Return to Transcripts main page

EARLY START

Latest on Kavanaugh Nomination; Russia-U.S. Dispute Continues; Vice President Pence Takes Aim at China. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired October 5, 2018 - 05:00   ET

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


[05:00:00]

ROMANS: The EEOC says workplace harassment dominated the headlines and then more people sought help as they saw it was in the news. Hits on its web site doubled in the past year. If there is one thing that has come out of this, one thing, is people should be able to go to their H.R. and say something.

BRIGGS: All right, Early Start continues right now.

(VIDEO BEGINS)

KAVANAUGH: This confirmation process has become a national disgrace.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His performance during the hearings caused me to change my mind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Judge Brett Kavanaugh just put out an op-ed.

KAVANAUGH: I know that my tone was sharp and I said a few things I should not have said.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All eyes are on three Republican senators along with red state Democrat Joe Manchin.

SEN. BOB MENENDEZ, D-NJ: If that's an investigation, it's a (expletive deleted) investigation.

SEN. CHARLES GRASSLEY, R-IA: This is almost rock bottom.

(VIDEO ENDS)

BRIGGS: Supporters, dissenters, even Brett Kavanaugh himself making a final argument, a seat on the Supreme Court is on the line today.

ROMANS: The U.S. waging new battles against two super powers. China and Russia now respond.

BRIGGS: And at any moment, the world finds out who will win the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize. We are standing by for that breaking news. You can bet on it, some say Angela Merkel, the favorite. Others feel its President Trump, Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in.

ROMANS: Will they recognize progress on the Korean peninsula?

BRIGGS: Interesting. Good morning, welcome to Early start. I'm Dave Briggs.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Friday, October 5th, it is 5:00 a.m. in the east. Good morning, everyone. We should know later today -- later this morning, really whether Brett Kavanaugh has the votes to join the Supreme Court. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has set a key procedural vote for 10:30 a.m. Then senators still weighing how to play their hands will have to show some cards. The final case coming for Kavanaugh coming from himself in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. The nominee arguing he is an independent, impartial judge. He admitted, he quote, "might have been too emotional before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week."

(VIDEO BEGINS)

KAVANAUGH: This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit.

(VIDEO ENDS)

BRIGGS: Kavanaugh writes, at times my testimony reflected my overwhelming frustration at being wrongly accused. I know my tone was sharp and I said a few things I should not have said. I believe that an independent and impartial judiciary is essential to our constitutional republic. That seems unlikely to sway one man who knows the court well. Former Justice John Paul Stevens. He says he changed his mind after that testimony.

(VIDEO BEGINS)

FORMER JUSTICE JOHN PAUL STEVENS: He has demonstrated a potential bias involving enough potential litagancy before the court that he would not be able to perform his full responsibilities; that I think his merit in that criticism, its not healthy to get a new justice who can only do a part-time job.

(VIDEO ENDS)

ROMANS: That Justice appointed by Nixon, right? Confirmed by Ford. Overnight, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley's office put out an executive summary of the FBI report, confirming the bureau interviewed ten people. Democrats clearly don't believe that went far enough.

(VIDEO BEGINS)

MENENDEZ: If that's an investigation, it's a bullshit investigation. The reality is, that is not a full and thorough investigation.

(VIDEO ENDS)

ROMANS: Attorneys for Christine Blasey Ford, Kavanaugh's first accuser, are calling the investigation a stain on the process of the FBI and our American ideal of justice.

BRIGGS: The president last night made his own final push for Kavanaugh in a rally in Minnesota where he attacked Democrats. (VIDEO BEGINS)

TRUMP: Their rage fueled resistance is starting to back fire at a level that nobody has ever seen before. The people of America are going to reject the Democrat politics of anger and destruction.

(VIDEO ENDS)

BRIGGS: Republican leaders margin for winning Kavanaugh's confirmation, now shaved from five to four with North Dakota Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp coming out against the nominee in an emotional appearance on Fargo's CNN affiliate, Heitkamp said its important to tell a victim you believe the victim.

