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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Dems Seize on Trump's Health Care Reversal; Why Were Smollett Charges Dropped?; Emergency Landing for Boeing 737 MAX; NFL Changed Replay Review Rule. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired March 27, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[04:00:17] MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: At this moment when they were going to take a victory lap, suddenly they're reminding us why so many of us are Democrats.
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DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Democrats happy to oblige after the president shifts the focus from Russia to health care.
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RAHM EMANUEL, MAYOR, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: This is a whitewash of justice.
EDDIE JOHNSON, SUPERINTENDENT, CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: Do I think justice was served? No.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Police want prosecutors investigated after they dropped all charges against Jussie Smollett.
BRIGGS: Boeing and the FAA coming to Capitol Hill today, the day after an emergency landing for a 737 MAX be moved into storage.
ROMANS: And the NFL makes the move it had to make after the Saints got robbed. Calls including pass interference can now be reviewed.
BRIGGS: It's a little too late for New Orleans but --
ROMANS: But -- all right. Just to top of the hour, good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Good morning. Good morning to all of you.
ROMANS: Good to see you.
BRIGGS: Wednesday, March 27th, it is 4:00 a.m. in the East.
By the way, three quarters of a billion dollars up for grabs tonight in the Powerball.
ROMANS: Oh.
BRIGGS: I'm playing, you're not.
ROMANS: No.
BRIGGS: Hopefully you are.
ROMANS: It won't change my life.
BRIGGS: We're still on Capitol Hill, though, Democrats moving fast in the shift from Russia to health care after the president gave the best birthday gift Nancy Pelosi could ever imagine. Leadership was looking to focus on issues that helps Democrats take back the house in midterms and they got their chance, when the Justice Department said it backed the judge's ruling, calling Obamacare unconstitutional. Hours later, Democrats including 2020 hopefuls pounced.
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REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The GOP will never stop trying to destroy the affordable health care of America's families.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The idea that people are playing politics, yet again, with the Affordable Care Act is the height of irresponsibility.
JULIAN CASTRO (D), 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This administration and the Republican Party want to go back to the bad old days where people couldn't get health insurance if they had a preexisting condition.
JOHN HICKENLOOPER (D), FORMER GOVERNOR OF COLORADO, 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When you start taking health care away from people who have preexisting conditions it upsets whole family structures. And then look at the 20 million people that are suddenly going to be without health care. Is anybody thinking about what that -- what that does to their lives?
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), (D) 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Nothing Trump and his friends do surprises me. The idea, however, that they would ask the courts to say that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional -- I mean, it's an outrage, but we've seen this movie before.
BUTTIGIEG: As a matter of policy, I'm not surprised because this seems to be the position they hold deep down. Just take this health care coverage away from millions of Americans. As a matter of political strategy, I'm a little bit surprised because most Americans want this.
And so, at this moment when they were going to take a victory lap around what was happening in Washington, suddenly they're reminding us why so many of us are Democrats. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Twenty-one million will lose their coverage. A White House official tells CNN there's been a heated debate inside the Trump administration about whether the DOJ should support a ruling validating the Affordable Care Act. President Trump making the final call.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let me just tell you exactly what my message is. The Republican Party will soon be known as the party of health care -- you watch.
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BRIGGS: You watch.
"Politico' reports Attorney General Bill Barr and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar argued against scrapping Obamacare because, well, Republicans don't have an alternative plan. The battle will play in Fifth Circuit in New Orleans. The Fifth Circuit is regarded as very conservative. The case may end up before the Supreme Court.
ROMANS: All right. In Chicago, questions mounting this morning over why prosecutors there dropped the charges against Jussie Smollett. A grand jury indicted the "Empire" actor, accusing him of staging a hoax hate crime against himself and then filing a false police report about it.
BRIGGS: The city's police union calling for the investigation of the involvement of the Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx in the case. This may be why. Text messages obtained by CNN through an open records request shows that Smollett family friend Tina Tchen reached out to Foxx on February 1st. Foxx later recused herself.
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JOSEPH MAGATS, FIRST ASSISTANT COOK COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY: The only reason that it's getting the scrutiny that it is is because of who got the disposition. There are plenty of other cases, like I said -- over 5,700 -- that have gotten some type of alternative or deferred type of prosecution.
[04:05:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think Mr. Smollett did what he was charged with doing?
MAGATS: Yes. We stand behind the CPD's investigation in this case -- the great work -- the tremendous work that they did in investigating this case.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you consider him innocent?
MAGATS: No.
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BRIGGS: Wow.
Overnight, the lawyer for the Osundairo brothers says they were fully prepared to testify. Smollett was accused of paying the Osundairos to stage the attack. They were captured on surveillance buying the materials used. City officials are fuming this morning.
Ryan Young with the latest.
