Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
First Closed-Door Transcripts Made Public; Key Races To Watch Today In Kentucky, Mississippi, And Virginia; California Transit Worker Rescues Man From Oncoming Train. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired November 05, 2019 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAUREN FOX, CNN POLITICS CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: -- out from underneath the State Department if they put out something publicly."
She also went to her colleague, E.U. ambassador Gordon Sondland, and asked him for some advice. His advice to her, go big or go home. Essentially, what he argued was that perhaps she should tweet her support for the president and say that these rumors weren't true.
Now, Michael McKinley's transcript was also released today. He's a former top aide to Mike Pompeo. Essentially, he said he left the State Department because he believed that career diplomats were being used to advance the president's political agenda, something that he did not support.
But more testimony and transcript expected to be released this week, including that of Kurt Volker and Gordon Sondland -- Christine and Dave.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Lauren, thanks.
In his testimony, Michael McKinley gave another reason for stepping down as the senior adviser for Secretary of State Pompeo, one that directly contradicts his old boss's version of the events.
McKinley told lawmakers he felt the Department, and especially Pompeo, were not defending Yovanovitch against that smear campaign.
He testified, "There were numerous media articles appearing about Yovanovitch and, frankly, I did grow concerned that we needed to say something forceful on her behalf.
Question: How many conversations did you have with the secretary about this matter?
And, McKinley: Three, probably."
Secretary of State Pompeo remembers things vastly different. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: From the time that Ambassador Yovanovitch departed Ukraine until the time that he came to tell me that he was departing, I never heard him say a single thing about his concerns with respect to the decision that was made.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC ANCHOR, "THIS WEEK": So you were never asked to put out --
POMPEO: Not once -- not once, George, did Ambassador McKinley say something to me during that entire time period.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Note that Pompeo was giving a television interview. McKinley was testifying under oath.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul joining the growing list of Republicans who are trying to reveal the identity of the whistleblower at the center of the impeachment inquiry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): The whistleblower needs to come before Congress as a material witness because he worked for Joe Biden at the same time Hunter Biden was getting money from corrupt oligarchs. I say tonight to the media, do your job and print his name.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Sen. Paul is calling on every Republican in Congress to step up and subpoena Hunter Biden even though there's no evidence to support the claims about Joe Biden's son.
Paul also wants the whistleblower subpoenaed.
The whistleblower's lawyer is firing back. Mark Zaid, the attorney, says "A member of Congress who calls for the identity of any lawful whistleblower to be publicly revealed against their wishes disgraces the office they hold and betrays the interests of the Constitution and the American people."
Not all Republicans on board with exposing the whistleblower -- who is protected under law, by the way.
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley said whistleblowers are entitled to maximum protection and it is up to them to decide if they want to come forward.
BRIGGS: So how is the Democrats' impeachment inquiry playing in a swing district in a swing state? That defines Michigan's 11 Congressional District just northwest of Detroit. No surprise, then, that voters there are split on impeachment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SUSAN KERRIGAN, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I think it's a sham, OK. I think the president --
RITA DUNNING, TRUMP SUPPORTER: It's horrible.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Horrible?
KERRIGAN: Yes.
DUNNING: It's horrible -- just horrible what they're doing.
KERRIGAN: The president's doing a great job.
CHRISTINE WILLIAMS, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I think it's important that the inquiry be going on. I also think it's important that we not be distracted by it and that there's actually governance going on.
JAMES MELSTROM, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I think that the Democrats are really just trying to overturn the results from 2016 and I think it's going to fail miserably.
AMY NEALE, SUPPORTS INQUIRY: I think it's heading in the right direction finally -- the impeachment. I think we're getting the evidence we need. And I -- you know, I hope he gets what's coming to him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Michigan's 11th went for President Trump in 2016, then flipped in the midterms, electing Democrat Haley Stevens to Congress.
