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Trump Threatens to Slap Tariffs on All Chinese Imports; Trump Warns Iran Will 'Suffer Greatly' If They Provoke U.S.; Pompeo to Meet with Vladimir Putin and Russian Foreign Minister; Barr Taps Prosecutor to Review Origins of Russia Probe; Montana Governor Steve Bullock Announces 2020 Run; Software Outage Causing Delays at Airports. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired May 14, 2019 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: The top federal prosecutor in Connecticut assisting Attorney General Bill Barr in reviewing the origin of the 2016 Russia investigation.

[00:59:14] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The FBI acted lawfully. The whole thing was about Russia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're on much better footing with Mr. Durham. Some of the tactics used are going to be very difficult to defend.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: China is already contemplating more tariffs.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There can be retaliation, but it can't be very substantial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Given the rhetoric we are hearing, it's really hard to envision how they can resolve.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Tuesday, May 14, 6 a.m. here in New York.

Gird your loins and guard your 401(k).

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, boy.

BERMAN: Twenty-four hours of turmoil in the world markets that could get even more chaotic over the next few days. This morning, President Trump is threatening to slap tariffs on all Chinese imports, all of them, after China announced a tariff hike on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods.

U.S. markets had one of their worst days of the year yesterday. We will tell you where they're headed today in just a bit. CAMEROTA: Meanwhile, President Trump is warning Iran that it will,

quote, "suffer greatly" if they provoke the U.S. "The New York Times" reports that acting defense secretary presented President Trump's top national security advisers with a military plan that could send as many as 120,000 U.S. troops to the Middle East, should Iran attack American forces or speed up their work on nuclear weapons.

And in just minutes, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will land in Russia to meet with Vladimir Putin.

So we have to lot of news to cover. Let's begin our coverage with CNN's Matt Rivers. He is live for us in Beijing. What's the latest, Matt?

MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Well, those tariffs on the remaining Chinese imports, Alisyn, could go into effect for Americans as early as late June, the administration announcing on Monday. This comes after the Chinese said that they were raising tariffs of their own: $60 billion worth of American imports here.

And look specifically at the items that they are choosing to raise rates on. Things like corn flour, grains, aircraft parts. The kinds of products that the Chinese know will have a political impact in the U.S. because they are largely grown or produced in places of the U.S. that supported the president.

Chinese state media being very nationalistic today here, saying that China will fight this trade war till the end.

Now, the president has said they were expecting some sort of retaliation, and he told reporters that the U.S. is ready to stand with those Americans who might face the greatest impact from this, people like farmers. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I love the position we're in. There can be some retaliation, but it can't be very, very substantial by comparison. And out of the billions of dollars that we're taking in, a small portion of that will be going to our farmers, because China will be retaliating, probably, to a certain extent, against our farmers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS: Now make no mistake here: China is talking tough. This will hurt the Chinese company. The question now, John, who blinks first? And all eyes will be on the G-20 summit in late June in Osaka, Japan. That's when Trump and Xi, the president of China, are expected to meet one-on-one -- John.

BERMAN: Late June, that's a long way to go before then, and I'm not sure the markets have the stomach for it just yet. Matt Rivers, thanks so much for being with us.

So let's find out how the markets are doing this morning. Yesterday was a blood bath. Alison Kosik has a look ahead.

Alison, what are we seeing?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

So Wall Street is actually looking to recover after the biggest one- day drop we've seen since January.

Taking a look around the world, first, the Asian markets still feeling the pain after China strikes back against the U.S., announcing higher tariffs on roughly $60 billion worth of U.S. goods on June 1, including cotton, grains, wine, and aircraft parts.

European markets, they've opened slightly higher, as trading begins there.

On Wall Street, we are seeing green arrows. The futures are pointing slightly positive after Monday's sharp decline. U.S. stocks ended Monday deep in the red. The Dow closed down 617 points. The S&P 500 fell a little over 2 percent. The NASDAQ dropping over 3 percent. So this was, once again, the worst day for the Dow and the S&P since January, and the biggest one-day drop for the NASDAQ since December 4th of 2018.

Now, the U.S./China trade war, it's going to raise costs for Americans, but President Trump is defending his tariffs, even though he admits farmers could get hit by retaliatory measures. Monday, Trump said he would use some of the tariff revenue, which is paid by U.S. importers, to help keep farmers afloat. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Out of the billions of dollars that we're taking in, a small portion of that will be going to our farmers, because China will be retaliating, probably to a certain extent, against our farmers.

And so our farmers can do well. They'll be planting. They'll be able to sell for less, and they'll make the same kind of money, until such time as it's all straightened out. So our farmers will be very happy. So I think it's working out very well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Trump also said the U.S. could impose stronger tariffs, to the tune of another $300 billion. And he added he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Japan next month.

