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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Donald Trump, Jr. Subpoenaed By GOP-Led Senate; Vigil Takes Place To Remember Kendrick Castillo; North Korea Launches Unidentified Projectile. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired May 09, 2019 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:31:24] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: A subpoena for Donald Trump, Jr. The Republican-led Senate wants to bring him in, but why?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOTHER OF STEM SCHOOL HIGHLANDS RANCH STUDENT: If it had not been for him, I wouldn't have my baby today.
NATE HOLLEY, SIXTH GRADER, STEM SCHOOL HIGHLANDS RANCH, HIGHLANDS RANCH, COLORADO: I was going to go down fighting if I was going to go down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Shock and grief in Colorado as a community mourns a hero who took down a school shooter.
ROMANS: Breaking overnight, the second launch in a week by North Korea. We're live in Seoul.
Welcome back to EARLY START, everybody. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs.
Something has to be done about these schools shootings, whether it's mental health, whether it's gun legislation. Let's hope Congress begins to focus there.
But in the meantime, we're focused elsewhere. The Senate Intelligence Committee wants another round with Donald Trump, Jr. but will the president's son comply? The subpoena for Don, Jr. comes from a committee led by Republicans.
Discussions over his testimony began before the release of special counsel Mueller's report. Don, Jr.'s team resisted in part, they say, because Mueller's findings were still secret.
ROMANS: The subpoena is a sign the committee is escalating its probe into Russian election interference and it raises two major questions. Why do senators want to speak with Don, Jr. and will he show up?
CNN's Phil Mattingly has more from Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine and Dave, case closed was the message from Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. It appears, at least in the Senate, including the Republican-led Senate -- the Republican-led Intelligence Committee -- the case is not quite yet closed.
Why do we know that? Well, we have now discovered, according to sources, that a number of weeks ago the Republican-led committee issued a subpoena to Donald Trump, Jr. As far as we know this is the first subpoena issued by anybody on Capitol Hill related to any of the president's children.
Now, the issues here, while still not totally clear, appear to really run through two different tracks. And these were comments that Donald Trump, Jr. made related to June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russian individuals who were claiming they had dirt on Hillary Clinton, as well as discussions he may or may not have had with Michael Cohen related to a potential Trump Tower in Moscow.
Now, both of those issues were issues that Donald Trump, Jr. testified about previously. He's testified in front of three committees for dozens of hours. And we know, right now, that will the committee has subpoenaed Donald Trump, Jr. there is currently a standoff. Donald Trump, Jr. is not planning on coming to Capitol Hill. The considerations are either pleading the fifth or not showing up at all.
And based on the statements that sources close to Donald Trump, Jr. have released attacking the Republican chairman of the committee, Richard Burr, making clear that in their eyes this was a P.R. stunt, it doesn't look like this standstill is going to change anytime soon.
Basically, things aren't actually over. The case not quite closed -- guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRIGGS: OK, Phil Mattingly. Thank you.
The next subpoena could have Bob Mueller's name on it. Democrats are determined to hear from the special counsel but President Trump is trying to block his testimony by invoking executive privilege over the entire Mueller report and its underlying evidence, a dramatic step considering the president recently suggested he didn't mind the report being released at all.
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler dismissing the administration's stonewalling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): I certainly hope that we will hear from Mueller. And eventually -- by the way, yes -- eventually we will hear from Mueller because we will -- if we have to -- we will subpoena him if we have to. And the nonsense claim of executive privilege will be pierced by the court and he'll be ordered to testify.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The full House will now take up whether to hold Attorney General Barr in contempt for refusing to hand over the unredacted Mueller report. The Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to advance the measure. Chairman Nadler says we are now in a constitutional crisis.
[05:35:05] The matter appears to be headed for a courtroom showdown between House Democrats and the Justice Department.
BRIGGS: All right, let's bring in political economist Greg Valliere, chief U.S. strategist for AGF. He joins us live from Washington.
ROMANS: Hi, Greg.
BRIGGS: Good to see you, sir.
GREG VALLIERE, U.S. POLICY STRATEGIST, AGF: Good morning.
BRIGGS: Your city, once again, locked in another confrontation and this one a shocker as Donald Trump, Jr. is subpoenaed. Let's get into and out of the weeds as quickly as we can.
VALLIERE: OK.
BRIGGS: September 2017, here is Don Trump, Jr. in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Q: Did you have any involvement in this potential deal in Moscow?
A: Like I said, I was peripherally aware of it, but most of my knowledge has been gained since as it relates to hearing about it over the last few weeks.
Then in 2019, Michael Cohen, in front of the House, had this exchange.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. STEPHEN LYNCH (D-MA): And who were the family members that you briefed on the Trump Tower Moscow project?
MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER ATTORNEY FOR PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Don Trump, Jr. and Ivanka Trump.
LYNCH: OK. Now, were these in the regular course of business or did the president or family request the briefings?
COHEN: This is the regular course of business.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: OK. So, one, how much trouble could Don, Jr. be in?
And two, back out of the weeds, what is the coming confrontation here within the party between, say, the president and Republicans in the Senate because Mick Mulvaney told Major Garrett of CBS that "We did not get a heads-up about this, I thought was bad form." Where are we headed?
VALLIERE: Well, two things. I think that Donald Trump, Jr. will probably not testify or take the fifth because this, to me, is an obvious perjury trap for him.
BRIGGS: Yes.
VALLIERE: He has to realize he's vulnerable on that score.
On the bigger picture, yes, there are some cracks in the Republican unity. I think a lot of Republicans want to get to the bottom of this and I do think there's a lot more to come, including the Mueller testimony.
ROMANS: Yes. I mean, case not closed, maybe.
BRIGGS: Certainly -- it is certainly not closed.
ROMANS: Case not closed on the trade dispute with China, Greg. What's the likelihood of a deal --
VALLIERE: Yes.
ROMANS: -- before this 12:01 Friday deadline when all these prices are going to go up?
VALLIERE: Well, I must confess I and a lot of people who follow this have been wrong. I thought there'd be a deal by the end of May. It looks pretty unlikely now.
ROMANS: Well, that's why the stock market's up 17 percent this because everyone --
VALLIERE: Yes.
ROMANS: -- thought like you do.
VALLIERE: Right. And, you know, Trump said some things at his rally last night in Florida that were not encouraging. He made it quite clear that we have, I think, an impasse and this could go on for quite a while.
I don't see a huge impact on GDP for either the U.S. or even China, but it doesn't help.
And you're absolutely right, Christine. The markets have rallied on expectations we'd get a deal. Now those expectations have been diminished greatly.
ROMANS: You know, the president keeps saying that China pays these tariffs. Like the government of China is giving the U.S. Treasury Department a check --
VALLIERE: No.
ROMANS: -- and that's just not how it works.
We know that a lot of companies have told us the first 10 percent tariffs, they ate. They ate those --
VALLIERE: Yes.
ROMANS: -- or they made deals with their suppliers for rebates. But that 25 percent, that's going to have to be passed on to consumers.
I know it's a $20 trillion economy --
VALLIERE: Right.
ROMANS: -- but if Trump supporters start realizing they're paying a little bit more for their -- you know, their car seats, and their bicycle helmets, and their food, is that going to hurt him?
VALLIERE: Well, it's not going to help, especially in the Farm Belt where there's great anxiety already about the impact on agricultural products. So, no, it doesn't help him.
Although, ironically, within Washington, both parties, including Chuck Schumer, want Trump to hang tough, and I think Trump will.
BRIGGS: All right.
I want to skip to 2020 and what might eventually be --
VALLIERE: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- the central issue of the race and that, of course, is health care. Some new numbers just came out that show --
VALLIERE: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- the uninsured rate between 45 and 64 actually plunged 10 percent in 2018.
And on the heels of that this morning, Heidi Heitkamp, former Democratic senator, wrote an op-ed in "The Washington Post" urging her Democratic colleagues to get away from this whole Medicare for All talk.
VALLIERE: Yes.
BRIGGS: "I urge my fellow Democrats not to back Medicare for All policies that would drastically change health care for every American, and instead rally behind constructive proposals that would move the nation toward universal coverage while bringing down costs for families."
Will Democrats listen to Heidi Heitkamp, running for president, and stop talking about Medicare for All and fixing Obamacare or will they give this away to Republicans? VALLIERE: I think a lot of Democrats realize the price tag is enormous. That people like incremental change, not radical change. So I think there's a chance for a more moderate proposal.
This is an area where Trump is weak. I mean, he has a good economy -- you can't deny that.
BRIGGS: Yes.
VALLIERE: But I think on things like health care and climate change there are a lot of issues where the Democrats can score some big points.
BRIGGS: But if you focus on Medicare for All -- Heidi's point is -- then you have --
VALLIERE: Yes.
BRIGGS: -- Republicans who can say that want socialism instead of just focusing on the fix.
[05:40:04] Greg Valliere, good to see you, sir.
ROMANS: Nice to see you, Greg.
VALLIERE: All right.
BRIGGS: Thank you.
VALLIERE: You bet, yes.
BRIGGS: All right.
Overnight, a vigil to honor an 18-year-old student killed in a gun attack at that high school in suburban Denver. At least 2,000 people packed the gym at STEM School Highlands Ranch to pay tribute to Kendrick Castillo, a hero who tried to stop one of the suspects from firing.
