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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Packed Agenda for Trump-Putin Meeting; CNN: Russia Ramps Up Spying in U.S.; South Korean Leader Renews Offer to Talk with North. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired July 07, 2017 - 05:00   ET

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

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Less than five hours from now, the sit- down the world has been waiting for. President Trump and President Putin ready to meet for the first time in spotlight of the G20. World leaders arriving at this hour and protesters are out, as well. We have it all covered this morning in Hamburg, Washington, Moscow, and Seoul.

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Miguel Marquez.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans. It is Friday, July 7th, folks. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East. It is 11:00 a.m. at the G20 in Hamburg.

We welcome all of our viewers in the U.S. and around the world.

It is one of the most eagerly anticipated meetings of world leaders in decades. This morning, President Trump sits down with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the G20 Summit gets underway in Germany. Their bilateral meeting comes a day after President Trump said Russia should stop its, quote, destabilizing activities. But then minutes later, refused to conclude that Russia alone melded in the U.S. election.

MARQUEZ: A new CNN reporting this morning says Russia has even stepped up its spying efforts on the U.S. More on that in a moment.

For the latest, we turn to White House correspondent Sara Murray. She's live for us in Hamburg.

Sara, President Trump meets Putin face to face in just a few hours.

[05:00:02] What can we actually expect out of this meeting?

SARA MURRAY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you can expect everything from their statements to their body language to be very closely scrutinized. This is slated to be a relatively brief meeting but an intimate one. Obviously, Trump and Putin will both be there, as well as some of their top diplomats, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

In the run-up to this meeting, though, these two world leaders have had some sharp words for one another. Putin has slammed U.S. sanctions against Russia as well as President Trump's trade policies. As for Trump, when he was in Poland, he had stern words for Russia, too, chiding them for their role in conflicts in the Ukraine, as well as in Syria.

But, of course, the big question is whether President Trump is going to bring up Russia's meddling in the 2016 election. When he was speaking in Poland, he seemed to again question Russia's role in this. And it's pretty clear today that Trump's head is still on that election. But instead of having sharp words for Russia, he has sharp words for Democrats including a former staffer to Hillary Clinton's campaign.

Trump tweeted this morning: Everyone here is talking about why John Podesta refused to give the DNC server to the FBI and CIA, disgraceful. So, that's where his head is at today. Now, of course, the G20 is playing out here in Hamburg, Germany, against the back drop of intense protests.

Yesterday, there were about 12,000 protesters here, 111 police officers injured and a few dozen arrests. Those protests have begun today including with some protesters lighting cars on fire. They will continue later this afternoon.

Back to you, guys.

MARQUEZ: All right. Sara Murray for us, thank you very much.

ROMANS: All right. There's so much on the agenda when Presidents Trump and Putin meet at the G20. So much, in fact, that the Russians say the limited time available might be -- might make it hard to delve into Russia's aggression in Ukraine and Crimea. That, of course, still leaves Syria, ISIS, NATO sanctions, a whole lot more to discuss here, plus the parsing of the body language and optics of the meeting.

Senior international correspondent Ivan Watson joins us live from Moscow for us this morning.

And looking at this from both sides, I guess, Ivan. You know, what constitutes a successful meeting for the Russians and for the U.S.?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, it's important because you haven't had a U.S. and

Russian president sit down face to face in nearly two years, in September of 2015. That was, of course, President Barack Obama and Putin at that time.

The Kremlin said that relations are at zero level right now, and that a meeting right now would be good to just help international stability. If you look at the world's flashpoints and places where the Russian military's involved, where lives are being lost, where the U.S. military is involved, as well, of course, it would be good to get two leaders to talk about them. One area where they might be able to find common ground is Syria and the awful civil war there.

The U.S. secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, he floated the idea that perhaps both sides could talk about no-fly zones in the upcoming meeting. And the Russian top diplomat responded saying that would be a good first step forward. Of course, we're going to be looking at the body language. You've got

two leaders with vastly different experience in government. President Trump is brand new to the job essentially. Putin is very experienced. This will be the fourth American president he will meet face to face with.

