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Congressional Staffers Recount Experience During Capitol Attack; CDC Says Teachers Don't Have To Be Vaccinated For Schools To Safely Reopen; Prosecutors Seek Arrest Warrant For Kyle Rittenhouse. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired February 04, 2021 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

SARA GUERRERO (D), PRESS SECRETARY TO REP. SYLVIA GARCIA (via Cisco Webex): That we made clear that we are people, too, and that this trauma, again, has no party. We're people and we go to work, and at no point while we're pursuing this career are we expected to know how to deal with being at the center of a terrorist attack.

And I think it's so important to really just keep clear our humanity and the fact that we go to work every day and this is not just the Capitol to us. It is -- it is a temple of democracy -- temple of democracy and it's our workplace. We have to revisit this place over and over.

So I think it's really important to add that human element to just keep it, again, very clear. We're people. Staffers are people.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

And, Remmington, tell us your experience. Where were you during the insurrection and what message are you trying to get out?

REMMINGTON BELFORD (D), COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR TO REP. YVETTE CLARKE (via Cisco Webex): Well, Alisyn, I want to just thank you for having me on. I am such a huge fan of NEW DAY.

What I will say is that I was barricaded in my office with Congresswoman Yvette Clarke and this experience was traumatic. I mean, you saw places on the Capitol that are hallowed -- that we're not allowed to -- without a badge of a corresponding member, to visit. And to see these insurrectionists laying siege to something as my colleague said earlier is so hallowed in our democracy, it was traumatic and concerning.

And the message that I am certain that all of our staff -- all of the staffers that signed on to this would like to convey is that we need accountability. We don't have a vote but it is vital that we make our voices heard.

And the staffers don't necessarily speak up regularly. You don't hear from us. And in this moment it was so important, vital, and even critical that we made our voices heard because accountability is necessary to move forward.

CAMEROTA: Sara, there are 370 of you that signed on to this letter. Were there any staffers from Republican offices that joined with you?

GUERRERO: Not up until this point.

CAMEROTA: And why is that?

GUERRERO: I can't speak for my Republican colleagues but I -- again, echo Remmington in explaining how this was a traumatic experience. And like I said earlier, trauma knows no party. I can't speak to their decision but I hope as we move forward and we sort of normalize being not OK, that we can have some of our colleagues join us.

CAMEROTA: And Sara, did you all have conversations with them behind the scenes about maybe whether they would sign on? Has there been any communication?

GUERRERO: I think when this letter was circulated it didn't say hey, Democrats, right? It said hey, staffers or colleagues, we work together. We're not on the same side of the aisle but we walk next to each other in hallways, we still have our bosses next to each other. This letter is not partisan, you know. It's very -- it's human.

And so, again, I just -- I hope as time goes on that we are joined by our colleagues across the aisle and they know that we support them in the trauma that we all felt that day.

CAMEROTA: Remmington, how did this letter come together? Who spearheaded it?

BELFORD: Well, I want to give a special shout-out to my colleagues Daniel and Gabby, who so eloquently crafted and depicted our experience. And so, we're not mentioning their offices but I want to give them a special shout-out because the moment I read this letter it really, as I said earlier, captured what all of us were feeling.

It was a traumatic experience. People died. It put our colleagues and the Capitol Police at risk. And like I said, it just so eloquently captured what we were feeling.

CAMEROTA: And Remmington, do you think -- in terms of our Republican colleagues not signing on, do you think they didn't experience January sixth the same way that you did, or do you think that they are afraid to speak out or sign this letter?

BELFORD: I definitely think they experienced it the same way, Alisyn. What I will say is I fear that they feared retaliation, so that's more than likely the reason why they didn't sign on.

And -- well, that's unfortunate because as I said earlier, this is a human issue, it's not a partisan issue. It wasn't a partisan experience. A lot of us were barricaded in our offices. A lot of us hid behind desks and feared for our lives and the lives of our members and the lives of our friends. And so, I know for certain, I can speak factual in that space that it was not a partisan issue. And they were scared, they were afraid, but they also had to fear retaliation, unfortunately.

CAMEROTA: Sara, ultimately, what do you think is going to happen with Donald Trump's trial?

GUERRERO: Yes, that's up to the senators. But again, our hope is we add the human factor to this.

CAMEROTA: Well, you've just done that.

Sara Guerrero, Remmington Belford, thank you both so much. It's great to talk to you. We're sorry that you had to endure that.

[07:35:04]

GUERRERO: Thank you for having us.

BELFORD: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Some bizarre developments involving people charged in the Capitol siege.

So before storming the Capitol, Jenny Cudd, a small business owner from Texas, booked a trip to Mexico. Now, while on pretrial release, she is asking the court's permission to take that Mexico vacation. She calls it a bonding retreat for her employees and their spouses.

