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EARLY START

Day of Reckoning; Flynn Argues Against Prison Time; Oval Office Showdown; May Told of Confidence Vote Last Night; France Raises National Security Threat Level; Google CEO Testifies Before Congress. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired December 12, 2018 - 04:30   ET

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


CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, right-hand man, fixer, set to be sentenced in just hours.

[04:30:03] How much jail time the president's former associate could face?

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: What led former national security adviser Michael Flynn to lie the FBI. Why his legal team believes Flynn should not serve prison time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am proud to shut down the government for border security, Chuck.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: President Trump taking the blame, all the blame, for a potential shutdown ahead of next week's deadline. More from that remarkable, heated Oval Office meeting with Democratic leaders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THERESA MAY, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I will contest that vote with everything I've got.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Breaking news on Brexit. Conservative members of parliament triggering a no-confidence vote in Theresa May. And now she's vowing to fight back.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everybody. I'm Dave Briggs.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. Thirty minutes past the Wednesday morning.

A lot going on in terms of the president's inner circle -- former inner circle this morning. Michael Cohen is about to discover the price he must pay for his blind loyalty to Donald Trump. At 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, the president's former lawyer and fixer will be sentenced in New York's Southern District. He's requesting no prison time in exchange for his cooperation after pleading guilty to campaign finance and business crimes and lying to Congress.

BRIGGS: But in a sentencing recommendation last week, Southern District prosecutors said Cohen's description of those efforts is overstate in some respects and incomplete in others. For these reasons, the office respectfully requests that this court impose a substantial term of imprisonment.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's team will appear in court today. They're expected to tell the judge Cohen has helped their investigation after meeting with them seven times. The president's former lawyer is facing up to four years in prison.

ROMANS: President Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn is also asking a judge to spare him from serving prison time because of his cooperation with the special counsel. In a memo are leased last night, Flynn's legal team described his meeting in January of 2017 with FBI investigators. They say Peter Strzok and one other agent visited Flynn in the west wing after he first made false statements about his contacts with Russians. Now Flynn did not have a lawyer with him, and according to his attorneys, he should have been warned he could be prosecuted for making false statements.

BRIGGS: They go to claim the bureau decided the agents would not warn Flynn that it was a crime to lie during an FBI interview because they wanted him to be relaxed. And they were concerned that giving the warnings might adversely affect the report. Special counsel Robert Mueller has told the court Flynn provided substantial assistance to the investigation and should be spared from going to prison. The judge overseeing his sentence makes the final call on Tuesday.

ROMANS: And lawyers for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort say they may not challenge claims their client violated his plea deal by lying to prosecutors. Last week, Robert Mueller's team claimed Manafort lied about five major issues including his contact with administration officials. In a court hearing Tuesday, a judge said the Mueller memo was too much of a summary and doesn't provide sufficient information to make factual findings. A hearing on the disputes over the plea agreement scheduled now for January 25th.

BRIGGS: President Trump claims he's not concerned about being impeached. In an interview with "Reuters", he defends the hush-money payments made to two women by Michael Cohen claiming they do not violate campaign finance laws. The president goes on to say it's hard to impeach somebody who hasn't done anything wrong and who's created the greatest economy in the history of our country. I'm not concerned, no. I think that the people would revolt if that happened.

The president was asked about all his staffers who took meetings with Russians before and during the 2016 campaign. He replied the stuff you're talking about is peanut stuff.

ROMANS: All right. The government shutdown is looming just in time for Christmas. President Trump making the threat over funding for his border wall during this extraordinary televised clash with the top House and Senate Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: One thing I think we can agree on is we shouldn't shut down the government over a dispute. And you want to shut it down. You keep talking about it.

TRUMP: No, no. The last time, Chuck, you shut it down --

SCHUMER: No, no, no.

TRUMP: You know what I'll say -- yes. If we don't get what we want, one way or the other, through you, through military, through anything you want to call, I will shut down the government.

SCHUMER: OK. Fair enough. We disagree.

TRUMP: I am proud --

SCHUMER: We disagree.

TRUMP: I am proud to shut down the government for border security, Chuck, because the people of this country don't want criminals and people that have lots of problems and drugs pouring into our country. So I will take the mantle.

I will be the one to shut it down. I'm not going to blame you for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: I will be the one to shut it down. That is a clip that could come back. If you watched Tuesday's spectacle in the Oval Office you got a preview of what to expect in 2019 when Democrats take over the House.

