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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Democrats Did Not Push Through with Late-Night Vote on Impeachment; Boris Johnson Pledges to Make Brexit Happen After Decisive Victory; Trump Signs Off on Tentative U.S.-China Trade Deal. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired December 13, 2019 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:26]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): The committee will now stand in recess until tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: History on hold. The House Judiciary vote on impeachment delayed until this morning. A late-night curveball after a day of GOP delays.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This one nation conservative government has been given a powerful new mandate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: A defining win for Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party in the U.K. Is Brexit now on the fast track?
BRIGGS: The president finally signs off on a phase one trade deal with China. What both sides get and the lasting damage the talks may have created.
Welcome back to EARLY START, everybody, and happy Friday. I'm Dave Briggs.
WALKER: Happy Friday. I'm Amara Walker. Half past 4:00 in the morning here in New York.
BRIGGS: Breaking overnight, a late-night surprise from the House Judiciary Committee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NADLER: It has been a long two days of consideration of these articles and it is now very late at night. The committee will now stand in recess until tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. at which point --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa. NADLER: -- I will move to divide the question so that each of us may
have the opportunity to cast up-or-down votes on each of the articles of impeachment and to let history be our judge. The committee is in recess.
REP. DOUG COLLINS (R-GA): Mr. Chairman, you chose not to consult the ranking member on a schedule issue of this magnitude? So typical. This is the -- this is the kangaroo court that we're talking about. This is outrageous --
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: Not even consult --
REP. LOUIE GOHMERT (R-TX): It's Stalinesque. Let's have a dictator. It's good to hear about that.
COLLINS: 10:00 a.m. tomorrow --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The Stalin comment from Texas Congressman Louis Gohmert you heard there. The vote on articles to impeach and remove President trump put on hold until this morning. Virtually everyone expected a late-night vote last night. So why the delay? Democrats were furious at Republicans for what they considered a blatant effort to drag out debate forcing a final vote in the dead of night.
WALKER: Democrats decided not to play ball, putting off the final two votes so more Americans can witness history in the making. Bottom line, the committee is still expected to pass articles of impeachment -- the president today with the full House to follow next week, likely on Wednesday.
So how is the White House preparing for this historic moment?
Here's Kaitlan Collins with that.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Dave and Amara, the president was paying close attention as these Republicans and Democrats were going back and forth on the House Judiciary Committee. Now, all this comes as the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, says he is going to be coordinating with the White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, closely, on what that Senate trial is going to look like. We know that's something the president has been turning his attention on because he wants to essentially be vindicated when it comes to the time to have that Senate trial, which McConnell says will be in the early year.
But one interesting thing that did happen yesterday is as the president behind the scenes has been privately complaining still about impeachment, his campaign manager Brad Parscale was touting what they see as the political benefits of what's happening in Washington right now. They say they're able to fund raise faster, get more volunteers and essentially ignite this flame behind their supporters because of impeachment because essentially they argue that these supporters see the president, they think he's being attacked, they think his presidency is being attacked. And they think in the long run that's going to help them.
BRIGGS: All right. Kaitlan Collins, thanks.
Breaking overnight, a decisive, historic outcome in the U.K. election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: It does look as though this one nation conservative government has been given a powerful, new mandate.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
JOHNSON: To get Brexit done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Boris Johnson's Conservative Party capturing an absolute majority, winning at least 355 seats. That's the best result for the Conservatives since Margaret Thatcher's landslide win in 1987. Already there are plans for leadership changes in the Labour Party.
Max Foster live from London with the latest. Max, good morning.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: So a huge night today it has to be said for Boris Johnson. He wasn't taken seriously for years in politics. Looked like he was on his way out at one point. And now gets this victory. The type of victory the Conservatives haven't had since Margaret Thatcher's day back in 1987. So extraordinary, he is now able to push his agenda through.
[04:35:00]
His big campaign message we spoke about on the program was get Brexit done. He now has a mandate to do that. This debate, though, of Brexit is over. We are leaving. It's going to be a managed withdrawal with a deal at the end of January. That's what he promised and that's what people voted on. So we're expecting that now to happen. There'll then be a negotiation process with the E.U. to get a trade deal.