But one thing to keep in mind, Alisyn, the timing of that meeting with when the Trump administration will be able to impose that next round of tariffs, all that timing coincides. So it could either be more leverage for the U.S., or it could anger the Chinese even more -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK. Thank you very much for breaking all of that down for us. Did she say wine prices are going up? She has my attention now.

BERMAN: Now -- Exactly. Now it's a lead.

CAMEROTA: Suddenly, I'm concerned.

All right. Tensions also growing between the U.S. and Iran. President Trump threatening Tehran that it will, quote, "suffer greatly," end quote, if it provokes America. While "The New York Times" reports the White House is reviewing a military plan to send more than 100,000 troops to the Middle East if U.S. forces are attacked.

CNN's Nic Robertson is live in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most important oil passageways in the world -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Alisyn, a third of all the world's seaborn oil passes through here. So if you shut down that narrow strait, then the world has got big oil problems on its hands.

What we know here right now is the region is listening to President Trump. The tensions very obviously rising between the United States and Iran right now. The U.S. putting maximum pressure, sanctions pressure, on Iran, to curb their nuclear ambitions, to curb their missile ambitions. Concerns about the threat to shipping in this area. And what President Trump is saying after the reports are sabotage of vessels over the weekend.

Here is -- he's got a very clear warning for Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Hearing little stories about Iran. If they do anything, they will suffer greatly. We'll see what happens with Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Now, it's not clear what those little stories are, but it certainly seems to be enough to generate -- the White House administration officials telling CNN that they have been recently looking at military plans in the region. "The New York Times," of course, now reporting possibly 120,000 troops could be deployed to the region if that became necessary.

The investigation here, to figure out who was behind these sabotage attempts on four vessels here over the weekend, is under way. The Emiratis believe it could be a missile or rocket attack on the vessels. They've called on the United States to help them in their investigation, not just because they want that technical expertise, but because they want to send a message, a clear message across the waterway here to Iran, that they've got big friends and partners in this, and that they're not to be messed with.

But of course, this is causing concern, and no clear answers at the moment precisely who was behind it.

CAMEROTA: Yes. There is a lot of confusion back here about what this sabotage attack means, who was responsible. So Nic, please bring us all the updates from the Strait of Hormuz whenever you get them. Thank you very much -- John.

BERMAN: All right. In just moments, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo touches down in Russia, where he will meet with Vladimir Putin. And these are the first high-level face-to-face talks between the two countries since the release of the redacted Mueller report.

Our Matthew Chance is live in Moscow with the latest on this. No shortage of things to discuss today, Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. They've got a very packed agenda. But first and foremost, when Secretary Pompeo finally sits face-to-face with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, in the southern Russian city of Sochi, it is Iran that will be top of their agenda.

The Russian foreign minister has already said that he expects the discussions on the subject are going to be frank and that he is, quote, "going to be seeking clarification" from Mr. Pompeo about how the Americans are planning to get out of what he called "this crisis with Iran," created by unilateral American decision. So he's laying the blame for this growing nuclear and economic and military standoff in the Gulf region with Iran and the United States firmly at the feet of Washington.

Iran, of course, and Russia are key allies. They fight side by side in Syria. Russia provides diplomatic and economic support to Iran, and the Kremlin is deeply suspicious about U.S. intentions when it comes to the U.S. -- to the Islamic Republic.

There are also a range of other issues that will be discussed. The situation in Syria, you've already mentioned that. Venezuela, where Russia has intervened. Ukraine. And the possibility of a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Japan next month.

Mike Pompeo has tweeted out already his intentions. He's saying his meetings in Russia will highlight a number of important topics. "On some issues, we may agree. On others, we may disagree, but when it's in our national interests," the secretary of state says, "it is our responsibility to find a way forward."

So I think both sides are hoping that there may be some kind of positive outcome to these meetings.

CAMEROTA: They have a lot to address. This will be a very interesting meeting. Thank you, Matthew.

All right. So investigating the investigation. Apparently, two ongoing probes are not enough for the attorney general, so there's a new appointment from Bill Barr to look into the origins of the Russia investigation, again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Major developments overnight. A source tells CNN that Attorney General William Barr has tapped a top federal prosecutor to help determine if intelligence collection involving the Trump campaign was lawful and appropriate.

Investigating the investigators. This isn't about how Russia attacked the U.S. election. It's about how the FBI investigated that attack.

Our Lauren Fox has the latest. And Lauren, apparently, two probes, not enough for the attorney general.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, John. This is the third inquiry. And there's already an inspector general inquiry at the Department of Justice looking into this. The top Senate Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Lindsey Graham, also saying in upcoming months he wants to take a look at this issue.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FOX (voice-over): Attorney General William Barr launching a new review to examine the origins of the Russia investigation and determine if intelligence collecting on the Trump campaign was lawful. A source confirming that Barr has recruited Connecticut's top federal prosecutor, John Durham. This is now the Justice Department's third inquiry into potential wrongdoing by investigators.

