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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Clinton Benghazi Hearing Lasts 11 Hours; Benghazi Chairman: Not Much New; Stocks Up Around The World. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired October 23, 2015 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Some emotional moments, some shouting matches. Hillary Clinton grilled late into the evening, grilled on the 2012 Benghazi terror attack. What we've learned new this morning and reaction this morning.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's nice to see you. I'm John Berman. It's about 31 minutes past the hour. This morning, Hillary Clinton she is back on the campaign trail in Virginia with her friend, Terry McAuliffe, the governor of Virginia. This is after an exhausting and exhaustive 11-hour session before the House Select Committee investigating Benghazi.
Over and over Republicans pressed the former secretary of state about her response to security concerns or they would say lack of response to security concerns at the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi.
They drilled into Clinton's actions the night of the 2012 attack. That attack that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and Foreign Officer Sean Smith and CIA contractors, Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods. There were some moments of emotion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wonder if you would like to comment on what it's like to be the subject of an allegation that you deliberately interfered with security that cost the life of a friend.
HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Congressman, it's a very personally painful accusation. It has been rejected and disproven by non-partisan, dispassionate investigators, but nevertheless having it continued to be bandied around is deeply distressing to me.
You know, I would imagine I've thought more about what happened than all of you put together. I've lost more sleep than all of you put together. I have been racking my brain about what more could have been done or should have been done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: At other moments in this contentious hearing Clinton kind of sat back and allowed everyone else to do the shouting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would the gentleman yield?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll be happy to but you need to make sure that the entire record is correct.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's exactly what I want to do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, then go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm about to tell you. I move that we put into the record the entire transcript of Sidney Bloomenthal. We're going to release the e-mails, let's do the transcript. That wait world can see it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I second the motion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The motion has been seconded.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we're not going to take that up at a hearing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Chairman, I have consulted with the parliamentarian, and they have informed us that we have a right to a recorded vote on that motion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'll tell you --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole truth and nothing but the truth, that's what we want to have. Let the world see it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: After all this did anything new emerge and what effect might this all have on the 2016 race? Chief political correspondent, Dana Bash has that.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, we are still standing after 11 hours from start to finish. That is how long this marathon hearing took, and so the big question at end of the day is what new did we learn?
Well, the answer to that from the Republican chairman himself was effectively not much, not much compared to other testimony that Hillary Clinton has given, which is not exactly what Republicans out there wanted to know or maybe even Americans who wanted their taxpayer dollars spent wisely.
However, I smoke to another Republican on the committee, Susan Brooks, who had some very interesting exchanges, good questions for Hillary Clinton, during the many hours of that hearing, and I asked her what she learned new and she actually thought that she did. Take a listen.
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REPRESENTATIVE SUSAN BROOKS (R), INDIANA: She led the agency where our Americans died, and so it was very important to ask her about who, what, why, when, and where. We ask those types of questions.
[05:35:05] Some she had obviously testified previously, but I think we went into much greater detail and much greater depth in getting an understanding of how she -- who she took advice from, who was involved in decision-making and who happened actually on the night of the incident.
I think we went into much greater detail so I think it was insightful. I think it was productive. I know that we have more important witnesses to go. This is not the end of the investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now for people who watched some or all of this very, very long hearing, you could see that the Democrats for the most part weren't trying very hard to probe exactly what happened when and why. Some were asking security questions, but most of they used their time to try to call this out as a political partisan witch-hunt effectively.
And so afterwards in these hallways talking to reporters, they felt that they were vindicated by the way that it went. It was partisan and at end of the day they insist that they are not sure that this -- that this whole select committee is going to come up with anything that we didn't know beforehand so we'll see what's next.
The chairman says that he does have other witnesses he's going to call. They do have more work to do. They still are waiting for some more documents from the state department, so Hillary Clinton's portion of this drama might be over, at least publicly, but the investigation continues -- John and Christine.
BERMAN: All right, Dana, thanks so much. Joining us now to talk about the hearing, CNN politics reporter, Eric Bradner, Eric was in the room for a big chunk of this. Good man for waking up so early to talk to us about.
Eric, you know, Republicans saying there were a couple of good things that came out. Number one, we saw some new e-mails and new communications from Hillary Clinton herself right around the time of the attacks on Benghazi where she said it was a terrorist attack, e- mails and communications. It was a terrorist attack and not because of the video.
Another thing new was a line of attack or this line of questioning that we saw for some Republicans. Why was Hillary Clinton talking so much to Sidney Blumenthal when she never communicated with Chris Stevens?
And this was one such exchange where Representative Susan Brooks was asking Hillary Clinton about just how much she had spoken to Chris Stevens over the years. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKS: Did you ever talk to Ambassador Stevens when all of this was going on in the hotbed of Libya? That is a yes or no question, Madame Secretary. I'm sorry, did you ever personally speak to Ambassador Stevens -- we don't know the answer. Did you ever personally speak to him after you swore him in in May?
