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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Myanmar Releases Imprisoned Journalists; Pompeo Cancels Meeting With German Leaders; Royal Baby: It's A Boy! Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired May 07, 2019 - 05:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:30:34] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WA LONE, FREED REUTERS JOURNALIST: I'm really happy and excited to see my family and my colleagues, and I can't wait to go to my newsroom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, two Reuters journalists jailed more than 500 days despite worldwide outrage, they are 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, again showing disdain for basic checks and balances.

ROMANS: He's not bluffing. Trade officials say the president's threat to hike tariffs on Chinese goods is real. Critical trade talks resume tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: This little thing is absolutely to die for, so I'm just over the moon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: It's a boy and that's about all we know. The baby of Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex is now seventh in the line to the throne.

We now sit and we wait. And the cameras sit outside and wait for the name of the baby, I guess, is the next big question.

ROMANS: That's the next big question, but Harry is happy.

BRIGGS: And you say what?

ROMANS: I don't know.

BRIGGS: And you're a royal watcher. Come on, I know you've put some money down. ROMANS: I am, but I'm also a Revolutionary War buff so I really -- we've kind of fought a war so we didn't have royalty, but I do like a good baby story.

BRIGGS: Fair point, OK.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. Good morning, everyone. It is 31 minutes past the hour.

Let's begin here with this breaking news overnight. Two Reuters journalists jailed in Myanmar free this morning after more than 500 days in prison.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, they had been sentenced under Myanmar's Official Secrets Act for reporting on a massacre of Rohingya civilians. Their conviction sparked an outcry from diplomats and human rights advocates and now they 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.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LONE: Inside, in the prison, and also around the world people who were wishing to release us, so I would like to say thank you very much for everything. I'm really happy and excited to see my family and my colleagues, and I can't wait to go to my newsroom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: The Reuters newsroom in Singapore erupting in cheers as journalists watched their colleagues leaving prison.

And now, some new footage of the two journalists being reunited with their families just a short time ago. Just imagine how emotional that moment is.

The president of Myanmar has pardoned thousands of other prisoners in mass amnesties, customary around the traditional New Year.

Reuters editor-in-chief, Stephen Adler, described the two men as courageous reporters and symbols of the importance of press freedom around the world.

ROMANS: And there they are -- two dads coming home to their families. Good for them.

BRIGGS: Wow, yes.

ROMANS: All right, major showdowns between House Democrats and the Trump administration looming on three fronts this morning.

First, the president's tax returns. Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin saying he will not hand them over despite the risk of a subpoena.

It's the latest move by administration officials to shield this president and his aides from a wide range of inquiries from the tax returns to a demand for testimony about the census and immigration.

BRIGGS: The second front, a possible contempt of Congress citation for the attorney general. House Judiciary chairman Jerry Nadler has confirmed committee staff and Justice officials will meet today 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 is planned tomorrow.

The committee's top Republican calls a 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 a 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.

BRIGGS: All right, let's talk about all of this with "Politico" congressional reporter, Melanie Zanona, live in Washington this morning. Good to see you.

ROMANS: Good morning.

MELANIE ZANONA, CONGRESS REPORTER, POLITICO: Good morning.

BRIGGS: So I think we're getting a pretty good sense of what President Trump, back in November when he said a warlike posture -- that's what he'll do if Democrats investigate him.

And, Stephen Collinson, on CNN, writes this, this morning. Quote, "House Democrats might as well save everyone's time and declare the entire administration in contempt of Congress. The White House has repeatedly shown nothing but disdain for the fundamental principle of U.S. democracy."

Melanie, what are Democrats' realistic options, ultimately, beyond the contempt of Congress citation? Are we just going to litigate this all the way through 2020?

[05:35:05] ZANONA: Well, not a whole lot of options.

Holding Attorney General William Barr in contempt is on the table. It might happen tomorrow if they can't reach some sort of compromise. But it's largely a symbolic move, even though it will dramatically escalate the tension.

Now, there are some drastic options that Democrats do have at their disposal, such as telling the sergeant at arms to either jail officials or fine officials that are found to be in contempt. But I think Democrats are really wrestling with just how aggressively to go after Barr and other Trump officials.

You know, there is this risk of investigative fatigue -- ROMANS: Right.

ZANONA: -- or looking like they are partisan overreach.

So I think that's something that they are struggling with, especially if they decide to go after Trump further down the line. It might be more difficult for them to do that if they've also gone after Barr with something like impeachment proceedings or holding him in censure on the House floor.

ROMANS: The ultimate judgment comes at the ballot box in 2020, but you could argue that --

BRIGGS: Yes.

ROMANS: -- a contempt of Congress -- you know, Trump supporters or Trump's allies could wear that like a badge of honor almost.

ZANONA: Right, exactly. And the president has really taken this warlike posture.

