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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Obama Would Walk Away from Bad Deal; Employer Knew of Pilot's Depression; Lufthansa CEO Visits Crash Site; Controversy Grows for Religious Freedom Laws. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired April 01, 2015 - 05:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[05:00:00] CHRISTINE ROMANS: Deadline extended. Intense nuclear negotiations happening right now with Iran. Can an agreement be reached? And if it is, will President Obama be able to sell that deal to a defiant Congress?

House Speaker John Boehner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set to speak to the media in just minutes. We're going to bring it to you live.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Deeply depressed and his airline knew it. Lufthansa admitting the Germanwings pilot who they say deliberately crashed his plane into a mountain, he had told his employer about previous bouts of severe depression.

The question now, why was he allowed to fly? This as the company's CEO visits the victims' memorial, set to speak to the media and some key questions for him in just a few minutes. Live coverage ahead.

ROMANS: New outrage this morning for religious freedom laws. Critics say those laws will legalize discrimination. Indiana -- Indiana now promising to fix its bill, but another state passes its own version. All the new controversy ahead.

Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. It is Tuesday, April 1st, 5:00 a.m. in the East.

And happening this morning, the deadline has passed to reach a deal to curb Iran's nuclear program. The negotiations continue in overtime as Iran and the major world powers agreed to stay at the bargaining table at least through today. Diplomats say enough progress has been made to keep on talking.

For the latest, let's bring in global affairs correspondent Elise Labott.

Elise, what's the latest?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, as you said, that deadline came and went. Negotiators work through the night, took a brief break and now, are again meeting with Iran. But it does seem although progress has been made, those key issues

that we've been talking about for days, the pace of lifting U.N. sanctions against Iran, the amount of nuclear research and development on advanced technology, Iran can do, and also their enrichment program -- all those key sticking points that have been here all week still on the table.

And so, while the ministers are meeting, we could have some kind of general vague statement coming out today about what's already been agreed to. But it's quite clear, the fact that they're still meeting and unable to announce something reflects that there is still a lot to be negotiated, John.

BERMAN: And some of the foreign ministers have left. Secretary of State John Kerry has stayed on. The talks do continue. The question, when and if they will come out and speak at all and make an announcement.

Elise Labott, you are there covering it for us, thanks so much.

ROMANS: All right. The White House admitting that the Tuesday deadline for a nuclear deal was, quote, "at least a little arbitrary". Press Secretary Josh Earnest says negotiations have been going on for more than a year, but he says President Obama is still willing to walk away from the negotiating table if the world powers cannot reach an acceptable deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: No deal is better than a bad deal. The United States will not sign on to a bad deal. The only kind of diplomacy, diplomatic agreement, political agreement that we envision is one that definitively shuts down every path to a nuclear weapon that Iran has and imposes and Iran cooperates with a set of extremely intrusive inspections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Leading the charge against a nuclear deal with Iran, Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. Happening now, he's meeting in Jerusalem with House Speaker John Boehner and a delegation of House Republicans.

Last week, Speaker Boehner gave Netanyahu a very high-profile platform to speak out against the nuclear deal in a speech to Congress.

Let's bring in CNN's Oren Liebermann live from Jerusalem with the very latest for us this morning.

And, Oren, again, we're awaiting a statement from John Boehner and Benjamin Netanyahu at any moment.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN REPORTER: You're exactly right. That should come any second now. The prime minister's office is ready. We're just waiting for Netanyahu and Boehner to step out to make their statements. They don't have to say much here. Just Boehner's presence alone is a

very powerful statement, a show of support from congressional Republicans.

The timing certainly doesn't look like a coincidence here. The congressional Republicans, Boehner today, Senator Mitch McConnell earlier this week, right during the nuclear deal deadlines coming down to the wire on these negotiations. And that's when Republicans are here showing support for Netanyahu.

He has been the most vocal critic internationally of these negotiations and of this deal. He's been speaking out from the beginning. It was a month ago that he was in Congress, especially in these last few days, very important political ceremonies here, the swearing-in of the Knesset. The nuclear deal has loomed larger than that, and Netanyahu has used the timing of all this to speak out against the deal, to speak out as what he sees as the problems with this deal. And that includes things like the advanced centrifuges, the advanced research, underground facilities.

Netanyahu has lobbied against all of this. We heard him yesterday, the day before, and this will be one more opportunity. Again, we expect these comments from Boehner and Netanyahu any minute here.

It was Mitch McConnell here earlier this week. McConnell met with Netanyahu. McConnell said regardless whether there's a deal that Republicans will side with Netanyahu. McConnell said if there is a deal, they'll push for required congressional approval of that deal, which could make this deal very difficult for President Obama.

