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New Day

Snowstorm Hits New York City; President Biden Meets With 10 Republican Senators On Their Counterproposal For Economic Stimulus; Former President Trump Replaces Legal Team To Defend Him In Second Impeachment Trial; Interview With Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN); New Coronavirus Cases And Hospitalizations Drop In U.S.; U.S. Military Veterans Among Those Accused In Deadly Siege. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired February 01, 2021 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So with just a week to go until his Senate trial for inciting the insurrection at the Capitol, he just hired two new lawyers to represent him. Their resumes include cases involving Roger Stone, Jeffrey Epstein, and Bill Cosby.

First, the latest on this powerful winter storm. CNN's Polo Sandoval live near Central Park here in New York to get a sense of how things are going, Polo.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John. You see the radar. This is what it actually looks like on the ground. I can tell you since we last spoke about an hour ago, it has gotten noticeably worse. Conditions have deteriorated in terms of snowfall amounts and also the winds certainly continue to kick up. And it's going to continue.

And that's why it is the hope of authorities and officials that these streets are going to be reserved solely for obviously mass transit that you see here, and essential workers.

In fact, there was a declaration that was issued by the government, by the mayor just yesterday basically banning all non-essential travel. So there are certainly high hopes that if you don't have to be in this, you are going to stay home. And who wants to be out in this unless it's to show you what's actually happening.

As we look to my left, this is the iconic Central Park. You see a few brave souls that are out, believe it or not, out for a morning run, and also to, obviously it's not going to be a blizzard unless you see folks playing with dog. But still, it is a serious threat. And there are impacts that we are seeing. For example, some of those folks that managed to secure those highly coveted COVID vaccination slots at five locations in and around New York City, those are going to have to be rescheduled for later this week.

Obviously, it is going to somewhat of an inconvenience here and a concern for some folks. But at the end of the day, it's about keeping people safe. You do have states of emergency in place here in New York and in neighboring New Jersey. Remember, this is a prolonged multi-phased event, and based on what

we've experienced the last hour, we have just transitioned to the next phase, with heavier snowfall. You can imagine it is going to get much worse in the hours to come.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: How committed do have you to be to your fitness regime when you are out there during a morning run this morning in that? Polo, thank you very much for weathering all of that for us.

SANDOVAL: Thanks, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: So, how much snow are we expecting? And when can John and I leave our snow bunkers? CNN meteorologist Chad Myers is tracking it for us. What are you seeing at this hour, Chad?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I am seeing a storm that continues to work its way up the northeast coast. It's a coastal storm. We're going to call it a nor'easter because of the wind direction coming in from the northeast. But it's a low that's still getting stronger. So it could still put down that two-to-three feet of snowfall in and around the area.

Twenty-seven-inches was the old record for Central Park. I was there, it was like 2016. That's certainly in jeopardy. There is no question that there will be spots that are over two feet. There will be extreme to catastrophic damage across this area, with power lines down, trees down, all the heavy snow getting on the limbs, bringing down the power lines.

Now the forecast for New York City somewhere between 15 and 20. But there will be areas, especially west of the city into New Jersey that will have 36 inches, no question. There are spots here that are 36 inches on the map, itself. Let's just hope that bull's eye isn't over the city, itself, or any city for that matter.

Here is what it looks like, 8:00 in the morning, it's snowing -- obviously, that's right now -- 2:00, 3:00, it's still snowing. It's coming down very hard by 5:00 tonight moving into Boston, but Boston you change over to some rain and sleet. I just got a couple e-mails and tweets from parts of New Jersey, north of Camden, said it's so loud I can't hear myself.

The sleet is hitting the window so loud it's like a thunderstorm out there, and it's just the ice crystals hitting the window. So by tomorrow the storm is still around New York city, 5:00 tomorrow afternoon, it's still snowing. So that's 25, 30 hours of snow. Even if you get one inch of snow an hour, that's a lot of snow that can pile up very quickly.

Over 1,000 flights are cancelled. This isn't going to get better. This is going to get worse, and it's going to be a major, major event. Don't take this one lightly. This isn't a, oh, you guys missed it again kind of storm. No, this is a big one. John?

BERMAN: Which is why, Chad, I am stuck in the office and will not be able to help clear the driveway and my wife is going to have to do it alone, because you told me I have to stay where I am. That's why. Chad, thank you very much.

So today President Joe Biden will host 10 Republican senators at the White House to discuss the coronavirus relief bill. The Republicans counterproposal, these 10 Republican senators have come with a counterproposal, including a new, slimmer round of direct stimulus payments, $160 billion for vaccines, testing and treatments, less money for extended unemployment benefits, $4 billion for behavioral health and substance abuse, with a total price tag of roughly $600 billion as opposed to the $1.9 trillion proposed by the president.

Joining us now is Democratic Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota. Senator, thank you very much. I know you have no sympathy for the snowstorm we're getting right now. This is like a light dusting for you.

[08:05:01]

SEN. TINA SMITH, (D-MN): Well, yes. From Minnesota, I am hoping everyone stays safe and well on the east coast. And I'm going to be flying there in a couple hours, so I really hope. It's great to be with you.

BERMAN: I am not sure you will be flying there in a couple hours. We'll have to see about that. Senator, let me ask you this. On a scale of one to ten, how excited are you by the $600 billion proposal being put forth by these 10 Republican senators who will meet with the president at the White House later today?

SMITH: Well, look, I think the president is doing the right thing to meet with this group. And I am always in favor of meeting and talking. But I think that this looks like a skimpy plan. And I think that we are in a moment where we need bold action and we need that action fast. We have 8 million people, more this year than last year that have applied for food assistance. We have people at risk of losing their homes. This is a crisis that we need to meet with bold action and not half measures.

BERMAN: What's it missing?

SMITH: Well, I think they're trying to get to a place where the number is lower, and I don't think it's about a lower number. I think it is about helping American families. There are millions of families, through no fault of their own, that have really struggled because of this COVID pandemic.

I think that lowering the dollar, direct cash payments, that seems to be what they are proposing, it's not the right direction to go. I think lowering unemployment insurance is not the right direction to go. I strongly support raising the minimum wage in this package, which would help to lift millions of people out of poverty.

So I don't think in this moment we're going to look at this and say, oh, we need to do less. I think if you think about it, in five years, we're going to look back and say, oh, we didn't do we didn't do enough. No, we're going to need to do as much as we can right now. BERMAN: The president made a big deal out of unity in his inaugural

address. It's a big part of how he ran. How important is it to have Republican sign-on to this bill? Do you care about having Republicans voting for it, or are you happy to pass it with just Democratic votes?

SMITH: Well, I'm always happy to work across the aisle and have Republican support, of course so. But I don't think Americans are looking at this and saying I want to a bill that passes with 60 votes, or I want a bill that only passes with 51 votes. They want help. They want results. And at the end of the day, that's what this is about. We've got to deliver results. And that's what President Biden's plan does.

It also is going to help schools reopen and reopen safely. This is something that I hear all the time about here in Minnesota. So the comprehensiveness of this plan is what is going to lift us out. And I think that's why economists across the range, Republicans-to- Democrats, are saying that we need this scale of effort in order to pull our economy and pull American families out of this crisis.

BERMAN: If someone said, let's meet in the middle. They are proposing $600 billion. Joe Biden, the president, wants $1.9 trillion. I'm not great at math, but what if it ends up being $1.2 trillion? Is that something you could vote for?

SMITH: I'd have to look and see what the details are and to see whether or not it's going to help Minnesotans that have been struggling get out of this mess. And as I said, I don't think we're going to look back on this moment five years from today and say, oh, we just did too much. We tried too hard to help people. That's the challenge that we have right now.

BERMAN: What do you think of the fact that the president is having 10 Republicans -- have you been to the White House yet under the Biden administration?

SMITH: I have not.

BERMAN: So what do you think about the fact that he is having 10 Republican senators over before he's had a group of Democratic senators or even Democratic leadership?

SMITH: Well, look, President Biden is doing this the right way. He's engaging with these 10 Republicans. They are 10 Republicans that many of us have worked with over time, and I know that he is also engaging with many Democratic members as well. So, I don't think we should be sort of chippy about meeting with Republicans first. to tell you the truth.

BERMAN: So you are going to sit and listen to the Senate impeachment trial of the former president of the United States who has been impeached for inciting the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. We understand that the former president has parted ways with his defense team, because that defense team would not make the case that the president wanted to, which was that the election was somehow fraudulent, the lie that he has been telling about the election for some time. He has now hired two new lawyers.

If the presidency makes the case before the U.S. Senate that the election was somehow stolen from him, how would that be received? What will you make of that?

SMITH: I was thinking about that this morning as I was listening to these stories. Imagine the former president sending his lawyers into the chamber of the Senate and arguing this big lie, which he has been telling for months, that this election was stolen.

And we all know that that is not true. I wonder what my Republican colleagues will see and think as they have to sit and listen to that. It is really unconscionable. And of course, there are members of the Republican Party in the United States Senate who helped to amplify that lie that the election was stolen.

[08:10:06]

I think that it is just a sad day for the Republican Party, honestly, to think that that would be, what they would be confronted with. And I am waiting for many more of my Republican colleagues to stand up and be willing to tell the American people the truth about this and be willing -- if you want to talk about unity, let's unify around the facts of what happened in this election and how we can move forward.

BERMAN: Do you want, or how do you feel about live witnesses, about whether there should be live witness in the impeachment trial?

SMITH: Well, I voted, supported live witnesses in the impeachment trial that we were undertaking only a year ago. If the Senate gets to the point where we've heard the cases made by both the House managers and the president's lawyers and we think live witnesses are necessary, I would certainly be opened to that.

But this is a different situation. We all saw America, the world saw this attack on our Capitol, on our democracy that was incited by the president of the United States. There will be evidence presented, and then we can make a decision whether witnesses are necessary for us to make a decision.

BERMAN: You're one of the senators who signed onto the ethics complaint against Senator Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley. How does it feel for you, given the fact you signed on to that, what's it like to show up every day in the Senate with them given that you feel the way you do?

SMITH: Well, my view of it is that the Senate should be a place where integrity rules. And I believe that we need to investigate the ways in which Senators Hawley and what Senator Cruz did might have, if they were, might have been coordinated with the folks that planned this rally that created an attack on our capitol, I think we need to get to the bottom of this. And that's the role of the Senate Ethics Committee.

So I feel fine about going to work every day. I feel like I am standing up to the fact itself and the truth and for the integrity of the Senate, and I feel like I am standing up for accountability. And in this moment, we need more accountability. I actually think that's how we are going to be able move forward as we fight our way towards a place where American families actually have a chance in this country and our democracy is being defended.

BERMAN: Senator Tina Smith from Minnesota, thank you so much for being with us this morning. Please travel safely as you try to get east for the workweek. Appreciate it.

SMITH: I will. Thank you.

BERMAN: We are seeing dramatic drops in the number of hospitalizations and the number of cases of coronavirus in the United States, yet leading scientists say we may be at the very beginning of what could be the worst wave yet in this pandemic. What you need to know next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:16:23]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: The fact is that the surge that is likely to occur with this new variant from England is going to happen in the next six to fourteen weeks.

And if we see that happen, which in my 45 years in the trenches tell us we will, we are going to see something like we have not seen yet in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: A dire new warning about the COVID variants. So where are we this morning with tracking the coronavirus?

Well, right now, the seven-day average of new infections in the U.S. is down 50 percent from its peak last month. Hospitalizations have also fallen. They're below 100,000 people for the first time in two months.

But January was the deadliest month of the pandemic, more than 95,000 Americans killed.

Joining us now is Dr. Ashish Jha. He is the Dean of Brown University's School of Public Health. Dr. Jha, great to see you. Do you agree with Michael Osterholm, who we just played there, that we kind of need to brace ourselves for the next six to 14 weeks? Because with the variants, things are about to get worse not better.

DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Yes, so good morning, and thanks for having me on.

I am very worried just as Dr. Osterholm is. The variants are here. They are circulating, and they are going to cause a large spike in cases. That's the experience from the U.K. That's the experience from Ireland and Denmark, everywhere else that that variant has taken off.

The one thing I would say is that there's a lot we can do to prevent things from getting much worse. But we've really got to act, and the single most important thing we've got to do is get people vaccinated.

BERMAN: And one of the things that Professor Osterholm is now joining you in proposing, Dr. Jha, you were one of the first people to propose this as far as I know, which is to say, get as many people one dose of the vaccine as possible, even if it means delaying the second dose. What would that do? Why is that in your mind even more important now?

JHA: Yes, so about a month ago, I proposed this and we got a lot of pushback because the clinical trials looked at two doses in a short period of time. I believe everybody needs two doses, no doubt about it.

But one dose offers 80 to 90 percent protection against this virus. And therefore, my proposal and our proposal has been, get one dose into people over 65, get them all vaccinated over the next six to eight weeks before this variant really becomes a problem, and then fill in with second doses. It's a way to protect people. It will dramatically lower hospitalizations and deaths, which at the end of the day is what we care about.

CAMEROTA: Let me show everybody where we are with the number of vaccines administered right now. Almost 50 million doses have been distributed across the country, 31 million doses have been administered.

We all remember the Trump administration promised 50 million people would be vaccinated by now. Obviously, we're not keeping up with that projection. So when you say that the only answer to stopping the, you know, hellish scenario that Dr. Osterholm is suggesting, at this pace that we're going now, will we be able to outrun the new variants?

JHA: Yes, and let me just be very clear. It's not the only answer, obviously, we could do what the U.K. did which is a national lockdown, but I'd rather not do that. I think improving mask wearing can also help.

But I do think the best tool we have, the most realistic tool we have is vaccination. I think we can do it. Look, we've seen an uptick in vaccines every day in the last couple of weeks. We are improving on vaccine supply. So do it I think we can get there and get every elderly person vaccinated over the next six to eight weeks? I do, but it's going to take a lot of effort.

[08:20:06]

BERMAN: So one thing -- and you've been quoted in an article about this which is really interesting, it has to do with nursing homes and the number of infections in nursing homes. And it does appear as if the number of infections in nursing homes is going down. Now, that may just be because it's tracking the overall population infection rate, which is also going down. But it appears to be going down slightly faster than that and that

might be because this is the first group to be vaccinated. So what does that tell us, Dr. Jha?

JHA: Yes, and we don't know for sure. That part of the reason vaccines -- part of the reason nursing homes are doing so much better is because of that, but I do think vaccines are making a difference in nursing homes already.

What it tells us is, vaccines work, and that if we get broad vaccination across a high risk population like older people, it will make an important difference in infections. But mostly, it'll make a dramatic difference in hospitalizations and deaths.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Jha, I always ask our experts this and I feel like it's not supposed to be a trick question, but somehow it ends up being with testing. Are we any closer to rapid testing or at-home testing kits?

JHA: We're inching there. We're inching there. We are a little bit better off now than we were a month ago. There's been more coming online.

But one of the things that I want to see from the Biden team is a more aggressive stance on rapid testing.

Look, they've had a lot on their plate, so -- you know, but they've been on the job for about two weeks. But I do want to see more rapid testing available. The technology has existed for six to seven months. We've got to do more to get these out.

BERMAN: Mask mandate for travel: buses, planes, trains, low-hanging fruit? How much of a difference do you think it'll make?

JHA: Yes, it's a no brainer, right? Like at this point in the pandemic, we're so close. We have this variant in front of us, like, what are we doing? Like we've got to get everybody just wear a mask when they're outside, when they're outside of their own. This struck me as a completely reasonable thing for the C.D.C. to push for.

BERMAN: Dr. Ashish Jha, thank you so much for coming on. Really appreciate your insight here.

JHA: Thank you.

BERMAN: So they are accused of taking part in the very kind of attack they swore an oath to protect against. CNN tracks down some of the retired U.S. veterans accused of taking part in the capital insurrection. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:26:18]

BERMAN: They swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Then came the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. CNN's Sara Sidner tracked down some of the military veterans accused

of taking part in the deadly siege.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They have the tactical training, gear and guns to bring the war home. CNN tracked down nine of the military veterans who were charged in the Capitol siege.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it's right there.

SIDNER (voice over): This guy is one of the most well-known, a far right personality known for spouting extremist views long before January 6.

JOE BIGGS, ARMY VETERAN AND RADIO HOST: Hey, what's going on everybody? This is Joe Biggs.

SIDNER (voice over): Thirty-seven-year-old Joseph Biggs is an Army veteran. He is also a leader in the far-right violence prone, Proud Boys.

His violent rhetoric got him banned on social media sites. On January 6th, in Washington, D.C., it wasn't just rhetoric. Prosecutors say he did aid, abet, counsel, command, induce or procure others to unlawfully enter the U.S. Capitol by means of destruction of Federal property.

This is Biggs as he helps lead the Proud Boys to the Capitol steps. Once there, one of his Proud Boys, this guy, broke into the Capitol. According to court documents, 20 seconds later, Biggs is seen inside the building.

Biggs is charged for an alleged commanding role in the insurrection. A Judge ordered he could go home on house arrest.

We visited him there.

SIDNER (on camera): Mr. Biggs, I'm Sara with CNN. Look, all we want to ask you is whether or not you were in the Capitol on January 6th and what you were doing there?

BIGGS: (INAUDIBLE).

SIDNER: I'm sorry?

BIGGS: I am calling the police.

SIDNER: You're calling the police, you said? Are you in insurrectionist? You're not an insurrectionist, well come talk to me. What are you?

I've seen some of the things that you've said over time. They're been pretty violent, like give us an answer. What are -- what were you doing in the Capitol on January 6th?

BIGGS: If you don't get the [bleep] out of here, I'm calling the police right now.

SIDNER: If we don't get the F out of here, you're calling the police.

SIDNER (voice over): Former Army Captain Gabriel Garcia of Miami, Florida is also a Proud Boy. He ran as a Republican for state office and lost the vote in 2020.

GABRIEL GARCIA, FORMER ARMY CAPTAIN: There's people starting to doubt this process.

SIDNER (voice over): Here he is inside the Capitol and now accused of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds among other charges. According to the Federal complaint, Garcia posted video of himself inside the Capitol saying, "We just went ahead and stormed the Capitol. It's about to get ugly."

And that he also called police "effing traitors" for trying to stop the siege.

Time after time, our efforts to get comment were met with calls to police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No comment. Leave. Leave now.

SIDNER (voice over): This man was outside the business of insurrectionist suspect, Ryan Nichols in Longview, Texas. Nichols was not there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm calling 911 right now.

SIDNER (voice over): On the street outside his house, his neighbor confronted us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to call the police right now.

SIDNER (on camera): All right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't have an issue with that.

SIDNER (voice over): Nichols is a former Marine who ended up on "Ellen" for his work rescuing dogs in hurricanes. He also runs a wholesale business he says has made him a fortune.

RYAN NICHOLS, FORMER U.S. MARINE: Hey, Ryan here. I'm the owner and President of Wholesale Universe. I've made millions of dollars on the e-commerce platforms.

SIDNER (voice over): This is also him in a camo hat at the capital. On the right side, his Texas buddy, Alex Harkrider. Both are military veterans who also ran a non-profit.

ALEX HARKRIDER, MILITARY VETERAN: Alex and Ryan here.

SIDNER (voice over): In D.C., the F.B.I. says Nichols sprayed what is believed to be pepper spray in the direction of Federal officers trying to restrain the mob. Court documents show Harkrider posted this on Snapchat. "We are in.

Two people killed already. We need all patriots of this country to rally the eff up and fight for our freedom or it's gone forever." They are both charged with conspiracy and assault with a deadly weapon on a Federal officer.

Former F.B.I. agent Michael German, who spent years undercover in domestic extremist groups says he is not surprised so many of the rioters are former military. There are many possible reasons for their actions, but one stands out.

[08:30:33]