There have been stark differences in world view between U.S. and Russian leaders in the past. Russia is chafing at what they describe as a unilaterally led world with a U.S. superpower. They want the world divided up into kind of individual more 19th century approach to the world where Russia would get a sphere of influence. We don't know whether or not that fits with President Trump's world view which involves America first -- Christine and Miguel.

ROMANS: All right. Ivan Watson for us in Moscow this morning. Thanks, Ivan.

MARQUEZ: All right. Now, we want a little perspective. So, we're going to bring in CNN political analyst Josh Rogin, the columnist for "The Washington Post."

ROMANS: Good morning!

MARQUEZ: Good morning, Josh, Mr. Perspective.

JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.

MARQUEZ: Look, a lot of pressure on these two, a lot on the plate. Could be a short meeting. What do you expect out of this thing?

ROGIN: There's an effort and desire on both sides to have a happy, good meeting. A meeting where they show that the two -- the world's largest nuclear powers can get along and actually talk about if not solve big issues of international concern. That's what both sides want. That's what we can expect.

Now, of course, the context is that things are not happy, things are not hunky-dory. The relationship is not good. Not only that, they're in Europe, and most European countries see Vladimir Putin and his government as attacking their interests, attacking their democracies, attacking their way of life, attacking their institutions.

[05:05:01] So, there's a tension between the desire of the Trump White House to show that the United States and Russia can get along, and the overall desire of the world community to have the United States stand up against Russian interference, against Russian aggression, against Russian assaults on things like democracy, the rule of law, and human rights around the world.

ROMANS: We were talking to Ivan Watson last hour about -- and Nic Robertson, too, last hour, about the personal brands of both of these men. They both come in with a brand of strength, of -- Donald Trump the dealmaker and Vladimir Putin, the strongman, bare-chested on a horse, you know, with his big dogs and the like. You wonder how much scrutiny will be paid to the optics of this, and whether they go in and flatter each other, all smiles and a strong handshake, or something more or less.

ROGIN: Right. Well, you know, one way to look at it, here are two guys who have sort of an authoritarian view of governments, have a sort of nationalistic approach to how they view their own populations. The other way to look at it is this -- and this is the view that I hold is, you know, you got tone guy's an intelligence officer, OK? And his job is to get the advantage. That's Vladimir Putin.

You have another guy who's a businessman. His job is to get to a deal, that's Donald Trump, OK? That's the essential tension.

You know, the Russians want to gain position, and Trump wants to gain a negotiation. That's essentially where the rub is going to be. Now, what does that mean practically? It means the Trump administration will put forth a bunch of things that they think they can work with with the Russians on. Syria, Ukraine, you name it.

And, you know, whether or not the Russians give in to those things, not just based on the Russian calculation of whether or not these things are good for those countries and the world, but based on whether those things are good for Russia, vis-a-vis it's position in the United States. That's going to be a very interested dynamic. Can they get to all that in a half an hour? Probably not. But that's where they're headed.

MARQUEZ: Yes. Well, they have that, plus all the concern about Russia spying in the U.S.

ROGIN: Of course.

MARQUEZ: CNN is reporting that the Russians have upped their game in the U.S. in trying to get more and more. What is your sense of it, that this is the typical stuff that countries like the U.S. and Russia do to each other, or is there something more at play?

ROGIN: Spying is typical. You know, we could expect the Russians would try to reinvigorate their influence and information and intelligence operations in the United States. What we really couldn't expect is that the United States would not be doing something on our side to increase not only our deterrence but also our resilience. And to sort of make sure that as this expected increase of Russian intelligence aggression and information operations in the United States arrives, that we would be in the same position essentially as we were last year.

Now, that's not to say the intelligence agencies in the United States aren't working on that.

ROMANS: Right.

