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White House Bashes Mueller Report; Nancy Pelosi Claims Attorney General Bill Barr Committed a Crime; Najibullah Zazi Will Soon Be Out of Prison; Mourning Peter Mayhew; Protests in Venezuela Turns Deadly. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired May 03, 2019 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:29] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The White House launching a full counter offensive on Robert Mueller. They say his team played politics, and the president may still exert executive privilege.
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: He plotted to bomb the New York City subways a decade ago. Why Najibullah Zazi is on the verge of freedom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRISON FORD, ACTOR: Chewy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Mourning the loss of a gentle giant. Peter Mayhew who will live on forever as Chewbacca has died.
BRIGGS: And if you're not always happy, Burger King has your back. A new campaign with a purpose.
We'll also have a reference to KFC on Capitol Hill on this fast food Friday.
Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans, hungry at 31 minutes past the hour.
BRIGGS: Always.
ROMANS: This Friday morning. Let's begin here with the president.
President Trump was thrilled with the Mueller report, but the White House not so much. A top White House lawyer, Emmett Flood, accused Mueller's team of playing politics, laying out facts far more detailed than what's typically found in a criminal indictment. Flood protested in a letter to Attorney General William Barr one day after the release of the redacted Mueller report.
BRIGGS: Flood described the report as, quote, "a prosecutorial curiosity, part truth commission report and part law school exam paper." It is true the Mueller report did not establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians. Mueller did unearth substantial evidence of obstruction by President Trump but he did not say whether Mr. Trump should be prosecuted, a move the attorney general questioned on Capitol Hill this week.
ROMANS: The president touted the report as a total vindication, even though possible obstruction came up about a dozen times. That includes when the president told then White House counsel Don McGahn to have Mueller removed. Last week, House Judiciary chairman Jerry Nadler subpoenaed McGahn to testify. Now the president says it's not going to happen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have had him testifying already for 30 hours.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: So is the answer no?
TRUMP: And it's really -- I don't think I can let him and then tell everybody else you can't. I would say it's done. We've been through this. Nobody has ever done what I have done. I have given total transparency. It's never happened before like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Of course the president did not sit down with the special counsel's team. Emmett Flood's letter also makes clear President Trump has not closed the door on asserting executive privilege. So expect this battle to continue.
Attorney General Barr was a no-show for a second day of scheduled testimony over a dispute about who would ask the questions. Congressman Steve Cohen showed what he thought about that with a bucket of KFC.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered a far more serious response about something the attorney general told Congress under oath weeks ago.
CNN's Manu Raju has more from Capitol Hill.
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine and Dave. Now House Democrats are planning to move forward to hold the attorney general in contempt of Congress if he does not meet their demands. One of their demands, to turn over the full Mueller report, the underlying evidence, everything they have been asking for. So far the Justice Department only offering a less redacted report that does not include the grand jury information that Democrats are demanding and only allowing that report to be reviewed by a small number of members, 12 to be exact.
After Barr's appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the speaker of the House made very clear that she believes that the attorney general lied to Congress when he previously testified that he was not aware of concerns from the special counsel's team about his handling of the report, and she made some pretty dramatic remarks saying the attorney general committed a crime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): He lied to Congress. He lied to Congress. And if anybody else did that, it would be considered a crime. Nobody is above the law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Now the Justice Department pushed back on that remark saying that this is baseless, it's inaccurate, and Barr's allies on Capitol Hill also defending him saying the Democrats really are trying to pursue one thing, impeachment, trying to go after the president at all costs.
Democrats are divided on that topic. Pelosi herself trying to tamp that down, Christine and Dave, saying that, look, this is something that will end at the Senate's edge and the impeachment is the easy way out. But unfortunately for her, not all Democrats agree -- Christine and Dave.
ROMANS: All right. Manu, thank you for that.
[04:35:01] The Pentagon accuses China of using espionage to steal U.S. military secrets. A new report says the Chinese are accessing cutting-edge military technology through a variety of methods, including foreign direct investment, just buying it, and also cyber theft. The report says China used these techniques to acquire sensitive, dual use or military grade equipment from the U.S. Just this week, former CIA Case Officer Jerry Lee pleaded guilty to charges he conspired to commit espionage on behalf of Beijing.
BRIGGS: A man who plotted to bomb New York City's subways goes free in a matter of days. Najibullah Zazi has been locked up since 2009 and has spent a decade helping the United States identify and prosecute terrorists. He was rewarded for his help Thursday with a 10-year prison sentence equal to the time he's already served.
