Return to Transcripts main page

EARLY START

Congress Chaos: Democrats Stage Sit-In Over Guns; Trump Speech Slams Clinton's Character; Clinton Hits Back at Trump's "Outlandish Lies"; Brexit Voting Begins. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired June 23, 2016 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:11] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is time for a real debate on these issues.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Radical Islam!

(CROSSTALK)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: House to be in order. The chair wishes to make an announcement regarding the decorum in the House chamber.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN NOBLES, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news right now: utter chaos in Congress. For 16 hours, Democrats take over the floor, staging a historic all night sit-in, demanding a vote on gun control that ended just moments ago.

Good morning. Thank you for joining us. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Ryan Nobles.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm Alison Kosik. It's Thursday, June 23rd. It's 4:00 a.m. in the East.

And breaking news now, what a dramatic standoff it has been in the House of Representatives. Democrats seizing the floor demanding a vote on gun control legislation before the House goes on its July 4th break. The tension really exploding after 10:0 p.m. with a chant of "no bill, no break."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: No break.

No bill.

No break. No bill.

No break.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Emotions in the House veering from anger to frustration as protesting lawmakers and constituents take to singing in front of the Capitol.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD (singing): God bless America, my home --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: The House sit-in led by civil rights icon Representative John Lewis of Georgia.

Now in just the last hour, Republican leaders adjourned. Minutes later, Lewis and House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer spoke about the goal of this sit-in and the future of gun legislation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STENY HOYER (D), DEMOCRATIC WHIP: There is an epidemic of gun violence in America and that we need to pass legislation to make America and Americans safer. In the dead of night with business unfinished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: And in just the last hour, Republican leaders adjourned.

Let's get the latest on what's going on and bring in political reporter Eric Bradner live on Capitol Hill.

Good morning to you. This has been a situation that has changed in the past hour or so.

ERIC BRADNER, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: It absolutely has. Republican leaders adjourned the House until July 5th which means Democrats can stay and continue their sit-in, but they won't have an opposition party to debate. They won't have Republicans who are trying to run floor votes here in the House. Conduct other business. Who they would be interrupting.

So, Democrats are leaving the building now. Some are still actually on the House floor continuing to talk about gun control. But they are debating their next steps trying to figure out where to go from here.

What they succeed in doing is commandeering the House for full 16 hours yesterday and to this morning, leaving Republicans pretty flummoxed about what to do. They thought Democrats would lose momentum when they went out of sessions, which means the House cameras were turned off. The feed we are used to seeing on C-Span was turned off. But Democrats have just turned to the video app Periscope and begin broadcasting their sit-in.

So, that left Republicans with really only one move, and that's to adjourn the House. So, that's what they've done. It's the move they decided after debating many options here just after 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time, leaving Democrats declaring a public relations victory, but without any major concessions on gun control which is what they were really after. We haven't seen any major movement in terms of public policy on that issue.

NOBLES: So, Eric, is it your sense then that there could be some small movement of Democrats remain on the House floor through the July 4th holiday or are they content to pick this fight back up after the recess is over? What is your sense? Are they still trying to figure that out?

BRADNER: Well, they are still trying to figure that out, yes. But it does look like there will be a smaller contingency, exactly as you suggested, that will stay in the House floor. There will be some technical proceedings. These are very low key maneuverings that will take place between now and the Fourth of July holiday. Democrats could use those as opportunities to stage sort of minor versions of this sit-in to try to keep the issue in the news. They also said they are looking at alternative options to start using on July 5th once the house is back in session.

[04:05:00] But Democrats while sort of declaring this public relations victory were not specific in terms of their next steps. That's the big question right now, how do they keep any momentum they might have built over the course of 16-hour protest going now Republicans are leaving town.

KOSIK: And, Eric, in the afternoon, I know that Paul Ryan came out and spoke to our Wolf Blitzer about his thoughts about what the goal of this sit-in really was. Listen to what he said and let's talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: This is nothing morning than a publicity stunt. That's point number one. Point number two is this bill was already defeated in the United States Senate. Number three, we are not going to take away a citizen's due process rights. We are not going to take away a citizen's constitutional rights without due process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: So, is the reality here is no matter how long Democrats would have the sit-in, nothing could have been done, anyway, because these amendments were already voted down last week, that this indeed really was a PR stunt. And now, in the middle of this recess, they are going on recess now, these Democrats can go back to their home bases and their constituents and say, look, I gave it my all. It wasn't pr.

BRADNER: Basically, yes. We have seen this episode before. Democrats after mass shootings have tried to push gun control measures. But Republicans control the House and the Senate. They saw this as a stunt designed to thrust into the public eye issues that have already been voted on and voted down numerous times in the past.