CNN spoke to his father who, as you can imagine, is heartbroken.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN CASTILLO, FATHER OF VICTIM: And one of the kids told me that like a flash, he jumped up. She said, "You know, he's a hero. He saved me."
They said he jumped up and ran. They said you couldn't even see how fast he was running out the door and after this person.
There's another part of you that wishes he would have just turned and ran, retreated, hid -- you know, did something to put himself out harm's way if that was possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: I just -- American schoolchildren have to make these choices is just unbelievable.
BRIGGS: A disturbing reality.
ROMANS: Other students and families are remembering Kendrick Castillo was they come to terms with their own grief.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE STUDENT, STEM SCHOOL HIGHLANDS RANCH, HIGHLANDS RANCH, COLORADO: Kendrick lunged at him to try and subdue him. As soon he said "Don't you move," Kendrick lunged, giving all of us enough time to hide under our desks.
MOTHER OF STEM SCHOOL HIGHLANDS RANCH STUDENT: If it had not been for him I wouldn't have my baby today and I can't imagine that I will never able to thank him.
HOLLEY: I was hiding in the corner and they were right outside the door. I had my hand on a metal baseball bat just in case because I was going to go down fighting if I was going to go down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: That Nate and his schoolchildren have to live --
BRIGGS: Generation lockdown, some of them are calling it.
ROMANS: It's just unbelievable they have to live in a country like this.
Kendrick is part of a tragic new trend in American schools -- looking out for a shooter and then sacrificing yourself to save your classmates.
Last week, Riley Howell was killed as he tackled a shooter at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Here's what his parents told CNN last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NATALIE HENRY-HOWELL, MOTHER OF RILEY HOWELL: It is just terrible that more families and communities are going through this. And while I'm angry and I feel embattled, I think at the same time we have to instead of just lionize, we have to galvanize. There just has to be some dialogue from people all around so that we can never ever, ever let a community have to go through this again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Amen, let's talk about it. Listen to Chris Cuomo's close last night. I tweeted it out a short time ago.
Authorities have identified both shooters. One, an 18-year-old male; the other, a 16-year-old. Police initially said the second suspect was a girl. He, though, identifies as male.
Both are due back in court to be formally charged Friday.
ROMANS: The vigil last night actually turned into a demonstration. Some people walked out after Sen. Michael Bennet and Congressman Jason Crow spoke.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEMONSTRATORS: Mental health, mental health, mental health, mental health.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: They started chanting for a focus on mental health. They said they didn't want politics and the media taking advantage of the shooting, pushing an agenda.
Now, if you would like to help the Castillo family, a donation account has been set up with Wells Fargo. You can go into any Wells Fargo branch anywhere in the country and you can ask to donate to the Kendrick Castillo Memorial Fund.
BRIGGS: And then call your congressman, call your senator -- do something.
Breaking in the last hour, North Korea launching an unidentified projectile. That's the second launch in a week.
CNN's Paula Hancocks is live for us in Seoul. Paula, good morning. What's happening?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Dave, the latest information we have is from the Joint Chiefs of Staff here.
They say at least one projectile -- we don't know how many -- has been fired around about 3:30 a.m. Eastern time. It was fired from the northwestern part of the country and it headed in an easterly direction. So presumably, firing over North Korea and then potentially heading towards the waters off the east coast.
Now, we know that this particular area is where there is a missile base -- Sino-ri missile base. It's not one of the ones that North Korea has admitted to but it is one that we have seen short- and medium-range missiles fired from in the past.
Now we should say it's been less than a week since we saw the last launch from North Korea. North Korea state-run media said of that, it was just a routine drill, saying that no one should be upset by it because what they launched actually fell within their own territorial waters.
It has, though, been downplayed by the U.S. and South Korea, at least the first launch. Even the U.S. president, Donald Trump, tweeting that he was with Kim Jong Un and a deal will happen.
[05:45:00] We'll have to see what the range of this projectile is because that is key as to what kind of reaction we are expecting -- Dave.
BRIGGS: Paula Hancocks will stay on this for us live from Seoul. Thank you.
ROMANS: All right.
A nurse was denied a world record because she wore scrubs instead of a skirt. Now, the Guinness Book of Records is changing its tune.
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ROMANS: All right, let's get a check on "CNN Business" this morning.
[05:50:00] The job market is strong. Just how strong? For the 13th month in a row, job openings have outnumbered the number of Americans looking for work.
The Labor Department shows 7.49 million open jobs -- unfilled jobs in America. That's 1.28 million more than job openings than job seekers.
