Return to Transcripts main page

EARLY START

Deadlocked on Day 32; Giuliani "Clarifies" Comments; Accused Spy's Bid for Freedom; Mooch Tells All; Senator Kamala Harris Enters 2020 Presidential Race; British PM May Unveils Her Brexit "Plan B". Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired January 22, 2019 - 04:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:21] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: Deadlocked on Day 32 of the government shutdown, Democrats already rejecting the deal Republicans plan to offer today.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: A new interview with Rudy Giuliani released overnight. The president's lawyer in damage control, contradicting himself once again.

BRIGGS: Happening right now, a U.S. citizen accused of spying on Russia appeals for his freedom before a Moscow judge.

JARRETT: And former Trump aide Anthony Scaramucci telling all on a new TV reality show. Will he last longer in the "Big Brother" house than he did in the White House?

BRIGGS: That is setting the bar pretty low, isn't it?

JARRETT: Eleven days, he's doing well.

BRIGGS: He can do it.

JARRETT: Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Laura Jarrett, in for Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: I'm Dave Briggs. Thirty minutes after the hour.

We continue our coverage of the longest government shutdown in our nation's history, the president hoping to put the squeeze on Democrats to end the shutdown by offering them a plan that they won't accept. That is the state of play on day 32 of the government shutdown as over 800,000 federal workers prepared to miss their second paycheck on Friday, their second paycheck if a deal is not reached by tonight at midnight.

Also, 10 percent of the nation's TSA agents are now calling out sick. The president's new proposal will be part of a larger package that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expected to introduce today. That could set up a vote Thursday, but a Senate Democratic aide tells CNN the measure does not have the 60 votes it needs to advance. Moving ahead anyway, McConnell hoping to shift blame for the shutdown on to Democrats.

Phil Mattingly with more from Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Laura and Dave, there will be competing proposals, there will be competing votes. What there won't be is, at least at this point in time, any resolution to a shutdown that has dragged on now more than 30 days. As it stands right now, Senate Republicans will introduce as soon as today a proposal that mirrors what the president outlined on Saturday, a proposal that would have $5.7 billion for the wall and in a tradeoff from the immigration perspective of a three-year temporary reprieve for DACA recipients and three-year temporary reprieve for those with protected temporary status.

Here is the issue right now for both Democrats and Republicans. Democrats have rejected that proposal out of hand. They have said they are more than willing to have negotiations about border security, negotiations about border security, but they will not do so until the government is open. In other words, something clean on the funding side of things needs to be passed before any conversations about the wall, about DACA, about TPS or anything else comes to the table. Right now, it appears Senate Republicans will fall short of the votes to move forward on the president's proposal, a vote that could occur likely on Thursday.

Over on the house side of things, House Democrats will continue doing what they have been doing for weeks, passing proposal after proposal to open up the government without any funding for the wall, proposals that have largely fallen flat because the president opposes them and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has made clear he won't bring any of them up so long as the president opposes them.

So, where does that leave things? Well, right now, it appears still very much at an impasse. The big question going into this week is given the Senate is finally taking up some kind of legislation, whether it start to jar some type of bipartisan talks to reach a resolution.

Again, the biggest challenge at this moment guys is the baselines. Democrats have made clear they won't do anything on border security until the government is reopened and president has made clear he won't reopen the government until he gets money for his wall. Until that changes, right now, everybody seems diametrically opposed to anything that would lead to a resolution -- guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: Diametrically opposed, even still on day 32.

Phil, thanks so much for that report.

Nearly 300 furloughed workers from the Department of Homeland Security are being called back to work with pay, all of them from the E-Verify division of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, but they won't be performing their regular jobs. Instead they will be asked to take on other responsibilities that are fee-funded at the same time at the same pay rate they had before the government shutdown.

BRIGGS: Rudy Giuliani walking back comments and changing his story at warp speed, the president's attorney giving a new interview to "The New Yorker". He now denies telling the "New York Times" the president admitted having discussions about the Trump Tower Moscow project all the way through the 2016 election. Giuliani claiming he was speaking in the hypothetical and he says it wouldn't be a crime even if the president did.

"The New Yorker" asked Mr. Trump's lawyer if he ever worries that his legacy will be telling untruths for the president. And he replied, quote, I'm afraid it will be on my gravestone, Rudy Giuliani, he lied for Trump.

JARRETT: Breaking overnight, U.S. citizen Paul Whelan making an appearance in a courtroom in Moscow.

[04:35:02] He faces up to 20 years in a Russian prison on espionage charges. His attorney says he can confirm Whelan had information on him that was considered a state secret when he was arrested in December 28. During today's court hearing, the judge will be reviewing the justification for Whelan's arrest, surveillance data and audio tapes. The defense is asking for Whelan to be released on bail. We'll bring you more throughout the morning with updates on all of that.

BRIGGS: As the U.S. formalizes plans for another summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un, the think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies claims an undeclared missile base may be operating inside North Korea.

CNN's Will Ripley live in Beijing with the very latest.

Will, you've been to North Korea many times. Has this base been known about by at least by U.S. intelligence?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It has, and Chinese intelligence and South Korean intelligence, they have access to a lot more data than we do in the private sector. However, beyond apparel, this analysis think tank, they have put out this report indicating that this secret base that they say is operating at Sino-ri is one of 20 secret North Korean bases around the country. And these reports have come out periodically ever since the June 12th summit in Singapore when President Trump and Kim Jung-un signed that vague agreement to work toward complete denuclearization to the Korean peninsula, an agreement that never indicated that North Korea has do disclose its top secret military facilities. And by the way, lots of other countries have top secret military facilities as well.

But you do have to wonder if the North Koreans are really genuine in their willingness to close all these things down. I mean, the fact that they are still upgrading and expanding some analysts feel that President Trump was really hoodwinked. However, the U.S. is aware of all this, they have gone into talks aware of all this, some accused President Trump of not being tough enough on Kim Jong-un over issues such as the secret missile bases, bases that could pose a threat to American service members in South Korea and Guam and elsewhere.

And so, this will obviously have to be a topic of discussion when the two sides sit down, when Trump and Kim sit down for that 2.0 summit that we expect to happen at the end of February. The front runner location, Vietnam, although that has not yet been officially announced.

BRIGGS: OK, Will Ripley, 5:37 there in Beijing, thank you, my friend.

Twitter has suspended an account that have spread a controversial encounter between a Native American elder and that group of high school students wearing MAGA hats. The account with a username 2020 fight claimed to belong to a California schoolteacher named Talia. CNN Business found the profile photo was actually a blogger based in Brazil. Twitter suspended the account soon after CNN Business asked about it.

Late on Friday, the account posted a minute long video showing the now viral confrontation between a Native American elder and the high school student with the caption this MAGA loser gleefully bothering a Native American protester at the indigenous people's march. The video shared did not show what happened before the confrontation.

A spokesperson for Twitter said, quote, deliberate attempts to manipulate the public conversation on Twitter by using misleading account information is a violation of the Twitter rules. CNN was unable to reach the person behind the account and were blocked by the account.

So, always another wrinkle to a much discussed story over the weekend.

JARRETT: Yes, one of your favorite stories over the weekend.

BRIGGS: Indeed.

JARRETT: Well, and now that Senator Kamala Harris is formally in the race for president, who is next? Another Democrat drops a hint on 2020, next.

BRIGGS: And Anthony Scaramucci in the "Big Brother" house, telling how he got fired from the White House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:42:59] JARRETT: Western avalanches claiming the lives of two more skiers. A man skiing with his family and friends near Aspen, Colorado, buried by an avalanche on Monday. Authorities in Pitkin County say that the weather delayed a 26-member rescue crew which eventually reached him and attempted to revive him, but it was too late.

Another skier critically injured in an avalanche in Taos, New Mexico, last week died on Monday. Corey Borg-Massanari was 22 years old. BRIGGS: A slight thaw coming for the bitter cold Northeast which

experienced record breaking low temperatures Monday. The mercury failed to climb out of the single digits in most of New England and left the shore in a deep freeze, but beautiful, isn't it? Now, a new winter storm moving into the upper plains and Midwest.

Let's get to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Dave and Laura, good morning.

Yes, this next storm system across the Central Plains pushing in here and coming in a little different than what we saw in the past couple days because we have milder air in advance of this system. So, a lot of what falls here at least in the southern tier of the country will be all about rainfall and not snowfall. But notice back toward the north, still parts of 18 states and about 40 million under winter weather advisories, some areas underneath winter storm warnings, even a small pocket across eastern portion of Colorado right into blizzard alley that has blizzard warnings in place.

But notice, much of this comes in rainfall, and as far as the major cities are concerned, Washington, Boston, New York, all looking at rainfall the next couple of days. You have to work your way toward the Upper Midwest and interior New England to see enough cold air to support snow showers.

In fact, even at this hour into the morning hours, we're seeing wind chills down to as low as 40 below across portions of New England with those wind chill advisories. Montpelier sitting at 24 below zero, what it feels like. In New York City with brisk winds, about minus 1 the wind chill.

But again, arctic air is replaced, we get a mild surge of air back behind it even colder air going in towards this weekend -- guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[04:45:00] JARRETT: Brutal cold.

BRIGGS: Indeed.

JARRETT: Well, the University of Notre Dame president says that the school intends to cover up Christopher of Columbus murals in one of the main buildings on campus following criticism that the images show Native Americans in stereotypical submissive positions before white European explorers. The school president says that the paintings conceal a darker side of the Columbus story, the exploitation and oppression of Native Americans.

In 2017, hundreds of Notre Dame students, employees and alumni all signed a letter in the campus newspaper calling for the murals to be removed.

BRIGGS: Two prominent liberal Democrats using Martin Luther King Jr. Day as their backdrop to label President Trump a racist. Senator Bernie Sanders, a potential 2020 presidential candidate, appearing at an MLK event in South Carolina, well, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, was speaking to the National Action Network in New York.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D), NEW YORK: We have a hater in the White House, the birther in chief, the grand wizard of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: Today, we talked about justice, and today, we talk about racism. And I must tell you, it gives me no pleasure to tell you that we now have a president of the United States who is a racist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel defending the president, tweeting Donald Trump has brought African-American and Hispanic unemployment to record lows, passed historic criminal justice reform, even worse that Bernie is using MLK Day to make an incendiary comment like that.

JARRETT: And a third woman in the U.S. Senate announcing she intends to run for president in 2020. California Senator Kamala Harris choosing the Martin Luther King holiday to make it official. The first term Democrat touting her experience as a prosecutor and drawing a clear contrast with the president.

We get more from CNN's Kyung Lah.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Dave and Laura, Senator Kamala Harris jumps into the 2020 race. She says she is uniquely poised to take on Trump. She is the daughter of immigrants. She is a woman of color, a former prosecutor who is trained to fight.

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are a diverse country, yes. And some people would suggest that in diversity, when there is a diverse population, one cannot the achieve unity. I reject that notion because this is my belief. Yes, we are diverse and we have so much more in common than what separates us. And when we emphasize that commonalty, when we recognize that commonalty, we will achieve greater unity.

LAH: That prosecutorial path does open up Senator Harris to potential attacks, attacks and questions that she's already had to answer. The left saying that she is not progressive enough because of her time as attorney general, but Senator Harris has addressed it especially during her book tour saying it is quote a false choice to have to pick one over the other -- Dave, Laura.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: Kyung, thank you.

Senator Harris will join CNN's Jake Tapper for a CNN town hall live from Iowa this Monday night, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.

So, who could be next Democrat to join the 2020 race? New Jersey Senator Cory Booker dropping this not so subtle hint Monday night saying just between you and me, I will let you know soon. Stay tuned.

Guess what is the answer is on that one.

BRIGGS: Yes.

Anthony Scaramucci, President Trump's communication director for a hot minute, is trying to survive longer in the big brother house than he did in the White House. Monday on the season premiere of the CBS' "Celebrity Big Brother", the Mooch spilled the details of his short stint.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR: I was fighting with Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus. The shootout at the OK Corral started, you know, Priebus and Bannon did not want me in that job. So, they started making up stories.

But I got my ego got involved and I'm a competitive guy, and so, I trusted a reporter, I said something inappropriate to a reporter. He ran to CNN with it, and so, when the new chief of staff came and he fired me.

KATO KAELIN: And who's that?

SCARAMUCCI: That was John Kelly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: If you're wondering who asked that question, that was old Kato Kaelin still couch surfing all these years later. The Mooch channeling President Truman, telling his housemates, if you want a friend in Washington, buy a dog. It should be an entertaining season of CBS' "Celebrity Big Brother".

Ahead, could Starbucks former CEO be putting his hat in the ring to run for president? CNN Business, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:54:5] JARRETT: British Prime Minister Theresa May unveiling her Brexit Plan B in parliament today, rivals now putting forward their own proposals. Can May sell her new deal to detractors before they debate and vote again?

CNN's Nina Dos Santos is live at parliament in London for us.

Nina, what are May's chances here?

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESONDENT: Good morning to you, Laura.

Well, her chances are looking pretty slim for anybody expecting any kind of radical overhaul of plan A while a lot of people here are saying plan B looks an awful lot like plan A just wearing different clothes. And indeed, the main opposition party, the Labour Party's leader Jeremy Corbyn, made it clear that he said when Theresa May presented this so-called plan B to parliament yesterday that it looked like Groundhog Day. He again will not come to the table and negotiate with her unless she takes the threat of a no deal Brexit by which the U.K. would go crushing out of the E.U. in a couple months time with no trade deal with this biggest trading partner off the table, she says that she does not have the ability to do that.

So, in the meantime, the prime minister is trying to focus this on this issue of the arrangement to try to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, to see whether she can get some kind of leeway from her MPs, keeping the Northern Irish party on board, that she relies upon to make up her numbers in the House of Commons. But in the meantime, what we're seeing is also other groups of various MPs from various sides of the political spectrum starting to get control from the government and bring it into the hands of parliament.

And what they are trying on the one hand to get Article 50, this procedure by which the U.K. leaves the E.U. in a couple of months time, at least delayed for the time being until things look a bit clearer, to get the government also, another option is to get the government to try to make it crystal clear that it doesn't want a no deal and then also to campaign for a second referendum.

So, a lot of things that the MPs are talking about in a moment, and indeed the specter of resignations from the prime minister's own cabinet does remain a possibility as things remain unclear.

JARRETT: Unclear indeed. Nina, thank you so much for being there for us.

BRIGGS: OK. Pop star Bebe Rexha calling out fashion designers who say she is too big to dress.

(MUSIC)

The 29-year-old is dominated for best new artist in next month's Grammys. But she's having a hard time finding an outfit for the show and took to Instagram to vent her frustrations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEBE REXHA, SINGER/SONGWRITER: If a size 6/8 is too big, then I don't know what to tell you. Then I don't want to wear (EXPLETIVE DELETED) dresses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Rexha is urging designers to empower women to love their bodies.

JARRETT: Well, they're going to be up bright and early in Hollywood on this Oscar nomination morning. Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards will be announced in just a few hours.

(MUSIC)

JARRETT: "Shallow", the smash hit song from the film "A Star is Born" sure to be among the nominees. The musical drama could end up with the most Oscar nominations. Lady Gaga is expected nominee for best actress, while best actor could be one of four nominations for Bradley Cooper who produced, directed and co-wrote the film.

Along with "A Star is Born", the feel good movie comedy "Green Book" about 1960s race relations is likely a nominee for best picture. Its two stars are expected to be nominated for best actor and best supporting actor respectively.

Alfonso Cuaron's "Roma" is poised to become Netflix first best picture nominee. "Roma" is also a favorite in the foreign language category. Cuaron could hear his name called as many as six times this morning.

Also, Spike Lee could land his very first directing nomination for "BlacKkKlansman".

The Academy Awards will take place without a host this time, February 24th on ABC.

BRIGGS: Let's get a check on CNN's business at 4:58 Eastern Time.

Global markets are down amid concerns about the global economic outlook. In Asia, stocks closed lower and European markets open lower as trading begins there.

On Wall Street, stocks pointing lower as well. Google has been fined nearly $57 million by French regulators for violating Europe's tough new data privacy rules. According to a statement, the French National Data Protection Commission fined Google for lack of transparency, inadequate information and lack of valid consent regarding the ads personalization.

The fine was imposed after the commission observed two types of breaches. One of those violations relates to information about person data usage, not being easily accessible to users. Google has not responded to CNN's request for comment.

Could Starbucks former CEO be throwing his hat in the ring for 2020? Howard Schultz exploring running for president as an independent. A person close to Schultz's adviser said he is thinking deeply about his future and how he can best serve the country. Schultz stepped down from his position at Starbucks last year and at the time said he may consider a White House bid.

A lot of obstacles though as an independent running, but it would be interesting to see, given our optics right now.

JARRETT: Yes, 2020 is heating up already.

BRIGGS: Yes.

JARRETT: More and more people throwing their hat in the right, right?

BRIGGS: Yes, they are.

JARRETT: All right. EARLY START continues right now.

(MUSIC)

BRIGGS: Deadlocked on day 32 of the government shutdown. Democrats already rejecting the deal Republicans plan to offer today.

JARRETT: A new interview with Rudy Giuliani released overnight. The president's lawyer in clean up mood, seemingly contradicting himself once again.

BRIGGS: Happening right now: a U.S. citizen accused of spying on Russia appeals for his freedom before a Moscow judge.