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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Former White House Counsel McGahn To Defy Subpoena; Judge Orders Accounting Firm to Turn Over Trump Records; Trump Camp Worried About Cracks In Rust Belt Support. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired May 21, 2019 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:31:39] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Former White House counsel Don McGahn plans to testify -- to defy, rather, a subpoena today, but could a separate ruling change how the White House stonewalls Democrats?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:
Biden deserted you. He was born here but he left you, folks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: The president sets his sights squarely on Joe Biden while he's in Pennsylvania, a state now the top priority for both parties in 2020.
ROMANS: Major flooding in the Midwest. Evacuations and water rescues in Oklahoma a day after a string of tornadoes hit the region.
BRIGGS: Did Boeing spend decades concealing design flaws in its planes? A new lawsuit claims it did.
Welcome back to EARLY START, everybody, on a Tuesday. I'm Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: It is a Tuesday, isn't it? I'm Christine Romans. It's is 5:32 in the East.
Let's get you started here in this 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 longtime accounting firm, Mazars, must turn over his financial records.
It's not just a win for Democrats, it's a sweeping judgment backing Congress's right to hold a president accountable. Democrats will no doubt wrap themselves in this ruling as the White House keeps trying to limit their oversight.
BRIGGS: 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 now exempt because he is 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.
ROMANS: Democrats wants 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, quote, "serious consequences" if McGahn does not show up today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Nadler's warning McGahn the Judiciary Committee will use all enforcement mechanisms at its disposal to compel his testimony.
ROMANS: 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I think it's the wrong -- it's totally the wrong decision by, obviously, an Obama-appointed judge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[05:35:03] ROMANS: The Trump legal team plans to appeal.
BRIGGS: 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, citing the accounting case as an example of progress.
But the party is clearly not on the same page.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: House Democrats continued the debate over impeachment behind closed doors in several meetings. Our "Washington Post" colleague Rachael Bade reports House Judiciary chairman Jerry Nadler privately made the case for impeachment to Speaker Pelosi and she still said no.
ROMANS: President Trump's 2020 election strategy is starting to take shape. He just wrapped up his fourth rally in 22 days, and notice the four states -- Pennsylvania last night, 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 frustrated by the amount of airtime the Democratic contenders have been receiving.
Last night, he honed in on the favorite, former vice president and Pennsylvania native Joe Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: 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 -- in particular, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Biden kicked off his campaign in Pennsylvania. He also has his headquarters, I believe, in Pennsylvania.
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: A recent Quinnipiac poll shows PA voters favor Biden over Trump by 11 points, but why?
ROMANS: Yes, let's go --
BRIGGS: That is the question.
ROMANS: Let's go live to Washington and bring in CNN political reporter Dan Merica.
You know, Dan, it's fascinating, this discussion of oversight and impeachment proceedings, but so many of these Democratic hopefuls, they tell us when they're out there at town halls that's not what people are asking them about.
DAN MERICA, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, and they're right. There's a divide inside the Democratic Party on Capitol Hill and there's also a divide on the campaign trail.
You've seen some candidates -- certainly, after the Mueller report's release, you've seen some candidates say that they support starting impeachment hearings, and you've seen probably more say that they're not there at that -- at this point yet.
But it's really important to remember what voters are asking these candidates. That's kind of how I decide whether voters really deeply care about these issues. And what you see when a voter stands up in a town hall and has the ability to ask a question of one of these candidates -- they're asking about health care, they're asking about jobs or they're asking about climate change.
And we actually did a poll in April that asked Democrats and leaning Democratic Independents to rank the issues that matter most to them. Ninety-six percent said that they either somewhat or are very concerned about climate change, followed by 91 percent with health care, 85 percent for tightening gun laws, 78 percent for tuition-free college. And then, impeachment of Donald Trump came in at 71 percent.
So that's a pretty significant divide between climate change and impeachment, and that's why you see so many candidates releasing multi-trillion-dollar plans to take on climate change and not as much talking about impeachment. It's because voters care more about the first issue than the latter.
BRIGGS: Those candidates are in single digits, Dan. Climate change isn't resonating on the campaign trail.
And I see that poll and I frankly do not believe it. You're telling me Democrats and Independents don't care about the economy as a top- five issue? That cannot be true, can it?
MERICA: No -- I mean, I think they link the economy with a number of these issues. They link the economy with climate change --
ROMANS: Health and free college.
MERICA: -- with health care, with college. All of that kind of plays into each other.
And I think sometimes we have to take a step back and think about voters not the way that people are talking about issues on Capitol Hill, but think about the way voters think about issues in their everyday lives --
ROMANS: Right.
MERICA: -- where they're seeing more flooding, they're seeing their tuition go up in colleges that their kids are going to or that they're going to. And they're seeing shootings across the country.
Those issues play out every day for these voters and that's why you see more Democratic and leaning Independents talking about these issues and worrying about these issues when we talk -- when they talk to pollsters or candidates.