Statistically -- easy for me to say -- if you're looking for a job, you face record low competition and it's making more Americans bold enough to quit their jobs. The so-called quit rate is also near the highest ever.
Uber and Lyft drivers around the world logged out of their apps in protest yesterday. Their message? They want job security and higher wages. Protests in major U.S. cities as well as parts of U.K., Australia, and South America.
Uber and Lyft have argued their drivers are independent contractors. That status means workers in many countries don't get the same rights as employees.
This, as Uber prepares to make its Wall Street debut on Friday. "The Wall Street Journal" reports it has set a range of $44.00 to $50.00 a share, valuing the company at roughly $86 billion.
All right, a big move in the fight against teen nicotine addiction. Walmart raising the minimum age to buy tobacco products to 21 starting July first.
Flavored e-cigarettes have become more popular among teenagers. The FDA has warned several retailers they were violating rules against selling tobacco to minors. It labeled the use of e-cigarettes by young people an epidemic.
The higher age limit applies to all American Walmart and Sam's Club locations. And again, it begins July first.
BRIGGS: Twelve states have raised that age.
ROMANS: Yes.
BRIGGS: Mitch McConnell expected to introduce national legislation this month. Severe weather and flash flooding keeps pummeling the south-central U.S. A possible tornado touched down in Central Arkansas, damaging buildings and leaving piles of debris on the ground.
And in Oklahoma, a woman had to be rescued after her vehicle was caught in stormwater near Yukon, Oklahoma.
The threat of severe storms and flooding now shifts east into the southern Mississippi River Valley and the Deep South.
EARLY START will be right back.
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[05:56:24] ROMANS: A Kentucky student who sued the local health department because he didn't want to get the chicken pox vaccine came down with chicken pox.
Jerome Kunkel objected to a policy that temporarily banned unvaccinated students from attending his Catholic school in Walton. The high school senior objected based on his faith, he said.
He contracted chicken pox last week and has just recovered. Kunkel has been out of school since mid-March for refusing the vaccine. He returned to class yesterday.
BRIGGS: Magic mushrooms decriminalized in Denver. Voters narrowly voting to become the first U.S. city to deprioritize enforcement against the hallucinogen.
Psilocybin mushrooms will not be legal in Denver. The ordinance only prohibits from spending resources to impose criminal penalties.
Results are expected to be certified later this month but opponents can pay for a recount if they choose to, potentially delaying implementation.
ROMANS: All right.
Forty thousand dollars worth of meth found by a child inside a Lego box. Police in South Carolina say a woman bought the Lego set at a thrift store in Charleston and took it home to Georgia. They gave the Legos to a child who opened the box and discovered the meth.
Drug enforcement officials say the box could have been purchased in a storage auction before making its way to the consignment shop without anyone questioning its contents.
BRIGGS: Wow.
A royal welcome to Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. Quite a mouthful for someone weighing in at seven pounds, three ounces. The world getting its first look at Harry and Meghan's son yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEGHAN MARKLE, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: It's magic. It's pretty amazing. I mean, I have to the two best guys in the world so I'm really happy.
He has the sweetest temperament. He's really calm and --
PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: I wonder who he gets that from?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Calm for now.
The British royal family likes to honor those who came before but we're told the Duke and Duchess of Sussex just liked the name Archie. And the second name, Harrison, it means son of Harry.
ROMANS: Good for them. Get some sleep.
All right. A British nurse who ran the London Marathon in scrubs and pants, she will get her place in the record books after all. Guinness World Records originally denied Jessica Anderson the title for the fastest marathon wearing a nurse's uniform.
She had been told her attempt didn't count because she was not wearing a skirt. How 19th century of them. Guinness, though, now admits its guidelines were, quote, "outdated, incorrect, and reflected a stereotype."
Anderson's new record time, three hours, eight minutes, and 22 seconds.
Every nurse I've seen for the past, I don't know, 30 years, wears scrubs.
BRIGGS: My mom was a nurse. She wore scrubs a long time ago. It's National Nurses Week -- don't forget them.
ROMANS: Yes.
Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.
BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Here's "NEW DAY."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: The Republican-led committee issued a subpoena to Donald Trump, Jr.
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A party line vote holding the attorney general in contempt. The president invoking executive privilege.
NADLER: We are now in a constitutional crisis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you think it's a constitutional crisis, impeach the president. If you don't, move on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kendrick Castillo died a legend. He died a trooper. CASTILLO: Like a flash, he jumped up. She said, "He's a hero. He saved me."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Thursday, May ninth, 6:00 here in New York.
And the battle between President Trump and Congress just became a family affair. The Senate Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed the president's eldest son, Don, Jr., for more.
END