But already Donald Trump has stepped in this morning saying the U.S. could give the U.K. an even bigger trade deal than the E.U. So this has national repercussions, European repercussions and also international repercussions when you consider this may also affect the United States.
One slight splatter in the works might be the very strong showing from the Scottish Nationalists. They now dominate Scottish politics and they campaigned on a referendum on Scottish independence, something Boris Johnson has ruled out and he's got a problem there.
BRIGGS: Yes. Still a very rocky road ahead. Max Foster live for us in London this morning.
You saw Boris Johnson with his dog. He went to the polling station with it. And 50,000 people tweeted about dogs at polling stations. Then this guy showed up. Reindeer were at the polling station, a consequence of the timing, just before Christmas. Let's just say it was a very interesting and colorful day in the U.K.
WALKER: Aren't these supposed to be apolitical, the reindeers?
(LAUGHTER)
BRIGGS: We don't know who they voted for.
WALKER: OK.
BRIGGS: OK?
WALKER: But still.
BRIGGS: Yes.
WALKER: After months of negotiations, President Trump has signed off on a phase one trade deal with China. The two sides have been haggling over specifics since a broad outline was announced in October.
CNN's David Culver is live in Beijing with the latest. Hi, David.
DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Amara. Well, let's look at this agreement. OK? So this includes a delay in tariffs on Chinese gods that were scheduled to kick in on Sunday. These are those consumer goods. $156 billion worth. Now a source says that the deal also includes reducing some of the existing tariffs. That's important because that's why the October deal that was very similar to where we are now essentially fell apart.
The Chinese insisted they wanted a bigger rollback on tariffs. It seems like the U.S. will go forward with that. China in return has promised to make those big agricultural purchases of products. That's big for President Trump's base, in particular. And they've also made those same agreements in the past. But the thing is, they have really failed to follow through on those. The question is, if they go forward with this, will they agree to that? As of now they're saying yes.
Now all of this does not address the major structural changes to China's economy that Trump has been calling for. So assuming this phase one goes through, it may get held up before we're even talking about a phase two or a phase three. Especially when we point to what we're hearing today here out of Beijing. The rhetoric in particular. China's foreign minister, lashing out at the U.S.
I want you to listen to what he had to say. He said, quote, "This almost paranoid behavior seriously damaging the hard-won foundation of mutual trust between China and the United States, and seriously weakening the United States' own international credibility." Coming down hard on the U.S. notably they don't mention President
Donald Trump by name. But this is not speaking positively to this relationship going forward. One positive note we can say, U.S. futures looking upwards and Asian markets closed with gains -- Amara.
WALKER: David Culver, appreciate your reporting live for us there in Beijing.
BRIGGS: 2020 Democratic hopeful, Elizabeth Warren, sharpening her attacks. She is now directly calling out fellow candidate Pete Buttigieg as well former Vice President Joe Biden and billionaires like fellow candidate Michael Bloomberg. Warren shifting strategies as her campaign stalls in national polls. Speaking in New Hampshire, Warren took a series of unmistakable shots.
The common theme, her rivals' reliance on campaign cash from rich donors, which she says makes them untrustworthy and not out to help the working class.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, unlike some candidates for the Democratic nomination, I am not counting on Republican politicians having an epiphany and suddenly supporting the kind of tax increases on the rich or big business accountability that they've opposed under Democratic presidents for a generation.
Unlike some candidates for the Democratic nomination, I'm not betting my agenda on the naive hope that if Democrats adopt Republican critiques of progressive policies or make vague calls or unity, that somehow the wealthy and well-connected will stand down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The debate calendar for early 2020 now taking shape. CNN and the "Des Moines Register" will host the Iowa debate January 14th from the campus of Drake University. The last debate before the Iowa caucuses.
WALKER: Facebook putting big money into a board to oversee its content.
[04:40:02]
But it won't be up and running as soon as the company hoped.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRIGGS: Facebook is putting up $130 million toward its global oversight board which will review how the social media giant handles content. The company said the initial cash will go towards the organization's work for up to six years, covering staffing costs, office space and travel expenses.
[04:45:04] But Facebook said it was behind on announcing the board's members. It had plan to announce them by the end of the year. The company hopes the independent body will act as a sort of digital Supreme Court for content appeals. Facebook has faced scrutiny over how it handles hate speech, graphic content and other offensive material.
