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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Trump: GOP Rules Are "Stacked Against Me"; Trump's Family Shares Town Hall Spotlight; Ryan Rules Out Run For President; New York Daily News Endorses Clinton; New Video Evidence In Will Smith Case; Prosecutors Raid Panama Law Firm Mossack Fonseca's Office For Criminal Evidence; More Backlash Against N.C. Bathroom Bill. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired April 13, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:31:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump on CNN overnight blasting the Republican Party, saying the rules are rigged -- set up to keep him from getting the nomination. Now, the party chairman strikes back.

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: And new this morning, more momentum for Hillary Clinton in her battle for New York against Bernie Sanders. Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Lynda Kinkade.

BERMAN: I'm John Berman. Thirty-one minutes after the hour right now. Great to see you. Overnight, a biting, stinging back and forth between Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee. It all started right here on CNN.

Trump says the party stacked the rules against him. He made this accusation while on a CNN town hall with his family. Trump said the RNC changed the rules to keep him from winning the nomination and boy, the RNC was quick to respond.

CNN politics reporter Sara Murray with the latest.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Donald Trump making no effort to mend fences with the Republican Party last night, saying in our CNN town hall that he does not think the RNC wants him to win the nomination and he's bashing the nominating process along the way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN TOWN HALL MODERATOR: You don't think the RNC wants you to get the nomination?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I don't think so. I really don't. I mean, I --

COOPER: And you think they're actively working against you?

TRUMP: I don't know. I mean, I don't see it. It's not like it's -- I have 15 miles of proof. But, certainly, they should want to have a vote of the people of Colorado. The people of Colorado -- I would have won. I've won so many of the votes. I mean, the voting has been phenomenal. That's why I've won so many more states than Ted Cruz and Kasich.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: Now, all of this seemed to be just a bridge too far for Reince Priebus, the RNC chairman. He fired back on Twitter last night saying, "Nomination process known for a year and beyond. It's the responsibility of the campaigns to understand it. Complaints now? Give us all a break."

Meanwhile, this forum was an interesting one for Donald Trump. It was a rare moment where he was sharing the spotlight, not competing for it. He was joined by his wife Melania and four of his children, and they spoke frankly about some of the issues he's been having, particularly in terms of how he speaks to female voters. And Ivanka Trump said that she didn't see any issue with it and she points to how she was raised, alongside her brother, as proof that her father treats men and women equally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVANKA TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S DAUGHTER: I think the facts speak for themselves. I've witnessed these incredible female role models that he's employed in the highest executive positions at the Trump organization my entire life. In an industry that has been dominated by men -- is still dominated by men, but certainly was when he was starting out in his career and he was employing some of these women and raising them through the ranks.

So, for me, I think the way he raised me, the way he raised Tiffany, it's a testament to the fact that he believes in inspiring women, empowering women. He always taught me that there wasn't anything that I couldn't do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: And Donald Trump will be back on the campaign trail today, but not in New York. He's taking a quick break here from the empire state primary, flying over to Pittsburgh for a rally, so we will see him later on this afternoon. Back to you guys.

KINKADE: Thanks to Sara for that report. Well, joining us to assess the Republican and Democratic races, Colleen McCain Nelson, White House correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. Great to have you with us. Now, Trump says not only is the system stacked against him but the RNC is conspiring against him. Just take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: This was a dirty trick. These are dirty tricksters. This is a dirty trick and I'll tell you why. The RNC -- the Republican National Committee -- they should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this kind of crap to happen. I can tell you that. They should be ashamed of themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KINKADE: So, Colleen, would he be saying this if the outcome in Colorado was different?

COLLEEN MCCAIN NELSON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, WALL STREET JOURNAL: Well, it's interesting. Donald Trump has ratcheted up his criticism. Before he was just saying that the system was lousy, that the system was unfair. But now he's saying that the RNC is actively conspiring against him.

[05:35:00] And that comes on the heels of Colorado, as you note, where Ted Cruz absolutely outmaneuvered him. I mean, Ted Cruz has spent months building a campaign machine. Ted Cruz definitely has a deep understanding of how this works. And you see Reince Priebus and other party officials saying Donald Trump should understand the process. His lack of preparation is not really our problem.

But Donald Trump is doing this very strategically. I mean, he is going to his voters and saying the RNC is against me and if I don't get the nomination it's not because I didn't prepare. It's because the party is actively working against me. And so, he just continues to kind of sow these seeds of discontent with his voters and kind of point out that this is a pretty arcane system, even though the rules have been in place for quite a while.

A lot of voters aren't familiar with these rules and so it's new information for them to see that just because you get the most votes in a primary doesn't necessarily mean that you'll end up with the most delegates in some states. Every state is different. The rules are complicated. And so, Donald Trump is really highlighting that to make his argument that the RNC is out to get him.