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RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a shocking reversal, Chicago prosecutors, on Tuesday, dropped all charges against actor Jussie Smollett, who was accused last month of staging a hate crime against himself and filing a false police report about it. His attorney insisted he was, indeed, attacked and that the misinformation led to a rush to judgment against him.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel blasted the prosecutor's decision. Just watch and listen to how angry he was.
EMANUEL: This is a whitewash of justice. A grand jury could not have been clearer. This is without a doubt a whitewash of justice and sends a clear message that if you're in a position of influence and power you'll get treated one way; other people will be treated another way.
There is no accountability than in the system. It is wrong, full stop.
JOHNSON: Do I think justice was served? No. Where do I think justice is? I think this city is still owed an apology.
It's Mr. Smollett who committed this hoax, period. If he wanted to clear his name, the way to do that was in a court of law so that everyone could see the evidence.
YOUNG: The Cook County State's Attorney's Office didn't immediately explain why the 16 counts of felony disorderly conduct were dropped, except to say the decision came after reviewing the case facts and in the view of Smollett's willingness to forfeit his $10,000 bond.
After a brief appearance in a courtroom, Smollett told reporters he was grateful to those who stood by him.
JUSSIE SMOLLETT, ACTOR: I've been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one. I would not be my mother's son if I was capable of one drop of what I have been accused of.
YOUNG: And, Christine and Dave, we may never know what was in that court file because it was sealed by the judge. Just a lot of questions still remain in this case.
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ROMANS: All right. Thank you so much for that, Ryan Young.
Seven minutes past the hour this Wednesday morning. A Boeing 737 MAX 8 forced to make an emergency landing in Florida.
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PILOT: Tower, Southwest 8701, we just lost our right engine, need to declare emergency. Fly heading 020.
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ROMANS: Now, there were no passengers on the Southwest flight. The plane was being ferried from Orlando to California for short-term storage. The global fleet of these planes, the MAX jet, was grounded indefinitely two weeks ago following crashes in October and earlier this month, killing 346 people.
BRIGGS: Transportation officials will be on Capitol Hill today. The acting FAA administrator expected to tell senators the agency's oversight approach needs to evolve. He also plans to defend the FAA's initial decision not to ground the 737 MAX fleet even after regulators worldwide did so.
This week, Boeing will make its final submission to the FAA for proposed software update to the 737 MAX jets. Officials from the aviation industry convened and at Boeing's facility outside of Seattle today as the company tries to restore confidence in its safety protocols.
ROMANS: As he considers a 2020 run for president, former Vice President Joe Biden is addressing one of the most politically challenging parts of his legacy, Anita Hill. He says Hill paid a terrible price when she testified in 1991 that she has been sexually harassed by now Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. At the time, Biden shared the Senate Judiciary Committee. He has long been criticized for his handling of that confirmation hearing.
Biden now says Anita Hill deserved the committee's respect but never got it.
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JOSEPH BIDEN (D), FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: When Anita Hill came to testify, she faced a committee that didn't fully understand what the hell it was all about. And to this day, I regret I couldn't come up with a way to get her the kind of hearing she deserved.
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ROMANS: Biden has twice publicly apologized to Anita Hill. The Biden team has not said if they've spoken in person.
BRIGGS: The drugmaker Purdue Pharma has agreed to pay $270 million to settle an opioid lawsuit brought by the state of Oklahoma. The suit alleged Purdue helped to create the nation's opioid crisis. It claimed aggressive marketing of OxyContin led to thousands of deaths in the state and that Purdue's deceptive claims downplayed the dangers of addiction. Nearly $200 million of the settlement will go towards establishing an addiction treatment and research center in Oklahoma State University. Oklahoma is one of the 36 states to file lawsuits against Purdue and other opioid drugmakers in connection with the growing national crisis.
[04:10:06] ROMANS: Unvaccinated children are banned from certain public spaces in New York's Rockland County. A severe measles outbreak triggering a state of emergency there. Officials say the ban will remain in place for 30 days until unvaccinated children get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, the MMR.
Worth nothing, outer spaces such as playgrounds are not part of this ban. Rockland County ban, rather. Rockland County is about 40 miles from Manhattan. It has seen more than 150 confirmed measles cases. Health officials say more than 82 percent of the patients had not received the MMR vaccine. Most of them are children.
BRIGGS: A federal judge ruling that a decades-old North Carolina law banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy is unconstitutional. The 1970 statute made some allowances for medical concerns but a 2015 amendment narrowed those exemptions, prompting abortion rights groups to file suit. The judge then siding with the advocacy group says court across the country have struck down weak or event-specific abortion bans and North Carolina is no different. The ruling will take in effect in 60 days pending an appeal from the state or revised legislation.
Coming up, what do babies, Aquaman, space lizard and Ronald Reagan on a velociraptor have in common? And what do they have to do with the Green New Deal? The answer from Senator Mike Lee, ahead.