We've seen him really just blanket stonewall the Democrats and it's sort of blowing up their plans. They had planned to use all these documents and these hearings with Bob Mueller or Don McGahn as sort of a roadmap to their future investigative plans and to lay the groundwork for any potential impeachment proceedings.

And now, it looks like a lot of these issues aren't going to be resolved for months, if not years, in the courts. It could drag into 2020. Some of these issues, like the tax returns, might not even get resolved until after the election.

So there is a question of whether Democrats are going to have to reassess their strategy here.

BRIGGS: And then there's this question of Bob Mueller testifying. Will he or won't he on May 15th?

And if not, what are Republicans and what is the president trying to hide? Well, yesterday, perhaps, we found out from 450-plus former federal prosecutors who wrote about what the president would be guilty of if he were a citizen.

They write, "We emphasize that these are not matters of close professional judgment, but to look at these facts and to say that a prosecutor could not probably sustain a conviction for obstruction of justice runs counter to logic and our experience."

Essentially, the president would be guilty of obstruction if he were a citizen.

Is that why the president and most congressional Republicans don't want Bob Mueller to testify on May 15th?

ZANONA: Well, this is going to be the central question that Democrats want to ask if and when there is a hearing with Bob Mueller. Keep in mind, Mueller did not weigh in on obstruction because he said it wouldn't be fair to bring these charges against someone who can't be indicted and, therefore, can't defend themselves in the court.

But, Democrats want to know what would you have done if Trump was a private citizen and the president might not like what Bob Mueller has to say there.

You know, this letter is a pretty stark and extraordinary statement coming from a wide range of former DOJ prosecutors spanning from multiple Democratic and Republican administrations.

And it would rebuff what the attorney general had said. He concluded on his own that there wasn't enough for obstruction, so that could be a black mark for the attorney general as well.

BRIGGS: Yes, and Mueller still on the DOG pay -- DOJ payroll, so they could technically prevent him from testifying. But, boy, would that --

ROMANS: Yes.

BRIGGS: -- erupt sides -- both sides in this situation.

ROMANS: All right.

ZANONA: Right, and some Republicans say that's not a wise move for Trump to do.

BRIGGS: No.

ROMANS: All right, Melanie, congressional reporter at "Politico." Thank you so much.

BRIGGS: Good to see you.

ROMANS: Nice to see you this morning.

ZANONA: Thank you.

ROMANS: Thanks for getting up early for us.

All right.

President Trump's trade officials say Trump's tariff threat is real. Treasury Sec. 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 goods on Friday to 25 percent.

Lighthizer said China reneged on previous agreements during the latest round of trade talks, derailing months of progress toward ending the trade war.

Lighthizer said this. "We tried to accommodate changes in the text, but these are substantial and substantive changes." The news comes as a Chinese delegation is scheduled to travel to Washington. And new this morning, China's Commerce Ministry said that Vice Premier Liu He will be in D.C. on Thursday for the 11th round of talks. They were supposed to be coming Wednesday -- pushed back one day amid all of this.

China responding this morning to the president's trade tariff threat, saying raising tariffs won't resolve any issue.

Markets around the world reacting to the president's threat. The Dow fell as much as 471 points and then stocks made this major recovery and the Dow closed just 66 points lower.

Right now, looking at global markets, they -- pretty much, they're mixed here. Shanghai is still down at four percent. It was a really bad day for Chinese stocks yesterday.

On Wall Street, futures are lower here -- about half a percentage point lower but that would be a triple-digit decline.

Look, Monday's losses shallow and that could say two things. Either the market doesn't believe the president would scuttle trade talks overall or you investors might think that his tough talk might get significant concessions from the Chinese.

[05:40:02] BRIGGS: Either way, don't you figure this really emboldens President Trump to stick with these tariffs knowing that our markets won't really react?

ROMANS: He's called himself "Tariff Man" and he seems to think they are, overall, a good thing. But you're seeing all these industry groups in the U.S. saying that those tariffs -- if they go up to 25 percent on Friday, American consumers will feel it and not look away.

BRIGGS: They will pay them --

ROMANS: Yes.

BRIGGS: -- not the Chinese. OK.

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.

And we have just learned the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has canceled a meeting set for today with the German chancellor and foreign minister.

Nic Robertson is live from London monitoring all of this. Nic, why would Pompeo have canceled?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, what we understand from the State Department, so far, is it's for pressing issues and it -- but they don't specify what those pressing issues are. Does he need to cut his timetable short or divert attention to North

Korea where the ongoing diplomacy to try to get North Korea to denuclearize continues a pace this week?

Is it to do with Venezuela? We know that when he was having his conversations with Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, Pompeo, himself, said that we've got lots of subjects to talk about but some of those -- some of those conversations come to a stop pretty quickly. Venezuela seems to have been one of those.