CLINTON: I believe --
BROOKS: Yes or no, please.
CLINTON: Yes, I believe I did.
BROOKS: And when was that?
CLINTON: I don't recall.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: So you were not as focused on him and his concerns as you should have been that. Was the charge we heard yesterday, Eric?
ERIC BRADNER, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Yes, and the Republicans were juxtaposing Hillary Clinton's communications with Ambassador Chris Stevens with another man Sidney Blumenthal, who is a friend of the Clintons, someone who is not particularly well known outside of Washington, but e-mailed with Hillary Clinton quite regularly, often to discuss Libya.
Now Republicans were basically saying, look, this guy, Sid Blumenthal, who isn't in an official capacity at the State Department clearly talks to you all the time. You're responding to him. You're forwarding on his notes to other people at the State Department and yet you don't know if you talked with Ambassador Chris Stevens.
It was sort of an effort to pierce through this sort of heartfelt explanation that Hillary Clinton was giving of the incident of her involvement of her time afterward trying to figure out what had gone wrong.
And if there was one moment in the hearing that -- that could be for Republicans something that they sort of use afterwards, that was probably going to be it even if it isn't a smoking gun or anything along those lines.
ROMANS: Let's talk about the awkward moment between the congresswoman from Alabama and the former secretary of state about what she was doing about the night of the attacks. Let's listen.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who else was at your home? Were you alone?
CLINTON: I was alone, yes. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The whole night?
CLINTON: Well, yes, the whole night.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I don't know why that's funny. I mean, did you have in-person briefings. I don't find it funny at all.
CLINTON: I'm sorry, a little note of levity at 7:15.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: I think the suggestion here from the Republicans is she was home. She wasn't having meetings, locked down trying to figure out how to -- how to stop this attack, that she was disengaged from what was happening in the Benghazi mission.
BRADNER: Right, right, and that exchange actually offered sort of a good glimpse into the entire hearing. Republicans were probing with these really specific questions about what she was doing, when she was doing it, and -- and to Clinton and the Democrats and frankly the audience in the room, it almost seemed silly at that point.
[05:40:07] That was nine hours in and -- and Hillary Clinton didn't seem to know where the congresswoman was going with that, didn't really understand what she was trying to get out of that exchange, the who, what, where, when, and why of that evening in Hillary Clinton's life, and so, yes, it did create an awkward moment.
It's sort of funny to look back on it, but at the time it was a rather tense with the Republicans very much not appreciating Hillary Clinton laughing at it.
BERMAN: So, Eric, one of the biggest questions is what was new? What did we learn? Going forward what did this prove, and Trey Gowdy, the chairman, was asked about this late last night and listen to his answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPRESENTATIVE TREY GOWDY (R), CHAIRMAN, HOUSE BENGHAZI COMMITTEE: I -- I think some of Jimmy Jordan's questioning -- well, when you say new today, I mean, we knew some of that already. We knew about the e- mails. In terms of her testimony -- I don't know that she testified that much differently today than she has the previous time she's testified.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: We'll hear today from Republicans is to prove that Hillary Clinton didn't care, but they were already saying that. Democrats are going to say, you know, it proves nothing, but they were already saying that.
BRADNER: Yes, absolutely. I mean, frankly, there really wasn't much new. You could point to some -- a transcript of a conversation with the Egyptian prime minister related to, you know, what were the motivations of the attack?
You could point to that exchange with Susan Brooks about whether Clinton talked with Ambassador Stevens, but, no, the parties are going to hear what they wanted to hear.
For Hillary Clinton this was a win in that she didn't end up in any sort of politically damaging sort of exchange. She didn't leave with some new bombshell, now big piece of information being dropped on her.
Following the Democratic debate and Joe Biden's decision not to run for president, this caps off sort of a trifecta of good news for her in the last two weeks.
BERMAN: Eric Bradner, great to have you with us. Thanks for being here after being in that room for so long.
ROMANS: Have a great weekend.
All right, happening now, Secretary of State John Kerry meeting with Russia trying to find some common ground in the war on ISIS and the crisis in Syria.
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[05:45:54]
ROMANS: Breaking news, at least 42 people are dead in a collision between a bus and a truck in Southern France near Bordeaux. Local officials say the bus was carrying elderly people and five were injured. Just three walked away unharmed.
Right now, Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Vienna hoping to find common ground on the crisis in Syria. The Russians propping up President Bashar Al Assad with airstrikes against his enemies, the U.S. insisting Assad cannot be part of a future Syrian regime. We'll bring you details from their meeting as soon as we get them.
Time for an EARLY START in "Your Money" this Friday morning, A great start for stocks around the world. Stimulus hopes from the European Central Bank pushing up stocks everywhere. Yesterday the Dow surged 321 points that's almost 2 percent.
