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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Biden Signals He Has Energy to Run; Review Finds Top Secret Emails on Clinton Server; Jailed Clerk Files Appeal, Gets High Profile Support; Migrant Crisis: Europe Warns of Limits. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired September 08, 2015 - 04:30   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: He talked about how college should be free and how the wealthy should be taxed to pay for it. He railed against trust fund babies, his words, and what sounded suspiciously like a stump speech.

[04:30:05] JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm hot, I got -- I acknowledge that. I'm mad. I'm angry. How many people in your own neighborhoods -- how many people in your own neighborhoods are in trouble can look their kids in the eye and say it with heart, "Honey, it's going to be OK, it's going to be OK"? Not enough, because the level playing field doesn't exist.

KEILAR: Mr. Vice President, sounds like you have a rationale for running.

BIDEN: I'm going to run part of this parade.

KEILAR: And he really did. He was jogging, zigzagging across the parade route, talking to parade goers. Some who told him that he should run, some who said he should beat Hillary Clinton who was in Iowa trying to shore up support there, saying that she had the policies and tenacity and vision to make her candidacy a successful one.

Bernie Sanders was in New Hampshire trying to shore up support there where he was the leader in recent polls. But for Joe Biden, it's a decision that he is continuing to mull over. He is keeping a council of a small, close-knit circle of confidants and long-time friends as he tries to decide whether he's going to get into this race or not -- John and Alison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Brianna.

New developments overnight in the Hillary Clinton e-mail controversy. The CIA and another intelligence agency say two e-mails that Clinton received on her personal account contained top secret information at the time they were sent. "The New York Times" reports a special intelligence review has endorsed the findings of the inspectors general are finding disputed by the Clinton campaign and the State Department. They say different agencies acquire information in different ways, and often have different ideas about whether it should be classified.

Some other news of Hillary Clinton: on Monday, she picked up the endorsement of Iowa's one and only Democrat in Congress, Representative Dave Loebsack who told a Labor Day picnic crowd she's going to work for the middle class because that's where she came from.

The former secretary spent the holiday weekend pitching voters across Iowa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I watched George W. Bush and his Republican administration try to reverse everything that had been done. And you know? They did a really good job of it, didn't they? They drove us into a ditch.

And they did it because they continued to believe that the only way that anybody should be involved in the economy is to do exactly what you're told by the people on top, the big corporations, and get out of the way of trickle down economics. It didn't work before. It can't work again.

I believe I've got the vision, the policies, the skill, the tenacity and the determination to get us back on the right track.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Today, the former secretary is set to propose a slate of campaign finance reform measures. They will include limits on political donations by corporations and also big donors.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Republican candidate Carly Fiorina is managing to attack Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, all at the same time.

Fiorina says she sometimes feels like the one candidate consistently going after Clinton and she wonders why Trump is not focusing more of his fire on the Democratic frontrunner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLY FIORINA (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mrs. Clinton is the same person who compared Republicans to terrorists. For heaven's sakes, I actually wish Mr. Trump would throw a little more heat Hillary Clinton's way. I feel sometimes as though I'm the only candidate who's consistently been critical of her.

The truth is Mrs. Clinton has lied as secretary of state about Benghazi, about her e-mails, about her server. And so when she revives this war on women, make no mistake, she will. This is her go- to line.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: Republican contender Mike Huckabee is in Kentucky today. He plans to lead a rally in support of county clerk Kim Davis. She is in jail for contempt after refusing a federal judge's order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Her lawyers have filed an emergency appeal demanding her release. Today is the first day that motion can be heard.

Let's get the very latest from CNN's Jean Casarez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Alison, it is expected today that Mike Huckabee, presidential contender, is actually going to Kentucky not only to lead a rally for Kim Davis outside of the jail, where she still sits, but to go inside and talk with her.

Her attorney confirmed with CNN that Mike Huckabee called Kim Davis on her cell phone, and already spoke with her last week. Now, this is all the while Kim Davis tells her attorney and also her husband that she is very comfortable in jail because her beliefs are so strong in this area.

Well, contrary to that, her attorneys have actually filed an emergency petition with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals asking for emergency relief. Basically that she'd be released from jail.

[04:35:00] Technically, they are asking for an injunction against the governor. They have a suit against the governor because they say that he issued just absolute directives saying that all county clerks must issue same-sex marriage licenses and her with her religious beliefs told her she could not do that, but there weren't any exclusions for her.

Now, additionally, in spite all of this, the community is rallying around Kim Davis over the weekend. They had a rally in support of her. Many people coming from out of town. But her office, at the end of last week, started issuing same-sex marriages. Her county clerks did that for her, deputy clerks. Her name is not on it.

But she still believes as the elected clerk, that it is coming from her, that she is, in effect, endorsing it, although the current order from the district court said -- you are not endorsing it as the county clerk. You are showing the people are who they purport to be. And under the law, that they have a right to marry.

