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Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) is Interviewed About the U.S. Capitol Security Threats; South Carolina Reports First Cases of South African Variant in U.S.; Rep. Liz Cheney Faces Blowback for Vote to Impeach Trump. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired January 29, 2021 - 08:30   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The sergeant at arms and U.S. capitol police are also now partnering with the TSA to provide extra security at some airports where members are traveling.

[08:30:02]

Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna. He serves on the House Oversight Committee and he's a Progressive Caucus deputy whip.

Congressman Khanna, thanks so much for being with us.

What do you make of this letter, these new actions? How necessary are they, do you believe?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): I think they are necessary. I personally, John, feel safe, but some of the very high-profile colleagues, particularly women of color, there are a lot of threats.

And here's my view: the Congress is just like any other workplace. We need to have some basic workplace standards. If you were to tweet out something that was abusive about colleagues or threatening colleagues, you probably wouldn't be there.

If you said I'm a CNN anchor and don't have to go through the security, that wouldn't be acceptable.

Why should Congress be any different? We should have the same workplace rules as any other workplace in America.

BERMAN: The fence, the proposed fence from capitol police. They are suggesting that go around the Capitol maybe as something permanent. How do you feel about that?

KHANNA: I'm saddened by it. One of the things I love about the capitol is anyone could have come and see me. You can't go see the president. You can't go to the Pentagon. You're supposed to be able to see your member of Congress.

I understand why they're doing it, given the threat level, but I really hope this is temporary. It would be a huge loss for the country if that fence remains permanent.

BERMAN: So, House Speaker Pelosi said something yesterday. I want to play it. She talked about who she sees as the enemy now.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The enemy is within the House of Representatives.

REPORTER: What exactly did you mean when you said the enemy is within? What exactly do you mean --

PELOSI: It means that we have members of Congress who want to bring guns on the floor and have threatened violence on other members of Congress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: To what extent do you feel personally, physically threatened by other members of Congress?

KHANNA: John, I personally have not been threatened. I personally have some professional friendships with Republicans. I go out to dinner with them, with their wives and their spouses.

But there are some members who have actually talked about assassinating leaders. There are members who have defied bringing the metal detectors and police and insist on bringing guns to the floor. And all I'm saying is that should not take place.

Now do I think it's a few people? Yes. I don't think of the 435 people, I think 420 of them are probably reasonable. But those 10 or 15 people have to comply with the rules.

BERMAN: But just to be crystal clear, you have real fears that they want to -- these people, whether it's two, three, four, five or ten, they want to cause Democratic members actual physical harm?

KHANNA: Well, I just take them at their word. There are members of Congress who, before they were elected have talked about assassinating Secretary Clinton, President Obama in tweets. They've talked about harm against Speaker Pelosi.

So whether that is incendiary rhetoric or they plan to take action, the point is it has no place and we have to take precautions to make sure that that type of violence doesn't take place.

BERMAN: All right. Let me ask you about a matter of finance, a matter of legislation and a matter of, frankly, fascination to millions of Americans this morning. This has to do with GameStop and what we're seeing in terms of the trading that has been going on really for weeks.

Now, yesterday something happened that is new and different here which is Robinhood. What's been happening is that retail traders, regular everyday people have been trying to make some money in the market the way hedge funds have been doing it for some time, institutional investors. They've been doing that at the expense of hedge funds.

Well, yesterday, the way they've been doing that, the method, the avenue they were using, Robinhood, which is this app on your phone basically, was no longer available to them. It was taken away from them.

What do you make of that move in general?

KHANNA: Well, John, I actually saw Chris Cuomo's excellent interview last night with the Robinhood CEO. He asked simple questions and the Robinhood CEO basically used legalese to evade.

Chris Cuomo asked him, was this a liquidity concern the reason you stopped? And Robinhood CEO said no. Then the next sentence, he said, no, it was a preventive concern. Meaning it was a liquidity concern. They were concerned they weren't going to be executing on the buys and they weren't going to be able to cover their shorts.

There are three things he needs to ask next time he's on your network and answer clearly. First, why did they not have the capital requirement in reserves to make good on the buys?

Second, he keeps saying that he wasn't influenced or directed by market movers. But did he have any conversations with anyone to influence it? Did Citadel ever call him or pressure him? He's being evasive.

Third, what was the role of the clearinghouse? This has not been covered. The clearinghouse is basically told people like Robinhood to stop doing buys. Were the clearing house in conjunction with the hedge funds?

The whole thing stinks and the people who are on television are giving lawyerly (ph) answers.

[08:35:03]

Chris Cuomo pushed him, and, frankly, it was embarrassing to see the Robinhood CEO parse and use legalese.

BERMAN: What's your role now in this? What do you think Congress' role should be in this?

KHANNA: We need to have hearings. Representative Ocasio-Cortez and Sherrod Brown have called for those hearings. Those hearings have to focus on the actions of hedge funds, and the actions of clearinghouse, and the actions of Robinhood, but they need to ask a broader question. How is it that we are allowing this country hedge funds to short stocks then to get up on CNN or Fox Business and say the American people, go sell, go sell, go sell, and to make billions of dollars while 50 percent of Americans aren't even in the stock market and wages are stagnating?