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[04:15:37] ROMANS: All right. A riddle for investors. There's a disconnect between the stock and bond market sending conflicting signals for investors about warning signs for slowly growth. All three major stocks averages rose Tuesday after investors decided it was too soon to worry about a recession.
Some perspective here, the S&P 500 is up 19 percent since December lows. But bond yields are still low. And the bond market is placing in a rate cut this year. That's right, the fed fund future market, some say the stock market is simply wrongly ignoring these recession signals.
The ten-year treasuries for the first time since 2007 that so-called inverted yield curve. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland that inverted yield curve has preceded each of the last seven recessions. But others say the recession signals means that the fed needs to cut rates. If the fed moves and cut rates, that would be good news for stocks. In either case, means things are getting better for investors.
And all of it is political. President Trump is likely looking for scapegoats if there is a slowing economy into spring and summer. BRIGGS: "The Washington Post" editorial board is coming down hard on
the president's handling of the crisis in Puerto Rico. Their headline, the Trump administration has turned bigotry into policy. At the closed door meeting Tuesday with Senate Republicans, President Trump once again criticized Puerto Rico's physical management and size of its disaster relief in the wake of devastating storm.
ROMANS: Senators in the room say he even broke out a chart to compare what Puerto Rico has received in disaster aid, with states like Florida and Texas. Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello reacting forcefully, calling President Trump's remarking below the dignity of a sitting president of the United States. He says his comments continue to lack empathy, are irresponsible and regrettable and above all unjustified.
BRIGGS: President Trump's national emergency declaration for border wall funding will stand. On Tuesday, the House failed to override the president's veto even though 14 Republicans voted with Democrats to support the veto override effort, a two-thirds majority was need. Both chambers of Congress passed a resolution to overturn the national emergency. The president plans to use the declaration to divert billions of dollars from the Treasury and Defense Departments for wall construction.
ROMANS: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft pleading not guilty to soliciting prostitution charges in Florida. He's also asked for a jury trial. Kraft is scheduled to be in a West Palm Beach courtroom April 9th. Sources say NFL owners are letting the case play out before issuing punishment.
Commissioner Roger Goodell has been tapped to determine Kraft's faith.
BRIGGS: Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah wants no part of the Green New Deal to fight climate change. But he isn't the only one offering up this idea in its place.
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SEN. MIKE LEE (R), UTAH: This is the real solution to climate change. Babies.
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BRIGGS: That's right. Babies. Senator Lee claims climate change is an engineering challenge best solved by increasing population. He broke out other visual aids to make his point, including poster board pictures of Aquaman. And former president Ronald Reagan riding a velociraptor firing a machine under attack.
Senator Lee telling colleagues he was using the props so he could consider the Green New Deal with the seriousness it deserves.
He also unveiled a poster of Luke Skywalker riding a space lizard in "Empire Strikes Back".
Mr. Lee called Luke's motive travel inconvenient but praised the mythical creature for being carbon neutral. That's a tauntaun, right?
Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sponsored the Green New Deal, not a fan of Senator Lee's presentation, tweeting: If this guy can be senator, you can do anything.
ROMANS: Interesting what could be the energy source of a lightsaber. That's my question.
BRIGGS: Now, you are on to something here. That might save us all.
ROMANS: Interesting.
All right. Nineteen minutes past the hour.
Spring break and defense. Find out how a group turned the table after coming under attack.
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[04:24:12] ROMANS: Two would-be robbers got an unpleasant shock early Sunday. Their intended victims, four young men in South Florida for spring break fought back. The men all relatives from Indiana were pumping gas when a man walked up pointing a silver handgun. The victims grabbed the robber and tackled him to the ground.
Aric Wisbey, the guy in the pink shirt there, manages to wrestle the gun away from the suspect.
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ARIC WISBEY, WRESTED GUN FROM WOULD-BE ROBBER: And once I raised the gun, they both took off back to their car and then we were just screaming. I mean, the only thing running through your mind is protect your family. He was asking me to calm down and to give him the gun back and just to chill out like we weren't just held at gunpoint or anything.
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ROMANS: Wow.
The men drove off. The victims took down the plate number. The driver is now in custody. The alleged gunman police say is still at large.
[04:25:02] BRIGGS: It's a too little too late for the North Saints, but NFL owners did approve a rule change stemming from their heartbreaking defeat in the NFC Championship. Coaches will now be able to pass interference calls as well as non-calls outside of the last two minutes of each half. Inside the two minutes, the booth automatically reviews calling. The Saints you may remember lost a chance to play in the Super Bowl because of a critical missed pass interference call.
Ahead, Democrats were looking to shift the focus from Russia and other issues. And they got just the opening they needed, from the president himself.
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PETE: At this moment when they were going to take a victory lap, suddenly, they're reminding us why so many of us are Democrats.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The Democrats happy to oblige, after the president shifts the focus of Russia to health care.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMANUEL: This is a whitewash of justice.
JOHNSON: Do I think justice was served? No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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