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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Washington on Lockdown Amid Security Concerns; D.C. Mayor Concerned Extremists will Target Other Areas; Brady, Bucs Stage Epic Rally to Beat Saints. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired January 18, 2021 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00]
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CO-ANCHOR, EARLY START: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world, this is EARLY START, I'm Christine Romans.
LAURA JARRETT, CO-ANCHOR, EARLY START: And I'm Laura Jarrett. It's Monday, January 18th, happy Martin Luther King Day, it's 5:00 a.m. in New York. And we start this morning with parts of Washington D.C. on lockdown with concerns about more domestic terrorism. President-elect Biden will be sworn in on Wednesday and security, well, it's tight. Federal officials have warned that anti-government extremists are more likely emboldened now after that deadly insurrection at the Capitol. Up to 25,000 National Guard troops are working to secure the inauguration, some are even being vetted over worries that extremists may be embedded in the ranks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you been screening some of the troops as they come in?
DAN HOKANSON, HEAD OF THE NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU: Yes, sir. In coordination with the Secret Service and the FBI, they're screening all the personnel that are coming in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: CNN's Alex Marquardt has more on all of the security preparations in Washington D.C.
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Laura and Christine. Well, here on the streets of Washington D.C., it does feel somewhat like the calm before the storm. And the question now is whether that storm comes, whether there's going to be more violence here in the nation's capital. They're certainly not taking any chances in the days leading up to and for Joe Biden's inauguration. We are just east of the Capitol building. This is what has really become a fortress around the Capitol complex. You've got these eight foot non- scalable fences. You have that razor wire on top of the fences and just a staggering amount of security in the streets of D.C., many of which have been closed off. You have 25,000 National Guard troops who have been approved to be
mobilized by the Pentagon for the inauguration. They are from all 50 states, territories, and here in Washington D.C. You can see some of those National Guard forces there, they have been joined in this case on this street by some Supreme Court police. And that just tells you to what extent there is this incredible patch work and coordination of different law enforcement agencies. One concern according to the mayor of Washington D.C., is that because things are so fortified here in D.C., that armed groups, protesters may look for targets elsewhere in the city and in other state capitols. Listen to a bit of what she had to say on Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER, WASHINGTON D.C., WASHINGTON STATE: I'm not only concerned about other state capitols, I'm also concerned about other parts of Washington D.C. What you're showing is really the federal enclave of Washington D.C., not where the 700,000 of us live. So our police department working with our federal law enforcement partners and the United States army quite frankly, also has a plan to --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes --
BOWSER: Pivot if we have any attacks in our neighborhoods.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUARDT: The mayor of D.C. also said that this is the biggest security presence since 9/11. Now, they are voicing confidence for their ability to have a secure event on Wednesday for the inauguration. The acting police chief of Washington D.C. says that all hands are on deck, but this is not the kind of scene that you expect when we talk about a peaceful transfer of power. Laura, Christine?
ROMANS: All right, Alex, thank you so much for your fine work there in the nation's capital. So, no question President-elect Biden inherits several crisis, and we're told he's set to get to work right away. He will sign several executive orders on his very first day in office. Officials say Biden plans to open his administration with roughly a dozen executive actions to mark a clean break from the Trump era and signal a turning point for the nation. CNN's Arlette Saenz has more.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, President-elect Biden wants to show he's getting right to work right after his inauguration, and his team is preparing roughly a dozen executive actions for him to sign on that very first day. A lot of these policies will build on promises he made during the presidential campaign. And some of the executive actions are aimed at undoing policies from the Trump administration including rescinding that ban on travelers from predominantly Muslim countries as well as rejoining the Paris Climate Agreements. There are also some executive actions focusing on the pandemic, ones that will halt evictions and foreclosures as well as continuing that pause on federal student loan payments throughout the pandemic. And the president-elect will also be signing an executive action to mandate masks in all federal buildings and in interstate travel.
[05:05:00]
And with his inauguration just around the corner, the president-elect sent a message to his supporters. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDEN-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: We relied on you through those hard fought early days, the ups and downs all the way through today as Kamala and I get ready to become the next president and vice president of the United States. I can tell you that we would not have been here, we would not have this opportunity had you all not stepped up. You made this moment possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: And later today, the president-elect is expected to participate in a service event for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. It's part of his inaugural committee's push to promote a day of service today heading into that inauguration on Wednesday. Christine and Laura?
JARRETT: Arlette, thank you for that. Join CNN for live coverage of the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. Special all day coverage of this historic event starts Wednesday morning on CNN.
ROMANS: All right, President Trump is preparing some 100 pardons and commutations on Tuesday, his last full day in office. Three sources tell CNN, the last big batch of clemency actions is expected to include white collar criminals, high profile rappers and political allies. But aides do not think he'll try to pardon himself, his kids or his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Advisors have also urged him not to grant a pardon to anyone involved in that riot on Capitol Hill. "The New York Times" reported Sunday that some allies of the president have raked in tens of thousands of dollars from pardon seekers to lobby Trump on their behalf.