[06:15:08] WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I think there's -- spying did occur, yes. I think spying did occur.

FOX: The attorney general revealing concerns last month about surveillance of the Trump campaign but offering no proof of wrongdoing.

BARR: I am not saying that improper surveillance occurred. I'm saying that I am concerned about it and looking into it. That's all.

FOX: Weeks later, Barr defending his use of the word "spying" before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

BARR: I'm not going to abjure the use of the word "spying." I don't think the word "spying" has any pejorative connotation at all.

FOX: Barr's move despite former FBI leadership denying wrongdoing.

JAMES BAKER, FORMER FBI GENERAL COUNSEL: The intent of the people I was dealing with, there was no intention to do anything wrong or illegal, and not to spy on a campaign.

The focus was Russia.

FOX: The new inquiry comes as the Trump administration digs into its standoff with Congress.

TRUMP: I can tell you that there has never been anybody so transparent as the Trump administration.

FOX: President Trump defending White House reports to limit House Democrats' ability to investigate.

TRUMP: They're asking for things that they're not entitled to. They're putting their own personal goals ahead of the country. And you can't do that.

FOX: The Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee also facing backlash for its subpoena of Donald Trump Jr. They want him to answer more questions about the Trump Tower meeting and a Trump Tower project in Moscow.

Sources saying negotiations between the president's eldest son and the panel began months before Mueller finished his work, noting Trump Jr. volunteered to be interviewed twice before backing off, ultimately prompting Chairman Richard Burr and Democratic Senator Mark Warner to issue a subpoena.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham suggesting Trump Jr. should, quote, "just take the Fifth and be done with it." But Democrats slamming the suggestion.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): There is absolutely no excuse, no legal basis, for Donald Trump Jr. to resist. The kinds of resistance we're seeing here is nothing more than putting himself above the law.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOX: And a judge in just a couple of hours is set to hear arguments in that case there, were House Democrats are trying to get the financial disclosure forms prepared by Mazars USA, an accounting firm. We expect the Trump lawyers are going to argue in court that they need this to slow down. House Democrats, of course, want this information as soon as possible, because they have a lot to investigate -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Yes. That decision will be very telling. Lauren, thank you very much.

All right. We have some breaking news on the 2020 presidential race. Montana Governor Steve Bullock announcing moments ago that he is jumping in. Steve Bullock becomes the 22nd Democratic candidate in the race.

CNN's M.J. Lee joins us now with details. Come in, the water is warm.

M.J. LEE, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

One more Democrat announcing their campaign for president this morning. Montana Governor Steve Bullock just made it official in a new video message.

From the outset, Bullock is painting himself as a rare Democrat who can win over Republicans, specifically former Trump supporters. He's reminding voters in this video that he won re-election in Montana as a Democrat the same year that Trump easily won his state. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. STEVE BULLOCK (D-MT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe in an America where every child has a fair shot to do better than their parents, but we all know that that kind of opportunity no longer exists for most people. Far too many, it never has. That's why we need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the

corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice. So we can finally make good on the promise, a fair shot for everyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Now Bullock also says in the video that, "As a Democrat in a red state, I don't have the luxury of just talking to people who agree with me." And that he believes in finding common ground to get things done.

This video is almost three minutes long, and it leans pretty heavily into Bullock's efforts to get dark money out of politics. It also highlights his work to expand Medicaid in his state, as well as his support for gay marriage.

With Bullock joining the race, the Democratic field now features an historic 22 Democrats. What the governor will find out in the coming months is whether there is room in the race for a red-state Democrat promising to deliver Trump supporters and if that is enough for him to have a breakout moment, guys.

CAMEROTA: Very interesting. I mean, I think that Pete Buttigieg also feels that he is a Democrat running in an area that has a lot of Trump supporters. And he's trying to bridge that, also. I mean, that's sort of his message, too.

LEE: That's right. And there is the primary and then there's the general election. The question is, for all of these candidates, do they want to start running on a general election message, or do they want to sort of slog it out through the primary first? It's clear that with Bullock, the strategy is trying to go after the Trump supporters from the very outset.

[06:20:02] CAMEROTA: Really interesting. M.J., thank you very much for that breaking presidential news -- John.

BERMAN: Also breaking this morning, JetBlue is warning customers that lines could be longer at some airports because of a software outage.

CNN's Athena Jones is live on the phone at LaGuardia with the breaking details. Athena, what does it look like so far?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

JetBlue in a statement less than an hour ago said that their systems are recovering after a global Sabre outage, impacting multiple airlines.

