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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Carson Bows Out of Republican Presidential Debate Tonight; Mitt Romney to "Go After" Donald Trump; Clinton Staffer Reaches Immunity Deal; Cruz, Rubio Urge Rivals to Quit; Koch Brothers Won't Try To Stop Trump; Video Shows Baltimore Officer Slapping, Kicking Student; Major Drama at Erin Andrews' Trial; Former Oil CEO Dies in Car Crash; Possible MH370 Wreckage Found. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired March 03, 2016 - 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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[05:30:12]

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Taking down Trump. Some Republicans desperate to stop him launching new attack ads as Mitt Romney tees up a new anti-Trump message for his party.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: After pleading the fifth for months, the staffer who set up Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server telling all.

ROMANS: All right, welcome back to EARLY START. I am Christine Romans. It is Thursday.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. It is 30 minutes past the hour right now and this promises to be a surreal day so rare 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 the whole process.

Four Republican candidates debate for the first time since Donald Trump won seven of 11 Super Tuesday states, though Ben Carson will not be there. He says he sees no political path forward, having not won a single state in this race so far.

Donald Trump will be there, not just battling the candidates on stage on either side but a candidate from the past. In just hours, Mitt Romney's going to deliver a speech in Utah where I'm told he will go after Donald Trump directly and hard.

Now, Trump is already responding on Twitter. Look at this. "Looks like two-time failed candidate, Mitt Romney, is going to be telling Republican how to get elected. Not a good messenger." He writes, "Why can't leaders of the Republican Party see that I am bringing new voters by the millions. We are creating a larger, stronger party."

CNN's Sara Murray has the latest from the Trump campaign in Florida.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Good morning, John and Christine. Well, we know Donald Trump can throw a punch but today he might be preparing to take a couple. Of course, we have the debate that's coming up tonight in Detroit where we are expecting he will be right in the crosshairs of Sen. Marco Rubio, as well as Sen. Ted Cruz.

But before all that even happens here, expecting a speech from 2012 Republican nominee, Mitt Romney. In that speech we're expecting him to knock Donald Trump forcefully, and to offer some kind comments about the senators who are still in the race. Of course, all of this after Donald Trump had his huge Super Tuesday win -- a string of seven wins 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 that debate stage later tonight. Back to you, John and Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Breaking overnight, the former Clinton staffer who helped set up her 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. Now, the announcement that Pagliano has reached a new deal marks a new phase in the probe determining whether any crime has been committed.

A Clinton spokesman says the campaign is pleased Pagliano is now cooperating. He says, as we have said since last summer, Sec. Clinton has been cooperating with the Department of Justice' security inquiry, including offering, in August, to meet with them to assist their efforts if needed.

Out on the campaign trail Clinton was taking a victory lap, celebrating her Super Tuesday wins. Let's bring in CNN's Brianna Keilar for that.

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The stakes in this election 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And Hillary Clinton wrapped up her night with a fundraiser 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. BERMAN: All right, Brianna, thank you so much. Let's talk about this new phase of the campaign. Post-Super Tuesday pre-March madness on CNN.

We want to bring in CNN politics managing editor Zach Wolf. Zach, good morning. We're just a couple of hours away from something that's just going to be bizarre, I think. Mitt Romney, the last nominee of the Republican Party, is going to give a speech in Utah where the main goal is to go after the man who could very well be the next Republican nominee, Donald Trump.

[05:35:26]

ZACHARY WOLF, CNN POLITICS MANAGING EDITOR: It's remarkable, definitely. And, let's not forget, John, as you pointed out, that it wasn't that long ago that Mitt Romney was clamoring for Donald Trump's endorsement. Donald Trump has been somebody that Republicans have looked to in the past to help them, and now the entire party has basically -- not the entire party. That's not fair. A lot of people in the party are basically trying to figure out how to unseat him.

So, we have this very strange turn of events, and Mitt Romney jumping in here at the last minute. He said he was going to give -- in this speech yesterday, a lot of the people -- the first thing that went to their mind is, oh my gosh, is he going to try and jump in this race? That's not going to happen, apparently.