JARRETT: Well, in his final hours in office, President Trump's approval rating has never been lower. Take a look at this new CNN poll, only 34 percent of Americans approve of Trump's job performance, 62 percent disapprove, and 55 percent believe his four years in office were a failure, 41 percent call them successful. When asked who's to blame for the Capitol Hill insurrection, well, 55 percent say they blame the president a great deal, 24 percent said not at all. Meanwhile, 65 percent of Americans believe Joe Biden won the election legitimately, but get this, 32 percent, that's roughly a third of those polls do not believe that Biden was elected legitimately. That's just staggering.
ROMANS: All right, President-elect Biden's ambitious $1.9 trillion rescue package could speed up the U.S. economic recovery. With that aid, Moody's predicts the U.S. economy will expand 8 percent in 2021, create 7.5 million jobs and bring the U.S. back to full employment by the end of next year. That's because Biden's rescue package includes investments needed to jumpstart the economy like bigger stimulus checks, enhanced unemployment benefits, rental assistance, additional money really important there for small business. The question now, will the plan pass in full?
Even with Democratic control in the White House and Congress, Moody's predicts a package only half the proposed size is possible. Either way, more aid is needed and now, the Biden administration inherits a main street suffering an economic and jobs crisis, 140,000 jobs were lost in December, the first net job loss since April. The economy is still down 9.8 million jobs since February.
JARRETT: All those jobs and all women.
ROMANS: Yes.
JARRETT: Well, still ahead, we're getting a disturbing new look at what it was like inside the siege on the U.S. Capitol as the insurrectionists went door to door looking for lawmakers. We'll show you all of this next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:10:00]
ROMANS: All right, 12 minutes past the hour this Monday morning. Hunting for lawmakers and rummaging through the venerable Senate chamber. We're getting a new look inside the siege on the U.S. Capitol that left five people dead almost two weeks ago. It's a video shot by a journalist from the "New Yorker". And I want to give you a warning here before we show this to you. You might want to turn down the volume or turn this off if you've got young children in the room. This is disturbing and we are not censoring the foul language.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're outnumbered. There's a fucking million of us out there and we are listening to Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, boss --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let the people in!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here (INAUDIBLE) --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where's the exit?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, it ain't safe for you guys!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We love you guys. Take it easy in a way --
(CROSSTALK)
CROWD: Treason!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Defend the constitution! Defend your liberty. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Defend your constitution! Defend your liberty! Defend your constitution!
(BANGING ON DOOR)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seventeen-seventy-six!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're afraid of Antifa!? Well, guess what? America showed up!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where's the rest of -- there's not enough of us, they're going to bring --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Knock-knock, we're here!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this the Senate?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where the fuck are they? Where are they?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While we're here, we might as well set up a government.
(CHANTING)
CROWD: Treason!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, let's take a seat, people! Let's take a seat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, everyone, I'm saying Nancy Pelosi.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vote on some shit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where the fuck is Nancy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You pay for it. This is our house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, grab a chair.
[05:15:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, this is our chair!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I agree with you, brother, but it's not ours.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're a democracy --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It belongs to the vice president of the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, he isn't here? It's not our chair. Look, I love you guys, you're brothers, but we can't be disrespectful.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, no disrespect.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They can steal an election, but we can't sit in their chairs?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we're not putting up with that evil.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, there's easy pick --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a PR war, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's an --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to understand it's an oral(ph) war, we can't lose the oral(ph) war.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're better than that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're better than that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's information. Information! Operation! We can't do it. We can't do it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to dump in, let's get a snap of that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I took a picture of --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, how is that getting down there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're downstairs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, look --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ted Cruz's objection to the Arizona --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Ted Cruz's objection, he was going to sell us out all along.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really? He fought --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look. Objection to counting electoral votes of the state of Arizona.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I get a photo of that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait, no, that's a good thing.
