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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Kurt Volker Being Deposed by House Dems; Trump Lashes Out Over Impeachment Inquiry; World War II Era Plane Crashes in Connecticut. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired October 03, 2019 - 04:00   ET

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


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DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Just hours from now, the first witness in the impeachment inquiry faces Congress. What will the former special envoy to Ukraine have to say?

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have the president of Finland, ask him a question.

JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, REUTERS: I have one for him. I just wanted to follow up on the one that I asked you, which is --

TRUMP: Did you hear me?

MASON: What did you want --

TRUMP: Did you hear me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The president fed up with the impeachment probe, lashes out at Democrats and others along the way.

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BRANDT JEAN, BROTHER OF BOTHAM JEAN: I don't know if it is possible, but can I give her a hug, please? Please?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: And a moment like you've never seen in court. A convicted murderer and her victim's brother in that emotional embrace.

Can't help but ask yourself, are you that big?

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.

ROMANS: The power of forgiveness. And I'm Christine Romans. It is Thursday, October 3rd. It is 4:00 a.m. in New York. We'll get to that story in a moment, but let's begin with impeachment.

The Democrats' impeachment inquiry begins in earnest this morning. Three House committees will take their first testimony from the former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine. Kurt Volker, resigned one day after he was named in the whistleblower complaint. That report alleges a coverup by the White House of a call in which President Trump pressures the president of Ukraine to investigate a conspiracy theory about Joe Biden and his son.

BRIGGS: Volker also set up a meeting between Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and a Zelensky adviser, part of an effort to move the Biden matter away from official channels. Now the Justice Department is telling the White House to preserve records of all the president's calls with foreign leaders. Democrats have warned they could be coming for those documents.

Sunlen Serfaty on Capitol Hill with more.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave and Christine. Potentially a huge moment up here on Capitol Hill. The president's former special envoy to the Ukraine, Kurt Volker, he is set to appear behind closed doors later today. Now, Volker was named in the whistleblower complaint, the whistleblower alleging that Volker had an involvement in the conversations with the Ukrainian president about the, quote, "navigating the demands" that the president has made of him.

This comes as several key House committees are readying potential subpoenas of the White House as early as Friday for key documents related to the president's phone call with Ukraine. And also the holding up of Ukrainian aid.

Now the House Oversight Committee chair Elijah Cummings says the White House's flagrant disregard of multiple voluntary request for documents he says has left them no choice but to issue the subpoena and this really keeps in line with the similar rhetoric that we've heard from House Intel Committee chairman Adam Schiff. He said up here on the Hill on Wednesday, he warned against the blocking of witnesses, the blocking of documents coming from the White House, the stonewalling he said.

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REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): We're not fooling around here, though. We don't want this to drag on months and months and months which appears to be the administration's strategy.

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SERFATY: He is warning that this essentially just plays into the Democrats' hands potentially if they draw up Articles of Impeachment. He says it will be considered obstruction of Congress' duties -- Dave and Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Sunlen, thank you so much for that. Ahead of Kurt Volker's deposition, the State Department's inspector

general provided Congress with an urgent closed-door briefing Wednesday. He turned over documents including some Rudy Giuliani gave the State Department earlier this year. Now, according to source, Giuliani gave these documents to the White House and they were passed on to the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

What are these documents in this manila envelope? Well, the materials contain unproven claims about Joe and Hunter Biden. Three top House Democratic chairmen say the documents include a package of disinformation and debunked conspiracy theories.

BRIGGS: President Trump's anger about the impeachment probe reaching a boiling point. Our Kaitlan Collins reports the president has been lashing out privately for days. Now the snarling is very public. First in this tweet complaining the Democrats are, quote, "wasting everyone's time and energy on bullshit." He also spent the day again targeting House Intel chairman Adam Schiff both before and after an emerged the white whistleblower contacted Schiff's panel for guidance. Schiff denies seeing the complaint in advance.

ROMANS: Later the president let loose on a reporter as the president of Finland looked on.

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MASON: The question, sir, was what did you want President Zelensky to do about Vice President Biden and his son Hunter?

TRUMP: Are you talking to me?

MASON: Yes, it was just a follow-up of what I just asked you, sir.

TRUMP: Listen. Listen. Are you ready? We have the president of Finland. Ask him a question.

MASON: I have one for him. I just wanted to follow up on the one that I asked you, which was --

TRUMP: Did you hear me?

MASON: What did you want --

TRUMP: Did you hear me?

MASON: Yes, sir.

TRUMP: Ask him a question.

MASON: I will. But --

TRUMP: I've given you a long answer. Ask this gentleman a question. Don't be rude.

MASON: No, sir, I don't want to be rude. I just wanted you to have a chance to answer the question that I asked you.

