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McConnell Drops Filibuster Demand; Impeachment Case Goes to the Senate; Turning Trump's Tax Returns over to Congress; Millions Struggle as Relief Package Negotiations Continue. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired January 26, 2021 - 06:30   ET

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

[06.30:00]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Kamala Harris this morning.

Back with us to talk about all of this, we have Jeremy Diamond and Margaret Talev.

Margaret, so the filibuster lives at this moment and Senator Mitch McConnell relented on his demand for a guarantee. Is that out of character for Mitch McConnell?

MARGARET TALEV, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, no, it's not because Mitch McConnell understands all the levers of the Senate and I think he does understand that there's only so much you can do in the minority. He is no longer the majority leader, he is the minority leader.

So what you have here is McConnell signaling to Schumer, look, I understand that we have to get started here with governance. But, remember, you don't have all Democratic senators willing to cast the filibuster overboard.

Now, what's important is that Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema, these two senators who McConnell's point of view was raising last night, have already said they have long held the position that they don't want to toss the filibuster overboard, but getting that renewed commitment last night kind of gave McConnell a bit of a fig leaf, you know, to go -- it's not just a fig leaf. I mean it is a power to go forward to say, they're not going to go along with you to do this.

But Schumer was never going to agree to take the filibuster off the table. And he's reserving the right to try to renew this now if McConnell really becomes an obstructionist. What you're going to have in the weeks forward are these two kind of guardrails, right? One is the filibuster. The other is something called reconciliation, that I'm sure we'll talk about, but it is a tactic by which Democrats can use that 50 vote threshold (INAUDIBLE) the 60 vote threshold if there is a budget (ph) vote to force through policy. And I think how Biden proceeds and how the Democrats proceed, right, on COVID stuff in particular is going to depend on the seesaw between the filibuster that McConnell has preserved and the reconciliation tool that allows them to jam some votes through. JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: You know, Jeremy, I wonder if what we're

seeing here is a little bit of a different timeline that the president has than everyone else on earth. We saw this during the campaign also. When everyone else's hair was on fire over certain things, Joe Biden never seemed to get as worked up about it. You know, people -- he's been in office six days, five days. I've lost track. Not much, right? But people were already up in arms over the fact that the Senate didn't have an agreement how to work, up in arms over no cabinet nominees being confirmed. Well, here we are and we're still like in the early days and hours of this administration and the Senate has an agreement to work going forward and cabinet nominees are being confirmed. We're likely to get Tony Blinken confirmed today. Janet Yellen was confirmed yesterday. She'll be sworn in today. It's not happening maybe at the pace we've seen historically. But given this divided country we're in, it's happening and it's happening fairly expeditiously and there's now two weeks more for this kind of stuff to happen.

Has Joe Biden basically just proved he's willing to wait all the impatient people out here?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, he said a couple of key things yesterday during what was essentially his first news conference as president. First of all, he made clear that his understanding of the legislative process is nothing happens until the very last moment. And for those of us who have watched government shutdown after government shutdown happen or near government shutdowns, we know that that's exactly how the Senate works in particular, how Congress works in general.

And so Joe Biden is very conscious of the fact that this is going to take a few weeks in order to even come close to the possibility of a deal on his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, if it is going to happen in a bipartisan matter.

The second thing that he said was that unity is not equal to bipartisanship. And that was a very telling comment from the president. He made clear that he would prefer to see bipartisanship. He believes bipartisanship can help foment a unity. But at the same time that it's not a prerequisite and that he believes that there can be consensus on policy matters, consensus on legislation in the country at large, even if that's not reflected in the United States Senate with a bipartisan vote.

And I think that those are both kind of key understandings to how Joe Biden is going to proceed as president and how he's going to leverage his experience, decades of experience in the United States Senate, to try and move away from the stalemate that currently engulfs the Senate. Whether or not he can get there, we don't know yet. And I don't think that this power sharing agreement or the movement on nominees tells us that he's going to be able to overcome that stalemate. But what we certainly know is that Joe Biden is going to try and do that.

