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Powerful Nor'easter Pummels East Coast; Biden to Meet with 10 GOP Senators Today on Virus Relief; Trump Names New Impeachment Lawyers After Previous Team Quits. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired February 01, 2021 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: This is not a storm to underestimate. Take it seriously.

[05:59:40]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This storm is different than any other storm, for the length of it (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to have up to one to three inches of snow per hour. To be outside, and especially driving, is going to be extremely dangerous, if not impossible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We sent out a letter to the president, saying we would love to work with him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is very willing to meet with anyone. This crisis is enormous, and our response to it meets that challenge.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): I think that President Biden is doing exactly the right thing. He said, I invite Republicans to join us. And if they do, great. And if they don't, we're still going to pass a plan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Monday, February 1, 6 a.m. here in New York. And we begin with breaking news.

A huge nor'easter is pounding the East Coast of the U.S. right now with heavy snow, strong winds, and blizzard-like conditions. This is expected to last well into tomorrow, dumping as much as two feet of snow in the New York City metro area.

More than 70 million Americans -- this is a live shot right now, John. I don't know if you can see anything.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Of what?! Of what?! CAMEROTA: I don't know. It's just basically whiteout conditions. And

70 million Americans are under winter storm advisories at this hour. So this is Times Square that you can see right there. So we'll bring you the latest forecast and the timing of all of this in a moment.

Also developing, President Joe Biden will meet this afternoon with these ten Republican senators, who have introduced a counterproposal to his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. Senior administration officials tell CNN that Mr. Biden is open to some negotiation on the price tag, but the $600 billion that the GOP is offering is, quote, "not going to scratch the itch."

BERMAN: We should tell people, we're broadcasting from our hermetically-sealed snow bunkers. No snowflakes can get in these closets we're in right now. Alisyn Camerota can't get in the closet where I am right now. That's how sealed it is.

CAMEROTA: I don't even know where you are.

BERMAN: So in addition to that, a major upheaval in the former president's defense team, with just a week to go before a Senate trial for inciting the insurrection at the Capitol. Pretty much the entire old defense team fled, we are told, after the former president pushed them to ground his defense in his lies about the outcome of the election he lost. Even now, after all the deaths, he continues to push that deadly nonsense.

So he just hired two new lawyers to represent him. Their resumes include cases involving Roger Stone, Jeffrey Epstein, and Bill Cosby.

We begin, though, with the breaking news. This huge snowstorm on the East Coast.

CNN's Polo Sandoval live near Central Park. What are you seeing, Polo?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John, good morning.

It is clear that this storm is certainly taking its hold on the northeast here. You've seen some of the radar pictures, I'm sure. This is what it looks like on the ground, at least from our vantage point in midtown Manhattan.

Right now, it's that light, fluffy snow that hopefully will allow those snow removal operations the upper hand. It's tried to keep these streets as clear as possible.

Let me tell you something, John. Since the forecast showed this storm basically aiming towards the northeast, authorities here in New York, they've been busy preparing. They've been pre-salting, knowing that this was coming.

One of the things that we've seen city officials do here, including the mayor, Mayor Bill de Blasio, actually issuing a declaration yesterday, banning all non-essential travel on these streets, hoping that these streets will be cleared not just for the snowplows but also those essential workers that need to get to work this morning. Quick note on COVID vaccinations, by the way. Those highly-coveted

vaccine appointments, we know that locations, at least five different locations in and around the New York City area. Appointments scheduled for today, those will be set for later this week. The folks who actually held those appointments will be contacted by email or by text, notifying them of that.

But for now, I can tell you that for now, it seems like most folks are heeding those warnings to simply stay home today, not travel, keep those streets as clear as possible. Because this is expected to be a long duration event. The snow started yesterday, it continues today. The winds are beginning -- are going to start to kick up throughout the day. So really, it's only going to get worse, John.

BERMAN: It's going to be a long storm, Polo Sandoval.

