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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Attorney General Bill Barr Reviewing Surveillance of 2016 Trump Campaign; Theresa May's Future as Prime Minister in Question; Harvey Weinstein Settles Civil Case with $44 Million; Botswana Ends Ban on Elephant Hunting. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired May 24, 2019 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:52] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: The attorney general can declassify intel from the Russia probe on new orders from President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): I wish that his family or this administration or his staff would have an intervention.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm an extremely stable genius. OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Hostilities reached a new high between the president and the House speaker.
BRIGGS: A $44 million settlement in a civil case stemming from alleged sexual abuse by Harvey Weinstein.
ROMANS: And clean-up just getting underway from violent tornados in the Midwest, record heat in store for some areas this holiday weekend.
All right. Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Happy Friday, everybody. 4:31 Eastern Time as we approach a holiday weekend.
Up first, some big news out of the nation's capital. Sensitive intelligence can be declassified thanks to an order by President Trump. He is ordering intel agencies to cooperate with the attorney general's review of the origins of the Russia investigation. The move gives Bill Barr the authority to declassify sensitive material as he sees fit. And it could serve as a prelude to a larger declassification effort by the president he's been floating since last fall. Trump has accused his own intel agencies and former officials without evidence of conspiring against him.
ROMANS: Investigating the investigators. CNN has reported Barr is working closely with the heads of the CIA, the FBI and the DNI to review surveillance activities surrounding the 2016 Trump campaign. The attorney general suggested during a congressional hearing last month that, quote, "spying did occur." Now that's an accusation Trump has leveled repeatedly but current and former FBI officials have denied.
Now House Intel chairman Adam Schiff says Trump and Barr are conspiring to weaponize law enforcement against their political enemies. He adds, "The cover-up has entered a new and dangerous phase. This is un-American."
A doctored video of Nancy Pelosi making the rounds on the Internet with millions of views. This video has been slowed down to make the House speaker look and sound drunk during an appearance earlier this week. Edited to be unfavorable. A spokesman for Pelosi says the speaker is not going to comment on, quote, "sexist trash." Now the video has been removed by YouTube but was still circulating on Twitter and Facebook last night.
A carefully edited mash-up of Pelosi making her appear awkward and stammering also aired on FOX Business. At least one user, @realDonaldTrump, shared that video. U.S. intelligence has warned video manipulation may be part of disinformation campaigns targeting American voters.
BRIGGS: Breaking news this morning. British Prime Minister Theresa May facing intense pressure now that her new Brexit deal failed. She's just arrived at 10 Downing Street, and Phil Black beat her there. He is live at 10 Downing Street.
Phil, what do we expect this morning?
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Dave, we are in a situation where we expect Theresa May to finally acknowledge publicly something that's been predicted many times before, something that even members of her own party have been fighting to make happen many times before, and that is to concede that she must set a timetable for leaving office in the near future.
The reason for this is that Prime Minister May has simply run out of options, run out of road, particularly on the key defining issue of her prime ministership, and that is Brexit. She has failed repeatedly to get that Brexit divorce deal through parliament. She'd already acknowledged recently that she was going to set a timetable in June for leaving. She wanted to have one more crack at getting the necessary legislation through parliament in early June.
But now that she has recently presented compromises that she hoped would achieve that, well, they've simply been rejected en masse by her own party. There has been something of an internal party revolt to the point where she's essentially being told by members of her own party, members of parliament, members of cabinet, that if she doesn't set a timetable for leaving soon, she will be forced out.
So in that sense, she really has run out of options. She is meeting senior members of the Conservative Party today. The expected timetable with some logic and a degree of speculation says she is likely to stay -- remain conservative leader and prime minister up until June 10th. [04:35:09] That would allow her to remain functioning as prime
minister through the state visit of President Donald Trump in early June -- Dave.
BRIGGS: Of course parliament can agree on what day it is, how they're going to agree on her replacement should be a fascinating back and forth.
Phil Black live for us in London this morning, thank you, sir.
OK. Hostilities at an all-time high between the House speaker and the president, and it's getting awfully personal. Pelosi declaring the White House is just crying out for impeachment. She says Democrats will hold back until there's no other option and she is questioning the president's stability.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PELOSI: I wish that his family or his administration or his staff would have an intervention for the good of the country. This is not behavior that is -- rises to the dignity of the office of president of the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But your comment almost suggests you're concerned about his well-being.
