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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Fire And Fury, Part Two; GOP Leaders Call Out President Trump; Off The Road With Uber And Lyft; White Helmets Evacuated From Syria; Israel And Hamas Truce Holds; The North Korea Threat; JPMorgan Chase CEO Interview; Fiat Chrysler CEO Steps Down. Aired 04:30-05a ET

Aired July 23, 2018 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, EARLY START SHOW CO-HOST: Tough talk from Iran met with a blunt warning by the U.S. President Trump says further threats from Tehran will bring severe consequences and the Secretary of State compares Iran's leadership to the mafia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think they did anything wrong. I think they went to the court. They got the Judge's to approve it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE BRIGGS, EARLY START SHOW CO-HOST: Fellow Republicans refuting the president's claim that newly released documents prove his campaign was spied on. The President now taking to Twitter, undoing a week of support for the Intel community.

ROMANS: And a driver for Uber and Lyft is off the road after live streaming passengers for it turns out. He was not breaking the law. We have reports this morning from London, Jerusalem, Hong Kong, and New Jersey.

Welcome back to "Early Start." I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: I am Dave Briggs. I didn't know how many people know they could be recorded sitting in the back of Uber. I didn't not know that.

ROMANS: You know in a lot of states it just takes one party to consent to be recorded either, you know, with the film, on the phone, this is one of those places.

BRIGGS: More on that story in a minute. But we start with breaking news. Tensions between the United States and Iran escalating dramatically overnight. It all started early Sunday when Iranian President Rouhani cautioned President Trump about pursuing hostile policies. Rouhani said quote, America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace. And war with Iran is the mother of all wars. Last night, he via tweet.

ROMANS: Yes. President Trump warning Rouhani in all caps, never ever threaten the United States again or you will suffer consequences a likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before. We are no longer a country that will stand for your demented word of violence and death, be cautious. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is live for us from London monitoring all of this morning, Nick.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Remarkable again to wake up on a Monday morning and find block capitals potentially trying to inflame another conflict around the world. Some say perhaps this is a convenient distraction for U.S. President that has a lot of its play, but the Russia investigation and the some degree of controversial summit in Helsinki with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But here we have a whole new part of that foreign policy now potentially seeing significant more attention. A bit of context here, first of all, the idea likely of a sudden overnight shooting war between the United States and Iran is a little farfetched at this point. But it is a region with a lot of tension right now. And the U.S. ally Israel is regularly hitting this Iranian ally with the Syrian regime with air strikes and to its north Israel has these Lebanese, Hezbollah that got a lot of Iranian funding. But those two places where you could see flash points.

Back to the original exchange of words. This is essentially building after the decision of the U.S. to pull out of the nuclear agreement with Iran. That is now going to lead to increased bids to tighten their economy's sanctions particularly in oil, the Iranians have made hints they might try and impede passage through the gulf of oil shipment globally. Of course, also we just heard from Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, in California, a little in a matter of hours before Donald Trump's tweet in which he referred to the moderates inside of Iran's government as in fact being extremist in disguise. Here is a little more what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: The bitter irony of the economic situation in Iran is that the regime uses the same time to line its pockets while its people cry out for jobs and reform and opportunity. The Iranian economy is doing great, but only if you are politically connected member of the elite.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PATON WALSH: I won't suggest that much detail. There is a $95 billion slush fund, he claims, that the regime used to publish it interest globally and domestically to being, no doubt, there has been a lot of economic turmoil recently in Iran partially because of the impact of sanctions damaging the local economy. People have been protesting that. We just heard from the foreign ministry spokesperson now, according to Reuters, saying in fact that, you know comments like this will simply unite the Iranian people. There seem to be, I think a path of myth to some degree in U.S. diplomatic circles that the more you pressure Iran, the more likely you are suddenly find come out of the box, a more liberal Iranian administration taking this kind of moderate place. Unlikely the more you get closer to the hardliners, they are starting to do that, I think the belief in Washington is though, pressure, pressure, pressure. Eventually something breaks and that could only serve U.S. interest. But really once again. Another morning, a whole new different part of foreign policy that is potentially turned on its head.

[04:35:00] ROMANS: Our Nick Paton Walsh for us this morning in London. Thanks Nick.

BRIGGS: Well, just under six weeks since President Trump declared North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat. The President has been steadily tweeting about how well talks with Pyongyang are going, but U.S. official telling CNN that the President has privately fumed about the slow pace of the denuclearization. For the latest, let's bring in Will Ripley live in Hong Kong this morning. Will?