BERMAN: It's awkward, though, for the RNC chair having to swat the guy who's leading in the polls right now with the most delegates -- the front-runner still in the process. Some interesting comments late yesterday, too, from Marco Rubio. Marco Rubio no longer an active candidate for president, but he sat down for an interview with Mark Levin, a radio talk show host who is a supporter of Ted Cruz, and listen to the exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've been pretty clear that I want the Republican nominee to be a conservative and in my view, at this moment, of the candidates that are still actively campaigning, the only one that fits that criteria is Ted Cruz.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Now, he's said something like that before, that he wants a conservative nominated. Ted Cruz is the only conservative out there. But when Mark Levin pressed him -- does that mean you're going to support Ted Cruz at the convention -- Rubio, you know, he wouldn't go quite that far.

And when he started talking about the convention ballots he says he still wants his delegates to vote for him on the first ballot. I'm wondering if Rubio's trying to leave some kind of a door open to possibly a convention run?

NELSON: I think that's a great question and this is a fascinating dance, though, a lot of Republicans are doing as they choose their words very carefully. And Marco Rubio certainly had every opportunity to say good things about Ted Cruz and to say he should get the nomination, he's the most qualified candidate, or he deserves the nomination. He didn't say those things.

And for him to say that he still wants his delegates to vote for him certainly suggests that perhaps he hasn't completely let go of the idea that he or someone else could emerge as the nominee. And it kind of harkens back to when Mitt Romney said that he would be voting for Ted Cruz but he wasn't necessarily endorsing Ted Cruz.

And so you have a lot of people expressing support for Ted Cruz in this moment, but saying that doesn't mean that they'll support him when it comes to the convention in Cleveland.

KINKADE: Now, if there is a contested convention, the RNC has already said that it won't consider candidates who are not already running. Now, House Speaker Paul Ryan has, again, ruled himself out. Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: But let me be clear. I do not want, nor will I accept, the nomination for our party. I believe that you should only choose from a person who has actually participated in the primary. Count me out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Given he said count me out when he was asked to be the House speaker, and he is now the House speaker, is it likely he could change his mind?

NELSON: Well, I guess if you're Paul Ryan I'm not sure what else you can say to make it clear that you don't want this job. And he was very emphatic yesterday in saying that this was apples and oranges to suggest the fact that he didn't want to be Speaker of the House means that he would change his mind about being president.

He said, you know, I already was in Congress. To become speaker wasn't a completely different job. It was just taking on more responsibilities in the body where I already serve. Launching a presidential campaign would be a completely different thing.

Paul Ryan is a very savvy politician and he has a long -- presumably a long political career ahead of him, and honestly the prospect of coming out of a contested convention as the Republican nominee for a divided party and then trying to run a presidential campaign, essentially from a standing start, starting in late July, probably is not that appealing of a prospect for Paul Ryan. And so, you can see why he might say count me out and I'm not sure at

this point what else he could say, even though immediately people on Twitter said don't believe it. He still wants to run.

BERMAN: It means he must be running. If he says no, I'm not going to -- let me talk about the Democratic race quickly. The New York Daily News -- the paper here owned by someone, who I should say supports Hillary Clinton, came out with a big endorsement of Hillary Clinton. But what may be more remarkable about this is the sort of un- endorsement of Bernie Sanders, whom it called a fantasist, which is a word you don't hear often.

[05:40:00] NELSON: That's right, and that's not what Bernie Sanders wants to hear right now in New York where he's trailing by double digits. Not only does he need wins at this point, but he needs big wins. Even a close win in the New York primary wouldn't help Bernie Sanders catch up in delegates that much at this point.

And so an endorsement of Hillary Clinton is not that big of a deal, but such a stinging indictment of Bernie Sanders. The editorial calling him utterly unprepared for the job of president is not helpful to him at this point and it also just kind of fuels Hillary Clinton's focus on Bernie Sanders' interview with the New York Daily News editorial board where he struggled to answer some questions about central campaign issues -- how he would break up the big banks.

And so, you're going to continue to hear the Clinton campaign hammer on that and say Bernie Sanders doesn't have a deep understanding of these very issues that he's made the focus of his campaign.

BERMAN: Yes, the Clinton campaign sent out that endorsement within seconds -- nanoseconds of it coming out. Colleen McCain Nelson, great to have you with us this morning. Thanks so much.

KINKADE: Thank you.

NELSON: Thank you.

BERMAN: This big political week continues tonight right here on CNN. Ted Cruz appears in the final of this week's town hall events with his wife, Heidi Cruz. He'll face questions from Anderson Cooper and the voters. That's at 9:00 p.m. eastern, only on CNN.

