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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump Warns Republicans to Treat Him Fairly; California Terror Attack: Investigating the Shooters. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired December 10, 2015 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:18] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump facing backlash over his plan to stop Muslims from entering the U.S., warning now the Republican Party treat him with respect or else.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Information unfolding in the California terror attack. Inside the shooters' relationship and what we are learning about the friend whose guns they used in the massacre.
Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Alison Kosik.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. Nice to see you this morning, Alison.
It's Thursday, December 10th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.
Let's start with Donald Trump, resurrecting his threat to run as an independent if the Republican Party does not treat him in his view, quote, "fairly". From his opponents to party leaders, to establishment figures, nearly the entire Republican Party now slamming the frontrunner and his proposal to bar Muslims from entering the U.S. A third party run by Trump could doom Republican chances in November.
CNN's Don Lemon putting Trump on the spot, waiving the pledge not to run as an independent that Trump signed in September.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Here is the pledge that you signed. You saw this pledge, you know where I'm going. Are you going to break this pledge?
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's unlikely unless they break the pledge to me, because it's a two-way street.
LEMON: What does that mean?
TRUMP: They said they would be honorable. So far, I can't tell you if they are. But the establishment is not exactly being very good to me.
But I'm leading in every poll by a lot. It looks like I'm going to win. My whole life has been about winning. I'm not like so many other people that you talk to that are essentially losers, OK? I know how to win. I intent to win. It is the best way to beat the Democrats if I get the nomination. In the FOX poll that I'm sure you saw, I'm way ahead of Hillary. Head to head, I'm ahead of Hillary. I will beat Hillary.
The one person that Hillary doesn't want to run against and I know a lot of people inside, because I get along with Democrats, with Republicans, with liberals, with everybody, the one person that they don't want to run against is me.
LEMON: I just want this plain spoken for the viewer.
TRUMP: Go ahead.
LEMON: What do you mean when you say if they break this pledge then you'll break the pledge? What do you mean by that?
TRUMP: Well, if they don't treatment me with a certain amount of decorum and respect, if they don't treat me as the frontrunner, by far the frontrunner, if the playing field is not level, then certainly, all options are open. But that's nothing I want to do.
LEMON: How will you know that? What determines that?
TRUMP: Well, I think I'll know what over a period of a number of months. We'll go through the primaries. We'll see what happens. And I make a determination. But I would imagine they would treat me properly, because I'm leading by a lot.
LEMON: So, the pledge is you keep your word if they keep their word.
TRUMP: Don, I want to run as a Republican.
LEMON: OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. For more on the jitters the Trump campaign is causing in the GOP, I want to bring in senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Alison, Donald Trump is on a roll so far, an unstoppable one. And that's precisely what worries many Republicans. The GOP ranks are rattled over Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country, afraid it could cause Republicans the White House and threaten their congressional majority.
Now, the international outcry also is intensifying. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he rejects Trump's plan to block Muslims. Now, Trump is set to meet with Netanyahu later this month in Jerusalem this month in Jerusalem. The prime minister is now facing pressure to cancel that meeting.
But back in the U.S., Republican leaders across the country fear Trump at the top of the ticket could doom their party.
Matt Borges is the chairman of the Ohio Republican Party. He said he worries about the fallout.
MATT BORGES, OHIO REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIRMAN: We're going to have to distance ourselves from those kind of message. It's not going to help us win a national election. It's not going to help us win the general election in November. We wouldn't win Ohio with that kind of message. And we realize that.
ZELENY: Now, he and other Republican leaders are afraid Trump could damage the party's chances of holding onto the Senate in particular, and even more, winning back the White House.
But at the same time, Trump supporters have been nothing but loyal. And that loyalty could help him win a Republican primary, the Iowa caucuses now only 53 days away -- Christine and Alison.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOSIK: OK. Jeff, thanks very much.
And we've got new information on the San Bernardino terror shootings this morning. As investigators dig deeper into the background of the couple who killed 14 people, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, Malik's father is speaking out from Saudi Arabia where he lives. Gulzar Ahmad Malik is telling "The Associated Press", quote, "only God knows why did it happen."
Meantime, the head of the FBI says both shooters were radicalized before they met and married.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Was the woman shooter in San Bernardino radicalized before she came to America?
[04:05:03] JAMES COMEY, FBI DIRECTOR: It looks like she was. So far, what data we collected, the intelligence, indicates that she was before she connected with the other killer and came here.
GRAHAM: Is there any evidence this marriage was arranged by a terrorist organization or terrorist operative? Or was it just a meeting on the Internet?
COMEY: I don't know the answer to that yet.
GRAHAM: Do you agree with me that if it was arranged by a terrorist operative of an organization, that is a game changer?