He's, instead, going to say nice things about Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, and maybe John Kasich -- some of these people who are still in the race. But it's, regardless, totally unbelievable that the 2012 nominee is going after the guy who's closing his grip on the 2016 nomination.

ROMANS: It was so telling that so many people are right away saying is he going to get in, is he going to get in? Because it just shows you the desperation among the anti-Trump Republican wing who do not want him to be their nominee?

My question is, do Romney's words matters here for those legions of new Republican voters who have shown up in these primaries to vote for Donald Trump? Who have heard Donald Trump say outrageous thing after outrageous thing. Who have heard investigations and attacks on his business acumen, who still just say you don't get it. We don't want that old Republican Party. We are Trump -- and Trump says himself -- we're building a new, larger, better Republican Party.

WOLF: I don't think Mitt Romney's words mean much to those (audio stopped) -- mean something to the other people in the Republican Party who aren't voting for Donald Trump. There's about 60 percent of the people who are taking part in these primaries -- aren't voting for Trump.

BERMAN: You know, people have noted for a while that Donald Trump's been lucky in the enemies that he's picked, and I think there are legitimate questions among some. I've heard people last week when they were saying there was some suggestion that Mitt Romney would endorse Marco Rubio. There are people said that would be the best thing in the world for Donald Trump. It would just show that the establishment is lining up against him and this is exactly what Donald Trump is running against.

WOLF: Can you guys hear me?

ROMANS: All right.

BERMAN: I think we appear to have lost Zach Wolf there.

ROMANS: I wanted to listen to something, though. Could we listen to that sound from Ted Cruz saying look, the other guys need to drop out here. This is time for other people to drop out. Let's listen to that sound from Ted Cruz.

(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 to 40 percent that he can't get above. Now, as long as the field is fractured, that benefits Donald. It allows him to win state after state after state because they're multiple opponents dividing the vote.

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ROMANS: Now, he would have dropped out, he said, if he lost Texas. He won Texas, he won Oklahoma, and he won Alaska.

BERMAN: But that's a little -- that's a stab right there at Marco Rubio there, saying you know what? If you don't win Florida, Marco Rubio, on March 15th, you have to drop out. And no one -- Ben Carson, you know, pulled back out of the debate, but these four guys you're looking at right here -- these guys are all staying through to March 15th, so this field is splintered through very important votes.

ROMANS: Marco Rubio getting some more endorsements, most recently The Miami Herald, his hometown paper. But, in some of the polls he is lagging behind Donald Trump in his home state. Can he stay in? Should he stay in? Is he going to win if he loses Florida?

BERMAN: There are millions of dollars that are going to be poured into Florida by outside groups, allegedly anti-Trump groups. But, they're also very much pro-Marco Rubio groups as well. These are the groups our principles pack that are going hard after Trump and his business record. They're going to try to soften Donald Trump. We'll see.

You know, Rubio's behind in his home state and he runs the risk of losing his home state, which would be a tremendous embarrassment. And there would be no way for him to go on beyond Florida if he loses.

ROMANS: The Koch brothers, who have a huge arsenal of money that they can deploy of they want, this morning -- Reuters exclusive. They say they are not going to deploy their money against a Donald Trump nomination. They're not going to play in the primaries. Is that a blow to the anti-Trump coalition?

BERMAN: I think what that shows -- the anti-Trump coalition does not lack for money. There are a lot of rich people pouring millions in. But what it does show is there's unanimity -- that the anti-Trump movement is not universal across the board in the Republican Party now if you have major figures, in fact some of the most major figures, willing to sit it out.

ROMANS: All right. OK, Zach Wolf, thanks for that. We lost his feed but we managed all right.

BERMAN: We played the role of Zach Wolf.

ROMANS: All right, the next week is March madness right here on CNN. It begins Sunday with the next Democratic debate in Flint, followed by the premiere of the new CNN series, "RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE". You've seen it? It's good?

BERMAN: I have. It's awesome.

