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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Dems Open Impeachment Cas with Devastating 13-Minute Video; Sources: Trump Furious at Impeachment Attorney's Performance; Biden Focuses on COVID, Letting Senate Handle Impeachment; Biden Administration Emphasizing Equitable Vaccine Distribution; How the World is Watching Trump Impeachment Trial. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired February 10, 2021 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is EARLY START. I'm Laura Jarrett.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Laura. I'm Christine Romans. It's Wednesday, February 10th, it is 4:00 a.m. in New York. An extra early edition of EARLY START for you.

A national trauma being relieved by its victims at the scene of the crime. This second impeachment trial of Donald Trump is about the former president inciting a mob. It's also a test of whether this is still Trump's Republican party, or if the GOP is ready to move on. Democrats opened their impeachment case before the Senate with a jarring and graphic video, drawing a direct line between Donald Trump's effort to inflame the crowd at his rally, and the deadly insurrection that followed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(Trump's mob breaches two barriers and can now reach the doors of the Capitol)

CROWD: Let's go get them!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kick back the door!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go through the police!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go. Let's go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: Much of this truly terrifying video we have not seen before, that along with an underwhelming presentation by Trump's lawyers leaving six Republicans to join all Democrats in rejecting the argument that trying a former president is unconstitutional. With that out of the way, opening arguments start today.

Let's get to CNN's Jessica Dean who will starts us off today from Capitol Hill. Jessica, nice to see you. We're told there's going to be even more previously unseen evidence that's going to be a part of the House managers' case. What more are you learning?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well good morning to you, Laura. Great to be with you guys. Today, we're going to get to the meat of it when it comes to the House impeachment managers really getting to it and making their case in front of these 100 Senators who are also, of course, acting as jurors and are in additionally unique position of also being witnesses to the deadly insurrection here of January 6th.

We are expecting the House impeachment managers to lay out more of this devastating evidence like we saw in that some 13-minute video from yesterday. If you watched from beginning to end, it directly ties former president Donald Trump. It starts with his rally and then moves (INAUDIBLE). And so we do expect to see more of that, of course, the big question remains will they have witnesses. That's something that they will be allowed to debate and vote on if they get on down the line.

But for today and tomorrow, they're going to focus in on making their case to these Senators. And we're going to hear more about the devastating human toll that was taken here. Of course, we know about officer Brian Sicknick who lost his life. As well as two other officers who later took their lives. But we heard the head impeachment manager, the head impeachment manager Jamie Raskin talking about officers with head and brain injuries. One officer that lost three fingers. Really devastating physical and emotional damage here at the Capitol.

[04:05:00]

He went on to there has to be consequences for this. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD) LEAD IMPEACHMENT MANAGER: Senators, this cannot be our future. This cannot be the future of America. We cannot have presidents inciting and mobilizing mob violence against our government and our institutions because they refuse to accept the will of the people on to the Constitution of the United States. Much less, can we create a new January exception in our precious beloved Constitution that prior generations have died for and fought for. So the corrupt presidents have several weeks to get away with whatever it is they want to do. History does not support a January exception in any way, so why would we invent one for the future?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN (on camera): Emotion-filled words there Jamie Raskin. So, in terms of logistics for today, Laura, things will get under way at noon here at the Capitol. They will have those eight hours, if they take some breaks, if you do the rough math there, that gets you done at about 10:00 p.m. Again, in total, they have 16 hours for the impeachment managers. That's eight hours over two days. And then, of course, former President Trump's defense will also have 16 hours to present their -- their case as well -- Laura.

JARRETT: Yes, still a big question about whether House Democrats are going to want to call witnesses which, of course, would prolong this a little bit. But if they don't, this would be wrapped up early next week. All right, Jessica thanks so much.

ROMANS: So there was one point of consensus at the end of day one. The attorney who led off former President Trump's defense was not good at all. Not even Republican Senators thought so, not even Trump thought so. CNN's Boris Sanchez is in West Palm Beach near Mar-a-Lago, where Trump was watching, and we're told was furious. Boris, this is a former president who to be fair, had trouble fielding a defense team. This team has only been in place for a matter of days, right?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's absolutely right, Christine. And allies of the president didn't really have high expectations of this legal team because they'd only been in place for a little bit over a week. That having been said, sources indicate that President Trump was furious with their performance. At one point nearly yelling at his television while Bruce Castor was making his case.

