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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Final Farewell to President George H.W. Bush; President Bush to Lie in State at Capitol Rotunda; Trump and Xi Agree on Temporary Trade Truce; Trump Adviser Roger Stone Says He has not Been Contacted By Mueller; Comey Agrees to Testify in Private; Cohen's Lawyers File Late-Night Court Brief; Khashoggi's Messages Offers Clues to Killing; Jews Celebrate First Night of Hanukkah; Rare Tornado Blitz Hits Central Illinois; Boil Water Advisory Lifted in Anchorage; Paradise Students Return to School; Pre-School Serves Pine-Sol Instead of Apple Juice to Students in Hawaii; New York City Police Track Down a Couple After Ring Falls into Drain; Chargers Rally to Beat Steelers in Epic Comeback; Kansas City Chiefs Win 10th Game of the Season; Kareem Hunt Speaks Out After Being Released; Packers Fire Head Coach Mike McCarthy. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired December 03, 2018 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CO-HOST, EARLY START: Trade truce, no new tariffs for now on Chinese goods while the U.S. and China begin working to end their trade war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROGER STONE, POLITICAL CONSULTANT: Where is the crime? I engaged in politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE BRIGGS, CO-HOST, EARLY START: Roger Stone maintains he did nothing wrong in 2016 despite questions about what he knew and when about hacked Democratic e-mails.
ROMANS: And the New York Police Department saves the day after an engagement ring is lost in Times Square. It has a happy ending, good morning, and welcome to EARLY START, I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Good morning everybody, it is Monday, December 3rd, 5:00 a.m. in the East. We are remembering 41. Tearful tributes, final good-byes begin this morning for George Herbert Walker Bush; the nation's 41st president. He died Friday night at the age of 94 in the same aircraft that took President Trump to Buenos Aires for the G20 Summit will bring Mr. Bush back to D.C. one last time.
At a ceremony today, Vice President Pence will deliver remarks. Listen here at a former Secretary of State James Baker describing the late president's final hours to Cnn.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES BAKER, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE, UNITED STATES: One of the aides who assisted him physically said Mr. President, Secretary Baker's here. And he opened both eyes, he looked at me, he said, hey Bake, where are we going today? And I said well, jefe, I said we're going to heaven. He said good, that's where I want to go. Little did I know or that he know, of course, that by 10:00 that night he would be in heaven.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Also making the trip to D.C. today, Mr. Bush's Labrador Sully. That's Sully lying next to the late president's casket. Bush 43 posted this photo and writes, "as much as our family is going to miss this dog, we're comforted to know he'll bring the same joy to his new home, Walter Reed, that he brought to 41." More now from Cnn's Suzanne Malveaux in Houston.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave and Christine, the mission is called Special Air Mission 41. The presidential aircraft at Ellington Field now here in Houston, that will be carrying President George H.W. Bush's body that will be brought to Joint Base Andrews later today at about 11:30 Eastern is when they will go ahead and to have a departure ceremony.
And then in Washington, that is when the formal procession and the formality gets underway for 45, the arrival ceremony, U.S. Capitol Rotunda where President Bush will lie in state. And then it will be 7:30, Monday evening through 8:45 Wednesday morning, and the public will be able to pay their respects, 11 O'clock is when the memorial service at the national cathedral will take place with dignitaries, friends and family.
And then Wednesday evening, the president's body again being returned here back to Houston where he will lie in repose until Thursday morning. Thursday, another second memorial service at St. Martin's Episcopal Church, that is the same church you might recall that Barbara Bush was memorialized at.
And then on to the casket, the body traveling by train to its final destination. College Station, Texas at the Presidential Library and Museum. That is where he will be buried alongside his wife, Barbara Bush and their little child, their daughter who died at 3 years old, Robin.
In the meantime, many people here in Houston paying their respects, statues throughout the city with flowers, teddy bears and even those colorful socks as they pay tribute. Dave, Christine.
ROMANS: All right, Suzanne Malveaux, thank you for that. Trade truce. President Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, they have hammered out a pause in their trade war. It happened at this dinner. The U.S. will now hold off on raising tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods that was expected to jump to 25 percent on January 1st from 10 percent.
It will stay at 10 percent. In exchange, China said it was willing to purchase, quote, "a very substantial amount of agriculture, energy and other goods from the U.S. to help reduce that really big trade imbalance." The two countries now have 90 days, just 90 days to make progress.
But they're talking, remember they had -- talks had broken down before this G20 meeting. So now, they are officially talking and negotiating. In a tweet late Sunday night, the president said "China has agreed to reduce and remove tariffs on cars it imports from the U.S., that tariff is currently 40 percent."
