Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Trump Cheered at Michigan Fundraiser; Clinton to Give Her Private Email Server to DOJ; Top GOP Leader Meets Israeli President; EPA Blamed for Toxic Mine Spill; China Devalues Currency for 2nd Day. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired August 12, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[04:30:00] DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to do very well with the Hispanic vote. We're going to do great with the women vote. If you look at in Nevada, they did the poll, and I'm leading in the Hispanic vote, because I create jobs. And I'm going to go -- I will be creating tremendous numbers of jobs. So, I think we are going to do great.

And then the women's health issues, I'm for that. I watched Jeb Bush give the worst answer the other day. I think that is going to be his 47 percent. Now, he then went and he said, he misspoke. How do you misspeak about that?

I will be great on women's health issues. I cherish women. And I will be great on women's health issues. Believe me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: CNN politics reporter Sara Murray was at the Trump campaign event last night in Michigan. She has the latest for us this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, Christine.

For Donald Trump, it was a warm and raucous welcome here in Michigan yesterday. He took the stage and it seems like immediately, the crowd was on their feet, cheering about his plans to secure the border, cheering about the idea of Donald Trump as the next president.

TRUMP: We are going to get the wall built and it's going to be built right. And Mexico is going to pay for the wall. Mexico is make ago fortune off the United States. Mexico -- excuse me. Mexico is going to pay for the wall. And they are going to be happy about it.

MURRAY: Now, when I talked to voters here, not everyone was sure he could actually win the Republican nomination, but they said they liked the way he talked -- not sounding like a politician and they said it was refreshing.

As for his recent fiery exchange with Megyn Kelly, a lot of the women I talked to here dismissed the idea it could hurt him with female voters. They said it's just politics as usual. They are over it and it's time for the rest of us to get over it too.

Now, for those voters who are hoping that Donald Trump would offer some specifics, today was not the day for him to do it. He did tell the media that he would have some more plans coming within the next two weeks, with specific numbers in terms of job creation, but we are still waiting to see when they are going to come out.

But for now, it seemed like the crowd was perfectly pleased to hear Donald Trump's normal stump speech with a little bit of an edge. Not your normal political event and I think the Trump campaign is perfectly happy to have a campaign event that does not look like your typical political rally.

Back to you, Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Sara, indeed. Thank you for that.

New trouble for Hillary Clinton this morning. For the first time, a new poll of New Hampshire Democrats shows the former secretary of state trailing. Likely voters there picked Clinton second after Bernie Sanders, 37 percent to 44 percent. Sanders, of course, is the senator from the neighboring state of Vermont. He has spent a lot of time in New Hampshire. Vice President Biden came in third at 9 percent.

On another front, Clinton has now agreed to turn over her private e-mail server to authorities. That decision came the same day as inspector general told lawmakers at least five e-mails on that server contained information that later turned out to be classified.

Senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine.

This is a significant development in the ongoing questions over Hillary Clinton and her decision to use that private e-mail during her time as secretary of state. Now, the new information is this. She has instructed her attorney to hand over that private e-mail server and a thumb drive of all of her work-related e-mails to the Justice Department. This is the biggest acknowledgment yet that the Clinton campaign believes this is a significant issue that has taken a toll on her credibility.

Her campaign spokesman Nick Merrill told CNN, quote, "She pledged to cooperate with the government's security inquiry, and if there are more questions, we will continue to address them."

He also said, quote, "The e-mails have been stored in a safe and secure manner."

But, Christine, this comes only a week after the FBI said they wanted to look into the security of the e-mail to see whether any classified information could have been contained on that server. By turning over this to the Justice Department, this almost ensures the fact that this story will follow her for the rest of the campaign this fall, and into next year -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Thanks for that, Jeff.

Jeb Bush blaming the White House and Hillary Clinton for the chaos in the Middle East. In a foreign policy speech at the Reagan library, Bush targeted Clinton's tenure at secretary of state insisting she and the president made the world less safe with their decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That premature withdrawal was the fatal error, creating the void that ISIS moved in to fill, and that Iran has exploited to the full as well. ISIS grew while the United States disengaged from the Middle East and ignored the threat.