ROMANS: All right. Coming up, what some Republicans are saying behind closed doors during the Trump impeachment depositions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:38:05]
ROMANS: In just hours, more transcripts from closed-door testimony in the impeachment inquiry. Today, we're expecting the depositions from the ambassador to the E.U., Gordon Sondland; and special envoy for Ukraine, Kurt Volker.
BRIGGS: Go ahead, my friend.
ROMANS: OK. I mean, I'm seeing CNN political analyst and "The Washington Post." It felt like I was reading a lot -- like maybe you should -- you should -- why don't you --
BRIGGS: I appreciate you sharing the spotlight.
ROMANS: Why don't you bring Rachael in?
BRIGGS: Hi, Rachael.
RACHAEL BADE: I'll just take the show over. It's fine. ROMANS: How are you? Good morning.
BRIGGS: You need no introduction. Good to see you, Rachael.
You do have some new reporting about what Republicans have been doing behind closed doors. Tell us about that first.
RACHAEL BADE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Yes.
When I was going through these transcripts yesterday one of the things that really struck me was Republicans. They seemed to be trying to keep some information behind closed doors despite spending the past four weeks railing against this closed-door deposition process, saying the American people have a right to know, they should see more of this information, and it should be public.
So there were sort of three things that really contradicted that behind closed doors. One of them was that they went after some of their colleagues who had made public statements about what they were hearing from these witnesses.
Gerry Connolly, who is a Democrat from Virginia, he had talked about one of the witnesses testifying about Trump's shadow campaign on -- or shadow policy toward Ukraine. And the next morning, Republicans spent the first several minutes of that deposition instead of letting the witness speak, actually going after their colleague and saying he broke the rules and should he be censured and sort of asking those kinds of questions.
They also grilled Marie Yovanovitch's lawyer about how her opening statement got leaked to "The Washington Post," trying to press on whether she was the one who gave it to us, which was very interesting to see them use their time that way to sort of go out and try to find out how information was getting to the media.
And one of the first lines of questioning for Yovanovitch was actually why are you even here? The State Department basically told her that she was not supposed to show up. Now, her lawyer advised her that she was going to be under subpoena, so she's going to need to show up and testify.
[05:40:09]
But they were like are you here -- what authority are you here on? Again, trying to sort of shut information down even as saying publicly -- as they were saying publicly that all this should be sunlighted for the American voters.
ROMANS: Well -- and we've seen this sort of strategy with the Republicans before where they said there was -- some said there was no quid pro quo, no quid pro quo. And then you started to hear from some Republicans who are saying well, yes, if there was a quid pro quo, it's OK. It's not impeachment. This is how foreign policy is done.
So it's been so interesting to see how the Republican response has been -- has been changing and morphing. But there's only Republican response that really matters and that's the President of the United States, right? And he is still with the gloves on fighting this thing.
BADE: Yes. Republicans seem to be trying to figure out what is the best strategy right now. In the House, the Republicans are with Trump saying no quid pro quo. In the Senate, we reported over the weekend some of them think there's enough evidence that they can't say no quid pro quo anymore.
You saw Rand Paul last night at this rally saying they should go after the whistleblower. That they should subpoena Hunter Biden. I have heard some Republicans talk about that.
So I think Republicans -- right now, they're really grappling with what is their message to voters. How are they going to protect the president? It is complaining about process, is it saying there was no quid pro quo, or is it sort of trying to acknowledge that and explain it?
They're really all over the map right now and I think that that is something that obviously, they're going to try to figure out over the next few weeks.
BRIGGS: Throwing some stuff against the wall and seeing what sticks.
ROMANS: Right.
BADE: Right.
BRIGGS: You mentioned Rand Paul, and he also said -- he called to the media to do your job and print the whistleblower's name.
Wouldn't that be illegal? And is anyone else with him on that as far as Republican senators go?
BADE: I mean, illegality aside, if you think about our American democracy, which very much whistleblowers are really important to sort of blow the whistle on any sort of corruption or problems that are happening behind the scenes. I mean, that is simply good for the republic. So I think a lot of people are taking that into account as well.
