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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Special Counsel Robert Mueller Speaks Publicly For the First Time; House Democrats Mull Their Next Move; Benjamin Netanyahu Fails to Build Coalition. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired May 30, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:30] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: The final word from Robert Mueller. Some contradicts the attorney general but Nancy Pelosi is still giving no ground on impeachment.
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN ANCHOR: There were talks about moving the USS John McCain ahead of President Trump's visit to Japan. But Navy leadership said knock it off.
BRIGGS: A big scare in Houston, screaming line drive hits a little girl in the stands. The batter understandably distraught.
KOSINSKI: And welcome news from Alex Trebek. The "Jeopardy" host making significant progress against pancreatic cancer. He calls it mind-boggling.
Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Michelle Kosinski.
BRIGGS: She's out in California. Good to see you, my friend. How are you?
KOSINSKI: Well, thanks. They let me back.
BRIGGS: Great to have you here.
I'm Dave Briggs. Thursday, May 30th. it is 4:00 a.m. in the East. We start in the nation's capital.
The special counsel Robert Mueller has spoken, offering up his first public comments on the Russia investigation after two years of silence. His words offering clear discrepancies with the explanations from the Attorney General Bill Barr. And even though the Justice Department and Mueller's office released a joint statement claiming there is no conflict between them, the video suggests otherwise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM BARR, ATTORNEY GENERAL: He was not saying that but for the OLC opinion, he would have found obstruction.
ROBERT MUELLER, SPECIAL COUNSEL: The Special Counsel's Office is part of the Department of Justice, and by regulation, it was bound by that department policy. Charging the president with a crime was therefore not an option we could consider.
BARR: There was no evidence of the Trump campaign collusion with the Russian government's hacking.
MUELLER: There was insufficient evidence to charge a broader conspiracy.
BARR: The evidence developed by the special counsel is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction of justice offense.
MUELLER: If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSINSKI: Well, there is now a focus on the DOJ guidelines that a sitting president cannot be indicted, and whether that guided Mueller's decision to punt on obstruction.
More now from CNN's Sara Murray in Washington.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave and Michelle.
After two years of silence on his investigation, special counsel Robert Mueller appeared before the cameras Wednesday and he chose his words carefully, clearly stating that he did not clear President Trump of obstruction of justice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUELLER: If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so. We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MURRAY: Mueller explained that charging the president with a crime wasn't an option for him. Justice Department policy states a president cannot be charged with a federal crime while in office. Instead, Mueller appeared to point the obstruction issue to Congress, ramping up pressure on Capitol Hill for impeachment.
He also hammered home the seriousness of Russia's attempts to interfere in the 2016 election, saying those efforts deserve every American's attention.
Back to you, guys.
BRIGGS: OK, Sara Murray, thanks.
The White House trying to put its own spin on Mueller's remarks. It seems they see it as an opportunity to move on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH SANDERS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There was no real news in there. He reiterated the points that he'd already laid in the report, and we agree with him. There's no collusion. There was no conspiracy. And we consider this case closed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Sounded an awful lot like this tweet from the president, "Nothing changes from the Mueller report. There was insufficient evidence and therefore, in our country, a person is innocent. The case is closed. Thank you"
KOSINSKI: Robert Mueller is a man of few words, and he made it clear in his 10-minute statement that he would like to keep it that way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUELLER: My work speaks for itself. And the report is my testimony. So beyond what I have said here today and what is contained in our written work, I do not believe it is appropriate for me to speak further about the investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSINSKI: So that right there puts House Democrats in a tight spot.
Phil Mattingly on Capitol Hill now with more.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now, Michelle and Dave, for Democrats who have been clamoring for impeachment, who've been pressuring Speaker Nancy Pelosi to pursue impeachment, there's no question about it, Robert Mueller's public remarks provided just new ammunition for that effort. But there's also another reality here, they are not the majority. Who's that according to? Well, the speaker herself. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Our House Democrats, they've been very, shall we say, conscientious about how they reached their decisions.
[04:05:03] Maybe 38 of them out of 238 have said that they wanted to be outspoken on impeachment and many of them reflecting their views as well as those of their constituents. Many constituents want to impeach the president. But we want to do what is right and what gets results.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: And, guys, that's actually a really important window into the behind the scenes here. Pelosi has made clear she believes the track that House Democrats are on, multiple committees conducting multiple investigations on the administration on the whole, and in the president himself is the right pathway. She said repeatedly she believes impeachment is a divisive issue, particularly if the public is not behind them. And public polling would show, that remains the case.
There's also the reality of the Republican-led Senate. Republican after Republican, even in the wake of Robert Mueller's remarks, have made clear they believe the case is closed. They believe everyone should move on. That is why Pelosi is maintaining her track. And she's not alone. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler saying something that he's now said for the last couple of weeks, impeachment, it's not off the table but at least at the moment it's not on the table either. They are not going to pursue that -- guys.
