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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Is Donald Trump Unstoppable?; Clinton Staffer to Testify About Email Server; Video Shows Officer Kicking, Slapping Student; Kobe Signs Shoes, Gives to Kids During Game. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired March 03, 2016 - 05:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Taking down Donald Trump, some conservative Republicans, establishment Republicans, desperate to keep him from winning the nomination. New attacks being launched. This and Mitt Romney gets ready to give a speech where he will go after Donald Trump.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: After months of refusing to testify, the staffer who set up Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server will now tell all. So, what's changed?

BERMAN: Stunning video showing school officer, you see it there, slapping a young man. What was behind this video? New details ahead.

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

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Thursday, March 3rd. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East.

And this promises to be a surreal day, essentially unprecedented in campaign history. The four current Republican candidates will share a debate stage and a former candidate, in fact, a former nominee, will take center stage, trying to shake up this whole process.

[05:00:08] Four Republican candidates debate for the first time since Donald Trump won seven of eleven Super Tuesday states.

Ben Carson will not be there. He says he sees no political path forward having not won a single state in the race so far. Donald Trump will be there, not just battling the other candidates on the stage, but a candidate from the past, because in just hours, Mitt Romney will deliver a speech in Utah where he will go after Donald Trump directly and hard.

Trump is already responding on Twitter. This is what he says. "It looks like two-time failed candidate Mitt Romney is going to tell Republicans how to get elected. Not a good messenger. Why can't the leaders of the Republican Party see that I am bringing in new voters by the millions? We are creating a larger, stronger party."

CNN's Sara Murray has the latest for us this morning from the Trump campaign in Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, John and Christine.

While we know Donald Trump can throw a punch, but today, he might be preparing to take a couple. Of course, we had the debate that's coming up tonight in Detroit, where we are expecting he will be right in the crosshairs of Senator Marco Rubio, as well as Senator Ted Cruz.

But before all that even happens, we are expecting a speech from 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney. In that speech, we are expecting him to knock Donald Trump forcefully and offer some kind comments about the senators who are still in the race.

Of course, all of this after Donald Trump had the huge Super Tuesday win, a string of seven wings there. And now, we are seeing this panic among the Republican establishment as they hope that there is still time to mount a challenge against Donald Trump. So, I think the knives will be out for him on the debate stage later tonight.

Back to you, John and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right. Sara Murray, thanks so much.

Breaking overnight, the former Clinton staffer who helped set up the private e-mail server has reached an immunity deal with the Justice Department. Last fall, Bryan Pagliano invoked his Fifth Amendment rights, declining to speak to the FBI and congressional investigators as they sorted through thousands of Clinton e-mails looking for classified information.

The announcement that Pagliano has reached a deal marks new phase in this probe, determining whether there has been any crime committed.

The Clinton spokesman said the campaign is pleased that Pagliano is now cooperating. The spokesman said, "As we have said since last summer, Secretary Clinton has been cooperating with the Department of Justice's security inquiry, including offering in August to meet with them to assist their efforts if needed."

In the campaign trail, she was not talking about this. She was celebrating, essentially taking a victory lap after her Super Tuesday win in seven states.

CNN's Brianna Keilar with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Christine, Hillary Clinton rallied a largely union crowd here in New York City that featured New York politicians like Mayor de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo. And she emphasized her new, more positive message and pivoted towards the general election.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The stakes have never been higher and the rhetoric from the other side has never been lower. So, we've got work to do, my friends, but not to make America great again. America never stopped being great.

We have to make America whole. Instead of building walls, we need to break down barriers that are holding back families and our country.

KEILAR: And Hillary Clinton wrapped up her night with a fund-raiser featuring Katy Perry and Elton John as she tries to continue to fill her campaign coffers. She raised $30 million in February, a big number. But Bernie Sanders raised $42 million -- Christine and John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Brianna, thanks for that.

Let's break down the post-Super Tuesday phase of the campaign. I want to bring in CNN politics managing editor Zach Wolf.