COMEY: It would be a very, very important thing to know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: There are also new questions about the man who bought some of the assault rifles used in the massacre. Enrique Marquez telling the FBI, he and Farook had planned and then dropped an earlier attack. Officials cautioning that Marquez may be lying to cover up his role buying the weapons used in last week's attacks.
CNN's Kyung Lah has the latest from San Bernardino.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Alison and Christine, investigators are focusing on the man who purchased the weapons that would be used. Two of those long guns that would be used in the San Bernardino massacre, Enrique Marquez. They have been interviewing him.
And U.S. officials tell CNN that Marquez says that he and Farook hatched a 2012 terror plot. They abandoned it because they got spooked. The FBI at that time had made another terror arrest. So, they gave up on this plan.
Marquez also telling U.S. officials that he and Farook had been radicalized as far back as 2011. There are new questions about the visa application process. How Tashfeen Malik, the wife, was able to enter the United States without being detected. She applied for a fiancee visa in Pakistan. Well, now, a senior State Department official is telling that Malik was not questioned about her jihadist leanings. She had already been radicalized but was able to enter the United States without raising any red flags -- Alison, Christine.
KOSIK: OK. Kyung, thanks for that.
And the House will vote Friday on the stop-gap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. It will only give lawmakers an additional few days to hammer out the deal. The negotiations on the $1.1 trillion budget plan are stalled because both parties are fighting over riders to the bill. President Obama is threatening not to sign the short- term extension tomorrow unless there is hard and fast agreement with only procedural matters to clean up.
ROMANS: All right. Seven minutes past the hour. Time for an early start on your money this Thursday morning.
Stock markets down around the world. U.S. stock futures are a little bit higher here. Yesterday, the Dow extending its losing streak, falling another 75 points. The S&P 500 fell almost 1 percent. That means it is lower now for the year. What's weighing down markets? Low oil prices. Oil prices are the lowest in seven years, this week, that's thanks to OPEC keeping output high.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will fight to protect the rights of its Muslim users. He posted on his Facebook page yesterday, "If you are a Muslim in this community, as the leader of Facebook, I want you to know you are always welcome here and that we will fight to protect your rights and create a peaceful and safe environment for you."
He does not mention Donald Trump by name, but the Facebook CEO says he was inspired to speak up after the, quote, "hate" he has seen this week. Trump said he would ban Muslims from entering the United States.
KOSIK: All right. Chicago protesters demanding the mayor step down over allegations of misconduct within the city police department. New developments, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:12:40] KOSIK: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel calling for a painful and honest reckoning for the city's embattled police force as hundreds of protesters take to the streets, calling on him to step down. The mayor is under fire for allegedly covering up cases of excessive police force. He's apologizing, but it doesn't sound like he plans to leave office any time soon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAHM EMANUEL (D), MAYOR OF CHICAGO: I take responsibility for what happened because it happened on my watch. If we are going to fix it, I want you to understand it's my responsibility to fix it with you. If we are going to begin the healing process, the first step in that journey is my step and I'm sorry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: That apology doing little to calm the furor in Chicago. We get more from CNN national correspondent Martin Savidge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. Good morning, Alison.
Chicago is bracing for another round of protests today. At least protest organizers are promising that. Yesterday's protests went for hours and hours through the heart of downtown streets and neighborhoods. It begun around the noon hour and that was just after Mayor Rahm Emanuel delivered the speech in which he apologized and he said there would be significant change.
It was well-received inside of the council chambers, but it wasn't well-received out on the streets by many of the protesters. They say they are well beyond this point of wanting to see some kind of thing or hollow words. They want to see the mayor resign. Now, the mayor is not necessarily likely to do that.
But what's clear is that this has gone from a confidence crisis in the police department to a full-blown political crisis for the mayor. On the streets, we have seen several hundred protesters, not necessarily working cooperation with the police department, but clearly, there was some coordination going on.
It was peaceful. It was loud. But you could see that this group was constantly on the move. They would stop at a certain intersection and move on once more as did the police, which were almost out in equal numbers. They would jump ahead and close down intersections and make sure everything remained safe. There were some arrests, but by the end of the day, they were released
-- Christine and Alison.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMAN: All right. Martin Savidge in Chicago -- thank you, Martin.
[04:15:00] The defense continues its case later this morning in the trial of William Porter, one of six Baltimore police officers facing charges in the death of Freddie Gray. During four hours of testimony Wednesday, Officer Porter told the jury he thought Gray was faking his injuries. Officer Porter combative at times, telling prosecutors he was offended by their allegations of a no snitching culture in the Baltimore Police Department.
KOSIK: Fireworks in the Colorado courtroom. Accused Planned Parenthood gunman Robert Lewis Dear formally charged with 149 criminal counts, including first degree murder. The suspect declaring himself a warrior for the babies, interrupting the one-hour hearing over and over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT DEAR, COLORADO PLANNED PARENTHOOD SHOOTER: Can you imagine the babies that were supposed to be aborted that day? Can you add that to the list? Seal the truth, huh?