And where was secretary of state? Where was Secretary of State Clinton in all of this? Like the president, himself, she had opposed the surge and then joined and claiming credit for its success, then stood by as that hard won victory by American and allied forces was thrown away.

In all of her record setting travels, she stopped by Iraq exactly once.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:35:00] ROMANS: Bush will be in Las Vegas tonight to host a town hall and his campaign confirms he will be a guest on Stephen Colbert's late show debut next month.

Ohio Governor Kasich has signed Thomas Rath to head up his campaign in New Hampshire. It's a move many political insiders are calling a blow to Jeb Bush. Rath is a former attorney of New Hampshire, a long time fixture in the critical primary state. He has served as a senior adviser to Mitt Romney, Bob Dole and George W. Bush. Rath says he took on Kasich because the country needs him.

A delegation of three dozen GOP congressmen set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today. This group is trying to build momentum against the Iran nuclear deal, ahead of an expected vote in Congress next month. A top House Republican leader also sitting down with Israeli's president and talking with CNN about the Iran deal.

CNN's Oren Lieberman is live in Jerusalem for us this morning.

Good morning, Oren.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN REPORTER: Good morning, Christine.

It won't be too much of a surprise what the Prime Minister Netanyahu says to those 36 Republicans who are here for a visit. Netanyahu has been perhaps the most outspoken critic of this deal, lobbying against it at the frame work stage, the final stage, and now seeing how many congressmen he can convince.

Those Republicans already meet with President Reuven Rivlin and try to paint this deal not only as an issue for Israel security for Middle East But also a question of America's security, so using that angle to win some votes. Now, it shouldn't be too hard of a sale with Republicans because many of them are already lining up to vote against this deal.

But before the Republicans were here, there were 22 Democrats, some of them considered critical swing votes on the Iran deal. They heard the same concerns from Prime Minister Netanyahu, from the president, and other ministers. The leader of that delegation sat down with us and said, some of the concerns he had about the deal, about the snapback of sanctions, about inspections, resonated with what he heard in these meetings.

And yet, he wouldn't tell us how he's voting, how the other 21 Democrats he's with are voting, saying he's telling everybody to take your on time on this, think about it, talk to the administration, talking the constituency, and see what your mind, what your heart tells you to vote. He says this isn't a vote on party lines, but it's a vote on what you feel is best for America's security, best of Israel's security and best for the region.

The question, Christine, will be how many, if any, of those Democrats with the president and the prime minister here able to convince. In the end, all come down to a number of math at that vote.

ROMANS: Yes, it will come down to math at the very end whether they can do it.

All right. Thank you so much for that. Oren Liebermann for us in Jerusalem this morning.

Iraqi forces may be on the verge of retaking Ramadi from ISIS. According to the U.S. military officials, the Iraqis have the city surrounded. They are preparing for a final assault to recapture the city, about 10,000 Iraqi troops in position for this offensive, about a third of them trained by U.S. advisers. ISIS, you'll recall, took control of Ramadi back in May.

Time for an early start on your money. Stocks are sinking around the world right now. Asian shares are down as China devalues its currency the second day in a row. It's also sending European shares and U.S. stock futures much lower.

Now, China, the central bank is billing this as free market reform, but experts say, no, no, no. This is about making Chinese exports cheaper and helping the Chinese economy. The surprise move signals the economy may be in worst shape as expected and weaker yuan means a stronger dollar. That hurts U.S. exporters by making their goods more expensive abroad, and it could complicate the Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates as early as next month.

Yesterday, the Dow fell 212 points. Apple, alone, fell 5 percent because of its big presence in China. Investors around the world, folks, right now, they are running away from risky assets. They are fleeing stocks. They are rushing into safe havens like government debt. They are getting out of foreign currencies and commodities. Oil prices, the lowest since 2009. Big, big moves in markets around the world, something important to watch here today.