This whole thing needs to be looked into. And one thing that's going to come out of this scandal is reform of Wall Street.

BERMAN: Ro Khanna, Congressman, thank you very much for being with us this morning. Appreciate it.

KHANNA: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: So, the highly contagious variant of coronavirus that we're seeing in South Africa, it is now in the United States. So what should the United States do to battle back against this? Should some kind of a travel ban be under consideration?

A live report from South Africa, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:40:18]

CAMEROTA: The coronavirus variant first discovered in South Africa is now in the U.S. It's been detected in two people in South Carolina.

CNN has reporters covering the latest developments on all the variants around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. Here in South Africa, we were at the vaccine site of Johnson & Johnson here in Soweto. They're monitoring the people who volunteered for this.

And just a short time ago, the head of that research came to us and asked us what the results are. That's how closely guarded these were.

Now, the results are in, and it is somewhat disturbing. Far less effective against severe and moderate COVID-19, when the vaccine is used here in South Africa where that variant is dominating and has caused a dramatic second wave of the virus. Now scientists fear that reinfection may have taken place to cause that second wave. And now you have those two cases at least in the U.S. with no travel history.

The researchers did just tell me a few moments ago that 57 percent for severe and moderate disease is certainly still better than nothing. They were aiming for 60 percent at the start of all of this, but it does mean people might take a pause when looking to choose which vaccine they will take.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Scott McLean in London.

The U.K. variant of the coronavirus has now shown up in at least 70 countries and most U.S. states. British health officials say there's a realistic possibility that this mutant strain of the virus is more deadly than the original, though the scientific jury is still out on that question. The new variant, though, is -- does transmit from person to person more easily. It spreads 30 percent to 70 percent more easily. That's a big problem because regardless of the mortality rate, the more cases you have, the more deaths you'll end up with.

The good news is that studies have shown that vaccines are still largely effective, even on this U.K. variant, but that may not hold true for every variant that comes along. And remember that of the variants that we know about, the major ones here in the U.K. and South Africa and in Brazil, scientists could identify them because they were able to genetically sequence virus samples. Not all countries have the ability to do that. I spoke with two scientists who helped identify the U.K. variant and say it's likely there are other variants of the virus spreading in other countries now that are dangerous that we've never heard of because scientists in those countries just don't have the tools to get under the hood and actually genetically sequence the virus.

MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Matt Rivers in the Brazilian city of Manaus where people are furious over the lack of governmental response to this latest wave of COVID-19 that is currently decimating this city. The Brazilian health minister is under criminal investigation by federal authorities for his role in this latest calamity. But Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says that the federal government actually did more than it was obligated to do here in Manaus, this despite the first three weeks of January, nearly four times the amount of people died here in Manaus than in any other month during the pandemic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: A Republican congressman travels thousands of miles to campaign against Liz Cheney because she voted to impeach President Trump. So what does the Cheney camp think of this, this morning? We'll find out, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:47:48]

CAMEROTA: Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz railed against one of his colleagues, the number three Republican in the House, Liz Cheney, and he traveled to her home state of Wyoming to do it. Cheney voted to impeach former President Trump after he sent a murderous mob to the U.S. Capitol.

Joining us to talk about all of this, we have Amy Edmonds. She served as communications director for Congresswoman Liz Cheney.

Amy, great to see you this morning.

So, what did you think as you watched that rally that Matt Gaetz held yesterday?

AMY EDMONDS, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR TO LIZ CHENEY: Well, you know, I couldn't help but think that Mr. Gaetz knows very little to nothing about Wyoming. I was, you know, interested that the main thing he spoke on in his 40-some minute rant, it was pretty ugly, were things that have nothing really to do with Wyoming.

He didn't speak of the work that was done in terms of federal lands, leasing, ranching. He spoke on a laundry list of things really that centered around troop levels and foreign policy issues. CAMEROTA: Is it possible, Amy, that the people of Wyoming have

changed in the past year? And the reason that I ask that is because our own reporter Lucy Kafanov went a day before matt gates went to talk to people in Wyoming, regular voters, about how they feel about Congresswoman Cheney.

So, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You just can't go, well, I need to vote with my conscience. No, vote for what your people put you in there to do. You are a Republican. You're supposed to back your party, regardless.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My view, she's done in Wyoming. Trump is the most successful, effective president in my adult life. We're going down the Trump road. And that's where we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: So I don't know if you could hear that. The first woman said you're not supposed to vote your conscience. You're supposed to back your party.

EDMONDS: Yeah, as a former legislator myself and served in the House of Representatives, I could not agree with that. And I know there are plenty of folks in the state that wouldn't agree with that.

We don't send our representatives to Congress to do absolutely everything we expect them to do.

[08:50:04]

We send them there knowing they're going to get information and have thoughts about things that may not be completely the same as our own. And the reality is, Liz's voting record in the U.S. House has been tremendous. Folks in Wyoming appreciate so much she has done.

