Transcripts For CNNW Early Start With Christine Romans And D

As he looks for better trade deals . And the president loves a good show. Hes suggesting the north korea summit at the dmz. Kim jongun already on board. What a dramatic sight it would be to see the president and kim jongun in the dmz. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to early start. Its tuesday, may 1st, may day. 5 00 a. M. In the east, 6 00 p. M. In seoul. Noon in jerusalem. We will take you all of those places in the next half hour. Obstruction of justice. Le the dominant theme in dozens of questions the russia potential count wants to ask President Trump. A list of four dozen questions Robert Mueller has for the president was first obtained by the New York Times later matched by the wall street journal. The questions focus on the president s motivations for key decisions and whether he obstructed the russia investigation. Evan perez starts our coverage from washington. The president s legal team composed a list of nearly 50 questions following a meeting last month with the special counsel Robert Muellers investigators to discuss a possible interview with the president. A cnn reported, the questions roughly fall into four categories and they deal with firing of james comey, the former fbi director, and Michael Flynn, the former National Security adviser as well as the president s dealings with attorney general Jeff Sessions and the potential coordination between the Trump Campaign and russians. The questions published by the New York Times show a focus on the president s state of mind during key events. Its clear from some of the questions that despite the president s claims that collusion is off the table, the mueller investigators are still pursuing questions of whether anyone broke the law in those repeated contacts between Trump Campaign associates and people the fbi believes were russian government operatives. Christine, dave . Thanks, evan. Joining us this morning here in new york cnn political analyst, julian and in washington, political economist greg, chief strategist for horizon investments. Good morning to both of you. Good morning. Julian, well start with you and your broad take away from these dozens of questions now published in extraordinary. It reads like these come from someone in the Trump Legal Team or used to be in the Trump Legal Team not from the special counsel. Lets be clear about that. Whats your broad take away here . Look, the questions touch on everything that has been reported from obstruction, a little bit on russian Trump Campaign relationship to even questions about the business connections. I think the broad take is obstruction is the focus, at least from what we see in the questions of what mueller is honing in on. But we also have to wonder where the questions came from and what the purpose is. They are very broad. And you could imagine the trump team tried to get this out to show hes looking a lot of stuff and that fits their narrative that hes gone all over the place. So you think this could come from the trump team . I dont know where it comes from. It reads that way. It comes right after giuliani joins the team, for example. So we dont know how this fits into the strategy. Have a study guide for the president. Bob mueller has leaked nothing. He hasnt leaked this kind of information. So it would be surprising if all of a sudden thats what hes done. Stunning. Greg, some of these questions, for example this one, what did you men when you told Russian Diplomats on may 10, 2017, that firing mr. Comey had taken the pressure off. That may 10, 2017, if im not mistaken, thats that amazing optic in the oval office with the Russian Ambassador still hard to believe. Really and those pictures were leaked by the Russian Foreign ministry, not the United States. Greg, we heard from the president again and again, no collusion, no collusion, no collusion, no collusion. What does this latest reveal do to that position, do you think . Well, the president , christine, keeps saying everyone agrees theres no collusion. Im not sure Robert Mueller agrees theres no collusion. Maybe by trump allies, maybe not the president himself. The other thing that came across to me loud and clear is that mueller has talked to people who were singing like canaries. People who copped a plea. Flynn would be in that category. I think mueller has information that he would like to turn around and then question trump on. I personally think trump would be crazy to subject himself to an interrogation. It could be stunning, but you were nodding your head for the notion that Michael Flynn provided information. Its not going to be a factfinding information when mueller interviews him. I dont think he expects the president to give him a totally honest account of anything of what happened. Thats not who the president is. But i think he might have other information and he wants to see he knows the answer. Thats exactly right. The purpose in some ways might be to trap the president into saying things that are untrue, but i think he has more information than hes seeking. A lot of people are looking to this outreach to russia question, guys, what knowledge did you have by your Campaign Including Paul Manafort to russia about potential assistance to the campaign. This is sort of intriguing. Its not clear if mueller has something new here. Right. But again, the not clear is the key. My sense is he has more information than we know or that hes letting on. He has conducted pretty aggressive interviews. We already had indictments and pleas. That suggests