Return to Transcripts main page
Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
GOP Moving Forward on Nomination After Testimony from Kavanaugh and His Accuser; Trump Tells GOP Leaders The Senate Must Vote; Israeli Prime Minister Claims Iran Maintains Secret Nuclear Facilities. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired September 28, 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] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: A GOP source close to the nomination process tells CNN they are not sure they have the votes to push Kavanaugh across the finish line. But it's definitely close.
CNN's Phil Mattingly reporting from Capitol Hill.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now, Christine and Dave, Republicans are moving forward. Obviously every one of them was staring with rapt attention at the hearing, just like pretty much everybody else in the country, to gripping testimony from both Christine Blasey Ford and from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. But after that testimony was over, more than eight hours, committee members sitting there, witnesses testifying, members, I'm told, back in their offices watching, Republicans still plan to move forward.
They had a private meeting in the Capitol after the hearing to weigh their options going forward, for leaders to take the temperature of members, and they decided the Judiciary Committee will continue its plan to vote on Friday on the nomination.
Now the key individual to watch on that committee, Senator Jeff Flake. He still is undecided. He still has not made up his mind. He told my colleague Kristin Wilson after the meeting today that he had more doubts than certainty about what was going to happen next.
Even if they don't have the votes on the committee, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell telling members behind closed doors, I'm told, they're going to move forward to the floor. Right now a procedural vote is tentatively planned for Saturday at noon.
So what does this all mean? Well, at this point in time, Republicans do not have the votes to confirm Brett Kavanaugh. Republicans could have the votes to confirm Brett Kavanaugh. There's a couple of Democrats who may vote with them as well but those votes haven't committed yet. So Republicans are basically taking a gamble.
They're pushing forward with the president's support, with the vice president's support, taking what Brett Kavanaugh's testimony meant to them, at least, as a sign that it's time to push forward. Will it all work out? Well, we'll have to wait and see. We'll get our first sign at 9:30 when the Judiciary Committee meets -- guys.
ROMANS: All right. Washington and the entire country trying this morning to process Thursday's raw, emotional, wrenching testimony during more than four hours of questioning. We heard for the first time directly from Christine Blasey Ford. She told senators under oath there is no way this was a case of mistaken identity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL), SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Dr. Ford, with what degree of certainty do you believe Brett Kavanaugh assaulted you?
CHRISTINE BLASEY FORD, BRETT KAVANAUGH'S ACCUSER: One hundred percent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: She grew emotional as she described the alleged assault in detail. At one point recalling her most enduring memory of the incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FORD: Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter, the uproarious laughter between the two and their having fun at my expense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: During his afternoon testimony, Kavanaugh was visibly furious, blaming Democrats for turning the hearing into what he called a national disgrace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRETT KAVANAUGH, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit, fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of the Clintons, and millions of dollars in money from outside left-wing opposition groups. This is a circus.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Kavanaugh's anger softening at times as he, too, was brought to the verge of tears.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAVANAUGH: The other night, Ashley and my daughter Liza said their prayers, and little Liza, all of 10 years old, said to Ashley, "We should pray for the woman." It's a lot of wisdom from a 10-year-old. We mean -- we mean no ill will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Senators quickly dug into their political trenches. Democrats hammering the nominee over his alleged behavior in high school and his failure to state whether he believes the FBI should reopen his background check. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DURBIN: I'm asking about the FBI investigation.
KAVANAUGH: There -- the committee figures out how to ask the questions. I'll do whatever. I've been on the phone multiple times with committee counsel. I'll talk to --
DURBIN: Judge Kavanaugh, will you support an FBI investigation right now?
KAVANAUGH: I will do whatever the committee wants to --
DURBIN: Personally, do you think that's the best thing for us to do? You won't answer?
KAVANAUGH: You know, look, Senator, I -- I've said I wanted a hearing and I've said I would welcome anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Republicans allowed a sex crimes prosecutor hired for the occasion to ask questions on their behalf. A few slammed Democrats for their line of questioning. Senator Lindsey Graham erupting afterward. He said his BS meter got pegged.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[04:35:04] SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: What you want to do is destroy this guy's life, hold his seat open, and hope you win in 2020. You've said that, not me. This is the most unethical sham since I've been in politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Wow. The second man Christine Blasey Ford says was in the room during the alleged assault is reaching out to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Judge Kavanaugh's high school friend Mark Judge sending a letter to the committee late last night. It reads, quote, "As a recovering alcoholic and cancer survivor, I have struggled with depression and anxiety. As a result I avoid public speaking. I do not recall the events described by Dr. Ford in her testimony."
