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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
British PM to Resign on Friday June 7; Trump Gives Barr Authority To Declassify Intel; It's Getting Personal; $44 Million Settlement in Weinstein Civil Case; Midwest Recovers from Tornado Outbreak; Raptors Push Bucks to Brink of Elimination. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired May 24, 2019 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:04] 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: What a day. Hostilities reach 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 is just getting underway from violent tornadoes in the Midwest. Record heat in store for some areas this holiday weekend.
It is a holiday weekend. I hope everyone is going to have a great final day of the week.
Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Happy Friday, everyday. May 24th, 5:00 a.m. in the East.
Before we get to all of those stories, a live look at 10 Downing Street. Prime Minister Theresa May about to address her future. She has been under growing pressure since another Brexit plan failed this week. We'll bring it to you live when it happens.
But, first, sensitive intelligence can be declassified, thanks to an order by President Trump. He's 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 the president has been floating since last fall.
Trump has accused his own intelligence agencies and former officials without evidence of conspiring against him.
ROMANS: As 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. That's an accusation Trump has leveled repeatedly that current and former FBI officials have denied.
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.
BRIGGS: A doctored video of Nancy Pelosi making the rounds on the internet with millions of views. It's been dramatically slowed down to make the House speaker sound drunk during an appearance earlier this week. A spokesperson for Pelosi said the speaker is not going to comment on, quote, sexist trash. The video has been removed by YouTube but was still circulating on Twitter and Facebook last night.
A carefully edited mash up making her appear awkward and stammering aired on Fox Business Network. At least one user @RealDonaldTrump shared it.
U.S. intelligence has warned video manipulation may be part of disinformation campaigns targeting voters.
ROMANS: All right. Breaking news, British Prime Minister Theresa May facing intense pressure. Is her fate sealed?
CNN's Phil Black live at 10 Downing Street in London with the breaking detail.
We should be hearing her any moment now.
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Forgive me if I keep turning around here to check the famous 10. Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to walk out at any moment, and we are about to witness we think an historic moment, the resignation of a prime minister.
The prime minister's podium is in place. That always signifies a significant announcement, and as I speak, her staff, including her chief of staff, had walked out into the street as well, waiting for the prime minister to emerge to make this statement.
So there's been a lot of speculation about this, a lot of speculation that Theresa May would have to concede that she had run out of space, run out of options to try and hang on, that this must mark the end of her premiership. The reason could be summed up in one word, Brexit, and in a broader sense, her failure to deliver a deal that would see it passed through parliament, and happen. The proposed deals have been voted down in parliament three times. She wanted one last crack at this in early June. She unveiled compromised to achieve that. But they were broadly rejected by her party.
There has been a revolt. The cabinet has said they cannot support what she was proposing before parliament and so that's where Theresa May found herself, a prime minister without authority, without options, and here's the prime minister now.
THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: (INAUDIBLE) through the door behind me as prime minister, I have driven to make the United Kingdom a country that works not just for a privileged few but for everyone and to honor the result of the E.U. referendum.
[05:05:06] Back in 2016, we gave the British people a choice. Against all predictions, the British people voted to leave the European Union. I feel as certain today as I did three years ago that in a democracy, if you give people a choice, you have a duty to implement what they decide.
I have done my best to do that. I negotiated the terms of our exit of our neighbors that protects jobs, our security and our union. I have done everything I can to convince MPs to back that deal.
Sadly, I have not been able to do so. I tried three times. I believe it was right to persevere, even when the odds against success seemed high. But it is now clear to me that it is in the best interests of the country for a new prime minister to lead that effort.
So I am today announcing that I will resign as leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party on Friday, the 7th of June, so that a successor can be chosen. I've agreed with the party chairman and with the chairman of the 1922 committee that the process for electing a new leader should begin in the following week.
I have kept Her Majesty the Queen fully informed of my intentions and I will continue to serve as her prime minister until the process has concluded. It is and will always remain a matter of deep regret to me that I have not been able to deliver Brexit. It will be for my successor to seek a way forward that honors the result of the referendum.
To succeed, he or she will have to find consensus in parliament where I have not. Such a consensus can only be reached if those on all sides of the debate are willing to compromise. For many years, the great humanitarian, Nicholas Winton who saved the lives of hundreds of children by arranging their evacuation from Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia, to the Kindertransport, with my constituent in Maidenhead.
At another time of political controversy, a few years before his death, he took me to one side at a local event and gave me a piece of advice. He said, never forget that compromise is not a dirty word. Life depends on compromise. He was right. As we strive to find the compromises we need in our
politics, whether to deliver Brexit or to restore government in northern Ireland, we must remember what brought us here because the referendum was not just a call to leave the E.U. but for profound change in our country, a call to make the United Kingdom a country that truly works for everyone.
I'm proud of the progress we have made over the last three years. We have completed the work that David Cameron and George Osborne started, the deficit is almost eliminated. Our national debt is falling and we are bringing an end to austerity.
My focus has been on ensuring the good jobs of the future will be created in communities across the whole country, not just in London and to the southeast, through our modern industrial strategy. We have helped more people than ever enjoy the security of a job. We are building more homes and helping first time buyers on to the housing ladder, so young people can enjoy the opportunities their parents did.
And we are protecting the environment, eliminating plastic waste, tackling climate change.
ROMANS: All right. There you have the British Prime Minister Theresa May who will resign on Friday, June 7th. She has been under pressure to deliver on the referendum, the British people decided to leave the European back in 2016, and it has been difficult, tortured along the way to find out how to politically make that happen, and she could not deliver.
