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EARLY START

Scaramucci Tags Reince Priebus In Cryptic Tweet; Deadly Accident At Ohio State Fair; U.S. Says North Korea Capable Of Nuke Missile Launch Next Year. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired July 27, 2017 - 05:30   ET

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


[05:30:00] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: The "Daily News" calls the president the "Commander in Hate."

Tal Kopan joins us in just a minute.

But some apparent infighting first at the highest levels of the White House with the president's new communications director seeming to suggest White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus had a hand in leaking his financial disclosures. Now, Anthony Scaramucci says he's going to the FBI.

This bizarre episode began with a cryptic tweet from Scaramucci.

"In light of the leak of my financial disclosure info, which is a felony, I will be contacting the FBI and the Justice Department. #swamp."

And he tagged in that tweet Reince Priebus, the chief of staff.

ROMANS: Now, the reference to Priebus is not clear but CNN contributor Ryan Lizza tweeted this.

"In case there's any ambiguity in his tweet, I can confirm that Scaramucci wants the FBI to investigate Reince for leaking."

All this coming after a "Politico" story that listed millions in earnings and salary from Scaramucci's ownership stake in SkyBridge before he left to go to the Export-Import Bank in June. It's not entirely clear whether "Politico" got the document by leak or by public record, by Freedom of Information request. I mean --

In an interview taped before all this happened Scaramucci said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI, WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: I know I'm in a cesspool called Washington or a swamp called Washington, so it will be virtually impossible to get rid of every leak, but I think we can take dramatic steps to get rid of leaks.

And one of the big problems here that I'm discovering on comms team is that senior people are really the guys doing the leaking and they ask junior people to leak for them. And so I'm very proud to be reporting directly to the president so that I can hermetically seal off the comms team from this sort of nonsense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: That drew this response from the DOJ.

"We have seen an astonishing increase in the number of leaks of classified nationalsecurity information in recent months. We agree with Anthony that the staggering number of leaks are undermining the ability of our government to function and to protect this country."

ROMANS: After all this went down, Scaramucci deleted his initial tweet and sent out this one.

"Wrong. Tweet was public notice to leakers that all senior administration officials are helping to end illegal leaks." And again, he tagged Priebus.

So we reach out to Ryan Lizza and he stands by his reporting that Scaramucci does want Priebus investigated.

BRIGGS: All right, let's bring in Tal Kopan, "CNN DIGITIAL POLITICS" reporter. She is in our Washington bureau.

ROMANS: Good morning.

BRIGGS: Good morning to you, Tal.

All right. All these tweets, all this mess, what does it say about the level of paranoia about the communications problems that still exist even though Anthony Scaramucci is here to clean up just that?

TAL KOPAN, CNN DIGITAL POLITICS REPORTER: Yes, the level of paranoia seems to be strong within the White House. And, you know, it seems almost silly to talk about the way an administration would normally function because I think it's well established that this administration doesn't necessarily feel bound by what's considered normal.

But, you know, a communications director position in the White House is often designed to keep the administration out of the news unless they want to be in the news, and want to be in the news for policy decisions. That is not how this Trump communications department is operating and you see that from Scaramucci.

And he's channeling Trump himself, you know. If you feel on defense, go on offense. And so, they're going on attack on this problem of leaks even though it's not entirely clear what they're referring to.

Certainly, there have been some. For example, about the private contents of Trump's meetings with foreign officials that perhaps it's understandable that they're a little bit concerned about that getting out. But then, there are some that are just -- you know, the White House is working on a piece of legislation which often a comm shop intentionally wants out there.

ROMANS: Yes. KOPAN: So it's a really broad brush but it's certainly a completely different communications strategy than what we're used to seeing from White House.

ROMANS: So that aside, less than 24 hours ago the president sort of stunned, I think, his military --

KOPAN: Yes.

BRIGGS: Yes, no question.

ROMANS: -- and the media and everyone involved with this announcement that he was going to ban transgender people from serving their country in the United States military.