There were reasons for that, one of being, that Castor sort of meandered through his presentation. Didn't drive home a lot of the points that President Trump wanted made specifically on the issue of the election fraud. And the repeated false claims coming from the president about the 2020 election being stolen from him. We didn't see that yesterday. It's part of the reason that he parted ways with his previous legal team. They didn't want to make that case either.

Further, we didn't really see any explosive made for TV moments. Trump's legal team not presenting any visual aids. Sort of rambling. This is a former president who's obsessed with optics. And he didn't really get the emotional moments that he wanted. In fact, Castor at one point seemed to cheer on Democrats saying that their presentation led the Trump legal team to change their strategy, so he was commending them for doing a good job.

The president not the only one disappointed in the Trump legal team performance -- former president, I should say. Fellow Republicans also expressing disappointment, including Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana who actually changed his vote on the constitutionality of impeaching a former president. Listen to his rationale for changing his vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): President Trump's team were disorganized. They did everything they could but to talk about the question at hand. And when they talked about it, they kind of glided over it, almost as if they were embarrassed of their arguments. Now, I'm an impartial juror. And one side is doing a great job. And the other side is doing a terrible job on the issue at hand. As an impartial juror, I'm going to go for the side that does the good job.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ (on camera): And, quickly, Christine, just to point out, there

are allies of the president who are very concerned that he may have exposed himself to serious legal jeopardy, especially considering that there are very few reputable attorneys that are willing to work with him. Even those who have worked with him in the past, whether it Jay Sekulow or Pat Cipollone and even Alan Dershowitz aren't willing to stick their necks out for him now -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right, Boris, keep us posted from Miramar, West Palm Beach. Thanks Boris.

[04:10:00]

Well on place you won't find much talk of impeachment, the White House. Senior White House correspondent Phil Mattingly explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Christine and Laura, all eyes were obviously on the Senate floor as President Trump, former President Trump's second impeachment trial really got under way in earnest. But the reality for the White House is they don't want any part of it. And it's not to say that they're not aware of it, it's not to say that people aren't watching it. But at least the president, the president is not watching it and here's why.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have a job, my job is to keep people, we've already lost over 450,000 people. We're going to lose a whole lot more if we don't act, and act decisively and quickly. A lot of people are going to -- a lot of children are going to bed hungry. A lot of people are food insecure. They're in trouble. That's my job. The Senate has their job. They're about to begin it. I'm sure they're going to conduct themselves well. And that's all I'm going have to say about impeachment.

MATTINGLY: Now this about a concerted effort from the president to try to do two things. One, stay above the trial. They recognize the realities here that there are very unlikely to be 17 Republican Senators to convict. And therefore they don't want to necessary little be all in on something that they know will technically kind of fall apart.

Now the president has made clear that he supports the idea of his former Senate colleagues moving forward on this trial, that he believes it's necessary. However, there's also a recognize inside the White House that it's somewhat of a distraction, a distraction from their key elements, their key focus right now. And that is the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. And you see from the White House events, the president meeting with business leaders on Tuesday. The president planning to be engaged with mayors and governors throughout the course of this week. That that is where they want to keep their eye on the things. And the reason why is quite simple.

White House officials believe they have momentum on that proposal. They believe they can keep Democrats together on that proposal. And they recognize that right now on Capitol Hill, even as the Senate trial is going on, House members, Senate members are drafting the details of that proposal. And that can be a fraught thing to occur. We need to keep everybody together. You've got no margin for error. So they will keep the focus on that $1.9 trillion package throughout the course of this week. They will not be engaging on commentary or questions, really, about the impeachment trial. At least not for now. At least up to this point, they've been pretty successful in doing just that. Guys.

ROMANS: All right Phil thanks for that. Yes exactly, potentially legacy-building legislation there that's what they're focusing on.

They treat some of the most underserved Americans. Now community health centers will start getting COVID vaccine are part of the Biden administration's push for equity when it comes to who gets shots.