BRIGGS: Phil Mattingly on Capitol Hill, thanks.
The House speaker insists she will not be swayed on impeachment by the Democratic candidates for president. But that's not stopping the 2020 hopefuls from weighing in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that expungement proceedings will strengthen Congress's hand in getting the information and the responses that they need to come to a conclusion about ultimate impeachment.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: These are impeachable offenses. It is our constitutional responsibility as members of Congress to bring a judgment of impeachment against this president.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's a fair inference from what we heard in that press conference that Bob Mueller was essentially referring impeachment to the United States Congress.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is an unprecedented moment in American history and the time is now for us to act in an unprecedented way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The front running Democrat, Joe Biden, ignored questions about Mueller's remarks. His campaign calls the roadblocks used by the Trump administration, quote, "truly troubling."
KOSINSKI: Talks were held between the White House and the Navy about keeping the USS John McCain out of sight before President Trump's recent trip to Japan. E-mails were exchanged about moving the warship, but a senior Navy official tells CNN the plan was scrubbed once Navy brass became aware of it. The president and McCain were frequently at odds during and before Trump's presidency, up until the senator's death last August.
BRIGGS: "The Wall Street Journal" reports a tarp was put in place to cover the ship's name but three Navy officials deny that story. President Trump said late Wednesday he had not been made aware of any plans concerning the ship. Before that, McCain's daughter, Meghan, responded to the "Journal's" reporting, calling Trump, "a child who will always be deeply threatened by the greatness of my dad's incredible life."
KOSINSKI: Twisters have struck the U.S. now for two straight weeks. There were 23 tornado reports just Wednesday, including this one in Canton, Texas. Severe weather in Kentucky ripping a roof off a building and onto a car, killing the person inside. No end in sight for the historic flooding, either. The Arkansas River is now approaching record levels. Thousands of homes could be impacted in Arkansas.
And in hard-hit Sand Springs, Oklahoma, engineers worked to repair a dirt levee protecting the town's business district. A hundred 50 homes there have been destroyed. Flooding has receded slightly there thanks to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reducing flows from the Keystone Dam nearby.
BRIGGS: Raw emotion on full display in an Oklahoma courtroom in the country's first case, examining whether drug makers can be held responsible for the deadly grip of painkiller addiction.
Craig Box took back tears describing his late son Austin's death. The football star to the University of Oklahoma died of an opioid overdose in 2011. He was just 22 and Box says he is not alone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG BOX, SON DIED FROM OPIOID OVERDOSE: We heard from so many parents across -- that have lost children to similar circumstances, that same story as us, had no idea, had no clue about the prevalence of these drugs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: Oklahoma's attorney general pointed to a study that says the pediatric death rate tripled from 1999 to 2016 because of opioids. Mike Hunter is accusing drug makers of a cynical, deceitful brainwashing campaign to establish opioids as the magic drug. State is suing Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries for $17.5 billion.
[04:10:04] KOSINSKI: So many people around the world, but especially in the United States.
BRIGGS: And this lawsuit will set an important precedent.
KOSINSKI: Yes. Yes.
BRIGGS: Across the country. We'll see.
KOSINSKI: A starting point.
Well, another state is poised to ban abortions after a heartbeat is detected. This time the governor who sign is a Democrat.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BRIGGS: More headaches on Wall Street, the Dow fell 221 points Wednesday closing at its weakness point since mid February.
[04:15:06] The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both closed before 1 percent as well. Concerns about the impact of the U.S.-China trade war are rising. Investors are worried that tariffs will slow the global economy and ding corporate profits. There's also growing concern that China will place restrictions on rare earth exports, elements crucial to the production of high-tech devices including smartphones and missile systems. About 80 percent of all rare earth minerals imported into the U.S. are from China.
Also on the business front a dedication ceremony last night for Disney's "Star Wars Galaxy's Edge," featuring Harrison Ford, Mark Hammel, George Lucas and Billy D. Williams.
Christine Romans sat down with Disney chief Bob Iger as Disney prepares to open "Star Wars Galaxy's Edge" tomorrow. .
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB IGER, DISNEY CEO: We wanted this to be both an homage to the past, we're big believers in respecting legacy, but also a strong eye or, you know, a directional sign into the future.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: What was the toughest part or the challenge of creating this land, especially when you're, you know, under the eyes of Star Wars fans who were, you know, really, really love this story?
IGER: There was never too much detail. We did sweat all of the details, you know, right down to their finest points. And I think the biggest challenge was at some point, we had to stop and actually open the place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSINSKI: Well...
BRIGGS: Romans also asked Iger about the company's expansion, streaming wars and the trade wars. We'll have all of that for you tomorrow morning when she returns.
KOSINSKI: There's theme park for everything.
BRIGGS: Yes, there is. I'm in.
KOSINSKI: Louisiana lawmakers passing a bill to ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, with no exceptions for rape or incest. That can be as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. The state's Democratic governor, John Bel Edwards, says he will sign measure. Under the law, doctors who perform abortions after a heartbeat is detected would then face $1,000 fine or up to two years in prison.
