Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Jeb Bush Fires Back in Feud with Donald Trump; CIA and Homeland Security Heads Hacked?; Israeli Forces Shoot Innocent Refugee; New "Star Wars" Trailer Debuts; Oscar Pistorius Released from Prison. Aired 5:30-6p ET
Aired October 20, 2015 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Whether George W. Bush kept America safe or bears responsibility for the September 11th attacks. In an interview with Sean Hannity, Jeb Bush suggested that Trump's criticism of his brother proves he does not understand the threats the U.S. faces around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: His view of history is just wrong. The simple fact is that when we were attacked, my brother created an environment where for 2,600 days, we were safe. No one attacked us again. And he changed the laws, he did everything necessary, he united the country and he kept us safe. And just a tip of the hat to that and moving on to what the threats are today is what we ought to be focused on.
Donald Trump is not a serious candidate as it relates to foreign policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Now earlier in the day, Trump fired off his own salvos including a tweet that read, "Jeb is fighting to defend a catastrophic event. I am fighting to make sure it doesn't happen again. Jeb is too soft. We need tougher and sharper."
We have more breaking political news overnight. A new poll showing a high watermark for Trump. The NBC News-"Wall Street Journal" poll has Trump at 25 percent. That is his highest number in that poll. Bush all the way down at 8 percent.
Now the polls, that is what Trump talked about on the trail in South Carolina. CNN's Sara Murray was there.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, John and Christine.
In front of a crowd of thousands here in Anderson, South Carolina, last night Donald Trump slammed his GOP rivals, bragged about his lead in the polls, and even accused President Obama of wanting to take away Americans' guns.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So big Second Amendment. We're all big heavy on the Second Amendment, you know? You know, the president is thinking about signing an executive order where he wants to take your guns away. You hear this one. This isn't new. Not going to happen. That won't happen. But that's a tough one. I think that's a tough one for him to do when you actually have a Second Amendment, that's tough, because there's plenty of executive orders being signed. You know that. And we can't let that go on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: But what he didn't mention was his latest controversy. After suggesting in an interview that George W. Bush was responsible for the terrorist attacks on 9/11, Donald Trump doubled down on Twitter. But he made no mention here tonight. It's a line that many voters felt was an unfair attack against the former president, although they didn't say that it would ultimately sway their decision about whether or not to vote for Trump.
Now as for Trump, reporters tried to catch up with him after the event. The candidate dodged their questions in a rare move for a candidate who loves the camera.
Back to you, John and Christine.
BERMAN: He may have dodged the questions for a second, but he will answer the questions this morning. He's going to be on CNN live in just about 90 minutes in the 7:00 hour of "NEW DAY."
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. New signs this morning that Joe Biden may be close to announcing a run for president. A source close to the Biden camp telling CNN the vice president's associates are setting up interviews for campaign jobs.
Biden himself tight-lipped as he arrived late for a White House climate change event.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm the late Joe Biden, and I just want you to know as much as I love you, I have been in a meeting with the president on another matter for last two hours. And it's hard to say, "Mr. President, I've -- you're on your own. I'm leaving." Although he is on his own. He doesn't need me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: One House member set off a flurry of speculation. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania tweeted this, "I have a very good source close to Joe that tells me VP Biden will run for prez."
Biden would enter the race third in the polls behind Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders and late in the political process. Many point, did he miss his window?
BERMAN: In the CNN poll that came out just yesterday morning, support for a Biden run lower now than it was a month ago. So it may have been that a month ago was the optimal time to jump in. See what happens today, tomorrow, maybe the next day.
The FBI and Secret Service looking into claims of shocking hacks into the personal e-mail accounts of CIA Director John Brennan and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. Law enforcement officials tell CNN it does not appear the hackers got any classified information from these non-government accounts. But one self-proclaimed hacker told CNN's Laurie Segall the e-mails held a wealth of personal details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY TECH CORRESPONDENT: You guys say you were able to hack into his personal inbox. What did you find?
UNIDENTIFIED HACKER: Social Security numbers. Plans and he was talking about Iraq and Syria. There was a lot of I guess private information, really.
SEGALL: If this is true and it's true that you guys have actually broken into his private e-mail account, how difficult would you say it is?
UNIDENTIFIED HACKER: You mean out of 10?
SEGALL: Sure, out of 10.
UNIDENTIFIED HACKER: One.
SEGALL: One?