ROMANS: A federal judge in Brooklyn citing his extraordinary cooperation with investigators. Zazi pleaded guilty in 2010 to three charges connected to a plot to bomb the subway around the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. On Thursday Zazi told the court, quote, "I tried my best to correct my horrific mistake. I am not the same person. I find it almost hard to imagine what I was involved in in 2008 and '09."
BRIGGS: All right. Some big news here. Facebook purging some high profile people from its platform saying they are, quote, "dangerous." They include Nation of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan, notorious for using anti-Semitic language, and right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones who was banned from Facebook last summer but still maintained a presence on Instagram -- is owned, by the way, by Facebook.
ROMANS: Also banned, Paul Nehlen, an anti-Semite who ran unsuccessfully for Congress, along with right-wing media personalities Milo Yiannopoulos, Laura Loomer and Paul Joseph Watson. Facebook says it has always banned, quote, "individuals or organization that promote violence and hate regardless of ideology." Critics quick to point out that Facebook, it didn't take any action against the accounts at the time they were actually in violation of company's rules.
BRIGGS: This morning, tributes are pouring in for actor Peter Mayhew who played Han Solo's lovable Wookiee sidekick Chewbacca in the "Star Wars" films.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You made a fair move. Screaming about it can't help you.
HARRISON FORD, ACTOR: You know, that's not wise to upset a Wookiee.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But, sir, nobody worries about upsetting a droid.
FORD: That's because a droid don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose. Wookiee's are known to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Iconic. Mayhew died this week in his home in North Texas. He was 74. Mayhew fit the bill for the Wookiee standing more than seven feet tall. He played Chewbacca in the original "Star Wars" trilogy and reprised the character in "Revenge of the Sith" and "The Force Awakens." He consulted on "The Last Jedi" to help guide his successor.
ROMANS: A memorial is planned for fans in December in Los Angeles before the release of the new "Star Wars" film. The final chapter in the Skywalker saga. Co-star Harrison Ford says in a statement, "Peter Mayhew was a kind and gentle man, possessed a great dignity and noble character." And Luke Skywalker himself Mark Hamill tweeted this tribute to Mayhew. "He was the gentlest of giants, a big man with an even bigger heart, who never failed to make me smile and a loyal friend who I loved dearly."
BRIGGS: A major setback for SpaceX. The company confirming its Crew Dragon capsule built to carry humans was destroyed during a test fire nearly two weeks ago. That could derail plans to begin flying astronauts to the International Space Station this year. On April 20th, the Crew Dragon was undergoing engine tests in Cape Canaveral when something went wrong in the final stretch. At the time SpaceX would only say an anomaly occurred but footage of the test leaked online showing the spacecraft erupting in flames there. The U.S. has not had the technology to flying humans into orbit since the shuttle program ended in 2011.
ROMANS: All right. Stephen Moore is out. President Trump announcing Moore withdrew from the Fed process. He tweeted, "I have asked Steve to work with me toward future economic growth in our country." A short time later Moore released a statement addressed to Trump, saying this, "The unrelenting attacks on my character have become untenable for me and my family and three more months of this would have been too hard on us."
Moore had been under scrutiny over writings that seem to disparage women, his personal financial issues, his views about the Fed, and GOP support was evaporating. Moore is Trump's second Fed pick to withdraw his name from consideration. His other choice, Herman Cain, withdrew his name late last month citing the pay cut he would have to take. That's a position on the Fed that's a 14-year position, a little more than $200,000 a year.
Moore and Cain aren't the president's only controversial choices for administration posts who have fallen apart. Dr. Ronnie Jackson, his choice to run the VA, remember, Heather Nauert, his pick to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, also we told you about Herman Cain, those other two have also withdrew their names from consideration. There are now two seats on the Fed Board Trump has to select nominees for.
[04:40:08] BRIGGS: And of course the question is the vetting process. The president has one way of picking people, and that is going with his gut.
ROMANS: Yes. Right.
BRIGGS: Picking people who are Trump loyalists. Go through the process.
ROMANS: Well, traditionally --
BRIGGS: There's some smart qualified people in that White House.
ROMANS: Right.
BRIGGS: Talk to them.
ROMANS: Traditionally the people around the president put together a list of candidates that they have at least preliminary vetted before you go out there and make the public announcement. The president just makes the announcement and then the vetting comes later.
BRIGGS: The gut. Yes, focus on the qualifications first, but we shall see.
Ahead, Florida voters said most ex-felons could vote but the state legislature has approved a new hurdle to make it happen.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: The mother of a Chinese student admitted to Stanford claimed she thought her $6.5 million donation was for scholarships and to help the school.