ROGIN: But what we failed to see is an overall whole of government approach to really fixing this member and preparing for the next wave of Russian attacks. That's a huge problem. One that President Trump doesn't seem particularly seized on.

ROMANS: And that started in the last administration, the last administration and continues into this administration, and that's something that the Kremlin is capitalizing on.

We'll show you live pictures, by the way, Josh, 11:08 a.m. in Hamburg, Germany. You see some of the protesters. You know, I don't want to make too much of protests. I don't. I've been covering these things for years, decades, frankly.

ROGIN: Sure.

ROMANS: Showing my age. And they always have protests. It does not even matter who -- who runs the government. They always have these -- anarchists, anti---

MARQUEZ: Anti-globalization.

ROGIN: Sure.

ROMANS: All kind of different -- a different stuff there.

I want to talk more about our Russia reporting on Russia stepping up its -- its spying into the U.S. I want you to listen to something that the former DNI James Clapper, said yesterday on our air.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES CLAPPER, FORMER DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: This certainly fits the standard Russian pattern which comports with their behavior going back decades. And they do want to, I'm sure, repair the loss by virtue of the 35 intelligence operatives that were expelled by the Obama administration. And just their general push -- they are going to stretch the envelope as far as they can to collect information. And I think largely if I could use the military phrase to prep the battlefield for 2018 elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Prep the battlefield for 2018 elections. He also mentioned the 35 operatives expelled by the Obama administration.

Josh, do you think that President Trump is likely to restore people, restore the property that was sanctioned? That would be a win for Putin, something that he would like. And do you think that Trump is going to bring up the meddling in the election, or is that just off limits?

[05:10:01] ROGIN: I don't think he's going to bring it up. I don't think the White House sees an upside in bringing it up. Of course, it's what everyone else wants him to do, which is also kind of why they don't want to do it, because they want to show that they're not yielding to the sort of what they see as the pressure to inject this in the U.S./Russia relationship at that time.

I believe that's the wrong decision. I believe we should speak to the Russians clearly about what they did and what we don't want them to do again.

But setting that aside, it's not going to happen. The president will probably receive some criticism for that. He does deserve criticism for that.

More broadly, what you're getting at here is that the Trump administration has a desire -- President Trump himself -- and Rex Tillerson talks about this all the time -- to improve U.S./Russia relations. They simply believe that this is too important of a relationship to be at this horrible, horrible place. It's just too dangerous.

Now, there's an argument for that. I don't think that that in and of itself is crazy. You know, we want to try to find a way to step back from the brink of tension with the Russians. That's OK.

The question is under what terms. When you talk about giving the Russians back these two diplomatic compounds, you know, maybe giving sanctions relief, giving them things that they want, my question is what do we get? What's on the other side of that ledger? Is he going to make a good deal or a bad deal?

So, I try not to look at this as, oh, well, we can't give the Russians the compounds back. We can give them back, but what are we going to get, and how are we going to be reassured that when they give them back, they won't turn them into huge spy centers like they did a year ago?

MARQUEZ: Right.

Now, we want to show live pictures coming in from Hamburg right now, the G20 official program beginning with the leaders getting together. One issue that they may be taking on and find? Concerted -- taking on and finding concerted effort is North Korea. Now that they've tested the ICBM missile that's created concern across the world.

Josh, I take this is going to be a big topic of conversation there.

ROGIN: Of course. You know, there's -- every country in the world has reason to be concerned and worried and scared about the progress of North Korea's nuclear missile development. And it's really much greater crisis than the world community is able to deal with right now.

Of course, you know, we have a strategy to deal with that, which is to drastically increase pressure on the North Korean regime. And Russia and China are directly undermining the strategy everybody by increasing their own trade with the regime and by blocking strong internal action. Now, that is a huge problem. I don't think they'll get to that in the Trump/Putin meeting to be honest because they don't have the time.

