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EARLY START

Trump Storms Out of Meeting with Democrats, Calls It a Waste of Time; Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein Stepping Down; Mike Pompeo Set to Give Speech in Cairo; Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired January 10, 2019 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:17] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump heads to the U.S.-Mexico border in just hours. But will it be more than just a photo-op?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: Unfortunately the president just got up and walked out.

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Democratic leaders are unwilling to even negotiate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: The president walking out of a meeting with Democratic leaders, calling it a waste of time. What House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that set him off.

ROMANS: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein planning his exit. What does this mean about how soon the special counsel investigation could wrap up?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Mute R. Kelly. Mute R. Kelly. Mute R. Kelly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Increasing backlash for Grammy Award-winning singer R. Kelly. The overnight statement from Lady Gaga taking a stand for his alleged victims.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: Good morning.

ROMANS: Good morning, everybody. It is Thursday, January 10th. It is 4:00 a.m., 4:01 now in the East.

All right. President Trump boards Air Force One this morning bound for the border city of McAllen, Texas, as the federal government shutdown enters Day 20. He is traveling even though he said during a meeting with network anchors Tuesday afternoon the border visit is, quote, "not going to change a damn thing, but I'm still doing it."

BRIGGS: In that same spirit yesterday the president walked out of his third meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. Afterward he tweeted that the meeting to end the partial shutdown was a total waste of time.

Here's how Senator Schumer recalled the sit-down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHUMER: He asked Speaker Pelosi, will you agree to my wall? She said no. And he just got up and said then we have nothing to discuss and he just walked out. Again, we saw a temper tantrum. He said you -- if I open up the government, you won't do what I want. That is cruel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Vice President Mike Pence and congressional Republicans remember things a little differently.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PENCE: The president walked into the room and passed out candy. I don't recall him ever raising his voice or slamming his hand.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), MINORITY LEADER: The president then turned to the speaker and politely asked her, OK, Nancy, if we open the government up, in 30 days could we have border security? She raised her hand and said, "No, not at all." The president calming said, "I guess you're still not wanting to deal with the problem."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: More now from White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins.

KAITLIN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Dave and Christine, that meeting between President Trump and congressional leaders ended with the president storming out after Democrats said they would not budge on their refusal to give him any more money for his border wall funding.

It started out on a chummy note, sources told us, with the president passing out candy to several of those people in the room. But things took a turn when the president and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi started going back and forth on what the White House wants for this and what the Democrats say they are not willing to give up. And it ended with the president essentially telling them goodbye and leaving the room.

Now the Democrats say that the president was just throwing a temper tantrum but Republicans are disagreeing with that. But the bottom line of what this all comes down to is that was the third meeting that the president has had with congressional leaders in the Situation Room since this whole shutdown got started, yet we are still no closer to resolving these talks.

Now, of course, on Friday, that's the first day that those federal government workers are not going to be receiving their paychecks. And then on Saturday, this turns into the longest continuous U.S. shutdown that we've ever seen in this country. So certainly both sides are going to start feeling the pressure to come up with some kind of resolve.

However, we're told by sources inside the White House that right now there's no other meeting set up between the president and Nancy Pelosi who are arguably the two people that ended this shutdown is going to come down to.

Now in that off-the-record lunch with news anchors the other day, President Trump, according to "The New York Times," told them he did not believe that his prime time address or his trip to the border, which he's taking today, was going to change any opinions about where they are on whether or not it's worth shutting the government down over building the president's long-promised border wall.

Now he's going to make that trip today. We'll have to see what he says. But right now, we are still very much in the middle of this government shutdown -- Dave and Christine.

ROMANS: All right, Kaitlan at the White House. Thank you for that.

Republican senators are planning to make an offer on immigration that they hope Democrats can't refuse. Source tell CNN the deal would include the $5.7 billion President Trump is demanding for that border wall in exchange for several Democratic initiatives including protections for Dreamers. Republican senators met privately last night in Senator Lindsey Graham's office with the White House adviser Jared Kushner. After the meeting Graham sounded optimistic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[04:05:05] SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I'm somewhat hopeful that maybe there is a way to get what the president wants in a fashion that would do the least amount of damage to the country as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Kushner told the Republican senators if they can come up with a proposal they could pass that includes funding for the president's wall, the White House would be more open to discussions. He did not say whether his father-in-law would endorse such a plan.

BRIGGS: The Democratic controlled House passing a financial services spending bill in an attempt to reopen parts of the government that are currently shut down. The measure would fund agencies like the Treasury Department and the IRS if passed by the Senate and signed by the president. That is a big if. The vote was 240-188. Significant to note eight Republicans joined Democrats and voting in favor. That's up from seven Republicans who supported a similar measure last week. ROMANS: Each day this week, the House plans to votes on individual

appropriations bills to reopen national parks, as well as the Housing, Transportation and Agricultural Departments. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insists he will not take up any measure without President Trump's blessing. So the bills appear to be going nowhere.