PELOSI: I am.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: A source close to the White House tells CNN Pelosi hasn't gotten under Trump's skin but she has his attention for sure. That same source maintains Mr. Trump was calm in his brief meeting with Pelosi earlier this week despite her claims that he threw a temper tantrum. But instead of proving the speaker wrong, Trump vented.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It was sad when I watched Nancy all moving, the movement and the hands and the craziness, and I watched that. That's, by the way, a person that's got some problems. I'm an extremely stable genius. OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: There it is. Pelosi firing back, tweeting, "When the extremely stable genius starts acting more presidential, I'll be happy to work with him on infrastructure, trade and other issues."
ROMANS: Yes. And that's just a brief synopsis of yesterday which was insane. Really. Insane.
All right. President Trump plans to bail out American farmers hurt by his trade war with China promising $16 billion in aid and saying this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: It all comes from China. We'll be taking in over a period of time hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs and charges to China, and our farmers will be greatly helped.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. Fact check. China is not paying for the farmer bailout just like Mexico is not paying for his wall. Trump doesn't have a magic bank account with tariff revenues in it that he can write a check from. It just doesn't work like that. And farmers will not even remotely be made whole by this.
Yes, they're going to get money. There will be a bailout of farmers, but it won't be enough to cover what they have lost because of the president's trade policies. The National Corn Growers Association said the last bail out amounted to a penny a bushel for corn.
Now farmers don't want bailouts. They want access to global markets. And they aren't the only ones paying the price of the president's tariff. The New York Fed reports the latest increase in tariffs on China is costing the average American household $831 a year.
Now the president here in the American capitalist economy is picking winners and losers. He's essentially affecting a transfer of wealth from American consumers -- those are the ones who will ultimately pay those tariffs -- to farmers who are being hurt by his trade policies.
BRIGGS: Democrats and Republicans are urging the president not to bypass Congress in a controversial arms sale to Saudi Arabia. There is growing concern the administration may use a legal window which allows the president to circumvent traditional holds on arms sales imposed by Congress. Democrat Robert Menendez, the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has already placed a hold on arms sales to Saudi Arabia fearing they could be used against civilian targets in Yemen.
ROMANS: All right. More violent storms expected today in the nation's midsection as the full scope of tornado damage becomes clear in Missouri. The National Weather Service declaring the tornado that hit Missouri's capital was an EF-3 packing 160-mile-an-hour winds. Nonessential state workers in the Jefferson City area are being told to stay home today. Now no one was killed in Jefferson City, but a twister killed three people in Golden City more than 100 miles away.
BRIGGS: The Jefferson City tornado tossed cars around like toys. Like at this dealership owned by the same family for more than 80 years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's really no words. I mean, I just sit here and find myself just staring at it. Definitely shed a few tears today. Really have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Meantime, relief in Oklahoma, a dam still holding even after two loose barges slammed into it. Those barges sank.
ROMANS: And there is more severe weather on the way for the Midwest. And record heat is hitting the southeast for the holiday weekend.
Here's Derek Van Dam with the forecast.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No rest for the weary, Christine and Dave. Yesterday was an active day of severe weather, and you guessed it, today is yet another day full of severe storms across the southern plains, all the way to the Great Lakes.
[04:40:09] That's the major change here. Across the southeast, heat wave starts to build into the holiday weekend. More on that in just one moment. Look at the storms firing up. We get the daytime heating from the sun. Keep an eye to the sky from Oklahoma City to Tulsa, Wichita, Kansas City all the way to Chicago.
Isolated damaging winds, hail, and maybe a tornado or two. In fact, the best probability of tornadoes today comes at a highly populated area in and around northern Illinois. Of course including the Chicago region. West Michigan also included in a chance of tornadoes later this afternoon.
A heat wave builds underneath a ridge of high pressure across the southeast. Get a load of these temperatures. Mid-90s for Atlanta. We'll start to creep up temperatures into New York as well. 89 by Sunday.
Back to you.
BRIGGS: Derek, thanks.
Just ahead of Memorial Day barbecues, 62,000 pound of beef are being recalled because of e. Coli concerns. The Department of Agriculture says the meat was packed at the Aurora Packing Company in Illinois on April 19th before it was shipped nationwide. The recall includes more than 40 products, mainly cuts of steak.
You'll see the establishment number 788. Again that's 788 inside the USDA inspection mark. For more check our CNN.com.
ROMANS: All right. ATF is on the hunt for thousands of illegal devices that can convert legal guns into machine guns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:45:43] ROMANS: So the Senate is now in recess. That means the 2020 Democrats are off and running to the great state of Iowa. Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand will spend several days campaigning there beginning today. Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar will be on the ground tomorrow. A big pitch to women voters is expected.
One thing to watch for are more Democratic voters asking about impeachment. It is not the main topic voters ask about. The field remains divided on far they're willing to go. But in the wake of the president's fight, very public fight with Nancy Pelosi and with congressional Democrats this week, more Democrats are willing to consider impeachment proceedings.
BRIGGS: South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg will be in New Hampshire this weekend at an event Thursday in Washington. The Navy intelligence veteran criticized President Trump for not serving in Vietnam.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D-IN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have a pretty dim view of his decision to use his privilege status to fake a disability in order to avoid serving in Vietnam.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You believe he faked a disability.
BUTTIGIEG: Do you believe he has a disability?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes. At least not that one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: I think the last one was about the bone spurs. Meantime, Bernie Sanders returns home to Vermont for the holiday weekend. He holds his first home state rally tomorrow outside the capital.
Three Republican lawmakers introducing legislation to prevent the early release of prisoners convicted of a terrorist offense. The No Leniency for Terrorist Act coming on the same day John Walker Lindh, the so-called American Taliban, was released three years early with good credit for good behavior, something both the president and the secretary of State are not happy about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: Unexplainable and unconscionable, a judge who is disconnected from my understanding of good behavior in the most fundamental way.
TRUMP: I don't like it at all. And he said from a legal standpoint there is nothing we're allowed to do because if there was, I would have done it instantly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: John Walker Lindh went free after serving 17 years of a 20 year sentence despite recent reports of his pro-ISIS statements behind bars.
You know, both parties have been --
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- tossing around the term treason for years. This seems to actual fit the actual definition. But --
ROMANS: Remarkable.
All right. Heading out on a road trip this holiday weekend, you're going to be paying a little bit more for gas. CNN Business has the details next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:52:34] BRIGGS: It was one of the world's last sanctuaries for African elephants, but now the government of Botswana is lifting a ban that protects them making them fair game for hunters.
David McKenzie is live for us from Johannesburg, South Africa.
David, good morning.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave. Yes, now one noted conservationist I spoke to calls this repugnant. The decision by the Botswana government, the Southern African country, to allow hunting of elephants. There's been some five years that they banned hunting in that country of all animals, especially elephants, and then they tried to use that to bolster the population of these majestic -- these majestic animals.
But now they say they want to allow hunting. Some 400 elephants per year will be allowed to be shot and potentially displayed as trophies. This is leading to serious questions in the conservation community. Many conservationists believe that elephants who are very extremely intelligent animals with social structure shouldn't be killed just for moral reasons. But the Minister of Environment telling CNN this is a decision that has to be made to try and mitigate human animal conflict in Botswana.
They say that conservation is in their DNA. At the same time, Botswana and several other countries in Southern Africa, Dave, are trying to legalize the sale of stockpiles of ivory, worth millions of dollars, and most people assume that if that happens this could increase the terrible case of poaching across the African continent which has just decimated the herds over the past few years -- Dave.
BRIGGS: Wow. What a story. Thanks for bringing that to us, David McKenzie, live in Johannesburg.
ROMANS: All right. To aviation now, Boeing needs more time to provide the FAA with the information it needs before its 737 MAX jets can be recertified to fly. The FAA has been working with a beta version of the software that could be linked to two deadly crashes. The agency's acting administrator acknowledged his team had questions when Boeing announced a software fix last week. He chalks it up to routine business.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL K. ELWELL, FAA ACTING ADMINISTRATOR: Boeing gives us information, we review it, we give it back with more things we need or when they don't get it exactly right, and we're talking about hundreds of pages of technical data on a software update that they're doing. It's very normal for there to be a back and forth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Elwell also said he had not seen anything that suggested the FAA should have done something differently in certifying the MAX jets.
[04:55:07] He said the agency will be open to any recommendations coming from the crash investigations.
BRIGGS: Federal authorities suspect thousands of machine gun conversion devices have been illegally smuggled into the United States from China, and in some cases they're ending up in the hands of convicted felons. ATF and Customs officials in Chicago alone have identified more than 2900 packages containing conversion devices and PayPal accounts linked to the suspected Chinese exporter reveal over 3800 sales transactions. The devices turn semiautomatic Glock pistols into fully automatic weapons.
