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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Freedom for Jailed Journalists; White House Stonewalls, Again; Trump Not Bluffing on Tariff Threat; It's a Boy!!! Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired May 07, 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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[04:00:23] WA LONE, REUTERS JOURNALIST: I'm very happy and excited to see my family and my colleagues. And I can't wait to go to my newsroom.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, two "Reuters" journalists jailed for more than 500 days finally freed by Myanmar.
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: The president's taxes, the Mueller report, congressional subpoenas, the White House defying Congress on all three, showing disdain for basic checks and balances.
ROMANS: He is not bluffing. Trade officials say the president's threats to hike tariffs on Chinese goods is real. Critical trade talks resume tomorrow.
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PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: This little thing is absolutely to die for. I'm just over the moon.
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BRIGGS: It's a boy, and that's -- well, that's about all we know. The baby of Prince Harry and the duchess of Sussex is now 7th in line to the throne and finally, a "Game of Thrones" conversation I understand, for once.
Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.
ROMANS: Congratulations to them.
BRIGGS: Congrats to the happy couple.
ROMANS: I'm always bullish on a good baby story, no matter where.
BRIGGS: And Harry was beaming indeed, wasn't he?
ROMANS: Yes, he was.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Christine Romans. It is Tuesday, May 7th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.
But let's begin with this breaking news overnight. Two journalists for "Reuters" jailed in Myanmar are free this morning after more than 500 days in prison.
Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo had been sentenced under Myanmar's Official Secrets Act for reporting on a massacre of Rohingya civilians. Their convictions sparked an outcry from diplomats and human rights advocates. And now, they have been released just weeks after their final appeal was denied. The pair earned this year's Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for the story that got them jailed.
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LONE: Inside in a prison and also around the world, people who are wishing to release us, so, I would like to say thank you. I'm very happy. I'm excited to see my family and my colleagues. And I can't wait to go to my newsroom.
(APPLAUSE)
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BRIGGS: As you can see, the "Reuters" newsroom in Singapore erupting in cheers as journalists watched their colleagues leave prison.
The president meanwhile has pardoned thousands of other prisoners in mass amnesties customary around the traditional year. "Reuters" editor in chief Steven Adler described the men as, quote, courageous reporters and the symbols of the importance of press freedom around the world.
ROMANS: I would encourage everyone to go to the "Reuters" website and read the amazing journalism that got them arrested. See what brave men and women do to reveal the atrocities of governments and the people in power. Really important, just read that journalism.
BRIGGS: You just tweeted that out.
ROMANS: I just tweeted out.
All right. Major show downs between the House Democrats and Trump administration on three fronts, the president's tax returns. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin saying he will not hand them over despite a risk of a subpoena. It's the latest move by administration officials to shield this president and aides from a wide range of inquiries from the tax returns to demand for testimony about the census and immigration.
BRIGGS: The second threat, possible contempt of Congress citation for the attorney general. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler has confirmed committee staff and justice officials will meet to try and reach a deal on congressional access to the Mueller report. If they can't, a vote to hold Bill Barr in contempt planned for tomorrow. The committee's top Republican calls the vote illogical and disingenuous. ROMANS: And third, it is deadline day for Don McGahn. By 10:00 a.m.,
the former White House counsel has to comply with the House Judiciary subpoena for documents. Sources tell us if he doesn't, he could face a contempt of Congress citation as well.
The White House has signaled it might try to invoke executive privilege to keep McGahn quiet.
With more, CNN's Manu Raju on Capitol Hill. All right. Manu will just a bit. We'll get that report in a moment.
BRIGGS: OK. Now, to the question everybody is ask asking on Capitol Hill, will Bob Mueller testify? President Trump reversed his previous stance, tweeting Mueller should not. He says the Democrats want a redo. He's not on board with that. But
Some Republicans like Georgia Congressman Doug Collins are warming to the idea. Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, he believes Mueller would tell everyone there was no collusion and no obstruction.
[04:05:00] And Republican senator Susan Collins wants to hear from Mueller as well.
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SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): It appears that Mr. Mueller would like to testify, and I think it would give the opportunity for the public to get additional views and clarifications on some parts of his report.
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BRIGGS: Republican Congressman Will Hurd would like to hear Mueller testify as well.
House Democrats have set aside May 15th, a week from tomorrow, for Mueller to testify. He has not, though, formally agreed.
ROMANS: Hundreds of former prosecutors say President Trump would have been indicted if he were not president. The bipartisan group of more than 450 signed on to a statement saying special counsel Robert Mueller's findings would have produced obstruction charges against citizen Trump. The statement offers a rebuttal of sorts to the attorney general's determination that the evidence uncovered in the Mueller report was not sufficient.