UNIDENTIFIED HACKER: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: One out of 10. The hacker told CNN he is a pot-smoking American under the age of 22 who supports the Palestinian cause. He says he targeted the U.S. government for its support of Israel.
[05:35:09] The hackers have been tweeting information they claim to have gathered from the accounts. Sources have confirmed both Brennan's and Johnson's accounts were hacked but CNN cannot independently verify the documents that have been leaked.
ROMANS: And, you know, these are their private e-mail accounts so it's important to point out these are not the classified -- the classified system.
BERMAN: Correct.
ROMANS: Although there have been big hacks before of the government data base. What experts -- security experts have been saying is that every government official should assume that someone can get in there with a social engineering and try to get at your stuff. What you put on your personal e-mail is for everyone. It's pretty easy to get.
BERMAN: We're talking about the CIA director. I know it's not his official government account, but it's the CIA director.
ROMANS: Well, maybe some of those folks should like just get rid of those AOL accounts. For sure the Hotmail accounts.
All right. Time for an EARLY START on your money this morning. Asian shares closed mostly higher. European shares and U.S. stock futures are lower. IBM shares down 5 percent before the bell. Falling revenue from weakness in China.
Progress report here, recent gains leaving the Dow now just 3.3 percent lower for the year. The Dow has notched three weeks of gains in a row. The longest weekly winning streak since last year after suffering a correction over the summer.
Hillary Clinton is urging U.S. regulators to investigate drug price gouging. She sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission. She wants a probe of Turing Pharmaceuticals' 5,000 percent price hike of the drug Daraprim.
It's the latest battle between politicians and Turing CEO Martin Shkreli. Clinton pointed out Turing still hasn't lowered that drug's price as promised.
Shkreli has gone on this week to donate money to the Bernie Sanders campaign, and then Bernie Sanders, gave the money to someplace else, and then what did you say, he wants to put his to the wall?
BERMAN: Punch a wall.
ROMANS: Yes. Real interesting times in Turing Pharmaceuticals these days.
Thirty-six minutes past the hour. Israel vowing to investigate the mob killing of a man mistaken for a terrorist.
BERMAN: Plus, "The Force Awakens" and breaks the Internet. The first full-length trailer released at halftime. We will break it down live. We will give you the play-by-play. Fantastic.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:40:52] BERMAN: Israeli police are launching an investigation into a mob assault that left an innocent African man beaten to death. It all started when an Israeli soldier was murdered. And Israeli Security Forces shot the 29-year-old refugee mistaking him for the Arab attacker. An angry mob then repeatedly stomped on the wounded victim, while he laid bleeding on the ground.
Want to go live in Jerusalem and bring you CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman.
Ben, this is happening in an atmosphere of tension and fear. Still a lot of outrage. This could have happened at all.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, these are very disturbing videos if you see the original. Now the Israeli Police have launched an investigation into this incident. Now this man was shot by a security guard in the bus station in Beersheba. So they're going to look at the security guard, his actions, and they're going to also conduct an autopsy to determine whether this 29-year-old refugee from Eritrea died as a result of a gunshot or died as a result of the kicking and the beating that he received from onlookers. Onlookers in fact including one Israeli soldier.
If it's determined that he died as a result of the kicking, there will be either manslaughter or murder charges leveled against these people. But it certainly is reflective of the very volatile attitude you have on both sides here. Now otherwise, we've also heard that there has been an attack on an Israeli officer it's just south of Hebron in the west -- southern West Bank. In that instance, the Palestinian man who apparently tried stab him, we understand from Palestinian medical sources, has been killed.
Back to you, John.
BERMAN: All right. Ben Wedeman for us in Jerusalem. Thanks a lot, Ben.
ROMANS: All right. Let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY" this morning.
Alisyn Camerota joins us. Hi, Alisyn.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, guys, good morning. So we will have new poll numbers at the top of the hour and they give us a look at the Republican side of the presidential race. And there are some big surprises in there.
Also Donald Trump had a rally last night that's making headlines. And we will have Donald Trump on "NEW DAY" live at 7:00 Eastern to talk about everything. So tune in to that.
Plus growing speculation this morning about Vice President Joe Biden and whether he is joining the presidential race. We'll look at all of the new clues indicating which way he is leaning.
ROMANS: All right.
CAMEROTA: So we'll see you in about 16 minutes.
ROMANS: Can't wait for that. Thanks, Alisyn.
BERMAN: All right, Alisyn.
