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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
U.S. Sailor Kills Two, Himself In Hawaii; Democrats Plan Next Impeachment Steps; Biden: Trump Is "A President The World Is Laughing At." Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired December 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]
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: -- Mueller's Russia investigation into those obstruction counts.
At Wednesday's hearing, the Democrats' three witnesses agreed the president had committed impeachable offenses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NORM EISEN, DEMOCRATIC COUNSEL: Did President Trump commit the impeachable high crime and misdemeanor of abuse of power based on that evidence and those findings.
NOAH FELDMAN, PROFESSOR, HARVARD LAW SCHOOL: Based and that evidence and those findings, the president did commit an impeachable abuse of office.
EISEN: Professor Karlan, same question.
PAMELA KARLAN, PROFESSOR, STANFORD LAW SCHOOL: Same answer.
EISEN: And, Professor Gerhardt?
MICHAEL GERHARDT, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL OF LAW: We three are unanimous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The Republicans' witness, law professor Jonathan Turley, warned of a slippery slope. He said thin evidence could lead to more and more frequent impeachments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN TURLEY, PROFESSOR, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: I believe this impeachment not only fails to satisfy the standard of past impeachments but would create a dangerous precedent for future impeachments. If you prove a quid pro quo, then you might have an impeachable offense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Turley cast doubt on a quid pro quo despite evidence -- significant evidence seen by millions of Americans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN KARL, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, ABC NEWS: Let's be clear. What you just described is a quid pro quo. It is funding will not flow unless the investigation into the Democratic server happened as well.
MICK MULVANEY, ACTING WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: We do -- we do that all the time with foreign policy.
GORDON SONDLAND, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE EUROPEAN UNION: Was there a quid pro quo? As I testified previously with regard to the requested White House call and the White House meeting, the answer is yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Whatever the risks of impeachment, House Democrats seem ready to move forward. Behind closed doors yesterday, sources tell us Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked her members are you ready, and they replied in unison, yes.
BRIGGS: All right, let's talk about all of this with "Washington Post" senior political reporter Aaron Blake, who is live in Washington this morning. Good to see you, sir.
ROMANS: Good morning, Aaron.
AARON BLAKE, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Good morning.
BRIGGS: Thanks for being with us bright and early.
So, yesterday, the three constitutional law professors say yes, this was impeachable. Jonathan Turley says no, it's not -- at least not yet.
How does that move the football?
BLAKE: You know, when we had the impeachment hearings in the House Intelligence Committee, the polls really didn't move from before the hearings until after, even though we got a fair amount of new evidence out of those hearings. I think people are pretty ensconced in their camps right now.
I think the real question here is what does this mean not necessarily for the removal of the president, but what does it mean for moving some voters ahead of the 2020 election? And by the way, if they only move the voters a couple of points, that makes the president's reelection campaign much more difficult than it already is.
ROMANS: Let's talk more about next steps here because there's a time line that's playing out here pretty quickly over the next couple of weeks. What could be in these articles of impeachment? Abuse of power and bribery, obstruction of justice, obstruction of Congress. Do you think that there are hints there -- did you -- how significant are the hints that there could be Mueller investigation material that makes its way into this?
BLAKE: Yes. I thought it was really interesting that the chairman of the committee began the proceedings by mentioning the Mueller obstruction findings prominently in his opening statement. That, to me, suggests he, who has obviously a lot of control over this process, is inclined to at least entertain that.
It was interesting, though, that one of the witnesses for the Democrats, Noah Feldman from Harvard, was somebody who was skeptical of impeachment even after the Mueller report came out, and that was dwelt upon a little bit at this hearing.
So I think that Democrats have a real decision to make whether to include that. I think the most likely outcome is that they mention it alongside the alleged obstruction that happened with regard to the Ukraine situation, but maybe don't make it its own article of impeachment.
BRIGGS: Yes, and could that be problematic, you think, for Democrats? Could it muddle the situation?
BLAKE: Yes. I mean, it's a tough situation because obviously, Robert Mueller did not find -- or did not reach a conclusion on obstruction of justice because of Justice Department guidelines against impeach -- charging a president, rather.