CAMEROTA: I don't know, Margaret, I sort of feel like maybe we all need a refresher course on unity and the definition of it. You know, I was so struck by something that Chuck Schumer's spokesperson said last night. OK, so after Mitch McConnell relented, all right, on the filibuster, Chuck Schumer, obviously Democrat, his spokesperson says, we're glad Senator McConnell threw in the towel and gave up on his ridiculous demand. OK, I know that that's the, you know, talking smack that we're all used to from The Hill and that's politics, it ain't bean bag, but I'm not seeing the temperature get lowered completely yet. (INAUDIBLE).

[06:35:05]

BERMAN: You want him to thank him? You want him to be like --

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BERMAN: Thank -- thank you, Mitch --

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BERMAN: For the six days with --

CAMEROTA: That this is progress.

BERMAN: You know, Joe Manchin --

CAMEROTA: Turn the language around.

BERMAN: Joe Manchin repeated something he's been saying for years, but thank you for finally (INAUDIBLE)?

CAMEROTA: No, no, no, thank you, but just -- we see this as progress. We can now move forward with the business of the people. Like, I don't know, are you seeing an outbreak of Kumbaya unity yet?

TALEV: I think that President Biden is going to set the pace on this. I really do. And I think that public opinion matters in a couple of places. And what we're hearing now pretty consistently on public opinion, we just did a focus group a few days ago on this from swing voters, people who had been supporters of Trump in 2016 and went to Biden in 2020, that they all -- and these are not just Democrats, these are Republicans and independents also, that these are particular in particular, the whatever is left of the middle, for whom the idea of unity really is important.

And what does unity mean? It doesn't mean agreeing on everything these people say, it means agreeing to disagree in a civil way and actually getting something, something, anything done, right? And our -- you know, we do this weekly coronavirus poll with our partners and IPSOS. What people are saying very consistently, we've seen -- and this is remarkable, like the -- the best emotional and mental health numbers since March, since President Biden's inauguration, the most trust in the federal government. But what do people say? They say that they trust Biden most to get vaccines out to people and they are the most skeptical about his ability to quickly rebound the economy. And that is why I think that he's got sort of the power of people's confidence behind him in terms of pushing faster on vaccine, but some skepticism about whether he can really bring Republicans and Democrats together quickly enough to protect the economy. And that's where we're going to see him push and that is where we're going to see Chuck Schumer use that reconciliation power if he needs to for political, as well as for practical reasons, to try to get money out into the economy.

CAMEROTA: Margaret, I'm so glad you brought that up. Those are some really fascinating stats to me in terms of mental health already sort of improving. And, you know, calming down and people saying that they really even want rhetorical unity or calming down.

So, thank you for all of that on that note.

See, John. Hmm. I --

BERMAN: The Oregon Republican Party passed a resolution saying that the insurrection was a false flag. So it seems to me there's some -- both sides -- Justin Goodman, Chuck Schumer's spokesperson --

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BERMAN: Can't say it was nice of Mitch McConnell to finally relent.

CAMEROTA: Why? Why can't he model good behavior and (INAUDIBLE) --

BERMAN: But the Oregon Republican Party is saying the insurrection was a false flag.

CAMEROTA: Why can't he model the nice rhetoric going forward, as I'm going to this morning.

An historic second impeachment trial against President Trump is now in the Senate's hands. What happens next? Will there be witnesses? What will Trump's defense be? Will John Berman become more zen like during this show? The answer to all of your questions, next.

BERMAN: I just mentioned --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:41:53]

BERMAN: An historic moment in the U.S. Capitol. The House managers walked the impeachment article against the former president to the Senate, formally triggering this second impeachment trial.

Joining us now, CNN's senior legal analyst Laura Coates. She's a former federal prosecutor and host of Sirius XM's "The Laura Coates Show."

Counsellor, look, we know that the standard for conviction in a Senate impeachment trial are very different than a legal case. It's just not the same thing. It's apples and oranges. But I do want to ask you, if you were making a case to prove incitement of an insurrection, or legal incitement, how would you make that case with the evidence that you have and what case would you present?