Now, do I think this impeachment vote has stirred up certain element of people who are unhappy? And I think Mr. Gaetz plays with that crowd yesterday. I think he was happy to come here and to be a showboat and have the camera on his face.

But the reality is Liz works hard for Wyoming. And she'll be back here. She'll be on the ground. We do politics face to face in Wyoming. We're a small state.

She'll be shaking hands. She'll be talking to voters. She'll be going out and doing the things that they need to help get Wyoming the resources we need.

CAMEROTA: President Trump is reportedly to Leader Kevin McCarthy about how to remove Liz Cheney from leadership and how to primary here.

How do you think that Congresswoman Cheney will combat this or deal with it?

EDMONDS: Well, she'll fight, and she'll fight hard, and I think she must. You know, as a member of the GOP myself, I think we are fighting for the heart and soul of the party. And, you know, I'll be backing her 100 percent. I know a lot of people will.

We have to move forward as a party and that means we have to move forward with people like Liz Cheney who is a thoughtful lawmaker. She is a responsible and respectable woman, and, God, that's who I want representing me and who I want as part of my party.

CAMEROTA: I mean, as you've said, you worked for her, you were her communications director, you know her well. I know that you've been in touch with her. You've exchanged text messages recently.

Is this surprising to her that she finds herself on the receiving end of all this vitriol?

EDMONDS: I don't know that she's surprised by it. I think she has a much better feel for the president's character and for what's going on in D.C. than a lot of us here in Wyoming have, and I think I also believe that her she has such a strong conviction about the oath of office that she took and her requirement to defend the constitution that she is at peace with the decision she made, and I respect that deeply.

CAMEROTA: I want to play a little bit more video from the Matt Gaetz rally just because I want people to see that there were hundreds of people there, but you saw something different in the crowd that showed up. When you look at their faces, and you look at the people who showed up, what do you see here?

EDMONDS: You know, I've attended rallies. I've seen things at the state capital. A lot of these faces we've seen before. They've come out for Tea Party events, many of whom I don't believe have supported Congresswoman Cheney.

CAMEROTA: Meaning these are just sort of standard issue rubble- rousers. I mean, you truly recognize these faces?

EDMONDS: Yeah, I do. That's how small a state Wyoming is. I mean, yeah, so these are folks, one of the gentlemen, I think you had on video earlier, or audio ran for governor a while back. Yeah, I recognize a lot of the faces.

I do know there are some Coloradans in the crowd as well, you know, Cheyenne is very close to the Colorado border, so a lot of folks came up from across the state and don't vote for Liz. But, yeah, it is a mixture of both.

CAMEROTA: What do they think of this outsider, Matt Gaetz? I mean, we had a congressman on earlier who said that Matt Gaetz came in dressed like a character from Dead Poet Society to talk to Wyoming folks. I mean, what do they think of this outsider coming in and telling them who they should vote for and what they should do? EDMONDS: You know, like our local news channels, social media pages and other pages, there's been hundreds of comments since yesterday's rally, and the main thing that you see is, you know, he's a showboat, he's been from out of the state. One thing that Wyomingites don't like, we're fiercely independent and we just like someone else coming in to our state to tell us how to be Republican, and Matt Gaetz is the last person who should be telling Liz Cheney how to be a Republican.

CAMEROTA: Amy Edmonds, thank you very much. Really interesting to get your perspective on what's happening with Liz Cheney and what we think she will do next. Thank you.

EDMONDS: Thanks.

CAMEROTA: OK, it's time now for the good stuff, and this one is near to our hearts. After more than 40 years at CNN, Rick Davis, the guy who keeps all of us on the straight and narrow by following the highest news standards and practices, well, Rick is retiring today.

Rick was at CNN on day one, when this network launched on June 1, 1980. He produced part of the network's inaugural broadcast.

BERMAN: He has done so many jobs in his four decades at this network, four decades, which is longer than Alisyn Camerota has been alive --

CAMEROTA: So true.

BERMAN: He was the first executive producer of CNN Sports. He was instrumental on the launch of many of your favorite CNN shows over the years from Washington.

[08:55:03]

He produced rare interviews with world leaders and has been the editorial compass for countless journalists teaching us to this job with fairness and to do it accurately.

Got to be honest, this tribute is probably violating 17 of Rick's rules. We never asked him for comment. We didn't get a statement from a lawyer. But just this once, Rick is going to have to live with it.

CAMEROTA: And I am accepting money for it, Rick.

BERMAN: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: His head just exploded.

Rick Davis has been the conscience of CNN. He has also served as a cheerleader, a counselor and a mentor to so many of us. He has long been a champion of diversity and in a business that can be cutthroat, Rick has somehow managed to stay shockingly nice and kind.

BERMAN: On behalf of the 4,000 employees around the world, we want to wish Rick Davis such a happy retirement. He'll be spending lots of time with his wife Belinda, daughters Emily and Sarah and granddaughter Lily, playing golf we are sure in his spare time.

CAMEROTA: So, congratulations, Rick. We will miss your voice, your wisdom and your friendship. Thank you for everything.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Poppy Harlow.