Notice he also didn't say the whistleblower's name even as he's sort of blasting us. But I think the main point here to keep in mind is that it doesn't matter who the whistleblower is anymore.
All those allegations that were written in that whistleblower report have been corroborated by people on the record before House Democratic impeachment investigators. They have gone out and given their own personal accounts and more details saying there was a quid pro quo. That the president was putting pressure on Ukraine both with military aid and sort of this promise at a head of state meeting with the Ukrainian president to try to get them to investigate his political adversaries.
That's there -- we know that. We have testimony. We're going to be seeing the transcripts over the next few days.
And yet, Republicans, again, struggling to respond, are going after this whistleblower because they think perhaps there's some sort of Democratic connection they could use to undercut the whole thing.
ROMANS: Yes.
BADE: But again, it doesn't matter who he is.
ROMANS: It's interesting at that event last night in Kentucky. The people lined up behind the president and Sen. Paul were wearing "Read the Transcript" t-shirts -- white t-shirts that said "Read the Transcript." And we've read the transcript.
And now we're hearing from the people who have been deposed and we're getting more and more information from them. And what are we learning? On balance, what do we know from reading that transcript and from the -- from the material released yesterday?
BADE: Yes. So we got a firsthand account from Yovanovitch, who is the ambassador who was recalled from Ukraine specifically because she was fighting corruption in that country. And that came cross-wires with two associates of Rudy Giuliani who were trying to sort of dig up dirt on Trump's political adversaries and who had a financial stake in some more corrupt action.
So she gave a firsthand account about how it personally affected her when she read the transcript where Trump specifically said she was a bad ambassador and that something was going to happen to her.
ROMANS: Right.
BADE: She felt threatened. And so, that was one of the big sort of takeaways was just to hear how it affected somebody who had worked at State for so long and all of a sudden her career was derailed by someone who had motives that have nothing to do with advancing American interests abroad.
ROMANS: Right.
BRIGGS: I'm still trying to get over the "Read the Transcript" t- shirts.
ROMANS: I know.
BRIGGS: The things I never thought I'd talk about on national television. That is high on the list, Rachael Bade.
ROMANS: Read the transcript.
BRIGGS: Good to have you here, my friend. Thank you.
ROMANS: Thanks, Rachael.
BADE: Thank you.
BRIGGS: All right.
It's Election Day 2019 and there are important state and local off- year elections all across the country. Many of these races could offer some hints about what's to come in 2020.
Here's Ryan Nobles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN NOBLES, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Dave and Christine, Virginia, Kentucky, and Mississippi are the states to watch tonight. Voters will be casting ballots in races that could give us a sense of where things stand in terms of momentum heading into next year.
Let's start in Virginia. That's where Republicans are in danger of losing their slim two-seat majorities in both Houses of their General Assembly. If Democrats win big, particularly in swing districts that are in play in northern Virginia and outside of Richmond, it could be a sign of President Trump's growing problem with suburban voters.
[05:45:13]
Meanwhile, in Kentucky, there's a big governor's race on tap. President Trump in support of the incumbent, Republican Matt Bevin. Bevin's approval rating is underwater and his opponent, Andy Beshear, is the son of a popular former governor there.
Now, this race could come down to what voters care more about -- local issues or the national issues dominating Washington. Bevin has stuck close to President Trump. If he pulls it out, it could be a sign of just how much strength that Trump still has with Republican voters.
And then finally, Republicans and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves are in the driver's seat in Mississippi in the governor's race there, but Democrats are hopeful that conservative Democrat Jim Hood, who is the attorney general, could surprise everyone. It's going to be tough, though, because in addition to winning the popular vote, gubernatorial candidates in Mississippi must also win a majority of state House districts and that will be an advantage for the GOP.
Now, the first results will start coming in around 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. That's when the polls close in both Virginia and Kentucky -- Dave and Christine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right, Ryan Nobles. Thank you so much.