LAURA COATES, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: You know, interestingly enough, I would make the same case I would make in a court of law because the standard is the same. And since I'm trying to prove that the president's speech was not protected, that's going to be the overwhelming hurdle, that he intended for the actions to happen, that he did so in an environment where violence was likely to happen and that people actually received it as such.

And so you look at his conduct beforehand, what he said in advance of the rally, what he did during the insurrection and, importantly, what he did not do during the insurrection. He did not call off the troops, so to speak. He did not take action to try to quell the unrest until very long after. And even his videos after the fact and his statement that were made perhaps to people in the White House and in his orbit at the time could corroborate those things.

That's really the hurdle they have to overcome. And although the outcome and the deliberation is political, the actual factual predicate will be the same.

CAMEROTA: Isn't that all the evidence you need to know that he was watching television during the insurrection and ignoring the desperate calls that were coming in on his cell phone from the lawmakers who were trapped and begging him, call it off, call in help, we need backup? I mean doesn't that just tell you everything you need to know about his state of mind? And will some of those people who made those desperate calls be called as witnesses?

COATES: Well, that was the crux of what Congressman Raskin said yesterday that he had imperiled a coequal branch of government, not just from the words he said, but he imperiled them by continuing, according to the evidence we have right now, continuing to allow the unrest, to have the statements about that he loves them, that they're very special people, as Senator Ben Sasse indicated that he was somehow delighted by what he was seeing inside in a wicked way.

That's all going to be part and parcel to trying to prove his intent. But, you're right, there may be people who the actual victims of the insurrection, aside from the American people and our faith in democracy and our faith perhaps in our fellow citizens, besides the people who were actually the targets of the insurrection, the members of Congress, you also have people who may be able to give some insight into what was happening outside of those walls and in the White House itself. Were there aides that were present that heard the president making calls? Can you corroborate Senator Sasse' statements. Was the president gleeful in some way? Was he refuses to call the people off? What was the things that led up to the video statements and the tweets themselves?

[06:45:01]

At the time he had Twitter.

All that's for the things that we ourselves, Alisyn, could not already see. And that should be part of it as well.

BERMAN: Two possible defenses from the president. Number one, it doesn't meet the legal level for incitement. Number two, no standing. You can't even do this. You can't hold an impeachment trial for a former president. Talk to me about how they will make those arguments the defense and whether they have any merit, Laura.

COATES: Well, the idea of saying, you know what, if only -- if I'm a senator, if only -- if he was still the president that I would actually still vote to convict is a bit disingenuous. This is a procedural sort of exit ramp that they're hoping to have here to say, look, it's a former president. The clock has run out. All is well that apparently ends well.

Well, in an analogy in the criminal justice system, we don't allow the clock to simply run out and if a person were to move away from a jurisdiction where they committed a crime, that would not be sufficient.

Now, they could use that analogy to say, look, there is precedential value to say and precedent here to suggest that even after somebody has left office, there is still some way to actually complete the impeachment process. Remember, the impeachment took place while he was still the president of the United States. Not a lot of merit on not being able to actually try him after that because you've got a two- prong hook after impeachment. It's conviction and/or acquittal or conviction plus his qualification, which would, obviously, lead to after someone's in office at some point in time.

Now, the other aspect of it is whether they're going to be able to call witnesses and who they're going to build up for this case, John, and who they're going to be able to prove all of these instances.

But let's not be fooled that there is some key procedural issue that really is the reason people don't want to vote in favor of conviction.

BERMAN: Laura Coates, thank you very much.

We have new information overnight about whether the former president will be forced to turn over his tax returns, next.

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[06:50:55]

CAMEROTA: New this morning, the Biden administration debating whether to turn over former President Trump's federal tax records to Congress.

CNN's Kara Scannell joins us now.

Why wouldn't they, Kara?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN REPORTER: Good morning, Alisyn.