(VIDEO BEGINS)

SEN. HEIDI HEITKAMP, D-ND: If this were a political decision for me, I certainly would be deciding this the other way. But you know, there is an old saying, history will judge you but most importantly, you will judge yourself. And that's really what I'm saying. I can't get up in the morning and look at the life experience that I've had and say yes to Judge Kavanaugh.

(VIDEO ENDS)

ROMANS: Her decision elicited cheers from protesters in front of the Supreme Court.

(VIDEO BEGINS)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator Heidi Heitkamp is on the right side of history.

(VIDEO ENDS)

[05:05:00]

ROMANS: Four remaining senators still undecided after getting a look at the FBI report on Kavanaugh. That supplemental background check includes 45 pages of interview summaries and another 1,600 pages of information collected through the FBI tip line. Closed door briefings for senators sessions went last -- late into last night. Our Manu Raju reports momentum appears to be shifting toward Kavanaugh.

MANU RAJU: Good morning, Christine and Dave. All eyes on Senate floor in just a matter of hours. Later this morning, the Senate will take a key procedural vote to advance Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court. As we know, its a 51-49 Senate with Republican versus Democrat. That means if all Democrats vote no and Republicans lose more than one vote, then this nomination could go down and lose to a Democratic filibuster later this morning.

We are watching four key senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Jeff Flake of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Manchin being the one Democrat. All of them went to that briefing about the FBI investigation to Brett Kavanaugh's past and those allegations of sexual misconduct in which he furiously denied.

Now, each of those senators had a different interpretation about what exactly they saw in there. But two of the senators, Flake and Collins, sounded positive about the way the investigation was carried out, both Murkowski and Manchin both noncommittal. Republicans want to try to advance the nomination to a confirmation vote as soon as Saturday. Christine and Dave.

BRIGGS: Should be interesting. Thank you, Manu. A possible last minute wrinkle for the Republicans. Montana Senator Steve Daines is expected to miss a potential confirmation vote on Saturday and for very good reason, he'll be at his daughter's wedding, walking her down the aisle. That means GOP leaders may be forced to hold open the confirmation vote for Kavanaugh overnight as the senator returns to Washington. The spokesperson for Senator Daines says he has assured Kavanaugh, he has made arrangements to get him across the finish line as needed.

ROMANS: More than 300 protesters, including actress Amy Schumer arrested Thursday as anti-Kavanaugh demonstrations swarmed Capitol Hill.

Activists making their voices heard while lawmakers reviewed the FBI's report on Kavanaugh. Signs in the window of the Senate office building reading "we believe her" and "we believe survivors."

BRIGGS: A group of protesters even confronted Republican Senator Orrin Hatch.

(VIDEO BEGINS)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why aren't you brave enough to talk to us and exchange with us? Don't you wave your hand at me? I waved my hand at you.

HATCH: When you grow up, I'll grow up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are not grown up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How dare you talk to women that way?

(CROSSTALK)

(VIDEO ENDS)

BRIGGS: That didn't go over well. Protests in several other cities beside, D.C., including New York City at Trump Tower, Portland, Oregon and San Francisco. Protestors also demonstrating at Senator Jeff Flake's office in Arizona, four women were arrested for trespassing.

ROMANS: All right, just moments ago, the Nobel committee announced the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, honoring Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their efforts to end youth and sexual violence as a weapon or war and armed conflict. Again, that just being announced moments ago. There have been 331 nominees, 115 different organizations nominated. But this, using sexual violence as a weapon of war, these were two people who spearheaded a campaign against that, winning the Nobel.

BRIGGS: Most thought it would deal with the Korean peninsula, whether it was Kim Jong-un or Moon Jai-en or President Trump; but they clearly said not until we have to, not until there's actual denuclearization on the peninsula.

ROMANS: Maybe next year.

BRIGGS: Right, perhaps. New hacking allegations against Russia and major accusations of China undermining the United States. What with both countries have to say, next.

[05:09:15]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:13:17]

BRIGGS: Russia taking aim at the U.S. after the Justice Department indicts seven Russian intelligence officers in an international hacking scheme. Fred Pleitgen live for us in Moscow with the latest. Fred, good morning. What are we learning?