During the hearing, Ford told the committee it would help her to piece together her story if members could get more details from Judge. Republican chairman Chuck Grassley has refused to subpoena him.
ROMANS: All right. The American Bar Association is calling on the Senate Judiciary Committee to halt the Kavanaugh confirmation hearing until the FBI completes a renewed background investigation. CNN has obtained a letter written by the Bar Association's president to the committee. It reads in part, "Each appointment to our nation's highest court as with all others is simply too important to rush to a vote. Deciding to proceed without conducting additional investigation would not only have a lasting impact on the Senate's reputation, but it will also negatively affect the great trust necessary for the American people to have in the Supreme Court."
No one can claim the Bar Association is playing politics here. The organization gave Judge Kavanaugh its highest rating for the Supreme Court, well qualified. Kavanaugh even touted that rating yesterday at Thursday's hearing.
BRIGGS: Important point. Like the rest of us, President Trump was riveted to his television Thursday as this historic hearing played out. The president telling a group of Republican donors last night that it was brutal and hard to watch at times but in the end his embattled Supreme Court nominee made him proud.
More now from Jeff Zeleny at the White House.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Dave, President Trump waking up in a much better feeling about his Supreme Court confirmation battle. He is urging the Senate to take an urgent vote and do it quickly. A committee vote could come as early as today. Of course many Democrats are rejecting that. But take a look at what the president sent out moments after the hearing ended.
He said this on Twitter, "Judge Kavanaugh showed America exactly why I nominated him. His testimony was powerful, honest and riveting. Democrats' search and destroy strategy is disgraceful and this process has been a total sham. An effort to delay, obstruct and resist. The Senate must vote."
Of course no mention in that statement about Christine Blasey Ford. That was someone the president was also watching testify very intently. And he called her testimony, I'm told, compelling. And he found her believable. That he clearly wanted to hear from Judge Kavanaugh. He wanted to hear some anger and push back from Judge Kavanaugh. That's exactly what Judge Kavanaugh gave him.
I am told he prepared the opening the statement of the speech which really turned that hearing around with an audience of one in mind. President Trump. The judge was wanting to keep the president on board, did not want him to, you know, sort of lose faith in his nomination. And that, in turn, rallied the conservative base.
So of course this is not a done deal at all. But as this week ends here at the White House, President Trump certainly feeling much better about his Supreme Court nominee than he has in more than a week -- Dave and Christine.
BRIGGS: All right, Jeff Zeleny, great reporting.
Nearly 60 people arrested among the hundreds who took to the streets of Washington to protest Kavanaugh's nomination.
Women's marches and other protests, most against Kavanaugh, some in support, took place in cities across the United States. Millions more of course watched the events unfold from their homes as others watched from airplanes and some from classrooms. A North Carolina teacher tweeted this photo, saying her advanced placement students were writing history while watching history. I'm not sure if that was a positive lesson or --
ROMANS: You know, it's so interesting --
BRIGGS: Or not.
ROMANS: The C-SPAN switch board overwhelmed yesterday with calls-in, people talking about their own abuse and harassment. The rape and incest hotline overwhelmed 147 percent I think increase in calls. So whatever happens on the political and judicial front, there is a --
BRIGGS: Something comes from it.
ROMANS: There's a moment in America here where people are starting to talk. You know, Chris Wallace talked yesterday about -- from FOX News on the air, talked about his daughters pulling him aside.
BRIGGS: Yes, he did.
ROMANS: Say, Dad, guess what? These are the crappy things that we've seen and happened to us. Just kind of revealing to people that we should be talking about this.
BRIGGS: Let us know how you feel about it, @earlystart on Twitter.
Ahead, "Murphy Brown" back on TV with a top secret cameo.
More from Hillary Clinton's surprise appearance next.
[04:40:03]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Wall Street's top regulator suing Tesla CEO Elon Musk for fraud, seeking to remove him from the company he helped found 15 years ago. This all began in August when Musk tweeted that he had secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 per share. That boosted the stock price. But the SEC claims that wasn't, that Musk misled investors. Oh and guess what, in the SEC filing it says that Musk chose $420 as the price to go private because it's a reference to marijuana and his girlfriend would think it was funny.
The SEC wants to bar Musk from serving as an officer or a director of any public company. Musk is Tesla's top executive. Losing him would be a huge blow. Not only is Musk the public face but analysts tie Tesla's incredible $50 billion market value to investors' belief in Musk as an innovator. In fact, Tesla shares fell 12 percent overnight.
[04:45:07] Musk calls the SEC action unjustified, leaving him deeply saddened and disappointed, adding, "Integrity is the most important value in my life and the facts show I never compromised this is in any way."
