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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Trump and Anita Hill Take Aim at Joe Biden; Democrats Threaten to Jail Trump Aides Who Defy Subpoenas; Sri Lankan Police Warn of Possible Terror Attacks. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired April 26, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:19] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Renewed challenges from past and present for Joe Biden. His 2020 launch a stark reminder why he poses a threat to Donald Trump and perhaps himself.
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN ANCHOR: Hundreds of faculty and staff quarantined at two California universities. They have to stay away unless they can prove that they've been vaccinated.
BRIGGS: Police ruling nothing out after a Pennsylvania church catches fire for the second time this week. The first time was ruled arson.
KOSINSKI: And it's the next generation of the NFL. Who went where and which player almost toppled the commissioner at the NFL draft.
BRIGGS: Read that like a foreign language.
KOSINSKI: I -- it's not?
BRIGGS: You didn't stay up and watch the NFL draft like I did. OK. Well, I did, America, don't you worry.
KOSINSKI: Sorry. I'm sure you'll tell me all about it in laymen's terms.
BRIGGS: We will. Yes.
KOSINSKI: Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Michelle Kosinski.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Happy Friday, everybody.
KOSINSKI: It is Friday.
BRIGGS: April 26th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East. We start of course with Joe Biden.
He's in and already under attack from all sides. The former vice president running for the White House and no one took notice faster than the current occupant. Biden is the Democrat President Trump has long worried he might face in the general election. The president went right after him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that, you know, when you look at Joe, I have known Joe over the years, he's not the brightest light bulb in the group. But he is a pretty sleepy guy. He's not going to be able to deal with President Xi, I will tell you. That's a different level of energy and frankly intelligence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSINSKI: Oh. Biden's announcement video was largely free of biography and policy. Instead he went straight out at one of President Trump's most shocking moments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Very fine people on both sides? Those words, the president of the United States assigned a moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it. And in that moment, I knew the threat to this nation was unlike any I had ever seen in my lifetime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSINSKI: In Delaware before hitting the campaign trail, Biden was asked why President Obama had not thrown his support behind his former vice president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I asked President Obama not to endorse, and he doesn't want to -- we should -- whoever wins this nomination should win it on their own merits.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Why are you the best choice for Democrats?
BIDEN: That will be for the Democrats to decide.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Biden already faces challenges from his present and his past. Anita Hill says she's not satisfied after a conversation with Biden. The former VP shared his regret for what she endured during the 1991 Supreme Court hearings for Clarence Thomas. That's a point he's also recently made in public.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: When Anita Hill came to testify, she faced a committee that didn't fully understand what the hell was all about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSINSKI: Biden oversaw the Thomas hearings, but Hill declined to call the conversation an apology, telling "The New York Times," "I cannot be satisfied by simply saying I'm sorry for what happened to you. I will be satisfied when I know there's real change and a real accountability and real purpose." BRIGGS: Biden is also taking fire from Democrats to his left.
Senator Elizabeth Warren questioning Biden's ties to Wall Street.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: At a time when the biggest financial institutions in this country tried to put the squeeze on millions of hard-working families, they just didn't have anyone, and Joe Biden is on the side of the credit card companies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Bernie Sanders' campaign sent fundraising e-mails with Biden's name on the subject line, attacking Biden for launching his run, quote, "with a fundraiser in the home of a corporate lobbyist."
KOSINSKI: Biden was in Philadelphia last night for that first big donor event. He lamented the idea that, quote, "the way to gain power and control is to split the nation. The same old tactic that snake oil salesman for years have done."
Today Biden will be on "The View." Over the next few weeks he'll campaign in California, Nevada, Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.
Sorry, I should have said Nevada. People hate that.
His big 2020 kickoff rally is set for Philadelphia, my hometown, on May 18th.
BRIGGS: That should be intriguing. OK. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee threatening jail time for White House officials who defy congressional inquiries or subpoenas. And so far three officials have refused to comply with requests to testify about the census, immigration policy and security clearances.
[04:05:04] It's part of a wider effort to stonewall with the president's blessing. And House Democrats like Virginia's Gerry Connolly don't plan to put up with it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. GERRY CONNOLLY (D-VA): If a subpoena is issued and you're told you must testify, we will back that up and, we will use any and all power in our command to make sure it's backed up. Whether it's fines, whether it's possible incarceration. We will go to the max to enforce the constitutional world of the legislative branch of government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The White House argues that House subpoenas and calls for testimony are overreach, not oversight.
KOSINSKI: That is the same argument that Obama used during his administration as well.
BRIGGS: Identical, yes, you're right.
(LAUGHTER)
KOSINSKI: A quarantine ordered at two public universities in Los Angeles trying to stop the spread of a measles outbreak. Students and staff at UCLA and Cal State L.A. exposed to a confirmed case of the highly contagious disease have been ordered to stay home and avoid contact with others. The order affects hundreds of students and employees who cannot prove they've been vaccinated.
