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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

House GOP Expected to Oust Rep. Liz Cheney from Leadership; Violence Between Israelis, Hamas Escalates Toward All-Out War; Colonial Hack & Panic Buying Empty Gas Pumps Across Southeast; Elite U.S. Forces Join NATO Exercises Amid Russian Escalation. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired May 12, 2021 - 05:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): Remaining silent and ignoring the lie emboldens the liar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:00:01]

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The liar, the former president. In a matter of hours, Liz Cheney will lose her leadership role for telling the truth. What it means for the future of elections in America.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: On the brink of war, the most intense fighting between Israel and Gaza in years leaving both sides in danger. When will President Biden get involved?

ROMANS: And demand for gas spiking in several states after a pipeline hack. What governors are doing to mitigate the panic.

Laura, they're telling people don't top off the tank.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

JARRETT: And I am Laura Jarrett. It's Wednesday, May 12th. It's 5:00 a.m. here in New York.

And this morning, proof that the big lie has big consequences. Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney all but guaranteed to lose her leadership role in the house. Her GOP colleagues set to vote her out. Her sin: voting to impeach Donald Trump for inspiring the insurrection and then refuse to go back down, as most of her fellow Republicans have.

Trump pushed the big lie and with Cheney out of the way the party can now use the lie to contest future elections without a pesky truth teller in their midst.

ROMANS: Even a Republican lawmaker who plans to support Cheney predicts she does not survive. Even those who like Liz and agree with her think the current situation is untenable. Untenable or inconvenient, Cheney is standing defiant to the end.

CNN's Daniella Diaz is live for us on Capitol Hill -- Daniella.

DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Guys, Congresswoman Cheney has said she is not going anywhere. She will continue to be outspoken against former President Donald Trump and the threat that she believes he poses to American democracy. You know, there's a lot going on across the country right now. As a result of this big lie, you know, this lie that former President Donald Trump and his allies are spreading that the election was stolen from him, lots of state governments and Republican-led state legislatures are trying to pass laws to limit voter access.

So, Congresswoman Liz Cheney understands the threat that this is posing and that is why she stands defiant and will likely lose her leadership position as soon as today, as soon as this morning. You know, the House GOP conference is set to meet at 9:00 a.m. to oust her from the number three House Republican position.

But, you know, she understands what's happening. She's fully come to terms with the fact that she is going to lose her leadership position over, being outspoken against former President Donald Trump and his lies and blasting her colleagues for supporting these lies that he has been spreading.

You know, she spoke to a mostly empty House floor yesterday where she stood by her past comments against the former president and she reiterated that she believes he poses a threat to democracy and that the Republican Party is compliant. Take a listen to what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHENEY: Today, we face a threat America has never seen before. A former president who provoked a violent attack on this Capitol in an effort to steal the election has resumed his aggressive effort to convince Americans that the election was stolen from him.

Remaining silent and ignoring the lie emboldens the liar. I will not sit back and watch in silence while others lead our party down a path that abandons the rule of law and joins the former president's crusade to undermine our democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAZ: You know, there are some Republicans that believe that by a lot of former President Donald Trump's allies continuing to rehash the 2020 election and say it was stolen from him, Republicans will have damage the party and it will hurt them in the long term, including ahead of the 2022 midterms.

Some of those Republicans include Republican Senate Minority Whip John Thune who says that he believes this is a losing strategy and losing hand for the party and believes that the Republican Party should move on past this. So, this infighting continues and continues to develop -- Laura, Christine.

ROMANS: Unbelievable. Thanks so much for that, Daniella. Nice to see you this morning.

Laura?

JARRETT: All right. The other big story this morning, Israel and the Palestinians on the verge of an all out war. At 3:00 a.m. local time, Palestinian militants in Gaza resumed firing hundreds of rockets into Israel, some intercepted midair by the Iron Dome. Israel in turn responded with one of its most intense air campaigns since the 2014 war, as unrest spread to cities and towns beyond Jerusalem.