KINKADE: And, of course, we're just a day away now from the CNN Democratic presidential debate in Brooklyn. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in a critical face-off. That's tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. eastern only on CNN.

BERMAN: All right, new surveillance video capturing the hit-and-run crash moments before New Orleans Saints star Will Smith was shot and killed. We have those new details next.

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[05:46:00] KINKADE: Welcome back. The coroner's office is expected to release Will Smith's autopsy report later today. The former New Orleans Saints star was shot and killed over the weekend. Police say a fully-loaded 9 mm handgun was found inside Smith's SUV. And new surveillance video appears to show a hit-and-run between Smith and suspect Cardell Hayes minutes before those fatal shots were fired.

Let's get the latest now from CNN's Jean Casarez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're learning more and more about what happened last Saturday night. (Video playing) First of all, we want to show everybody this surveillance video and, as you can see, there are two SUV's in the video.

The first is a Hummer SUV and that is allegedly driven at that point by the now-defendant, Cardell Hayes. Behind it is a Mercedes SUV believed to have been driven by former NFL player Will Smith. As you can see, that Mercedes SUV hits the Hummer SUV. It pulls over, as you normally do when there is an accident, but the Mercedes SUV pulls out and leaves the scene

So now you have the Mercedes SUV in front of the Hummer SUV, and that's really where police take it from there because they say that a few blocks down that the Hummer SUV actually hits the Mercedes SUV. That Cardell Hayes gets out of his vehicle, he's got a gun, and he shoots multiple times at Will Smith, killing him at the scene. Well, an alleged eyewitness on cell phone video says that there is a bit more to that story. That there may be even more than one weapon involved. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He starts freaking out on this guy like I'm going to fight you. And then he's like -- I guess this guy was like get out, I have a gun. And he goes "F" (bleep) you all, I'vegot one too. And he grabs his gun and then shoots him in the back. He's dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Law enforcement says they processed the scene for 12 hours. They only found one weapon. The defense attorney still adamant that his client was not the aggressor after the accident, but Cardell Hayes remains charged with second-degree murder. His bail continues to be set at $1 million.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: All right, Jean, a lot of new questions in that case. Thanks so much.

Joining us now for an EARLY START on your money, Alison Kosik is here. Hello.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. It's looking like a good day for markets around the world. I'm seeing a lot of green arrows. Asian markets ended higher. European markets are in the green. U.S. stock futures look like they're going to have a strong, positive open.

And it was a great day for Wall Street yesterday. The Dow gained 165 points. That's almost 1 percent. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also gained about 1 percent, and why? Well, it had to do with oil. Oil jumping to its highest levels for the year. The price for crude rising to $42.17 per barrel.

Well, it's official. Tens of thousands of Verizon workers will walk off the job today in just a few minutes at 6:00 a.m. eastern. The workers are asking for a new contract that limits outsourcing, increases pay, and improves working conditions. But Verizon says it needs more flexibility to manage the business, especially as it sees the number of people who use landlines decreasing.

The strike could affect customers from Massachusetts to Virginia who use Verizon's telephone or internet services, though Verizon says it has been preparing for the strike for a long time. It's hired replacement workers. It does say if you've got an installation request or a repair request you may see a delay, although I can't imagine how much more of a delay. When they give you that window it's like oh, we'll be at your house from 9:00 to 5:00.

BERMAN: Sometime in 2016.

KINKADE: It's going to be a frustrating day for a few people.

KOSIK: Yes.

BERMAN: I know. Thanks so much. Let's take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY". Michaela Pereira joins us now.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Yet the window for our show is 6:00 to 9:00. So, if you could just block that off that would be great. All right guys, good morning to you. What is this about, first of all? We'll get to the bottom of that sometime in those three hours. We'll just move you over there.

Donald Trump and his family taking questions from voters at last night's CNN town hall. The candidate opening up and doubling down on claims the RNC has stacked the deck to keep him from winning the nomination. We're going to take a look at all of that. We're also going to hear from two people who got to ask questions at the town hall. Did Trump sway their votes at all?

Also, we're taking a look at North Carolina's governor making changes to a controversial new bathroom law that strips LGBT people of protection from discrimination, but do they go far enough? We're going to put that question to country music star and LGBT activist, Chely Wright, who joins us live here on "NEW DAY".

[05:50:00] BERMAN: All right, short --

PEREIRA: And there's going to be more of this, too.

BERMAN: Good. Yes, for short-timer Michaela Pereira.

PEREIRA: Short-timer.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": It's like looking at a ghost.

BERMAN: It is.

PEREIRA: A lovely brown ghost.