"After consultations with my generals and military experts, please be advised the United States government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity." You can see it there.

He talks about the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender people cause in the military. Without any evidence, he says that.

And this how his hometown "Daily News" plays it -- "Commander in Hate." Very sharp response there. "Cruel betrayal built on lies."

Dave and I were saying, you know, if it hadn't been for the transgender decision yesterday I think his luring of Foxconn to a new plant in Wisconsin might have been a top story.

BRIGGS: No question, one of his best days.

ROMANS: His 5:00 p.m. jobs announcements might have been the headline. But instead, it was a series of tweets that seemed to catch his own administration off guard.

[05:35:04] KOPAN: That's absolutely right, Christine, and let's talk a little bit about what was happening behind the scenes before these tweets.

So, you know, on the one hand you have this sort of constant drumbeat of the president's attacks on his own attorney general who is very popular with his base. And so, that was happening and the president likely wanted to change the subject.

And also, you know, there's a debate happening in the House right now about how to move forward on a defense spending package that includes money for the president's wall, which he wants very much.

And CNN has learned that there were some conservatives who were sort of debating whether to include an amendment that would have prevented money for transgender reassignment surgery. That debate was perhaps holding up a little bit of the bill so there was a little bit of a reachout to the White House. And it's possible that President Trump interpreted that by going full bore and announcing on Twitter that transgender individuals would not be allowed to serve in the military.

So all these things were happening behind the scenes but you're absolutely right. This was not a policy decision that came out with a lot of follow-through. It was a series of tweets that sent everyone scrambling and completely usurped the message the White House probably wanted to send that day.

BRIGGS: You think? This is "American Heroes" week. These are thousands of people --

ROMANS: Wow.

BRIGGS: -- serving their country that put their life on the line. It's "American Heroes" week.

All right, but I've just got to move on to Jeff Sessions and the attorney general, and another thing that is not normal and should not be treated as normal. The president continued to attack the country's top law enforcement officer on Twitter.

Several Republicans have stepped up to defend Jeff Sessions. Just to name a few, Lindsey Graham, Oren Hatch, Shelby, Cornyn. I could go on and on. Almost unanimous support for Jeff Sessions and those also speaking out against the potential appointment -- recess appointment of a potential replacement.

What's the end game here for the president, and is there any way he could fire Jeff Sessions and appoint his replacement during the August recess?

KOPAN: There's a lot going on there.

So, when you talk about recess appointments the interesting thing is this is actually something that came up during the Obama administration. It's something that President Obama tried to use and actually generated a Supreme Court case that went not in favor of the former president and found that you can't make a recess appointment unless the Senate sort of formally adjourns. And so there's already an effort underway to prevent that from happening in August.

And since that Supreme Court decision Congress really hasn't officially gone on recess. They meet in these what are called pro forma sessions just to keep the appearance of being open. So a recess appointment -- the too long to not read version is it would be very difficult to do.

I don't -- you asked about the end game here. It's not clear to me that there is an end game, you know.

One of our colleagues, Dan Merica, wrote about how as much as he's known for saying you're fired, President Trump doesn't really like to directly fire people.

ROMANS: No, he's a people pleaser.

KOPAN: Yes, he is. ROMANS: The people around him -- he does -- he is a people pleaser, personally, when he's in a small group.

BRIGGS: He had his bodyguard deliver a letter to the FBI director while the FBI director was in California --

KOPAN: Right.

BRIGGS: -- just to give you some context on how he fires people.

ROMANS: All right, Tal, quickly on --

BRIGGS: Sorry to interrupt.

ROMANS: No, no, no, it's great.

The GOP is still searching for a way forward on health care.

KOPAN: Yes.

ROMANS: They wouldn't do a straight repeal. Now what? I mean, what is the path forward for them?

KOPAN: Again, we don't know. And you know what? Mitch McConnell doesn't know either and that's what's so remarkable about this is we're actually seeing, in real time, the Senate figure it out.