FRED PLEITGEN, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: Yes, good morning, Dave. Apparently they attacked the World Anti-Doping Agency and also some American labs as well as exposed the names and the medical data of some 250 American athletes and athletes from 29 other countries. So it certainly seems to have been quite a big operation that was exposed there. Apparently were also spying on the Westinghouse electric -- electrical company.

But that's not the only thing that came out yesterday. The British government also came out with accusations against the Russians of past hacking attempts and successful hackings as well. And then the Dutch government came out with a flurry of evidence. Because the Russians before that had said they simply haven't seen any documents while they were denying all the charges. The Dutch, though, had pictures of Russian agents arriving at Amsterdam Airport, they had pictures of them parking a car outside the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and pointing an antennae at that organization.

The car was also packed with electronics as well. Aside from that, Dave, they also had on them phones that were first activated outside the GRU headquarters here in Moscow and even a taxi receipt for a trip from the GRU headquarters all the way to Moscow headquarter -- to -- to Moscow Airport. Despite all of that, the Russians are still saying that this is a campaign against their country and that they have not seen any evidence yet, Dave.

BRIGGS: Fred Pleitgen live for us in Moscow just past noon. Thanks, Fred.

ROMANS: All right. The government of China accusing Vice President Mike Pence of slander and unwarranted accusations after he launched a broad attack against Beijing.

[05:15:00]

The vice president Thursday accused China of predatory economic practices, military aggression against the U.S. and of trying to undermine President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To put it bluntly, President Trump's leadership is working. And China wants a different American president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: CNN's Will Ripley live this morning from Hong Kong. He joins us with the very latest. This is nothing short of a reset that the U.S. is -- is undergoing here with China.

WILL RIPLEY, INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: It's a hard reset and a noticeably -- noticeable shift to this really hawkish approach when it comes to multiple fronts. You're talking about military, trade and, yes, domestic politics. Because a large part of the Vice President's speech was focused on laying out these allegations that China is trying to meddle in the midterms to hurt President Trump, as you heard the vice president say.

Overnight a very fierce response from the foreign ministry in Beijing, saying it's garbage. Saying that the vice president's speech was kind of based on claims that are hearsay, pulled out of thin air. They said China has no interest in meddling in U.S. elections or internal and in fact, they say it's the U.S. that does that to other countries. Including China sometimes. I mean, keep in mind that freedom of navigation patrol near the disputed Spratly Islands.

China views it as U.S. warships sailing in their territorial waters. Those are claims that the U.S. rejects. But look, things are -- are quite tense right now and they could get even more tense in the coming hours when the Pentagon is expected to release this scathing report identifying 300 areas where U.S. national defense may be at risk because it relies on components to produce weapons that are brought in from other countries, components that really can't be sourced very easily from the United States.

And guess which country a lot of those components come from. China. And so the Pentagon basically going to lay out that China's industrial dominance is actually potentially putting U.S. national security at risk. Where does that take all of these other disputes? Well it turns it up to a whole new level, Christine.

ROMANS: Yes, they're going to outline some 300 vulnerabilities and say that the United States has to get smart and get tough on trade, with China in particular. All right. Thank you so much. Will Ripley for us in Hong Kong this morning. Thanks, Will.

BRIGGS: Indonesian search and rescue officials believe more than 1,000 people are still missing after that powerful earthquake and tsunami rocked the island of Sulawesi last Friday. The search and rescue team says the numbers came from analyzing images before and after the disaster. The death toll already over 1,400.

ROMANS: All right (ph), how much would you pay for this? There. Turns out a rock used as a door stop for 30 years is worth big bucks.

BRIGGS: And Patriots quarterback Tom Brady adds another line to his hall of fame resume. Lindsay Czarniak here with us in studio with the bleacher report. Good morning, my friend.

[05:17:45]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:22:10]

BRIGGS: Red tide has spread to Florida's Gold Coast, forcing some beaches in Miami-Dade County to close. Mayor Carlos Gimenez says the move was made in an abundance of caution. Earlier in the week, red tide shut down a number of beaches in Palm Beach County, with some remaining closed as of this morning. Red tide is not only deadly to marine life, it can also pose a threat to humans by irritating skin and may lead to respiratory problems.

