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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Former White House Counsel Expected to Defy Congressional Subpoena; Judge Orders Accounting Firm to Turn Over Trump Records; Trump Targets Biden; Floods and Tornadoes in the Midwest; Lawsuit: Boeing Spent Decades Concealing Flaws; warriors Sweep Blazers to Reach 5th Straight NBA Finals. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired May 21, 2019 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Former White House counsel Don McGahn plans to defy a subpoena today, but could a separate ruling change how the White House stone walls Democrats?
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[05:00:01] DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Biden deserted you. He was born here but he left you, folks.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The president sets his sight squarely on Joe Biden in Pennsylvania. The state now is the top priority for both parties in 2020.
BRIGGS: Major flooding in the Midwest. Evacuations and water rescues in Oklahoma, a day after a string of tornadoes hit the region.
ROMANS: And did Boeing spend decades concealing design flaws in its planes, new lawsuits claim it did.
Good morning, and welcome to EARLY START, everyone. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: Good morning to all of you. I'm Dave Briggs, Tuesday, May 21st. It's 5:00 a.m. in the East.
And we start in the nation's capital, with the standoff between the executive and legislative branches of government. It's the judicial branch that may have delivered the most consequential blow on Monday. A federal judge ruling President Trump's long time accounting firm Mazars must turn over his financial records. It's not just a win for Democrats, a sweeping judgment backing Congress is right to hold this president accountable.
Democrats will no doubt wrap themselves in the ruling as the White House keeps trying to limit their oversight.
ROMANS: The latest example of stonewalling, former White House counsel Don McGahn. He's expected to defy a subpoena to face the House Judiciary Committee today. McGahn did waive privilege to speak to Robert Mueller's team but the White House argues McGahn is exempt because he's a former senior presidential adviser.
And now, McGahn's lawyers say with contradictory orders from Congress and the White House he owes it to his former client not to attend.
BRIGGS: Democrats want to hear from the former White House counsel because the Mueller report says McGahn refused President Trump's orders to fire the special counsel. Now, Democrats are weighing their next move for McGahn and the president. Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler warning there will be serious consequences if McGahn does not show up today.
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REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): The first thing we're going to do is hold -- we're going to have to hold McGahn in contempt. The recalcitrance of the president and his lawless behavior is making it more and more difficult to ignore all alternatives, including impeachment, and we'll have to consider that and all other alternatives.
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ROMANS: Trump has personally announced the White House will fight all congressional subpoenas but he's distancing himself from the move to block McGahn's testimony.
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TRUMP: And the attorneys say that they're not doing that for me, they're doing that for the office of the president. So, we're talking about the future.
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ROMANS: Nadler is warning McGahn the Judiciary Committee will use all enforcement mechanisms at its disposal to compel his testimony.
BRIGGS: As for that court order to the Trump accounting firm. A federal district judge telling Mazars it must turn over Trump accounting records from before he was president to the Democratic controlled House Oversight Committee. In his opinion, the D.C. district court judge said it is simply not fathomable that a Constitution that grants Congress the power to remove a president would deny Congress the power to investigate him.
Here's the president's reaction.
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TRUMP: I think it's the wrong -- it's totally the wrong decision by, obviously, an Obama-appointed judge.
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BRIGGS: The Trump legal team plans to appeal.
ROMANS: All this putting the spotlight on Democrats disagreements about impeachment. At a meeting Monday night, Congressman Steve Cohen asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi why she doesn't support impeachment. She told him one thing will lead to another. But the party is clearly not on the same page.
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REP. DAVID CICILLINE, (D-RI): We have a responsibility at some point to open an inquiry if this kind of obstruction and interference and stonewalling of the entire investigation continues.
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): You can't go from zero to 60 because why would we open an impeachment inquiry if we are winning in the court system as it relates to conducting our constitutionally-anchored oversight responsibility?
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ROMANS: House Democrats continued the debate over impeachment behind closed doors in several meetings. Our "Washington Post" colleague Rachael Bade reports House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler privately made the case for impeachment to Speaker Pelosi and she still said no.
BRIGGS: President Trump's 2020 strategy starting to take shape. Just wrapped up his fourth rally in 22 days and well, notice the four states, Pennsylvania last night along with Michigan, Wisconsin, and Florida. Most experts believe Mr. Trump has to hold all four to win a second term. Sources tell CNN the president is growing increasingly grows frustrated by the amount of air time the Democratic contenders have been getting.
Last night he honed in on the favorite, former vice president and Pennsylvania native, Joe Biden.
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TRUMP: Biden deserted you. He's not from Pennsylvania. I guess he was born here but he left you, folks.
This guy talks about I know Scranton and I know -- well, I know the places better. He left you for another state and he didn't take care of you.
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ROMANS: CNN has learned the Trump campaign conducted a poll of key battleground states last month, and it confirmed cracks in the president's Rust Belt support, especially in Michigan and Pennsylvania.
[05:05:05] Biden kicked off his campaign in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Take a look at some recent Quinnipiac polling. Right now, Pennsylvania voters favor Biden over Trump by 11 points.