Good morning, Zach.

I want to start with Mitt Romney, Zach, because here you have this big figure from the past, from the establishment, going to take on Donald Trump today.

And Donald Trump supporters and Donald Trump says you don't get it. The whole point is, we are not the party of the past. We are this new Donald Trump Republican Party.

ZACH WOLF, CNN POLITICS MANAGING EDITOR: Yes, that's what Donald Trump has been saying and proving for a long time now. His Republican Party is the different one. And that's I think what scares a lot of current Republicans, Mitt Romney included.

And now he is pretty clearly after his huge Super Tuesday win, he is perhaps not the presumptive frontrunner, but getting closer and closer to it and showing no signs of slowing down. The establishment Republicans are finally realizing they need to, if they want to stop this, they need to do something about it.

BERMAN: Now, Mitt Romney is not going to endorse anyone today, although a lot of his people back Marco Rubio. He is not going to announce his own candidacy, which a lot of people have speculated. But he is going to go hard after Donald Trump.

[05:05:00] It will be interesting to see how this plays on the trail and is received, right? I mean, not only do you have the anti- establishment forces that back Donald Trump. But, look, Mitt Romney, you know, hugged Donald Trump metaphorically a lot in 2012. He went begging for his endorsement in 2012. He won that endorsement in 2012.

And, Zach, that was after all of the birther controversy. That was after Donald Trump called on Barack Obama to release his transcripts, which a lot of people were suggesting was an attack on college affirmative action.

It will be interesting to see how Mitt Romney navigates this narrow path to credibility on this issue.

WOLF: Yes, it was after the birther controversy, but before the things that Trump had said about Mexico. It was before this whole most recent thing with the KKK and Donald Trump being slow to disavow them on CNN interview over the weekend. He, of course, you know, came back and did later. It took him a long time.

So, some people are saying he is stoking the wing of the party that they don't -- or not the party, but wing of the electorate, rather, that they don't really want to stoke.

So, you know, it was four years ago when Romney was looking for Trump's endorsement. A lot has happened, John.

ROMANS: Yes, a lot has happened. And, you know when you talk about the Trump intervention, big money donors trying to intervene against Trump. This not Trump campaign overall. There is news this morning "Reuters" with exclusive with Koch brothers, a well-funded arsenal in conservative politics, will not stand in the way, will not use their money to stand in the way of a Trump nomination. That is a "Reuters" exclusive.

Is that a setback? Is that a setback for this anti-Trump campaign?

WOLF: I think there are some people who -- you will see Republicans who are willing to put money at stopping Donald Trump. We have seen one super PAC already formed trying to do that. There is a lot of money in politics. I'm not sure one group sitting out while another one gets in, is going to make too much of a difference.

The issue is more what He has shown himself capable of withstanding any attack. He is showing himself capable of saying whatever he wants and not affecting him.

So, you know, more than money, the issue is identifying his kryptonite and Republicans have not done that.

ROMANS: Well, his kryptonite has been that he is a guy who has made it. He is rich. He is a celebrity. He's got, you know, a sterling business reputation. If these anti-Trump forces with their money can sort of peel apart the onion and show the failed business ventures, show the number of times he put his name on a product that failed or business that failed, is that -- and that in some cases, the little guy got hurt, the very person who supports Donald Trump got hurt.

Could that resonate or do these Trump voters just not care?

WOLF: It seems like it could resonate, but, you know, all -- for months and months, people have been looking at things that Donald Trump said and wondering if this will be the moment when it catches up to him. So, it hasn't. I don't think predicting now is the time is the right thing to do, just because the evidence is to the contrary.

BERMAN: So, the one thing people running for president right now all say could beat Donald Trump is if anyone in the race got out. But you are looking at the delegate estimates right there. And I think it's so interesting. You look at Marco Rubio, more than 200 delegates behind Donald Trump right now, which is more than Florida and Ohio behind Donald Trump. Marco Rubio could win Florida and Ohio and still lose to Trump in the delegate map.