But it's a situation where he did find significant evidence. There were five events that I ran through at the time where Robert Mueller basically laid out significant evidence that satisfied the statute for obstruction of justice. There are three things that are required to charge somebody with obstruction of justice and he laid out significant evidence for five different events, so I think it's an argument that could work.
If Democrats want to keep this more focused on Ukraine, though, I think that strategy actually makes a fair amount of political sense.
BRIGGS: Yes, staying focused.
Jonathan Turley -- again, the George Washington law professor -- in part, argued that they haven't proven -- the Democrats, yet -- that they need to hear from more witnesses. Adding, "If you prove a quid pro quo, you might have an impeachable offense."
Well, part of the reason they haven't heard from all the relevant witnesses here is the White House won't allow them --
ROMANS: Right.
BRIGGS: -- to testify -- Mick Mulvaney, central, and those.
Here is what Fox News' own judicial analyst, Andrew Napolitano, said about the White House not allowing these people to testify -- listen. [05:35:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW NAPOLITANO, SENIOR JUDICIAL ANALYST, FOX NEWS: The Democrats have credibly argued that he committed impeachment offenses. The easiest one -- because this existed in Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton -- is obstruction of Congress. So by directing his subordinates to refuse to comply with lawfully-issued subpoenas, whether it's for testimony or for documents, that's an impeachable offense.
BILL HEMMER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR, "AMERICA'S NEWSROOM": If you were in the House, would you vote for impeachment, sir -- yes or no?
NAPOLITANO: I certainly would.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Not sure if that was on Air Force One as the president flew back from the U.K. But, how problematic is that for the White House?
BLAKE: Yes. I mean, I think there are some voices that are on the president's screen right now who are saying this is problematic.
And by the way, even the Republican witness, if you -- if you look at those comments that you just played there from Jonathan Turley. He said if there was a quid pro quo, that could be impeachable.
I think his meaning was if you actually connect that quid pro quo to the president, which hasn't necessarily been done so far but it's certainly gotten right next to the president with Mick Mulvaney talking about it and being implicated in this -- that's his top aide --
His European Union ambassador who he was in touch with has testified that there were two quid pro quos.
Even the Republican witnesses in these hearings are talking about how problematic all this was. Jonathan Turley said the phone call was anything but perfect and that his mention --
ROMANS: Right.
BLAKE: -- of the Bidens on it was highly inappropriate. So I think that's significant.
ROMANS: Yes, inappropriate but maybe not impeachable. I mean, that's the interesting angle from the -- from the person who's there speaking, I guess, more pro-Trump than anybody else.
You have a really great piece -- a brief history of world leaders laughing at Trump -- in "The Washington Post." We mentioned the president coming back on Air Force One, wondering what he's watching on his way back. This hot mic moment really got a lot of attention and it's interesting, in particular, because this president was basically elected by saying that the rest of the world is laughing at us. And here he is on the world stage literally being laughed at or laughed about by world leaders.
What do you make of that?
BLAKE: Yes. So I caught, actually more than 50 times, that he mentioned the world laughing at us before he was elected president, so this was a significant talking point for him.
There have been several instances of this. Of course, the big one, as people are seeing in this Joe Biden ad, was when he was at the United Nations and talked about he was the most successful president, through two years, in U.S. history, and the world leaders laughed at him.
There was the example of Ivanka Trump being with world leaders, much similar to what we saw this week, where they basically -- Christine Lagarde basically had a blank expression on her face when Ivanka Trump was trying to talk about international diplomacy.
So I think the idea that the president is being laughed at goes against his brand, but it also motivates him. This is somebody who was motivated to run for president, after all, after being laughed at, at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
ROMANS: True.
BRIGGS: But if you are -- Aaron, if you are a Trump supporter, don't you see that video and say yes, that's the guy we elected who --
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- just put his thumb in the nose of the elite world leaders.
BLAKE: Exactly. I don't think anybody's too sad on the Trump side to see Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, making fun of Trump, especially for having a long press conference.