ROMANS: Seven people have been wounded including a five-year-old child after a bus was hit by a rocket and caught fire in Tel Aviv. In Gaza City, a 13-story building collapsed after it was hit by an Israeli air strike. Israeli defense forces say it did warn civilians in that building there which contained intelligence offices of Hamas's military wing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. JONATHAN CONRICUS, INTERNATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: Any military activity in a densely populated urban area just like Gaza and in an area where the terrorist enemy uses civilians as their human shields and makes it virtually impossible to distinguish -- totally distinguish between enemies and noncombatants.

[05:05:05]

Any reports of noncombatants involved in the killing are, of course, something that we want to avoid, which is, of course, totally different from our entries are operating who are trying to cause civilian casualties in Israel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): If Israel wants to escalate we are ready for it. And if it wants to stop, we're also ready. If they want to remove their hand over Jerusalem, we're ready.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: All right. Elliott Gotkine live south of Tel Aviv with more for us this morning.

What I'm hearing here is escalation, not de-escalation at any point yet.

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, CNN REPORTER: That seems to be a fair assessment of the current situation. There was relative calm after dawn broke this morning, but that has been broken in the last hour or two. There was an anti-tank missile fired from the Gaza Strip, that has injured -- wounded three Israelis, two of them critically, and there are unconfirmed reports that one of those has actually died.

On top of that, there were some more clashes between police and Palestinian demonstrators on Temple Mount or Hara al Sharif. There were seven arrests there before relative calm resumed. In a town near Jericho, in the West Bank, a Palestinian man tried to wrestle a soldier's rifle away from him before another soldier came to his aid and they were able to take the rifle back and arrest that person as well.

On top of that, reinforcements have been sent by the Israeli government to the town of Lod in Central Israel. This is where there have been riots between Jewish and Arab residents over the last couple of nights or so, and a state of emergency has been declared.

As you may be able to hear in the background, they're also now clearing up the rubble. There was a strike, one of the rockets struck here right next to me last night. This is Rishon LeZion, just south of Tel Aviv. This particular strike also killed a woman in her 60s who neighbors say was just coming home and didn't make it inside at the time.

So, no sign of de-escalation and I think that there's every possibility that as the day wears on and as we move into the night, things will get worse. I can tell you that it's only just gone noon here in Israel.

ROMANS: Yeah, Elliott, we haven't heard from the president, President Biden, on the situation. His secretary of state and national security adviser they are urging calm on all sides, but how long can Biden stay out of this, especially since leadership for the Israelis and Palestinians was facing a questionable future even before all of this?

GOTKINE: It's not been deathly silence from the White House but it's not been a cacophony, either. We've heard from some officials including White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki saying that the primary focus of the Biden administration is de-escalation. From the occupant of the White House himself, President Biden, we haven't really heard much at all.

And there could be a few reasons for that. Of course, he still bears the scars of being involved in trying to get Palestinians and Israelis to come together as vice president, those talks went nowhere. He has other priorities such as dealing with China. On top of that, the Israeli-Palestinian issue was almost turned into a partisan issue from it traditionally being bipartisan to being partisan especially as former President Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu moved in lockstep on pretty much every issue.

On top of that, Biden, of course, in this region was trying to focus on resurrecting the Iran nuclear deal, which former President Trump had pulled the U.S. out of. So, there are a lot of things going on, and, of course, but, you know, events have a way of changing plans. He can't stay quiet forever. So, that's where we are right now.

ROMANS: All right, Elliott. Thank you. Stay safe and check back in with us soon.

Laura?

JARRETT: All right. Back here in the U.S., long lines at the pump all along the East Coast as a critical pipeline still remains largely shut off this morning after an attack by a cyber gang. States of emergency now declared in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. Officials trying to keep the fuel supply up and prices down while a growing number of gas stations across the region are shut down entirely.

