Return to Transcripts main page

EARLY START

Secretary Mike Pompeo Gives Tough Message for MBS; Aired 4- 4:30a ET

Aired October 18, 2018 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:13] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: All smiles for the camera. But behind closed doors, Mike Pompeo's blunt message to the Saudi crown prince -- his future as king is at stake. Pompeo briefs the president this morning as Jamal Khashoggi's final column goes to print.

DAVE BRIGGS, CNN ANCHOR: The former president of USA Gymnastics arrested after charges he tried to conceal in the Larry Nassar investigation.

ROMANS: Does anyone want to win the lottery? No Powerball Jackpot winner, $1.3 billion in lottery money now up for grabs.

BRIGGS: Never good when an umpire is trending on Twitter. Major controversies. The Red Sox steal one from Houston Astros. Is it or is it not fan interference?

Let us know what you think @earlystart. It will be debated throughout the day and perhaps into the off-season.

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

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. Nice to see you this morning.

BRIGGS: Good to see you.

ROMANS: It is Thursday, October 18th. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East. President Trump meeting this morning with Mike Pompeo, his secretary of state. He will get a briefing on the diplomatic swing through the Saudi and Turkish capitals. A trip focused on the disappearance and presumed murder of U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

CNN has learned that beneath the surface of Pompeo's upbeat photo-op with the Saudi crown prince, all smiles there, but behind closed doors is a blunt no-nonsense meeting. A source tells us Pompeo warned Prince Mohammed bin Salman known as MBS his future as king depends on his handling of this apparent killing. The source says Pompeo told the prince he must own the situation and that every fact is going to get out.

BRIGGS: The "New York Times" and "Washington Post" both reporting this morning on mounting evidence that connects Crown Prince Mohammed or MBS to the killing, including his ties to several members of the team that flew from Riyadh to Istanbul just as Khashoggi disappeared. The "Post" also reports the White House and the Saudi royal family are

searching for an explanation for Khashoggi's death that does not implicate Prince Mohammed. The president says he's waiting for answers, but also seemed to cast doubt on intel that could implicate the Saudis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not giving cover at all. With that being said, Saudi Arabia has been a very important ally of ours in the Middle East. I want to find out what happened, where is the fault, and we will probably know that by the end of the week.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You asked for this audio and video intelligence that the Turks supposedly have.

TRUMP: We have asked for it if it exists. We have asked for it, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Yes, but you haven't gotten it.

TRUMP: We've asked for it if it exists.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Are you surprised that they haven't turned it over?

TRUMP: No. I'm not sure yet that it exists. It probably does, possibly does.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Possibly. Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker says the administration has, quote, "clamped down on intelligence about the case," saying, quote, "I suppose they don't want us to see the intel."

ROMANS: Now to the view from Saudi Arabia. What's the reaction in Riyadh? What might the kingdom do next?

Let's bring in senior international correspondent Sam Kiley live in Riyadh for us.

And Sam, you know, you've got this unusual situation of, you know, the crown prince is investigating whether the crown prince is implicated in this apparent murder here. What's the view from there?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is exactly what is going on, but behind the scenes, they are also trying to come up with a narrative which somehow squares with the near waterfall now of leaks coming out of Turkey which do, as you say, implicate a number of very senior officials. Not just those very close to the crown prince, but people from outside, from the establishment, from the medical establishment for example in this country who would have been very hard to get to participate in an operation of this kind without an order from a very senior figure. Nonetheless, of course, this is a country that is actually run by the

crown prince. He is, if you like, the chief executive of Saudi Arabia. And he's not going to authorize any kind of statement that would implicate himself clearly.

So they are in something of a bind, particularly as the king, King Salman at 82 is frail and elderly, and as I say, handed over power to MBS, who has, I have to say, over the last 18 months, especially concentrated power in a way that has never been seen in Saudi Arabia before. Eviscerating the royal court and really taking executive control -- Christine.

[04:05:01] ROMANS: Fascinating. All right. Sam Kiley for us in Riyadh. Thank you, sir.

BRIGGS: Jamal Khashoggi's final column published by the "Washington Post." It was submitted by his assistant one day after he went missing. Fittingly it was about the value of a free press. And it called out the Egyptian government's seizure of the entire print run of a newspaper.

The column reads in part, "These actions no longer carry the consequence of a backlash from the international community. Instead, these actions may trigger condemnation quickly followed by silence. As a result, Arab governments have been given free rein to continue silencing the media at an increasing rate."

ROMANS: He says a platform is needed for Arab voices. He calls for the creation of an independent international forum, isolated from the influence of nationalist governments.

BRIGGS: Ahead of the midterm elections, it's been a quiet period for the special counsel's Russia investigation. Publicly anyway. But behind the scenes, Robert Mueller's team has been very busy debriefing Paul Manafort. Sources tell CNN the former Trump campaign chairman and his lawyers visited Mueller's Washington office at least nine times in the last four weeks with prosecutors also interviewing other witnesses, gathering a grand jury weekly and working out some kind of secret court action. We're told the White House insiders expect more criminal indictments.