Let's listen to Ted Cruz calling on everyone in the race to drop out but him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we're going to beat Donald Trump, the field can't remain fractured. Donald has I believe a hard ceiling of 35 percent to 40 percent that he can't get above. Now, as long as the field is fractured, that benefits Donald and allows him to win state after state after state because there are multiple opponents dividing the vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Zach, safe to say the field remains fractured. Ben Carson's gone, but there are four guys in there until March 15th.

WOLF: There are four guys in there, one of them has a number of wins under his belt. The other two are from key swing states with a lot of delegates. So, they all seem to think they have the path to be the guy to challenge Trump.

As long as they are in there, I think there's a good chance that none of them will get -- you know, nobody's going to rally around any one of them, because they all have constituencies, particularly Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. John Kasich, it seems, at least according to the voting so far, to a lesser extent.

So, none of them --

ROMANS: Can Rubio --

WOLF: Go ahead.

ROMANS: Can Rubio win Florida? I mean, "The Miami Herald" endorsed him. I know endorsements matter and don't matter at the same time. But can he win his own state? And if he doesn't win his own state, is he out?

[05:10:02] WOLF: Marco Rubio has a ton of endorsements. It's helped him win Minnesota so far.

ROMANS: Right.

WOLF: So, I'm not sure we can say he'll win Florida. He's been behind in polling there. He had shown himself to be a good closer, but it hasn't been enough yet, anywhere except for Minnesota.

BERMAN: Zach Wolf delivers the hammer on Marco Rubio. Marco Rubio has a ton of endorsements and so far, it's won him Minnesota.

Zach, thanks so much for being with us. We will speak to you shortly. I got to say, the next eight days at CNN in this political race, this

is going to be bonkers. It is March Madness on CNN, beginning Sunday with the Democratic debate in Flint, Michigan, followed by the premiere of the new CNN series, "RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE", which I have to say is awesome. I have seen it.

Next Tuesday is the next big Super Tuesday night. Michigan and Mississippi voting next Tuesday. Big races there.

Then, we have a Democratic debate in Miami on Wednesday. Then, we have a Republican debate on Thursday in Miami.

CNN doing all of this, you should never change the channel again.

ROMANS: OK. I won't. I'm set.

BERMAN: Excellent. I think we want more viewers than just the Romans' household.

ROMANS: Yes, it's true.

All right. Stunning new video this morning showing a school resource officer kicking and slapping a young man. The new reaction this morning, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:15:37] BERMAN: Top police officer in the Baltimore school system and two other officers have been placed on administrative leave after the released of a video showing one of the officer slapping and kicking a young man. This happened Tuesday at the REACH Partnership School in Baltimore.

The video, which is tough to watch, we're going to show it to you right now. We're also going to show the reaction from Baltimore's mayor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(EXPLETIVES DELETED)

STEPHANIE RAWLINGS-BLAKE, BALTIMORE MAYOR: As a parent of a Baltimore City school student, I was appalled by what I saw. That behavior that was demonstrated on the video is certainly something you never want to see anyone treated like that, but certainly not a school officer acting in this way, particularly with a young person. I know the school is investigating it. I know that it surfaced late yesterday and the investigation is ongoing. I support that investigation because I never want to see anything like that happen again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The school system and young man's attorney differ on when he was a student at the school. The circumstances surrounding the assault now are being investigated. ROMANS: All right. Drama unfolding in Erin Andrews lawsuit against a

Nashville Marriott Hotel. An executive with the hotel's parent company admitting that nude video of Andrews, that nude video taken by a stalker through a peephole, that video was shown at a dinner at the night before he was to take the stand. A bartender at the restaurant wrote on Twitter that the Marriott executives' friends made fun of Andrews and her body.

This as the hotel security expert testified that Andrews' stalker was solely at fault for secretly recording her , calling the man a criminal and terrorist. Andrews is suing that Marriott for $75 million.