UNIDETIFIED MALE: That's actually OK, all right, all right, look at where his stamp is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's with us. He's with us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's got to be something in here, look at fucking abuse of scumbags.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We act with the phone, man!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miracle of -- oh, no, this is good stuff.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, we're not going to fool!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no, this is good. This is all good. This is --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!!!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, don't fucking keep this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, this is important, this is it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me your wallet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, whatever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Calling Cruz --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Plus they want us to do it, so --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, absolutely --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we're good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey! Fucking A, man. Glad to see you guys, you guys are fucking patriots. Look at this guy, he's got permanent blood. God bless you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You good, sir, do you need medical attention?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm good, thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got shot in the face. I got shot in the face with some kind of plastic bullet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any chance I could get you guys indeed the Senate way?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will. I'm going to make sure they ain't disrespecting the president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, I just want to let you guys know, this is like the safest place.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know. Hey, no, I'm going to take -- I'm going to take the speaker's chair because my plans is a fucking chair.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not one that usually takes pictures of myself, but then in this case, I think I'll make an exception. Hey, can -- hey, you in the bay, can you take pictures with me. I'm throwing my phone. Anyway, thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, man got a choice, there's half a million people here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to stay or --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You should be stopping us, you should fucking get out of here --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two, three, four --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's obeying --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's doing the right thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's obeying his oath.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm making sure you guys don't do anything else. Now that you've done that, can I get you guys to walk out of this room, please.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I agree with your decision.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, hey, come on, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, I feel like you're pushing the line --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, awesome.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hurry up --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is our Capitol, let's be respectful to it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because you had --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's 4 million people coming in. So, there's a lot of control, we love you guys. We love the cops --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go -- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's only a matter of time. Justice is coming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over 4 million people are coming everywhere. All the way back to the monument in D.C.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: There's so much to unpack, but I'm just so struck by all the juxtapositions. You have one guy saying, let's not be disrespectful as they've already broken in --
ROMANS: Right --
JARRETT: Into the U.S. Capitol. You have that one lone --
ROMANS: Right --
JARRETT: Cop saying this is the most sacred place, but not seeming to do anything to get them out of there --
ROMANS: Yes --
JARRETT: It seems more like a hostage negotiation. And then you just -- it's just this rogues gallery of anti-Semitism --
ROMANS: Yes --
JARRETT: White supremacy, anti-government extremism all coming together in this toxic stew. But what was the one common thread? The repeat of lies --
ROMANS: Yes --
JARRETT: From the president and his enablers. You heard them say Cruz, meaning the Senator Ted Cruz would want us to do this.
ROMANS: And we're here. Your boss told us to come here. They very specifically --
JARRETT: Yes --
ROMANS: Said, Donald Trump sent us here. I also was struck by the grandiosity there, saying 4 million --
JARRETT: Yes --
ROMANS: People are coming. We're all the way back to the Lincoln Memorial. That's just not true, but there was this -- you know, this grandiosity --
JARRETT: Delusions of grandeur, yes --
ROMANS: Right, among these, mostly men there on the floor. And two words in my view, digital evidence. JARRETT: Yes --
ROMANS: We know that authorities are pouring over hundreds of thousands of pieces of digital evidence. This is a good 12, 14 minutes of information that will be used for more arrests. And we know there were arrests this weekend as well --
JARRETT: Yes, and guaranteed prosecutors are pouring through --
ROMANS: Yes --
JARRETT: All of this and more. All right, well, just four teams remain in the hunt for the Super Bowl. We've got your "BLEACHER REPORT" coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:20:00]
ROMANS: So two legends facing off for the first time ever in the Playoffs. It was Tom Brady getting the best of Drew Brees. Andy Scholes has this morning's "BLEACHER REPORT". Hey, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Christine. You know, it doesn't get much better than this. Brady versus Brees. Their first ever Playoff match-up. This is the first time in NFL history that two quarterbacks over the age of 40 faced off in the Playoffs. And this game did not disappoint. Third quarter, Brees going to go up top to Tre'Quan Smith, giving him his 16-yard touchdown. Saints take the lead at that point, 20-13. But from there, it was all Brady and the Bucs defense.
[05:25:00]
Brady here to Leonard for net -- for the touchdown to tie the game. Then in the fourth quarter, Brees throws two costly interceptions. He had three for the first time ever in a Playoff game. Brady, the quarterback sneak right here to seal the win. And after that touchdown, Brady trying to give the ref a high five. Leaves a -- funny moment. But Brady and the Bucs win the game. They're on to the NFC championship after beating New Orleans 30-20. Now, Brees turned 42 on Friday. And there's speculation that, that was his last game. "Fox Sports" Jay Glazer reporting that Brees' plan is to retire. But Brees says he hasn't made his decision yet. After the game, Brees waved to the crowd, took a long look at the superdome as he left the field. And look at this awesome moment. Brady and Brees sharing a hug long after the game was over on the field. Brady there, even playing catch and throwing some touchdown passes to Brees' son. That's pretty cool right there.
All right, and the AFC, Browns and Chiefs battling it out for a shot at the Bills, third quarter -- scary moment for defending Super Bowl Champion, Super star quarterback Patrick Mahomes is going for the first down here, gets hit pretty hard. He would struggle to get up and would leave the game to enter the concussion protocol, but Mahomes would not return, enter, backup Chad Henne, and with the game on the line, 4th and 1, Andy Reid tricks the Browns by snapping in early, handing it to Tyreek Hill for the game sealing first down. Chiefs win it 22-17. They will now host the AFC Championship game for a third straight season. They welcome the Bills to Arrowhead next Sunday. Big question, will Mahomes be cleared to play for that game?
In the NFC, you've got Aaron Rodgers and the Packers hosting Brady and the Bucs. Winners going to face off in Super Bowl LV, February 7th. And Tampa -- and Laura, no team has ever played a Super Bowl in their home stadium. Brady and the Bucs now one win away from making it happen.
JARRETT: Well, that's a little fun fact on a Monday. Thanks, Andy --
SCHOLES: Yes --
JARRETT: Appreciate it --
SCHOLES: All right --
JARRETT: All right, still ahead for you, President-elect Biden takes office in just a matter of days. We have more on what he will do right after taking the oath next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