Louisiana now becoming the fifth state to enact a so-called heartbeat bills. Missouri lawmakers just approved an eight-week ban on abortion. That along with Alabama's near total abortion ban reflects a strong conservative push to bring a Supreme Court challenge to "Roe v. Wade."
BRIGGS: A frightening incident at last night Cubs-Astros game, renewing calls for more protective netting for fans at baseball games. A foul ball hit by Cubs' outfielder Alberto Almora struck a young girl in the stands here. Almora, a father of two, was visibly shaken, putting his hands on his head, then sinking to his knee as play came to a halt. On his way to take his position in center field between innings he stopped by the area of the stands where the child was sitting. He was consoled by a security guard as he began crying, covering his face with his glove. Almora was still emotional after the game.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALBERTO ALMORA, OUTFIELDER, CHICAGO CUBS: I'm just praying and I'm speechless. I'm at a loss of words. Being a father to two boys, God willing, I'll be able to have a relationship with this little girl for the rest of my life. But just prayers right now. That's all I really can control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The Astros, in a statement, said the girl was taken to a hospital but they did not disclose any details on her condition. Before last season, all Major League teams extended protective netting to at least the far ends of the dugout.
KOSINSKI: That makes me need to have a good cry.
BRIGGS: Heartbreak. Yes.
KOSINSKI: It's so painful.
Well, the smallest baby ever born is out of the hospital and doing fine this morning. Baby Saybie, as they called her, was only 8.6 ounces when she was delivered last December in San Diego at 23 weeks and three days. Saybie's mother had to go an emergency C-section when doctors realized the baby was not gaining weight and her mom's life was at risk. Saybie was released from the hospital yesterday weighing a healthy 5.6 pounds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX TREBEK, HOST, "JEOPARDY": You're going to add some money to that $43,000. How much? $25,119. That bumps you today to $69,033 and give you a 30-day total of $2,323,971.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGGS: The 30th straight "Jeopardy" win for James Holzhauer. He's now less than $200,000 away from the all-time record for "Jeopardy" winnings.
"Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek, meanwhile, also on a winning streak revealing he is in near remission after announcing in March he was diagnosed with stage-four pancreatic cancer. The five-year survival rate is 9 percent, but the 78-year-old Trebek tells "People" magazine, it's kind of mind-boggling.
[04:20:04] The doctors said they hadn't seen this kind of positive result in their memory. Trebek must still undergo several more rounds of chemotherapy before he can be declared fully in remission. But that is just outstanding news.
KOSINSKI: Yes. It is.
BRIGGS: Great to see.
KOSINSKI: I also feel like 10 years from now, we're still going to be talking about James Holzhauer, and it's going to be like --
BRIGGS: You might be right.
KOSINSKI: $100 million.
BRIGGS: I don't know what's going to knock him off the throne. Yes.
KOSINSKI: Yes, exactly.
Well, breaking overnight, a search for survivors after a docked tour boat is struck by a bigger ship. At least seven are dead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:25:33] KOSINSKI: Breaking overnight, at least seven people are dead, 19 missing after a tour boat sank on the Danube River in Budapest, Hungary. Most of the victims are tourists from South Korea. The tour company says the boat was docked when a larger vessel collided with it. At least seven people were rescued from the water and are now hospitalized. None of the victims were wearing life jackets.
BRIGGS: New national elections are set for September in Israel, now that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has failed to put together a coalition government. This marks the first time in Israel's history a general election did not produce a government.
Oren Liebermann live for us in Jerusalem this morning with the latest. Oren, good morning.
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave, and these results absolutely stunning for the reasons you just mentioned there. It has never been the case in Israel's 71-year political history that a general election has not led to a government. The prime minister given the job has always succeeded until now, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the multiple times he has been given to be the prime minister, to put together a government.
All of that ended last night. He had deadlocked negotiations between his potential coalition partners and he wasn't able to work his way through this. His former Defense minister Avigdor Lieberman not budging at all against the ultra orthodox parties and that is where he was stuck. He tried a number of different ways to try to work this out, to try to get someone to compromise. President Donald Trump even weighing in, tweeting support for Netanyahu a couple of days ago but that didn't make anything budge. And at that point Netanyahu had two options, either give the job
perhaps to somebody else, either within his own party or another political party or send the country to new elections and that is the option he went with. Those are now scheduled for September 17th, so just over 3 1/2 months away, the first time in Israel's history there will be two elections in six months.
Dave, it could very well be that we're at the exact same spot after these elections.
BRIGGS: Just about to ask you that question.
Oren Liebermann live for us in Jerusalem with that breaking news. Thank you, sir.
All right. Ahead, Nancy Pelosi refusing to be goaded into impeachment, not by the president, and certainly not by Robert Mueller.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUELLER: If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:00:00]