So, what Democrats are trying to do here is really raise attention. They want to be able to sort of play this up and headed into November's elections. The Democratic campaign arm has already sent out several fund raising solicitations.

So, this is something they clearly think will excite their base of voters and reach independent voters. They know there is not really going to be a way to implement the kinds of broad gun control measures that a lot of Democrats favor while Republicans have a clear hold on majority in the House and Senate.

So, this is really sort of about November's elections and that's what we can expect to see Democrats do here if the coming days as they reflect on what they have been doing the last 16 hours.

NOBLES: And, Eric, it is clear Democrats feel they have some leverage here because they believe the American public is on their side. We have seen some polls that reflect that. In fact, the one incremental change that Democrats have been pushing for is to prevent people who are on the no-fly list from obtaining weapons and there is polling that shows that even 90 percent of Republicans support legislation in that respect.

Is that part of what is motivating these Democrats, that they feel as though the American public is on their side in this fight? And as you mentioned, it will only help them in the fall elections when they attempt to take back both the House and Senate?

BRADNER: Yes, absolutely. Democrats are looking at narrow measures here to get a broad public consensus on. And as you mentioned, the sort of "no fly, no buy" idea is one of them expanding background checks.

So, while many Democrats do favor much further reaching gun control measures, but they are looking at bites off the apple and don't provoke the sort of backlash that a lot of Democrats fear that are pretty broadly favored. So, that's why they're selecting a couple of issues to really highlight two bills they want votes on.

So, they didn't get them. But let me throw out a fun fact. This evening is the congressional baseball game, the annual sort of fun event. And after these 16 hours, you've got to wonder if Democrats who feel like they had a couple of reasonable requests might be in a less than charitable mood.

(LAUGHTER)

KOSIK: Something tells me that could be a really good game to watch.

BRADNER: Absolutely.

KOSIK: All right. Eric Bradner, thanks so much.

BRADNER: Thank you.

KOSIK: It was an extraordinary move on the House floor when the TV cameras were turned off. The phone cameras were turned on after Democrats began the sit-in to protest gun control legislation. House Speaker Paul Ryan quickly ended the session which shutoff the TV cameras.

But Democratic lawmakers said, wait a minute, we got a way. They streamed live on Periscope and Facebook, ignoring longstanding rules against photo taking inside the House chambers, rules that predate the Periscope and Facebook Live era.

Periscope launched early last year. Facebook live launched just a few months ago. The two apps let you to go live and stream video to their social networks from virtually anywhere.

In 2008, Republican legislators, they held a protest on the floor, and the ruling Democrats ended the session as well, which caused the cameras to be turned off, too, and the lights were turned off as well -- something that didn't happen in this sit-in.

[04:10:12] But back then, protesters could not reach millions of people through social media. So, times are changing. And people are using their phones to let everybody in.

NOBLES: Yes. Much, much different and we'll see if they adjust the House rules accordingly later on.

KOSIK: Good point.

NOBLES: Well, breaking overnight: Donald Trump answering Republican concerns about his anemic fundraising by pulling in $11 million in less than two days. Republicans say Trump and his joint fundraising committee with the RNC hauled in $5 million online since Tuesday morning. Add that to the $6 million brought in by high dollar fund raising event in New York on Tuesday night. This after the Trump campaign reported ending May with just $1.3 million cash on hand.

On Wednesday, Trump tried to seize control of another aspect of the political narrative with the scorching attack on Hillary Clinton's character. Trump blasting Clinton as a, quote, "world class liar" and a tool of big business.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The other candidate in this race has spent her entire life making money for special interests and I will tell you, she's made plenty of money for them and she's been taking plenty of money out for herself. Hillary Clinton has perfected the politics of personal profit and even theft.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: That speech took place here in New York.

CNN's Jim Acosta was there. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Alison and Ryan, Donald Trump's speech which may as well be dubbed operation pivot to the general election is receiving positive reviews inside the GOP. Aided by teleprompter, Trump stayed on script and delivered a blistering attack on Hillary Clinton, the kind of address his party has been craving for months.

Trump did make a number of false statements in the speech, such as claiming he opposed the Iraq war even though he was caught on tape supporting the invasion. But party insiders are cheering how he is framing the battle against Hillary Clinton.

Here's what he had to say.

TRUMP: She believes she is entitled to the office. Her campaign slogan is "I'm with her". You know what my response is to that? I'm with you, the American people.

ACOSTA: Trump later turned that line "I'm with you" into a hashtag on Twitter. Another sign of his campaign stepped up communication efforts that became evident almost immediately after the firing of campaign manager Corey Lewandowski -- Alison and Ryan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: All right. Jim Acosta, thanks for that.