BRIGGS: She'll resign right after President Trump's state visit to the U.K.
The question is who can replace her, how can parliament agree on anyone right now, and then how can that person, you've heard the name Boris Johnson tossed about, get through an agreement on Brexit? That seems the impossible where we stand today.
ROMANS: Sounds like politically they are starting over there on Brexit and how to get it done.
BRIGGS: More on that next half hour.
Turning back to the nation's capitol. Hostilities at an all time high between the House Speaker and President Trump. And, boy, is it getting personal?
Pelosi declaring the White House is crying out for impeachment. She says Democrats will hold back until there's no other option and she's 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.
[05:10:02] This is not behavior that is -- rises to the dignity of the office of president of the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Your prayer comments almost suggest 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. 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: OK. Then he got some predictable back up from his staff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Kellyanne, what was my temperament yesterday?
KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT: Very calm, no temper tantrums.
TRUMP: What was my attitude when I walked in?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, you were very calm and you've very direct.
TRUMP: What was my attitude yesterday?
LARRY KUDLOW, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: Mercedes is right. Kellyanne is right. You were very calm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Larry Kudlow there lastly. 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. Just frankly remarkable.
To the weather now, more violent storms expected today in the Midwest as the full scope of tornado damage becomes clear in Missouri. The National Weather Service declaring that the tornado that hit Missouri's capital was an EF-3, packing 160 miles per hour winds. Non-essential state workers in the Jefferson City area are being told to stay home today. No one was killed in Jefferson City, though one twister did kill three people in Golden City more than 100 miles away. ROMANS: The Jefferson City tornado tossed cars around like toys like
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)
ROMANS: Meantime, relief in Oklahoma. A dam is still holding even after two loose barges slammed into it. Those barges sank. There is more severe weather on the way for the Midwest and record heat is hitting the southeast for the holiday weekend.
And then this, ATF is on the hunt for thousands of illegal machine gun conversion devices smuggled into the U.S.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:17:05] ROMANS: Thousands of devices that illegally convert guns and machine guns smuggled into the United States from China. In some cases, they are ending up in the hand of convicted felons, officials in Chicago have identified 2,800 packages, and PayPal accounts linked to the exporter reveal 3,800 sales transactions.
BRIGGS: 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 egregious violations of civil rights, human rights and business laws. Under the deal, some $30 million would go to alleged victims, creditors and former Weinstein company employees. It will have no effect on Weinstein's criminal case.
ROMANS: The University of Oklahoma has been providing fake data to "U.S. News and World Report" for two decades in order to keep its standing in the best coveted college rankings, because the university inflated alumni giving rates since 1999, "U.S. News" is now listing the school as unranked in the 2019 edition. The University of Oklahoma claimed to have a two-year alumni giving rate of 14 percent. The correct number was actually 9.7 percent.
It shows you those ratings, that whole college game where everyone's, you know, rushing to get into these schools, I don't know, we should probably rethink that a little bit.
BRIGGS: We should probably pull back the curtain a little bit.
Ahead, we'll talk some sports. The Toronto Raptors, one win away from the final show down with the Warriors. Coy Wire has that story in the "Bleacher Report".
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:23:40] BRIGGS: The Raptors push the Milwaukee Bucks to the brink of elimination in the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals.
Coy Wire here with "Bleacher Report".
And, man oh man, has this series dramatically shifted in tone. Good morning.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It really has, Dave. Remember, Milwaukee took the first two, thinking they got this. But now, Toronto closer to the NBA finals than they have ever been with this third win in this series. They get a potential series clinching game six in front of their own fans tomorrow.
The home team had won every game this series. So, Bucks fans thinking they got this. The Raptors masterful three range with 18 of them made, the most ever in a playoff game in franchise history. Kawhi Leonard had 5 of 35 points total, but Fred VanVleet had seven three- pointers, the most he's had his entire career including college days. He has become Toronto's secret weapon ever since he welcomed a baby boy into the world between games three and four. Thirty-four points in his last two games, more than his previous 11 combined, Raptors win 105-99.
Fans watching outside the arena back in Toronto getting buck wild as their star Kawhi Leonard is as stoic as they come.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAWHI LEONARD, TORONTO RAPTORS FORWARD: You know, I have been here before. I've been to the finals. And it's pretty much nothing new that I'm seeing out there.
[05:25:03] Just got to have fun with it and enjoy it. We were down 10. I told them to enjoy the moment, and embrace it, and just have fun and love it. You know, this is why we're here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Anything can happen. And tomorrow night's game six at 8:30 Eastern on our sister channel TNT, both teams have scored exactly 546 points in this series.
To college baseball and one of the strangest, wildest ways to lose a game, SEC tournament, Auburn up 1 against LSU in the bottom of the 9th. The ball gets away from Auburn's catcher, first baseman comes flying in, tosses it to the play all the way from 2nd for the winning score.
Dave, a walk-off two-run wild pitch throwing error for the win in tournament play. Can you believe it? What a way to start the weekend.
BRIGGS: I have seen that movie. It happens at my Little League games all the time. We say eat it, eat it, don't throw a ball away. Just hold on to that ball. That's a tough way to lose a game.
Coy Wire, thank you my friend, enjoy this holiday weekend, buddy. WIRE: Happy Friday.
BRIGGS: Romans, what's coming up?
ROMANS: All right. Secret details of the Russia probe can be declassified on new orders from President Trump, and British Prime Minister Theresa May calls it quits after being unable to deliver on Brexit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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