Of course she ignores the most important story of the day. This morning the Internet recovering from the release of the most important movie trailer of all time. The first full-length preview of "Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens."
Two minutes, 35 seconds of galactic awesomeness.
ROMANS: Harrison Ford.
BERMAN: It debuted during halftime of Monday Night Football. The advanced ticket sales crashed the Internet.
ROMANS: It's a big deal.
BERMAN: It is a big deal. And Brian Stelter, the senior media correspondent at CNN, the host of "RELIABLE SOURCES joins us right now.
On a scale of one to 10, how awesome was this? I will accept nothing lower than 73.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: At least -- I was going to say a 20 something but I'll go with that. I'll go with that. You were saying on Twitter when you wanted to go see one of the earlier "Star Wars" movies, you had to go to the movie to see the trailer, right?
BERMAN: Yes.
STELTER: And to see the trailer, you buy a ticket for what, some --
BERMAN: "Meet Joe Black." I have to go see "Meet Joe Black" with Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins to see the trailer of "The Phantom Menace."
STELTER: Right.
BERMAN: Which I shockingly like, the trailer, before it was --
(CROSSTALK)
STELTER: But not the actual movie.
BERMAN: Yes.
STELTER: You know, that is the thing about the synergy, I suppose, for Disney. Instead of making you go to the movies to see this trailer, they revealed it during halftime Monday Night Football. There is a huge spike in viewership, I'm sure, to see it.
ROMANS: Yes.
STELTER: Here's just a few seconds of the actual trailer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will finish what you started.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There were stories about what happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's true. All of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Wow.
STELTER: So you're wondering about the plot. We don't know all that much about it. But we do see Harrison Ford, we see Carrie Fisher. We also know that Mark Hamill is back but we don't see him in the trailer.
[05:45:06] BERMAN: Where is Luke Skywalker?
STELTER: There's a lot of speculation about some big plots. Maybe he's crossed over or something. So we also don't see him on the poster. There's the poster that came out yesterday. We also don't see him on the poster. So that's something the fans are also guessing about. There's also a whole new cast of younger actors. So what we see is a mix in the young and old.
BERMAN: But what they've done here successfully, and I editorialize here, is they tie in the new with the old. They bring you, you know, Han Solo and Chewbacca there. They talk about the past. You know, with the force and with the Jedis and everything. And they connect it to these characters we've never seen before. And I think that's what makes it captivating for both the old audience and the younger audience.
(LAUGHTER)
STELTER: They are introducing a whole new world for the new trilogy with these new actors,, while bringing you along with the ride with Harrison Ford. Right?
ROMANS: Yes. And a whole new universe of things to sell to my kids. You know, let's talk about the corporate synergy there. I mean, already they had Force Friday and a Friday -- all this new stuff that is out that you can buy.
STELTER: Right.
ROMANS: They've really done a masterful job of marketing this months ahead -- usually I don't like corporate synergy that reaches into my pocket but this is sort of a different case. I mean, it's a very unique case.
STELTER: I think because it's worthy. We all know it's one of the most important and most remarkable movie franchises of all time so it's worthy to have this synergy. Also new world at the Disney World and Disneyland that they're working on. We also know the Rio games coming out. So all of these --
ROMANS: Look at the pressure for JJ Abrams to make a film that had so much --
BERMAN: But he did it with "Star Trek." I mean, he has a record here. What was the deal with the Internet breaking last night?
STELTER: Well, ticket sales started last night on sites like Fandango and movietickets.com. And those sites did struggle to stay online for these ticket sales. Actually if you went in person you might have a better chance. But that's so old-fashioned. Having to go to the theater and buy your advanced tickets. There's going to be so many streaming on December 17th, though, ahead of the official December 18th launch. So a lot of folks got to have their tickets.
ROMANS: We were laughing, though, elected in Canada and his daughter standing here with a Darth Vader light saber. You know. It just shows you how ubiquitous the whole thing was.
STELTER: To see what you could do with CGI in 2015 versus decades ago in the original film is going to be really interesting.
ROMANS: Yes.
STELTER: Right? To make those light saber battles so much more intense and maybe captivating.
ROMANS: Yes.
STELTER: It's going to be interesting to see how JJ Abrams does it.
BERMAN: Are you saying they weren't perfect the first time, Brian?
(LAUGHTER)
BERMAN: Hold that thought. Thanks, Brian. Appreciate it.
STELTER: Thanks.
ROMANS: Thanks, Brian. 47 minutes past the hour.