[04:35:02] Listen to the president exchanging taunts and threats with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I also know that Nancy's in a situation where it's not easy for her to talk right now. And I understand that. And I fully understand that. We're going to have a good discussion, and we're going to see what happens.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: Mr. President --

TRUMP: We have to have border security.

PELOSI: Mr. President, please don't characterize the strength that I bring to this meeting as a leader of the House Democrats who just won a big victory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Schumer is urging the president to accept the senate's bipartisan agreement to spend $1.6 billion on border security. As he left the White House, the senior minority leader told reporters if the president sticks to his position of a $5 billion wall, he will get no wall, and he will get a shutdown.

More now from Jeff Zeleny.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Christine and David, the echoes from that meeting inside the Oval Office here on Tuesday still reverberating across Washington. It was the first time in more than a year that President Trump met with the Democratic leaders. But of course so much has changed in that time, particularly the fact that Democrats won the House of Representatives.

But it was an extraordinary exchange in the Oval Office. The president decided to bring the cameras in to try and if not put Democrats on the spot, to try and frame the debate. Well, they did not blink at all, at least in that session.

There is a sense that Washington is moving closer to a shutdown than people thought earlier in the week.

Now, of course, we have seen this movie before. Of course, it's been averted before. But no question that the president doubling down on the border wall and saying that he would, in fact, own a shutdown.

Now, many Republicans aren't nearly as confident in owning that like he is. So, again, there is a week to go in this debate. We got a sense here at the White House and, indeed, across town here of what divided government will look like in Washington.

We saw the president challenged for the first time on his facts and his substance and his ideas inside that Oval Office. Something he has rarely experienced from Republicans and certainly members of his staff. So, perhaps a window, an ugly one, perhaps, of a civic lesson that was short of civility -- Dave and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Jeff Zeleny at the White House. Thanks, Jeff.

After that tense public exchange with President Trump at the Oval Office, Nancy Pelosi met privately with House Democrats and she mocked the president's desire for border wall funding saying this: It's like a manhood thing for him, as if manhood could ever be associated with him.

Pelosi revealing in their private session the president returned to a familiar campaign promise. He said that Mexico is going to pay for the wall. And the House Democratic leader suggested they gained the political upper hand with president Trump taking personal responsibility for that potential government shutdown. If Mexico's going to pay for the wall, why do you need the border funding for the wall?

BRIGGS: Well -- should turn back the clock a little bit to Republican-led House, didn't give the president the votes for the wall. ROMANS: Right.

BRIGGS: Meanwhile, a federal judge in California ordering porn star Stormy Daniels to pay near $300,000 in legal fees to President Trump's lawyers in connection with her failed defamation suit. They had asked for more than twice that amount. Nonetheless, Trump attorney Charles Harder calls it a total victory for the president.

The defamation suit was separate from the original lawsuit concerning the nondisclosure agreement Daniels signed with the former Trump attorney and fixer Michael Cohen. The suit was brought after Trump accused Daniels of fabricating a story that a man threatened her in a parking lot if she didn't leave the president alone. In a tweet, he called it a total con job. Daniels claims they had an affair in 2006 which the president denies.

ROMANS: All right. Google's CEO Sundar Pichai appeared on Capitol Hill Wednesday and he faced some tough questions from lawmakers on a number of issues. Pichai had brief lawmakers before, but never testified publicly. During the hearing, he stressed to members of Congress Google operates in a nonpartisan fashion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUNDAR PICHAI, CEO, GOOGLE: I lead this company without political bias and work to ensure that our products continue to operate that way. To do otherwise would be against our core principles and our business interests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: He was also questioned on whether Google is developing a search engine for China. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PICHAI: Congressman, as I said, right now, we have no plans to launch in China. We dent have a search product there. Our core mission is to provide users access to information, and getting access to information is an important human right. So, we are always compelled across the world to try hard to provide that information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Earlier this week, Google revealed a Google Plus bug that revealed millions of customers' private information to software developers last month. But really, there are a lot of conservative figures who say that they're concerned that the big tech companies have an anti-conservative bias. He said there yesterday that's not true.

[04:40:02] BRIGGS: Alex Jones of Info Wars infamy was there, Roger Stone was there. So, it got a bit ugly after said hearing.

Ahead, things just got a lot worse for British Prime Minister Theresa May. Parliament triggering a no-confidence vote this morning. We're live in London.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Breaking news overnight. The Brexit process in the U.K. plunged into chaos with conservative parliament members triggering a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Theresa May.

