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EARLY START

President Trump's New Situation: Implicated In Crime; Rep. Mark Meadows Now Leads Chief Of Staff Pack; Jamal Khashoggi's Last Words: "I Can't Breathe"; President Emmanuel Macron Meeting With French Leaders Following Weekend Protests. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired December 10, 2018 - 05:30   ET

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


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[05:30:26] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D), CALIFORNIA: He may be the first president in quite some time to face the real prospect of jail time.

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DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump dipping into his playbook of distraction and denial as the Mueller investigation ramps up.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump is looking for a new chief of staff to replace John Kelly, but why is his top pick passing on the job?

BRIGGS: "I can't breathe" -- the final words of Jamal Khashoggi. What else transcripts reveal about his murder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER, NFL "SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL": Touchdown! Kenyan Drake -- a miracle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Go, Miami -- an incredible play by the Miami Dolphins. How they pulled off a win with no time left on the clock.

And welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Alison Kosik. Good morning.

BRIGGS: Good morning.

"Lateral Damage," reads the "Boston Herald" this morning.

I'm Dave Briggs. Thirty-one minutes after the hour.

We're live in London and in Paris straight ahead, but we start in D.C. where the White House operating under entirely new circumstances this week now that the Justice Department has clearly implicated the president in a crime.

Prosecutors in New York say the president directed his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to break campaign finance laws, making illegal hush payments to two women who claimed they had affairs with Mr. Trump.

The special counsel's team revealed new contacts between Trump associates and Russia, including a Russian national offering government-level political synergy.

Mueller's team also explained they dropped their plea agreement with former campaign chairman Paul Manafort because he lied about contacts with a Russian intelligence official.

KOSIK: In this new environment, Democrats are no longer quite as cautious about using the "I" word -- impeachment.

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REP. JERROLD NADLER (D-NY), INCOMING CHAIRMAN, HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: They would be impeachable offenses. Whether they are important enough to justify an impeachment is a different question. But certainly, they'd be impeachable offenses.

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D), CONNECTICUT: The president has now stepped into the same territory that ultimately led to President Nixon resigning the office. President Nixon was an unindicted co- conspirator.

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KOSIK: "The Washington Post" reporting that anxiety is spiking among Republicans. They worry the White House has no real plan to deal with the accelerating Mueller probe.

CNN's Sarah Westwood has more from the White House.

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SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Dave and Alison, the president spent this weekend going after the Paris climate accords, railing against his former FBI director, calling for an end to the Russia investigation.

And basically, talking about anything other than prosecutors claiming in court filings submitted Friday that the president directed his former attorney, Michael Cohen, to make a pair of illegal payments during the presidential race.

Now, Trump has attempted to tout these latest documents as vindication because they didn't contain evidence of Russian collusion. But they did link the president directly to payments that he initially denied knowledge of. That's those payments to two women who tried to come forward during the presidential election with allegations of affairs.

Now, all of this comes against the backdrop of a major staff shake-up. The president announced Saturday that John Kelly, his White House chief of staff, would be leaving the administration by the end of the year. And his first choice for that job, Nick Ayers, the current chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, will also be leaving the administration after nearly accepting the role as Kelly's replacement. Our colleague, Kaitlan Collins, reports that Ayers and Trump had

discussed the prospect of Pence's chief of staff replacing Kelly, but Ayers wanted to do it in a temporary basis and the president wanted a 2-year commitment from Ayers.

Now, CNN is told that the president is considering four names to replace Kelly. One of them may be Republican Congressman Mark Meadows. He's a close ally of the president's on Capitol Hill. And CNN is also told that the president aims to make this decision by the end of the year -- Dave and Alison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRIGGS: All right, Sarah Westwood, thank you.

Joining us now, Princeton University professor and historian, Julian Zelizer, a CNN political analyst. Good to see you, sir.

KOSIK: Good morning.

JULIAN ZELIZER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, HISTORIAN AND PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, AUTHOR, "THE FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW": Good morning.

BRIGGS: As you might imagine, there's a tweet for that on chiefs of staff and here's one from President Trump -- then-Donald Trump, back in 2012.

"Three chief of staffs in less than three years of being president. Part of the reason why Barack Obama can't manage to pass his agenda."

KOSIK: Now he needs to look in the mirror.

BRIGGS: There is always a tweet for that.

But what does it tell you that a 36-year-old rising star in this White House, Nick Ayers, does not want the most influential job in Washington -- instead, wants to depart the White House?

ZELIZER: Look, I don't know his personal reasons but it suggests to me people see a moment of danger to enter into the inner circle of the White House. It's like jumping into a fire.

[05:35:03] He sees the Democrats are coming to the House of Representatives as the majority, he sees the Mueller report, and I think people are, I'm sure, worried about doing this.

BRIGGS: He wants to preserve his future, perhaps.