BRIGGS: Beto O'Rourke hoping for a campaign relaunch. The former Texas congressman raised over $6 million in day one, but it's really been downhill ever since with the contributions and the poll numbers slipping. O'Rourke admits making mistakes like coming off as privileged in a "Vanity Fair" cover story.
He's trying to shift the focus now to policy with an emphasis on his $5 trillion climate change plan which includes infrastructure and innovation projects.
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BETO O'ROURKE (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This urgency, this energy that we all have and we all feel here tonight and I hope throughout the course of this campaign is brought to bear on achieving our policy goals.
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BRIGGS: Programming note, Dana Bash hosting a live CNN town hall tonight, 10:00 Eastern Time, right here on CNN.
ROMANS: All right. Potentially life threatening tornadoes ripping through parts of the south central U.S. overnight. A total of 14 twisters confirmed in Central Oklahoma and Western Texas. The winds so intense they ripped the roof off this home in Perry, Oklahoma. That sound, hail, smashing into the windows of a business in Wyandot, Oklahoma. Early damage reports suggest the worst has been avoided but more than 4 million people are still in harm's way.
From Texas to Missouri, and now there's a threat of flash floods. Water rescues already underway. Schools in Stillwater, Oklahoma, will be closed today.
Let's go live to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.
What is it shaping up to be today?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, another wild day across this region, and when you look at how much rainfall has come down, areas like Tulsa, Oklahoma, experiencing a flash flood emergency, which is a rare sort of flood criteria that's higher than that, and only reserved for urban environments that get flash flooding, and that's precisely what's happening in that region of Oklahoma. But reports now take us up to 19 tornadoes, over 100 reports of wind and hail damage, and the hail lines between baseball size and also grapefruit sized stones across portions of the U.S.
So, a very active pattern. We expect the energy to shift further toward the east, St. Louis, Springfield and the concern for tornadoes shifts south of areas around Springfield while damaging winds and large hail become the concern for cities such as St. Louis and points back to the west around Kansas City. That's what we're watching for later this afternoon, on a scale of one to five. That's going to be a concern in the region.
Thunderstorms, even into the early morning hours, we have seen report of nearly 20,000 lightning strikes across this region of the United States in the past 24 hours or so. And, of course, flooding becomes a major story in the area as well because of all of this heavy rainfall coming down on top of saturated soil, so, you put this together, we know the flooding issues in recent weeks and months across this area, not going to be going away anytime soon. Unfortunately, you kind of pick out the gauges indicated in the squares and circles, the oranges, the reds and also the purples, those are moderate to major flooding taking place.
We're going to watch this into the next couple of days.
ROMANS: All right. Another busy day weather-wise. Thank you very much for that, Pedram.
BRIGGS: OK. Global sea levels could be rising at more than twice the rate as previously predicted, according to a study published by the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Such a raise in sea level could cause a loss of 731,000 square miles of land including important regions of food production. That means 187 million people could be displaced. Another recent study found climate change is melting large portions of ice in Greenland at a speed that has contributed significantly to global sea level rise.
ROMANS: Two people have been killed in a float plane crash in southeast Alaska. The plane was operated by the same company that operated one of the planes involved in the midair collision just last week killing six people. That crash and this one now under investigation by the NTSB. In Monday's crash, the pilot and a passenger were the only ones on board. .
BRIGGS: A new lawsuit claims Boeing concealed design flaws in its planes for decades. The suit was filed by the former inspector general of the Transportation Department on behalf of one of the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines crash in March. The legal action draws parallels between Boeing's responses to two recent deadly 737 MAX crashes, and two crashes involving older models in 1991 and 1994. The suit argues in both cases, Boeing withheld information, rejected or resisted calls to ground the aircraft and emphasized pilot actions over design issues.
[05:10:00] A Boeing spokesperson would only say the company is fully cooperating with the investigators.
ROMANS: The measles outbreak not slowing down. Oklahoma joining 23 other states with a total of 880 cases, that's up 41 cases since last week. Thirty of those new cases diagnosed in New York where the outbreak began seven months ago. It's contained mostly to orthodox Jewish communities in New York City, and Rockland County where many parents do not vaccinate their children. Rockland County executive asking President Trump for federal intervention. He wants the government to stop travelers from other countries from bringing measles into the United States.
BRIGGS: All right. Ahead, could Chinese made drones be stealing data from Americans and sharing it with the Chinese government? A new homeland security warning is next.
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[05:15:26] ROMANS: All right. The Trump administration easing up on Huawei a little bit. The Commerce Department granting exemptions to the restrictions placed on Huawei last week issuing a temporary license that allows it to maintain existing networks and continue providing wireless services. Huawei is the sole provider of networking equipment to many rural American Internet providers, but it's still banned from buying U.S. equipment to make new products.
President Trump signed an executive order last week that banned Huawei from selling telecom gear in the U.S. the U.S. has asked allies to avoid using Huawei products amid concerns they pose a threat to national security. Huawei's founder said Tuesday the temporary license didn't make much sense and the company was prepared for disruptions to its supply chain. The temporary license went into effect Monday and will last for 90 days. It can be extended after that.