But what you saw last night was President Trump meet with the leaders of South Korea and Japan, there's pretty much unity amongst America's allies. Three's no unity with China and Russia on this issue. And, you know, the strategy of increasing pressure on North Korea to stop its provocations is a risky one and it's not likely to work without Chinese and Russian buy-in.

The question then becomes, OK, if they're not going to do it voluntarily, do we then start to pressure them to go along with it, and will that work, and does that represent a risk of escalation on its own? So, this problem is going to get a lot worse before it gets a lot better. That's not the Trump administration's fault but it is their responsibility.

And what we're all leaning toward is eventually we're going to have to sit down with the North Koreans. We'll have to have some sort of diplomacy and some sort of negotiation. That's going to be an unpalatable kind of thing to do.

MARQUEZ: This is what they want.

ROGIN: And, it's, of course, what they want. But the only other alternative is never-ending escalation which carries with it the risk of thermonuclear war.

ROMANS: Or, I mean, or China fixes the problem. I mean, the North Korean economy can't run without support from China. The president has called out China saying, you know, we hoped they'd be able to have sway, and they couldn't or didn't do it.

ROGIN: Sure.

ROMANS: So, we'll see -- go ahead.

ROGIN: I would just say, Christine, I think what we found -- you know, this is somewhat predictable, but I think Donald Trump had to figure this out for himself -- the Chinese don't view fixing the problem the same way we do. They don't view the problem the same way that we do. They prefer the status quo to putting pressure on the regime.

So, if we're going different directions, it doesn't matter if they're increasing activity or not, because they just don't see the problem the way that we do. We've to wrap our minds around them and make decisions accordingly.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks for that, Josh.

MARQUEZ: Thanks, Josh.

ROMANS: Talk to you in a few minutes.

This other story we're following, an assault on a flight attendant forcing a Delta flight to turn around shortly after takeoff. We'll tell you how other passengers jumped into action, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:18:51] ROMANS: All right. Well, someone is making a deal out there. Two of America's biggest trading partners are striking a deal. And that could be bad news for U.S. automakers and dairy farmers.

Europe and Japan are signing a free trade agreement right before the G20 summit. It's a clear reaction to the White House's protectionist stance. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe saying they'll hoist the flag of free trade amid protectionism.

This deal could hurt U.S. industries like cars. The agreement removes high tariffs on Japanese cars and helps European automakers in Japan. Both actions will squeeze U.S. automakers. So, just as sales slow in the U.S., U.S. automakers will face an E.U. tariff and tougher competition in Japan.

The deal also eliminates Japanese duties on European cheeses. Right now, Japan slaps a whopping 30 percent tariff on dairy and an increase in European Gouda will hurt American cheese makers. Currently Japan is the third-largest market for U.S. cheese. American dairy farmers, they were banking on the Trans Pacific Partnership, or the TPP, to help them in Japan. But, of course, the president, President Trump, scrapped that deal his first full day in office.

[05:20:01] MARQUEZ: A scare for passengers on a delta flight headed from Seattle to Beijing. Flight 129 turned back shortly after takeoff last night when a passenger assaulted a flight attendant in first class. The plane returned to SeaTac Airport under a Defense Department escort. Delta says the suspect was restrained by other passengers on board and taken into custody upon landing.

The flight attendant and a passenger were injured and taken to the hospital. Both are expected to be fine. Flight 129 is back in the air this hour, expected to land in Beijing this afternoon, right around the same time the suspect is due in federal court in Seattle.

And a federal judge denied the state of Hawaii's attempt to limit the scope of President Trump's travel ban in its request for clarification. Hawaiian officials argue the government overreached by excluding grandparents and other relatives after the Supreme Court decision allowing the ban to take effect. But a district court judge in Honolulu rejected the challenge, ruling any request for clarification should be made to the Supreme Court. A full hearing of the case is set for the fall.