[04:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JARRETT: Starting next week the Biden administration plans to send COVID vaccines directly to community health centers. The idea, well it's to target hard-to-reach populations. More than 213,000 community health centers in the U.S. serve more than 30 million people. States turning to more local pharmacies and local businesses have done a better job boosting their vaccination rates. The White House is emphasizing the crucial need for equitable distribution of all of the vaccines, as well as medical care.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY ZIENTS, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 COORDINATOR: Utilizing the community health centers is part of a multiprong strategy to reach all Americans. So efficiency and equity are both central to what we're doing. And I don't see any tradeoff between the two. I think they go hand in glove.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The number of shots in arms has been slowly climbing when you look at how many doses were used of all those sent out. In the first month it was below 50 percent. Now it's close to 70 percent. But as doses go up, pressure also builds to keep up with the supply. The government is trying to boost output by more than 25 percent. Nick Watt has more for us this morning from Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Laura and Christine, the good news, around 1 in 10 Americans have now at least had one dose of vaccines. Here in California, the governor just opened a massive vaccination site up in Santa Clara capable, they say, of administering 15,000 doses a day. He said the goal is to design a system that has only one limitation, and that is supply.

Well, supply is an issue. The feds are doing what they can, they say. They have upped their weekly distribution allocation to 11 million that will be sent out to states and territories here in Los Angeles County, for the rest of this week. You cannot make an appointment to get a first dose vaccine because they do not have the supply. And so, for now, in Los Angeles County, you can only make an appointment for a second dose. Laura and Christine, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: All right, Nick, thank you so much for that.

Another issue that can slow down vaccinations is mix-ups in the messaging. Thousands of vaccine appointments at Dodger Stadium went unused on Tuesday. On Monday, Los Angeles County said because of supply shortages, county-run sites would only be providing second doses. But Dodger Stadium is a city-run site, meaning it was able to provide shots to anyone that's eligible.

ROMANS: All right, 19 minutes past the hour. A housing crisis on the horizon. Mortgage relief programs have helped millions of struggling families keep their homes during the pandemic. Help expires soon. A challenge for borrowers who are still out of work. The C.A.R.E.S. Act of last March allows homeowners to postpone payments for up to a year.

Data from Black Knight shows 24 percent of those active mortgage relief plans end in March. That's more than 600,000 homeowners. Another 300,000 borrowers lose protection by the end of April.

[04:20:00]

Many borrowers cannot make these payments because they're either out of work or they're making less money than they were before the pandemic. Black Knight notes close to 1 in 10 homeowners signed up for mortgage relief programs. These numbers crystallized just how much the pandemic and historic job losses have disrupted Americans personal finance -- Laura.

JARRETT: Well the impeachment trial audience -- has a big audience I should say. So how is it playing outside the United States and why? Clarissa Ward joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:25:00]

ROMANS: Day two of the historic impeachment trial of the former president begins in just a few hours. Daytime viewing in the U.S. means prime time viewing around the world, of course. CNN's chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward is there for us live in London. Good morning, Clarissa. You know, how much -- you know much like here in the U.S. there's a split dynamic overseas. People are paying some attention but they're also trying to move beyond Trump. What's the view from where you are?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think you've really sort of put it in a nutshell there, Christine. This is a very different situation from the last impeachment where the world was absolutely fixated because President Trump was still the president of the United States. And because a foreign power, in that case, Ukraine, was involved.

This is different. This is being seen as a largely symbolic exercise and it's been seen as very much U.S.-centric. And it's also very different from what we saw after the rioting in the state Capitol -- in the Capitol in Washington. Then we saw world leaders coming out, conveying their shock, their horror, their anguish, really concern for what was happening in the U.S. and what that could portend for the international community, in terms of seeing that instability kind of ripple outwards.

This is different. We're not seeing world leaders come out and make statements about this. We're seeing a return to a more traditional diplomatic posture, where world leaders do not comment on the record on events that are happening politically in other countries.

The other thing I would note, Christine, if you're looking at the sort of broader public opinion, just talking to people on the street, particularly here in Europe, traditionally a strong, strong ally of the U.S., people are just relieved that the Trump presidency era is over. They're relieved that the U.S. has rejoined the Paris climate agreement. They're relieved that the U.S. has rejoined the World Health Organization. And they very much hope that America will continue to be dynamically engaged with the rest of the world, and not sort of the overly distracted or consumed by these roiling internal political divisions -- Christine.

ROMANS: Just fascinating. All right, Clarissa from London. Thank yous so much Clarissa -- Laura.

ROMANS: A powerful indictment met with a meandering defense. How Democrats are tying the president's words directly to a deadly mob.

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