he has a wealth of information beyond what we know. And hes going to, again, see how this lines up with what the president is willing to say. I think all of us agree its unlikely at this point the president sits down with bob mueller if you read these questions. Although, nothing was truly shocking. We want to turn to the aluminum and steel tariffs delayed by the white house. What was your reaction to that in particular to the eu. I said with you over the last couple months, were not in a trade war. Were in a trade dispute with china, eu, lot of countries. But i still think the president would like a deal. I still think an agreement in principle on nafta is fairly imminent, maybe in the next few weeks. So it was an encouraging sign. Its a onemonth delay, but its a sign this administration does not want to get into a fullfledged trade war. Julian, do you see a strategy here . There are those who thought the president blinked here and the White House Economic Team blinked here. Theyre on their way to china where they have to deal with the chinese 150 billion in tariffs the United States threatened. But meanwhile, our friends are upset with us. You know the european negotiators are very theyre angry that theyve been put in this position by the United States. Theres an oversupply of medals because of oversupply in china and its our friends in europe who are going to be sanctioned essentially. I think hes playing to his bases because basically bases meaning hes doing a lot of things. Initially the controversy in the announcement riled people up and showed his electoral base that he is fighting for them. Against foreign powers. But now he goes back and says, well, im not going to do a lot of that. Im going to delay it for our key allies which plays to his other base, meaning corporate america, which very much does not want to a trade war and also to the base of some key allies right now who he needs for other Foreign Policy moves that the administration is trying to make with north korea, iran. So hes playing to many bases. There is a strategy to saying lots of things. And in the end, maybe doing nothing. Speaks to the stay tuned to the next episode theme of this admissied administratio administration. Thats exactly right. See you in 20 minutes. Coming up, are israel and iran headed to an open conflict . Israels Prime Minister says he has proof iran was lying. When it said it wasnt developing Nuclear Weapons. Were live in jerusalem. As king midas, i expect things to last a looong time. And so should you. Midas has a lifetime guarantee on these parts. Thats right. On things like struts, brakes, shocks. All kinds of automobile parts. Guaranteed for life. Does he turn everything to gold . Not everything. Luckily hes not a dog person. Always a touch better means limited lifetime guarantees on every brake job. Now get 100 back on a 2axle Brake Service with your midas credit card. Your digestive system has billions of bacteria, now get 100 back on a 2axle Brake Service but life can throw them off balance. Try align, the 1 doctor recommended probiotic. With a unique strain that realigns your system. Realign yourself, with align. If you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, Little Things can be a big deal. Thats why theres otezla. Otezla is not an injection or a cream. Its a pill that treats psoriasis differently. With otezla, 75 clearer skin is achievable after just 4 months,. With reduced redness, thickness, and scaliness of plaques. And the otezla prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. Dont use if youre allergic to otezla. Otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. Tell your doctor if these occur. Otezla is associated with an increased risk of depression. Tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts, or if these feelings develop. Some people taking otezla reported weight loss. Your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. Other side effects include upper respiratory tract infection and headache. Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take and if youre pregnant or planning to be. Otezla. Show more of you. To give you the protein you need with less of the sugar you dont. Ill take that. [cheers] 30 grams of protein and 1 gram of sugar. New ensure max protein. In two great flavors. New ensure max protein. The sun goes down. You did a million things for your family today. But speaking to pnc to help handle all your investments was a very important million and one. Pnc. Make today the day. This is the story of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters dark magic told in the time it takes to brew your cup. First, we head to vermont. And go to our coffee shop. And meet dave. Hey. Why is dark magic so spellbindingly good, he asks . Let me show you. Lets go. So we climb. Hike. See a bear. Woah. Reach the top. Dave says dark magic is a bold blend of coffee with rich flavors of uganda, sumatra, colombia and other parts of south america. Like these mountains, each amazing on their own. But together . Magical. All, for a smoother tasting cup of coffee. Green mountain Coffee Roasters packed with goodness. Adapt supply chains based on trends, tweets and storms. And make adjustments on the fly. The ibm cloud. The cloud for smarter business. Cnn learned moon jaein convinced kim jongun to hold his upcoming meeting with President Trump in the demilitarized zone. Moon and kim met last week in the dmz and President Trump says hes leaning towards that plan himself. Theres something that i like about it because youre there. Youre actually