[05:05:03] McConnell said if there isn't a deal, then he sides with Netanyahu. He agrees with Netanyahu that the Senate and House should push for tougher sanctions on Iran. So, McConnell very much showing support for Netanyahu. And we very much expect Boehner so say something similar, something that is pro-Netanyahu and pro what Netanyahu has said.

What we've heard from the prime minister's office over the last few days which are the dangers of a deal not only to the security of Israel but to the stability of the larger Middle East. That has been -- those have been Netanyahu's talking points in the last few days.

Christine, just moments away, I think from those statements. So, now, we're just waiting for Netanyahu and Boehner to come out and to make those statements.

ROMANS: Still an empty podium.

But, Oren, let me ask you -- Netanyahu has been clear about what he feels about -- what he perceives as a deal, a deal that could be developing between the United States and Iran. He can't influence the United States alone. That's why he's got this coalition with him of Republicans.

LIEBERMANN: You're absolutely right. And perhaps President Obama can disregard Netanyahu's statements and Netanyahu's actions over the last few months, the last few weeks and even more so the last few days as we've seen Netanyahu out there even more.

It would be much more difficult for Obama to disregard what congressional Republicans are doing. And the Republicans know they have the strength here, at least in terms of Congress. They know they control both houses. And now, they're lining up with Netanyahu, working with him very much, especially this week as that nuclear deadline looms, it has passed. We are at essentially overtime here for negotiations.

And again, as I said, the timing, no coincidence. They're here right now. They're here this week, to side with Netanyahu and work with Netanyahu perhaps, pushing against this deal or at least pushing against what they see as the problems with this deal.

ROMANS: All right. Don't go far, Oren, because we know that soon that event will be happening, we're going to bring to you live -- a statement from Boehner and Netanyahu. Thank you, Oren, in Jerusalem.

BERMAN: In the meantime, new developments this morning in the crash of Germanwings Flight 9525. It turns out that Lufthansa knew the co- pilot Andreas Lubitz battled severe depression back in 2009 while he was still in flight school. Lufthansa has acknowledged that Lubitz informed the company himself. And this is raising new questions about how the airline industry monitors the mental stability of its pilots.

You're looking at live pictures right there in the lower right-hand part of your screen. We're awaiting a news conference from the CEO of Lufthansa any minute. We'll bring that to you live.

In the meantime, Diana Magnay is outside the prosecutor's office in Dusseldorf.

Good morning, Diana.

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John.

Well, Lufthansa issued a statement yesterday, last night, confirming that they had handed over an e-mail to the prosecutor which was an e- mail from Andreas Lubitz back in 2009 to his flight school in which he told them that he had suffered a bout of severe depression.

Now, Lufthansa has said that it found this e-mail now. It can't give any further details on whether this e-mail was taken into account when he was examined for his medical license. And to a certain extent -- sorry, pilot's license. To a certain extent, it raises more questions than it closes.

But, of course, questions over how much Lufthansa knew about his condition, whether it had taken his depression into account, or whether it had overlooked these details.

Carsten Spohr, the CEO of Lufthansa, who will, as you say, be speaking shortly from the near the crash scene in France said just 36 hours after the incident that Lubitz was 100 percent fit to fly.

All this whilst CNN are learning from sources close to the investigation about details the girlfriend has been telling investigators. Apparently, she told them that she knew of Lubitz's psychological issues, that she had been optimistic they could work through them together, and that he had recently been to see two doctors, an eye doctor and a neuropsychologist who had deemed him unfit for work because of psychological issues.

And "Bild" newspaper which has really got a lot of details on this investigation site, a source close to the investigation are saying they believe that his fear of not being able to fly anymore because of this medical condition was one of the main motives that they are now following in their investigation.

And all of this, John, whilst new details of a video emerge, a video that was apparently shot from the back of the plane in the final few moments as it was going down. "Bild" and "Paris Match", a French publication, both say they have seen this video from an investigator at the site. And it has some very chilling details of it, passengers screaming "my God" in various languages as you hear the plane hit the mountaintop.

The French criminal police say that it's possible that something like that could have leaked out of the investigation, that they've collected cell phone records, and they are still going to be sent for analysis at an institute. But nevertheless, these details have come out, and they do make for very, very upsetting reading -- John.

[05:10:00] BERMAN: It would be very difficult for the families to read that.

Diana Magnay for us, thanks so much.

ROMANS: Breaking news this morning, the CEO of Lufthansa paying his respects to the victims of Germanwings Flight 9525 this morning to a stone marker there, laying a wreath. Carsten Spohr placing flowers in the village of Le Vernet, that's very close to the crash site. He's expected to speak very shortly to reporters. You can see he's there in the right-hand corner.