Good news from several big players, Google's new parent company, strong profit and better than expected sales in the third quarter. Much of that growth comes from mobile search. The stock up 10 percent, it's a record high.
Amazon shocked Wall Street by posting a profit last quarter. Yes, you heard that right. Amazon regularly loses money. Typically only makes money during the holidays. This quarter was an exception. Its Cloud business is booming and so are retail sales. The news launches amazon shares to a record high as well.
Breaking news overnight, a powerful Category 5 hurricane spinning towards Mexico, this one could be catastrophic, folks. We've got that next.
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[05:50:59]
ROMANS: All right, Hurricane Patricia is getting bigger. The storm has grown into a monster Category 5 hurricane and is bearing down on Mexico. These wind speeds almost unbelievable. Let's get more from meteorologist, Karen Maginnis.
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: John and Christine, when the National Hurricane Center uses a word like unprecedented when they are discussing Hurricane Patricia at a Category 5, you know that that's important, and it got our attention because it looks like it has developed so rapidly.
It has deepened in central pressure, which tells us it's getting stronger, but it went from 160 miles an hour to winds 185 miles per hour, and this is going to be potentially catastrophic in coastal sections of Mexico on the Pacific side from Puerto Vallarta to Manzanillo.
Looks like it will make landfall on Friday. As it does, 6 to 10 inches of rainfall in some areas, but in those coastal regions computer models are suggesting 10 to 20 inches of rainfall possible there as it continues to trek towards the north, eventually moving towards the northeast.
A secondary problem that we have in the United States, available moisture being tapped from the Pacific, that in an area of low pressure that moves across Texas. Take a look at this, and you'll see what I mean.
Most of the state under flood watches and warnings, even along coastal areas, we could see significant rainfall over the next couple of days. How much rainfall are we looking at?
Take a look at some of these estimates that the computer models are picking up over the next three days. Even in Dallas, Texas, close to 8 inches possible. The potential for severe flooding is likely. Even towards the coast, just as I mentioned.
Well, as we look through the forecast over the next 24 hours or so from Dallas to San Antonio to Austin, this is where we're looking at that most significant rainfall. They have been in drought conditions now for quite some time. This is a drought buster -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right, Karen, Karen Maginnis, thank you for that.
You've heard this before. How many times have you heard the millennials have no hunger for McDonald's? I'll tell you how that might be changing next.
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[05:57:20]
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. Let's get an Early Start on "Your Money" this Friday morning. A great end of the week for stocks it looks like folks. European shares rallying and hopes for more stimulus from the European Central Bank. Stocks in the U.S. up, too, the Dow up 321 points. That's almost 2 percent.
Good news from several big players. Google's new parent company called Alphabet very strong profit and sales in its third quarter. Much of that growth coming from mobile search, something investors like to see.
Amazon shocked Wall Street posting a profit last quarter. Its Cloud business is booming so are retail sales. And look at McDonald's. It looks like it's finally coming back. Good news yesterday on its U.S. sales. They are growing for the first time since 2013.
Americans gobbling up this new chicken sandwich, this buttermilk chicken sandwich, it has a revamped Egg McMuffin and a great quarter without the added boost from all-day breakfast which didn't launch until last month. It's all part of McDonald's plan to rehash its image and compete for millennials. The stock was up 8 percent yesterday.
All right, Hillary Clinton grilled for more than 11 hours over the Benghazi terror attack. "NEW DAY" picks up the analysis now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You knew the truth. That's not what the American people got.
CLINTON: I've lost more sleep than all of you put together.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to make sure the entire record is correct --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's exactly what I want to do. What do you have to hide?
CLINTON: I really don't care what you all say about me. It doesn't bother me a bit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have an increase in requests and yet no increase in security.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's basically what happened to their requests.
CLINTON: Congress never fully funded the security requests.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What terms did you use? What were the parameters?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you ever talk to Ambassador Stevens, yes or no question, Madam Secretary.
CLINTON: I've been racking my brain about what more could have been done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She must take responsibilities for failures that happened at the State Department under her watch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We really didn't learn anything that the other eight investigations hadn't covered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know that she testified that much differently today than she has the previous time she's testified.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to NEW DAY. It is Friday, October 23rd, 6:00 in the east. Chris and Michaela are off. No fear, John Berman is here.
What a morning, what a night. It was a marathon, 11-hour session during often tensed and testy hearing on Benghazi. Clinton managed to keep her cool even more than some committee members. And this morning there are conflicting impressions about how much new information was actually revealed.
BERMAN: All right, how about these questions? Were there any new facts that proved that Hillary Clinton was directly responsible or negligent in preventing the attack in Benghazi? Did she provide new information about her e-mails and what impact will all of this have on the 2016 --