ROMANS: Anxious drivers racing to fuel up their tanks, the panic buying only makes it worse and officials in several states are saying to motorists, do not top off the tank, the attack on that Colonial Pipeline with structures from Texas to New Jersey also leaving air travel vulnerable. Some airlines are having to tanker truck in jet fuel. Americans Airlines has had to reroute two long haul flights for refueling.

JARRETT: Yeah. Meantime, the Transportation Department is allowing overweight fuel loads on trucks and an EPA rule is also waiving certain air quality standards for 12 states and the District of Columbia allowing certain gas supplies to be combined now.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is pleading with Americans, do not hoard gas. But that hasn't worked at least so far.

CNN's Pete Muntean is in Fairfax, Virginia, for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Christine, Laura, the latest issue caused by this Colonial Pipeline hack is really panic at the pump, even though the White House insists there are no reports of widespread fuel shortages.

[05:10:02]

People are buying up gas fast. Gas Buddy says demand for gas surged 40 percent in five states from Florida to Virginia. That was on Monday alone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The lines have been real long, people calling saying like there's no gas, get gas, people with gas cans out here not knowing what's going on, nobody was ever like let us knew to get ready for what's going on. It just hit us all of a sudden like the pandemic did. So, everybody is in a frenzy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The lines have been pretty long, I've been waiting here about ten minutes and a lot of the pumps are closed and I'm actually trying to drive home this weekend so I'm trying to fill up and my light is on. So I might have to change those plans and -- yeah, I might not make it home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't have no more. Like lunchtime we was at 3,000 gallons. We don't have no gallons. They're empty.

MUNTEAN: This all means the price of a gallon of gas is going up. The national average according to AAA now, $2.98. It's gone up 7 cents in seven days. This is the highest gas has been in six years. It's really a big problem for travel industry experts who say this

could have been the summer of the road trip. It comes at a really bad time and a bit of a perform storm because the tracking industry is having a hard time finding tanker truck drivers to get gas from one place to another.

The Department of Energy is calling this a supply crunch rather than a gas shortage but here in Virginia, the governor just declared a state of emergency -- Christine and Laura.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Pete Muntean will stay on it for us. Thank you.

Prices rising at the pump and just about everyplace else. In the few hours, a critical report that consumer price index will give us a clue how quickly prices are rising as the economy reopens. The forecast, a 3.6 percent increase from last year. The fastest annual inflation rate since September of 2011.

The figures, of course, amplified by the comparison of prices from last year. That's when the economy was in the middle of the pandemic. A year later, pent up demand, soaring commodity prices, supply bottlenecks and consumers flush with cash to spend.

Some worry higher prices will force the fed to raise interest rates. Fed officials have said inflation problems here are temporary, transitory is the word they use, and they have said they will not raise interest rates before Main Street truly recovers.

But not everyone agrees with the Central Bank outlook. Stocks tumbled Tuesday as surging prices and supply shortages rattled investors. The Dow posted its worst day since February. Prices are rising on everything from toilet paper and used cars to airplane tickets and lumber to build homes. Only time will tell how much longer prices will last.

But we've seen it. The tech part of the stock market that really has been sensitive to this, because this have such high flying We've been watching the tech part of the market tumble here on these inflation concerns recently, Laura.

JARRETT: Yeah, really interesting to watch that.

All right. Still ahead tens of thousands of voters at risk of losing the right to vote by mail in a key battleground state. We'll tell you about another law making it harder to vote, next.

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[05:17:22]

ROMANS: The NRA rebuffed by a federal judge who has refused the gun lobby's attempt to declare bankruptcy. The group is facing a lawsuit from the New York attorney general for allegedly misusing charitable funds. The judge said the NRA filed for bankruptcy in bad faith to avoid litigation. The top officials have been accused of mismanagement and excessive luxury spending. CNN has reached out to an NRA spokesman for comment.

JARRETT: A voter purge in Arizona, Governor Doug Ducey signing a bill Tuesday that could remove thousands of people from the state's early voting list. Under the new legislation, voters who haven't returned at least one early ballot over four years will be asked if they want to stay on the list. Those who do not respond in 90 days will be removed, though they will still be registered. Democrats call the measure discriminatory and said it will disproportionately affect Latino voters and other communities of color.