TRUMP: I've answered everything. It is a whole hoax, and you know who's playing into the hoax? People like you and the fake news media that we have in this country. And I say in many cases the corrupt media because you're corrupt. Much of the media in this country is not just fake, it's corrupt. And you have some very fine people, too. Great journalists, great reporters. But to a large extent, it is corrupt and it is fake. Ask the president of Finland a question, please.

MASON: OK. I'll move on now. Mr. President, the WTO ruled today in favor of the United States saying that the United States can now impose tariffs on European goods because of illegal subsidies against Airbus.

TRUMP: That was a big win for the United States, right?

MASON: It was a --

TRUMP: You never had wins with other presidents, did you? But we're having a lot of wins at the WTO --

MASON: This was a case that started I think 10 or 15 years ago, but --

TRUMP: Excuse me. The wins are now because they think I don't like the WTO and they want to make sure I'm happy because all of those countries were ripping off the United States for many years. They know that I'm wise to it. We've had a lot of wins. This was a $7 billion win. Not bad.

SAULI NIINISTO, PRESIDENT OF FINLAND: But I -- the question is for me.

MASON: So the question --

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ROMANS: The question was for him. The president insisted that Jeff Mason ask the question to the Finnish president and then the president answered the question for the Finnish president, and the president never answered Jeff's question, what did you want the Ukrainian president to do about Joe Biden and his son Hunter?

Now, in an interview with ABC News, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she thinks the president is trying to divert attention because, quote, "he knows the argument that can be made against him and he is scared."

BRIGGS: Former vice president Joe Biden firing back at President Trump in his strongest remarks yet on the Ukraine controversy.

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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now let me make something clear to Mr. Trump and his hatchet men, and the special interest funding of his attacks against me. I'm not going anywhere. (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: You are not going to destroy me and you are not going to destroy my family. I don't care how much money you spend, Mr. President, or how dirty the attacks get.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Biden says there is no truth in the charges against him. He calls President Trump exhibit A of a president who abuses power.

ROMANS: Senator Bernie Sanders is off the campaign trail and it's not clear when he might return. The Vermont senator recovering this morning after two stents were inserted into an artery to treat a blockage. The normally energetic Sanders experienced chest discomfort Tuesday night. He was sitting for some of his events. He thanked well-wishers and in a tweet wrote, "None of us know when a medical emergency might affect us and no one should fear going bankrupt if it occurs. Medicare for All." Using his own health setback to push his signature issues.

BRIGGS: Bravo. Ahead, a very public stand from one of America's biggest companies. Why Apple's boss is leading a defense of Dreamers.

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ROMANS: All right. If you're just waking up to the fourth quarter the past couple of days on Wall Street have been pretty bad for investors. October living up to that stock market reputation. The Dow closed about 500 points lower yesterday. The average is now down 840 points to start the fourth quarter, that's 3.1 percent, which wipes out the 1.2 percent gain from the third quarter.

Taking a look at futures right now, you can see the stock market looks like it could have a little bit of a bounce on the opening bell.

You know, this is all about growth or rather the lack of it. Manufacturing is shrinking in the U.S. and Germany, and a growing number of economists believe President Trump's gambit with tariffs is backfiring. Now the president is casting around for a scapegoat. First, we know he blamed the Fed, then he blamed the impeachment process.

This is exactly what economists have warned about for more than a year. That the president's trade war would hurt the very sector he has sought to protect and the damage could spill to the rest of the economy. That's what we're talking about here. Not about the Fed, not about impeachment, this is all about trade slowing global growth and the president's role in that.

BRIGGS: CNN has learned exclusively the FBI is running ads on Facebook that appear to target Russians in Washington, D.C. for recruitment as spies. One of the ads shows a stock photo of a young woman with her family at graduation with Russian text saying, quote, "For your future, for the future of your family." Another shows a picture of a chess set with Russian that translates to, isn't it time for you to make your move? And a third include as drawing of a man walking over a bridge with a Russian caption reading "Time to Draw Bridges."

The ad is linked to a page on the FBI Washington field office Web site with details on the counterintelligence team and an invitation to, quote, "come visit us in person."

ROMANS: Apple is taking a public stand on Dreamers. The company and its CEO Tim Cook say undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children have made an outsized contribution at Apple.

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The tech giant employs 443 Dreamers from 25 countries in 36 states. In a court filing Apple says, "We collectively owe it to the Dreamers to hold up our end of the bargain. It is not just a legal requirement, it is a moral thing to do. Who are we as a country if we renege?" The Obama administration approved the DACA program in 2012 only to have President Trump rescind it in 2017. The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments on that move soon.

BRIGGS: All right, coming up, the 90-degree heat wave here in New York long gone. A quick cooldown on the way.