How long is it? Let's check in with meteorologist Chad Myers to get a sense of the forecast. Chad, what are you seeing? What can we expect?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: At least another 24 hours of snow in most spots. What you're seeing right there, what Polo was just showing you right there is not the nor'easter. It's the first storm of two.

The second storm hasn't even developed yet. That has to develop east of D.C. into the Atlantic Ocean. That's the nor'easter. That's why there will be severe impact, extreme impact to major cities. Twenty inches of snow in any city shuts it down.

Here's the numbers we're looking at right now. Less in Boston, because I think you're going to mix over to sleet and rain for a while. Freezing rain, but that's no big help. At least it doesn't pile up.

But snow for New York City, 20 inches. If I get a little bit more granular here, zoom you right down toward the city, you'll notice that Queens and eastward, less, because it's going to mix over with rain.

Back up to the north, Ramapo all the way up to New York City, two feet, easy. Now, the numbers in New York City proper, especially in Manhattan, close to sea level may vary quite a bit.

Here's 8 p.m. tonight. And 8 p.m. by 3 a.m. this afternoon. We'll begin to see the heavy snow and the low development.

Now we work our way into 6 p.m. Boston. You've changed over to rain for a while, but still snowing heavily. This is the snow we're waiting for. This is when the heavy snow comes in, not what we're seeing right now.

Finally, by Tuesday night into Wednesday, it's gone, but the snow totals are going to be a long duration. One inch an hour for 24 hours. You know, I can do that math very simply.

And by Wednesday and Thursday, things begin to just stay cold. The snow is going to pile up. Where these exact bull's-eyes are, I don't know yet. Because the storm hasn't even developed yet. But there will be 24 to 36 inches in spots. Let's just hope it's not centered right over Manhattan, because that would really make a bigger mess than 15 to 20.

CAMEROTA: If this is just the appetizer, Chad, I shudder to think what it's going to look like. Thank you very much for keeping an eye on that for us.

President Joe Biden will meet with ten Republican senators today who are offering a $600 billion counterproposal to his $1.9 trillion relief plan. So what will happen during these negotiations?

CNN's Lauren Fox is live on Capitol Hill with more. What do we know, Lauren?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, like you said, millions of Americans are really waiting for some relief amid this pandemic.

And on the campaign trail, President Joe Biden making it very clear that this was going to be his first priority and his hope and expectation was he would be able to meet and get a deal with Republicans.

Today, we're going to see if that's possible, as he is slated to meet with ten Republican senators later today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FOX (voice-over): A winter snowstorm in the nation's capital will not delay President Joe Biden's efforts to provide coronavirus relief this morning: scheduled to meet Republican lawmakers offering a counterproposal to his $1.9 trillion plan.

Ten Republican senators announcing their idea for a smaller package at a $600 billion price tag. The downsized GOP plan includes direct payments for families who need assistance the most, extends federal unemployment benefits, and $160 billion for vaccines and supplies for COVID-19 testing and treatment.

SEN. ROB PORTMAN (R-OH): We really want to help those who need it the most. And at a time of unprecedented deficits and debts, we need to be sure this is targeted.

FOX: And in Biden's relief package, $1,400 stimulus payments, a $15 minimum wage increase, enhanced unemployment aid, assistance for small businesses, funding for states for schools and child care, and increased funding for vaccines.

WARREN: His first responsibility as president is to help take care of the families who need it, to get his arms wrapped around this COVID crisis and end it, and get our schools open. And that's what the plan is all about.

FOX: Aiming to unite a very divided Congress, the White House says Biden is open to some form of negotiation for the relief package.

CEDRIC RICHMOND, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT: He is very willing to meet with anyone to advance the agenda. FOX: The president may consider reducing stimulus checks for families

making more than $150,000 per year, a senior administration official tells CNN, but won't budge on unemployment insurance access or funding for safely reopening schools.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): We hope that we can move forward in a bipartisan way with our Republican colleagues cooperating, but we need big, bold action, and if we can't move forward with them, we'll have to do it on our own.

