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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Democratic Presidential Candidates to Go Head-to-Head on First Debate; Is Benghazi Committee Targeting Clinton?; President Obama Slams Russian President Over Syria; Israeli-Palestinian Clashes Escalate; Outrage Follows Turkish Terror Attack; Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired October 12, 2015 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:31:06] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: In just one day, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders go head-to-head for the first time on the CNN Democratic presidential debate stage. What can you expect and who else will be at that podium?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Explosive allegations in the congressional Benghazi investigation. A former staffer claiming investigators are only interested in taking down Hillary Clinton.
ROMANS: President Obama calling Russian leader Vladimir Putin weak. Criticizing his involvement in Syria. But will the Kremlin force the U.S. to shift strategy? We are live.
Welcome back to EARLY START. Nice to see you all this morning. I'm Christine Romans.
KOSIK: Good morning. I'm Alison Kosik. It's 30 minutes past the hour.
And the countdown is under way to the first Democratic debate right here on CNN tomorrow night. Frontrunner Hillary Clinton at center stage flanked by Senator Bernie Sanders and three Democrats. Will there be fireworks? What might the second tier candidates do to grab the spotlight? And what are the chances an extra podium will be added for Joe Biden?
CNN's Jim Acosta has the latest.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Alison, here we are inside the Wynn Hotel two days and counting until the Democratic debate here on CNN, the first Democratic debate of this cycle. And you can see the stage is just about set. Five podiums up on that stage.
That middle one for former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. She's the obvious frontrunner at this point. To her right will be Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Senator Sanders has been giving Hillary Clinton a run for her money in the polls. It'll be interesting to watch those two go head-to-head.
But the other candidates will be trying to have a breakout moment. Candidates like former governor of Maryland, Martin O'Malley, former governor of Rhode Island, Lincoln Chaffee, former senator from Virginia, Jim Webb. They'll also be looking for those breakout moments on Tuesday.
But potential flash points between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, one of those will be on the Iraq war. In the last 24 hours, Senator Sanders has been reminding his supporters he voted against the Iraq war in 2002 and that Hillary Clinton voted in favor of the Iraq war, sort of echoes of that battle royal between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton back in 2008. That was a vote that cost Hillary Clinton back in 2008 with the Democratic Party.
Meanwhile, the X factor in all of this of course is Vice President Joe Biden. If Vice President Biden join this debate on Tuesday night, as a matter of fact, Christine and Alison, I've noticed off stage here in Las Vegas, here inside the there is an extra podium just in case Vice President Biden decides to join this debate. If it does, it will make for some fascinating political television.
Christine and Alison, back to you.
ROMANS: It sure will. A podium waiting in the wings. Jim Acosta, thank you so much for that.
President Obama says Hillary Clinton made a mistake by using a private e-mail server during her time as secretary of state. But he tells CBS News that the use of the private server did not pose a national security problem. In a "60 Minutes" interview, the president said that it's important for Clinton to answer these questions to the satisfaction of the American public.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: She made a mistake. She's acknowledged it. I do think that the way it's been ginned up is in part because of politics. And I think she'd be the first to acknowledge that maybe she could have handled the original decision better and the disclosures more quickly.
STEVE KROFT, CBS NEWS: What's your reaction when you found out about it?
OBAMA: You know, this is one of those issues that I think is legitimate, but the fact that for the last three months, this is all that's been spoken about is an indication that we're in presidential political season.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: Another blow this morning to the House investigation into the Benghazi attacks. Just weeks after House majority leader Kevin McCarthy credited the Benghazi investigation was politically damaging Hillary Clinton, a former staffer for the House Benghazi Committee has come forward with claims that seemed to reinforce McCarthy's boasts.
CNN's Chris Frates has the latest from Washington.
CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Christine and Alison. [04:35:02] A former staffer with the House committee investigating the
Benghazi attacks says the panel's probe has become a politically motivated inquiry targeting former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. It's a politically explosive charge sure to resonate on the campaign trail as Clinton runs for president.
Major Bradley Podliska, an Air Force Reserve intelligence officer, says that after news broke earlier this year that Clinton used a private e-mail server, the Republican-controlled committee set its sights almost exclusively on Clinton. Podliska says he was fired as a committee investigator because he resisted the pressure to focus on Clinton and because he took military leave.
He says he plans to fire a lawsuit over his firing and ask a court to give him his job back with back pay. Podliska, a self-described conservative Republican, tells CNN's Jake Tapper in an exclusive television interview that what was a broad probe into the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi became a, quote, "partisan investigation."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR, "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER": What do you say to any viewers out there who think that you might have an ax to grind, that you're only talking because you were fired?