Let's go live to London and want to bring in CNN's Nic Robertson.

Nic, where are we now on this? This is a messy, long, expensive divorce from the E.U. Now, the woman, the leader who is trying to do the negotiating is having trouble her job.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It's going to make it even more difficult, it's going to make it even more torturous, is going to make much harder for whoever ends up leading the conservative party and his prime minister effectively by the end of today.

[04:45:08] The vote will take place in about eight hours' time. What Theresa May requires to continue as prime minister is the support of 158 of her conservative MPs, that is a simple majority of all the conservatives, MPs, in government at the moment. So, that's what she'll be looking for.

The key issue here is that some of the hard-line Brexiters believe she is not delivering on what they want in terms of Brexit. There were 48, enough to lodge letters of no confidence with a conservative party committee that oversees the leadership contest. This could potentially trigger a lengthy and slow leadership battle.

Theresa May has been prime minister now for 2.5 years. She knew that this leadership challenge was going to come. She has said all along that it was going to be a tough fight. She's said that she's delivering the best Brexit for the British people.

It has always been a tough issue over the backstop, the so-called difficulty with -- over negotiations with the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. But she says she will fight this, and she's ready to continue with the challenge. This is what she said --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THERESA MAY, UK PRIME MINISTER: The agenda I set out in my first speech outside this front door delivering the Brexit people voted for, building a country that works for everyone, I have devoted myself unsparingly to these tasks ever since I became prime minister, and I stand ready to finish the job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: And she has warned that the leadership challenge could take such an amount of time it could jeopardize getting out of the European Union on a deal that won't damage the British economy. There is a lot at stake, the British economy principally. Theresa May warning of that today -- Christine. ROMANS: Self-inflicted wounds here. Just remarkable. Thank you so much, Nic Robertson.

BRIGGS: France has raised its national security threat level after a suspect opened fire near a Christmas market in the center of Strasbourg, killing two people and injuring 14 others. The motive for the attack still unclear at this hour.

Melissa Bell live for us in Strasbourg where the manhunt is underway.

Melissa, good morning.

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Dave.

That manhunt continues. It is more than 12 hours since that attack began here in the center of Strasbourg. We understand that the gunman came up, made his way through the side street, this cordoned off is one of those where one of his victims lay for a while.

The police numbers in terms. The final death toll are fluid. The latest are that two died, 14 remain in hospital including tragically, Dave, seven who are in critical condition. So that toll could change, could rise still further.

Meanwhile, the manhunt for a man who is both known to police and known to have been wounded continues. The question is whether in the crucial few hours after he managed to escape the two immediate gunfire exchanges he had with the security forces here in Strasbourg just before he was able to flee the scene, in those crucial few, how was he able to make it across the border.

Strasbourg, as you know, is close to the German border. And although there is that heightened alert, state that France is in, now means there are greater border controls did. They come in too late. Had he made it across the border, that's something being actively investigated, Dave.

BRIGGS: OK, Melissa Bell, we'll check back next hour. Thanks.

ROMANS: A familiar face in morning television saying good-bye to the "Today" show after more than a decade. We'll get a check on CNN "Business" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:53:21] ROMANS: No prison time for a former Baylor University fraternity president indicted on four counts of sexual assault. Instead, a plea agreement will allow 24-year-old Jacob Walter Anderson to plead no contest to a lesser charge of simply unlawful restraint. That means if he successfully completes three years of deferred probation and pays a $400 fine, his criminal record will be wiped clean. He will not be registered as a sex offender.

In her impact statement, the victim said Anderson repeatedly raped and choked her until she passed out. The district attorney's office claims statements provided I boo the victim's attorney don't line one her original statements given to police, witnesses, and a nurse.

BRIGGS: Republicans in North Carolina concede a new election may be necessary in the state's ninth congressional district after the "Charlotte Observer" said early tallies were leaked too soon in violation of state rules.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DALLAS WOODHOUSE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY: That is a fundamental unfairness in this election. We are pretty certain that happened, and if it is confirmed, a new election is appropriate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: New this morning, CNN has obtained a sworn affidavit from a North Carolina man who claims a political operative named McCrae Dallas had more than 800 absentee ballots in his possession prior to Election Day. In North Carolina, it is illegal for anyone to handle an absentee ballot except for the voter or the voter's family member.