We're going to bring that to you right now. He is speaking live this morning. Let's listen in.

CARSTEN SPOHR, LUFTHANSA CEO: A week after this terrible accident and our grief is still with us every day, everywhere. And I think I speak for everybody in Lufthansa that there is not a single hour where we don't think about this terrible accident, the victims, and the relatives and friends of these victims.

We are learning more every day about the cause of the accident. But I think it will take a long, long time for everybody, all of us to understand how this could happen. And it was very important for us to come here today to mourn the victim victims, to express the deep sorrow here at this monument at the place as close as possible to the crash site.

And we also came here today on behalf of Germanwings and Lufthansa to thank all these hundreds of people who have done an outstanding work over the last week to help. The various functions in the police, the Gendarmerie, also the military, the medical doctors who help us to identify the victims. But also, of course, all the people of this area who have been of such tremendous help for now more than a week.

And we are deeply, deeply impressed by the professionalism, by the energy, by the empathy and also the sympathy which we have seen here. And we know, everybody in Lufthansa, knows how hard this work has been. Sometimes dangerous, how the people climbed up and down the hills, how they had to leave the helicopters. We are very, very impressed and very, very grateful.

And I'd like to express a thank you today for the residents, for the local authorities, but also to the people of France which has been a great help and support for all of us.

I'd also like to express my thanks for the people who are helping in other places, in Marseilles, in Barcelona, in Dusseldorf. Some of these people are among our own ranks, and that's the least we can do, of course, bring our own teams to help the relatives of the friends and victims as much as we can do.

And I would like to also give my word to the victims that we don't only help this week. We want to help as long as help is needed. That's also my promise.

And, again, we're just very, very sorry that such a terrible accident could have happened in Lufthansa where we put so much focus on safety. We are sorry for the losses that occurred, and there's just no words to express this.

And I tried to express at least the words of thanks as I did today to those who have helped us here locally. And we also know which burden we have put on the people in this area where nothing is the same anymore after March 24. And I promise to the mayors, we do everything in Lufthansa to support, to turn this place into a place of mourning for the relatives and friends of the victims, and also to restore this beautiful countryside as much as we can after the investigation has finished.

And let me extend a last word of thanks to the accident investigators here in France who have done a great job and who have our full support into their professionalism. We help as much as we can.

[05:15:02] And we are grateful about the professional work that has been done here also by the accident investigators.

So, again, thanks to all of you. Merci beaucoup. (SPEAKING FRENCH) Merci beaucoup. Merci.

REPORTER: Sir, when did you find the 2009 e-mail from Lubitz?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry, there's no --

REPORTER: Why did it take you so long to publish this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no questions and answers. (CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: To recover the debris from Flight 9525.

That was Carsten Spohr, the CEO of Lufthansa Airlines, of course, the owner of Germanwings. He was expressing his remorse for what happened. Also his great thanks for everyone involved in the recovery.

ROMANS: He said it will take a long, long time to understand how this happened, and he said he was sorry that it happened at his airline.

You heard that first question from reporters, when did you know, when did you first know about this break in the training and this background, mental health background of the pilot of the plane? He was not taking questions on that. That is, of course, the big question on everyone's mind, what, if anything, could this airline have done to prevent this?

CNN's Erin McLaughlin live for us this morning from Le Vernet, France. She has been listening to these remarks as well.

Good morning.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.

That's right. Carsten Spohr, the CEO of Lufthansa Airlines, just departing here just over that way. You can see he's entering the cars, convoy under police escort.

The press still here asking him the question, when did you know about that 2009 e-mail? A reference to a statement put out by Lufthansa Airlines yesterday. In that statement, Lufthansa says as part of their own investigation, they have uncovered an e-mail from Andreas Lubitz, the 27-year-old co-pilot, accused of crashing the plane in that e-mail, Lubitz, Lufthansa says, notified them of a severe bout of depression. And the question on the minds of the press here today, when did Lufthansa know about it?

So far, the CEO of Lufthansa not answering that question. He's continuing his visit. From here, he's expected to go back to Marseilles. It's about a two to three-hour drive from here. He's expected to meet privately with families in a care center that Lufthansa has set up there.

Earlier, he was in Sene (ph), which is the staging area for the recovery operations not far from here, meeting with the helicopter pilots, the emergency workers, the people behind a sometimes perilous recovery effort, thanking them for their efforts. He also today pledged his support for everyone in this area, saying that he -- that Lufthansa will do what it can to restore the natural beauty to this area.