BRIGGS: The ex-prosecutors say, quote: We emphasize that these are not matters of close professional judgment but to look at these facts and say that a prosecutor could not probably sustain a conviction for obstruction of justice runs counter to logic and our experience.
Those signing the letter did not explicit address what if anything they hope might happen next.
ROMANS: All right. President Trump's trade officials say the president's tariff threat is real. Treasury Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told reporters Monday the administration will be moving forward on Trump's threat to hike tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goes to 25 percent on Friday. Lighthizer said China went back on previous agreements during the latest round of trade talks, derailing months of progress toward ending this damaging trade war. Lighthizer said, quote: We tried to accommodate changes in the text but these are substantial and substantive changes.
The news comes as the Chinese delegation is scheduled to travel to Washington. New this morning, China's Commerce Ministry said Vice Premier Liu He will be in D.C. on Thursday for the 11th round of talks.
China responding this morning to the president's tariff threats, saying that raising tariffs wouldn't resolve any issue.
Trump threw the negotiations into question when he tweeted the threat for tariffs here and add new tariffs as well.
The markets around the world reacted. The Dow fell as much as 471 points but you know, stocks made a major recovery. The Dow in the end closed just 66 points lower.
Right now, let's check global markets to see how things are faring right now. Pretty much a mixed performance I would say, and on Wall Street, looking at futures after the 66 point close yesterday, another quarter of a percentage point declined here.
Monday's losses were shallow. That says two things, the market doesn't believe he would scuttle trade talks or investors believe his tough talk might get significant concessions from the Chinese, concessions that would be good to American business.
BRIGGS: It looks like a negotiating ploy that may show some success. Do you think?
ROMANS: The president is tariff man and he likes these tariffs, and he thinks rightly or wrongly these tariffs have been good for the United States. So --
BRIGGS: Strange bed fellows as Democrats like this and Republicans feeling uneasy.
ROMANS: That's right.
BRIGGS: All right. Ahead, there's a new president at the NRA, and, boy, is she raising a few eyebrows with a comment that says a minority female. That's why this new NRA president thinks one House member was elected from Georgia.
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[04:13:00] BRIGGS: Specific and credible threats from Iran led to the deployment of a U.S. carrier strike group in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to two U.S. officials, intelligence indicates Iranian forces and proxies are targeting American forces in Syria, Iraq and at sea.
Nic Robertson is monitoring this live from London.
Nic, good morning.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, good morning, Dave. Well, the Iranians are calling this a worn out event designed to put psychological pressure on Iran. That's their response so far. They're not responding to the allegations that they have an escalation of anti-American activities in the region.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was asked specifically, is this affecting U.S. troops in Iraq. He didn't respond directly to that, but he did say I'm responsible for the safety of U.S. personnel in Baghdad, in the capital of Iraq, of course, in the Kurdish region, north Iraq, and Amman in Jordan as well, and the whole of the Middle East.
So, very clearly, he's going on the record here as saying that the threat could, it seems to be affecting any one of those number of places. Obviously, U.S. troops in Iraq may be the ones who could be most directly in the line of fire. The Iranians have been supporting the Houthis, could this be in panoply of what Iran is planning.
What Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did say is all of this is about trying to get a course correction to make Iran behave like a normal country.
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MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: What we have been trying to do is get Iran to behave like a normal nation. Things like not conducting assassination campaigns, not sponsoring terror organizations. Our objective is to get the Islamic Republic of Iran to behave like a normal nation. When they do that, we will welcome them back.
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[04:15:00] ROBERTSON: What he said was that Iran continues to make threats. So precisely what the threat is right now, unclear, concern rising there.
BRIGGS: Nic Robertson, we'll hear more from Pompeo later in the program. Thank you, sir.
ROMANS: All right. The new president of the NRA says recently elected Georgia Congresswoman Lucy McBath only won because she's a, quote, minority female. McBath is a freshman Democrat whose 17-year- old son was fatally shot in 2012. She is fierce advocate for gun control. But NRA President Carolyn Meadows, tells the "Murrieta Daily Journal", rather: It is wrong to say that the reason she won was because of her anti-gun stance. That didn't have anything to do with it. It had to do with being a minority female.
BRIGGS: On Monday, the congresswoman responded with this tweet: My work on gun violence, health care, many other issues is just starting and yes, as a woman of color, I'm proud to be part of the most diverse class in American history. My experiences drive the work I'm doing for my constituents and nobody can take that away from me.