there. Where if things work out, theres a great celebration to be had on the site not in a third party country. Our sources say thats the Main Attraction for the president , diplomatic drama and potential breakthrough like the one last week televised live around the world. For the very latest, lets go to alexandra fields live in seoul. Certainly that choreography played out beautifully on friday morning here, friday evening there. The president is a reality show veteran. This would be a mustsee tv. Yeah. Nothing was left to chance. Every bit of it was planned out. Perhaps it was really just a preview of what could be to come. Even as soon as later this month when kim jongun and President Donald Trump will finally meet. The question now, will it, in fact, happen at the dmz . It does look like all sides involved are endorsing the possibility at least, what were hearing from the blue house here in south korea is there would be no place with more symbolism than to meet at the dmz. You heard donald trump at the white house talking about really the optics of this kind of thing. And in terms of logistics, it would make sense from the north korean perspective. They have concerns about kim jonguns travel to a summit that could be held a bit farther afield. There are also concerns globally about whether or not he has the aircraft that could carry him very far without having to stop to refuel which could be diplomatically embarrassing. There are those saying neutral options need to be considered. Certainly singapore has been a top contender and the white house said not to rule that out. There are skeptics saying having President Trump travel to the dmz simply looks too conciliatory at this point. You are certainly hearing all sides showing interest in the possibility of that. It would be an historic moment, certainly one made for tv and would come even with the possibility of President Trump traveling into the northern side of the dmz. Its something that the white house is going to consider. These are all things that will be discussed when the south korean president travels to washington, d. C. Later this month to discuss the upcoming summit with north korea. As that happens, a few good faith measures being taken right here in south korea. Today were seeing the dismantling of the speakers used to blast propaganda into north korea. North korea also showing good faith by stopping their speakers from playing. A few steps being taken as we wait for really the big show, the question still being where that show will take place. Christine . The big show. Thank you so much alexandra field in seoul, thanks. Not the only show, though. The latest on the iran deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a dramatic presentation laying out an elaborate detail his case against iran. The Prime Minister claims his evidence proves the iranians were brazenly lying when they said they were not pursuing Nuclear Weapons. Secretary of state mike pompeo confirming netanyahus iranian files are authentic. President trump expected to decide on the next 12 days whether to pull out of the Iran Nuclear Deal. The fact not lost on netanyahu. Im sure hell do the right thing, the right thing for the United States, the right thing for israel and the right thing for the peace of the world. Lets go live to jerusalem and bring in ian lee with the latest. Good morning to you. This was very straight out of the netanyahu textbook with all the visual displays perhaps this time for the president. Is there anything truly new here . Well, when you look at it, he did present quite a damning case. He had schematics of Nuclear Weapons, Delivery Systems, missiles and how this is a secret Covert Mission by the iranians each time saying iran is lying to the international community. But when you listen to weapons experts who have been following this from day one, they say that theres nothing new to the Prime Ministers accusations to his evidence, he says, that iran is trying to develop Nuclear Weapons. They say this is all well known, well documented information by the ieae, the International Atomic Energy Agency as well as other countries have said theyre going to take a look at this evidence, but they dont on the surface see anything new right now. It will be up to the iaea to see if there is anything new. Right now they have confirmed that iran has been living to the law, living to the standards of this Iran Nuclear Deal. But when you look at the Prime Minister netanyahu, he does see a lot of threats in this region. He sees iran operating in nearby syria. So, to get the president , his sole audience in this when you look who the audience was, it was the president , if he can get the president to pull of the Iran Nuclear Deal, then this is a triumph for netanyahu. Ian lee live in jerusalem. Thank you. Benjamin netanyahu will be on new day later this morning. Such a dramatic presentation reminiscent of the u. N. Speech with the big bomb visual for everyone to see. We never really doubted it, but tom brady confirming he will return for the 2018 nfl season. Andy scholes has the bad, bad news for everyone else in the Division Next in the bleacher report. s aabout people and while we make more ecommerce deliveries to homes than anyone else in the country, we never forget. That your business is our business the United States postal service. Priority you but as it grew bigger and bigger,ness. It took a whole lot more. Thats why i switched to the spark cash card from capital one. With it, i earn unlimited 2 cash back on everything i buy. Everything. And that 2 cash back a