I don't know that this ultimately moves the ball all that much. I think it's more of something that's good for somebody like Joe Biden to use in the Democratic primary.
ROMANS: Yes. I mean, that split-screen of the constitutional law professors giving a history lesson of the framers in Washington and then the global elites laughing at him at a cocktail party at Buckingham Palace. I mean, Trump supporters are like we elected him to break glass and he's breaking glass.
BRIGGS: Aaron Blake, "Washington Post," great to see you, sir. Thank you.
ROMANS: Nice to see you.
BLAKE: Thank you. BRIGGS: All right.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will take questions on impeachment, the 2020 election, and more in a live CNN town hall moderated by Jake Tapper, tonight, 9:00 Eastern time, right here on CNN.
ROMANS: All right. So, the 2020 Democrats are being asked this question on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've got to go -- thank you.
REPORTER: Would you consider Sen. Harris as a running mate?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: More on Sen. Kamala Harris' future, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:43:11]
ROMANS: Breaking overnight, deadly gunfire causing panic and a lockdown at a military base in Hawaii. Two civilian shipyard workers at John Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam killed by a U.S. sailor who then killed himself. A third civilian employee was wounded and is in stable condition.
Rear Admiral Robert Chadwick says the attack came just a few days before commemorations of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REAR ADM. ROBERT CHADWICK, COMMANDER, U.S. NAVY, HAWAII REGION AND NAVAL GROUP MIDDLE PACIFIC: The role that the shipyard played in World War II is pretty legendary and the shipyard is known for, you know, the amazing work they did then and the amazing work they continue to do. So this is certainly a tragedy for everyone here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Chadwick says the attack took place near Drydock Two, a maintenance area for nuclear submarines.
An investigation is underway. Authorities have not released a motive nor the identities of the shooter or victims. We'll bring you more information on the story as we get it.
BRIGGS: Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau now admitting he and other world leaders were talking about President Trump behind his back during a NATO event at Buckingham Palace. They were overheard apparently joking about the president and now, a viral video.
Trudeau does not appear too concerned his comments will adversely affect the U.S.-Canada relationship. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN TRUDEAU, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: And I made a reference to the fact that there was an unscheduled press conference before my meeting with President Trump. And I was happy to take part in it, but it was certainly notable. And I've had a number of good conversations with the president over the course of this day and yesterday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Here's what President Trump said about the Canadian leader.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, he's two-faced.
REPORTER: Do you think that Germany is --
TRUMP: And, honestly, with Trudeau, he's a nice guy. I find him to be a very nice guy. But, you know, the truth is that I called him out on the fact that he's not paying two percent and I guess he's not very happy about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[05:45:01]
BRIGGS: A source tells CNN the president is annoyed and bothered by the video but believes the two leaders will be able to work through it. The source also says the hot mic video is not why President Trump canceled his scheduled news conference at the end of the NATO conference.
ROMANS: The Biden campaign seizing on the clip in a video. Jessica Dean is traveling with the Biden campaign in Charles City, Iowa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA DEAN, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Christine and Dave, Joe Biden continuing his bus tour through Iowa. He's going all across the state to towns here, making his case in halls like this one that he is uniquely positioned to beat Donald Trump in 2020.
And to that end, his campaign's releasing a video slamming President Trump. It says, in effect, that the world is laughing at the president.
BIDEN POLITICAL AD, UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: World leaders caught on camera laughing about President Trump.
TRUDEAU: I watched his team's jaws drop to the floor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Several world leaders mocking President Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're laughing at him. TRUMP (U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY SPEECH): My administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country.
UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY: (Laughter).
TRUMP: I didn't expect that reaction but that's OK.
DEAN: The timing on the release of that video no accident. It was released shortly after President Trump landed back in the U.S. after being overseas and keeps in line with Vice President Biden's practice of not criticizing the president while he's overseas.
Also, Vice President Biden saying he'd consider his formal rival, Kamala Harris, as a running mate.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She is a -- she's solid, she is a -- she can be a president someday, herself; she can be the vice president; she can go on to be a Supreme Court justice; she can be attorney general. I mean, she has enormous capability.