Additionally, the order in effect right now says she took an oath to offer and to honor the Constitution of the United States, which the Supreme Court says, allows for same sex unions. We will see what the future holds in Kentucky -- John, Alison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: OK. Jean Casarez, thanks for that.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney is set to deliver what's being billed as a major address against the Iran nuclear deal later this morning. He'll be talking about the consequences of the agreement for the United States and its Middle East allies. Congress votes on the measure next week.

Here is a quote from the preview copy of the speech. Cheney says, "Arming and funding Iran while simultaneously providing them a pathway to a nuclear arsenal is not an act of peace. It's not, as President Obama claims, the only alternative to war." Dick Cheney says, "It's madness."

BERMAN: France could soon begin launching air strikes against ISIS targets in Syria. Until now, they have only taken part in attacks against ISIS in Iraq. But French President Francois Hollande says he has proof the group is plotting terror attacks from inside Syria. Britain has already joined the offensive, announcing it conducted its first armed drone strike against ISIS inside Syria's border two weeks ago, killing three ISIS operatives.

KOSIK: Time for an early start on your money. Asian markets closed mostly higher, but more signs China's economy is slowing down. New trade figures show both imports and exports fell sharply for August.

Here in the U.S., markets are going to open again after Labor Day holiday. We are seeing stock futures higher. It's a good sign after a roughened to the week. We saw Dow and NASDAQ and S&P 500 all fall about 3 percent.

We are also keeping an eye on oil prices, which are falling right now, down almost 3 percent this morning. It's just one more big swing in oil's downward spiral. Just last month, oil plummeted below $38 a barrel for the first time since 2009. And low oil prices mean good news for consumers. The national average for a gallon of regular is $2.39 this morning. That's $1 cheaper than this time a year ago, and many actually predict $2 gas by December.

BERMAN: All right. Later today, Pope Francis expected to announce revisions to the marriage annulment process for Catholics. The Vatican is not releasing details about these revisions, but the pope has said obtaining annulments can be too costly and too cumbersome. The pope's attempts to ease church rules is creating some divisions within the Vatican.

If you read "The Washington Post", there's a very interesting article, a staunch conservative cardinal publicly warning that the pope doesn't have the power to change church doctrine.

KOSIK: Stunning weakness and glaring errors. We now know why the courts cleared Amanda Knox of murder. New information overnight, next.

(COMMERICAL BREAK)

[04:42:26] KOSIK: A stunning indictment by Italy's highest criminal court of police, prosecutors and judges in the Amanda Knox. The five- judge panel explained why it overturned the murder conviction, says the prosecution had stunning flaws and went to trial with an absolute lack of biological traces tying Knox and then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito to the death of Meredith Kercher in 2007. The high court's ruling back in March cleared Knox and Sollecito once and for all in Kercher's murders.

Knox responded with a post on her blog saying, "I am deeply grateful that the Italian Supreme Court has filed its opinion and forcefully declared my innocence. I will now begin the rest of my life with one of my goals being to help others who have been wrongfully accused."

BERMAN: New York City's West Indian parade marred by violence. An aide to Governor Andrew Cuomo was in critical condition after being shot in the head. Two other people were injured by gunshot Sunday, and a fourth person fatally stabbed. The police say the Cuomo staffer, 43-year-old Carey Gabay, was caught in crossfire between two rival gangs. No arrests yet made.

KOSIK: A Muslim flight attendant accusing her employer ExpressJet, claiming she was suspended for refusing to serve alcohol because of her religious beliefs. The complaint by 40-year-old Charee Stanley says the airline initially agreed to a religious accommodation, but then put her on a year-long unpaid leave after another attendant complained. ExpressJet in a statement says they value diversity but cannot comment on personnel matters.

BERMAN: Heavy rain in the Midwest means a serious risk for flash flooding.

Let's bring in meteorologist Pedram Javaheri for the latest on that.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, John and Alison.

The severe weather pattern across the Midwest continue again, and honesty, this kind of resembles what we saw this time yesterday when it comes to where this storm has migrated, where they're going to end up across the great lakes. And the pattern is going to bring 2 to 3 inches of rainfall in a region that has been really hard hit. Upwards of six to seven inches came down in the 12-hour period, just outside of Des Moines. That's why the National Weather Service has put flood watches in effect over this region.

And look at the temperature trend. You don't see this too often. I love this view right here, because it is currently 81 degrees in Chicago. That is warmer than the average high for this time of year. I checked in at South Beach and Miami, temperatures there are 79 degrees.

How often do you see that in September? The answer is not very often. And the pattern again, the warm theme across New York City, going on 60 consecutive days with high temperatures exceeding 90 degrees previous record from 1944, with 59 consecutive days.

[04:45:00] But we can do better. We can go up to 93 today and drop back to 87 come Wednesday afternoon with the cooling trend in the forecast for New York City -- guys.

BERMAN: All right. Pedram, thanks so much. Chaos at the borders in Europe, thousands of migrants seeking asylum.

But this morning, governments are warning they can only take so many in. We have live team coverage as this crisis unfolds, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: New developments in the migrant crisis and the refugee crisis hitting Europe. Thousands keep pouring into Hungary, desperate to reach Western Europe, many of them forced to wait days with little food or water. Clashes with police now breaking out along the border with Serbia.