FOX: Senator Bernie Sanders saying he thinks Democrats have enough votes to pass Biden's coronavirus relief package through reconciliation, a special legislative process that can allow the Senate to push the legislation through with a simple majority.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): I have differences and concerns about this bill, but at the end of the day, we're going to support the president of the United States.

FOX: The White House stressing Biden will not sign off on a plan that falls short of what he believes to be acceptable, writing in a statement, "As leading economists have said, the danger now is not doing too much: it is in doing too little. Americans of both parties are looking for their leaders to meet the moment."

BRIAN DEESE, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: If we don't act now, the cost of that is going to be greater going forward.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOX: And there's going to be a split screen up on Capitol Hill. Senate Democrats could move as soon as this week to unlock that budget reconciliation process by passing a budget resolution.

Meanwhile, of course, Joe Biden meeting with those ten Republicans in hopes of unlocking a bipartisan deal -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Lauren, thank you very much for all of that.

Joining us now is CNN political analyst Rachael Bade. She's the co- author of "The Politico Playbook."

So Rachael, these ten GOP senators are offering basically a third of what President Biden wants. So are they going to be able to reach a happy medium today?

[06:10:08]

RACHAEL BADE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I mean, I'm skeptical here. Clearly, the Republicans were lowballing it. This was an opening offer. I think the real question here is going to be, does President Biden come out and counter them?

I mean, there's clearly movement right now on Capitol Hill, when you talk to Democrats, Schumer last week, the Senate majority leader using the words "big" and "bold" over and over and over again. A lot of Democrats talking on the Hill about how they want Republican

support, but Biden has to do the right thing for the country. Phrases like that.

And so there's clearly movement on Capitol Hill that Democrats want to sort of go this alone, and they don't want the price tag to come down. And it seems to me that President Biden, even if he does want to work with Republicans and cut a deal, there is this movement. And the party is leaving him behind.

So how much leeway, how much of a leash, I guess, does he give Republicans in terms of, you know, negotiations? I think we'll find out today. Is he going to actually make them counter to their counter? And if he does, that's pretty telling.

BERMAN: I do think it's worthy of note. If I'm not mistaken, he's having Republicans, these ten Republicans over to the White House before he has had House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer over to the White House.

He's having a meeting with Republicans before he's had even a meeting with Democrats who are working on this. So that, in and of itself, is a bipartisan gesture.

What I want to know, Rachael, is the ten number that we have here is -- is the minimum that Republicans would need to get in order to pass this through regular order here.

Is $600 billion an end point or a beginning point for negotiations? Because I have a feeling for some of those ten, they're not going to go more than, you know, a few dollars more than $600 billion.

BADE: Yes, I mean, that's a great point. They've got to have at least ten Senate Republicans. This, I mean, clearly this is a negotiation, right, so this will be an opening bid. So can they get all ten of them to go up to, say, $1.2 trillion? I mean, that's -- that's still a question.

The point you're making about how Biden is meeting with Republicans at the White House today before he's even meeten [SIC] -- meeted [SIC] -- met with rank-and-file Senate Democrats at the White House on this same issue, it's a good one. And I'm actually curious to see if we see any blowback on that today.

He's been in talks with Schumer and Pelosi throughout this whole process. They talk on the phone multiple times of days. So clearly, he is strategizing with them. But you're right. It's certainly a gesture. He's reaching out to them. I'm just not sure that these talks will go anywhere, because these two numbers are so far apart. And like you said, they do need all ten Senate Republicans to pass something on a bipartisan basis.

CAMEROTA: We just heard from Senator Rob Portman in the piece there that he wants -- their goal is to get money into the hands of Americans who most desperately need it. So why are they bringing those direct payments -- why do they want to

bring those direct payments down from $1,400 to $1,000? I mean, why nickel and dime the direct payments? If they're -- if they have quibbles with other things, like the minimum wage, but why that one?

BADE: So there's been a lot of talk, and not just with Republicans, but including some Democrats like Joe Manchin, who think people who make, for instance, $150,000, shouldn't be getting these checks. And Manchin has been pretty clear about that.