BRIGGS: The Department of Homeland Security issuing an alert that Chinese made drones may be stealing data and the information could be accessed by China's government. DHS officials say the drones are a potential risk to an organization's information that could compromise personal data and share it on a server, access beyond the company itself. The report does not name any specific manufacturers but nearly 80 percent of the drones used in the U.S. and Canada come from a company with headquarters in China.
ROMANS: For the fifth time since December, a young migrant has died in U.S. government custody. Sixteen-year-old Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez was from Guatemala. Customs and Border Protection says he was apprehended near Hidalgo, Texas, on May 13th.
He was transferred to a Border Patrol station on Sunday and was found unresponsive Monday. The cause of death is unknown. Before December, no child had died in CBP custody in more than a decade.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Draymond Green tries the three. It's good. Draymond Green drills the three.
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BRIGGS: Just wow.
The Golden State Warriors punching their ticket to another NBA Finals. Andy Scholes has that story in the "Bleacher Report" next.
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[05:22:25] ALEX TREBEK, HOST, "JEOPARDY!": His response was correct and his wager was substantial, I bet. Yes, $40,000 -- $89,229. And now, a new total for 23 days of $1,780,237.
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ROMANS: Reigning "Jeopardy!" champion James Holzhauer back after a two-week hiatus getting right back to business. Holzhauer's historic run on "Jeopardy!" now at 23 straight games. He added another $89,000 Monday. Holzhauer's total winnings are second only to Ken Jennings who won more than 2 1/2 million dollars during his 74-game "Jeopardy!" streak back in 2004 -- Dave.
BRIGGS: Very good.
And for the fifth straight year, the Golden State Warriors heading to the NBA Finals. The team completing the sweep of Portland.
Andy Scholes has more in the "Bleacher Report".
Death, taxes, Warriors and the finals, my friend.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it seems like every year we keep talking about the same exact team but you know, the Warriors, Dave, further etching their names into the record books. They are the first team since Bill Russell's Celtics back in the '60s to go to five straight in NBA finals.
In game four of this series with Blazers had a very familiar them. The Portland, again, getting up to a big lead in the game. They're up 17 in the third quarter, but Steph Curry and the Warriors flipping that switch late in the game. Curry finished with 37 points, he had 36 or more in every game this series.
Damian Lillard had the chance to win the game in the closing seconds but the ball bounces off the rim, it would go to overtime. In the extra period, Draymond Green hitting a clutch three. He was fantastic, doing it all for the Warriors his entire series.
Lillard had one last second attempt for the Blazers but it would be no good again. Golden State wins 119-117 to complete this week. The Warriors the first playoff team to overcome a deficit of 15 or more in three straight games.
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STEPH CURRY, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS GUARD: We have been here before, we have seen everything. Every experience you can imagine, so we relied on that, and again, like I said, three starters now, everybody stepped up, played amazing minutes. Game five was our game, but we saw how long that break was going to be so we wanted to take advantage of it.
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SCHOLES: All right. The Warriors now have nine days off before the start of the NBA finals. Game four between the Bucks and Raptors in the East is tonight. Milwaukee leads the series two games to one. Tip off at 8:30 Eastern on TNT.
[05:25:05] All right. The drama with the Los Angeles Lakers boiling over on ESPN's "First Take" yesterday. Magic Johnson went on the show and told Steven A. Smith he resigned as general manager of the team because General Manager Rob Pelinka was backstabbing him.
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MAGIC JOHNSON, FORMER LAKERS PRESIDENT: Then I start hearing, you know, Magic, you're not working hard enough. Magic is not in the office. So, people around the Laker office was telling me Rob was saying things and --
STEVEN A SMITH, ESPN: Rob Pelinka.
JOHNSON: Rob Pelinka. And I didn't like those things being said behind my back, that I wasn't in the office enough and so on and on.
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BRIGGS: The Lakers introducing their new head coach, Frank Vogel, yesterday. And Pelinka, he addressed Magic's comments.
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ROB PELINKA, LAKERS GENERAL MANAGER: These things are surprising to hear and disheartening, but I look forward to the opportunity to talk with him and sit down with him and work through them just like in any relationship because they're just simply not true.
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SCHOLES: It's certainly going to be an interesting off season in Los Angeles, Dave. You know, the Lakers they have enough money to sign a max free agent. But will someone want to go there considering the drama surrounding the franchise right now?
BRIGGS: Well, you know, Magic, if you don't want people complaining you're not in the office, go to the damn office.
SCHOLES: He said that's not the deal he signed up for. He signed up to be the last line. You bring me all the decisions you want made, I'll make, you know, the last call on it.
BRIGGS: It's pretty clear he didn't want to work enough. Yes, and he wanted to be everyone's friend, and now he's burning his own -- boy, Magic is one of the most beloved Lakers of all time, but now, this is ugly.
Andy Scholes, thank you my friend.
ROMANS: I thought at first it was because he wanted to be able to be free on social media, he wanted to be able to say what he could say.
BRIGGS: He wants to be friends with everybody and --
ROMANS: Stories change.
All right. Anyway, more stonewalling by the White House. The former White House counsel will defy a subpoena today, but a judge's ruling could alter how the White House fends off oversight.
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