ZELIZER: Yes.

BRIGGS: And, Mark Meadows all in on Trumpism. He is the reported favorite of the president. We'll see how that goes. The House Freedom Caucus has been very supportive of this president.

KOSIK: Absolutely. So -- and with the release of these court filings there are all these

new revelations and the talk of impeachment has really ratcheted up over the weekend.

We heard from Sen. Angus King, from Maine, about what would happen if the president is impeached. We also heard from Jim Comey -- listen.

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JAMES COMEY, FORMER DIRECTOR, FBI: I hope Donald Trump is not removed from office by impeachment because it would let the country off the hook. And it would drive into the fabric of our nation -- a third of the people believing there was a coup.

SEN. ANGUS KING (I), MAINE: My concern is that if impeachment is moved forward on the evidence that we have now, at least a third of the country would think it was just political revenge and a coup against the president. That wouldn't serve us well at all. The best way to solve a problem like this, to me, is elections.

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KOSIK: But the reality is, in about three weeks Congress is going to be reconvening and the House taken over by the Democrats. What are they going to do with this?

ZELIZER: We'll see what's in the report. We don't actually know, and that's where King is not, you know, being totally honest with the facts.

As of now, we know some of the story, but the question is what happens when Mueller's report comes out. If it is bad enough -- and this is what some Democrats are saying -- they may have a responsibility as the majority to start an inquiry, and that's how these all start.

When Nixon's inquiry started there were many Republicans who said this is going to be a coup, this is all partisan. But by August of 1974, they were going to the president and saying time's up.

So we need to do this slowly but now, House Democrats are seriously talking about it.

BRIGGS: Republicans were with Nixon until the very --

ZELIZER: Until the very end.

BRIGGS: -- bitter end.

ZELIZER: Yes, let's not forget that.

BRIGGS: And some interesting reporting about the backdrop of all this -- the GOP anxiety in "The Washington Post" ahead of this Mueller reporting. How the White House will fight back against it.

And a fascinating quote from Steve Bannon, old White House friend, says, "The Democrats are going to weaponize the Mueller report and the president needs a team that can go to the mattresses." Straight-up "Godfather" reference there.

"The president can't trust the GOP to be there when it counts. They don't feel any sense of duty or responsibility to stand with Trump." That part is particularly fascinating.

And you write about this in a cnn.com piece. You ask, "Will the Republican Party turn on Trump?"

What evidence is there that anyone in this Senate Republican Party, as we know it, will turn on the president, and where do you think the line is?

ZELIZER: So far, there's zero evidence. They have stood by the president and that's still the bet. But the midterms changed everything because Republicans are now seeing they can lose. They kept the Senate, but they were devastated in the House.

So, what turns? The only thing that can turn them is are they going to lose their power. This is about partisanship. In partisanship, you are not loyal to the person, you are loyal to the party.

So the calculation we're watching is do Republicans start to think if we keep standing by this president, come 2020, we're not going to have the White House, we won't have the House, and maybe we would lose the Senate. That's when the president becomes vulnerable.

KOSIK: And those contingency plans start being drawn up and acted upon.

ZELIZER: And don't forget you have a vice president, Pence, who originally was insurance against the Democrats. But you could imagine all of the sudden some Republicans say well, that's not so bad. He's a very conservative Republican and he can be the hero for 2020.

So I can imagine scenarios when the report comes out that this doesn't play out as nicely as President Trump is hoping for.

BRIGGS: Where we can agree, it would have to go beyond campaign finance.

ZELIZER: Oh, much more, yes.

BRIGGS: OK, OK, I agree with that.

Julian Zelizer, good to see you. Thank you.

ZELIZER: Thank you.

BRIGGS: All right.

"The New York Times" reporting President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner offered Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman advice on how to quote "weather the storm" after the murder of "Washington Post" journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

White House protocols require that National Security Council staff be present on all phone calls with foreign leaders, but the "Times" reports Kushner and MBS continued chatting informally following "The Washington Post" columnist and U.S. resident's death.

In a statement, a White House spokesman telling the "Times" quote, "Jared has always meticulously followed protocols and guidelines regarding the relationship with MBS and all of the other foreign officials with whom he interacts."

KOSIK: "I can't breathe." Those are the final words of Jamal Khashoggi. A transcript of the audio recording of the murdered journalist's death seen by a CNN source also includes the sound of Khashoggi's body being dismembered by a saw.

[05:40:02] CNN's Nic Robertson joining us live now from London with his exclusive reporting. Good morning, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Alison, the details here are horrific. What they also tell us, very clearly, is that the Saudi narrative, so far, on Jamal Khashoggi's killing is not accurate. They said that his death was accidental, that is was a tragic mistake.

So what happened? Khashoggi walks into the consulate, immediately recognizes a former Saudi diplomat working for the crown prince. Now, that former diplomat says to Khashoggi, "You're coming back." He says, "I can't do that" and says "People are waiting for me outside."