ROMANS: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein publicly defending the Mueller probe. In a rare interview with the "Wall Street Journal" he calls the inquiry appropriate and independent, and said the public will have confidence that the cases we brought were warranted.

One other potential problem for the president, his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, meeting Wednesday with officials investigating Mr. Trump's family business and charitable organizations.

BRIGGS: New this morning, U.S. marshals arresting the former president of USA Gymnastics on charges he tampered with evidence in the Larry Nassar sexual abuse case. The Walker County, Texas, district attorney says Steve Perry ordered documents related to Nassar removed from the USA Gymnastics training center at the Karolyi Ranch. According to an indictment, the documents were delivered to Perry at

U.S. AG headquarters in Indianapolis and have not been seen since. The marshals' fugitive task force arrested Penny on vacation in Tennessee. He is now awaiting extradition back to Texas.

ROMANS: More than $1.3 billion in lottery jackpot money is now up for grabs. There were no winners in Wednesday's $378 million Powerball Jackpot drawings. The winning numbers were 3, 57, 64, 68, 69 with 15 as the Powerball. The estimated jackpot for Saturday's drawing is $430 million. Friday's Megamillions Jackpot has now climbed to $900 million with the lump sum option of $513 million.

BRIGGS: And yes, I'm already envisioning how I would spend it, my friend. That's what I do.

ROMANS: You could buy companies. You could buy companies with that much money.

BRIGGS: Massive companies.

ROMANS: Yes.

BRIGGS: U.S. -- all right. The GOP tax cuts sent the deficit soaring. Now the president wants his Cabinet secretaries to help make up some serious ground.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:12:14] ROMANS: The federal government running its largest deficit in six years. So President Trump wants his Cabinet to trim their budgets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'd like you to come back with a 5 percent cut. Get rid of the fat. Get rid of the waste. That's a very, very important request that I'm making of everybody sitting around this table.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: That was at a Cabinet meeting yesterday. Trump added that some people at the table could cut substantially more. Here's the issue. The deficit is up 17 percent this year to $779 billion. That's the highest since 2012 when the country was spending like crazy to stimulate its struggling economy. The problem now, the U.S. is spending much more than it takes in. And it's not necessarily the spending side of the equation, it's the taking inside of the equation. Right? This is largely thanks to tax cuts.

Tax revenue was flat this year and corporate tax collection fell by $76 billion. Meanwhile spending increased mainly from Defense spending. Now the White House says it will eventually cut wasteful spending to make up the difference. That makes progressives very nervous. They say that is code for big cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. And Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says it's time to take a look at those so-called entitlements. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MAJORITY LEADER: There's been a bipartisan reluctance to tackle entitlement changes because of the popularity of those programs. Hopefully at some point here we'll get serious about this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Those three programs, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, make up 70 percent of the U.S. budget.

BRIGGS: Could become a midterm issue with three weeks to go.

The Environmental Protection Agency backing off a controversial plan to limit the number of health related studies it can consider before drafting regulations. The rule would have blocked the agency from considering scientific studies with underlying data that has not been made public. Usually because of patient privacy concerns. Its critics say the policy would have required EPA staffers to put on blinders and loosen health protections. The proposal was championed by former administrator Scott Pruitt who resigned after months of ethics controversies.

ROMANS: People within half a mile of an underground gas line in California are being urged to evacuate as a grass fire threatened the pipeline. The fire caused by a fallen power line in Bay Point 30 miles northeast of San Francisco. Chevron which owns the line immediately shut it down and dispatched a field team to investigate. Emergency officials say anyone requiring assistance to evacuate should call 911.

BRIGGS: Residents of hurricane ravaged Mexico Beach returning home for the first time since the storm hit. They were only allowed to stay for a short time. Most of them already knew what they'd encounter before they arrived. Still the scope of the devastation left them stunned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[04:15:03] SHELLY BREEDLOVE, MEXICO BEACH RESIDENT: Almost an unreal feeling. Almost like you're in a dream. Like it's not really real, but you know it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: A task force that led the search for survivors has finished its job after one week. The death toll from Hurricane Michael climbing to 32 in four states with 22 of those fatalities in Florida.

ROMANS: An Arizona man rescued after being trapped in a mine shaft 100 feet deep since Monday. Authorities say 62-year-old John Waddell went 48 hours without food or water, broke multiple bones. He was found by a friend who got worried when he failed to return home the next day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY SHRADER, FRIEND OF MAN RESCUED: He had called me Monday and told me he was coming to the mine and we always had a deal well, if he's not back by Tuesday, since he didn't come home yesterday, I was bound and determined I had to come down today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Waddell was air-lifted from the mine with non-life threatening injuries.