WILL RIPLEY, INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Hi, Dave, and you know, the pace may get even slower. This is really is a dose of reality for President Trump about how North Korea does business and how they negotiate. We have been saying for a long time the definition of denuclearization may be very different between the White House and Kim Jong-un's house. And we are seeing that play out now. Because while the U.S. wants North Korea to give up all its nuclear weapons. They want full transparency disclosure of nuclear missile facilities, and they want it all done in a matter of months. I spoke with a North Korean overnight who says the North Koreans believe they have already done enough. They said they have not launched the missiles since November, they have not conducted a nuclear tests and they say they destroyed the nuclear test site at (inaudible). I went there. I saw things blow up, I don't know if the site was already destroyed, because there were no experts there to confirm.

But now the North Koreans wanting things from the United States that perhaps the U.S. is not be prepared to give. Like, sanctions relief, like a peace treaty, formally ending the Korea War, they believe it would guarantee the survival and safety of Kim Jong-un's government. And the North Koreans say, if they don't get those things, particularly that peace treaty which they value security above any economic incentives, they say they might walkway from these negotiations. And they are feeling embolden by the fact that even though things are pretty slow, potentially falling apart with the United States, things are going very well right now as North Korea reaffirms its alliances with traditional ally, China and Russia. Dave?

BRIGGS: Will Ripley live for us in Hong Kong. 4:36 p.m. there. Thank you, Will.

ROMANS: All right. President Trump is now ended up where he started a week ago. He is back to questioning whether Russia interfered in the U.S. elections. He spent much of the last week trying to convince everyone he believed the Intel, remember after he stood there alongside Vladimir Putin in Helsinki and questioned the American Intelligence Community and sided with Putin. Now the President is again scoffing at the conclusion of the U.S. Intelligence. The conclusion he just said he accepted. So President Obama knew about Russia before the election, why didn't he do something about it? Why didn't he tell the campaign? Because it is all a big hoax that is why. And he thought crooked Hillary was going to win.

BRIGGS: For the record, trump campaign was told about the potential Russia interference. CNN has reported that the President was personally briefed about it in August of 2016. And even before his tweet last night, GOP leaders were raising concerns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TREY GOWDY, (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: The evidence is overwhelming. The President either needs to rely on the people that he has chosen to advise him or those advisers need to reevaluate whether or not they can serve in these administration, but the disconnect cannot continue.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: He has changed his mind four times this week. You did not collude with the Russians. I have not seen any evidence, but Mr. President, they meddled in the elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Senator Lindsey Graham there calling on the President to impose new heavy-handed sanctions on Russia before Vladimir Putin visits Washington, expected in the fall.

ROMANS: Former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page calling an FBI claimed he was a Kremlin agent, a complete joke. Page responding to the released of secret documents used to secure a surveillance warrant. Now, the application shows Federal Investigators believe Page was engage in clandestine intelligence activities on behalf of Moscow. Page acknowledging on State of the Union, he wasn't in formal adviser to Russia, but he says the foreign agent accusations are ridiculous.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARTER PAGE, FORMER TRUMP CAMPIAGN ASSOCIATE: No. I have never been an agent of the foreign power in -- by any stretch of the imagination. You know I may have back in the g20 in St. Petersburg, I might have participated in a few meetings that a lot of people, including people from the Obama administration were sitting in on in Geneva and Paris, et cetera. But I have never been anywhere near what's being described here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: The President using the document to renew his unfounded claim that the Trump campaign were spied on even some of his allies in Congress are casting doubt. CNN's Ryan Nobles with more.

(BEGIN VIDEO)

RYAN NOBLES, WASHINGON CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Dave and Christine, good morning. We did not see President Trump at all this weekend. He was at his golf resort in nearby Bedminster, Jew jersey. He didn't make any public appearances, but his Twitter feed was busy, very critical of the newly released FISA warrant application of related to the surveillance of Carter Page, the former member of his foreign policy team. The President saying this was yet another example of how there was a conspiracy against him to launch these investigation into his campaign's ties to Russia. Well, not everyone agrees with him, including some Republicans. Listen to what Marco Rubio had to say on State of the Union.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[04:40:05] SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R), FLORIDA: I don't think they did anything wrong, I think went to the court and they got the Judges to approve it. They had laid out all the information and there were a lot of reasons unrelated to the dossier for why they wanted to look at Carter Page. And Crater Page was not a key member of the Trump campaign, but in the Trump campaign has said that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: And despite all the president's complains about the FISA law, it is important to keep in mind there has been numerous opportunities for the Congress to kind of rein in the FISA law. Make it more difficult for the Federal government to conduct surveillance on American citizens and every time the Congress has elected not to do that. Including as late as January of this year where they decided to reauthorize the law and it was President Trump who signed that reauthorization into law. The same law that he is now so very critical of. Dave and Christine.