BRIGGS: We're getting new details about the timeline for the upcoming departure of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

CNN's Jessica Schneider reports the man who oversees the Russia probe may have to be flexible about the date of his final day in office.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Dave and Christine, it turns out Rod Rosenstein has actually long been planning his departure. We know that the deputy attorney general has been signaling that he would leave the Justice Department when he was satisfied that Mueller's investigation was either complete or close enough to complete that it was protected.

So with Rosenstein's upcoming possible departure, this could be the clearest sign yet that the Mueller probe is wrap upping up in the next several weeks. And Rosenstein, he is also timing his departure in coordination with William Barr's likely confirmation. A source telling us that he will leave the Justice Department after the next attorney general is confirmed, which at this point is shaping up to be about mid-February at the earliest since the confirmation hearings don't start until Tuesday.

Now we did see the president's pick, William Barr, up on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, and he told Senator Lindsey Graham that he plans to be transparent when it comes to the Mueller probe and any release of Robert Mueller's report to Congress or to the public. So that is Barr's stance. But really, it's fair to say, Rod Rosenstein, he's been the big protector and proponent for the special counsel. He appointed Robert Mueller.

And he's given Mueller broad authority including interestingly including the special counsel to investigate allegations that Paul Manafort colluded with the Russians during the 2016 campaign. And that's a claim that we saw hinted at in court papers on Tuesday when Manafort's lawyers inadvertently revealed that Paul Manafort had handed over polling data to a Russian operative, Konstantin Kilimnik, with connections to Russian intelligence at the height of the campaign.

Now Paul Manafort's lawyers have since come back saying that that polling data was actually intended to go to two Ukrainian oligarchs through Konstantin Kilimnik. It is unclear though why Paul Manafort wanted to give this polling data to him, to those oligarchs, and whether or not it satisfies Mueller's questions about any possible collusion here.

So that's the Manafort piece of it. But, really, the question now when it comes to Rosenstein, is where will the Russia investigation go once Rosenstein leaves, if it hasn't already been wrapped up by that point? And how will the presumable next Attorney General William Barr handle it?

Either way, the Justice Department is set to see a lot of changes in the coming month or two -- Christine and Dave.

ROMANS: All right. Jessica, with that, thank you so much. Now CNN has uncovered a new clue to the possible identity of that mystery company fighting a subpoena from Special Counsel Robert Mueller. We've learned one of the law firms involved in the case is Alston & Bird, which has previously represented Russian interests. Among them are Russian oligarchs and a Russian government contractor.

We know from previous reporting the company is a government-owned financial institution. The identity of the company and the government have been closely held secret. We do not know whether is Alston is representing the company, the government or some other interested party.

After several courtroom setbacks, the company may be forced to give Mueller the information he wants or face a steep financial penalty.

BRIGGS: President Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani says the president is done answering questions from Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Giuliani telling Reuters, Giuliani telling "Reuters", quote, "As far as we're concerned, everything is over. They could try to subpoena him if they want, but they know we could fight that like hell."

The president submitted written answers to the special counsel's questions back in November. Giuliani says Mueller raised the possibility of follow-up questions, but was told the president would not respond. Giuliani says Trump's lawyers had no contact with the Mueller team since before Christmas.

ROMANS: All right. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren heads to neighboring New Hampshire this weekend.

[04:10:03] Her visit to the first in the nation primary state will be her first as a presidential contender. The senator launched an exploratory bid for the 2020 Democratic nomination on New Year's Eve. Warren was in Iowa last weekend.

BRIGGS: Her Senate colleague, California's Kamala Harris tells our Jake Tapper she'll decide soon on a 2020 run. Harris believes the country is ready for a woman of color as president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D), CALIFORNIA: The pundits can talk all day and all night, and there's a lot of chatter about which demographic will do this or that. It has been my life's experience that the American people are smart and they make decisions based on what's in the best interests of their household, their family and their community. And I have faith that in 2020 and in any other election, that will be their motivation when they vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRIGGS: Meantime, billionaire Tom Steyer says he will not run for president in 2020. The Democratic donor says he'll instead focus on his efforts to take on the president Trump from outside, namely through Need to Impeach. A group he founded after the 2016 election.

ROMANS: All right. The head of the firefighters' union is blasting President Trump for his threat to cut off emergency aid to California for its devastating wildfires. The president tweeted this, quote, "Billions of dollars are sent to the state of California for forest fires that with proper forest management would never happen. Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives and money."