And so, there's going to be some proposals put forward today. We're going to see how the votes fall. People may not even know how they're going to vote until the last minute.

It is an incredible spectacle happening and the hope, ultimately, if we want to talk about end game, is that somehow with the spaghetti approach you throw enough at the wall and something sticks. But we just don't know how the votes are going to fall.

ROMANS: All right.

BRIGGS: A seven-year fight to repeal and replace Obamacare --

ROMANS: Yes.

BRIGGS: -- might be over --

ROMANS: Yes, but the thing is --

BRIGGS: -- within 24 hours.

ROMANS: I mean --

BRIGGS: We'll see.

ROMANS: -- maybe I'm crazy, but for seven years they've been saying they had a better idea. I don't see that.

BRIGGS: Yes. ROMANS: I don't see it. It's not -- it's not here. I mean, maybe they should have polished that up a little bit.

BRIGGS: Perhaps.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks so much. Nice to see you, Tal.

Lowering premiums -- on to health care. Lowering premiums has been a consistent theme during the health care debate, but a skinny repeal of Obamacare will do just the opposite.

It's because it eliminates a few things that keep costs lower, like the employer mandate requiring companies to provide insurance for all full-time workers, or the individual mandate compelling all Americans to have health insurance or pay a penalty.

The individual mandate has met mixed reviews, of course, but insurers, experts, and advocates, they all stress how important it is to stability because it brings in younger, healthier people into the insurance market and those people offset the higher costs for those who need more care.

[05:40:08] Without it, the Congressional Budget Office says premiums would rise about 20 percent over the next decade, leaving 15 million fewer people with health insurance. And rising premiums also cost the federal government. You'll have to pay more in subsidies to help people afford their coverage.

BRIGGS: And what they hope here is to get this to a conference committee where somehow the House and the Senate can just come up with an agreement which, to Trey Gowdy's point, would be the seventh sign of the Apocalypse, should that happen. That's Republican Trey Gowdy.

ROMANS: Seven years of promising repeal and replace and they are not clear how they're going to replace it.

BRIGGS: It's a big day.

ROMANS: Seven years of promises. All right.

BRIGGS: A big day in the Capitol.

OK. Ahead, one person killed, several others in critical condition after a horrific accident at the Ohio State Fair, leaving officials and witnesses shaken.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER BODY, WITNESS: And I heard a girl scream help and I looked over and I seen people fly out, and then I seen it slap to the ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:45:13] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DEVRAY WILLIAMS, ON RIDE DURING ACCIDENT: They were stuck. They were stuck in the hole, you know, what you put over you. They were stuck in it.

They couldn't move and it was like herdaughter was going mom. I remember the little girl's face. She was screaming for her mom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Tragedy strikes at the Ohio State Fair. One person was killed when a ride malfunctioned, seven others injured. Three are in critical condition.

The accident caught on video. We're only showing part because of its graphic nature. The victims were thrown off of this Fireball ride when one of the entire cars broke off the ride.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich ordering all rides at the fair to be shut down and he plans to travel there today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), OHIO: It's kind of hard to imagine that you have family that goes to a state fair and those calls come that there was a terrible accident and a terrible tragedy, and someone you love was involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: After the accident people rushed in to help. Witnesses say riders were thrown some 20 feet in the air when the car detached.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BODY: The ride, it goes really, really fast and it goes in circles and it rocks right to left. And I heard a girl scream help and I looked over and I seen some fly out and then I seen it slap to the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole part broke off and two people flew out in the air and as they were getting off the ride it happened simultaneously. I looked over to the right and seen the car flying -- two people flying out of their seats. It was crazy.

BODY: And it just looked like, I don't know, something I've never seen before.

SUSIE BUCHANON, ATTENDED FAIR: I just feel terrible for those people that they've left behind -- their families. You know, you come over here, you think you're going to have a lot of fun and then you end up with something like this. This is just really a shame for those families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: The fair's chief ride inspector says there were no red flags when the ride was examined before the accident. Even though rides are closed the fair will be open this morning will all other activities resuming as scheduled.