DEAN: Biden wrapped up Wednesday night here in Charles City. He rolls on with day six of his eight-day bus tour today -- Christine and Dave.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRIGGS: OK, Jessica, thanks.
Senator Elizabeth Warren was also asked about Sen. Harris. Here's what she told MSNBC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Watch what she did during the -- during the Kavanaugh hearings, holding our attorneys general accountable, going after Barr, going after Sessions. Kamala's terrific and I guarantee we're going to hear a lot more from Kamala in a lot of different ways.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Warren called Sen. Harris smart, confident, and a tough advocate for families.
ROMANS: Elizabeth Warren touted her plans for a wealth tax and Medicare for All during her appearance on "THE TONIGHT SHOW" and she answered some fun curveball questions, too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY FALLON, NBC HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON": Curveball: what's Baby Yoda's whole deal and why are people so excited about him?
WARREN: He's a baby. FALLON: That's very good -- very good. You get that one.
Should there be a "Ballers" movie or were you satisfied with the series finale?
WARREN: Oh, anything that The Rock wants to do.
FALLON: Do you know who Van Halen is?
WARREN: Yes, but you don't have to. Let's ease up on Billie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Warren cutting 17-year-old Billie Eilish some slack after the singer admitted last week she didn't know who Van Halen or Huey Lewis were.
BRIGGS: That doesn't surprise me at the least. Who'd you prefer, Van Halen or Huey Lewis?
ROMANS: Van Halen, for sure.
BRIGGS: I'm a Huey Lewis. Can I admit that?
ROMANS: Really? We don't see eye-to-eye on anything.
BRIGGS: "Happy to Be Stuck With You" -- yes. All right.
Ahead, love him or hate him, Howard Stern has a way of getting people to say revealing things. Hear what Hillary Clinton revealed, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:52:50]
ROMANS: Hillary Clinton hammering her old friend and colleague Lindsey Graham in her debut appearance on "THE HOWARD STERN SHOW."
The former Secretary of State covering a wide range of topics, calling President Trump's inauguration, quote, "One of the hardest days of her life." She says she just couldn't figure out what happened.
And here's what she told Stern about Sen. Graham.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's like he -- it's like he had a brain snatch, you know. Lindsey was good company, he was funny, he was self-deprecating. He also believed in climate change back in those days.
HOWARD STERN, RADIO HOST, "THE HOWARD STERN SHOW": He sold his soul to the devil.
CLINTON: I don't know the answer to that. I think that's a fair question, however. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Stern asked Sec. Clinton if she had a favorite among the Democratic presidential candidates. She answered, "Whoever can win. That's all I care about."
BRIGGS: It's beginning to look a lot more like Christmas in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Lighting of U.S. Capitol Christmas tree.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did the honors of lighting the Christmas tree at the U.S. Capitol last night, along with the delegation from New Mexico. The 60-foot spruce traveled from New Mexico to D.C.
President Trump and the first lady expected to light the 97th annual national tree tonight.
ROMANS: And we're just about at the top of the hour so let's get a check on "CNN Business" this morning.
Competing headlines in the U.S.-China trade war simply dominating global markets. Everything moving higher here in the early going on Thursday.
On Wall Street, futures also leaning up a little bit. This is following through from yesterday when stocks rose, boosted by a report that a trade deal with China is closer than it seems. The Dow closed up about 146 points. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq finished up a bit as well.
But look, the Dow is still on track for its worst week since August because of signs the trade war could last through the election. The president, himself, said that in London this week.
The trade war hammering manufacturing. ADP reports manufacturing jobs shed another 6,000 in November, the second-weakest month since March 2010. The November jobs report is Friday morning.
Changes for Instagram in an effort to protect younger users. New users need to enter their birthday when they create an account. Until now, they only had to confirm they were ages 13 or older but they didn't have to provide an exact birthday.
[05:55:06]
Instagram will use the age information to recommend that those younger teens opt for more privacy settings, like only allowing new message requests from people they follow.
All right, have you seen this ad by now? (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, ready?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A Peloton?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Peloton getting a lot of backlash for this holiday ad. That look on her face is what Dave thinks is interesting.