He's another Democrat that they would need to be onboard to move this on a party line basis, too, of just Democrats. And so there has been some talk among moderates and Republicans, obviously, about these more narrowed, targeted checks to people.

I think the Republican proposal is households under $100,000, if I'm not mistaken, as opposed to up to $150,000, that would get these checks. So clearly, that's something they might actually have to deal with internally on their own.

CAMEROTA: Rachael, thank you very much. You're going to come back to talk with us about other subjects. Really appreciate it.

Meanwhile, former President Trump's lawyers keep jumping ship just one week before his second impeachment trial begins. So we'll tell you what we know about his new team of lawyers and why the other ones are leaving.

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[06:18:14]

BERMAN: All right. Breaking overnight, a whole new defense team for the former president in his impeachment trial for inciting an insurrection at the Capitol. The old team left after the president pushed them to center his case around his lie about the outcome of the election that he lost.

Back with us, CNN political analyst, Rachael Bade, and CNN White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond.

So Jeremy, what exactly happened here with the old team, and who did he find now to represent him?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, a source familiar with the matter tells us that -- that the president had disagreements over strategy with these attorneys.

Remember, the attorneys that the president ended up picking last week were primarily South Carolina-based. They were connected to the president by the president's ally, Senator Lindsey Graham.

Butch Bowers was the lead attorney there. And what they wanted to argue was essentially that it's unconstitutional to convict and try a former president, once he is out of office. That is the case that we have seen so many of these Republican senators make, 45 of which voted for that resolution put forward by Senator Rand Paul to make that case that it was unconstitutional to move forward with this case.

But the president, we're told, wanted instead to focus on his claims of mass voter fraud in the 2020 election, for which, of course, there is no basis.

And so this shows us that the president is -- the former president is, you know, convinced that he is going to continue to make this case. He is certainly not abandoning those false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, even after the January 6 insurrection, even after he was impeached, and even now, as he stands trial.

CAMEROTA: Rachael, do we know what the plan of the impeachment managers is? Are they just going to play the videos of the bloodthirsty mob coming in with weapons and violence? Are they going to put any Capitol Police officers on who had to try to fend this off and got injured and/or one of their colleagues got killed?

[06:20:02]

BADE: Well, clearly, there's some Democrats who want to move pretty quickly. And I think, depending on how long this trial goes, we could see, you know, more witnesses come over -- come over and take the stand and testify.

But TBD right now, I mean, clearly, they have a lot of evidence. A lot of this was playing out on TV. The destruction, the damage of the Capitol, and the motivations of these Trump supporters and what they intended to do when they stormed the Capitol. So they have a lot of evidence at their disposal.

Just to go back to the defense -- Trump's defense woes, it's sort of deja vu right now. If you remember, a year ago during his first trial, the president was very much insistent that his lawyers make the argument that he had a, quote, "perfect phone call."

And I remember Mitch McConnell back then, the majority leader at the time in the Senate, was working with his team, trying to get them to change the argument, saying this is not going to convince senators who acquit you. It's, like, happening all over again.

Only this time, the argument that Trump wants these lawyers to make, that you know, the election was stolen, and pointing to these allegations of voter fraud that have been falsely tossed by Republican-appointed court officials, that's a lot more damaging.

And I wonder how this is going to affect Republicans who want the president to make a certain argument about constitutionality and not being able to impeach a president once he's gone versus, you know, these claims of voter fraud. It's going to create this conundrum in the Senate where they have to give Trump due process, and they have to let his attorneys speak.

But the arguments that the attorney could be making if they follow Trump's orders could be very damaging in terms of Trump convincing people, Republican Trump supporters, that this claim of election -- the election being stolen is still out there. This could be a problem for them. A serious problem.

BERMAN: OK. Just to put a finer point on this, except for maybe Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, I can't think of a worse defense that the president could mount for some of these Republican senators who might be on the fence about convicting. I literally cannot think of a worse defense.

BADE: I mean, it's true, right? And I think what you'll probably see is Republicans still voting to acquit. They'll just use a different reason to justify their vote.