The president did not specify when the change would happen or what the new tariff level would be. In addition to a temporary truce with China, the president along with the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieta -- Nieto rather, signed the United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement, USMCA at the G20.
The president now putting pressure on Congress to approve the agreement or risk no trade deal in place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We get rid of NAFTA. It's caused us tremendous amounts of unemployment and loss and company loss and everything else. That will be terminated. And so Congress will have a choice of the USMCA or pre-NAFTA which worked very well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[05:05:00] ROMANS: All right, each country's legislative bodies need to approve the agreement before it goes into effect, and markets around the world like this. You got European markets opening higher and Asian markets big gains there, 2 percent gains.
BRIGGS: OK, long-time Trump adviser Roger Stone insisting he has never been in touch with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Stone facing questions about whether he knew ahead of time that WikiLeaks planned to release hacked Democratic e-mails during the 2016 presidential campaign.
A draft special counsel document recently indicated prosecutors are looking into his efforts to get documents from WikiLeaks ahead of the e-mail dump.
ROMANS: Stone also tells "Abc News" his e-mails about Assange are being mischaracterized and he's had no contact with Robert Mueller.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, TELEVISION JOURNALIST: Does that suggest to you that you actually are a target? Usually do you speak with the witnesses first?
STONE: Well, it suggests nothing at all. Again, where is the crime? I engaged in politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Democrat Mark Warner; a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee tells Cnn he believes special counsel Mueller will have a lot to reveal about the suspected ties between WikiLeaks and Roger Stone.
BRIGGS: Former FBI Director James Comey has agreed to sit for a private deposition with House Republicans. At first, he objected to a closed-door meeting, but the two sides reached an agreement on transparency.
Mr. Comey tweeting, quote, "he will sit in the dark, but Republicans agree I'm free to talk when done and transcript released in 24 hours. This is the closest I can get to public testimony." House Republicans will question Comey on Friday. An FBI representative will be there to provide advice about the disclosure of sensitive information.
ROMANS: All right, lawyers for Michael Cohen say he should not go to prison, even though he's pleaded guilty to lying to Congress. In a Friday night court briefing, Cohen's attorneys argue he is a changed man who is eager to share his knowledge with law enforcement.
They go into detail what they describe as Cohen's extensive cooperation including seven voluntary interviews with special counsel Mueller's team and meetings with federal prosecutors in New York. He also claimed Cohen lied about efforts to finalize a Trump business project in Moscow because he was abiding by Trump's, quote, "strongly voiced mantra to minimize the investigation into links with the Kremlin. Cohen expected to be sentenced December 12th.
BRIGGS: Ahead are these messages that got Jamal Khashoggi killed? A Cnn exclusive on the "Washington Post" journalist's murder and the messages in the months before he was killed.
[05:10:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Private messages from journalist Jamal Khashoggi may offer new clues to his murder. Cnn has obtained hundreds of WhatsApp messages sent to a fellow Saudi exile in the year before he was killed. In the messages, Khashoggi described Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman as a quote, "beast".
The messages suggests the journalist was deeply troubled by what he regarded as the petulance of the kingdom's young prince. Cnn's Nina dos Santos is live in London with more. And you know, this is a man Jamal Khashoggi who had actually worked for the government.
You know, he had been later in life a real critic of what he was seeing happening in his country. He considered himself a patriot, not the way the new Saudi Arabia leadership saw him.
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN EUROPE EDITOR: That's an excellent point, Christine, you're absolutely right, he worked for the Saudi government for 35 years before of course turning his hand to writing, and some of his writings were deemed so hostile to the Saudi Arabian government that he emigrated to the United States or at least set up residency in the United States a year or so before his death.
In living in self-imposed exile, and these messages are taking place during the time when he is in self-imposed exile and communicating with another Saudi dissident also in self-imposed exile this time in Canada. And what's so telling about these messages, Christine, is that they give us an inkling as to what exactly Jamal Khashoggi was up to that may have been seen in such a hostile light by Saudi Arabia.
He wasn't -- it seems according to these messages, just a mere columnist or journalist, it wasn't necessarily an attack on free speech, but he was also heavily involved in dissident activity and had agreed to fund some of these projects. Take a look at this, just one of the 400 exchanges that we have had access to.
Omar Abdulaziz who is the dissident in Canada who he was communicating with is drafting this idea, creating a so-called online army to push back against state propaganda, armed with SIM cards to send back to Saudi Arabia with money that Jamal Khashoggi was going to fund.