This morning, Oscar Pistorius trading in his prison cell for a mansion this morning. He has been released on house arrest. We are live next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:51:18] BERMAN: New this morning, Oscar Pistorius is out of prison after serving less than a year of his five-year sentence. He was moved to house arrest in South Africa. The blade runner was found guilty last year of culpable homicide in the shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Prosecutors are appealing that verdict claiming Pistorius should have been convicted of flat-out murder.
CNN international correspondent David McKenzie live in Pretoria.
David, Oscar Pistorius is behind those gates in that house behind you?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John. Good morning. Yes, he swapped his prison cell for a plush mansion here in Pretoria. Three-story mansion, it's his uncle's house. And he came here earlier than unexpectedly really diverting around all the world's media which has camped outside here to be here for the release of the blade runner. He is under strict conditions under this house arrest as his camp explained.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNELIESE BURGESS, PISTORIUS FAMILY SPOKESPERSON: The family is happy Oscar's home, but they want to make point that Oscar's sentence continues. And that is the key point here. His sentence isn't shortened, it hasn't been reduced. He continues to serve his sentence as per the sentence handed down by the trial judge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKENZIE: Well, also, another key point of course is Reeva Steenkamp's family reaction. They said nothing can bring their daughter back, but that they have accepted this scenario that Oscar Pistorius has been released into house arrest. They say they will be willing to meet with Pistorius at some point when his appeal -- if his appeal wraps up.
Now Pistorius isn't out of the legal woods yet. The appeal is being heard early next month, John. And they could in fact convert this to a murder charge if the state wins that appeal. And he could be spending a lot more time in prison. For now, the shutters are closed, the curtains drawn, Oscar Pistorius is laying low -- John.
BERMAN: All right, David McKenzie for us in Pretoria. Thanks so much, David.
ROMANS: All right. Chip-based credit cards. Did you get one in the mail yet?
BERMAN: I think I did.
ROMANS: Yes. You know, they're supposed to be safer, right? Hackers still finding a way to advantage while you wait for that safer card. How to avoid the latest scam next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:57:20] ROMANS: All right. Welcome back. 57 minutes past the hour. Let's get a quick EARLY START on your money this morning. U.S. stocks futures down. IBM shares down 5 percent. Weakness in Asia hit its revenue growth. More earnings this morning from Travellers, Verizon and quite a few others before the bell.
Progress report here for you. Recent gains leave the Dow just 3.3 percent lower for the year. The Dow has notched three weeks of gains in a row. The longest weekly winning streak since last year after suffering a correction over the summer.
The credit card industry is changing over to chip-based technology and scammers are taking advantage. If you have not received your new card, watch out for this phishing scam. Hackers are sending e-mails. They're pretending to be credit card companies. They're requesting your personal information or they're offering you a link so that you can get your new card.
The FTC warns do not trust links sent in e-mails. Only enter personal information through a company Web site after you type the URL yourself. And if you're not sure, call the number on the back of your credit card to get more information. Don't call a number someone puts in an e-mail. About 60 percent of consumers have already received their new card in
the mail. That is quite a few people out there, millions of people out there, who are still waiting for their new cards. That who the phishers are trying -- the scammers are trying to get.
BERMAN: If you're really not sure, just don't reply to any e-mails.
ROMANS: Yes. Like John Berman.
A new CNN poll gives who is now on top in the Republican race for president. Any surprises? "NEW DAY" starts right now.
A brand new CNN-ORC poll shows Donald Trump and Ben Carson well ahead of the pack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump is not a serious candidate as it relates to foreign policy.
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm the late Joe Biden.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If he doesn't run, that would be more of a surprise than if he does.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ben Carson is a commonsense kind of person.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump has been the greatest help to the Republican Party.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can't have open borders in a welfare state. That's absolutely true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Shocking hack into the personal e-mail accounts of CIA Director John Brennan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not classified but it's very embarrassing for this to have happened.
LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY TECH CORRESPONDENT: If this is true, how difficult would you say it is?
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY, with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, October 28th, 6:00 in the East.
We want an outsider in the White House. That is the message, loud and clear, from Republican voters in a brand new CNN-ORC poll this morning. This is the new normal for the GOP. Nearly half of Republicans throwing their support behind Donald Trump and Ben Carson. Trump leads Carson 27-22 as you see on your screen. The next candidates are all at least 14 points back, close to statistically insignificant.
And here's a big brow razor for you. Trump's lead over Carson is now just outside the margin of error.