ROMANS: This plain-looking rock has propped open a door in Michigan for the past 30 years, but it is literally out of the world. A geology professor at Central Michigan University was asked to check it out and found that the oddly-shaped, 22 pound rock is actually a meteorite worth $100,000. It is the sixth largest recorded find in Michigan. The owner says it first came to earth in the 1930s. The Smithsonian and a mineral museum in Maine are considering purchasing the meteorite for display.

BRIGGS: One man's trash is another man's treasure. At 41 years young, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady showing no signs of slowing down.

ROMANS: No way. And he's very handsome. Lindsay Czarniak has more in this morning's bleacher report.

LINDSAY CZARNIAK, SPORTS ANCHOR, CNN: And that's relevant. It just always is. Right?

ROMANS: Well, John Berman always says he's handsome. When they lose, he's like, but Tom Brady is still handsome.

(CROSSTALK)

CZARNIAK: One of my -- one of my colleagues once called him the greatest living American, so you could go with that --

ROMANS: OK.

BRIGGS: I don't know if I agree with that (ph).

(CROSSTALK)

CZARNIAK: It's just not fair unless you're a Boston fan. At 41, Brady is really doing things that physically seem impossible. It seems like he's just getting better, in fact. He got one of the biggest weapons back last night in wide receiver Julian Edelman but it was another player on the receiving end of history. Against the Colts Brady became only the third quarterback to throw 500 career touchdown passes. He connected with Josh Gordon, making his Patriots debut, for a 39 yard touchdown that was in the fourth quarter and that helped him reach the milestone.

Only Peyton Manning and Brett Favre are ahead of Brady on the all time list. So he's now thrown touchdowns -- this is staggering to me -- to 71 different receivers -- isn't that crazy -- setting another NFL record. But individual achievements, they don't mean anything to number 12.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BRADY, QUARTERBACK, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: Things like that, milestones and so forth, it's -- there's so many people that contribute, so I just think of all the people that -- you know, have really worked hard and -- you know, quarterback doesn't throw them to himself, he needs people to catch them (ph) and block and defense and make plays. And the coach is the coach and these are all -- you know, great team awards. So pretty cool.

BILL BELICHICK, GENERAL MANAGER, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: It's (ph) tremendous. That's a lot of -- that's a lot of touchdown passes to a lot of different guys, too. So -- you know, Tom's -- no quarterback I'd rather have than Tom Brady.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CZARNIAK: And that's about all you're going to get out of Belichick, right? I mean, that is a lot of emotion. And the Patriots of course went on to beat the Colts 31-24. We now move to playoff baseball.

[05:25:00]

And the Dodgers on a quest to win their first was since 1988. They've come close several years past. L.A. soaking up the spotlight, making the Braves, though, look off their game. Joc Pederson, the Dodgers first batter, slamming a home run against the Braves last night.

L.A. hit two more home runs to win game one of their series 6-nothing. And then moving on to the Brewers, making their first post season appearance since 2011. They gave fans in Milwaukee a thriller against the Rockies. And this is why they picked up veteran Mike Moustakas over the summer, just for this kind of situation. He drove in MVP front runner Christian Yelich, a two out, two strike single in the tenth inning to give Milwaukee a 3-2 walk-off. Cover your ears, Dave Briggs.

Teams that have won game one at home have gone to take the series 75 percent of the time.

BRIGGS: We'll be back, baby. Don't count the Rockies out, my friend. CZARNIAK: Never say never. Never say never. The playoffs continue

with four games this afternoon and going into the evening. The defending champion Astros getting things started against the Cleveland Indians as of 2:05 Eastern on our sister channel, TBS. You know what, though? I mean, I -- I think in playoff baseball, it is really all about chemistry. And fun.

BRIGGS: It's all about one series (ph). I'm a Rockies fan but come on. It's -- it's Red Sox Yankees.

CZARNIAK: Oh, yes --

(CROSSTALK)

BRIGGS: -- sports world is wrapped up in this one.

CZARNIAK: It is. It is. Yes.

BRIGGS: Also on TBS tonight. Thank you, Lindsay.

(CROSSTALK)

BRIGGS: -- good to see you.

ROMANS: One of the most contentious nomination fights in history is almost over with four key senators. Will they back Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court? We're just a few hours from finding out.

[05:26:32]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)