Now a fourth case has been confirmed at Los Angeles International Airport, and back East Rockland County, New York, has renewed a measles state of emergency.
BRIGGS: Measles cases in the U.S. this week set a new record for the highest number since the diseases was declared eliminated nationwide in 2000. That's 695 cases in 22 states. Health officials say anti- vaccine have played a key role in the current outbreak.
KOSINSKI: A federal judge temporarily blocking the Trump administration from imposing new restrictions on the use of family planning funds for abortions. The so-called gag rule would have banned abortion referrals at federally funded family planning clinics. The judge scolded the Department of Health and Human Services for offering no reasoned analysis for changing the long standing rule.
Groups funded by the Title 10 program were already prohibited from performing abortions with those funds. Title 10 serves about four million people a year.
BRIGGS: Michigan's voting map struck down as unconstitutionally gerrymandered to favor Republicans. A panel of three federal judges giving the state legislature until August 1st to redraw those 34 state and congressional legislative districts or the courts will redraw the map on their own. A federal suit behind the League of Women Voters unearthed private e-mails showing Republicans used their 2011 redistricting plan to maintain an electoral advantage.
In recent days, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in two blockbuster gerrymandering cases in North Carolina and Maryland. The ruling on those cases expected by June.
KOSINSKI: A second fire breaking out at a Pennsylvania church already damaged by arson. Firefighters were called to the Pentecostal Church of Bethlehem Thursday to put out a fire in the chapel area. An arsonist torched the same church two days earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NITZA COLON, PASTOR'S DAUGHTER: It was heartbreaking and really sad that this would happen for the second time. And I said, who would do such a thing? I mean, what else can they burn in the building?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSINSKI: Authorities are not saying whether the latest fire is also arson. But they're not ruling anything out.
BRIGGS: A Massachusetts judge and a former court officer facing federal obstruction charges this morning. Newton District Judge Shelley Joseph and former court officer Wesley MacGregor were indicted Thursday, accused of helping an undocumented defendant, identified as A.S., elude an ICE officer by slipping him out a rear courthouse door.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW LELLING, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR MASSACHUSETTS: A.S.'s defense attorney told Judge Joseph that if A.S. was released ICE would pick him up. Judge Joseph replied, quote, "ICE is going to get him," unquote, and seconds later ordered the recording equipment turned off. The judge and defense attorney then conspired to have A.S. released at the back door of the courthouse to avoid the ICE officer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Joseph and MacGregor released without bond after pleading not guilty. MacGregor also charged with perjury. And Judge Joseph is accused of making false and misleading statements to judges looking into the matter. The lawyer calls the prosecution totally political. The judge has been suspended without pay.
KOSINSKI: A deadly chain reaction crash near Denver shut down I-70 in both directions overnight. Look at that video. According to the Lakewood Police Department, multiple people were killed in the pileup and fire. It started with a semi-trailer, traveling at high speed, colliding with several other vehicles, settling off a series of crashes involving 12 passenger cars and three semis. Police are warning the interstate may remain closed through this morning's rush hour.
BRIGGS: OK. The first report card of the year for the American academy. First quarter GDP is due today. And there are questions about how the government shutdown and Boeing 737 Max crisis affected the economy.
[04:10:07] Economists estimate GDP grew 2.1 percent for the first quarter. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta estimating even higher growth at 2.8 percent. The Trump administration continues to believe the economy will grow at a 3 percent pace despite warnings of slow growth.
There are several factors to remember here. Spending was slow at the start of the first quarter thanks in part to delayed tax refunds by the IRS and the government shutdown. And Boeing makes an important contribution to GDP. It sells more than half of its products internationally boosting trade. Analysts say if Boeing were forced to halt production, it could reduce GDP. For now, though, the impact is minimal because production continues.
KOSINSKI: And of course the shutdown affected the economy more than was originally predicted.
BRIGGS: Sure. KOSINSKI: Well, how does free, one-day shipping sound? Amazon is
spending $800 million to make it standard for its Prime customers. The company changed the game when it introduced free two-day shipping for Prime customers over a decade ago. Amazon is not saying when the one-day option will become regular or whether Prime members will see a rate hike. Analysts say the move could expand the types of products consumers are willing to order online.
BRIGGS: Always the concern, as once they get you in Prime, then they start to raise those prices.
KOSINSKI: So it would go from everything to everything plus.
BRIGGS: Global domination.
Ahead, Otto Warmbier was returned to the U.S. in a coma and died days later. So why did North Korea demand $2 million for his medical bills.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:15:46] KOSINSKI: North Korea presented the United States with a $2 million hospital bill for the care of American college student, Otto Warmbier. Warmbier was held prisoner by the North Koreans and was returned to the U.S. in a comatose state. He died days later.