BERMAN: We get to keep looking at you, Chris Cuomo, though. All right, guys, thanks so much.

KINKADE: Well, still to come, Mark Zuckerberg getting political. An early start on your money coming up next.

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[05:55:00] KINKADE: Breaking overnight, prosecutors raiding the law firm accused of helping the world's rich and powerful hid billions of dollars. The law firm, the fourth biggest creator of offshore companies and trusts worldwide, maintains the only illegal action is the hack from abroad that exposed their client's information. International diplomatic editor Nic Robertson has more from London.

Nic, what are you learning about this raid?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, Lynda, we understand that it's a multi-agency raid that is being led by the criminal division that involves the digital forensics department. The Judicial Bureau of Investigation is involved, the national police are involved. That's the crime division that's leading it.

What we're told is this is a visual search to look for documents, papers -- whatever, that can indicate that there has been any illegal activity. And this will allow the authorities to, they say, broaden their search. They say that if the people that they're looking for -- anyone who has sort set up anything that's illegal -- any perpetrators, but also anyone who has participated in illegal activities. They're going to go after them all. That's what they say.

They have to have transparency in all these sorts of organizations. The company, themselves, say their doors are open, that they're cooperating, that they've done nothing wrong. But for the government here there's also more at stake than the illegality, which they say they'll chase down.

But there's also the impression that this is creating a Panama tax haven and the potential financial implications. So, the government wants to get a look at that -- get an analysis of what the economic impact could be as well, Lynda.

KINKADE: That's right. The government there promising some reform, so we'll have to see what comes of that. Nic Robertson joining us from London. Thank you.

BERMAN: Time now for an EARLY START on your money. Alison Kosik here with that. KOSIK: Good morning. It's looking like a good day for markets all around the world because I'm seeing a lot of green arrows. We saw Asian markets end higher. European markets are in the green. U.S. stock futures look like they'll have a strong opening at 9:30 this morning.

And it was a great day for Wall Street yesterday. The Dow gained 165 points. That's almost 1 percent. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also gained about 1 percent. We also see investors this week keeping an eye on earnings. Today we're going to hear from J.P. Morgan Chase. They're going to be reporting their profit report before the market opens.

Deutsche Bank taking a stand against the new North Carolina law many are calling anti-LGBT. The German bank saying it's going to halt its plans to bring 250 new jobs to its location in Cary, North Carolina. The bank said this, "As a result of this legislation we are unwilling to include North Carolina in our U.S. expansion plans for now."

Last week we saw PayPal abandon its plans to open new operations in Charlotte, costing the state 400 jobs. The NBA has threatened to host the 2017 All-Star game somewhere else. And Bruce Springsteen canceled the concert in the state to protest against the law.

Mark Zuckerberg says he does not believe in building walls. The Facebook CEO kicking off the F8 developer conference, talking about virtual reality and artificial intelligence. But then Zuckerberg veered into politics, saying "I hear fearful voices calling for building walls and distancing people they label as others...it takes courage to choose hope over fear, to say we can build something and make it better than it's ever been before."

Now, Zuckerberg was taking an apparent jab at Donald Trump and his immigration policies. In the past, Zuckerberg's immigration reform group created digital ads that slammed Trump and Ted Cruz's immigration policies. But if you looked on Facebook you saw Zuckerberg go on there and say my comments weren't about any one person. They weren't about any one country. He's sort of absolving himself of it even though we can kind of read between the lines.

BERMAN: Yes, interpret it as you will.

KINKADE: Yes, I think everyone knows who's talking about building walls.

BERMAN: Alison Kosik, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

KOSIK: You got it.

KINKADE: Thank you.

BERMAN: All right, Donald Trump accusing the Republican National Committee of rigging the game, trying to keep him from winning the nomination. The RNC blasting back. "NEW DAY" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: I know that it's stacked against me, and by the establishment.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald is a very sore loser.

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That could drive America down into a ditch and not make us great again.

RYAN: If you want to be the president, you should actually run for it.

CRUZ: Donald is panicking.

TRUMP: Our Republican system is rigged.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If talking about equal pay is playing the gender card, then deal me in.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But you cannot take millions of dollars and then claim to be an agent of change.

CLINTON: Our records are very clear.

SANDERS: I have challenged Sec. Clinton to say whether she is prepared.

BERMAN: New developments in the shooting death of former Saints player Will Smith.

KINKADE: A fully-loaded 9 mm handgun was found inside Smith's SUV.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He may have gotten out with a big mouth, but he did not get out with a gun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

CUOMO: Enough discussing sinus remedies. Good morning to you. Welcome to your new day. It is Wednesday, April 13th, 6:00 in the east. Donald Trump has a new obsession, losing.