"He says I sent you a brief idea about the work of the electronic army", and Jamal Khashoggi immediately replies, "brilliant report, I will try to sort out the money, we have to do something." In other messages here that it's contained inside this cache, he is also talking about quote-unquote, "may God rid us and this nation of this predicament. "
Referring specifically to Mohammad Bin Salman. That, of course, if intercepted, which it seems this conversation was, offers a key clue as to why Mohammad Bin Salman may well have taken Jamal Khashoggi's actions with such hostility.
It also comes on a day when the "Wall Street Journal" has been reporting, citing highly classified CIA reports that Mohammad Bin Salman had been allegedly in communication with the key Saudi aide before and after the death of Jamal Khashoggi two months ago in Istanbul.
ROMANS: Fascinating, all right, Nina dos Santos for us in London, thank you, Nina.
BRIGGS: It is indeed. All right, we'll talk a little sports ahead, an epic collapse by the Pittsburgh Steelers. The L.A. Chargers with a stunning win with no time on the clock. Lindsay Czarniak recaps it for us in the BLEACHER REPORT next.
[05:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Jews around the world celebrating the first night of Hanukkah. It was especially bittersweet in Pittsburgh with hundreds showing up outside the Tree of Life Synagogue where 11 people were massacred in October. Those who came said it was an opportunity to honor the dead and embrace Hanukkah's theme of survival. The festival of lights lasts eight days. ROMANS: A rare blitz of tornadoes devastating parts of central
Illinois. Twenty two twisters reported to the National Weather Service, the town of Taylorville, that's 30 miles Southeast of Springfield, hardest hit. Storm winds wrecking homes, downing power lines, pulling trees up by their roots.
Governor Bruce Rauner says it's a miracle no one was killed. At least three people are being treated for serious injuries, 18 others suffering minor injuries.
[05:20:00] You know, Illinois averages 47 tornadoes a year, but May is usually the peak month.
BRIGGS: In Anchorage, Alaska, a boil water advisory effect since last Friday's earthquake has been lifted. The water system was not contaminated as a result of this 7.0 magnitude quake. City officials also say electricity is on, heat is on, communication lines are up.
There have been more than a thousand after-shocks though since Friday.
ROMANS: Students in Paradise, California will be returning to class today in the wake of the Camp Fire that burned down 90 percent of their town. Most of the schools in Paradise were destroyed in the wildfire, the worst in California state history. Students will temporarily attend schools in neighboring communities for the remainder of the year. Eighty eight people died in the Camp Fire, at least 25 are still unaccounted for.
BRIGGS: A potential tragedy narrowly avoided at a pre-school in Hawaii. Listen to this, folks. The Department of Health reporting a classroom assistant mistook a bottle of Pine-Sol cleaner for apple juice and used it to prepare snacks for kids. Three of the students actually took sips before a teacher smelled the pine sol and stopped the class from drinking it.
All the kids are OK, Cnn affiliate "Khon" reports the assistant no longer works at that school.
ROMANS: Right, a story book ending for a man and his fiancee after he dropped the engagement ring through a sidewalk drain in Times Square. The New York City Police Department tweeted a video showing a man dropping to the ground to try to rescue the ring Friday, no luck.
Saturday, police found the ring, put out an all-points Twitter bulletin to locate the couple. Social media detectives helped by sending the couple from England only identified as John and Daniela(ph), they were located back home. The NYPD tweeting its thanks on Twitter arrangements are being made to reunite the couple with the ring.
John was apparently so convinced the first one was gone forever, he bought another --
LINDSAY CZARNIAK, CNN SPORTS REPORTER: Wow --
ROMANS: After returning home. BRIGGS: At least he has a spare now in case she loses that one. Now,
I have --
ROMANS: Well, he lost it --
BRIGGS: Three wedding rings in case I lose --
ROMANS: All right, Dave --
BRIGGS: Another one --
ROMANS: You do? --
BRIGGS: I do, Lindsay Czarniak --
CZARNIAK: What?
BRIGGS: I have three rings --
CZARNIAK: What?
BRIGGS: This is my third, just one wife though, and always one wife. We don't have time to get into that --
ROMANS: I wish we did.
BRIGGS: Well, we've already been talking about is an epic comeback though, by the L.A. Chargers against the Steelers on Sunday night football.
CZARNIAK: It was so crazy, yes, if you went to bed early, you probably had no idea what this outcome was. It was shocking especially to the Steelers. Pittsburg had never lost a game in which it had a 16-point lead at any point. Hundred and seventy four wins, no losses, one tie --
BRIGGS: Wow --
CZARNIAK: Until last night. Who does that? The Steelers were up 23-7 late in the third quarter when L.A. found a way to kick into high gear. That's because everybody believes so much in Philip Rivers, he led the comeback, two touchdowns including this, look at this, circus catch by Keenan Allen.
