Hong kong. Good morning. Welcome to early start. Im Phil Mattingly in for dave briggs. Im christine romans. It is 4 00 a. M. In the east. Lets start with the president. President trump admitting during the 2016 president ial race his son don junior met to get information on an opponent. On sunday, the president called the Trump Tower Meeting totally legal and done in politics all the time. Adding i did not know about it. You may know that tweet contradicting the earlier statements. The president acknowledging for the first time the purpose of the meeting was to gather dirt on Hillary Clinton and not to discuss russian adoption. As for it being totally legal . It addresses that the president is now concerned over don junior may have legal exposure in the Robert Mueller probe. That is according to sources
close to the white house. Cnn reported that Michael Cohen may have knew about the meeting despite his denials. Lets get more from boris sanchez. Reporter christine and phil, it has been a swift move from the president suggesting to the best of his knowledge no one that he knows has anything to do with russia to now essentially making the argument that collusion is not illegal. Here is more from jay sekulow on the sunday morning talk shows. Says the meeting is totally legal and done all the time. According to the email that Robert Mueller has, this was a meeting to get information from the Crown Prosecutor of russia on Hillary Clintons campaign. How is that legal . The question is how would it be illegal . The real question is would a meeting of that nature constitute a violation of the law. Reporter critics have pounced on this making the argument that the administration and president is moving the goal posts. We should point out despite a repeated number of calls from the president and his allies for this investigation to wrap up and in the words of Rudy Giuliani from Robert Mueller to put up or shut up, this investigation is moving forward. Last week, cnn reported that the Special Counsel is making efforts to interview one key person in that Trump Tower Meeting. The one that helped facilitate the meeting. The russian pop singer whose father has deep ties to vladimir putin. We do know that Robert Mueller and his team have been working alongside agalarovs legal team to secure an interview for more than a year. Christine and phil. The president and his son have twisted themselves into knots trying to explain that Trump Tower Meeting. Lets take a quick look at the timeline. The New York Times reports on the meeting. Don junior with the statement claiming it is about russian adoption. One day later, the president s son was promised dirt on Hillary Clinton. Two days after that, don junior releases the exchange with rob golstone. Discussing dirt on clinton. The president denies knowing about the meeting beforehand. July 12th, reports indicate that President Trump was involved in preparing the statement about russian adoptions. Jay sekulow denies any involvement. And august 1st, Sarah Sanders admits the president weighed in on the statement. Don junior tells the committee in september he doesnt remember how the white house was involved in crafting it. That was clearly not true. In january of this year, the president s lawyers told Special CounselRobert Mueller in a
letter that mr. Trump dictated the statement himself. Cnn reported on that letter to mr. Mueller in june. Last month, Michael Cohen is willing to tell the Special Counsel that the president did know about the Trump Tower Meeting in advance. And now the tweet. Admitting the meeting was designed to get information on the opponent and claiming he did not know about it. Got that . Got it. Does it make sense . The trial of Paul Manafort on bank and tax fraud charges resuming this morning with Defense Lawyering Cross Kpami examining witnesses. A witness told jurors in 2016 she sent a fake letter from a Shell Company to a bank to help Paul Manafort get a loan. She also implicated Manafort Deputy rick gates. Nuclear deal in may. Businesses have until midnight tonight before sanctions are reinstated. Gold, aluminum and steel and coal are part of it. We have our l. A. Times reporting joining us this morning. Good morning. What is the sense there . Reporter the sense is limbo. The Money Exchange markets, free market or black market or whatever you call it, is in limbo. They dont sell. They dont buy. If you insist, they sell the same prices as yesterday. That means 500 or so less than before. We can say everybody is in limbo. What about on the streets . I know there have been some protests the past few days. What is happening there in terms