MAJ. BRADLEY PODLISKA, FORMER BENGHAZI COMMITTEE INVESTIGATOR: I have a conscience. I -- there's wrongdoing here and I think it needs to stop. And I do not want the investigation to end. I want the investigation to be refocused back to its original purpose. The victims' families are owed the truth. Hillary Clinton has a lot of explaining to do. We however did not need to shift resources to hyper focus on Hillary Clinton. We didn't need to de-emphasize, on some cases drop the investigation on different agencies, different organizations and different individuals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRATES: On Sunday Republican chairman Trey Gowdy said in a statement that he never instructed Podliska to focus on Clinton. Gowdy said Podliska, quote, "has demanded money from the committee, the committee has refused to pay him, and he has now run to the press with his new salacious allegations about Secretary Clinton."
A spokesperson for the committee said in a statement that Podliska's claims are transparently false. Podliska, the statement said, was terminated for cause including for trying to put together a hit piece on administration officials including Clinton. The statement said, quote, "Thus directly contrary to his brand-new assertion, the employee actually was terminated, in part, because he himself manifested improper partiality and animus in his investigative work." -- Christine, Alison.
KOSIK: All right, Chris, thanks very much for that. And don't miss the first Democratic debate happening right here on CNN. Coverage beginning tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time. Harsh words for Vladimir Putin from President Obama in an interview on
"60 Minutes." The president criticizes the Russian leader as weak for launching a military campaign in Syria. He says the U.S. is already doing all it can in the Mideast. And Putin's actions came as no surprise to the White House. In fact he says the Russian operation demonstrates a failed strategy on the part of Putin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: We have an enormous presence in the Middle East. We have bases and we have aircraft carriers and our pilots are flying through those skies. And we are supporting Iraq as it tries to continue to build up its forces. But the problem that I think a lot of these critics never answer is, what's in the interest of the United States of America? And at what point do we say that here are the things we can do well to protect America, but here are the things that we also have to do in order to make sure that America leads and America is strong and stays number one.
And if in fact the only measure is for us to send another 100,000 or 200,000 troops into Syria or back into Iraq or perhaps into Libya or perhaps into Yemen, and our goal somehow is that we are now going to be not just the police, but the governors of this region, that would be bad strategy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: Meantime military analysts say anti-tank missiles supplied by the U.S. to Syrian rebels opposed to the Assad regime have been so effective they may have drawn the Russians into the fight. And that may have set up a potential proxy war between the two super powers as well as a battle for hearts and minds in Iraq where Putin's actions in Syria are being widely praised.
Let's get the latest from CNN's Ian Lee, monitoring developments from Cairo.
You know, listening to President Obama in that interview calling Vladimir Putin weak is one thing, but then there's the perception of Putin still calling the shots with what's going on in Syria.
IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Alison. And it really has made quite the difference on the ground in Syria. And we've seen the regime forces of President Bashar al-Assad and his Lebanese allies Hezbollah start gaining ground in areas, capitalizing on these airstrikes that Russia has been provided.
[04:40:13] In an interview with state media, we've learned a little bit more about what their objective is. First off, it's stabilizing the current regime in Syria. Now Putin said that he wasn't going to have any ground troops involved. It doesn't look like he needs to right now as those forces on the ground seem to be making ground. He also talked about the reason why Russia went into Syria. And one of them was also that there are Russians who went to fight alongside ISIS and he would rather fight them in Syria than have them return back to Russia. And in that interview, he also had a bit of a jab against the United
States. You may remember that the U.S. spent $500 million trying to train Syrian rebels to send them back in the country. Well, that program failed. As one senator called it a joke when they were only able to get four and five fighters in the country. Putin said he could take that money and put it to better use. But at the end, he conceded that both the United States and Russia need to work together to come to some sort of resolution.
KOSIK: They need to work together, but that power play continues between Russia and the U.S.
Ian Lee, thanks so much for that.
ROMANS: All right, 41 minutes past the hour. It's Monday morning. Let's talk about your money. Asian markets are higher. Shanghai up 3 percent on news of a possible stimulus by the Chinese central bank to help boost economic growth there. European markets down. U.S. futures barely moving really right now.
You know, stocks ended the week on a high note. The Dow up 34 points, not much but it was six straight days of gains. The longest winning streak since last December. And the S&P 500 finished the week up 3 percent. That's the best week of the year.
And breaking overnight the biggest merger in the tech industry. Reuters reports Dell will announce a merger with data storage company EMC this morning. Resulting company will be worth $$75 billion and will Dell move away from the stagnant personal computer market and into the more profitable data storage business so we'll be closely watching tech this morning.
KOSIK: You see Dell continuing to try to be relevant.
ROMANS: That's right.
KOSIK: Thousands protesting in the streets in mourning after a terror attack left dozens dead. Could the government have prevented it? We're live next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:46:01] KOSIK: The worst terrorist attack in Turkey's history has that country in chaos this morning. Thousands of mourners gathering in the capital to mourn the death of almost 100 people killed by two deadly explosions at a peace rally on Saturday. Most of the victims were Kurds and they're blaming the Turkish government for the carnage.
Let's go live to Ankara, Turkey and bring in CNN's senior international correspondent Arwa Damon.
You know, the irony of this and the devastation of this is just right there in your face. You see tens of thousands of people showing up for a peace rally. And instead experiencing violence.
