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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Attorney General William Barr Refuses to Testify; Attorney General Testifies on Mueller Report; Joe Biden Downplays China Threat; Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired May 02, 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] REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): He's trying to blackmail the committee.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The Democrats could hold the attorney general in contempt. Bill Barr refusing to testify today a day after some testy testimony on Capitol Hill.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: China is going to eat our lunch. Come on, man.
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DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Joe Biden says China is not competition for the United States, and he's hearing from a lot of people who disagree.
ROMANS: Why was $6.5 million paid by a Chinese family to the man behind the college admissions scandal?
BRIGGS: And her dying wish was to watch the "Battle of Winterfell" on "Game of Thrones." She got that and so much more.
Good morning, everyone. And welcome to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: Good morning.
ROMANS: Good morning. It is Thursday, May 2nd. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.
One day on the hot seat was apparently enough for the attorney general. William Barr informing a House panel he will not testify today as scheduled. Barr's move raises the prospect Democrats will hold the nation's top law enforcement official in contempt of Congress. He had been scheduled to testify to the House Judiciary Committee about his handling of the Mueller report. But Barr rejected the committee's plan to have one of its staff lawyers question him alongside lawmakers. That angered committee chairman Jerry Nadler.
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NADLER: He is trying to blackmail the committee into not following what we think is the most effective means of eliciting the information we need. And the Congress cannot permit the executive branch, we cannot permit the administration to dictate to Congress how we operate.
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BRIGGS: Nadler says the panel will meet today as planned and says he'll give Barr a day or two to comply with his subpoena for the full unredacted Mueller report. Information that was actually due Wednesday morning. Chairman Nadler says the committee is looking at May 15th as a possible date for the Special Counsel Robert Mueller to testify.
ROMANS: As for the testimony Barr did give before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the attorney general made no apology for his handling of the Mueller report. This just a day after it was revealed Mueller told Barr he did not think Barr's four-page summary properly characterized the full report.
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WILLIAM BARR, ATTORNEY GENERAL: The letter is a bit snitty and I think it was probably written by one of his staff. His work concluded when he sent his report to the attorney general. At that point, it was my baby, and it was my decision how and when to make it public, not Bob Mueller's.
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BRIGGS: Speaking of snitty, that line even got the Merriam-Webster's attention. Their definition, to be disagreeably ill-tempered. Got it? I had to Google it myself.
ROMANS: That's 4:00 a.m. for me every day actually.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: Disagreeably ill-tempered. That's my life.
BRIGGS: We live snitty here.
As to Barr, he tried to recast some of Mueller's findings, including that President Trump told then White House counsel Don McGahn to get rid of Mueller.
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BARR: The president never directed him to fire, and there is a distinction between saying to someone, go fire him, go fire Mueller, and saying, have him removed based on conflict. The difference between them is if you remove someone for a conflict of interest, then there would be another -- presumably another person appointed.
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ROMANS: Important to note that in May 2017, before the McGahn incident, the Justice Department made clear Mueller had no ethical conflicts.
Republicans on the panel kept a sharp focus where the president would want it, on the origin of the Mueller probe and its connection to the Clinton campaign.
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SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): We've heard a lot about the Steele dossier. Mr. Steele, of course, is a former British intelligence officer hired by -- to do opposition research by the Hillary Clinton campaign.
SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-IA): The investigation of Hillary Clinton.
CORNYN: Secretary Hillary Clinton.
SEN. MIKE LEE (R-UT): Involving Hillary Clinton, against Hillary Clinton.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Strzok, Strzok, Strzok, the Clinton e- mail situation.
GRASSLEY: The Steele dossier was central to the now debunked collusion narrative.
GRAHAM: Do you share my concerns about the counter intelligence investigation, how it was opened and why it was opened?
BARR: Yes.
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ROMANS: All right. That last part focusing on the Steele dossier actually puts Barr at odds with the FBI and the Mueller report. Both say that the probe actually began after a series of events that began with the release of hacked DNC e-mails. Focus on Hillary Clinton led to this surprising exchange.