BRIGGS: And just to note, it is fascinating that Biden leads Trump by 11 points in Pennsylvania, according to that poll. Yet, the economy --
MERICA: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- an all-time low in unemployment, all-time high for payroll. So, I mean, the state is cranking economically.
[05:40:03] ROMANS: A traditional president -- a traditional president would be a shoo-in for reelection with economic numbers like this.
MERICA: Yes.
ROMANS: So what do the Democrats --
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: -- do to try to seize on that difference? I mean, you can't deny that the economy is strong, so how do Democrats -- is it like Joe Biden, on Saturday, where he said the president inherited the Obama- Biden economy like he inherited everything else?
MERICA: Yes.
ROMANS: Is that how Biden -- is that the winning message?
MERICA: Yes. I think a lot of Democrats not named Joe Biden heard that line and said oh, I like that line. I might kind of try and inherit that myself.
ROMANS: Yes.
MERICA: But they're going to try and use something like that, noting that Joe -- that Donald Trump --
ROMANS: He's the only one who can use that one. He's really the only one --
MERICA: True.
ROMANS: -- who can, you know?
MERICA: True. And a few of them can claim that they were part of maybe building that economy. But, yes, you're right. I mean, he certainly has credibility to bring to that.
But what you're seeing is the president is well aware of the fact that he has to hold those voters in Pennsylvania, in Michigan -- in places like that. In places where he overperformed in 2016, knowing that that's his path to victory in 2020.
It's not like President Trump is going to expand the map in 2020 and build out his coalition. He's more likely to hold the states that he won in 2106.
I'll tell you, though, President Trump clearly is eager to go after Democratic candidates. You mentioned the fact that he has mentioned that Fox News is doing these town halls with Democratic contenders and that is seemingly annoying the president.
All of these Democratic contenders are excited by the fact that President Donald Trump is attacking them. It does wonders for their fundraising, it does wonders for their -- for their name I.D. And if that helps them build themselves up in the Democratic -- excuse me -- in the Democratic primary, that is -- that is something that benefits them because if the president is punching at you --
BRIGGS: Yes.
MERICA: -- that gives you some credibility.
And that's what -- many of these strategists behind these candidates are doing cartwheels every time the president --
ROMANS: Interesting.
MERICA: -- mentions their name of Twitter or on the stump.
ROMANS: First world politics -- never punch down. And the president punches up, down, sideways. He punches wherever he wants to.
All right, Dan Merica, thank you. Nice to see you.
BRIGGS: Thank you.
MERICA: Thank you.
BRIGGS: All right, a programming note. Twenty-twenty hopefully and former congressman Beto O'Rourke joins Dana Bash for a live CNN town hall tonight from Des Moines, Iowa. That's tonight, 10:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
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 of this home in Perry, Oklahoma. That sound, hail smashing into the windows of a business in Wyandotte, Oklahoma.
ROMANS: Early damage reports suggest the worst has been avoided, but more than four million people 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 are closed today.
All right. A firefighter saved this woman's daughter. What she did to return the favor.
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[05:47:13] ROMANS: 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 737 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.
A Boeing spokesperson would only say the company is fully cooperating with investigators.
BRIGGS: Embattled Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro proposing new elections for the National Assembly as a way to resolve the country's political crisis. The legislative body is currently controlled by the opposition and its leader, Juan Guaido.
Maduro did not specify a date for the elections. It's the third time he's posed it.
The Maduro announcement coming after an intense weekend of mediation in Caracas. Negotiations included diplomats from the European Union proposing a new route of general elections.
And for the fifth time since December, a young migrant has died in government custody. Sixteen-year-old Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez was from Guatemala.
Customs and Border Protection says he was apprehended near Hidalgo, Texas May 13th, transferred to a border patrol station on Sunday, and was found unresponsive yesterday. The cause of death is unknown. Before December, no child had died in CBP custody in more than a decade.
ROMANS: All right, let's get a check on "CNN Business" this Tuesday morning.
Global stock markets, they're mixed here. And on Wall Street, looking at futures this morning, it looks like they're leaning up a bit here. You know, stocks closed lower Monday, weighed down by the U.S. blacklist on Huawei and fears about the tech sector.
The Dow fell 84 points, the S&P 500 declined about seven-tenths of a percent, and there -- look at the Nasdaq. It bore the brunt of it because of that tech concern about the president's trade war fallout -- 1.5 percent there.
Apple was the biggest loser in the Dow, falling three percent after Wall Street analysts argued investors should be more concerned that tariffs on goods produced in China will make iPhones even more expensive.
Ford is cutting 7,000 jobs worldwide. This affects salaried staff who will begin to be notified of cuts starting today. The job cuts will be completed by the end of August. About 2,400 job cuts in North America -- 1,500 of those will be a voluntary buyout.
Ford aims to save about $600 million a year.
You know, Ford has been struggling. The president's tariffs on imported steel and aluminum have added a billion dollars in costs a year for Ford.
But beyond that, the car business is changing faster than ever before. Last year, Ford committed to spending $11 billion to restructure, hoping to boost sales overseas and focus more on electric and self- driving technology.