Allegations of abuse at a New York prison where two dangerous killers escaped. What inmates say guards did to them after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:42:37] ROMANS: This morning, inmates from a New York prison where two murderers escaped, they claimed guards beat them and treated them harshly, taking out their frustrations as the search for Richard Matt and David Sweat dragged on. A lawyer for the prisoner's legal services tells CNN his group received more than 60 complaints from inmates. They include allegations inmates were physically abused, their property was destroyed and they were held in solitary, some for weeks.

CNN cannot independently confirm those claims. But a reporter for "The New York Times" which first reported that story, told Anderson Cooper about one inmate guards was repeatedly questioned about hearing Matt and Sweat hacksawing their way out of prison.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SCHMIDT, NEW YORK TIMES REPORTER: This inmate, Patrick Alexander, who was a neighbor of Richard Matt said he heard nothing and was sort of baffled by all of this. Nevertheless, he was taken and interrogated several times and one time taken to a broom closet and beaten up fairly badly. This is one of the individuals who had a plastic bag over his head, he claims, and was beaten to get information out of him. And when he didn't provide the information or didn't provide the information that correction officers wanted, he said the beating got more severe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: New York prison officials say the statement to CNN that complaints are being investigated by the state inspector general. They say any misconduct or abuse of inmates, quote, "will be punished to the full extent of the law." The corrections officers union blasted reports of inmate complaints as one-sided and inaccurate.

A Dallas area police officer who killed unarmed college football player Christian Taylor during a suspected burglary at a car dealership, that police officer has been fired. Arlington's police chief saying 49-year-old Brad Miller made mistakes leading to a deadly confrontation that put him and other officers in danger. He says Miller did not alert his supervising officer or help set up a perimeter.

Taylor's brothers telling CNN Ed Lavandera that they don't see how officer Miller could have thought their 5 foot 7-inch tall brother was even a threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADRIAN AND JOSH TAYLOR, BROTHERS CHRISTIAN TAYLOR: My brother would never hurt anybody ever. Never, ever, every, actually, would harm anybody.

I just fail to see the immediate threat they would have had if he is unarmed, to feel like that was the best option and the best route to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:45:00] ROMANS: Officials say Officer Miller could also face criminal charges once and investigation is complete.

Police in St. Louis County, Missouri, releasing surveillance video they say shows a teen pulling a gun from his waistband just before officers shot him. Police say 18-year-old Tyrone Harris began firing at an unmarked car carrying detectives near protests marking the anniversary of Michael Brown's death. Harris was critically wound inside the gun battle and faces a number of charges.

New details emerging this morning in the crash that killed comedian James McNair and left actor Tracy Morgan severely injured. The National Transportation Safety Board says Kevin Roper, the driver of the Walmart truck that rear-ended Morgan's limo van had not slept for 28 hours. They also say McNair, Morgan and others in the limo were not wearing seat belts. The deadly crash happened last June shortly before 1:00 a.m. on the New Jersey turnpike.

New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith out of action six to ten weeks after a teammate sucker-punched him and broke his jaw. According to the head coach of the Jets, Smith and teammate IK Enemkpali got into a fight in the locker room when Enemkpali suddenly threw a punch. The team says injury and Enemkpali cut from the team. The whole dispute $600.

Officials in New Mexico and Arizona are furious with the EPA for failing to warn them about an incoming rush of contaminated water. They say no one informed them about an EPA blunder that released 3 million gallon of toxic mine waste into Colorado's Animas River. They claimed they learned about it from a local newspaper.

Colorado residents are demanding answers about a pristine tributary that's tainted orange with waste water.

We get more this morning from CNN's Dan Simon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, there's really no way for the EPA to sugar coat this. This was their deal. This was their fault. But the agency says it has committed to making things right for the community.

In the meantime, the river is still closed and you can see the sign right there. And we'll show you why. We first want to point out that the water color has basically returned to normal, but there are still remnants of the toxic sludge. You can see it right here.

And we actually took some water out of the river and it looks pretty much like orange juice but I tell you what, you don't want to drink it. There is some nasty stuff in here.

Now, this all happened when the EPA was trying to clean out this abandoned gold mine but it basically backfired and you had 3 million gallons of this water spilled into the Animas River.