BERMAN: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will lead team of congressional Democrats in a trip to Flint, Michigan, this week. They plan to hold a town hall with residents to discuss the city's ongoing water contamination crisis. The visit comes ahead of the Democratic debate, a CNN Democratic debate in Flint, which is Sunday night.

So, it is not all about Kobe Bryant during his farewell tour. Some young fans getting a special treat during a stop in Denver last night. Andy Scholes with the whole story in this morning's bleacher report, next. .

ROMANS: If you're a pizza lover or a business traveler heading to the East Coast, listen up. Philadelphia now home to a pizzeria that is serving the slice of history.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS (voice-over): Pizza, it's as popular as Picasso, as lovely as the Mona Lisa. Now, pizza lovers you can revel in its beauty in proper fashion, at the world's first pizza museum.

Welcome to Philadelphia's own Pizza Brain.

MICHAEL CARTER, PIZZA BRAIN: We have buttons and videos and lots and lots of toys.

ROMANS: It's the Guinness World record holder for the largest collection of pizza related memorabilia.

CARTER: We're not really a history museum. What we do is we celebrate the culture of pizza and how pizza really has become important to us.

ROMANS: And if you get hungry, it is also a renowned pizzeria.

CARTER: We have fried chicken and donuts on a pizza.

ROMANS: Since opening in 2012, Pizza Brain has quickly become a destination.

CARTER: We get tourists from all over the world. They really are just bringing their love for the food and realizing somebody else in the world is as crazy about pizza as they are. (END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:23:30] BERMAN: So, Seattle Seahawks star defensive player, which is looking to buy a local gym when the police got called on him.

ROMANS: Andy Scholes has more on this morning's bleacher report.

Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, guys.

Old pro safety Cam Chancellor was scoping out a gym in the Seattle area he was interested in buying. While he was looking in the windows of the closed gym, two employees inside, well, they called the cops saying he was trying to break in. The police showed up. They quickly recognized Chancellor.

He is clearly upset about the whole situation. So, Chancellor took to Twitter to vent about it, posting a series of tweets. One of them said, "Good thing the cops know I'm a good guy and stealing isn't in my blood. I work for everything I get." Chancellor also added he won't be buying a gym in that area anymore.

All right. Clippers and Thunder playing a thriller last night in L.A. OKC was up by 22 at one point at this game, but the Clips came storming back. Under two to go, Chris Paul finds DeAndre Jordan for the alley-hoop, plus the foul. That put the Clippers within one. Moments later, off the miss, Jordan will tip it in and gets fouled on that play as well.

Clippers take the lead and hold on to win by a final of 103-98.

All right. Kobe Bryant's farewell tour made a stop in Denver last night. Kobe sat out most of the second half, which gave him plenty of time to take off his shoes, and gave it to a couple of young Laker fans that were sitting nearby. It's pretty cool moments for those kids for sure.

But the Lakers again not having a great night.

[05:25:00] They lost. They are now 12-50 on the season.

All right. Tiger Woods still recovering from back surgery. No word on when he will rejoin the tour. Yesterday, he was in the Houston area for the opening of a course help design.

Well, check this out, 11-year-old Taylor took the inaugural shot at course, and he hit a hole in one. The crowd went -- Tiger, he was thrilled. He ran over and gave Taylor a big bear hug.

But, guys, it was funny. Tiger Woods I guess was going to take some swings after that, but the crowd, and he joked, how do I follow that?

ROMANS: No way! The first shot on the new course and an 11-year-old kid with a hole in one?

SCHOLES: That's crazy, 11-year-old.

BERMAN: He's got a good of a chance as Tiger does as winning the masters right now.

SCHOLES: That is very true.

BERMAN: That may be true, right?

ROMANS: I don't know. After a hole in one, it is all downhill from there, right?

(CROSSTALK)

ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Andy.

SCHOLES: Have a good one.

ROMANS: Has Donald Trump become unstoppable? Parts of the Republican Party are in full-on panic mode. New ads being launched and Mitt Romney preparing his own new attack. We have that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)