And immediately -- no discussion, no anything -- the people in that room jump on him. And it's right after that Khashoggi can be heard several times saying, "I can't breathe, I can't breathe."

Again, the Saudis had indicated that he was accidentally choked. That was one of the narratives at one point. Clearly, the transcript indicates something entirely different.

Then it gets worse. Then you can hear Khashoggi scream. He screams at least twice. Then he can be heard gasping.

And at the same time, other noises are going on. There are other voices talking and the sound that's recorded is of cutting and a saw. And the forensic doctor that's in that room tells the people in the room, "If you don't like what you're hearing put in your earplugs or do what I'm going -- listen to music."

Also, that diplomat, according to the transcript, has a conversation where he says "Tell yours" -- meaning your boss -- "it's done. The thing is done." The interpretation is that that was a phone call and according to Turkish sources, that was a phone call going to the crown prince's office.

Now, Saudi officials that we've contacted have said they've seen the transcript and listened to the recording and there is no phone call. And a Saudi source close to the Saudi investigation says that the two men who we've talked about here -- the forensic doctor and the former diplomat, both working for the crown prince -- deny that they made any phone calls. As we heard over the weekend from Sen. Lindsey Graham, there is a ton of intelligence linking that team to the crown prince.

KOSIK: Oh, just horrific. Thanks so much for your reporting, Nic Robertson.

BRIGGS: All right. Ahead, French President Emmanuel Macron meeting right now with political and business leaders and unions after a fourth weekend of violent protests. We go live to Paris for the latest, next.

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[05:46:44] BRIGGS: Breaking news.

The European Court of Justice ruling the U.K. can cancel Brexit without the permission of the other 27 E.U. members. This comes one day before members of Parliament are due to vote on British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal. The proposal widely expected to be rejected.

The BBC reports the ruling makes staying in the E.U. a real, viable option and it might sway some to vote that way. But, May and her government are firmly behind Brexit.

KOSIK: Embattled French President Emmanuel Macron meeting right now with political and business leaders, local officials, and unions. Later today he will address the French people, calling for national unity.

Macron's speech following a fourth a weekend of sometimes-violent protests that drew 136,000 demonstrators on Saturday alone.

For the latest on the crisis engulfing French society, let's turn to senior European correspondent Jim Bitterman, who is live for us in Paris. Good morning to you.

You know, these protesters insist that the cost of living there is just too high. But what can Macron do at this point to get some order in the streets?

JIM BITTERMAN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alison, that's the big question here. What can he do because as some of the headline writers are saying, his back is against the wall, it's make or break time for the president.

Here's what "Les Echos" said this morning -- the gilets jaunes -- what Macron's preparing to get out of this crisis. Everybody would like to know what he's going to say tonight that can possibly resolve this situation.

Basically, this is a shadow over the next 3 1/2 years of his presidency -- one of the reasons they say it's make or break time -- because he came into office on a platform of reforming France, both economically but also socially. And so the question is can he continue those reforms if he starts

giving in as he's expected to this evening -- or at least as those gilets jaunes are insisting. So we'll have to see.

But not all of these majors involve economics and money. In fact, some of them like -- for instance, in the schools -- were just a way that they've reformed the school systems. And this morning, there are dozens of schools that are blocked by students who are against the kind of reforms that he made to the educational system -- Alison.

KOSIK: Make or break time for Macron. Let's see how he does in his speech.

Jim Bitterman live for us in Paris -- thank you.

Let's get a check "CNN Business" this morning. Global stocks are down amid continuing trade tensions.

In Asia, the Nikkei down two percent. The Shanghai down almost one percent. The Hang Seng fell one percent.

We're looking at European markets. The DAX in Germany is down below one percent as trading opens there. We're seeing the FTSE in London down a bit. And the CAC in Paris is off about a half a percent.

On Wall Street we are seeing futures down after heavy selling on Friday. Those worries about the U.S.-China trade war capping off a brutal week on Wall Street.

The Dow fell 559 points on Friday. The Nasdaq closed down three percent. The S&P 500 fell two percent.

The Dow fell over 1,100 points just that week -- last week. It was the index's worst week since March of this year.

OPEC and its allies reaching a deal to slash oil production Friday despite pressure from President Trump to keep pumping. The cuts will remove 1.2 million barrels a day from world markets.

[05:50:06] U.S. crude prices spiked almost five percent to $54 a barrel after the news. And members of OPEC pledged to reduce their production by 800,000 barrels per day for six months beginning in January. Russia and other producers outside the cartel promising to cut an additional 400,000 barrels per day.

The deal should help eliminate excess supply. Right now, the U.S. is pumping at record levels and recently surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest oil producer for the first time since 1973.