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GRAHAM: Did you have a problem with the way Comey handled the Clinton e-mail investigation?
BARR: Yes, I said so at the time.
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[04:05:03] BRIGGS: The problem with that claim is that actually Barr said the opposite at the time. In a "Washington Post" op-ed, he wrote, "Comey had no choice but to issue the statement he did. Indeed, it would have violated policy had he not done so." Democrats meantime raised concerns about Barr's role overseeing more
than a dozen spinoff investigations from the special counsel's probe. The attorney general says he has no plans to recuse himself.
ROMANS: All right. Reaction to the Barr hearing coming from someone who knows all too well about Russian interference, Hillary Clinton. This was her hypothetical suggestion last night on MSNBC.
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HILLARY CLINTON (D), FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Imagine, Rachel, that you had one of the Democratic nominees for 2020 on your show, and that person said, you know, the only other adversary of ours who's anywhere near as good as the Russians is China.
China, if you're listening, why don't you get Trump's tax returns? I'm sure our media would richly reward you.
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BRIGGS: How about that? Clinton clearly making reference to then candidate Trump inviting Russia to find her 30,000 missing e-mails. Clinton says she is living rent free inside Donald Trump's brain, and it's not a very nice place to be.
ROMANS: All right. Joe Biden does not believe the United States should be worried about China as a geopolitical rival. During a stop in Iowa Biden was discussing his experience as vice president and his time as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Here's what he said about other world leaders.
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BIDEN: I don't know a single solitary one who would not change places with the problems the president of the United States has versus the problems they have. China is going to eat our lunch -- come on, man. They can't figure out how they're going to deal with the corruption that exists within the system. I mean, you know, they're not bad folks, folks, but guess what, they're not competition for us.
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ROMANS: For the record, China is accused of stealing billions of dollars worth of intellectual property through cyber, theft and other methods, and the Trump administration's ongoing trade war with China is hurting farmers in places like Iowa.
Biden has downplayed the China threat before. This time he's getting push back from both parties. Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah tweeting, "This will not age well." And Democratic rival Bernie Sanders adding, "Since the China trade deal I voted against, America has lost over three million manufacturing jobs. It's wrong to pretend that China isn't one of our major economic competitors."
BRIGGS: So why did the Chinese family paid $6.5 million to the mastermind behind the college admission scandal? A source confirms the payments from the family of a Stanford student. No definitive word why the payment was made but we do know the parents were referred to Rick Singer by a Morgan Stanley adviser named Michael Wu. He's been fired by Morgan Stanley for not cooperating with an internal investigation into the admission scandal.
No charges have been filed against the student, her parents or Wu. Meantime, federal prosecutors in Boston have subpoenaed other parents who were not originally charged. An official tells us prosecutors are looking for financial records and call logs related to those parents.
ROMANS: All right. The president wants the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. But the central bank is not moving. Fed officials voted to leave rates alone, sticking with this rate, and see approach outlined earlier this year.
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JEROME POWELL, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: We think our policy stands as appropriate at the moment and we don't see a strong case for moving in either direction.
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ROMANS: That's the Fed chair Jerome Powell. He said the country's labor market remains strong with economic activity continuing to rise at a solid rate. The economy is good folks. The central bank has remained unmoved despite repeated attacks by this president, including the president's call Tuesday to slash the rates by 1 percentage point.
Powell defended the independence of the Fed saying it doesn't think about short-term considerations.
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POWELL: We don't think about other factors. We don't let them into our decision-making. We don't discuss them.
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BRIGGS: The Trump administration formally declaring its opposition to the entire Affordable Care Act calling it unconstitutional in a federal appeals court. If Obamacare is struck down, 21 million Americans could lose their health insurance and millions more could lose protections for preexisting conditions as well as required coverage for pregnancies, prescription drugs and mental health.
ROMANS: Assistant Attorney General Joseph Hunt acknowledges the administration previously argued that parts of the law could remain in effect but now he says the administration believes it could no longer defend that position. He claims rewriting the statute by picking and choosing provisions would interfere with the role of Congress. Now the brief was filed with the conservative-leaning Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Arguments will be heard in July.
[04:10:01] BRIGGS: Would you pay a little extra to eat out if it helped fight climate change? Well, this fall restaurants across California have the option to join a program that adds 1 percent to your bill. Funds from the initiative will go to farmers to help them make changes in their fields that help capture carbon dioxide.
CO2 is considered one of the primary contributors to climate change. Full service restaurant prices in California are already skyrocketing. They're up 2.7 percent in the past year. So it's not clear how many customers will be willing to get on board. Not so many, one would imagine.
ROMANS: Voluntarily paying more for the bigger picture.
All right. Should food stamps be used on candy and sugary drinks? Some Texas lawmakers say no.
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ROMANS: A vigil Wednesday night at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. Thousands of students attended honoring the lives of two students killed in Tuesday's campus shooting, 19-year-old Reed Parlier and 21-year-old Reilly Howell.
[04:15:09] Witnesses say Howell rushed toward the gunman to stop him from firing. The local police chief says Howell's sacrifice saved lives.
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CHIEF KERRY PUTNEY, CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG POLICE DEPARTMENT: You're going to run, you're going to hide and shield, or you're going to take the fight to the assailant. But for his work, the assailant may not have been disarmed. Unfortunately, he gave his life in the process.
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ROMANS: Four people were also injured in that attack. Staff is expected to return to campus today. Meantime officials say exams have been cancelled through Sunday.
BRIGGS: New concerns about exposure to measles in two very crowded places. First, at the Port of St. Lucia, in the Caribbean where a crew member on a cruise ship has a confirmed case of the viral infection. That ship is now quarantined so 300 passengers and crew members cannot get off.
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DR. MERLENE FREDERICKS-JAMES, ST. LUCIA'S CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: Because of the risk of potential infection, not just from the confirmed measles case, but from other persons who may be on this -- on the boat at the time, we thought it prudent to make a decision not to allow anyone to disembark.
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BRIGGS: In California, moviegoers who went to see "Avengers: End Game" and other films at an Orange County theater last Thursday may have been exposed to measles. Public health officials say a woman with measles attended a midnight screening of the "Avengers" at the AMC Dine and Fullerton 20 on Thursday from 11:00 to 4:00 a.m. Once eradicated in the U.S., measles cases in the U.S. have reached the highest level on record since the virus was declared eliminated in 2000. Health officials place some of the blame on anti-vaxx parents.
ROMANS: All right. Authorities say a simple gravy spill led to the exposure of child porn on an Iowa man's laptop. Court documents claim Robert Leo Watson took his laptop to Best Buy after spilling gravy on it. Geek Squad employees transferring files off the device spotted what they thought was child porn, warned police, collected both computers, and charged Watson with misdemeanor possession after they say he admitted saving these images. He remains jailed on $50,000 cash bond.
BRIGGS: SNAP recipients in Texas may face a ban on using their food stamps to buy junk food. A state lawmaker has filed a bill he says is aimed at curbing diabetes and other health complications from a poor diet. It would bar the use of food stamps to purchase energy drinks, candy and other junk food. Critics object to the government infringing on the freedom of low-income Americans. It's not the first time officials have tried to cut food stamp subsidies for junk food. Earlier proposals in Florida and New York City were never enacted.
ROMANS: All right. Parts of the heartland devastated once again by flooding and this threat is not going away.
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[04:22:24] ROMANS: All right. The threat of more severe weather across the central part of the country today, more than 30 million people from Texas to Illinois are under a flash flood watch.
This is Davenport, Iowa. Look at that. Unbelievable. This is one day after the swollen Mississippi River broke through a temporary barrier and inundated -- I mean, you know, this is my hometown. This is unbelievable to see how it breached the levee there and has just swamped downtown. Today the threat of more severe storms in Texas and parts of the Ohio River Valley and an early tropical disturbance could bring heavy rain to Florida.
Meteorologist Derek Van Dam has the forecast.
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good day, Dave and Christine.
We are indeed monitoring several areas of active weather today. Some potential tropical development across the southeast and severe weather across the central U.S.
Let's talk about that first. It is springtime. We get the collision of air masses, all of the ingredients necessary for stronger storms. We'll keep an eye to the sky near Austin and the Del Rio region, damaging winds, large hail. More of the same across the Ohio River Valley, Louisville to Memphis. Maybe an isolated tornado.
Now you can see the precipitation expected to move across the area. We're focusing in on Central Texas. This area has seen copious amounts of rain lately, including parts of Oklahoma. More additional precipitation in the forecast and that's why we have over 30 million Americans under some sort of flash flood advisory stretching from Chicago all the way to Dallas.
Here's the potential tropical development. Nothing more than really heavy rain across Central Florida, so keep that in mind. Otherwise, today is going to be a scorcher along the mid-Atlantic. Look at the nation's capital, 87. Chicago will top 48.
Back to you.
BRIGGS: All right. Thank you, Derek.
The betting favorite in Saturday's Kentucky Derby. Omaha Beach has been scratched from the big race. He was diagnosed with entrapped epiglottis, a respiratory issue that compromises a horse's ability to breathe during exercise. The horse had already been recovering from a crack in his front left hoof. With Omaha Beach out, a field of 20 set for the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of horse racing's Triple Crown.
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ALEX TREBEK, HOST, "JEOPARDY": Let's see if you came up with the correct response. Of course you did, and your wager substantial -- of course it was. $40,784. $101,682 today. And now let's take a look at that total, shall we, folks? A 20-day total of $1,528,012.
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ROMANS: Just another day at the office for James Holzhauer. With that victory he's tied for the second longest winning streak in "Jeopardy" history. Host Alex Trebek thinks Holzhauer has a shot of breaking Ken Jennings' record run of 74 straight wins.
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[04:25:07] TREBEK: When you look at his performance, he is -- he has no weaknesses. He knows how to play the game as Ken did.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
TREBEK: He has a strategy. He's a gambler. He knows when to go all in, when to lay back a little bit.
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BRIGGS: Alex Trebek in that ABC interview also opening up about his battle with pancreatic cancer.
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TREBEK: I'm used to dealing with pain, but what I'm not used to dealing with is the surges that come on suddenly of deep, deep sadness, and it brings tears to my eyes. I've discovered in this whole episode, ladies and gentlemen, that I'm a bit of a wuss. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: How can you not love that man? The 78-year-old Trebek says he is fighting through it and his cancer lab tests are improving. He also says the thoughts and prayers from fans have made a positive difference in his journey. Our best to you, Alex.
ROMANS: I think that honesty about the depression part of it is really important for people.
BRIGGS: Indeed.
ROMANS: All right. A Rhode Island's hospice patient's final request was to watch the big "Battle of Winterfell" on "Game of Thrones," her favorite show. Well, the "Throne's" cast did 88-year-old Claire Walton one better. She watched the episode, accompanied by video greetings from 10 cast members.
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MILTOS YEROLEMOU, ACTOR: I know you can't be here today but I just want to say hello, and that you are with us in spirit.
LIAM CUNNINGHAM, ACTOR: It's Liam here. You might know me as Sir Davos Seaworth. I hope you're fit enough to watch the battle which is tonight. I wish you the very best.
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ROMANS: How wonderful of them. The episode aired Sunday on HBO, and Claire Walton, she passed away the next day.
BRIGGS: I don't know the show, but I know that warms your heart. What a terrific gesture by that cast, a show that everybody but me apparently is watching.
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: Ahead, Bill Barr, the attorney general refusing to testify before Congress today, a day after some very contentious testimony with the U.S. Senate. Will Democrats hold the AG in contempt?
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