ROMANS: Maine Governor Paul LePage raising eyebrows suggesting he sometimes concocts stories to mislead the media. He makes stuff up. He's lashing out at the press for falsely reporting he planned to leave the state during a government shutdown. The governor said it stemmed from telling a local reporter his pen was on vacation and he had nothing to sign. It was taken out of context by the reporter.

Now listen to what LePage said in a radio interview.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GOV. PAUL LEPAGE (R), MAINE: I just love to sit in my office and make up ways so they'll write these stupid stories. I mean, they are just so stupid, it's awful. I'm sorry, but I tell you, the sooner the print press goes away, the better society will be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: If that wasn't enough, the Republican governor called the media vile, inaccurate, useless, and said the sooner the print press goes away the better. LePage's office has not responded to CNN's request for further comment.

MARQUEZ: Yes, he's said to other press outlets or Republican senators there have said that he told them he was going away on a ten-day vacation. They're actually sticking to their guns, interesting.

Now, you now can add author to Tom Brady's already impressive resume. Coy wire with the details in the "Bleacher Report" coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:26:42] ROMANS: One of the most beloved players on the women's tennis tour goes down with a devastating injury in Wimbledon.

MARQUEZ: Coy Wire has more in an outpouring of support by fellow players in this morning's "Bleacher Report."

Good morning, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miguel and Christine.

A bright personality, known for dying her hair bright colors, and she's beloved player within the tennis world. Bethanie Mattek-Sands at Wimbledon looking for her fourth straight grand slam doubles title. But it was in singles competition yesterday that Mattek-Sands was running toward the net, her knee buckled, and she collapses. She starts writhing in pain. Many criticizing officials at Wimbledon because it seemingly took entirely too long for anyone to rush to her rescue.

Now, her doubles partner, Lucy Saparillo appeared in the court on tears after hearing of the injury. Mattek-Sands taken to the hospital.

As a former pro-athlete, I can say that when you have a significant injury like this, your career flashes before your eyes. When you come back, will you be the same? Will I ever come back?

So, Bethanie's fellow players rushed to her side social media-wise, sending players, sending love, words like heartbroken, stay strong, and we love you.

Play was stopped in the bottom of the ninth inning in Los Angeles after a Dodgers fan was caught flashing a bright light in the eyes of a Diamondback pitcher. What are you doing there, buddy? Not cool for the fan and not cool for the Diamondbacks as they blew a 3-run lead in that last inning and then got slapped in that walk off hit and game- winning run by the Dodgers who swept their series by Arizona 5-4.

Want to be more like Tom Brady? I know John Berman does. Well, now you can. The five-time super bowl champ is releasing a book which took him 12 years to write. It's called "TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance." Brady says his method is going to be a blueprint to help people understand how to maintain peak mental and physical fitness for the rest of their lives.

No word yet if there's a way to find and marry a Victoria's Secret model. The book will be released this September. So, we'll find out.

Fight fans get ready for the first time we'll see fighters Floyd Mayweather and Connor McGregor face to face on Tuesday. The two men are going to kick off a multicity press tour at Los Angeles Staples Center to promote their August 26th fight. Tickets for the press are going to available starting at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.

A lot of people are saying this actual fight is going to be boring. But these guys know how to promote. The promotion and lead up, that's where you see the flashy fashion, flashy cash. These guys, you'll see water bottles being thrown. You never know what's going to happen. So, it's going to be good stuff.

MARQUEZ: So, as long as it's not too made up then.

ROMANS: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANS: Coy Wire, thanks so much.

MARQUEZ: Coy, thank you.

WIRE: You're welcome.

MARQUEZ: Hey, EARLY START continues right now.

(MUSIC)

MARQUEZ: President Trump looking Vladimir Putin in the eye for the first time ahead of the bilateral meeting today. What's in store for later at the G20? We have it all covered this morning in Hamburg, Washington, Moscow, and Seoul.

ROMANS: Russian state media is saying the two have met. The bilateral meeting is still on. They have now met.

MARQUEZ: They've shaken hands.