Arwa, can you hear us? ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Alison, it's
still such an emotional -- yes, sorry, I can. It's still such an emotional time for people here at this stage, trying to come to grips with everything it is that they went through. That attack happening right here in front of the train station. This is where some 14,000 people had gathered on Saturday almost exactly 48 hours ago when there's two twin blasts went off.
The Turkish government very quick to repair the facade of the building. The windows that were blown out and here you have the flowers that people have been bringing in commemoration of those who died. There are funerals taking place here in Ankara, but also throughout the entire country because those who died were from all overture Turkey. And they had come together for this peace rally.
A lot of blame being traded, though, as well at this stage. The Turkish government coming out and saying this was an attack on the state. But opponents to the Turkish government, the opposition party especially the pro-Kurdish HDP party as well as people that we've been speaking to at these various different demonstrations, and those who either were part of that peace rally or know someone who lost their life in the peace rally.
They are all laying the blame for this firmly at the feet of Erdogan, the government, saying that at the very minimum, the government had a responsibility to try to protect the population from this kind of violence. They are demanding accountability. They are demanding answers. Speculation at this stage, only speculation, that it might have been carried out by ISIS. No claim of responsibility just yet.
In the past, the government has blamed similar attacks to this one, such as the one that took place in the town of Suruc along the Syria- Turkey border over the summer on ISIS. But ISIS did not claim responsibility for that one either. So at this stage, for the Turkish population, there is a lot of concern for their security, what this means. And they do want to know who was responsible and what the government is going to do about it.
KOSIK: All right. And once again no claim of responsibility for this attack just yet.
Arwa Damon, thanks for that.
ROMANS: All right. 49 minutes past the hour. New deadly violence this morning in Jerusalem. Tensions rising there between Israelis and Palestinians. What the prime minister is now doing to stop the attacks. We are live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:52:47] ROMANS: A new round of stabbings, shootings and bombings over the weekend escalating tensions between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Eleven people killed in clashes with Israeli military forces including a person who tried to stab a police officer this morning. And a 13-year-old Palestinian died Sunday after being shot by a rubber coated bullet in the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling in 1600 police
reinforcements in Jerusalem to contain the violence.
We want to go right now to Jerusalem live and bring in our Erin McLaughlin -- Erin.
ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Christine. We're getting some new information about that stabbing attempt in the Old City this morning. Israeli Police say that outside the Lion's Gate entrance to the city, they saw a Palestinian teenager who looked, they said, suspicious. They said he had his hands in his pocket. They asked him to remove his hands. When he did, he had a knife. They say he lunged at an Israeli police officer stabbing him in his flak jacket.
The police officer was uninjured. Police responded by opening fire killing the Palestinian teenager. He was later identified by his friends as 18-year-old Moustafa al-Khatib. He was in his last year of high school, a member of a prominent Palestinian business family from East Jerusalem.
Israeli Police say it is the third stabbing incident in the area of the Old City in as many days. Authorities responding to the latest wave of violence with increasing security presence. Calling up some 1600 border police reservists to be spread out across cities in Israel as well as Jerusalem. This in addition to the already heightened military presence in the West Bank. Both Palestinian and Israeli leaders blaming each other for the violence -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right, Erin. Thank you for that. Keep us posted as new information comes in.
Erin McLaughlin for us this morning. Thanks.
KOSIK: OK. Totally switching gears. How does unlimited vacation sound to you?
ROMANS: Perfect. Love it.
KOSIK: I'm with you on that.
ROMANS: If you take it. If you take it. That's the risk, right?
KOSIK: That's a really good point. We'll have an EARLY START on your money next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:58:49] ROMANS: Good morning. I'm Christine Romans. Let's get an EARLY START on your money this Monday morning. Asian markets are higher. Shanghai up 3 percent. Possible stimulus by the Chinese central bank. It's helping markets this morning. The whole idea here of course is to help boost economic growth there. European markets are down. U.S. futures are barely moving right now.
Stocks ended on a high note last week. The Dow closing up for the sixth straight day in a row. The longest winning streak since last December. The S&P 500 finished the week up 3 percent. That's the best week of the year.
LinkedIn offering an open-ended vacation policy for employees. Starting next month the networking site will have a discretionary time-off policy. The company will set no minimum or no maximum vacation time. LinkedIn says it wants to focus on results performance, not hours worked. LinkedIn the latest company to offer unlimited vacation policy. Virgin and General Electric adopted one over the past year ago.
It's so interesting because some companies have been doing this, Alison, and some employees say, wait, I'm less likely to take all of my allotted vacation time.
KOSIK: There is that fear.
ROMANS: There is pressure not to take it all.
KOSIK: There's that fear of looking lazy.
ROMANS: But unlimited.
KOSIK: And somebody else taking your job.
ROMANS: Just get the work done and take a nice vacation a couple of times a year.
KOSIK: I'm with her. Exactly.
All right. EARLY START continues right now.
ROMANS: Just one day until the Democratic presidential candidates face off in their first debate. The stage is set. Who will come out swinging and --
(END)