Now, Sabre is a system that helps with flight reservations. It helps airlines with their flight reservation systems, among other things. I should mention that here at LaGuardia, there do not appear to be any noticeable effects of this brief outage. The lines are not long. I know that there are pictures of JFK, long lines at JFK from the last hour. But here at LaGuardia, everything seems to be moving smoothly. As you

know, Flight Aware, which is a website that helps track flights all over the world shows just 17 delayed JetBlue flights worldwide for all reasons. So that's not just for outage reasons.

So at least here at LaGuardia, things look to be operating relatively normally while at JFK, they may still be recovering from longer lines. Unfortunately, this is not as uncommon as it should be, as you know, John. We're seeing issues with third-party vendors disrupting air travel periodically. It was just last month, at the beginning of April, that several airlines, including Southwest Airlines, reported a technology issue and outages on a single morning.

But so far, right here at JFK, things look to be back on track. And we'll be tracking what's going on at LaGuardia.

BERMAN: All right. Athena Jones for us at LaGuardia. We know you'll be watching this all morning. Please keep us posted -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: I have more breaking news. The NTSB is investigating why two planes collided mid-air in Alaska, killing at least five people. The crash happened 10 miles northeast of Ketchikan. According to Princess Cruise Lines, victims were Royal Princess guests on an excursion. The Coast Guard says it is still looking for two other people.

BERMAN: All right. The president has been calling for an investigation into the investigators involved in the Russia probe for months, if not years at this point. Now, he might have it, thanks to the attorney general, William Barr. Have any lines been crossed here? We'll discuss, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:26:38] CAMEROTA: Attorney General William Barr has appointed the top federal prosecutor in Connecticut to review the origins of the Russia probe and to determine if the intelligence collection involving the Trump campaign's connections to Russia was lawful.

So joining us now, we have CNN political correspondent M.J. Lee; CNN senior political analyst John Avlon.

OK, John, so this will be the third one. So we know that the Department of Justice inspector general, Michael Horowitz, has been looking into this, as has John Huber, the U.S. attorney in Utah. He's been looking into this. So what will this new -- John Durham, the Connecticut U.S. attorney, what lane will he have that they don't have?

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: What it will allow is that, if any of these other investigations get completed, the Trump folks will be able to say, there's an ongoing investigation. Keep the dream alive of investigating the investigators through the election.

It also shows the Justice Department really is mobilizing, at the president's request, to investigate the investigators. This is not a typical move within American history and law enforcement. This is something a little more familiar in other countries, but it's what the president wants. It's the narrative he wants. Both to muddy the question of what occurred, and you can see it very early on in Trump tweets, as well as in Rudy Giuliani's and Lindsey Graham's comments, that the real collusion was on the Democrats' side. It's trying to flip the script heading into the next election.

BERMAN: One of the things that's interesting to me is they're doing this before the inspector general's report --

AVLON: Correct.

BERMAN: -- is even done. It's a hedge. In case he doesn't find something --

AVLON: Exactly.

BERMAN: -- we have another investigation going on at the same time.

It's also interesting, because the genesis of the Huber investigation, it seemed to be to try to quiet down Republicans. Jeff Sessions, who was attorney general for a little while, seemed to be wanting to tell Republicans, "You know what? Stop with this. We're going to be looking into this." And just wanted it to go away.

LEE: Yes. And so much of this has to do with the president's reaction throughout this investigation and the results of the investigation coming out. Right?

We know that the president has been, overall, very bothered by the fact that there is an investigation to begin with, and then the releasing of the Mueller report, even though he took sort of the celebratory victory laps. He still has been very bothered by the fact that there was an investigation to begin with.

So the fact that we have law enforcement now launching this investigation into the investigation, you could argue, and especially if you're a critic of the president or the administration, that this is sort of a ploy, or this is a move to appease the president and his desire to get more information about why the investigation actually started in the first place.

AVLON: I think it's fair to say it's not just something that can be argued. It's something that can be rooted in reality.

And let's not forget, the fundamental issue here is Russia's attempt to influence our elections on Donald Trump's behalf. That you can try to spin that, you can try to shade it, but that happened, and that's consensus of the administration, with the exception of the president.

CAMEROTA: Remember how so many Republicans and some Democrats were so impatient to get Robert Mueller's findings?

AVLON: Sure.

CAMEROTA: What's taking him so long? What's taking him so long? It's been 18 months. What's taking him so long?

But these other investigations, the Michael Horowitz and the John Huber, have also been going on. Why haven't they reached a conclusion? Like, why does this third investigation have to happen? We don't even know what they've found yet. And are we going to know what --?

AVLON: Correct. And one could argue that you should wait for one of them to be done to launch another. But again, now you've got Barr in the A.G. seat. He's really been more receptive than Jeff Sessions, to some extent, at catering, apparently, to the president's whims on this. Allegations of spying in the congressional hearings, contradicted by the FBI director.

So look.

END