BRIGGS: Ahead, a Virginia company forced to throw out 50,000 pounds of meat. What one employee did to make that all necessary.

ROMANS: And should your child ought to be an expert on police encounters to graduate high school? It's now the law in one state.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:20:43] BRIGGS: A 4-year-old Kansas boy in critical condition overnight after being shot in the stomach during a road rage incident. Wichita Police say one vehicle cut off another and two shots were fired at a car with six children under the age of 10 inside. Authorities have tracked down the vehicle they believe was involved and are interviewing the people who were in it. Wichita's police chief says his department is dealing with an average of three road rage incidents a week involving firearms.

ROMANS: A guilty plea from one of the priests accused of sexually abusing children in a Pennsylvania grand jury report. David Poulson served as a priest in Pennsylvania's Eerie diocese for four decades until this year. He pleaded guilty Wednesday to corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children, both third degree felonies. His victims were 8 to 15 years old. Poulson was arrested and charged in May based on recommendation from the grand jury.

BRIGGS: The former lead detective in the Harvey Weinstein investigation has been removed from the case and is now the subject of an NYPD internal investigation. According to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Detective Nicholas DiGaudio advised a female accuser to delete anything on her cell phone she did not want seen before turning it over to authorities.

The D.A. learned of the incident last week after the detective was accused of coaching a witness. Weinstein's attorney says the incident further undermines the integrity of an already deeply flawed indictment.

ROMANS: A worker at Smithfield Foods in Virginia has been suspended pending outcome of an investigation after he's caught on video urinating on the production line. The grainy video shows the employee relieving himself then putting his gloves back on and continuing to work. In a statement, Smithfield Foods confirms what it called an isolated incident and said more than 50,000 pounds of products were disposed of.

BRIGGS: Ewe. English, math and history are no longer the only classes required for Texas high schoolers to graduate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Passenger, put your hands on the dash. Passenger, passenger, put your hands on the dashboard.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ma'am, put your hands on the dash, please. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Driver, put your hands on the steering wheel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: A new state law requires students from 9th to 12th grade to take a class and view the 16-minute video on how to deal with law enforcement during a traffic stop. The idea is to ease tensions between police and students and keep unarmed citizens from getting shot by officers. The video includes a reenactment of a student being pulled over followed by officers answering their questions about how to behave. Fascinating.

ROMANS: All right. The puppeteer who portrayed Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch is calling it quits. Caroll Spinney has been with "Sesame Street" since the program premiered nearly 50 years ago. In a statement said, "Big Bird brought me so many places, opened my mind and nurtured my soul." Spinney garnered many accolades over the years including four honorary doctorates, a lifetime achievement Emmy Award and six other Emmys.

BRIGGS: Controversy brewing over game four of the American League Championship Series. Check this out. First inning. Houston's Jose Altuve long drive to right field. Boston's Mookie Betts leaps, trying to make the catch, but a fan hits his glove. The umpires eventually ruled Altuve out because of fan interference. The call was upheld on review even though the ball appeared to be heading over the wall.

ROMANS: Yes. OK.

BRIGGS: You make the call, folks. This one will be debated for days, weeks and I would guess months and maybe even years. Fast forward to the ninth. Boston leading 8-6. Astros load the bases against Craig Kimbrel. Alex Bregman line drive that could win the game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He makes the catch. What a play. Game saver.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIGGS: Game saver. Season saver. Andrew Benintendi with one of the gutsiest plays you will see. Boston now leads the series 3-1. The Sox can close out the Astros tonight in Houston. What a grab.

The Dodgers now one win away from their second straight World Series. Clayton Kershaw dominant in game give of the NLCS. Scattering three hits over seven innings. The Dodgers beat the Brewers 5-2. Game six is tomorrow night in Milwaukee.

[04:25:01] I'm curious what my non-sports co-host thinks. Fan interference or not?

ROMANS: Well, it doesn't look like he would have caught that ball without the -- with or without the fan.

BRIGGS: I think that's a good interpretation.

ROMANS: Thank you.

BRIGGS: I thought he was interfered, but by the ruling or the law, I don't think it would be. But what we need is a camera angle along the wall which shows if that fan reached over said wall.

ROMANS: It doesn't --

BRIGGS: We don't know.

ROMANS: The glove was closed -- well, OK.

(LAUGHTER)

BRIGGS: Let us know what you think, folks. The debate continues.

ROMANS: Yes. Do not rely on my sports experience.

BRIGGS: That was a good interpretation.

ROMANS: Thank you. Thank you.

All right. The president meets his secretary of state this morning about his trip to Riyadh and Ankara. The smiles very short supply once that photo-op with the crown prince is over.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIGGS: All smiles face-to-face, but Mike Pompeo's blunt message to the Saudi crown prince, his future as king is at stake.