BRIGGS: A proof of life photo.
ROMANS: Critics accuse the company of peddling negative body image, unchecked privilege, gross marital dynamics -- you know, the husband buying the wife something to make her skinny --
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: -- the already skinny wife.
Now, Peloton says come on, everybody -- you totally misinterpreted this message. Quote, "We constantly hear from our members how their lives have been meaningfully and positively impacted after purchasing or being gifted a Peloton Bike or Tread, often in ways that surprise them."
BRIGGS: Let me just speak up for men who bought their wife exercise equipment not just once, but twice in my life. I bought her a Peloton because she wanted a Peloton, and she loves it.
ROMANS: And then she dented you with a dumbbell -- no.
BRIGGS: But I recovered.
All right. You don't mind the ad, though? You're not offended by it.
ROMANS: I am not offended by the ad, but it takes a lot to offend me.
BRIGGS: The hostage look was a little off, but that's it.
All right, three men just set a new record for the Cannonball Run, an illegal high-speed drive from New York to Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLIP FROM 20TH CENTURY FOX, "THE CANNONBALL RUN."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The run was made famous in that 1981 classic starring Burt Reynolds as Erwin "Cannonball" Baker, the original record holder in the cross-country sprint.
Arne Toman, Doug Tabbutt, and Berkeley Chadwick just drove a customized Mercedes-Benz from New York to L.A. in 27 hours and 25 minutes, beating the previous Cannonball Run record in 2013 by an hour and 25 minutes. Their average speed, 103 miles per hour.
The guys say they had a few encounters with law enforcement along the way but were never pulled over. And they stopped only four times during the entire 2,825-mile trip. That is not allowed by Romans' rules.
ROMANS: No, no, no.
BRIGGS: No stops for you.
ROMANS: We go, we go -- pit crew.
All right, fans are getting their first look at the new James Bond film, "No Time to Die." The first trailer for the 25th installment in the Bond franchise has just dropped.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLIP FROM UNIVERSAL STUDIO'S "NO TIME TO DIE."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right, this is Daniel Craig's fifth and final outing as 007. I think he's actually changed this role, quite frankly.
BRIGGS: Absolutely.
ROMANS: I really think he's done a great job.
"No Time to Die" hits theaters in April 2020.
BRIGGS: It never gets old.
That hot mic moment at NATO is a golden opportunity for the late-night shows. Here are your "Late-Night Laughs."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUDEAU: He was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top. You just watched his team's jaws drop to the floor.
STEPHEN COLBERT, CBS HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": Hey, Justin, be nice. Stephen Miller's jaw only does that when it's feeding time and they bring him the baby deer. He unhinges.
JAMES CORDEN, CBS HOST, "THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN": And this is what they're saying in public. Like, I would love to see what goes down in that group text chain.
Here's how you know when you're really disliked -- when you get a Canadian to talk smack about you.
JIMMY KIMMEL, ABC HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!": Trudeau is one thing, but Boris Johnson -- that's the one that's got to hurt the most. I mean, we already knew Trudeau and Macron don't like him, but Boris -- sweet, disheveled, crazy-hair Boris? Even he's -- like, he's supposed to be the Donald Trump of England and he's laughing. You know you're a mess when even this guy's making fun of you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The mics are always hot, gentlemen. The mics are always hot.
BRIGGS: Someone's always listening.
ROMANS: Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Here's "NEW DAY."
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Thursday, December fifth, 6:00 here in New York.
And we do have some breaking news just in. CNN has just learned that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will deliver a statement at 9:00 a.m. Eastern on the status of the impeachment investigation. Now, this comes ahead of her exclusive town hall with CNN tonight.
Sources say that the speaker has been quietly taking the pulse of Democrats behind the scenes about the timeframe and the scope of the potential articles of impeachment. Is that what she will announce at 9:00 a.m.?
The White House has until tomorrow to decide whether to participate in the House investigation.
If everything stays on schedule, a full House vote on impeachment could come the week before Christmas.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, this 9:00 a.m. statement from Pelosi is a big deal.
END