ROMANS: All right. Record border crossings, but fewer unaccompanied children. A mixed picture at the U.S./Mexico border. Customs officials report the record number of migrants crossing last month, more than 178,000, a slight increase from March and the highest one month total in two decades.

At the same time, agents encountering fewer unaccompanied children in April. The agency also touting a 90 percent reduction in the number of children in Border Patrol custody. Children on average now are held for 28 hours at the border.

JARRETT: Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit cleared to race in Preakness despite the failed drug test. What his embattled owner is now saying.

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[05:23:20]

ROMANS: A CNN exclusive this morning, military exercises including elite U.S. troops in Europe helping some of the more vulnerable countries counter aggressive Russian military moves across the region.

CNN's Alex Marquardt reports on war games in Eastern Europe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDER MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: At the same time that Russia is ratcheting up tensions with Ukraine, the U.S. and its NATO allies have launched military exercises all across Europe. Now, these exercises have been planned for a while but this time something not lost on anyone.

Over the past few days, we have covered a number of these exercises at sea, on land and in the air, and got exclusive access to some of the most elite U.S. forces.

(voice-over): A team of U.S. Navy SEALs, rifles drawn, move quickly through the pitch black of a warehouse on the Black Sea. Laser sights invisible to the naked eye finding and taking out enemy fighters.

Tonight, the dead, wounded and bullets are not real, but part of an elaborate series of NATO military exercises involving almost 30,000 soldiers from 26 countries. MAJOR GENERAL JOE JARRARD, DEPUTY COMMANDER OF THE U.S. ARMY IN EUROPE

AND AFRICA: It's showing everybody that we have a capability and we can use it when necessary.

MARQUARDT: CNN got rare access to some of the most elite U.S. troops in the world, taking part in a unique training called Trojan footprint that is across eastern Europe, working with force Spain, Georgia, Romania, Ukraine and more.

It could not come at a more tense time for this region, with Russia recently ratcheting up its aggression, sending tens of thousands of troops and a massive deployment of equipment to the border with Ukraine, prompting fears of an invasion and harsh condemnation from Europe and Washington.

[05:25:17]

Back in Romania, this display of strength and cooperation clearly hoping to send a powerful message.

DAVID MUNIZ, U.S. EMBASSY IN ROMANIA CHARGE D'AFFAIRES: When we are strong, when we are united, it had has a chilling effect on shall we say the kinds of things that can happen. And so in this way, you cut down on the chance for mischief.

MARQUARDT: Even as Russia pulls back some of its troops from the land border with Ukraine, they've been stepping up their activities in the Black Sea. Their war ships have been carrying out exercises. They've been harassing Ukrainian vessels and closing down parts of the Black Sea to other foreign ships as well.

The Navy SEALs lead the training in those waters. While Ukrainian soldiers practice alongside these American Green Berets whose faces we weren't allowed to show.

When you talk to troops from other countries, like the Ukrainians, like the Romanians, how important is it for them to feel that American support?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's pretty significant. It shows that we're serious, working in an exercise like Trojan Footprint. It is important whether whatever is going on around the world.

MARQUARDT: Which is why these massive exercises take place at sea, in the air and on land.

A dynamic display of partnership and firepower, punctuating the loud message of a united front in troubling times.

This is a military base for NATO's newest and 30th member, North Macedonia, a small country in a growing military alliance that Vladimir Putin is determined to undermine. Two of the countries that are taking part in these exercises, Georgia and Ukraine, which are not just NATO members have been invaded by Russia in recent years so that threat from Russia is very real and everybody I have spoken with over the past few days has talked about the importance of projecting strength and solidarity.

Alex Marquardt, CNN, Skopje, North Macedonia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: Thank you so much for that report.

Well, more than 100 prominent Republicans now threatening to form a third party if the GOP doesn't break away from the former president.

Stay with us.

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