(END VIDEO)

BRIGGS: Ryan Nobles, thank you. President Trump's lawyers allowing prosecutors to access a secret recording made by Trump lawyer, Michael Cohen. Even the president calls the recording perhaps illegal. The Trump legal team waiving attorney/client privilege on the recording of Cohen's speaking with Mr. Trump about the payoff to former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal two months before the 2016 election. According to Rudy Guiliani, the president's team believes the tape will show no wrongdoing, because the transaction never happen. But the media company whose CEO has close ties to President Trump did paid for the story and then later killed it.

ROMANS: the president tweeting inconceivable that a lawyer would tape a client, totally unheard of it, perhaps illegal. The good news is that your favorite President did nothing wrong. To be clear, Cohen did nothing illegal by taping the call. In New York is a one-Party consent state. Meaning only one person involved in the conversation has to know it is being recorded.

BRIGGS: Breaking overnight. At least 14 people shot in the Greek town neighborhood of Central Toronto. Police say, one of the victims has died and another, a young girl is in critical condition. Officials say the shooter is dead. Witnesses transported by bus so investigators could interview them. One witness standing near the scene told CTV, that he heard about 20 shots and a sound of a weapon being reloaded repeatedly. We bring in more of the story as it comes in. ROMANS: All right. The new tax law fueling a record amount of stock

buybacks. All of that just by going into the pocket of investors. One of Wall Street most powerful CEO's says that is not a bad thing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE DIMON, CEO, JP MORGAN CHASE: We work hard to benefits our shareholders and that is our huge message to society. It is not like a few rich people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: My exclusive interview with JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon next.

[04:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIGGS: In an extraordinary move, Israel is helping to evacuate more than 400 Syrians and including the members of the White Helmet Rescue Group to neighboring Jordan. The operation unfolding as offensive by the Syrian regime and its allies intensifies. Russian backed Syrian forces is now tightening their grip on one of the last rebel-held areas in southwest Syria. CNN's Oren Lieberman live for us in Jerusalem with the latest. Oren, good morning.

OREN LEIBERMANN, CNN CORESPONDENT: Good morning. That is why it is so important to get these White Helmets and these other Syrian civilians out. Syria and Russia consider the White Helmets, a volunteer rescue group as a terrorist organizations. A designation rejected by the International community. Eyes Russian back Syrian forces closed in on that area, it became an international imperative back by the U.S., Canada, France, the U.K. and Germany to get them out. That effort we saw on an overnight effort over the weekend, 422 Syrian civilians, including White Helmets evacuated through Israel, through Jordan.

Now we have just learned from one member of the White Helmets that is 300 of their members could not make the evacuation point, because of Syrian roadblocks and because of fighting between Syrian-regime forces and an ISIS affiliate in southern Syria. So, they are calling for the international community to continue that effort and get them out as well as Syrian forces close in. That happened in northern Israel over the weekend. Very different story in southern Israel. Where there is a very sharp escalation between Hamas and Israel in fighting on Friday.

It all started Friday morning when Israel said Hamas gunman killed an Israeli soldier operating near the border. That is the first Israeli soldier killed in the Gaza border since the end of the 2014 war. That led to a, what Israel turned a wide-scale attack against dozens of Hamas military target in Gaza. That led to four Palestinians killed. Three of which from the Hamas's military wing. A cease-fire has been in place and now it seems to be holding.

BRIGGS: All right. Some good news there. Oren Lieberman, live for us in Jerusalem. Thank you. ROMANS: All right. The new tax bill left corporate America flush

with cash fueling a record amount of stock buybacks. $200 billion in the first quarter alone. One of Wall Street's most powerful CEO's says that is not a bad thing. I spoke to the head of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon in an exclusive interview with the banks entrepreneurs of collar event in Chicago. He says cutting corporate taxes was critical for the U.S. Economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICKERSON: We need a competitive tax system for the future of the United States of America. This is the most prosperous economy the world has ever seen. We need to make sure that wages is good for the people. A lot of coverage came out raised minimum wages and did some capital expenditures, but the fact is expenses, the benefit is accumulated over time. This is capital getting retained and redeployed. Dividends and stock buybacks are simply redeployment of capital to a better and higher use. So you might get higher dividends. You might buy something with it. Someone else may reinvest it. It might go to venture capital or it might go to different things, but it needs to be reinvested if you can't use it yourself. So these notion it is a bad thing is a bad idea. Remember our shareholders, hundred million individuals through pension plans, there also veterans, retiree's, teachers and union folks. We work hard to benefit our shareholders. And that is a huge benefit to society. It is not like, a few rich people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:50:00] CHURCH: Dimon warned though that the Trump administration trade policy could undo the benefits of tax reform is the chaos, on how it has been rolled out continues, you know big retaliation from China, in particular.