ROMANS: A $44 million settlement in a civil case stemming from alleged sexual abuse by Harvey Weinstein. The New York Attorney General's Office filed suit last year accusing the Weinstein brothers and their company of, quote, "egregious violations of civil rights, human rights and business laws." Under the deal some $30 million will go to alleged victims, creditors and former Weinstein Company employees.
It will have no effect on Weinstein's criminal case. The disgraced movie producer is charged with several counts including rape and predatory sexual assault.
BRIGGS: Authorities in Tennessee issuing an Amber alert for a 23- month-old child they say was abducted following a traffic stop. Sheriff's deputies pulled over a vehicle driven by a woman with two passengers, a male family friend and the woman's 23-month-old granddaughter Octavia Althea Shaw. While officers questioned the driver, they asked the man identified as Matias Martinez to stand under a tree with the child. Soon after police realized Martinez had taken off with the child.
ROMANS: Oh, my.
All right. Women in the workplace may become more productive if you literally turn up the heat. A new study published in the scientific journal "PLOS One" finds most modern offices use climate control systems based on the metabolic rate of an average man. Think back to 1965. That's exactly kind of like the model they used. This research showed the ideal temperature for women is nearly five degrees Fahrenheit higher than it is for men. The study concludes if you want better productivity in your office and some gender fairness, turn up the thermostat.
Ladies, am I right? You go to work, you're freezing cold. Look, everyone --
BRIGGS: Cry me a river.
ROMANS: Women all over America wear fleeces, we've got blankets at our desks.
BRIGGS: That's the point. You can just throw on a blanket or fleece. What are we supposed to do? ROMANS: I have to accommodate you.
BRIGGS: Should we take off clothing?
ROMANS: I see. I see. So the office has been made for men, and then we will -- we'll just --
BRIGGS: Now you're getting it.
BRIGGS: Now we'll just --
BRIGGS: I'd get fired if I start taking off clothing.
ROMANS: I don't know.
BRIGGS: Nobody needs to see that.
ROMANS: I don't know. We can give you a little fan under the desk.
All right. Let's get a check on CNN Business this morning, taking a look at global markets, pretty much mixed here. We're seeing a rebound in European shares. On Wall Street looking at futures there. Wall Street futures are up here, looking again for a bit of a rebound from yesterday. Look, yesterday, it became clear that Wall Street is finally realizing that the Trump tariff regime may not be temporary. The Dow fell 286 points, investors bracing now for a long trade war. The S&P 500 decline 1.2, the Nasdaq 1.6 percent.
The sinking feeling the tariffs are here to stay has taken the Dow this month down more than 3.5 percent. The S&P 500 about the same, the Nasdaq down more than 5 percent. Nasdaq fairing worse. Tech stocks and industrials with China exposure are the ones that have been slipping here. The trade war fears crushed U.S. oil prices. They fell 6 percent this week to a 10-week low below 60 bucks a barrel. That's oil's worst day since Christmas Eve.
McDonald's is taking heat from workers' rights groups on issues including pay, safety and allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace. Workers in 13 cities walked off the job Thursday as McDonald's held its annual shareholder meeting. The company made little mention of the criticism it is facing during that meeting.
Several Democratic presidential hopefuls have shared their support for McDonald's workers. Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg tweeted Thursday, 13 other candidates have also expressed their support.
Recently McDonald's said it would no longer pay for the National Restaurant Association to lobby against a higher minimum wage, so I think accepting the fact that a higher federal minimum wage is something that their workers are asking for.
It's the kickoff to the summer driving season and gas prices are still high. The national average $2.84 a gallon. Significantly more expensive than every other Memorial Day since 2014. AAA estimates a record 37.6 million people will be on the roads in the U.S. this weekend. A strong economy has increased demand for gasoline with unemployment near a 50-year low. There are more people commuting and taking vacations.
I talked about that dip in oil prices this week. Maybe that will be a little bit of relief down the line for gas prices.
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: But at least for this weekend.
BRIGGS: You hitting the road?
ROMANS: I think I'm going to stay home.
BRIGGS: Stay home.
ROMANS: Staycation.
BRIGGS: Me too.
All right. EARLY START continues right now.
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