ROMANS: Then next Tuesday is the next Super Tuesday night. Pop your popcorn now. Wednesday brings another Democratic debate in Miami, and Thursday is a Republican debate in Miami. A week of political events all right here on CNN. Can't wait.

[05:40:42]

BERMAN: All right. Caught on camera, a student kicked and slapped by a school officer. What investigators are now revealing about this stunning new video. That's next.

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[05:44:58]

ROMANS: The top police official in the Baltimore school system and two other officers have been placed on administrative leave after the release of a video showing one of the officers slapping and kicking a young man. Now, this incident took place Tuesday at the Reach Partnership School in Baltimore. The video is tough to watch. This is the video and then the reaction from Baltimore's mayor.

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STEPHANIE RAWLINGS-BLAKE, MAYOR, BALTIMORE: As a parent of a Baltimore city school student, I was appalled by what I saw. The 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 this way, and particularly with a young person. So, I know this school is investigating it. I know that it surfaced late yesterday and the investigation is going on. And I support that investigation because I just never want to see anything like that happen again.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMANS: It is hard to watch. All right, the school system and the young man's attorney -- they differ on whether that young man was a student at that school and the circumstances surrounding this are still being investigated.

BERMAN: Major drama unfolding in the Erin Andrews lawsuit against the Nashville Marriott. An executive with the hotel's parent company admitted that nude photos of Andrews, taken by a stalker through a hotel peephole, admitted that the video was shown at a restaurant dinner the night before he was set to take the stand. A bartender at the restaurant wrote on Twitter that the Marriott executive's friends made fun of Andrews and her body.

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

ROMANS: So let me get this straight. The night, on Tuesday -- the night before this executive was supposed to testify, at a dinner they were showing the video that is at the crux of this whole case, and commenting about her body?

BERMAN: I can't imagine. I can't believe it.

ROMANS: Wow. Ill-advised is the nicest thing I can say about that.

All right, an oil tycoon dies in a fiery car wreck just one day after being indicted by a federal grand jury. Aubrey McClendon was the founder and former CEO of Chesapeake Energy. This guy is a pioneer in America's shale oil boom. He also was a part owner of the NBA's Oklahoma City's Thunder.

McClendon was driving alone, traveling very fast, when his drove straight into an overpass wall. This is according to police. His SUV was immediately engulfed in flames. You know, police say he had time to get back on the road and avoid the crash, but did not. He was indicted Tuesday on charges of conspiring to rig the price of oil and natural gas leases in Oklahoma.

He was ousted from Chesapeake Energy back in 2013. There were accusations then he was bankrolling a lifestyle -- his lavish lifestyle -- with more than a billion dollars in loans backed by a personal stake in the company's wealth. He recently had tried to stage a comeback, but the crash in oil prices really confounded that. Aubrey McClendon was 56 years old. This is a story everyone in the business world is talking about today.

BERMAN: It's sad.

ROMANS: Yes, it's just a real sad story. All right, let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY" and Michaela Pereira joins us now for that. Hey, Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Hello, friends. How are we? We good? We good?

ROMANS: All right.

PEREIRA: Yes, all right. Well, I might take your temperature later in the morning. Obviously, massive turmoil for the Republicans. Is a former nominee trying to stop a potential nominee? Mitt Romney, ready to lay into Donald Trump. You might not believe some of what of Romney has to say. We're going to preview the speech. It comes hours ahead of the next Republican debate. And we'll have a look at the state of the race.

As for the Democrats, a new stumbling block for Hillary Clinton. The former staffer who set up her private e-mail server has agreed to cooperate with federal investigators in exchange for immunity. What could he be preparing to spill and what does the campaign have to say? A lot to get to on "NEW DAY" this morning.

ROMANS: All right, Michaela. Thanks for that.

PEREIRA: You got it.

ROMANS: We'll talk to you again very, very soon. Stocks pointing to a hot start to March. Why one important number could make or break that rally. An early start on your money is next.

BERMAN: Just one?

ROMANS: Just one. Just one.