[05:50:05] It has teamed up with Volkswagen to develop new products and announced a $500 million investment in Rivian, which plans to debut an electric truck next year.
Sneaker brands have a message for President Trump. Proposed tariffs on shoes from China will be catastrophic for American consumers.
In a letter to the president, Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, Foot Locker, and others say tariffs will, quote, "...threaten the very economic viability of many companies in our industry."
The Trump administration has started a formal process to put 25 percent tariffs on the remaining $325 billion in goods coming from China that aren't already taxed, like tennis shoes. And industry trade group estimates the president's tariffs on shoes would add $7 billion in costs for U.S. consumers.
Little Caesars jumping on the meatless train, testing out the Impossible Supreme pizza in Florida, New Mexico, and Washington. The new menu item is topped with meatless sausage made by Impossible Foods. The plant-based sausage is a first for Impossible and was designed to appeal to Little Caesars customers.
Little Caesars is going to test the pizza for about four weeks in those three markets and then decide whether to roll it out more broadly.
We'll be right back.
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[05:55:24] ROMANS: Another major retailer closing up shop. Dress Barn, the popular women's retail chain, going out of business.
The company plans to close all of its nearly 650 stores. It employs 6,800 people. The Website will remain open for customers to shop online.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARLI, SESAME STREET MUPPET: I am safe.
MUPPETS: You are safe.
KARLI: I am strong.
MUPPET: You are strong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: That's Sesame Street's newest puppet, Karli, with her for-now parents. She debuted on the children's show Monday to highlight the unique love of foster families. Producers say Karli's storyline will highlight the importance of stability and a strong sense of belonging.
ROMANS: A Minnesota woman is paying it forward by donating a kidney to a volunteer firefighter who helped save her daughter's life. Becca Bundy first met Bill Cox in August 2016 when her daughter was having a seizure. He got there before an ambulance arrived and thanks to him, Becca's daughter survived.
The pair met again in 2018 when Becca went to a benefit for a friend. She immediately recognized him and he was wearing a shirt saying he was in kidney failure and in desperate need of a kidney. Luckily, Becca was a match and was able to donate.
After surgery, Bill is doing just fine and is back to being a volunteer firefighter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Reigning "JEOPARDY!" champ James Holzhauer back after a 2- week hiatus and right back to business. Holzhauer's historic run at "JEOPARDY!" now at 23 straight games. He added another $89,000 Monday. His total winnings are second only to Ken Jennings, who won more than
$2.5 million during his 74-game streak in 2004. He is rooting for James.
ROMANS: All right, the numbers are in for the series finale of "GAME OF THRONES" and they're dragon-size.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIT HARRINGTON, ACTOR, HBO, "GAME OF THRONES": You are my queen, now and always.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Jon Snow --
BRIGGS: Oh.
ROMANS: -- killing his queen in a pivotal moment of the "THRONES" finale. Folks, you have 24 hours spoiler-free time and now it's over.
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: It's over.
BRIGGS: (INAUDIBLE).
ROMANS: A total of 19.3 million people watched, the biggest same-day audience ever for the show. Season eight of "GAME OF THRONES" has averaged 44 million viewers per episode, including delayed viewing.
BRIGGS: All right. While you were sleeping, the late-night crowd weighed in on the end of "GAME OF THRONES."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES CORDEN, HOST, CBS "THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN": "GAME OF THRONES" is over. People everywhere are just now realizing that most of their friendships were built entirely on sharing a single HBO password.
So now, if you want to watch dozens of odd characters scheme for power, you'll need to start following the 2020 Democratic race.
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, NBC "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": This is real -- this is real. Here's the scene right there.
Can we zoom in? See it? Yes. (Bottle of water)
First, a coffee cup, now water. At this point, the iron throne should just have cupholders. Just put them right there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Well done, well done. You know, we had our own ending -- an alternative ending to "GAME OF THRONES." BRIGGS: Yes, where the throne was not melted down by the dragon.
ROMANS: That's right, that's right. Here's our ending. Dave Briggs, hand to the queen.
BRIGGS: You are the queen. Who knew that was the true ending of "GAME OF THRONES?"
ROMANS: It's over. What will we watch next? All right.
BRIGGS: The game of Romans.
ROMANS: There we go, I like it.
Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Here's "NEW DAY."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A former administration official defying a subpoena from House Democrats.
NADLER: You're dealing with a lawless president.
TRUMP: We've been the most transparent administration in the history of our country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If Don McGahn doesn't testify, it is time to open an impeachment inquiry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The judge is saying Trump's accounting firm must turn over his financial records.
TRUMP: As far as the financials are concerned, it's totally the wrong decision by an Obama judge.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The president is going to fight like hell to make sure that these taxes will not be revealed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, the sunrise is stunning here over Hudson Yards. I just watched it from one of the green rooms. I mean, it is spectacular.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's hypnotic -- so hypnotic I almost didn't make it.
END