Tesla's board says it is fully confident in Musk, but the going private fiasco is just one of several actions lately causing some to question his judgment and leadership. There was this Web cast, right, this podcast, where he was smoking marijuana during this live broadcast, drinking whiskey and like -- I think he had a flame thrower and maybe a Samurai sword also in that appearance.
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: And then he called a British cave diver who was involved in the Thai soccer rescue a pedophile, and then doubled down on it. You know, so, sort of what is he thinking? Why is he -- but this is Musk, he like a brilliant genius.
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: And anyway --
BRIGGS: Piece of work.
ROMANS: And the SEC says that's not the way to run a company.
BRIGGS: No. That we can agree.
Ahead, a tragic end to the search for the missing 6-year-old boy with autism. Authorities in North Carolina say a body discovered in a creek on Thursday is believed to be Maddox Ritch. He had been missing since last Saturday after his parents say he took off running on a walk with his father at a park in Gastonia, North Carolina.
A search crew found the body about a mile from the park. The local police chief says the community is heartbroken. FBI investigators will try to determine the cause and manner of death as well as the boy's exact movements after he disappeared.
ROMANS: President Trump postponing his highly anticipated face-to- face meeting with the man who heads up the Russia investigation, Rod Rosenstein. The deputy attorney general and the president spoke briefly on Thursday. Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says they agreed it was best not to draw focus away from the Kavanaugh hearing. They will meet next week.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department has received a subpoena from the House Judiciary Committee demanding memos written by former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe. Those memos were cited in a "New York Times" report suggesting Rosenstein wanted to secretly record the president with the aim of removing him from office. Rosenstein offered his resignation last week and expected to be fired when he went to the White House on Monday to meet with Chief of Staff John Kelly.
BRIGGS: After two decades off the air, "Murphy Brown" returned to TV Thursday. The premier episode featuring a surprise cameo by Hillary Clinton, pants suit and all, keeping with the original series tradition of Murphy's ever-changing roster of secretaries. Clinton interviews for the job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CANDACE BERGEN, ACTRESS: I also assume you've had previous secretarial experience?
HILLARY CLINTON (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Absolutely. For four years I was the secretary -- I was a secretary of a very large organization.
BERGEN: And you have all the requisite skills? Computer? E-mail?
CLINTON: E-mails. I do have some experience with e-mails.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Brown tells she was impressive, but a little overqualified for the secretary job. Clinton leaves her contact information, her e- mail, Hillary@youcouldhavehadme.com.
What do you think? Oftentimes that sense of humor is shown a bit too late. Funny there but --
ROMANS: I thought it was funny.
BRIGGS: Maybe that side would have worked in the campaign.
ROMANS: A lot of reboots out there, too. There's "Magnum P.I." reboot. There's this reboot. There's "The Connors" --
BRIGGS: Everything is a reboot. Back to the '80s.
ROMANS: Yes. Back to the '80s.
BRIGGS: Yes, you're right.
ROMANS: All right. Amazon is opening another brick and mortar store. It looks a lot like your only shopping cart brought to life.
More on CNN money next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:53:08] BRIGGS: Investigators are flying to the scene of a plane crash near Micronesia in the Western Pacific. 47 passengers were on board the Air New Guinea flight when it went down in a lagoon 160 yards from the runway. One passenger says he felt a hard landing then realized there was a hole on the side of the plane as it took on water. He described terrified passengers in water up to their waists. Volunteers in boats helped rescue all on board and miraculously no serious injuries were reported.
ROMANS: Remarkable.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo telling a U.N. Security Council meeting that world leaders must keep up the economic pressure on North Korea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: The path to peace and a brighter future is only through diplomacy and only denuclearization. That means any other path North Korea may choose will inevitably lead to ever increasing isolation and pressure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Pompeo says until the process of denuclearization is complete, countries must abide by the economic sanctions against Kim Jong-un's regime. Pompeo plans to travel to Pyongyang next month. His fourth visit this year. The goal he says is securing North Korea's final fully verified denuclearization.
BRIGGS: Iran this morning dismissing Israel's claims it has secret nuclear facilities in Tehran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accusing Iran during a speech at the U.N. of keeping up to 300 tons of nuclear equipment and material that would violate the 2015 international deal to keep Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Today I'm disclosing for the first time that Iran has another secret facility in Tehran. A secret atomic warehouse for storing massive amounts of equipment and material from Iran's secret nuclear weapons program.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: All right. For the latest, let's bring in CNN's Oren Liebermann live in Jerusalem.
Oren, good morning. What do we know about this secret warehouse?