But it all came down to the leg of kicker Michael Badgley. So he missed the 39-yard field goal attempt, you see it here, and think about the amount of pressure that's on him. He said that was just a fluke, but Pittsburgh was called offside. So it set up again from 34 yards out.
Look at this, blocked. But the Steelers, it turns out were offside again. Look at Ben's reaction. The third time turned out to be the charm -- oh, just in case you were wondering, Pittsburgh was offside again, but the Chargers declined that penalty. So the Chargers win a nail-biter on the road, 33-30 was the score, and afterwards, it was just excitement for the Chargers. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILIP RIVERS, QUARTERBACK, LOS ANGELES CHARGERS: This game reminded me -- I'm not saying I called it, but it was 23-7, a similar score in Denver in 2006 on Sunday night I believe. And we came back and won about 35-28, similar to this score.
And I told those guys, if we've been in one like this before, just before a lot of you guys were here. So let's go make it happen and we did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CZARNIAK: I mean, there is nobody better in football to hear -- but listen to this --
(CROSSTALK)
You were talking about wedding rings. Philip Rivers has extra reason to be excited. He and his wife are expecting their ninth child.
BRIGGS: Ninth?
CZARNIAK: Ninth --
ROMANS: Congratulations --
CZARNIAK: Oh, it's amazing, yes --
ROMANS: Wow --
CZARNIAK: They have six girls, two boys.
ROMANS: That is one big college fund.
CZARNIAK: It is. It is. It is. But what a great role model they had to learn from. Hey, elsewhere in the league, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Raiders, they won their 10th game of the season. They did it without star running back Kareem Hunt. The Chiefs released Hunt on Friday after a video was released showing him shoving and kicking a woman in a Cleveland hotel, that was back in February.
In an interview with "Espn's" Lisa Salters, Hunt admitted to lying to the Chiefs when they asked about the incident. He also took full responsibility for what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREEM HUNT, FORMER KANSAS CITY CHIEFS PLAYER: Honestly, I just want to let the world know how sorry I am for my actions and, you know, it's been a tough time for me. I'm extremely embarrassed because of that video. I made a poor decision and I'm willing to take full responsibility of any actions that come, you know, from this point on.
(END VIDEO CLIP) [05:25:00] CZARNIAK: Hunt hopes that he will get a second chance.
He says he does not know whether that will happen or not. In Green Bay, the Packers really had an embarrassing loss at home to the Cardinals. They did not need much time to make a major change after that.
The Packers firing head coach Mike McCarthy just three hours after the game. McCarthy spent 13 seasons in Green Bay, won the Super Bowl in 2011. Only Curly Lambeau won more games as a Packers coach. But the Packers are on the verge of missing the playoffs for the second straight year.
So a big change there, you know, a change that I think --
BRIGGS: Yes --
CZARNIAK: A lot of folks thought might come.
BRIGGS: Oh, no doubt about that. And who wants to coach the Packers with Aaron Rodgers? Everybody does. And Kareem Hunt, do you think he gets another job? I'd like to see him never get another job --
CZARNIAK: I think he gets another job --
BRIGGS: Before the NFL -- I do too --
CZARNIAK: When you look at the landscape of the NFL and teams that have made -- what's the word I'm looking for, you know, that had made -- it worked with other players that --
BRIGGS: Yes --
CZARNIAK: Maybe w e have thought should not have gotten a second chance --
BRIGGS: Ray Rice didn't, and that's largely because he wasn't as gifted as Kareem Hunt. He's 23 --
CZARNIAK: Oh, you look in his career when it happened, right --
BRIGGS: He's a young man, he's top 5 running back, I'd to see him never get another job --
ROMANS: In his apology --
BRIGGS: But I believe he will soon get one.
ROMANS: In that apology, the fact that it's been a tough time for him --
BRIGGS: For him --
ROMANS: It's now something that I thought was very sensitive.
CZARNIAK: Yes --
BRIGGS: If there's a manual, don't ever talk about how tough --
ROMANS: It's not about you --
BRIGGS: It's been for you.
ROMANS: Right --
CZARNIAK: I thought there were a lot of ways that conversation on his side could have been improved.
BRIGGS: Yes, there's a lot of questions about why that tape didn't surface sooner. Lindsay Czarniak, good to see you my friend --
CZARNIAK: Me too --
BRIGGS: Thanks.
ROMANS: All right, President George H.W. Bush cleared for takeoff to Washington one final time today. Friends prepare safer farewell to the late commander-in-chief.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