Kill the babies. That's what Planned Parenthood does. You never know what I saw in that clinic. Atrocities. That's what they want to seal. The babies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: Among Dear's outbursts, shouting "I'm guilty" in the middle of the hearing. Dear's public defender raising doubts about whether his client is competent to stand trial. Dear is charged with killing three people and wounding nine others.
ROMANS: FBI Director James Comey says law enforcement agencies must have tools to circumvent encryption technology in order to successfully stop terrorists. Comey testifying yesterday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, pointed to an attack in Texas earlier this year, at an art exhibit featuring cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. He says the gunmen more than 100 encrypted messages with an overseas terrorist the morning of the shooting. And authorities still don't know what those messages said.
KOSIK: The future of the affirmative action is in the hands of the Supreme Court. The justices hearing the case of Abigail Fisher seven years after rejected by the University of Texas-Austin. She claimed she was denied admission because she is white. After a long argument on Wednesday, many believe the court could rule affirmative action unconstitutional. Justice Scalia says remarking that minority students with inferior credentials may be better off at less advanced schools. ROMANS: President Obama expected to sign a sweeping overhaul of No
Child Left Behind into law today. Yesterday, the Senate overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan bill that gives state and local officials more control over school performance and accountability. No Child Left Behind was a signature law of the George W. Bush administration. Critics said it unfairly punished struggling school.
KOSIK: A family of nine Syrian refugees will be allowed to settle in Texas. A judge on Wednesday declined the request for a temporary restraining order. Lawyers asked the judge to prevent them from resettling in Houston, while a lawsuit against federal officials went ahead. Officials in the state want to halt the wave of incoming refugees over the fear of terrorism. But the judge found Texas failed to show terrorists snuck into the refugee program.
ROMANS: Record-high temperatures today in the east. Let's bring in meteorologist Derek Van Dam.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Alison and Christine.
If you thought the fall was warm, you are absolutely correct. Here is some data to back that up from the National Climate Data Center, just releasing this, the continental United States actually experiencing above average temperatures.
We had the warmest fall ever in Florida. Can you believe it? Well, check this out. It looks like this heat will continue from the Gulf Coast through the mid-Atlantic, as well as the Northeast. We have near record-breaking temperature territory.
Here is a look. We should be about 41 degrees in Kansas City. We will break the mid-60s this weekend. Along the East Coast, more of the same, running 10 to 20 degrees above where we should be. New York City, enjoy that daytime high of 63 this Saturday. All right.
And take a look at this. Average temperature should be 45. Our minimums are actually higher than our average maximum. Unbelievable stuff. Enjoy it while it lasts because we are monitoring the storm system in the Pacific Northwest. That's going to change weather patterns across the country and, finally, cool us down over the eastern half by middle of next week.
Back to you.
ROMANS: All right. Derek, thanks for that.
Well, 63 in New York.
KOSIK: It does not feel like winter.
ROMANS: No, it does not.
All right. U.S. Special Forces fighting is on the ground in Syria. What we are learning about this mission, we'll bring that to you, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:23:54] ROMANS: ISIS is not contained. That sobering assessment from Defense Secretary Ash Carter, testifying Wednesday on Capitol Hill. Just last month, President Obama, his boss, declared ISIS was contained. Carter urging U.S. allies to ramp up their efforts against the terror group, telling lawmakers, "We're at war."
Senators at the hearing bearing down on Carter, suggesting the U.S. should attack ISIS in its capital of Raqqa. Carter noted that Russia is already bombing Raqqa.
KOSIK: The FBI arresting a Somali-American man on charges of supplying material support to ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq. The criminal complaint alleges 20-year-old Abdirizak Mohamed Warsame is one of ten men from the Twin City Somali-American community who began conspiring to travel to Syria to fight with ISIS last year. Three of them have pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges. Five are scheduled to stand trial next year and one is in Syria.
Donald Trump defending his proposal to stop Muslims from entering the U.S. and warning Republicans to treat him with respect or else.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:29:13] KOSIK: Donald Trump one-on-one with CNN, defending his plan to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. and warning Republicans to treat him fairly.
ROMANS: How long have the San Bernardino shooters been planning this attack? New information about this relationship and information about the man whose guns they used in that massacre. A lot of questions about him and his role, if any.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
KOSIK: And I'm Alison Kosik. It's 30 minutes past the hour. Thanks for joining us.
Donald Trump resurrecting his threat to run as an independent if the Republican Party doesn't treat him, in his view, fairly. From his opponents, the party leaders, to establishment figures, nearly the entire Republican Party now slamming Trump and his proposal to bar Muslims from entering the U.S. A third party run by Trump could doom Republicans' chances in November.