So wait until you hear from this California transit worker about saving a man's life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN O'CONNOR, TRANSPORTATION SUPERVISOR, BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT: It really feels awkward to be called a hero.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: More from the man behind the dramatic rescue, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:50:52]
ROMANS: Police are investigating a deadly stabbing at a Popeyes restaurant in Maryland. They say the 28-year-old victim was stabbed Monday night during a fight with another man over the fast-food chain's popular chicken sandwich. The victim was rushed to a hospital in Prince George's County where he later died.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER DONELAN, SPOKESWOMAN, PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT: He knows what he did here tonight. And he needs to do the right thing and he needs to step up and he needs to turn himself in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The police confirm the deadly fight was related to Popeyes' popular chicken sandwich. That sandwich just returned to the fast- food chain's menu after debuting this summer and quickly selling out nationwide.
BRIGGS: Jury selection starts today in the criminal trial of longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone. The colorful self-described political dirty trickster has pleaded not guilty to charges of obstructing justice, witness tampering, and lying to Congress.
The indictment emerged from Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. It alleges Stone lied to the House Intelligence Committee about WikiLeaks' release of stolen Democratic Party e-mails during the 2016 campaign.
ROMANS: Five hundred twenty-four non-violent inmates released from prison across Oklahoma. It is the largest commutation in U.S. history and the result of a prison reform bill state lawmakers passed in 2016.
Gov. Kevin Stitt excited to provide the now-ex-prisoners with a second chance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. KEVIN STITT (R), OKLAHOMA: And we really want you to have a successful future, and that's what I want to leave you with is this is the first day of the rest of your life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The state has set up a transition fair for the released inmates to meet potential employers and get help with their life beyond prison. BRIGGS: Two African-American senators and candidates for president taking issue with comments by Congressman James Clyburn about a Democratic rival. Clyburn told Dana Bash that older black voters have a problem with Pete Buttigieg being gay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Are you saying for older African-Americans it is an issue?
REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): Yes, it is -- there's no question about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Cory Booker responded on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My mom is turning 80 this year and she's already told me that she celebrates the fact that there is a gay person in this race, openly, who he is, confident and strong.
So again, this broad brushes we paint with any demographic in our country is just wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Kamala Harris also weighing in on CNN and rejecting the premise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm never going to buy into that trope. And I think it's a trope that has evolved among some Democrats to suggest that African-Americans are homophobic or that -- or that there is transphobia in the black community as a community. That's just nonsense.
And I'm not saying that about Rep. Clyburn, who I respect a lot. I'm talking about a trope that has developed among some.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Harris says sadly, there is bias, including homophobia and transphobia in every community.
ROMANS: All right, 53 minutes past the hour. Let's get a check on "CNN Business" this morning.
Taking a look at markets around the world, optimism around the world. And on Wall Street, as well, where futures are higher here. This optimism on Wall Street is about trade. "The Wall Street Journal" and others reporting U.S. and Chinese officials are considering rolling back some tariffs to seal a partial trade deal. All three major averages closed at record highs Monday. The Dow up
115 points. That's the first record high since July 15th, in part because trade concerns have been really holding back stocks. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose slightly, also adding to Friday's gains.
A new look for Facebook following its promises of more transparency.
Its logo, which features the word "FACEBOOK" in capital letters, alternates between the colors that represent its other brands. The change highlights its effort to be more clear with consumers about the apps it owns as it faces growing antitrust scrutiny. Facebook says it plans to use the new logo on products in the weeks ahead.
An interesting experiment in Microsoft -- testing a 4-day workweek. Now it was only in Japan and it was only over the summer, but the results are getting a lot of attention. The Work-Life Choice Challenge -- this is where Microsoft shut down its offices in Japan every Friday in August. It gave employees an extra day off each week.
[05:55:01]
The results, productivity jumped almost 40 percent compared to last year. Microsoft also said it saved money on things like electricity.
Microsoft said it plans to do another experiment in Japan later this year.
BRIGGS: A California transit worker is an overnight hero after rescuing a man who fell onto the tracks as a train was entering the station.