Hillary Clinton firing back at Trump in a scathing speech of her own, slamming his, quote, "outlandish lies" and conspiracy theories. Clinton also using Wednesday's speech in Raleigh to lay out key parts of her economic agenda -- a five-point blueprint to bring back a booming economy, including plans for infrastructure, debt free college and higher wages for working Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: First, let's break through the dysfunction in Washington.

(APPLAUSE)

To make the biggest investment in new good-paying jobs since World War II. Let's make college debt-free for all.

(APPLAUSE)

Let's rewrite the rules. Some more companies share profits with their employees and fewer shipped profits and jobs overseas.

Every American willing to work hard should be able to find a job that pays enough to support a family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: And let's get more now from senior political correspondent Brianna Keilar who is traveling with the Clinton campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Ryan and Alison, this speech was much more about Hillary Clinton's economic policy proposals than her scathing speech about Donald Trump on Tuesday.

She talked about increasing the minimum wage, paid family medical leave, college affordability. But she did take some time to hit Donald Trump.

CLINTON: He has no strategy for creating jobs, just a string of empty promises. Maybe we shouldn't expect better from someone whose famous words are "you're fired".

Well, here's what I want you to know -- I do have a jobs program and as president, I'm going to make sure that you hear, "You're hired."

KEILAR: The CNN reality check team took a look at Clinton's remarks. They found some of it checked out, for instance her claim that the U.S. is the only developed nation that does not have paid family medical leave.

But one thing in particular really stood out, and that was her claim that in the '90s, the earnings gap between white Americans and black Americans narrowed. That, of course, is when her husband was in the White House. The reality check time finding that is not true. While overall Americans did earn more in the '90s, that gap has been persistent for decades -- Ryan and Alison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[04:15:03] NOBLES: Thank you.

KOSIK: All right. Brianna Keilar, thanks for that.

NOBLES: Rebounding from tragedy. The owners of Pulse hoping to show Orlando's gay community is alive and well, holding the first Latin party since the massacre. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBLES: The owner of the Pulse nightclub says that she and her staff plan to hold a Latin night street party tonight to show the heartbeat of Orlando is still strong, even after the devastating attack. Now, the party is going to take place a couple of miles away from Pulse, which is still close. Meantime, a group of people traveled from Hawaii to Orlando bringing with them a mile-long lei of love to honor the 49 shooting victims.

KOSIK: Baltimore police bracing for possible protests after a judge delivers his verdict this morning in the latest Freddie Gray trial. Officer Caesar Goodson who drove the police van is accused of second- degree murder, the most serious charge faced by any of the six Baltimore cops in the arrest and death of Gray.

[04:20:03] Officer Edward Nero was acquitted last month. The first trial ended in a hung jury.

NOBLES: Florida wildlife officials say they are sure the alligator that fatally attacked the toddler at a Disney World resort has been killed. They say the gator was euthanized. Two-year-old Lane Graves was wading in the lagoon when the alligator pulled him into the water. Searchers found the boy's body the next day.

ROMANS: Happening right now: England voting whether to leave the European Union, a vote with consequences that will be felt around the world. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Polls are open in the United Kingdom.

[04:25:01] Turnout for the Brexit vote expected to be very high as Brits decide whether to leave the European Union or remain. A vote to exit the E.U. would be historic, profoundly reshaping Europe while impacting global markets.

Let's go live to London and bring in CNN senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir.

So, is there a way to tell at this point as Brits go and cast their vote which way the momentum is leaning, to stay or go?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a hugely fraught referendum. What is ratcheting up the tension is pulses have really had very little sense of which way this is going to go. The last referendum was back in 1973 and you know better than much election pollsters rely on that kind of historic data.

What's adding to this confusion as well is how badly the pollsters got it wrong during the last general election here. So, they are feeling a bit like their fingers were burned when they tried to forecast into the crystal balls. This is a debate -- this is a question that decides not just Britain's place in Europe, but really modern Britain and its place in the world and the debates that have coincided with this reshaping of the new British identity have reached fever pitch with both sides of racism and xenophobia and irresponsibility.

We had a slight sobering moment in the aftermath of the tragic killing of British MP Jo Cox last week, and that gave people an opportunity to kind of stand back and reassess both their positions and what Britain should look like in a modern global economy and a modern global stage.

For so many people, though, having had so much high running emotion, today can't be over soon enough and that's what we heard from everyone. They just want to get out and get their vote, and then see where the chips will fall, Alison.

KOSIK: And everybody certainly watching to see what that outcome is because of the impact not just economically, but politically as well.

All right. Nima Elbagir, thanks very much. NOBLES: Congress hijacked. Democrats demanding a vote on gun

control. A 16-hour sit-in on the House floor. We are live with an update, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)