And he thanked everyone involved, reiterating what French President Francois Hollande has said, commending the local residents here for all of their help. Thousands of residents have opened up their homes to the victims, the victims' families, saying they'll always be welcome in this area -- Christine.

ROMANS: Many of the victims' families have thanked the people of that area for their hospitality, what has been a terrible time. And the CEO, Carsten Spohr, the CEO of Lufthansa saying that the company, we will help as long as you need help, pledging to help the victims' families as long as possible. And again, saying he was sorry several times.

Thanks so much for that, Erin. We'll get back to you.

BERMAN: You know, interesting. He kept referring to the incident as an accident.

ROMANS: That struck me. That struck me.

BERMAN: I don't know if that was something with his English or not, but he kept referring to it as an accident. There will be serious questions about whether Lufthansa could have prevented it. Now is not the time for him to face those questions, but he will later today.

ROMANS: No.

I will say he looked moved and like he was speaking from his heart. Those were not prepared remarks. That was a man, the CEO of a company, a company whose product is flying you safely from one place to another who failed. I mean, the company failed. That did not happen in this case. Very difficult job he has right now.

Nineteen minutes past the hour.

New backlash for Indiana's religious freedom law, criticized as legal discrimination. But this morning that controversy isn't stopping another state -- that's right -- another state has passed its own version of the law to the horror of the business community there. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:22:47] BERMAN: New fallout from the religious freedom law in Indiana. Even as a similar law has just advanced in Arkansas. Protesters gather in Little Rock Tuesday, calling on the governor there to veto a bill just passed by the Arkansas house. There is growing opposition from businesses in that state, including Walmart which is headquartered there.

Indiana's governor, Mike Pence, promised to fix the religious freedom law in his state. He claims it is not a license to discriminate, but he does admit there is what he calls a perception problem.

Let's get more now from CNN's Miguel Marquez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine, John, fast- moving changes here in Indiana today. Protests again in the state. This time, Bloomington, where several hundred people gathered to protest SB-101.

The governor, Mike Pence, in a stunning reversal -- this is a guy who had been fighting against any change to this law that he signed in private -- today, he came out to say he doesn't think it invites discrimination, but he still wants a fix.

GOV. MIKE PENCE (R), INDIANA: It's been a tough week here in the Hoosier State. But we're going to move forward. I've come to the conclusion that it would be helpful to move legislation this week that makes it clear that this law does not give businesses a right to deny services to anyone.

MARQUEZ: And just how this fix is taking shape is really changing as well. At the beginning of Tuesday, we understood there was already language that lawmakers were considering. By the end of the day, though, it was clear the House speaker had reached out to businesses and sports leaders and universities and activists across the state to figure out what exactly that bill had to say in order to please everyone and get to the governor's desk.

We understand that bill, that fix, may be in committee here at the statehouse later today -- Christine, John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Miguel, thank you.

Now, more companies say the new Indiana law bad for business. NASCAR and Nike joined the critics yesterday. They say the law allows discrimination. Both organizations say they are committed to diversity and inclusion.

NASCAR and Nike joining a long list of companies -- Apple, Angie's List, Yelp, NCAA, Eli Lilly, Salesforce, you can see the list there.

[05:25:04] Now, a similar fight happening between business and government in Arkansas. Walmart, which had its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, it has asked Governor Asa Hutchinson to veto the Religious Freedom Restoration Act there. It's called HB 1228. The nation's biggest retailer is also the nation's largest private employer, it has quite a bit of clout. It says that law does not reflect its values, or the values of Arkansas. It wants it vetoed.

BERMAN: The governor has said he will sign that bill. So, now, the issue is, can you change his mind before he puts pen to paper. It will be interesting to see how much clout Walmart has.

Twenty-five minutes after the hour. Deadline extended. The nuclear negotiations happening right now, still in overtime with Iran. We'll bring you the very latest from the scene, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Deadline extended. This morning, the intense nuclear negotiations with Iran. They are in overtime. World leaders still pushing for a deal. If they do come out with something in the next several hours, can the White House sell it to Congress? We're live with the negotiations and the roadblocks the president might face.

ROMANS: Deeply depressed and his employer knew. New evidence that the pilot who flew himself and 149 others into a mountain opened up about a severe episode of depression. So why was he allowed to fly?

The Lufthansa CEO speaking just moments ago. He says he's sorry. What's the company going to do to make sure it never happens again?

BERMAN: New backlash this morning over Indiana's religious freedom law.

[05:30:02] Critics claim it will legalize discrimination. That has not stopped another state from just passing its own version of the law. We have new developments ahead.