BRIGGS: This is the man that may run for office some day?

ROMANS: You know, he has five more years on the board, decide on five more years at JPMorgan Chase. You know, I asked him if he has public service in his future. And he said no. So, we will see. But he is one of those people who is always rumored could be as a treasury secretary? There are those who would like to see him potentially run for President. You know, you hear about, you know, Bob Igor or him or others, you know, but he says no.

BRIGGS: Many would love him to run.

All right ahead, the duck boat that sank killing 17 people last week will be raised to the surface today. What survivors say about life jackets on board and why no one was wearing them?

[04:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: The duck boat that sank in Missouri last week killing 17 people will be raised from the bottom of Table Rock Lake today. A source pulls the investigation telling CNN, the 17 who died were not wearing life jackets. According to survivors the captain said there were life jackets above, but passengers quote, would not need them. Tia Coleman was one of those survivors, she lost nine members of her family in that tragedy including her husband, and her three children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIA COLEMAN, SURVIVOR: Going home, I already know will be completely difficult. I don't know how I'm going to do it. Since I had a home, it's always been filled with little feet and laughter and my husband. I don't know how I'm going to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Calls for new safety regulations are growing after the accident, but many regulations following a similar accident in Arkansas, in 1999 were never implemented.

ROMANS: All right. The suspect in Saturday's deadly armed standoff at the Los Angeles Trader Joe's is being held on $2 million bail this morning. 28 year-old Gene Evin Atkins, faces murder with other charges pending. Trader Joe's employee identify as Meldia El Dorado died in the stand of. Police say Atkins crashed a car near the store after firing at officers, he was fleeing authorities following a shooting involving his grandmother. Shoppers began running from the store when Atkins burst in, with some employees climbing out of back window on a ladder. Atkins eventually handcuffed himself and surrendered.

BRIGGS: Uber and Lyft have suspended a driver following a report he livestreamed passengers without consent. The St. Louis post-dispatch reports the driver 32 year old, Jason Gargac filmed his passengers and their interactions. The livestreamed occasionally revealed passenger full names and addresses as well as private conversations and intimate moments, but it turn out, this is all completely legal. Missouri is a one-party consent state. Meaning only one person in a conversation needs to be aware of a recording. Still both ride sharing companies deactivated the driver's accounts. CNN's was unable to reach Gargac, but he told the post-dispatch the cameras were there for his own security.

ROMANS: CVS apologizing for a pharmacist refusal to fill a transgender woman prescription in April. They will be held for trying to fill her first hormone therapy prescription, a pharmacist refuse, she says she humiliated her in front of other customers. When no one at CVS address her concerned, she filed a complaint with the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy, CVS health says the pharmacist violated its policy and is no longer employed by the company.

Let is go check in CNN's Money this morning. Global stocks lower right now. Trade fears, still shaking markets. Last week President Trump threatened tariffs on all U.S imports from China now along with the president's criticism of the federal reserved expect to sell off on Wall Street. It is a big leap from corporate earnings spokes more than a 1/3 of S&P 500 companies are set to report, including some tech giants, Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook. And big names in telecom, air travel, autos and food. Fiat, Chrysler's long time CEO is stepping down due to health concerns. Over the weekend, Fiat, Chrysler announced the sudden resignation of Sergio Marchionne experience unexpected complications following surgery. So, Fiat Chrysler says he will not be able to return to work. The CEO of Jeep will replace him. He is an auto industry legend, slightly credited rescuing Chrysler, remember after the financial crisis.

Papa John's board is preventing its controversial founder from gaining control of the Pizza chain. Last week, john Schnatter resigned as executive chairman after he used a racial slur during a conference call -- a lot of sensitivity training by the way. Since then Papa John's has been trying to cut ties with Schnatter. But he still owns 30 percent of the company shares. So last night the board adopted a plan to stop stockholders from gaining and controlling stake in Papa John's. Blocking a possible takeover, basically a poison pill. Schnatter has apologized for his comments, but has questioned now his decision to resign. He is having second thought about resigning, but the board has now having second thoughts about him resigning.

BRIGGS: He shall not go quietly.

All right. "Early Start" continues right now with threats of war between the United States and Iran.

ROMANS: Tough talk from Iran met with a blunt warning the U.S. President Trump says further threats from Tehran will bring severe consequences and the Secretary of State compares Iran's leadership to the mafia.