But, you know, what that's going to do is, you have a bunch of, say, 45 Republicans who vote to acquit; and you have Trump's lawyers up there arguing the election was stolen. That's going to only further perpetuate these false claims, these conspiracy theories that led to the storming of the Capitol and could incite more violence.

CAMEROTA: Let's talk about the new lawyers who have stepped in after the original ones jumped ship. Jeremy, one of them is a Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, attorney, Bruce Castor. He's the prosecutor who famously declined to prosecute Bill Cosby, because he said there was insufficient evidence. Fifty women came forward with different stories. Now, they came forward at different times, that's true, but Andrea Constand had lots of stories about what happened to her with Bill Cosby.

And this prosecutor -- that insufficient evidence, furthermore, he made this what is called a secret deal -- it's being called a secret deal for immunity for Bill Cosby. This is the attorney that they find to help Donald Trump?

DIAMOND: Yes, and then if you look at the other attorney, David Schoen, he was somebody who was a part of Roger Stone's defense team as well, excuse me.

And David Schoen, I mean, it's very clear, is a controversial attorney. He also met with Jeffrey Epstein just days before he committed suicide, and then later claims that he did not believe that Jeffrey Epstein had committed suicide.

But I think this comes down to the point that shows that Donald Trump clearly is not concerned about this trial. The legal brief that he has to present, his response to the House impeachment managers, is due tomorrow.

And yet he is only now finally assembling his legal team. And in the same way, I think, that Donald Trump said in the 2016 campaign that he could walk down Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and still retain the support of his supporters, Donald Trump could send whoever to argue the case for him in the Senate and make whatever case they want to make, and still, most likely, not be convicted, not get those 17 Republican senators to vote to convict him in this trial.

And that is kind of the state of the Republican Party right now and the state of President Trump's ongoing support that he -- that he maintains among Senate Republicans. BERMAN: On the state of the Republican Party, Rachael, the Republican

caucus in the House continues to have this Marjorie Taylor Greene problem. She is the freshman rep from the state of Georgia.

And I think, to an extent, too much focus has been placed on her individually. It's, you know, an undue amount of attention for a freshman with crazy, frankly, views. But what she represents is something that the entire caucus has to deal with.

Kevin McCarthy, as far as we know, has yet to speak with her. She, of course, has espoused views about QAnon, about Jewish space lasers. She's harassed victims of school shootings. That's something that the Republicans have to deal with.

[06:25:03]

Do you have a sense of where they're headed, in terms of whether they censure her, whether they allow her to have committees, how Kevin McCarthy is going to choose to deal with her?

BADE: Yes, I mean, look, McCarthy's top priority right now -- and we saw this last week -- his top priorities seem to be smoothing things over with the former president. He went down to Florida to meet with Trump. He's clearly trying to keep Trump in his corner because of the support that the ex-president still has with his base.

And right now, you know, yesterday, we saw President Trump call Marjorie Taylor Greene and offer support for her. So I think McCarthy right now is sort of under too -- he's under pressure from both sides. Right?

You're seeing Democrats and a couple of moderate Republicans saying, we've got to do something about this woman. She's, you know, alleging false conspiracy theories. She has said things in the past suggesting she supports violence against Democrats, including, you know, shooting Speaker Pelosi in the head, which is obviously unacceptable. They have to speak out.

On the other side, though, you know, they're getting pressure from the former president and from Trump supporters who do not want to do something to censure this woman, because she is a big supporter of Trump.

And so there's going to be a very heated family discussion, I think, in the House Republican conference this week. And we'll just have to see where McCarthy comes out. But I think, given what we know from last week, we shouldn't expect him to move to rebuke her.

BERMAN: Look, she could be in leadership within a month or two, the way they're headed at this point. Rachael Bade, Jeremy Diamond, thanks so much for being with you -- with us.

Ninety-five thousand Americans dead from coronavirus in January, the deadliest month ever. There are some new positive numbers this morning, but there are also warning signs on the horizon causing some of the leading analysts to demand radical action. That's next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)