It's a very good question and we might find out the answer to that as soon as next week. This involves this lawsuit where the House Democrats had sued the Trump Treasury Department because they failed to comply with a subpoena for then President Trump's tax returns. The House Democrats saying now that they still want these tax returns. It's in -- the ball is now in the court of the Biden administration and a judge overseeing this lawsuit has ordered all sides to submit a status report next week. So by February 3rd we might get some insight into the Biden administration's thinking on this.

This lawsuit has lingered for more than a year and it really came to a head because Trump's lawyers had said with the change of the administration they were concerned that the Biden administration would decide to quietly turn over his tax returns. So the judge is allowing them to have a 72-hour heads up so they can object.

But this is all going to come to a head very soon. It's one of several hangover lawsuits from the Trump administration that the Bidens will have to deal with.

Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, really interesting. We'll stand by for developments.

Thank you, Kara.

So, President Biden pushing for a bipartisan relief package to help millions of Americans. When will that help come?

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[06:55:56]

BERMAN: New this morning, President Biden says he is open to negotiating on his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, but insists that time is of the essence.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich talks to Americans who say that help can't come soon enough.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Michelle Bennett and her children are living in fear. Her landlord is trying to evict them after she lost her job and can't pay rent.

MICHELLE BENNETT, FACING EVICTION: I don't really have anywhere to go with me not having the income to pay during the pandemic, because I don't want to be homeless.

YURKEVICH: The eviction crisis is just one of the economic disasters facing the Biden administration, including historic job loss and a growing hunger crisis. Last week, President Biden signed an executive order extending a ban on evictions through March. But that doesn't help Bennett, whose lawyer says her landlord is using a loophole that's becoming more common during the pandemic.

BENNETT: I already started packing.

YURKEVICH: Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan proposes about $30 billion in additional rental assistance. For months Bennett's tried applying so she can stay in her home, with no luck. BENNETT: When you call it's like no -- no money, you know, or -- or call back next month. You know, maybe there will be money then, you know. And then you call back that next month, it's still, oh, we're out of money.

YURKEVICH: Gabbie Riley is also out of a job. Weekly unemployment claims are back hovering around 1 million and last month the economy shed jobs for the first time since April. Every single one of those 140,000 jobs lost was held by a woman. Riley is one of them.

GABBIE RILEY, LAID OFF IN DECEMBER: It's maddening. It's frustrating. It's defeating.

YURKEVICH: Riley worked in sales at the Loews Hotel in Minneapolis. Leisure and hospitality lost more jobs than any other U.S. industry last year. Riley, a single mom, is worried her career is over.

RILEY: We have a long way to go yet before our economic society is really feeling and appreciating what females have to contribute to society.

MELODY SAMUELS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, "THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HUNGER": What is a food pantry without food?

YURKEVICH: As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, food banks across the country are running out of critical government funding. The campaign against hunger in Brooklyn, New York, says their money is nearly gone.

SAMUELS: It's frightening. I don't know what I'm going to do because I still have food to buy.

YURKEVICH: President Biden signed an executive order to address hunger, directing the Department of Agriculture to give families more money to replace school lunches and increase food stamps for about 12 million Americans. But some on the brink will still fall through the cracks and food banks need federal funding to feed them.

SAMUELS: I need assurance from all our policymakers that, listen, you started, you -- we need to finish this thing. We started helping families. We can't leave them in thin air.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH: Another important element to addressing the economic crisis is looking at economic racial inequality. It's existed before the pandemic, but it's only been made worse by it. Small business owners of color have lost their businesses in greater numbers and unemployed Americans who are minorities are unemployed at higher percentages than white Americans, John. And we know the Biden administration has made race and the economy critical issues for them, but it's about addressing the two together that will be key in closing this gap.

John.

BERMAN: Yes, no question, the pandemic has hit people in unequal ways.

Vanessa Yurkevich, thanks so much for that report.

NEW DAY continues right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

BERMAN: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY and an historic day, uncharted constitutional territory all at the same time.

House managers delivered the article of impeachment against the former president to the Senate, walking through the scene of the crime along the way.

[07:00:00]

The senators will be sworn in for their role in the trial this afternoon.

Overnight, a remarkable hallway interview with President Biden.