Then, the person known as the "QAnon Shaman" -- what did you call him? The moronic Minotaur. That's what Alisyn called him.

CAMEROTA: Mulan Minotaur, moronic Minotaur -- you know, you get to choose.

BERMAN: Jacob Chansley, seen here inside the Capitol with his horns -- a federal judge has ruled he should be given only organic food while he's in jail. After going on a hunger strike, Chansley claimed that non-organic food was against his religion and sickened him.

CAMEROTA: Is staging -- being part of a bloody insurrection part of his religion? Just curious.

BERMAN: I don't know. He claims -- he says he's a vegan. I -- you know, I just think he needs to be treated the same way that all prisoners are treated. I can't imagine that other prisoners get that kind of lenience or forbearance.

CAMEROTA: Maybe Minotaurs are herbivores. I mean, I'm going to look it up.

BERMAN: Yes, there's something in the printed guidelines about how to -- how to house Minotaurs.

The CDC director says teachers do not need to be vaccinated for schools to be open. That controversial question, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:48]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: I also want to be clear that there is increasing data to suggest that schools can safely reopen and that safe reopening does not suggest that teachers need to be vaccinated in order to reopen safely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That's the CDC director, Rochelle Walensky, saying that teachers don't need to be vaccinated for schools to safely reopen. A new study overnight finds that schools can reduce their infections by as much as 50 percent with weekly coronavirus testing.

Joining us now, Michael Osterholm. He is the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. And, Professor, always a pleasure to have you on.

MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: Thank you.

BERMAN: The CDC director says teachers don't need to be vaccinated in order for schools to reopen safely. What do you think about that?

OSTERHOLM: Well actually, what Dr. Walensky is saying is actually correct. Remember, all the measures we're bringing together to protect students and teachers in schools have to be in effect. It's just like your car. It's just not your seatbelt that saves you, it's the airbags, it's the collapsible frames. It's all the things we have.

And so surely, vaccinating teachers is a good thing. None of us don't want to do that. But, in fact, we have evidence that you can -- particularly for younger kids -- open schools and do it quite safely without having the teachers vaccinated. So let's get them vaccinated, but that shouldn't be a condition upon whether schools open or not.

CAMEROTA: Yes, can't we do these simultaneously? Can't we open public schools across the country and work to have teachers be in the next crop of people who get vaccinated? Because we now have a year's worth of data, OK, that schools are not super spreaders.

And so, we had Dr. Jonathan Reiner on last hour who was saying yes, but teachers are very worried. They may have sick parents at home -- whatever. They're worried that they're going to be exposed. But I think that they aren't getting the message they don't need to be as worried as they are.

OSTERHOLM: I think that's really an important point. And let me just put in context the situation here in Minnesota as an example. Over the last eight years here in this state, we've actually had 16 children die from influenza acquired in schools. Over the course of the last year, while many of the classes were in distance-learning mode, we haven't had a single child die that has been in school or daycare. And those are the same kind of risk factors every day that schools have been living with for years.

You know, a teacher could argue that yes, it's not safe for who I am and where I'm at. But over the years they've had much higher risk of being in school from influenza and this year we have very little of it.

So it's all about risk. And I understand they don't want any risk right now. It's scary. But the bottom line is we know that we can open schools, particularly for younger kids, with all the measures combined and actually do it quite safely.

BERMAN: I want to talk about vaccinating the general population. Dr. Anthony Fauci said overnight we're not doing it quickly enough to stay ahead of the variants, which I know are of great concern to you, Professor Osterholm.

Israel has vaccinated, I guess, roughly a third of its population but recent studies are finding that it's slowing way down. They're having a hard time keeping the pace up. Fewer people, I guess, lining up to get vaccinated there.

So what is your concern or how much of a problem is this in the United States and around the world?

OSTERHOLM: Well, first of all, let me just say that we are not in a race with the variants right now with the vaccine, and anybody that says that doesn't understand the situation.

And what I mean by that is even if we are able to achieve what the president set out in his inaugural day issues around vaccination of 100 million doses in the first 100 days -- now it's 150 million in 100 days -- if we do 100 million doses by the end of March, in 65 days, that means only about 12 percent of the U.S. population will be protected relative to the vaccination.

These variants are going to blow right by us. I think right now, the B.1.1.7 or the U.K. variant surely could cause a major surge in cases over the next 12 to 14 months.

So we want to get as many people vaccinated as possible. Yes, that's important. But the bottom line is it's going to take much more than vaccine to keep this variant at bay and not to have potentially, a major surge in just the weeks ahead.

CAMEROTA: You know, Professor Osterholm, you are the voice, OK, who keeps grabbing us all by the lapels and telling us about this.

[07:45:00]

And there are some other voices that say, you know, there's good news on the horizon. Things are looking up. The numbers of cases down, hospitalizations are down. We have the vaccines -- they're coming. And maybe the media is still being too negative Nelly about all this.

But then I just hear your voice bouncing around in my head. And so, I can't tell if things are looking up or if things are about to get really frightening.

OSTERHOLM: Well, look at it this way, Alisyn. We're on the beach right now -- somewhere on a beautiful sandy beach on the Gulf. It's 80 degrees, bright blue skies. The sun -- the temperature is, you know, just make you feel wonderful.

And I'm telling you now is the time to begin to evacuate. And you look at me like I'm crazy when, in fact, we know that there is a category five hurricane just 400 miles south heading straight to the beach.

That's the challenge we have right now is. I think that amongst my colleagues, they would agree that the -- this variant from the United Kingdom, which is now beginning to circulate much more widely in the United States, poses a huge challenge to us and that in just a few weeks we could be seeing case numbers increase very dramatically.

You know, as I've said before, we are really good at pumping the brakes after we wrap the car around the tree. What we need to do is anticipate this is coming.

And I understand this is hard for the public. They're saying give me a break, I'm tired of this. But the bottom line is we have to be prepared for what I feel certain is coming, and that's the challenge we have right now.

BERMAN: Well, given that, what about restaurants reopening in New Jersey. You know, lifting some of those restrictions in New Jersey and New York. What do you think of that timing?

OSTERHOLM: Well, you know, the bottom line, the public demands it. And I wouldn't want to be a governor today here in the worst shock absorber position that I could ever imagine because the economy is suffering. Congress is still debating the coronavirus relief measure.

We have a situation right now where case numbers are coming down. My goal right now is to make sure that as soon as we have any hint that those numbers are going up in a way that we believe are going to result in this big surge, then we've got to ramp down quickly again. And I don't think we're going to get that done until that happens where the numbers start to go up again.

But again, we often are just a day late and a penny short and that's unfortunate.

CAMEROTA: Can we talk about grandparents? They want to know what they're supposed to be doing. If a grandparent -- I think John's parent just got the vaccine. My --

BERMAN: At Fenway Park. Go, Red Sox.

CAMEROTA: Fantastic. Of course, everything has a sports -- everything has a Fenway connection.

My mom is scheduled to get it on Monday.

After grandparents get the first dose of the vaccine, can they change their behavior at all? Do they have enough protection to, you know, start seeing their grandkids again?

OSTERHOLM: Well, the first thing to do is have a lot of mental health relief. Sleep better at night. Feel better about yourself. Wake up in the morning with a smile, not a sense of oh my God, what's going to happen today. That's the first thing.

The second thing is that as we get two shots into people so that we are really certain about the protection, then I think at that point we do have to have a discussion. Does that mean we have to stay away?

I can tell you that I know that that's the current recommendation but I, for one, am not going to. I want to see my grandkids. Now, will I be holding them hard and tight and wrestling with them? I don't know. But I'm going to see them.

And I think we have to prepare this country right now for as we get more and more people vaccinated that we have to understand how are we going to start to return to some sense of the new normal or the future normal? And so this is a huge question that we're all wrestling with. I'm sitting here right now answering this as a grandfather as much as I am a public health scientist.

BERMAN: It's helpful. I mean, it's really helpful to hear, Professor Osterholm, because we know how careful you are and we know how you look at things. So thank you for coming on and helping us all understand --

OSTERHOLM: Thank you.

BERMAN: -- where things are headed. Appreciate it.

OSTERHOLM: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: We want to take some time now to remember some of the nearly 451,000 Americans lost to coronavirus.

Dr. Kent Rogers led the health department in Navarro County, Texas. The local Office of Emergency Management says he chose comfort care after declining to be on a ventilator long-term. The office says he wanted to leave one simple message. Quote, "Wear a mask, wash your hands, stay six feet apart."

Cynthia Ritz taught school in San Antonio, Texas for 18 years, winning Teacher of the Year at Wrenn Middle School. Her husband says she loved her job and would light up talking about it. She also leaves behind two sons.

Nine retired Dominican nuns died in just two weeks in January after the virus swept through their religious community in Adrian, Michigan. The sisters ranged in age from 79 to 97 and all had served as teachers or nurses during a lifetime of religious service.

There have been other outbreaks at convents, including one in Wisconsin and another one outside of Detroit.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:53:53]

BERMAN: Developing this morning, prosecutors in Wisconsin seeking an arrest warrant for Kyle Rittenhouse, the teen charged with killing two men at a protest in Kenosha.

CNN's Omar Jimenez live in Chicago with the latest on this. What's going on here, Omar?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, for starters, prosecutors say Kenosha police detectives went to the address that was supposed to be for Kyle Rittenhouse and someone else was living there.

So now, Kenosha County prosecutors are asking for an arrest warrant for Kyle Rittenhouse and an increase in bond of $200,000, saying the failure to update the address with the court left the court unable to monitor his whereabouts.

Remember, Rittenhouse was arraigned on two felony charges of homicide for the deaths of two people and an attempted homicide in the wounding of another in the aftermath of protests in Kenosha.

Now, just because prosecutors weren't able to find him does not necessarily mean he was in the wind. Attorneys for Rittenhouse say that he had to be moved to a safe house after he posted bond back in November, citing numerous threats.

[07:55:00]

Now, the issue is there seems to be a miscommunication there in the sense that the Rittenhouse team says they tried to update the prosecutorial team about this change in address but says they wanted to do so under seal. And at least in the e-mail exchange that was filed at the court yesterday, it does seem that request was denied.

And then separately, an attorney who is no longer with the Rittenhouse team filed a signed affidavit saying he personally went to check Rittenhouse out and post that cash bail for him. However, he says that at the time, a police captain who was helping him with that release form advised him not to put the address of that new safe house on the form.

I should mention that Rittenhouse has pled not guilty to all of these charges and jury selection in his trial is set to begin on March 29th.

BERMAN: Omar Jimenez, I know you will keep us posted on developments. Thanks so much for your reporting. The FBI has now identified the two agents gunned down in a shootout with a child pornography suspect in South Florida. Special agents Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger were killed while carrying out a search warrant at a home in Sunrise, Florida on Tuesday. A law enforcement source tells CNN the suspect was likely monitoring a camera before he opened fire, shooting them through the front door.

Three other agents were wounded in the shooting and are recovering.

CAMEROTA: President Trump spent his final days spouting debunked claims of voter fraud that were dismissed by courts over and over. So why now are more than half of state legislatures introducing bills to increase voting restrictions?

John Avlon has our reality check.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (on camera): We've all seen our democracy come under attack. And while ex-President Trump faces an impeachment trial for inciting an insurrection, the fight over basic voting rights is far from over because more than 100 bills have been put forward in state legislatures to try to claw back voting rights.

In Georgia, Republicans are reversing past support for no-excuse absentee voting, trying to stop automatic voter registration while banning ballot drop-off boxes. In Pennsylvania, Republicans are trying to roll back mail-in voting expansions they passed just two years ago. In New Hampshire, they're trying to require voter I.D. for absentee ballots while banning the use of student I.D.s. I wonder who that's supposed to help.

Now, these are just a few examples laid out in a new report by the Brennan Center.

Now, some Republicans say this is about restoring integrity and trust in the voting process. That's what one Pennsylvania state rep told CNN. "The confusion that took place afterwards, and just the lack of faith in how things were run is really affecting people's belief and desire to want to vote again."

OK, but hold on. The confusion and lack of faith was not created by actual voting irregularities. It was created by ex-President Trump and his minions who constantly lied about non-existent mass voter fraud as a pretext to try to overturn the election.

This is what's known as conspiracy bootstrapping. A lie is told over and over. And then when people are confused about the truth, the rumors are used as evidence to demand new legislation to address the phantom menace.

So why the sudden sprint to make it harder to vote? Well, listen to what the GOP leader from Gwinnett County, Georgia said. "I will not let them end this session without changing some of these laws. They've got to change the major parts of them so that we at least have a shot at winning." Got that? This is about helping Republicans win.

But breaking the rules to keep your party in power is not what democracy is about. Free and fair elections should not be a partisan issue. But let's not be naive. The right to vote has long been a fight to vote, especially for African-Americans in the south.

But now, we should all realize that we can't take our democracy for granted. That's why so much rides on a bill called the "For the People Act." Key provisions include automatic voter registration, expansion of early voting, election security measures including back-up paper ballots, as well as a commitment to a restoration of the Voting Rights Act.

There's still plenty to debate in the details. Republicans will likely resist campaign finance reform and any push toward D.C.'s statehood.

But encouraging all eligible voters to participate in elections is a good thing for our country because representative elections get representative results. American democracy should be a shining example to the world. At the moment, it's not, but we have the obligation to make it better.

So let's learn the right lessons for our recent history. Have a fact- based debate and then build a democracy movement together.

And that's your reality check.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): I denounce all those comments. She came inside our conference and denounced them as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Marjorie Taylor Greene -- she is, effectively, the minority leader. She has broken Kevin McCarthy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She is, effectively, getting a pass. She did get a round of applause. Some people did stand up when Marjorie Taylor Greene spoke. And Liz Cheney, she's getting pounded.

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): We really did have a terrific vote tonight. We're not going to be divided.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Democrats are barreling ahead with Biden's big proposal.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not going to start my administration by breaking promises to the American people.

WALENSKY: Some of the variants may actually lead to increased mortality. And the jury is still out how these vaccines are going to work against these variants.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.