Sources tell CNN the North Koreans insisted that the United States sign a pledge to pay the bill before releasing Warmbier in 2017. Joseph Yun, a former State Department special representative for North Korea signed that bill but the Trump administration has not paid it. We're told negotiators for North Korea didn't bring up the issue during President Trump's summits with Kim Jong-un in Singapore and Hanoi.
A judge has given the Trump administration six months to identify potentially thousands of children separated from families along the southern border. District Judge Donna Sabraw said he would consider an extension after the government said it could take up to two years. The administration will reportedly review 47,000 cases of unaccompanied children who were taken into custody between July 2017 and June 2018. Many of those separated during that timeframe were reunited with their families.
BRIGGS: The governor of Maryland calling on Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh to resign. The move comes after FBI agents executed search warrants Thursday at her home and Baltimore City Hall. Pugh is under investigation over a no bid contract to write healthy holly children's books for a state medical system where she was on the board. She has taken a leave of absence as mayor. Governor Larry Hogan said in a statement Thursday that Pugh has, quote, "lost the public trust and is clearly not fit to lead." A spokesperson for Pugh and acting Baltimore Mayor jack Young had no comment.
KOSINSKI: Director John Singleton is in a coma after suffering a major stroke last week. Court documents obtained by CNN revealed he's unable to provide for his personal needs and Singleton's mother is seeking to be appointed temporary conservator to make medical decisions and handle his affairs. The 51-year-old Singleton was the first black filmmaker to get a Best Director Oscar nomination for his debut film "Boys in the Hood" in 1991.
BRIGGS: The top pick in NFL draft came as no huge surprise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Arizona Cardinals select Kyler Murray, quarterback, Oklahoma.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Three years in a row, an Oklahoma QB goes one, Kyler Murray, number one to the Cardinals. Now the team must decide what to do with Josh Rosen, their first round pick from a year ago and starting QB in 2018. Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa, the second pick going to the San Francisco 49ers. He follows his brother Joey. The Chargers' first round pick in 2016 and his father John, first round choice in 1987. How about MG. The New York Jets also win defense. They took Alabama tackle Quinnen Williams at number three.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The New York Giants select Daniel Jones.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Ouch. That's how Giants fans reacted when the team selected Eli Manning's heir apparent, Duke quarterback Daniel Jones as the sixth pick. And the Miami Dolphins passed on a quarterback and took defensive lineman Christian Wilkins, at 13, he won't forget it. Neither will Roger Goodell who got a jump up there from the 6'3", 315- pound Wilkins, nearly taking out the commissioner. He hang on. The draft resumes tonight with two and three. And we'll see Coy Wire make an appearance there with the Buffalo Bills pick in third round.
KOSINSKI: Yes. Maybe they need to wear pads for that.
BRIGGS: I think what -- it would have knocked me flat over. Goodell --
KOSINSKI: It's a lot of excitement there.
BRIGGS: Solid. Yes.
KOSINSKI: Well, the threat may not be over in Sri Lanka. Churches are already closed Sunday. Now Muslims being asked not to gather for prayers today. We're live there coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:24:15] BRIGGS: Police in Sri Lanka now warning that more suspects in the Easter Sunday bombings could still be on the run as the investigation into the terror attack widens. The Defense minister resigning after taking responsibility for a significant intelligence failure.
CNN's Ivan Watson live in Colombo for us.
Ivan, good morning.
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave. That's right. The concerns are very real here in the Sri Lankan capital. You have police and soldiers deployed all over the place as there are fears that there could still be, as the prime minister put it to me yesterday, sleepers out there who want to do more harm. Israel has issued a threat level one warning and the U.S. says that terrorists can attack with no warning hitting everything from places of worship to hospitals to shopping malls to restaurants, any place where people gather
[04:25:10] And just driving around the city, I argue that probably half of the shops and businesses seen closed right now, the shopping mall we went to was almost deserted. There is real fear out there right now, and it extends of course to the religious communities, certainly the Catholic community, the leader of the Catholic Church here, has suspended all church services until April 29th.
The minister of Muslim Religious Affairs has urged the country's Muslim minority not to go to mosque for Friday prayers in solidarity with the Christians who were so viciously targeted on Sunday. And there is up the road here a Sufi Muslim mosque in the distance with probably 20 police and soldiers in front of it.
The Sufi Muslims are also a potential target. There have been threat warnings to them because in ISIS's hateful ideology, Sufi Muslims are considered heretics and thus have been targeted in this country in the past. It gives you a sense of how frightening the situation is right now -- Dave.
BRIGGS: I can't imagine, Ivan, for everyone there including you guys and our team, just a terrifying situation. Just about 2:00 p.m. in Sri Lanka. Ivan, thanks.
KOSINSKI: Well, Joe Biden could be kryptonite for the president if Biden's own history doesn't slow him down.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