Has he learned something? Does more attention need to be diverted on that?

Of course, you're just talking there about the trade talks with China -- a delegation coming to Washington.

Is all this weighing on the schedule? It's not clear.

And also, it remains unclear what these credible and specific threats are. Pompeo said, when asked, that he was concerned about the safety for U.S. personnel across the whole of the Middle East, not just -- not just Iraq. So he's not really giving any specifics away about the nature of this threat.

He wants a course correction from Iran -- Iran's behavior by backing assassinations, by backing terrorist acts across the world. He wants them to be a normal country.

So why this has been dropped from the schedule -- the meeting with the Germans -- of course, we know President Trump does have a pretty frosty relation with the German chancellor, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is the man to kind of smooth those things over.

BRIGGS: Right.

ROBERTSON: Why that's been dropped today not clear.

BRIGGS: OK, Nic Robertson live for us in London. Thank you, sir.

ROMANS: All right. It is the latte that lit up the Internet. How HBO and Starbucks handled the unexpected coffee cameo in "GAME OF THRONES."

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[05:46:51] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: It's been the most amazing experience. I could never possibly imagine how any woman does what they do. It's beyond comprehension.

But we're both absolutely thrilled. This little thing is absolutely to die for, so I'm just over the moon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: "To die for."

A beaming Prince Harry now has another title under this belt. That would be proud papa. His wife, Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, gave birth yesterday to a baby boy and the prince says we'll get a look at the new baby tomorrow.

Let's get right to CNN's Anna Stewart who is asking what the name of the baby boy will be. Good morning, Anna.

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Good morning. That is the big question.

We've actually come into town now because it's got really busy. All the royal fans back out and that is the question everyone's asking. What will baby Sussex be called?

Now, one of your producers suggested a more American take. Perhaps it could be Harry, Jr. but I suspect not.

At the top of this list at the moment in terms of what the bookies think it will be, we've got Alexander, James, Arthur -- all very traditional names, all used for the royals.

The question is will it be traditional at all given that, so far, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have really turned away from at least modern tradition.

They've done this birth very differently from the Cambridges. We've had no photo finish after the birth. We didn't even know that the Duchess was in labor until after the baby was born.

And then, there was the announcement, which was on the Instagram -- "It's a boy!" You don't get more modern than that.

So it could be named something maybe more American or perhaps, one suggestion is a nod to Princess Diana. Spencer could be a possibility. That has climbed the name ranks, actually, very recently. Lots more people betting on that one.

And it was interesting because with Prince Louis -- when Prince Louis was born, suddenly, Louis climbed the ranks in the 24 hours after the birth. So some suggest that could be a leak.

BRIGGS: I'm going to bet with bucking tradition -- with you. They seem to be bucking tradition at a lot of different aspects, so not Alexander.

ROMANS: I just want to see a picture of this little guy.

BRIGGS: So, that's all you need.

ROMANS: I love babies.

BRIGGS: Anna Stewart, thank you.

ROMANS: All right, let's get a check on "CNN Business" this morning.

Global markets are mixed. Investors trying to figure out what is the trade situation between the U.S. and China -- some new tensions there.

On Wall Street, you've got futures lower right now -- watching this very carefully. Resilience, I think, is still a key word though for the stock market.

The Dow made a major recovery Monday, rebounding from a 471-point decline. It closed just 66 points lower. The S&P and the Nasdaq also erased sharp losses, ending down half a percent.

You know, these are shallow losses. That says either investors didn't believe the president's threat to increase tariffs on Chinese goods or they think that his tough talk will get concessions from the Chinese.

American negotiators say the Chinese had reneged on some of the things that they had agreed to do and they lost some progress here. There will be trade talks, though, this week.

Kraft Heinz will restate more than two years of earnings after some of its employees engaged in misconduct. Kraft Heinz announced Monday an internal investigation found employees faked a number of transactions.

[05:50:00] Kraft now has to restate results for 2016, 2017, and the first three quarters of 2018. The delayed filings also mean Kraft Heinz will be late announcing its first-quarter results for this year. The restatements will total about $208 million.

Wendy's is bringing back its spicy chicken nuggets thanks to Chance the Rapper and Twitter.

The rapper tweeted over the weekend, "Positive affirmations for today. Wendy's will bring back spicy nuggets at some point. Please, please, Lord, let it be today."

Wendy's social media team seized on the opportunity, saying it would bring them back if their tweet got two million likes. It wasn't long before that happened.

Wendy's tweeted Monday morning, "This is not a drill. Spicy chicken nuggets are coming back."

No word yet about when nuggets will be back on the menu. Chance the Rapper suggested Wendy's should time the return of the nuggets to when his new album drops in July.