[05:48:14]

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[05:53:27]

BERMAN: A piece of airplane debris that officials believe may be part of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 was found by an American tourist on the coast of Mozambique.

CNN's Saima Mohsin following developments in Kuala Lumpur -- Saima.

SAIMA MOHSIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Christine, let's talk about that piece of debris that's been found, first of all, in Mozambique. It's not a huge piece. It's around a meter long. And, crucially, it has the words no step on it. Now, that is what has led experts to believe that this could well be from a plane -- perhaps a 777.

Now, one U.S. official says that it looks like a part that's known as a horizontal stabilizer. That's actually at the tail end of the plane. It's like that -- sticks out -- a triangular formation on the end of a plane. Now, this could well be from a 777. Of course, we know MH370 is the only 777 plane missing in the world right now. However, another expert has told us it could well be from another type of plane.

So, everyone is urging people to err on the side of caution, including Malaysia's transport minister. Now, this was found washed ashore by an aviation enthusiast that had been following the MH370 story, well, as long as I have, really.

Now, why Mozambique? Well, crucially, this is in line with the drift model the oceanic experts have come up with, that where the search has been carried out deep inside the Indian Ocean, led by Australianauthorities. Given the current, this is where it could well have ended up in terms of debris.

Now, that is why we found that flapper, of course, on Reunion Island, and now not so far in Mozambique this piece has been found. Experts are now traveling to Australia to give us their final analysis -- John, Christine.

ROMANS: All right, Saima, thank you for that.

Now, let's get an EARLY START on your money this Thursday morning. Stock futures flat, steady oil about $34 a barrel right now. Stock markets in Europe are down slightly. Solid gains in Asian stock markets overnight. Investors appear to be in a holding pattern.

Tomorrow's got a big jobs report. Strong job gains could increase the chances of a Federal Reserve rate hike, but the recent market turmoil may keep that from happening until later this year. You can guarantee that whatever happens, the jobs report tomorrow will be fodder on the campaign trail this weekend.

Gas prices ticking higher. Drivers will likely still save hundreds of dollars at the pump, though, this year. Triple A says the national average for a gallon of regular, $1.80 now, up nine days in a row, back above levels we saw just last month, but still down $.63 from a year ago. Two reasons for the jump. The rebound in oil prices and the seasonal switch to a more expensive summer blend of gasoline. Even with that recent increase drivers should save about $330 each due to prolonged slump in gas prices this year.

Google says searches for Zika virus have increased 3,000 percent this year. Now the company's stepping up to help to fight the outbreak. The company is donating $1 million to UNICEF to help raise awareness. It's also using its mapping technology to help doctors and scientists with prevention initiatives. It's added information on Zika virus to its search results in 16 different languages. It's amazing how much just a little search engine -- Google search -- how much information you can glean from that.

BERMAN: Good for them to help out. All right, Mitt Romney about to deliver a speech going directly after Donald Trump. "NEW DAY" has details about what he's about to say starting now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We could keep this frontrunner from winning.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to make America great again.

CRUZ: If we remain divided, that strengthens Donald Trump. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mitt Romney is the defacto leader of the Republican Party.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are expecting that he's going to go hard against Donald Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the cloud that has always been over Hillary Clinton's campaign.

BERMAN: The staffer who set up Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server now telling all.

CLINTON: It really matters when you're running for president what you say.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Democracy is not a spectator sport.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stunning video showing a school officer violently taking down a student.

RAWLINGS-BLAKE: I was appalled by what I saw.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no reason that such behavior should ever take place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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's Thursday, March 3rd, 6:00 in the east. We are all together this morning, and up first we have to tell you that the GOP move to stop Trump is cranking up this morning.

The party, calling on all corners to stop Trump's hostile takeover. And now they're banking on the party's 2012 nominee, Mitt Romney, who we have just learned is going to give a speech today condemningTrump as a phony and a fraud, warning that a president Trump will make America and the world less safe. This is unprecedented, what's going on. The question is will it work or is it time for the party to reap what they have sown?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Now, all of this as the remaining GOP candidates plan to hit Trump hard tonight.