WALKER: Climate change activist and newly minted "Time Person of the Year" Greta Thunberg trolling President Trump after he mocked her again on Twitter. Trump tweeting that Thunberg must work on her anger management problem. He also told the teen working on global warming to go to a good old-fashioned movie with a friend and chill. Thunberg updating her Twitter bio to reflect Trump's comments.
BRIGGS: Overnight, former First Lady Michelle Obama tweeted her support for Thunberg. Quote, "Don't let anyone dim your light. Ignore the doubters and know that millions of people are cheering you on."
Trump's latest attack on the Swedish teen happening days after the Trumps and some Republicans criticized a witness in the impeachment probe for bringing up Barron Trump in her testimony. Twitter users making First Lady Melania Trump's anti-bullying slogan, "Be Best," trend after the president's attack.
Ahead here, the Peloton wife finally speaking out. What she says was the problem with this now infamous ad, ahead in CNN Business.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:51:00]
WALKER: The deadly shooting at a kosher deli in Jersey City is being classified as a case of domestic terrorism with a hate crime vent. New Jersey's U.S. attorney says there was clearly a bias toward the Jewish community and law enforcement. Police believe the two shooters were acting on their own.
Their final victim has been identified. Douglas Miguel Rodriguez, an Ecuadorian immigrant, has worked in the store for one year. Flags in New Jersey will fly at half-staff for one week starting today ahead of the Sabbath.
BRIGGS: The Trump administration is green lighting new oil drilling leases for over one million acres of federal land in California. The move covers eight counties in central California, mostly around petroleum-rich Bakersfield in the Sierra Foothills near Yosemite National Park.
A lawsuit filed by environmental groups halted leasing for the last five years until the impacts of fracking could be better studied. A court-ordered report by the Bureau of Land Management just concluded. The adverse impacts of fracking can be moderated.
WALKER: A Mississippi family claims that a hacker accessed their Ring camera and used it to harass their 8-year-old daughter. Ashley LeMay says she installed the Ring in the girl's bedroom to keep an eye on her while she works overnight as a nurse. But four days after buying the device this happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm your best friend. I'm Santa Claus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: The caller also encouraged the girl to mess up her room and break her TV. Ring said the hacker did not gain access through a data breach. Instead it says the person likely took advantage of the family's weak account security.
BRIGGS: Vaping-related lung illnesses saw a rising nationwide. Over 2400 hospitalizations are being reported by the CDC. That's up more than 100 cases in a week. There are now 52 confirmed deaths in 26 states and D.C. with the ages ranging from 17 through 75. Illinois is now suing e-cigarette maker Juul, claiming the company targets minors. The suit alleging Juul's advertising undid years of progress to reduce youth smoking. At least five other lawsuits were filed against the company last month.
WALKER: The last of four teenagers who escaped from a juvenile facility in Nashville has been captured at an apartment complex in Antioch, Kentucky. An adult man and woman who were with Brandon Caruthers were also taken into custody. Three other teens who escaped with Carruthers two weeks ago have also been captured. Two employees with the National Juvenile Detention Center are charged with facilitating their escape by their recklessness.
BRIGGS: Crime victims and prosecutors in Kentucky, stunned this morning, after former Governor Matt Bevin issued 428 pardons before leaving office on Tuesday. Among the offenses pardoned were reckless homicide, child rape, a man who murdered his parents when he was 16 and a woman who threw her newborn in the trash. The story was first reported in "The Louisville Courier Journal." A state prosecutor calling the pardons an absolute atrocity of justice. Bevin told the "Washington Post" he signed the pardons because he's, quote, "a big believer in second chances."
WALKER: Now the new governor of Kentucky has signed an executive order that restores the voting rights of more than 140,000 former felons in the state. Governor Andy Beshear says he did it because his faith teaches him to treat others with dignity and respect. His executive order covers nonviolent felons who completed their prison terms. Beshear is also expressing concerns about Kentucky's voter access issues. One in four African-Americans in the state are not allowed to cast ballots.
BRIGGS: Twelve former NFL players charged with defrauding the league's retiree health care plan out of $3.4 million.