ROMANS: All right. Flooding has gone from bad to worse in the Midwest and Plains. In Missouri, two levees in St. Charles failed. At least one breach is growing, forcing evacuations. In Davenport, Iowa, people applying for unemployment after flooding forced 30 businesses to close. Some rivers already at record levels. More rain expected to aggravate the problem in coming days.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I was running for office, this is not a society, this is anarchy.
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BRIGGS: He's not running for office, but George Costanza, better known as Jason Alexander, is weighing in on the 2020 presidential race. You see it all started in January when Michael Bennet, now a candidate, railed against Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
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SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D-CO): The senator from Texas shut this government down in 2013. My state was flooded. It was under water.
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BRIGGS: Last week, Cruz welcomed the Colorado Senator Bennet to the race by tweeting his campaign is a, quote, Seinfeld campaign about nothing that typifies the left's empty rage in 2020. Well, now, Alexander is weighing in.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the jerk store called, they're running out of you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's the difference?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're their all time best seller.
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BRIGGS: In a tweet playing off that episode, the comeback, Alexander took a swipe at Cruz saying I have met Bennet, he is a great man and real choice for POTUS. As for Cruz, the jerk store called and they're running out of you. I would say the faster, the better.
ROMANS: All right. The biggest surprise in the most recent "Game of Thrones" episode wasn't the death of a favorite character, although that was horrible and I was very upset about that, it was the appearance of a Starbucks coffee cup. Eagle eyed viewers and the internet spotted it during a feast scene on a table in front of Daenerys Targaryen, the mother of dragons. Starbucks quickly capitalized on the buzz about their brew, tweeting: To be honest, we're surprised she didn't order a dragon drink.
HBO also having some fun. The latter that appeared in the episode was a mistake. Daenerys had ordered an herbal tea.
Now, this isn't the first time something that didn't belong made the final cut. In a fight scene during Gladiator, the hydraulics were revealed under a chariot. In "Braveheart", the top of the car was visible in the background of a battle scene.
The continuity job is the hardest job on these sets, you know?
BRIGGS: I'm skeptical. You don't think this was by someone's design, maybe not the show's creator, but there are dozens of people all around every single scene in these types of shows.
ROMANS: You think it was a plot?
BRIGGS: By somebody. By somebody involved. Maybe not the show's creator, but somebody meant to leave the Starbucks cup there.
ROMANS: That's what the props people want you to think too, because somebody got in trouble there.
BRIGGS: Well, speaking of coffee, the world is abuzz, waiting for the reveal of the new heir to the British throne. We are live in Windsor.
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PRINCE HARRY: The most amazing experience I could ever possibly imagine. How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension, but we're both absolutely thrilled. This little thing is absolutely to die for. I'm just over the moon.
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ROMANS: Mind blown, a beaming Prince Harry now has another title under his belt. That would be father. His wife Meghan Markle, duchess of Sussex, gave birth yesterday to a baby boy, and the princess will get a look at the new baby tomorrow. Ooh.
Let's get right to CNN's Anna Stewart live in Windsor for us.
Anna, when will we find out more, when will we see this little guy?
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the next big question really is what is baby Sussex's name, and when are we going to find out. Lots of people looking at precedent, we have Prince George and Princess Charlotte. We've got two days until we found out what their names were.
[04:25:00] Prince Louis was four days. But, hopefully, by the end of the week, plenty of people speculating
on names. Lots of people suggesting very traditional royal names, top o. List at-- top of the list, Alexander, and Alexandra is the queen's middle name, James, Arthur, the baby is likely to have two middle names. Perhaps it will be all three of those. I would say if anything is to so far, it might not be traditional at all. We didn't find out that the duchess of Sussex had gone into labor until after the baby was born.
That totally broke with the recent modern tradition, particularly with the Cambridges, and they announced it on Instagram. It's a boy. That really took everybody by surprise here, and no photo hours after the birth as the duchess of Cambridge did. We don't know where the birth took place. Speculation as to whether it was at home at Frogmore cottage or whether it was in London in a hospital.
All kept very private, so frankly, this may break with tradition further with the name and with when we find out all about it.
ROMANS: All right. Anna Stewart, can't wait. We know you'll bring the news as soon as you have it. Thank you so much for that.
BRIGGS: Just scanning all the front pages the one thing they love is this little thing is absolutely to die for, said the new crowned father.
ROMANS: Seven pounds, three ounces, bravo.
BRIGGS: All right. Ahead, the White House shows its contempt for Congress once again. The president's taxes and the Mueller report remain cloaked in secrecy.
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