Check out this video from the Oakland Coliseum BART station after Sunday's Raiders-Lions NFL game. You can see the male passenger walking along the edge of the platform before falling in front of the oncoming train. That's when transportation supervisor John O'Connor reached down and pulled him to safety with no time to spare.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'CONNOR: I was just fortunate that God put me there and he got to see another day. And when I spoke to him later I told him hey, pay it forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: BART officials thanked O'Connor for his heroism in a tweet. They also say the passenger who fell onto the tracks was intoxicated.
ROMANS: All right.
A man who rescued a caged dog found in a lake in Illinois now wants to adopt the puppy.
When Bryant Fritz spotted Dory over the weekend, he jumped into that lake to save her. He rushed the dog, in his truck, to a veterinary hospital. Dory had hypothermia and wounds that needed to be treated but she's doing well and was just released.
Fritz is hoping animal control will let him give her a new home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRYANT FRITZ, RESCUED CAGED DOG FROM LAKE: I just think it's unfortunate because anybody that's in that situation that can't take care of an animal, there's a lot of options and things that can be done and people are definitely willing to help in the shelters. They're willing to take in those animals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Bryant Fritz says his own dog died recently and he believes this rescue was anything but chance.
BRIGGS: The New York Giants leading the Dallas Cowboys 9-3 right before halftime on "MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL" when this happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: And the cat runs into the end zone. That is a touchdown.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: A black cat proved to be a bad omen for New York and good luck for Dallas.
Quarterback Dak Prescott threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns. Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 139 yards. And the Cowboys poured it on after the black cat -- 37-18 the final.
ROMANS: How does a cat get in there?
BRIGGS: Apparently, it had been living there under the seats. MetLife Stadium tweeted out that they were --
ROMANS: Really?
BRIGGS: -- going to locate him and get him to the veterinarian, but they never followed up on that. So I assume he is still running loose --
ROMANS: Living life.
BRIGGS: -- and causing all sorts of trouble in the stadium.
ROMANS: Living the high life on nachos and hot dogs.
All right, it's become a tradition of -- it's become as traditional as Halloween candy, itself, right? Jimmy Kimmel's annual home videos in which parents trick or torture their own kids, telling them they ate the Halloween treats.
Here they are -- your "Late-Night Laughs."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHILDREN: (Crying).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We hate you. We don't have to love you anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I ate it all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I ate it all because I was hungry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mommy and Daddy ate all of your Halloween candy. Is that OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Screaming).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last night I got hungry and I ate all of your Halloween candy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Crying).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't eat people's candy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. I'm really, really sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have made me mad. I'm really mad, mommy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said I'm sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Well, thank you. I love you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Oh, he --
BRIGGS: Oh my God, I can't believe that.
ROMANS: That was adorable.
BRIGGS: My kids would be done with me.
ROMANS: I did throw out some candy this year. I threw it out because --
BRIGGS: Tell me why.
ROMANS: -- child number three ate child number two's candy and I got --
BRIGGS: Ate it all or just stole it?
ROMANS: With the neighbors -- stole it, ate it with the neighbors. I got so mad I threw out everybody's candy and said this holiday is over. So, yes, there was some crying in my house. Mean mom.
BRIGGS: I love the annual torture.
ROMANS: Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Here's "NEW DAY."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A significant day on Capitol Hill as we saw the release of the first transcripts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ambassador McKinley expressed his concern about Pompeo not having the backs of foreign service officers.
POMPEO: The officers at the State Department have had to testify without counsel. I regret that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a coward and frankly, has disqualified himself from continued service as Secretary of State.
NOBLES: Virginia, Kentucky, and Mississippi are the states to watch.
TRUMP: You will vote to reelect Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was a way to rally troops for these candidates.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Gosh, that was beautiful in Technicolor.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Isn't the sun supposed to be up? Isn't is supposed to be morning? What happened?
CAMEROTA: Well, now with the time change that is a bummer, but it's beautiful. It's like we decorated that in Technicolor.
Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY.
END