BRIGGS: The president of the International Association of Firefighters responding in a statement saying, "While our president is tweeting on the sidelines in D.C., our fellow Americans 3,000 miles to the west are mourning loved ones, entire communities have been wiped off the map, and thousands of people are still trying to figure out where they are going to call home. State officials also point out that more than half of California's forests are owned and managed by federal agencies.

ROMANS: All right. Numerous calls being made to prosecutors with claims of sexual abuse against R. Kelly. The latest on that investigation next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:16:07] ROMANS: The Cook County prosecutor in Chicago says her office is receiving numerous calls after she urged potential victims of singer R. Kelly to come forward earlier this week. And CNN has learned an arrest warrant was issued last summer for R. Kelly's former manager, James Mason. Mason is accused of threatening to kill the father of Joycelyn Savage, one of the women featured in a Lifetime documentary series "Surviving R. Kelly." Now Timothy Savage claims his daughter is being held against her will by the singer.

BRIGGS: Dozens of protesters gathered outside of R. Kelly's Chicago studio last night. They are calling for a boycott of his music and for criminal charges. Lady Gaga tweeting overnight vowing to take a 2013 song she recorded with Kelly, "Do What You Want With My Body" off of iTunes and other streaming platforms. At the time Gaga defended the collaboration by pointing to the bond they shared over very untrue things written about us. She now says I stand behind these women 1,000 percent. I'm sorry both for my poor judgment when I was young and for not speaking out sooner.

ROMANS: All right, 30,000 teachers set to go on strike in Los Angeles next week unless they get a new contract. Their union rejecting the school district's latest offer that the 6 percent salary hike and 1,000 new hires to reduce class sizes. The district has gone to court claiming the union did not provide enough notice to go on strike now. A judge will take up that legal challenge today.

BRIGGS: The world's richest couple is calling it quits. Amazon boss Jeff Bezos and his wife McKenzie are divorcing after 25 years of marriage. They issued a joint statement on Twitter saying they made the decision, quote, "after a long period of loving exploration and trial separation." The couple adding, "We feel incredibly lucky to have found each other. If we had known we would separate after 25 years, we would do it all again."

Their extreme wealth may relieve some of the sting. Still the divorce could end up being quite costly. Bezos is the world's richest person with an estimated net worth of $137 billion.

ROMANS: Wow. All right. Wall Street is slowly continuing to recover. The Dow closed 92 points higher Wednesday. It is up about 2100 points or 10 percent since Christmas Eve. The S&P 500 posted modest gains, its first four-day winning streak since September. The Nasdaq closed higher as well rallying for the ninth time in 10 days.

Look, invest angst has been soothed by calming words from the Federal Reserve by that strong December jobs report and hints of progress in resolving the U.S.-China trade war. U.S. oil prices helped drive the market higher as well. Remember when the president said this last week?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People see the gasoline as way down. And the reason it's way down is because I called up some of the OPEC people, I say don't do it. I said, do you think it's luck that that happened? It's not luck. It's not luck. I called up certain people and I said let that damn oil and gasoline, you let it flow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Since the president made those remarks, crude oil prices have risen 12 percent to more than $52 a barrel. However gas prices are still falling. The current average price is two cents lower than a week ago.

BRIGGS: Coming up, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo giving a major speech in the Middle East as the region marks 100 days since the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi. We go live to Cairo next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:24:01] ROMANS: Today marks 100 days since the murder and dismemberment of "Washington Post" columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's swing through the Middle East expected to include a high stakes stop in Saudi Arabia where the Khashoggi question will be difficult to avoid.

This morning, he is in Egypt, set to make a major speech on the U.S. commitment to the region.

Let's go live to CNN's Ben Wedeman in Cairo for the latest.

Ben, do we know whether Pompeo plans to address Khashoggi's murder? BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There were

preliminary reports, Christine, that he would address the subject, but we have not received an advance copy of this address which will be delivered this afternoon at the American University in Cairo.

We understand that it's going to broadly discuss for instance the perceived threat posed by Iran in the region, but as far as Khashoggi is concerned, what we've heard consistently from the Trump administration is that the trade ties between Saudi Arabia and the United States are simply too important to jeopardize over the question of who may have ordered the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

[04:25:18] Despite the fact that for instance the CIA came out and essentially said that they believe there is a high probability that the order to murder the "Washington Post" columnist was given by Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia despite repeated denials from the kingdom itself -- Christine.

ROMANS: Ben Wedeman for us in Cairo. Thank you so much for that, Ben.

BRIGGS: Straight ahead, President Trump heads to the U.S.-Mexico border today as he tries to make his case on immigration. But are congressional Republicans behind him?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIGGS: President Trump heads to the U.S.-Mexico border today. But is it more than just a photo-op?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MINORITY LEADER: Unfortunately the --

(END)