[04:45:03] The woman identified only as Mrs. Zhao admits she gave the money to the central figure in the college admissions scandal, Rick Singer, but she says it was not intended to buy her daughter's admission. In a statement, Mrs. Zhao says after her daughter Yusi got into the school, Singer asked for a donation, and she was told the money would help pay salaries and support students who could not afford to attend Stanford. She says she now realizes she was misled.
BRIGGS: Now to the latest in the measles outbreak. The Scientology cruise ship Freewinds is heading back to its home port in Curacao. But it's not entirely clear what happens to passengers and crew when their ship arrives now that officials have discovered a female crew member has the highly contagious disease. 300 passengers and crew have been quarantined. The ship's doctor requesting 100 doses of the measles vaccine.
ROMANS: And there are now measles concerns at two major airports. New Jersey health officials say a traveler with a confirmed case of measles was at Newark Liberty International Airport B and C terminals on March 12th, and may have gone to other areas of the airport.
Also potential measles exposure at Pittsburgh International Airport. There have been more than 700 cases nationwide this year. Officials say the 25-year high is in large part because people are not vaccinating their children.
BRIGGS: Five top drug company executives have been found guilty in a bribery case involving the opioid Fentanyl. The multibillionaire founder of Insys Therapeutics John Kapoor and four other top execs convicted of racketeering. Prosecutors said their scheme involved bribes, kickbacks, even lap dances for physicians who prescribed large amounts of the company's Fentanyl spray to patients who did not need it. They lied to insurance companies to cover it all up. It's the first ever conviction of a drug company CEO in the feds' fight against the opioid crisis. Appeals from the defendants seem likely.
ROMANS: Ex-cons in Florida would have to pay to vote under a bill passed by the state Senate. The measure requires felons to pay all court ordered restitution, fees, fines and costs before their right to vote is restored. Republicans argue the payments are a necessary part of completing a sentence. The Democrats call it a hurdle to a new voter approved constitutional amendment did not intend. The Florida Senate also passed an amendment allowing judges to waive the payments or convert them into community service hours. The bill now goes back to the state House.
BRIGGS: Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh resigning under fire over a no bid book deal. She says Baltimore deserves a mayor who can move our great city forward. Pugh had already taken a leave of absence. City Council president Jack Young has been serving as acting mayor. He will become Baltimore's 51st mayor. The Baltimore City Council had called for Pugh's resignation. She came under fire when the University of Maryland Medical System spent $500,000 to buy 100,000 copies of a children's book she wrote and self-published.
ROMANS: All right. Wicked storms devastating the central U.S. Neighborhoods ripped to shreds in Little Rock, Arkansas. The National Weather Service confirming two tornadoes hit the state. And the Mississippi River, look at this, hitting record levels in Iowa. This is Burlington, where you can see the flooding stretching for miles. There's more to go today before this river crests.
Sixteen million people in parts of eight states from Texas to Indiana now under a flash flood watch. Severe weather shifting east for the weekend. BRIGGS: Two Florida teens prayed for help after being swept out to
sea during a swim, and boy, were their prayers answered. Eric Wagner and his crew were sailing from Florida to New Jersey last month when they heard what he calls a desperate scream two miles offshore. Then they saw an arm flailing in the ocean behind them. They turned the boat around to rescue them. The name of the boat, the "Amen."
ROMANS: Is that them?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYLER SMITH, SWIMMER RESCUED BY THE "AMEN": I was like, if you really do have a plan for us, just like, come on, just bring something.
HEATHER BROWN, SWIMMER RESCUED BY THE "AMEN": The name of our boat is "The Amen." I started crying.
SMITH: There's no other reason or like explanation in the world that that wasn't God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Tyler Smith and Heather Brown said they had been in the water almost two hours when the "Amen" came to their rescue.
ROMANS: Senior skip day. Boy, they got a lot more than they thought they would get on senior skip day.
All right. Burger King wants you to know it's OK to be grumpy.
The fast food chain rolling out a new line of real meals to reflect real moods. It's a nod to McDonald's Happy Meals. These meals, though, come in boxes that say, "Feeling your way is just as important as ordering your way." They're trying to raise awareness about mental health, combating social media pressure to be happy all the time. The promotional meals will only be available in five cities during May which is Mental Health Awareness Month.
[04:50:02] BRIGGS: Chris Cuomo did an excellent closing to his show about this last night.
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: We'll re-tweet that if you missed it. It's an important message that's not being talked about enough.
ROMANS: All right. Meatless burger growing in popularity. One company who makes them has gone public, cashing in on this move. CNN Business has the details.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: At least two people have already died in the worst cyclone to hit India in two decades. One hundred million people said to be in the path of Tropical Cyclone Fani. It made landfall overnight in a fury in the Indian state of Odisha. Sustained winds of 150 miles per hour. That's equivalent to a super typhoon or a category four hurricane.