ROMANS: Just a tragedy there. All right.

BRIGGS: It was, indeed.

ROMANS: Forty-seven minutes past the hour.

Time for a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY." Alisyn Camerota joins us this morning. Good morning.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, guys. Great to see you.

So, on "NEW DAY" we're going to have some new reporting on this mysterious tweet that the new White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci sent out after 10:00 p.m. last night that seemed to suggest that he thinks that Reince Priebus is behind the White House leaks.

So we have some experts on who have some new information about this and they will share and we'll try to figure out what's going on inside the White House.

Also, we're going to have on Shane Ortega. He is the first openly transgender soldier in the U.S. military. So he will be on to share his feelings and his thoughts -- what he thought when he saw the president's tweet about banning transgender soldiers from the military.

So it's a big show when Chris and I see you in about 12 minutes.

BRIGGS: All right. Happy "American Heroes" week.

CAMEROTA: Thank you.

BRIGGS: See you in a bit.

ROMANS: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Thanks so much.

ROMANS: Stocks have never been higher. All three major indices hitting records. We're going to tell you why on "CNN Money Stream," next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:52:35] The U.S. now believes North Korea will be able to launch a reliable nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile by early next year. That is two years sooner than previous assessments even though there are still questions about guidance and more.

Right now, the Kim Jong Un regime marking the 64th anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War over six decades ago.

We are extraordinarily fortunate to have CNN's Will Ripley joining us live near the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Good morning to you, Will.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Dave.

It has been a quiet day as we have watched, along with the South Korean military and U.S. military here on the South Korean side of the 38th parallel. There's a river in North Korea right beyond there. There has been some slight troop movement. There are soldiers over there but for the most part it's been very quiet.

And, certainly, no activity at the North Korean launch site at Kusong, where the State Department has observed heavy equipment rolling in in recent days, indicating the possibility of a ballistic missile launch like the one that North Korea conducted on the Fourth of July.

This day, the 23rd of July, very significant here in the Korean Peninsula. As you mentioned, it marks the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice Agreement back in 1953 that ended the fighting of the Korean War.

North Korea calls it their victory day. It's a time when they have shown their military strength in the past, either with military parades or weapons tests.

It is raining over that launch site right now, which may be a reason why we haven't seen a missile in the air today.

But there is some troubling new intelligence from U.S. analysts who now believe it will just be a matter of months before North Korea has a reliable intercontinental ballistic missile that could deliver a nuclear warhead to the mainland U.S., possibly by early next year. That is far sooner than anyone would have predicted even as recently as six months ago.

All of this as South Korea tries to extend an olive branch. They've been offering up peace talks with the North. That offer has been met with silence.

And there is this new round of sanctions that has now cleared the House and the Senate and will be headed to President Trump's desk. We'll have to see how North Korea and Kim Jong Un respond to that -- Dave.

BRIGGS: Indeed, and if the president signs that measure.

Very lucky to have you there. Great reporting. Will Ripley near the DMZ. Thank you.

Meanwhile, security measures at a holy site in Jerusalem's Old City now back to where they were before after last month's Palestinian attack that killed two Israeli policemen.

Israeli police now saying all cameras have been removed from the area. Metal detectors were removed earlier this week.Palestinians in Jerusalem protested these security measures which led to almost daily clashes with police.

[05:55:13] ROMANS: All right, 55 minutes past the hour.

Let's get a check on "CNN Money Stream" this morning.

Global stock markets mostly higher after a record day for Wall Street. Stocks have never been higher. I sound like a broken record because these records are broken day in, day out.

All three major averages hitting records here. The Nasdaq is up now 20 percent for the year.

BRIGGS: Wow.

ROMANS: Solid economy's strong earnings are keeping stock at these lofty levels.