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[04:20:40]

ROMANS: Breaking overnight, at least 22 paratroopers injured during a military exercise at Camp Shelby in Mississippi. A spokesperson says something went wrong during a nighttime jump. Several members of the fourth brigade combat team ended up in the trees. None of the injuries are considered life-threatening. They are described as limb injuries from hard landings. Still no word what went wrong with that exercise.

BRIGGS: A dramatic and highly emotional scene in a Dallas courtroom, it happened moments after former police officer Amber Guyger received a 10-year sentence Wednesday for murdering her unarmed black neighbor. The brother of victim Botham Jean addressed Guyger directly in his impact statement and what happened next shocked everyone.

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JEAN: I love you as a person. And I don't wish anything bad on you. I don't know if this is possible, but can I give her a hug please? Please?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

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ROMANS: Guyger's attorney called that the most amazing moment he'd ever seen in court. The judge also hugged Guyger and gave her a bible. She hugged Botham Jean's family as well. As for the 10-year sentence, it angered many. There were street protests into the night in Dallas. Amber Guyger will be eligible for parole in five years.

All right. At least people are dead after a World War II era B-17 bomber crashed while trying to land in Connecticut.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was way too low. He was way too low. When I ran over to the field and actually a guy had turned around in his car and he was like oh, my god, I thought it was going to land on me.

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ROMANS: Six others on that plane and at least one person on the ground were injured.

CNN's Athena Jones has more.

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and Dave. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating what caused this fiery crash that killed seven. This was quite an old plane. A vintage Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. These were the bombers that helped Allied Forces win World War II.

The plane was trying to land when it crashed at the end of the runway at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks just north of Hartford. We know one person on the ground was injured. There were 13 people on board altogether, 10 passengers and three crew members.

We know that shortly after takeoff, one of the pilots had asked air traffic control to return to the airfield. Listen to the conversations the pilots had with air traffic control.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boeing 93012, we'd like to return to the field.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Number 93012, say that again? What is the reason for coming back?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Number four engine, we'd like to return.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just want to make sure because we have jet traffic coming in. Can you go or do you need to be on the ground right now?

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JONES: The B-17 soon crashed running into a deicing facility there on the ground off to the side of the runway. The plane belonged to a Collings Foundation, a private nonprofit foundation dedicated to the preservation and public display of automobile and aviation history. A Wings of Freedom Tour featuring the B-17 and other aircraft was scheduled to take place through Thursday, according to the foundation. The foundation said in a statement to CNN, "The Collings Foundation

flight team is fully cooperating with officials to determine the cause of the crash of the B-17 Flying Fortress and will comment further when details become known" -- Christine, Dave.

BRIGGS: Athena Jones, thanks.

To the weather now. Record-high temperatures on the East Coast will give way to cooler temperatures in the northeast. The one-day plunge of up to 30 degrees in some places but the southeast will keep baking.

Here's meteorologist Derek Van Dam.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Dave and Christine.

I know yesterday was sweltering in the Big Apple, 93 degrees. That was your first 90-degree day in the month of October since 1941, but you're going to love this weatherman and you're going to love this weather forecast because big change is taking place today. We're talking about over a 35-degree temperature difference from yesterday's high compared to today. Bring on the pumpkin spice latte, right?

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Nearly 60 degrees for the afternoon. That is incredible compared to what we experienced yesterday, right? Across the southeast, we still have the potential for oppressive heat, 50-plus record highs potentially being set today. I mean, just look at these temperatures expected from Birmingham into Atlanta, upper 90s. So the oppressive heat is going to continue for the next several days across the southeast but there is relief coming in the form of a cold front.

Look at it sweeping eastward. We like to see the oranges and reds replaced with the yellows and greens. That means cooler weather in store for us and it's indicative in our seven-day forecast for the Big Apple. Back to you.

BRIGGS: OK, Derek, thank you.

To baseball, the Tampa Bay Rays moving on to the American League playoffs.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But Jason and Mike and Eduardo were talking about same swing, same ball, same result.

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BRIGGS: That was the second of two homeruns by Tampa's lead-off man Yandy Diaz, more than enough for the 5-1 win over the Oakland A's in the AL Wild Card game. The Rays will now play the Houston Astros, the favorite in a best-of-five division series. First game Friday in Houston.

Business sense you can appreciate the lowest payroll team in baseball there.

ROMANS: Really?

BRIGGS: You could triple it and still not reach the highest payroll in baseball who didn't make the playoffs.

ROMANS: Interesting. Oh, that's interesting.

All right, 26 minutes past the hour. An enraged President Trump unleashing his fury and falsehoods in Washington. He is furious with this impeachment probe. Today a former envoy to Ukraine goes before Congress after being mentioned in the whistleblower report.

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