BRIGGS: You know, Burger King had spicy nuggets available the whole time. That could have, perhaps --

ROMANS: Yes, I don't know.

BRIGGS: -- alleviated this whole situation. But, Wendy's is on it. I'm surprised KFC didn't pounce on the congressional chicken eating.

ROMANS: I know, I know. I'm always interested how these social media teams can either do a -- that was a great win.

BRIGGS: Yes.

ROMANS: Sometimes there are big fails with social media, but that one was good.

BRIGGS: You have to take advantage of the press.

All right -- we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:55:21] BRIGGS: Five fifty-five Eastern time.

And a suspect in the shooting death of a Mississippi police officer has been captured. Nineteen-year-old Darian Atkinson accused of shooting and killing Officer Robert McKeithen Sunday night in the parking lot of Biloxi's police headquarters.

McKeithen spent nearly 24 years on the force and was planning to retire at the end of the year. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, he received a medal of valor for saving four special needs children. He leaves behind a wife, a daughter, two stepsons, and a stepdaughter.

ROMANS: All right.

The new president of the NRA says recently-elected Georgia Congresswoman Lucy McBath only won because she is a, quote, "minority female." McBath is a freshman Democrat whose 17-year-old son was fatally shot in 2012. She's a fierce advocate for efforts to stop gun violence.

But, NRA president Carolyn Meadows tells the "Marietta Daily Journal" -- "It is wrong to say, like McBath said, 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, and many other is just starting. And yes, as a woman of color I am proud to be part of the most diverse class in American history. My experiences drive the work I am doing for my constituents and nobody can take that away from me."

ROMANS: Flooding has gone from bad to worse in the Midwest and Plains. In Missouri, two levees in St. Charles failed and at least one breach is growing, forcing evacuations.

The Mississippi River remains closed to all boat traffic near St. Louis due to extremely high water levels.

In Davenport, Iowa, people now applying for unemployment benefits after flooding forced 30 businesses to close.

With some rivers already at record levels, more rain expected to aggravate the problem in the coming days. BRIGGS: The biggest surprise, the most recent "GAME OF THRONES" episode wasn't the death of a favorite character, it was the appearance of a Starbucks coffee cup. Eagle-eyed viewers and the Internet, of course, spotted it during a feast scene on a table in front of Daenerys Targaryen, the mother of dragons.

Starbucks was quick to capitalize 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 latte that appeared in the episode was a mistake. Daenerys had ordered an herbal tea."

Now, this is not the first time something like this happened. In a fight scene during "Gladiator" the hydraulics were revealed under a chariot. And in "Braveheart," the top of a car was visible in the background of a battle scene.

ROMANS: All right.

Kentucky's Horse Racing Commission denying the appeal filed on behalf of Gary West, the owner of Maximum Security. The horse was disqualified for interference after finishing first in the Kentucky Derby.

Racing officials say the stewards' decision is not subject to appeal. West plans to sue to overturn the decision.

Twin Spires, the official online wagering site of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby, is refunding win bets on Maximum Security in the Derby, up to $10.00. Some $9 million was lost when the Derby finish was overturned.

BRIGGS: What a mess.

While you were sleeping, Jimmy Fallon had his take on all of that drama surrounding the Derby.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, NBC "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON": I read that the new baby is seventh in line for the throne. Yes, the only way he'll be king is if the Kentucky Derby judges disqualify everyone else.

Of course, a lot of people were upset that Maximum Security got called for interference. Even the president complained. Yes, it was surprising since interference in a race is what got him elected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: You have made that joke, sort of --

BRIGGS: I heard that. I heard that line somewhere before.

ROMANS: Everybody, have a great rest of your day. Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: And I'm Dave Briggs. Here's "NEW DAY." We'll see you tomorrow.

ROMANS: That was good.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The House Judiciary Committee plans to vote on Wednesday to hold Barr in contempt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Secretary Mnuchin will not fulfill that request for six years of the president's tax returns.

RICK SANTORUM, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Democrats are in great peril as they continue to go down this path. It is the president's political advantage to block everything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congress has a strong case here and the White House is stonewalling them at every front.

BRITISH RESIDENTS: Hip hip hooray.

PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: Meghan and myself had a baby boy. It's been the most amazing experience.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This baby is special for all of us. We all saw his parents get married. That's a particular blessing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And we will get to the royal baby, John. Don't you worry.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Prince Harry seemed genuinely shocked by what he saw in the delivery room.

CAMEROTA: He was euphoric.

BERMAN: He's like any new dad and I think that's charming. I agree with you that it's charming.

And I also like the beard, which he's allowed to keep. I'm just saying.

CAMEROTA: You still bitter?

BERMAN: He's allowed to keep it. No one called him and said he had to get rid of the beard.

CAMEROTA: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is "NEW DAY."