France has announced it is willing to take in 24,000 asylum seekers over the next two years. That spread out over a long time, with the British agreeing to receive 20,000 more also over time. Germany has set aside nearly $7 billion to handle this influx.

We have the story covered across Europe. First, let's go to Arwa Damon live at the Serbia/Hungary border.

Arwa, you have seen so much suffering and so much perseverance over the last few days.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We really have. People keep on coming, arriving exhausted. This is the point where they cross from Serbia following the train tracks into Hungary.

[04:50:02] You see some of them waiting around here. They are hoping that somehow they will figure out a way to get across without having to go into the Hungarian camps. That is not a very likely scenario for them. Some families just stopping to take a break in the shade, because it is quite a trek.

At its closest point, this part of the walk is about three hours and they have another 20 minutes before they get to what is meant to be a holding area where they will then be picking up buses to take them on to the transit camps. People are only supposed to be spending a few hours there, but it is quite a long wait, and conditions are not exactly ideal.

You see the wall here, that Hungary is in the process of building a permanent structure. That is its intention. And next to it, the concertina wire that they have strung along the entire border. This is Hungary's effort to contain the flow coming across its borders. But critics of the government say that this not a solution, rather, this is going to create in the future potentially an even bigger problem.

Many of those arriving here are refugees from the wars in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. They already made that difficult decision to leave home. A very touching moment earlier when a father carrying his little girl on his shoulders Syria always in my heart, not an easy decision for those who are leaving everything they know and love behind, but they are doing it because they believe that this is their only chance for a future. BERMAN: Arwa, are people keeping abreast of the various machinations

from these countries, whether it'd be Germany or Britain or France as talk about numbers, or are they just concerned on getting their next meal or getting to the next border?

DAMON: Yes. They are actually keeping track of it and very closely. They are aware of the various different policies and conflicts that are happening to a certain degree between the position of Hungary, Austria and Germany. They are very aware.

Currently, for example, of the fact that, you know, Germany has said it would be welcoming them. They are very concerned about their treatment here in Hungary. They know there are meetings that are taking place is, what's the situation, what's being facilitated.

And you always get this question, too, of -- you know, why isn't more being done for us? And that's the question that we can't really answer at least not adequately, or logically, especially given everything that they have been through when they arrive to Europe. They thought things would be easier, that there would be a bit more sympathy, compassion and empathy for the plight and everything that they have been through.

So, yes, they are informed, but they have a lot of questions and a lot of uncertainty.

BERMAN: All right. Arwa Damon, one of the flash points here, the Serbia/Hungary border. Thanks so much, Arwa.

KOSIK: More than 16,000 migrants have arrived in Austria since Saturday, arriving on packed trains and buses. Most of them hoping to make Germany their final destination. Government officials in Austria are warning they cannot keep up with the influx.

CNN's coverage of the migrant crisis continues with senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen live from Vienna.

You know, Frederik, listening to Arwa talk, she was saying how these migrants are saying, why isn't more being done for us? Is this the situation where these countries knew that these migrants were coming, they just didn't expect this many?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now, Alison, I actually think it's the fact that there are so many divisions within the European Union, that in some places, they are receiving a warm welcome. Austria is one of them. In other places, it is very different.

Certainly, if you look at Hungary, there are regular folks in Hungary, civilians who are very good to the refugees coming through who try to make donations. But there have been a lot of criticism of the Hungarian government.

The situation is very different here in Austria. And you can see here, group after group, walking past me. These are all refugees. But what happens when they come here to Austria is that they immediately are received by volunteers, many of them speaking Arabic, Farsi or Kurdish to help these migrants along. Also, they receive food, they receive drinks, they receive toys, and what happens, which is very important, they are immediately transited to trains that go to Germany, which is, of course, the vast majority of them, the place that they want to go.

So, you can really see the civil society here in Austria, but in Germany as well, stepping up and making donations, especially donating their time and their compassion to these refugees that are coming through.

But again, these governments in Berlin and here in Vienna say they can't do this alone. Other countries need to commit more. And if you look at the numbers you guys were mentioning earlier, those 16,000 that went through over the weekend, by now, it will be about 20,000.

[04:55:04] That's in one weekend. The amount of people that are going to Germany and Britain has pledged that exact same number over the course of five years.

So, those are the dimensions that countries like Germany are dealing with at this point. That is why they are trying to get other countries to do more, especially in the way of taking in more refugees coming to Europe.

KOSIK: Trying to get countries to do more. You see the differences between Austria and Germany, welcoming, and Hungary building a wall. Frederik Pleitgen, thanks for that.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Run, Joe, run. Crowds cheering a running Joe Biden. But will he run for president? What he is saying now. That's ahead.

KOSIK: A new review finding Hillary Clinton received top secret information on her private e-mail serve while serving as secretary of state.

BERMAN: The Kentucky clerk in jail for refusing to issue wedding licenses to gay couples, making a new appeal and getting some high profile support.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

KOSIK: And I'm Alison Kosik. It's Tuesday, September 8th. It's 5:00 a.m. in the East.