Republican Mark Harris was the narrow winner over Democrat Dan McCready on election day. But allegations of fraud surrounding absentee ballots in two counties led to McCready to withdraw his concession. The decision ultimately rests with a bipartisan state board, which is expected to hold a hearing in the coming days.

[04:55:06] BRIGGS: Avowed Neo-Nazi James Fields Jr. will likely spend the rest of his life in prison after being sentenced Tuesday in the Charlottesville car attack. Fields rammed his vehicle into a crowd of counter protesters last year at a white supremacist rally killing Heather Heyer. The jury returned a verdict of life plus 419 years after just four hours of deliberations. That same jury convicted fields last week of first-degree murder. A judge will decide whether to sign off on the recommended sentence at a hearing in March.

In California, police are investigating a second mass shooting threat at Cal State Northridge a day before the start of finals. Officials say a handwritten note threatened violence at the university and in nearby high schools. It comes less than a week after a threatening message was written on the walls of a campus building. The university said authorities believe there is no imminent threat, and the school will be open today.

Still, many students are not convinced, expressing concern for their safety on social media. Nearly 15,000 people signed a change.org position to close the campus.

ROMANS: All right. Time for CNN Business. Let's check global stock markets.

So far shrugging off news that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May will face a no-confidence vote. In Asian markets you see higher across the board a big bounce for Tokyo, up 2 percent there. And European markets opened slightly higher here on. On Wall Street, futures are higher, as well, after another 2 percent

roundtrip for the Dow yesterday. The Dow closed down 53 points, giving up an early rally of as much as 368 points. The S&P 500 ended little changed. The Nasdaq gained about 0.2 percent.

Look, the early rally simply evaporate after that contentious public meeting between President Trump and Democratic congressional leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi over border security. The cameras in that meeting and the Dow lost all of its gains.

A former Bloomberg executive pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges he masterminded a $15 million bid-rigging and commercial bribery scandal. Anthony Guzzone was charged by prosecutors with crimes including conspiracy and commercial bribery connected to construction work done at the Bloomberg offices. He was Bloomberg's head of global construction.

According to prosecutors, inside information was passed along to subcontractors to help them secure bids for construction projects. Bloomberg officials say the owner and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was not aware of this scheme.

Television icon Kathie Lee Gifford will bid farewell to NBC's "Today" show next April. In a memo announcing her departure, NBC News president Noah Oppenheim called Gifford a legend for her enduring and endearing talents in morning television. From 1985 until 2000, she hosted "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee." Remember that?

BRIGGS: Yes.

ROMANS: In 2008, she and Hoda Kotb hosted on the 10:00 a.m. hour of "Today." Known for funny conversations, tons of celebrity guests, and wine do. They really drink the wine? I meant to ask --

BRIGGS: I have been on the show a few times. Yes, I do believe they partake.

ROMANS: They drink the wine.

BRIGGS: Good luck to her. Congratulations to Kathie Lee.

ROMANS: You have no idea what's in my mug right now.

BRIGGS: Enjoy the day drinking at home now.

While you were sleeping late night, taking a few swipes at Vice President Mike Pence complete silence during the chaotic oval office meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You want to know something -- you want --

SCHUMER: You said it.

UNDENTIFIED MALE: Hmm, President Pence. The Pence administration. The Michael Pence presidential library and casino.

TRUMP: I will shut down the government --

SCHUMER: Fair enough.

UNDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody even noticed.

UNDENTIFIED MALE: My favorite part of this awkward threesome was Mike Pence, because you might not have even noticed him. He didn't say a word the entire time. He just sat there motionless like a guy whose edibles just kicked in.

UNDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, boy. The oldies are fighting. At least that's going to save you a trip home for Christmas. Also, what is Mike Pence doing? I guess when Chuck Schumer said "shutdown," Pence took him literally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: There were some really funny, funny remarks on social media.

BRIGGS: Twitter, compared to elf on a shelf.

ROMANS: Especially from young people who were like, who are these old people arguing about? Their bingo game in the oval office.

BRIGGS: Like divorced grandparents.

ROMANS: They felt it was out of touch with --

BRIGGS: Sixty-eight, 72, and 78. Boy, it was "Weekend at Bernie's," some say for Mike Pence there yesterday.

EARLY START continues right now.

(MUSIC)

ROMANS: Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen set to be sentenced in just hours. How much jail time the president's former right hand could face.