[04:55:03] Eleven districts along India's East Coast are on red alert. Nearly a thousand shelters have been set out to house evacuees.
BRIGGS: To the crisis in Venezuela now as clashes between demonstrators and police escalate. Self-declared president Juan Guaido vows the deaths of the protesters, quote, "will not be in vain." Meantime a court supporting embattled president Nicolas Maduro has issued an arrest warrant for opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez.
CNN's Paula Newton is live for us on the ground in Caracas with the very latest. Paula, good morning.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And good morning, Dave. You know, Leopoldo Lopez had to take refuge in the Spanish ambassador's house. It does not really project a sense of confidence from the opposition going forward. Juan Guaido would dispute that saying look, we continue to put people out on the streets. He's calling for more protests today and through the weekend and also the beginning of a national strike, but Dave, it has been now three days. Three days since Juan Guaido said that his uprising would be successful. That did not happen.
What's interesting here is they are calling for direct protests in front of military installations. Unfortunately that will likely lead to more confrontations, confrontations that have already turned deadly. CNN has confirmed four deaths and many injuries. But there are anecdotal evidence that, you know, in terms of the confrontation it is taking a toll on protesters.
And what's interesting here is Nicolas Maduro himself seeming to emerge stronger from all of this, Dave. There was that extraordinary video of those soldiers at the academy kneeling, literally kneeling in front of Nicolas Maduro.
The Trump administration following all of this very closely. They say that they continue to back Juan Guaido and say that if they hang on, if protesters go into the streets and protest peacefully, that sooner or later Nicolas Maduro will be out.
At this point, though, they are also facing a confrontation with Russia. And while talks continue between the United States and Russia on Venezuela, Russia says that it's the United States that needs to quit meddling -- Dave.
BRIGGS: OK. A pivotal weekend ahead for Guaido and company.
Paula, thank you.
ROMANS: All right. Fifty-six minutes past the hour. Let's get a check on CNN Business this Friday morning. Wall Street futures barely moving right now. Investors waiting for the jobs report for April. Stocks ended lower Thursday a day after the Fed decided to keep interest rates unchanged. The Dow fell about 122 points, that's not even half a percent. The S&P 500, the Nasdaq both closed slightly lower. All right. After today's jobs report, investors will turn their
attention toward trade talks again. Talks to end the U.S.-China trade war may be nearing the finish line next week. Chinese Vice Premier Liu will be in D.C. May 9th. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said yesterday talks are almost complete but 94.5 percent complete as a matter of fact with a number of critical issues that still need to be ironed out.
Europe is making good on a promise to buy more American natural gas. The E.U. has imported roughly eight billion cubic meters of liquid natural gas from the U.S. since July of last year. That's more than three times the amount purchased in the preceding two years. The pledge comes as the E.U. seeks to ease trade tension and reduce its reliance on Russian energy. Natural gas one area where Europe and the U.S. have found some common ground on trade.
The block recently voted to reopen talks with the U.S. but they could be derailed. President Trump has until May 18th to decide whether or not to impose tariffs on European cars. The U.S. has already imposed tariffs on European steel and aluminum imports.
Meatless burgers are growing in popularity, and Beyond Meat is cashing in. Beyond Meat made its Wall Street debut Thursday trading at $46 a share, an 84 percent increase over its IPO price of 25 bucks, valuing the company at $3.7 billion. The increase shows just how hot demand for plant-based protein is right now as more customers turn to meat alternatives to keep healthier diets and reduce their effect on the environment. Customers can buy Beyond Meat protein in stores or eat meat -- eat items made of Beyond Meat proteins at some fast food chains such as Carl's Jr.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX TREBEK, HOST, "JEOPARDY": Did you come up with the glass menagerie? You did indeed, and what did you wager? $29,403. That gives you a nice payday today, $80,615, and you have gone over a million since, $1,608,627.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Who is unstoppable? "Jeopardy" sensation James Holzhauer just won his 21st game in a row, that puts him all alone now in second place for the most consecutive wins ever on "Jeopardy." Holzhauer will try for number 22 on tonight's episode. Then the show takes a break for "Jeopardy Teacher's Tournament."
ROMANS: Good for him.
BRIGGS: The guy is unstoppable. EARLY START continues right now.
ROMANS: The White House launching a full counter offensive on Robert Mueller. They say his team played politics and the president may still exert executive privilege.
BRIGGS: He plotted to bomb the New York City subways a decade ago. Why Najibullah Zazi is on the verge of freedom. END