[04:55:08] OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave. Well, we know every year Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has some sort of Shtick that he performs at the U.N. General Assembly in very dramatic fashion. We've seen it before with the cartoon bomb from 2012, we saw it with his 45 seconds of silence a couple of years ago. And now a much more serious accusation he put out for the first time, he says, publicly.
He says he shared this information privately with the International Atomic Energy Agency and some other intelligence agencies but now putting out that Iran has what he says is a secret nuclear facility designed for the storage of radioactive material in Tehran. This after in early May he says he revealed Iran's secret nuclear archive also in Tehran when Israeli agents stole some hundred thousand documents from within that agency.
He says this was -- this new facility was used for radioactive material that he then says Iran spread around Tehran to try to get rid of it, and try to cover up this facility. Well, Iran fired back. Their foreign minister posting on his social media account, Javad Zarif, saying, "No arts and crafts show will ever obfuscate that Israel's only regime in our region with a secret and undeclared nuclear weapons program including an actual atomic arsenal. Time for Israel to 'fess up and open its illegal nuclear weapons program to international inspectors."
So, Dave, no surprise there, Israel has in recent years gone after Iran. No change here. Iran firing right back and we see this continue back and forth between the two countries.
BRIGGS: Oren Liebermann, live for us in Jerusalem, thank you.
ROMANS: Late-night hosts offering a lighter take on yesterday's riveting testimony by Christine Blasey Ford and embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, " THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": Then it was time for Dr. Blasey Ford to read her statement. When Blasey Ford was finished, Senator Grassley asked if she needed a break.
FORD: I'm OK. I got the coffee. Thank you very much. I think I can proceed and sip on the coffee.
COLBERT: All she needed was coffee? I was just watching and I needed a Venti Xanax.
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), RANKING MEMBER, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Before you get to your testimony and the chairman chose not to do this, I think it's important to make sure you're properly introduced. And I have to --
SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R), CHAIRMAN, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: I was going to introduce her, but if you wanted to introduce her, I'd be glad you do that but I want you to know I didn't forget to do it because I would do that just as she was about to speak.
FEINSTEIN: Thank you.
JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": How long have those two been married?
TREVOR NOAH, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": Even people on planes were watching the hearings. And it was so gripping that it was the first time people were praying for a delay. Even the flight attendants who were watching the flight, get your own peanuts, get your own peanuts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: It was riveting, no question.
Let's get a check on CNN Money this morning, global stocks mixed today after tech stocks sent Wall Street higher. The S&P 500 ending a four- day losing streak. Apple led the way. Apple up 2 percent after analysts predicted big growth in its service business like ApplePay.
Today is the final trading day of the month. You know, historically September is the worst month for stocks. But not this year. The S&P 500 rose this month, as did the Dow by more than 2 percent. Both are near all-time highs. Consumer stocks rose as Americans spend more and investors are shrugging off the trade war at least for now.
Looking to buy a home or refinance your mortgage? Important news here. Mortgage rates just hit the highest level in seven years. The benchmark 30-year fixed rate soaring to 4.72 percent this week, the highest since April 2011. Mortgage rates have been rising all year. One reason the Federal Reserve, it has been raising interest rates this year and higher interest rates affect borrowing costs including mortgage rates. In fact the Fed raised rates yesterday for the third time this year.
Amazon just opened another brick and mortar store. It looks a lot like your online shopping cart brought to life. It's called Amazon 4- Star. It's a physical store that only offers the top selling items on Amazon.com. It will sell more than 2,000 products with digital price tags that change based on the price on the Web site. The first store is in New York but Amazon says it is permanent.
The online retailer has been expanding to physical stores. Amazon has 18 bookstores and three cashier-less convenient stores with plans to open 3,000 more by 2021. So much for Amazon putting retail out of business.
BRIGGS: Yes.
ROMANS: Amazon gobbling it up.
BROWN: Brick and mortar expansion.
ROMANS: And then -- yes.
BRIGGS: World domination in sights.
EARLY START continues right now with the latest from the Kavanaugh hearings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FORD: I am here today not because I want to be. I am terrified.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Judge Kavanaugh's accuser Dr. Christine Blasey Ford gripping the nation as we hear her voice for the first time. What she said she remembers most about the alleged attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAVANAUGH: You may defeat me in the final vote, but you'll never get me to quit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: A defiant Brett Kavanaugh getting his final word before the Senate Judiciary Committee. But was it enough to save his Supreme Court nomination?
BRIGGS: Wall Street's top regulator suing Tesla CEO Elon Musk for fraud. Could he be dropped from his own company?
A bumpy ride there continues.
