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GOP Delay Tactics Stall Coronavirus Relief Bill; Connecticut to Fully Reopen Some Businesses with Mask Mandate; Source Says, Investigators Looking at Signs Members of Congress Communicated with Capitol Rioters. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired March 05, 2021 - 07:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEW DAY: To see whether lawmakers wittingly or unwittingly helped the insurrectionists.

[07:00:05]

At this point, investigators have found no evidence that members of Congress knowingly aided, or we don't know if they have found any evidence that members of congress knowingly aided or were involved in the insurrection.

We're going to begin with CNN Political Analyst David Gregory. David, you're a man who loves theater, and I love that about you. Look, there are 1.9 trillion reasons to debate the economic relief package, have a real discussion, back and forth, make your argument. But what did Ron Johnson accomplish by demanding this 11-hour dramatic reading of a 628-page bill, other than the theater that you normally so love?

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. It is a show. And that's all it is. It's a show. And it's partly Democrats being captive to having such a slim majority, right? But the real point is that Ron Johnson and others who think like him are playing to a smaller audience, that they hope will become a bigger audience of conservatives who say, look, this is not just COVID relief, but this is liberal overreach, and that there's too much in this bill that goes beyond what is needed for COVID. And they want to begin to make an argument that they'll make more next year about why Congress has to return to Republican hands.

It's obviously difficult to make that argument in the face of needed relief for so many people and especially when you're giving away money, which is going end to up being pretty popular to most people.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN NEW DAY: Why didn't Senator Johnson reject when President Donald Trump ran up the debt by $7 trillion? I mean, again, this newfound-like commitment to fiscal responsibility is just -- it's a joke now. It's a joke after the last four years.

You can argue that this isn't targeted enough. I mean, there are legitimate arguments, obviously, on both sides, but now you care about things like this?

Here is what's in the bill that we know of right now. Americans will be getting those $1,400 direct payments. But you have to now be making $80,000 or less. So that's less than originally was planned in this bill, okay? So the Democrats have come down on that. They will be giving that $400 a week boost unemployment assistance, small business assistance, which obviously Republicans talk a lot about, will be in there. There's funding for schools and state and local governments, obviously Republicans talk a lot about wanting schools to be completely equipped to open and have kids back in there, and then funding for vaccine distribution, which we all need.

And so, David, when Republicans say, we didn't get what we want in this bill, so it's not bipartisan, but what's the difference? I mean, what's the line between having to settle for not getting everything you want and obstructionism?

GREGORY: Well, I think there's a couple of different arguments. One, the fiscal responsibility argument doesn't carry a lot of weight and I don't even think that Johnson is making that as much as he is trying to -- look, we've had bipartisan COVID relief bills, right? And Republicans will say, oh, well, this is Republican unity in the face of something we don't actually need. There's still leftover money from previous bills, states and localities are doing a little bit better.

But this is all an argument that is being made to a conservative base to say, look, things are getting better on the virus. This is just liberals in charge, doing too much beyond some of those things that you outlined there.

But there's a couple of points that are really important. Vaccine distribution, which is obviously required and stepped up by this administration to get to the vaccine distribution where it is, which is better than expected. That's vital. Getting kids back to school has been a goal, but Donald Trump just said, get back to school. Now, there's more effort to put money behind doing that, including vaccinating teachers, which has become a political reality that the administration has to do to get schools to reopen.

So these funds are necessary and Democrats have had to scale back. The minimum wage increase is not in here and lowering requirements for who gets this direct money.

BERMAN: It is worth noting as of now in the latest polling, this measure has approval with 62 percent of the American people. That's pretty high. Seung Min Kim last hour noted, one of the things the Republicans are trying to do in the next few days is drive that number down. If they're going to try to obstruct it, they need it to be less popular than it is right now. We'll see if it's successful.

Something else that's interesting that's happening is that Democrats are trying -- I guess, still, the White House is still trying to convince Lisa Murkowski to get onboard. And, apparently, her vote is still up for grabs here.

But, David, it does strike me that after the votes they've had on a number of things up to this point, including the George Floyd Policing Act, the voting rights HR-1 in the House, the Democrats have real reason to think now, and the White House does, that there are not available Republican votes at all for some of the priorities they want. And Joe Biden promised unity, but it may be that there is not any compromise available on almost anything they're after.

[07:05:04]

GREGORY: I think that's right. I mean, this seems very similar to the first hundred days of President Obama, and that stimulus relief, where you just had a united Republican front, because they made a decision to say, we're just not going to work with Democrats, period. And that that is the strategy. You know, next year's election is basically this year's election. In terms of retaking Congress and laying the ground work for the future of the Republican Party, whatever that's going to be, whatever 2024 is going to look like. And this becomes an early line to draw.

And, you know, there's a lot of political capital that the president uses on a measure that's this big, but he's banking on what you just talked about, John, which is being popular with the American people, the fact that as the virus recedes and we can get back to work, back to school and back to normal in this country, that there will be a huge political lift and he wants to be the one in charge when that's happening, even if he's responsible for spending a lot of money to get us there.

CAMEROTA: Some, Republicans, as you know, David, in I think something like 40-plus state houses around the country, are now focused on what they call election security, what Democrats call voting rights restrictions. And, I mean, sometimes, Republicans have even admitted they're looking to sort of game how they can win again. And they have to put some of these provisions in, they believe.