Get a jump on the days news with Christine Romans and Dave Briggs. Today. Some analysts say lack of Good Governance and lack of Good Management is the main concern and main problems. This country is not governed properly and economically there are mismanagement and widespread corruption. The pullout from the nuclear deal generated and have been detrimental because there is not Good Government in the country already. That is why some people blame President Trump and some people blame the lack of good govern nangover governance. That is why they protest in the street. They look for direct talks with anyone. They are ready to Shake Hands With The Devil if it is in their favor. Fortunate to have you in tehran. Fighterfi fighterstyle deceitful drama and intimidation. China plans to impose tariffs if the u. S. Follows through with 200 billion of chinese goods. Trade tensions worry investors. President trump defended tariffs over the weekend. Saying they are Working Farber than anyone anticipated. By Hurting Beijing and bringing china to the negotiating table. He would continue to negotiate with tariffs. Really important to note here and a lot of money folks were discussing this over the weekend. Foreign countries do not pay tariffs. U. S. Companies importing the products do. It is u. S. Companies who pay the tariffs. Not the chinese government. A slight disconnect with how
and your brain even shrinks. You may experience a lack of sharpness, find it harder to focus, or forget important information. Fortunately, now theres forebrain, a topselling cognitive Performance Supplement at gnc from the experts at force factor. For a limited time, every man and woman in america can claim a complimentary bottle. Just use your smartphone to text the keyword on the screen to 202020. Forebrains scientifically studied key ingredients have been clinically shown to promote sharper recall, clearer mental energy, and better concentration. Nothing is more important than taking care of your brain. And now you can, with forebrain. Claim your complimentary bottle by texting the keyword on the screen to 202020 with your smartphone. Do it now before you forget. Thats the keyword on the screen to 202020. Discouvery in new mexico. 11 malnourished children were found with no shoes or clothes. Two were arrested on the spot. Cnns Kaylee Hartung has more on the disturbing scene. Reporter christine, phil, so many more questions as we learn more about the story and see the shocking photos. One of the men arrested is the father of the missing 3yearold. The other, a man by the name of lucas morton. These men were heavily armed with ar15 rifles. They had loaded 30 round magazines and loaded pistols and ammunition. These two had amassed the arsenal in the Makeshift Travel Trailer and Buried Underground and covered in plastic. No water or electricity inside. Those are the conditions of two
men and three women and 11 children. The two men in custody are being held without bond because of the abduction of his 3yearold son. The three women were brought in for questioning and have been released. None of the five adults gave authorities information regarding the status of the missing 3yearold. The children meanwhile, the 11 children, are in the care of child protective services. It is one thing to see the photos. It is not to hear the first hand account of authorities. The Taos County Sheriff says it was the worst Living Conditions he has ever seen. Christine and phil. That is horrifying. I cannot fathom. To better news, Atlanta Police releasing Body Cam Video of a fiery rescue. Officers racing to save a passenger from a burning car. The car hit a utility pole. The engine engulfed in flames when the officers arrived. This officer grabbed a Fire Extinguisher to douse the flames and the other pulling the passenger out from the drivers side. Three others were taken to the hospital in stable condition. Police say one of the officers pants were burned and suffered minor scrapes and burns. The department is extremely proud of those officers. Remarkable. Venezuela alleging its president was targeted by a drone. Six suspects detained and their government is blames hit men from abroad. The Drone Explosion may have been caught on camera. Venezuela authorities arresting six people after apparent Assassination Attempt on president maduro. The bombing unfolding on live tv. Maduro spoke to the countrys National Guard at military parade. Video purporting to show a Drone Exploding in mid air. Cnn cannot confirm the authenticity of the footage. Maduro was quick to blame. We have more. Reporter christine, a top official says those who brought forward the attempt are terrorists and hit men. Venezuela Interior Minister said six suspects have been detained. He also said the government has fully identified all suspects in the alleged attacks inside venezuela and abroad. The incident happened on saturday evening when maduro was giving a statement on live tv. The official version is drones armed with explosives detonated near the president and maduro appearing on national tv later said he was target of Assassination Attempt. Maduro revisited a Conspiracy Theory he blames often. The president also accused outgoing president santos of being behind the attack. The colombian foreign ministry
rejected the attack. And many Venezuela Immigrantis say there was chaos. I can say there was no u. S. Government involvement at all. If the government of venezuela has hard information they want to present to us to show violation of u. S. Criminal law, we will take a look at it. In the meantime, we should focus on the corruption and oppression of the maduro regime. Reporter Maduro Describes Colombia for attempts to under cut him. Christine and phil. Thank you. Death toll in indonesia following 91 following earthquake that struck lombok. The National Disaster agency