Carlos Ghosn and Nissan were indicted Monday on allegations of financial misconduct. That's according to Japanese media. Japanese public broadcaster NHK Tokyo says prosecutors indicted Ghosn and Nissan for underreporting his income.

In a press release, Nissan said this. Quote, "Making false disclosures in annual securities reports greatly harms the integrity of Nissan's public disclosures in the securities markets, and the company expresses its deepest regret."

Ghosn was arrested last month in Tokyo. He's since been removed as chairman of Nissan and Mitsubishi and temporarily replaced as head of France's Renault.

Ghosn has not yet responded publicly to the allegations but those allegations are mounting.

BRIGGS: Yes, they're not good.

All right. Ahead, they're calling it the "Miami Miracle," but not in New England.

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ANNOUNCER, NFL "SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL": Touchdown! Kenyan Drake -- a miracle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: That was the ending -- you won't believe the middle. That's coming up on EARLY START.

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[05:56:06] KOSIK: Oklahoma University quarterback Kyler Murray apologizing just hours after winning the Heisman trophy for using homophobic language on Twitter in 2011. In the tweets, Murray mockingly used the word queer or queers. Many of the offensive tweets have since been deleted.

Murray said this on Sunday. "I apologize for the tweets that have come to light tonight from when I was 14 and 15. I used a poor choice of word that doesn't reflect who I am or what I believe."

Though he's obviously a very talented quarterback, Murray's future may actually be in Major League Baseball. He was drafted ninth overall this year by the Oakland A's and is scheduled to report to spring training in February.

BRIGGS: Call it the "Miami Miracle" -- just not in New England. The Dolphins shocking the Patriots on the final play of the game Sunday. It turns out to be a 69-yard pass and double lateral play that gave the Dolphins an improbable, impossible 34-33 win over New England.

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ANNOUNCER, NFL "SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL": Touchdown! Kenyan Drake -- a miracle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: What an ending. Hard to believe that Kenyan Drake found the end zone. Rob Gronkowski in that game to defend against a Hail Mary. No one

thought this would be a Hail Mary. Strange to see the Patriots get arguably outcoached when that is their strength of all strengths.

KOSIK: I love that.

BRIGGS: But what a Sunday it was in the NFL.

KOSIK: The latest scandals to rock the White House and President Trump giving "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" plenty of material to work with -- watch.

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COLIN JOST, CO-ANCHOR, "WEEKEND UPDATE", NBC "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": Federal prosecutors said Friday that Michael Cohen committed two election-related crimes at the direction of a person identified as "Individual 1." Now, we don't know for sure who Individual 1 is, but let's just say things are getting tense right now over at Individual 1 Tower.

MICHAEL CHE, CO-ANCHOR, "WEEKEND UPDATE", NBC "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": Trump is now calling for an end to the Mueller probe, which I've got to admit it's worth a shot. I mean, you don't want to go to jail and then find out you could have just called it off the whole time.

JOST: President Trump announced today that John Kelly, his chief of staff, is leaving the position at the end of the year because Kelly requires extensive surgery to remove his palm from his face.

That's how awful it is to work in the Trump White House, by the way. John Kelly spent 40 years in the Marines, he did three tours in Iraq, and he couldn't finish one tour with Donald Trump.

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BRIGGS: It will be a fascinating --

KOSIK: Face-palm.

BRIGGS: -- parlor game -- who replaces John Kelly.

KOSIK: Yes.

BRIGGS: With Nick Ayers, 36 years old, doesn't want the job.

KOSIK: And not interested.

BRIGGS: Well, not interested in this 2-year commitment that we've heard about. It will be an interesting horse race ahead.

KOSIK: All right, it's been great this morning -- thanks.

BRIGGS: Good to have you.

KOSIK: And thanks for joining us. I'm Alison Kosik. BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. "NEW DAY" starts right now. See you tomorrow.

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SCHIFF: He may be the first president to face the real prospect of jail time.

SEN. RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY: It's a miscarriage of justice. We should not have special prosecutors going after one person.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The key phrase is "directed by Individual 1." Directed by implicates the president in a felony.

LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: It's been a long two years for Gen. Kelly. Perhaps it is time for a rest.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was internal resistance to Ayers from senior staffers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Trump definitely feels comfortable with Meadows, but whether the political chemistry is there it's a little hard to tell right now.

(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 Monday, December 10th, 6:00 here in New York.

Great to see you so early after our fun night at "CNN HEROES."

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're so fresh, we're so fresh.

CAMEROTA: Yes, we are.

BERMAN: "CNN HEROES" is one of the greatest nights of the year. It's inspiring in every way.

CAMEROTA: It is fabulous and we'll get into that.

But this morning we begin with Donald Trump facing the greatest threat to his presidency. For the first time since taking office, the president is tied directly to federal crimes in the sentencing memo of his former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen.

The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee --