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EARLY START

Judge: Manafort Lied; Compromise Border Bill Finalized; Round 3 of US-China Trade Talks; Former US Intel Officer Charged With Spying. 4:30-5am ET

Aired February 14, 2019 - 04:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:31:57] DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: A federal judge says Paul Manafort lied and broke his plea deal. He could go to jail forever.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Lawmakers prepare to vote on the border deal today. Will the president sign it before a government shutdown kicks in?

BRIGGS: High stakes trade talks underway in Beijing. Will the President extend a tariff truce to help cut a deal with China?

ROMANS: Plus, a former air force intelligence officer accused of spilling US secrets and spying for Iran, remarkable.

BRIGGS: Sure it was.

ROMANS: Welcome back to "EARLY START", I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: Good morning everyone. I'm Dave Briggs, 4:32 Eastern Time. Happy Valentine's Day, ladies. We'll be live in Beijing --

ROMANS: What about the gentlemen?

BRIGGS: -- and Warsaw straight ahead. Guys don't care about Valentine's Day. Are you just learning this now?

ROMANS: For any man who cares about Valentine's Day, Happy Valentine's Day.

BRIGGS: Sorry guys, not for you.

We begin though with Paul Manafort's new plea deal, voided. A federal judge ruling the former Trump campaign chairman "intentionally lied" to the FBI, the Special Counsel, and the Grand Jury making multiple false statements about several material matters including his interactions with the long-time Russian Associate Konstantin Kilimnik.

More on now from CNN's Evan Perez.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Dave, a judge here in Washington voided Paul Manafort's plea deal with federal prosecutors. Judge Amy Berman Jackson said that there's enough evidence to show that Manafort, the former Trump campaign chairman, intentionally lied in three instances during the time that he was supposed to be cooperating with investigators from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office.

Manafort's attorney have disputed that he intentionally made false statements saying he simply didn't remember certain details. The prosecutors had accused Manafort of five specific lies. He pleaded guilty last year to financial crimes and had agreed to cooperate with the Mueller investigation.

The judge issued an order saying that Manafort lied in three topics and the lies were "material to the investigation." Now, two of the lies, the judge said, had to do with Manafort's former business associate, Konstantin Kilimnik. Prosecutors alleged that Kilimnik is an operative with Russian Intelligence. And they say that Manafort shared sensitive polling data with Kilimnik during a meeting last year at a Cigar Bar in New York.

Now, we don't know exactly what else happened at that meeting but prosecutors say that it was important enough that Manafort lied about it. And that those who attended even left by separate exits perhaps to avoid detection. The judge has yet to decide how long Manafort will spend in prison and whether he gets any time for admitting to his crimes, Christine and Dave.

ROMANS: Fascinating. Evan, thank you for that. If all goes according to plan, a bipartisan border security bill could be on the President's desk by tonight. And according to two sources who have spoken to him, he does plan to sign it.

The 1,159 page spending package has officially been released. The Senate expects to take it up and pass it today. The legislation goes to the House with final passage expecting tonight from there. The measure goes straight to the White House.

Here's Mr. Trump with the Colombian President Ivan Duque

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[04:35:03] DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we haven't gotten it yet. We'll be getting it. We'll be looking for land mines because you could have that, you know. It's been known to happen before to people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The President continues to claim. His wall is already being built even though the funding bill had its way calls for just 55 miles of new steel fencing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're building as we speak in the most desperately needed areas and it's a big wall. It's a strong wall. It's a wall the people aren't going through very easy. You're going to have to be in extremely good shape to get over this one. They would be able to climb Mt. Everest a lot easier, I think. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The conservative has Freedom Caucuses are so unhappy with the compromise border bill. Its members introduced a short-term resolution to keep the government funded for another week. They hope by time to negotiate in their view of a better agreement.

BRIGGS: Critical trade talks between the US and China getting underway in Beijing, this -- the third round of recent negotiations between the two countries.

If a deal is not reached by March 1st, US tariffs on 200 billion worth of Chinese imports skyrocket from 10% to 25%. But if enough progress is made President Trump may let the deadline slide.

Let's go live to Beijing and bring in Matt Rivers. Matt, good morning to you. All indications are we will let this deadline slide?

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, if there's enough progress here, Dave, then yes that's what the President is saying. And we are hearing some positive things from the US side.

There were reporters who watched Steve Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary who's one of the co-leads of the US delegation leave his hotel. He's been saying so far so good. There was a friendly looking photo op to start the say here, of two days of senior level talks Thursday and Friday. The three leads between China and US actually took turns standing in the middle to show who was the most important that was sign of respect.

So, clearly things are going well at least so far. Now, whether that is enough progress for President Trump to actually agree to extend that March 1st deadline, we're not sure and that's what everyone is looking to see.

That it really comes down to negotiations this week. What happens? Is it enough for President Trump, A, by extending the deadline, you avoid having to raise those tariffs. But, B, you also give President Trump and President Xi of China a chance to meet.

Trump has said he will not ink a trade deal. He will not come to an agreement unless he meets with President Xi. But there's no time to do that before March 1st because of the Kim Jong-un-Donald Trumps Summits scheduled for February 27th and 28th.

The earliest the Chinese and American leaders could meet is probably mid-March. And so by extending the deadline not only that you give negotiators a little more breathing room, you also give both leaders some time to meet, whether this all ends up in a trade deal, we're still not sure.

BRIGGS: Marco Rubio writing in the Washington post this morning, this is the geopolitical challenge of this century. Hopefully some progress ahead.

Matt Rivers is live in Beijing, thank you. ROMANS: Mike Pence is about to call out Iran. The vice president is in Warsaw where representatives from over 50 nations are taking part in a conference on the Middle East. Pence is expected to call on European allies to join the US and forge a new nuclear deal with the Iranians. Atika Shubert live from Poland with the latest development. And I'll guess he'll speak in the next couples of hours perhaps.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he will. It will be (inaudible) what he says because this conference was originally conceived as a way for the US to sort of rally support for its policy to contain what Secretary of State Pompeo has said is the maligned influence of Iran. But it kind a brought them down. Now, we're at there also to discuss discussing Syria, Yemen, the Israeli, Palestinian peace process.

But to do all of that, there are some notable no shows even though there are some big names like the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu here. Russia is not here for example. Of course Iran was not invited, Lebanon and Qatar also not here neither as Turkey. So it's not clear what the goal of this conference will be. If there some joint communicate.

Instead what we're seeing is a different delegations that are really sort of forging their way forward. The Israeli Prime Minister has already had a number of landmark meetings with senior Arab officials and even Germany -- excuse me, Britain's Foreign Minister has been able to put out a statement on Yemen meeting with some key partners there to try and get a cease-fire and get humanitarian aide in.

But as you point out that center piece is the vice president's speech where he is expected to press on Iran. That should be coming up in a little under two hours now.

ROMANS: All right. Atika Shubert, thank you.

BRIGGS: A former air force intelligence officer has been charged with spying for Iran. An indictment unsealed yesterday charges 39-year-old Monica Witt with revealing a highly classified intelligence collection program and risking the lives of US assets in Iran.

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JOHN DEMERS, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Monica Witt provided the Iranian government with identities of employees of the US intelligence community who are operating covertly.

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[04:40:03] BRIGGS: The Justice Department says Witt also helped the Iran use phishing e-mails and fake Facebook accounts trying to penetrate US intelligence computer networks. In 2013 Witt defected to Iran beyond the reach of US law enforcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEMERS: We would hope that some day she might travel outside of Iran and we will be able to effect her arrest and render her back to the United States to stay in justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRIGGS: The indictment says little about what drove Witt to spy but

claim she considers approaching Russia as well.

ROMANS: Two sources have now confirm to CNN explicit photos and text from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to his girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez were leaked to the national inquire by Sanchez's brother Michael. Michael Sanchez, a Hollywood talent agent a decline to respond to CNN on the record but he has previously denied to the Washington Post that he was the leaker.

Last week, Bezos alleged in a media post that the Inquirer had tried to black mail him. The post include e-mails showing the tabloid offered to sit on the lewd photos in text if Bezos would say falsely he doesn't believe the Inquirers covered of him was politically motivated.

BRIGGS: If you own a Ford pickup truck, some Ford tough news is the company today recalling more than 1 million of its For F-150 trucks due to a transmission issue.

Ford 1 some models from 2001 to 2013 could downshift to first gear without warning. That can cause drivers to suddenly lose control of their vehicles. At least five accidents stemming from the issue have been reported.

ROMANS: All right. Some cracks in an otherwise very strong US economy and more evidence that millions of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Simply put, too many Americans do not have enough emergency savings and a record number are behind on their car payments.

Well, how many are we talking about? According to the New York Federal Reserve, more than 7 million car loans were at least 90 days passed due in the fourth quarter.

The feds report said, quote, the substantial and growing number of distressed borrowers suggest that not all Americans have benefitted from the strong labor market. The fed found Americans have more loans out now, on cars, on credit cards, on student loans than any other time.

Too many loans and not enough savings, a new bank rate survey shows just 40 percent of Americans say they have enough savings to pay $1,000 emergency expense. And on both of those, friends, what so troubling, you know, your car is how you get to your job. If you're three months late on your car payment, you risk getting to work. That just shows that --

BRIGGS: How can an indicator is this though of --

ROMANS: It's alarming economy.

BRIGGS: -- the economy. ROMANS: It is alarming economy that shows that you have a strong economy and all the top line numbers are strong but there are cracks there that show not everyone is enjoying wage growth or the job security that they need.

BRIGGS: Yikes, all right. Ahead, fireworks at a Capitol Hill hearing, a brand-new Democrat in Congress getting into attesting back and forth with a Trump diplomat next.

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[04:42:08] ROMANS: A contentious exchange at a House hearing on Venezuela. Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar attacking the credibility of the Trump administrations new special envoy to Venezuela Elliot Abrams. Omar began her grilling by pointing to Abrams guilty plea for misleading Congress in the Iran-contra affair.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ILHAN OMAR (D), MINNESOTA: I fail to understand why members of this committee or the American people should find any testimony that you give today to be truthful.

ELLIOTT ABRAMS, AMERICAN DIPLOMAT: If I can respond to that.

OMAR: It wasn't a question.

(Inaudible)

OMAR: That was not a question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: She asked about Abrams 1982 testimony seeming to downplay a massacre in El Salvador by US-backed forces. She asked if Abrams would support armed rebels today trying to over throw Venezuela's Maduro government even if those rebels committed more crimes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABRAMS: I don't think this entire line of questioning is meant to be real questions and so I will not reply.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Omar again pressed asking if US interest include in protecting human rights in preventing spreading genocide. Abrams replied that always position of United States.

BRIGGS: The wife of White House Communication Chief and former Fox News Bill Schein is pushing false anti-vaccination claims on Twitter.

In a series of tweets, Darla Schein claim without evidence that childhood diseases such as measles keep you healthy and fight cancer. She lamented the fact that her children received the MMR vaccine which guards against measles, mumps, and rubella and said that people of her generation, the baby boomers, are healthier now because they had measles as children.

Her comments come as a measles outbreak sweeps across the country disproportionately affecting those who are not vaccinated against the disease.

ROMANS: Wow, all right. President Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom sparring over California's scale back high speed real project. Trump is saying he wanted the projects federal funds back after Newsom announced the revised plan in his State of the State speech.

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GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: The current project as planned would cost too much and respectfully take too long. There's been two little oversight and not enough transparency. Right now they're simply isn't a path to get from Sacramento to San Diego, let alone from San Francisco to .A.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Trump falsely tweeted the project was canceled and claims the state owed the federal government $3.5 billion. Newsom shut back the, rail is still is being built and added this is California's money allocated by Congress for this project, we're not giving it back.

BRIGGS: President Trump bringing his love of golf inside the White House. The Washington post reports he personally paid $50,000 to have a high end golf simulator installed in his resident in the last several weeks.

[04:50:02] The device allows the President to play virtual rounds of golf. An unnamed White House official tells the Post that President has yet to use the new system. The paper reports the simulator replaced an older less sophisticated golf simulator installed in the White House during former President Barack Obama's tenure.

ROMANS: Illinois Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger getting an insider's look at the situation on the US-Mexico border. He is being deployed there on active duty as a Lieutenant Colonel with his air force, the National Guard Unit. Kinzinger was deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan before serving in Congress. The 40-year-old lawmaker was just elected his fifth term in November.

BRIGGS: Brock Long who has led the federal emergency management agency since 2017 is resigning. The FEMA chief says he is leaving to spend more time with his family. Long's tenure as the President's top disaster relief official had its share of controversy. The FEMA response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico was widely criticize as slow and inadequate.

Long also came under some fire for his unauthorized use of government vehicles and an investigation by the Homeland Security Inspector General found that Long cost the federal government some $150,000 using government vehicles and resources traveling to and from his home in North Carolina. ROMANS: Empire Star, Jussie Smollett speaking out in his first interview since he reported being attack near his home in Chicago last month. The police are investigating it was a possible hate crime.

Smollett tells ABC's "Good Morning America" he's angry about attacks from people doubting his story.

JUSSIE SMOLLETT, ACTOR: You know, at first it was a thing like, listen, if I tell the truth, then that's it because it's the truth. Then it became a thing of like oh, how can you doubt that? Like how do you -- how do you not believe that? It's the truth.

As Smollett says he has certain the two people of interest shown in surveillance footage released by police are the men who attacked him. According the actor, they are racial and homophobic slurs while referencing mega. Police say a chemical thought to be bleached was poured on Smollett face and a rope was place around his neck.

BRIGGS: That's the end of era, airbus giving up on the super jumbo jet. CNN Business Insider has those details next.

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[04:51:41] BRIGGS: Flooding fears prompting mandatory evacuations in California neighborhoods ravaged by the wildfires last year. Multiple storm systems hitting the west coast with Heavy Rains that could cause mudslides and debris flows. More than 30 million people under a flood watch. Snow on the mountains may cause avalanches and possible 90- mile-an-hour wind gust could cause power outages. More than 62,000 customers are already without power in the state.

NASA's Opportunity Rover on Mars is being remembered as the hardest working robot in the solar system. After months of silence in the red planet NASA now officially declaring Opportunity dead. Built for a sprint opportunity ran a marathon, it was expected to operate on the Marsian surface for three months. It lasted 15 years, Romans.

ROMANS: A job well done. Thank you NASA.

Let's get a check on CNN Business this morning. Global stock markets are mixed. Investors are waiting for new developments on those talks between US and China. Take and look around the world.

You can see the Asian markets closed lower. European shares were up a little bit. And in Wall Street right now Futures are leading higher. Wall Street encouraged by hopes of a US-China trade deal. The opening bell here in just a few hours.

The Dow climbed 118 points to a two-month high Wednesday. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ closed slightly higher as well.

The end of the super jumbo jet. Airbus announced it will stop delivering A380s in 2021 after its key customer Emirates slashed its orders for the jet liner. Airbus is ending the A380 program after they fail to deliver outsize expectation. Airbus has delivered 234 of them today, that's less than a quarter of the 12,000 predicted it would sell when it first to introduce the double decker air craft.

BRIGGS: Emirates is redirecting its money into buying 70 smaller passenger jets from Airbus.

Google is putting up big money outside of Silicon Valley. Google plans to invest 13 billion in data centers and office the in more than a dozen states this year.

ROMANS: In a blog post, Google CEO, Sundar Pichai said that the investment will add more jobs across the country saying our expansion across the US has been crucial to finding great new talent, improving the services that people use everyday and investing in our business. He says Google will open new data center in Ohio, Nebraska and Nevada. Expand his data centers Oklahoma and open a new office in Georgia.

BRIGGS: Fantastic. More great labor news "EARLY START" continues right now.

Federal judge says Paul Manafort lied and broke his plea deal. He could go to jail for life.

ROMANS: Lawmakers prepare to vote on the border deal today. Will the president sign it before a new government shutdown?

BRIGGS: High stakes trade talks under way in Beijing, will the President extend a tee tariff truce to cut a deal with China.

ROMANS: Plus, a former air force intelligence officer accused of spilling US secrets and spying for Iran, remarkable story there. Good morning and welcome to "EARLY START" everybody. I'm Christine Romans.

BRIGGS: Good morning. Happy Valentine's Day, I'm Dave Briggs, Thursday, February 14th. I don't know, card, candy, flowers?

ROMANS: I just have to get the kids there -- as long as the kids have theirs for school, that's all I worry about.

BRIGGS: That's all that matters to most of us parents.

We begin, though, with big news on the Special Counsel front. Paul Manafort's plea deal now voided.

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