says 209 people are injured. Tourists are being evacuated near lombok and 600 more tourists are waiting to be rescued. At least 3,000 homes have been damaged. Leaving 20,000 residents displaced. The number of victims is expected to increase. Breaking overnight. Strong possibility of a second north korea summit. A source familiar with the pyongyang says a second meeting with President Trump and kim jongun could take place some time this year. We have will ripley live in hong kong this morning with the latest. Hi, will. Reporter christine, less than two months after we saw President Trump and north Koreas Kim Jongun meet in singapore, could we have a round two . Could be at new york at the United Nations in september. We dont know. According to a source familiar with the north korea side of the
denuclearization talks, say there is a strong ability of a second meeting. This source saying that the north koreana fes feel they cou sit down and some deal could be hammered out more favorable to the north koreans than the one that was delivered by mike pompeo in pyongyang. It resulted in north korea calling the United States demands gangster like. And the Foreign Minister saying the United States actions since the summit have been alarming. It is internal strife that could derail the nuclear talks. They feel trump is the one to negotiate with north korea. They may want to put pressure on
the Trump Administration to get a positive result. We have to watch closely. Will in hong kong, thank you. President trump finally confirming the Trump Tower Meeting was only about Opposition Research on Hillary Clinton. Changing his story about the meeting has critics suspicious. We will have that story ahead. Its not just picking a surgeon, its picking the care team and feeling secure in where you are. Visit cancercenter. Com breast
and its time to get outside. Pack in even more adventure with audible. With the Largest Selection of audiobooks. Audible lets you follow plot twists off the beaten track. Or discover magic when you hit the open road. With the free audible app, your stories go wherever you do. And for just 14. 95 a month you get a credit, good for any audiobook. If you dont like it exchange it any time. No questions asked. You can also roll your credits to the next month if you dont use them. So take audible with you this summer. On the road. On the trail. Or to the beach. Start a 30day trial and your first audiobook is free. Cancel anytime, and your books are yours to keep forever. No matter where you go this summer make it better with audible. Text summer5 to 500500 to start listening today. Insured by Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company comes in. This type of plan helps pay some of what medicare doesnt. These are the only plans to carry the aarp endorsement for meeting their high standards of quality and service. So call Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company today and ask for your free Decision Guide. With this type of plan, youll have the freedom to choose any doctor who accepts medicare patients. And when you travel, your plan will go with you anywhere in the country. Whew Call Unitedhealthcare today and ask for your free Decision Guide. President trump admitting the 2016 Trump Tower Meeting was to get information on hillary
clinton. Sources tell cnn he is concerned that his son don junior may be caught up in the mueller investigation. The white house ready to put sanctions back on iran. Breaking overnight. President trump could have a second meeting with kim jongun later this year. We have a report from tehran and hong kong. Good morning. Welcome to early start. Im christine romans. Two econ nerds. President trump admitting during the 2016 president ial race his son don junior met to get information on an opponent. In a tweet sunday, the president called the Trump Tower Meeting totally legal and done in politics all the time. Adding i did not know about it. That tweet directly contradicting the earlier statements. The president acknowledging for the first time the purpose of the meeting was to gather dirt on Hillary Clinton and not to discuss russian adoption. As for it being totally legal . It addresses that the president is now concerned over don junior may have legal exposure in the Robert Mueller russia probe. That is according to sources close to the white house. Cnn reported that Michael Cohen may have knew about the meeting despite his denials. Lets get more from boris sanchez. Reporter christine and phil, it has been a swift move from the president suggesting to the best of his knowledge no one that he knows has anything to do with russia to now essentially making the argument that collusion is not illegal. Here is more from jay sekulow on the sunday morning talk shows. Says the meeting is totally legal and done all the time. According to the email that Robert Mueller has,