But officials here in Colorado are now sounding optimistic. They took some measurements of the water and they basically say that the water chemistry has returned to its normal condition. So, they are optimistic the public threat may be waning.

But you take a look at the sludge here. Residents are still worried about it and they feel like the EPA still has a lot of explaining to do -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Dan Simon, thank you for that, Dan.

China stunning the world financial markets, devaluing its currency for a second day in a row. Markets of all sorts all around the world moving sharply right now. What this means for your money next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:51:45] ROMANS: All right. World financial markets stunned this morning, as China devalues its currency for the second day in a row. When China devalued the yuan yesterday, said it was a onetime move. Now, investors don't know what to believe. Is this the start of a sustained devaluation of China's currency?

Let's ask CNN's Nina Dos Santos live for us this morning.

And, Nina, you know, the Chinese central billing this as free market reforms. A lot of experts saying, no, this is China trying to protect its exports, trying to protect its economy and they're a little worried it means that China's economy, its growth is slowing faster than we think.

What do you make of it?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. They're also very worried this could be the start of an impending currency war where various countries around the world start to bring down artificially the value of their currencies to make their good more competitive on the export market.

And as you quite rightfully point out, exports have been weak here for China. Over the course of the weekend, we found out both exports and also imports into China have been quite a bit weaker than a lot of people wanted to see here. And so, just a couple of days afterwards, what we have here is the People's Bank of China, the Central Bank of China deciding here to defund its currency by not a huge amount but it is still a very significant amount. And also the surprise here element really has played into things, Christine.

Just to give you an idea of how difficult the trading relationship between the United States and China is -- the United States for instance imports about $50 billion worth of goods every single from China. And, of course, the United States also has China as its biggest creditor. So, China buys more treasury bills than anybody else.

So, the biggest implications of this further down the line also that the U.S. Federal Reserve may have to rethink about their decision of raising interest rates in about a month's time. For now, a lot of people are expecting that September could be when the cost of borrowing money in America starts to rise from here and some say because of this move, it can well move towards December.

ROMANS: Interesting. That could be this -- I mean, this shows you what a big story this is and a big move for people who are not students of international currency markets, that it could be the one thing that prevent the Fed from raising interest rates next month.

Well, Nina Dos Santos, we know you will be watching it.

Also, look, it means commodities are falling around the world. Oil prices, for example, at a six-year low. I'm going to tell you what this means exactly for you. Hint -- it very good news at the gas pump. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:58:05] ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. Let's get an early start in your money this morning.

Stocks are sinking around the world. Asian, European stocks lower, so are U.S. stocks futures. Again, it's because China devalued its currency the second day in a row. This is a move seen by many to boost Chinese growth, to boost Chinese exports. Investors around the world then running away from risky assets like stocks, rushing into safe havens like government debt.

Commodities also, they are rushing out of commodities and sinking this morning. Aluminum and copper at six-year lows, so is oil. Crude oil trading around $43 a barrel right now. prices have not been this low since March 2009. Look at that chart. Oil output from OPEC climbed for a record in July and adding to a huge supply gut.

It's devastating for energy companies. It's great for drivers. The national average for gallon of gas is $2.59. It's almost a dollar cheaper than this time last year, expected to keep falling. By some estimates, you could see below $2 a gallon by Halloween if this keeps up.

Online dating side Tinder having an emotional breakup with "Vanity Fair" this morning. The magazine run a story with a headline, "Tinder and the Dawn of the Dating Apocalypse." It portrays dating in the digital age in less than flattering light. Tinder lashing out at the author on Twitter with this epic rant, saying the author didn't contact them for the story. The company also objected to a survey. She tweeted saying 30 percent of Tinder users are married.

In a long public rant, Tinder tweeted, "Next time reach out to us first. That's what journalists typically do."

EARLY START continues right now.

(MUSIC)

ROMANS: Donald Trump leading in the polls and now making his case to voters. Why he says his controversial comments about minorities and women will not hurt him at all.

Hillary Clinton handing over her private e-mail server to the Justice Department. And as she faces new criticism from her opponents in the race for president, the new bad news she faces this morning.

Good morning. Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. It is Wednesday, August 12th. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East. Nice to see you.