[04:55:07]
Former star running back Clinton Portis among the retired players who allegedly submitted phony claims for expensive medical equipment that was never purchased. The NFL's Player Health Reimbursement Account has established as part of the 2006 collective bargaining agreement. It provides tax-free reimbursement of out-of-pocket medical expenses for former players, their wives, and their dependents.
Former NBA commissioner David Stern rushed to a New York City hospital Thursday afternoon after suffering a sudden brain hemorrhage. The league says he underwent emergency surgery. No word on his condition. The 77-year-old Stern served exactly 30 years as the NBA's longest- tenured commissioner. He collapsed at a Manhattan restaurant Thursday afternoon. Security guards tried to revive him before EMS arrived at the scene.
WALKER: A new number will soon be available for Americans who are thinking of ending their own lives. The FCC unanimously approving a three-digit number, 988, for instant access to the National Suicide Prevention hotline. Officials say the idea was to echo the 911 emergency number making it easier to access crisis services and to reduce the stigma surrounding suicide and mental health conditions. Telecom companies have 18 months to phase in the service.
BRIGGS: SuperShuttle is going out of business. That means you won't be seeing those distinctive blue and yellow vans at the airport anymore in 2020. SuperShuttle and its sister, sedan service ExecuCar lists more than 60 airport locations in North America and more than a dozen internationally. But the service has faced stiff competition from ride hailing services like Uber and Lyft. Airports were notified this week that the Phoenix-based company will cease operations December 31st.
WALKER: A team of Canadians saving the symbol of the United States, a bald eagle, from a big old hungry octopus. The team of salmon farmers working off Vancouver Island heard the eagle screeching last Monday and they found this. The jumbo-sized octopod trying to pull the eagle underwater. Well, they briefly hesitated to interfere with Mother Nature but finally one of them used a boat hook to gently tug on a tentacle until the octopus released the eagle which flew to shore. The fisherman John Ilett tells CNN, "It's moments like this why I love my job."
BRIGGS: All right. 4:57 and a check on CNN Business. First, a quick look at markets around the world. Asian stocks rallied on news that the U.S. and China have reached a phase one trade deal to delayed tariffs. European stocks have opened higher. On Wall Street, futures pointing to a positive open. Stocks closed higher Thursday before President Trump signed off on the trade agreement. The Dow finished up 220 points, the S&P and Nasdaq posted gains as well.
Lyft is taking on the car rental industry, announcing its new Lyft rental service Thursday. The program will allow users to rent cars for up to two weeks. The concept is only available in Los Angeles and the San Francisco bay area right now. It says customers won't get hit with mileage-based charges and refueling costs that other rental companies add on. Lyft declined to comment on how many cars it has available.
You've all seen this infamous peloton ad, by now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MONICA RUIZ, ACTRESS: Excited. Let's do this. Five days in a row. Are you surprised?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: She's taking some blame for the now infamous holiday ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUIZ: That was totally worth it.
I mean, honestly, I think it was just my face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean?
RUIZ: It's my fault. My eyebrows looked like worried I guess. People were like she was scared.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think. There's some picture behind you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Peloton received a lot of backlash for the ad. Critics accused it of peddling negative image, unchecked privilege and gross marital dynamics. Ruiz even appeared in an ad for Aviation Gin, Ryan Reynolds' company, that seemed to poke fun at her own controversy. Ruiz now says she hopes people can just see her as an actress.
It takes a lot to admit my face was the biggest problem.
WALKER: Yes, sure.
BRIGGS: But she's right. She did look like a bit of a hostage there.
WALKER: Yes. A little bit, although I'm kind of over the story. Can we stop talking about Peloton now?
BRIGGS: No. Never.
WALKER: I'm kind of done.
BRIGGS: I am never done with this story.
WALKER: They're getting enough publicity.
BRIGGS: I love it.
WALKER: I'm sure they're happy.
EARLY START continues right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NADLER: The committee will now stand in recess until tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: History on hold. The House Judiciary vote on impeachment delayed until this morning. A late-night curveball after a day of GOP delays.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNSON: This one nation conservative government has been given a powerful new mandate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: A defining win for Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party in the --
(END)
