning if you couldn't tell.
KOSINSKI: You are. Like, I think you might have some socks.
BRIGGS: Even some socks.
KOSINSKI: Can you do this?
BRIGGS: Captain America socks.
KOSINSKI: Oh, look how flexible.
BRIGGS: I'm going to see it later this morning.
KOSINSKI: Maybe you should be one of those superheroes. Is that what they are? Are they superheroes?
BRIGGS: This is a fantastic idea. Write me in, man. I'll give you a review in just a couple of hours.
We'll be right back.
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[05:56:13] KOSINSKI: The Supreme Court now agreeing to take up LGBT workplace discrimination cases in its next term. The justices will consider whether the 1964 federal Civil Rights Act, which forbids employment discrimination based on sex, also applies to sexual orientation or transgender status. Lower courts have split on this issue.
The three cases will become a major test for the court's newly solidified conservative majority with all eyes on Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
BRIGGS: Target is recalling nearly half a million Bullseye's Playground wooden toys because of a possible choking hazard. The recall includes toys sold between October and November 2018.
There have been reports of wheels detaching. No injuries have been reported.
The recalled toys should be immediately taken away from children and returned to stores for a full refund. More information on the recall available on Target's Web site.
KOSINSKI: The launch of the Galaxy Fold phone delayed by Samsung.
The folding smartphone that opens up to become a table -- or at least it's supposed to -- was set to hit store shelves Friday at a retail price of $1,980. But some early users report that fold there has defective hinges and screens that break when the protective film is removed. It's not clear whether these are isolated problems or part of a larger issue for Samsung.
The South Korean company has been trying to win back consumer trust following its Galaxy Note 7 debacle. Millions of those devices, remember, had to be recalled after reports of exploding batteries.
BRIGGS: While Bernie Sanders was at CNN's actual town hall last night, Jimmy Fallon had his own Bernie take with this parody of "Old Town Road" -- enjoy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, NBC "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": Yes, I'm going to talk to voters at the old town hall. I'm going to tell them we don't need no wall. I'm going to rant then rave above billionaires and going to take a break to comb my hair.
I've got money in the stacks, forget your super PACS. Bernie bros in back, you would think this is a frat.
Now, got a chance to see Mayor Pete's I.D. We're both born in '83 but in different centuries.
Got a few frustrations with these corporations. You can call me grandpa, I'm a spank the nation.
Loved by all the children, worth a couple million. Say my rhymes are ill then, Medicare will bill them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Talked to the voters at the old town hall. He's going to tell them we don't need no wall.
FALLON: I'm going to yell at the voters at the old town hall. I'm going to yell until I can't no more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Exit stage left on the motorized scooter.
KOSINSKI: I think -- I think he now needs to show him -- Bernie needs to show him out and --
BRIGGS: Yes, we need a head-to-head comparison.
KOSINSKI: -- try it -- try it himself.
BRIGGS: I suggest a booking.
KOSINSKI: Thanks for joining us. I'm Michelle Kosinski.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. "NEW DAY" with Alisyn Camerota and the back-from-vacation Berman right now.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Tuesday, April 23rd, 6:00 here in New York.
And we do begin with breaking news. A dramatic development in the investigation of one of the world's deadliest terror attacks ever that left more than 300 people dead.
The coordinated Easter Sunday bombings of Catholic churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka, they were in retaliation for the New Zealand mosque attacks. That is according to a top defense official in Sri Lanka. You'll remember, a white supremacist killed 50 Muslims inside two mosques in Christ Church last month.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And the death toll in Sri Lanka is now up to 321 people. More than 500 others were injured.
And this morning there are many questions.
END