AT&T and Boeing reporting big corporate profits. Boeing stock had its best day in eight years. Boeing up nine percent after it raised its profit forecast. This is a pretty -- like a favorite stock of people who like high dividend yielding stocks because you get this nice divided, and a pop in the stock price yesterday.

More earnings on the way today, including Verizon, Proctor & Gamble, and Amazon.

Also helping stocks, the Federal Reserve is holding interest rates steady after Fed Chair Janet Yellen and company concluded their two- day meeting. The Central Bank says it will begin selling off its $4 trillion balance sheet soon. Analysts think that means September.

It left interest rates alone after three rate hikes since December. As you know, interest rates affect borrowing costs, raising rates for things like credit cards, auto and student loans, and saving accounts.

All right. Facebook's news feed is running out of ad space. The company reported second quarter results and revenue grew 45 percent. Now, for any other company 45 percent would be phenomenal -- not Facebook.

Sales have grown at least 50 percent the last five quarters thanks to mobile ads. Its current ad space has peaked, though. It plans to make up the difference with higher prices and new slots in videos and its messaging apps.

BRIGGS: We need more apps.

ROMANS: I -- you know, I --

BRIGGS: We do.

ROMANS: Bring it on.

Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: All right. I'm Dave Briggs.

A tragic accident at the Ohio State Fair captured on video. An entire car detaches from a ride sending people flying. "NEW DAY" has all the latest details right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We basically have an all-out public war in the White House.

ROMANS: The president's new communications director seeming to suggest Reince Priebus had a hand in leaking his financial disclosures.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is deplorable behavior at the highest levels.

SCARAMUCCI: I don't like these leaks. If we don't stop the leaks, I'm going to stop you.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: This certainly won't be easy. Hardly anything in this process has been.

BRIGGS: The Senate now barreling toward a dramatic final series of votes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fact that we can't actually get a bill through the Senate is an absolute disgrace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo and Alisyn Camerota.

CAMEROTA: And we want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Thursday, July 27th, 6:00 here in New York.

We're going to get to all of the big political stories of today in a moment.

But first, we do begin with breaking news for you because one person has been killed and at seven hurt after this ride breaks at the Ohio State Fair, tossing passengers into the air and then crashing to the ground.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Now, we've all seen rides like this -- and we keep freezing the video because some of it's disturbing, but you just have to take a look at it to appreciate what this apparent malfunction wound up doing.People got flung 20 to 30 feet from being that high at speed onto the ground.

Investigators have shut down all the rides at the fair. They're trying to figure out what went wrong.

We have CNN's Ryan Young live in Columbus, Ohio with the breaking details.

And this ride combines all the risk factors, right? I mean, you've got a bunch of people, you've got it swinging fast, and it's at elevation. RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Look, this is a horrific accident and when you watch that video you can see how high these people were.

The ride's called the Fireball and people are stacked like six rows deep. It swings some 40 feet in the air and, in fact, we're not going to show you all this video because it's quite horrific.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

YOUNG (voice-over): Tragedy at the Ohio State Fair captured on this dramatic video, showing the Fireball spinning and swinging before a piece of the structure breaks off sending riders flying. Witnesses say some fell 20 or 30 feet onto the concrete below.

BODY: I heard a girl scream help andI looked over and I seen some fly out, and then I seen it slap to the ground.

YOUNG: The accident leaving at least one dead and injuring several others, including some who are now in critical condition. A CNN affiliate reports the victims range in age from 13 to 41.

WILLIAMS: They were stuck in the hole, you know, what you put over you. They were stuck in it. They couldn't move. And it was like a -- I can remember the little girl's face and she was screaming for her mom.

YOUNG: Police on scene pushing fairgoers back so medics could treat the injured.

DAVID EVANS, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, WEXNER MEDICAL CENTER: This was of great force and a great mechanism, really consistent with a very high-speed motor vehicle crash with an ejection.

YOUNG: The cause of the malfunction unclear.