So, Michelle Obama has come out to try to sound the alarm about this. Last night on Twitter, she put out a statement. Our democracy remains under attack by the partisan and unpatriotic actions of those at the state level who are doing everything they can to curtail access to the ballot box. Make no mistake, the idea that we cannot still hold secure elections and ensure that every eligible voter can make their voices heard is false choice. It's based on lies and it flies in the face of our history. It is sad, it is infuriating and a genuine threat to our future that must be taken seriously.

I mean, as we know, from the people in charge, Republicans, even, this was the safest, most secure election in our history that we know of, or our recent history. And so the idea that all of these measures are being fought for, how are we to interpret that?

GREGORY: Well, I think it's such an important point. And just to underline what you said, this was such a safe and secure election. It was a miracle we did it in a pandemic. And there was no evidence of irregularities or fraud and certainly we know lots of people were looking and litigating and bringing it to the courts.

So now, the focus should be on what legislatures are doing, because what you saw in this recent case that was argued before the Supreme Court, the Arizona Republican Party saying, look, this is a competition question. We are at a competitive disadvantage. The more people who vote, the worse it is for the Republican Party. That's what the mindset is behind these restrictions.

I've been watching this for a long time. I've talked to Republican officials from the Trump White House who say, look, this has been the holy grail of Republicans forever, the idea that there's widespread voter fraud. In every cycle we've talked about it, there's not been evidence of it. And there are legitimate questions about things like provisional ballots and how you approach them in times of unpredictability like a pandemic. We can have that debate.

But I think what's important about bringing this up right now, we have a responsibility to in the media to cover this incrementally so that people really understand what's happening at the state level, what may be a fair thing to look at in terms of ensuring security of an election and what is just political gamesmanship being played to try to suppress the vote.

BERMAN: David Gregory, thank you very much for being with us this morning.

The state of Connecticut planning to roll back restrictions and restaurants and gyms, we're going to speak to Connecticut's governor about his concerns about what this might do to the level of virus in his state, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

CAMEROTA: This morning, as the coronavirus vaccine continues to roll out, more states are laying out their plans to roll back restrictions, and that includes Connecticut, where the governor plans to reopen restaurants and gyms and more to full capacity on March 19th. But masks will still be required.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. NED LAMONT (D-CT): This is not Texas. This is not Mississippi. This is Connecticut. We are maintaining the masks. I think I told you at the start, I think over the course of the year, we know what works and masks work, and that we have much lower infection rates than those maskless states, much lower.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Joining us now is Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont. Governor, great to see you.

This came as, you know, exciting news, but also worrisome news, I think, to people in Connecticut, because if restaurants -- here's the list of what's going to be back at full capacity. Restaurants, retail restores, libraries, personal services like salons, indoor recreation.

Can you just share with us the science behind opening these back to full capacity, because we have heard for a long time that restaurants can be super-spreaders even indoors? LAMONT: Good morning, Alisyn. We have been carefully opening since May. All of our schools are now open, most of them for a full-time, five-day-a-week activity. Our restaurants and retail have been open at 50 percent. And given the fact that we have so many of our people well over 20 percent have been vaccinated, the vast majority of whom are over 55, where you're most likely to suffer complications or hospitalization is down.

[07:15:02]

So we thought this is something we know we can do safely, we know it works and maintaining the masks and the social distancing reinforces that we're still -- know that we have a way to go.

CAMEROTA: But, I mean, there won't be social distancing in restaurants. And the reason I'm so fixated on this is because everybody wants to go out to a restaurant. That's something that certainly have been craving.

But there have been studies. I look back to the November 2020 study from Stanford that said that full service restaurants are super- spreaders. There's a CDC report in September. They found a link between testing positive for coronavirus and having recently gone to a restaurant.

So how can you be confident that the numbers won't spike?

LAMONT: Well, we're maintaining six feet of social distancing. For our restaurants, nothing is going to fundamentally change in terms of that. And like I said before, the difference between then and now is we're going to have a vast majority of our people over the age of 55 vaccinated. And that's the group that suffers the most complications.

CAMEROTA: I was also just wondering, the recommendations now, correct me if I'm wrong, will be for up to 25 people indoors. That can be the limit now, up to 25 people at a gathering, indoors. And how did you -- I mean, why not 15 people, why not 30 people? What's the magic number about 25?

LAMONT: Well, there's no magic number, Alisyn. More recently, up until March 19th, it's ten people indoors. That's no magic number either. What you've got to know is that if it's 25 people, you know very well, if it's 25 people who have been vaccinated, you probably can do that in a more relaxed way. If it's 25 people you don't know and haven't been vaccinated, you probably should still wear the mask.

I can't mandate common sense so people are going to use their judgment. But we thought 25 was a reasonable number and if something happened, we can track and trace.

CAMEROTA: Governor, how about the highly transmissible U.K. variant that we keep hearing about? I think, correct me if I'm wrong, that there are 42 cases of that variant in Connecticut. Do you think that is the big wild card here?

LAMONT: Yes, that's the wild card in the deck. No question about it. But we have a little experience with it. We've seen the variant now down in Miami and San Diego for six, seven weeks. And I really worried that it was going to double up every few days and that has not happened. So we have a sense that if the variant does become more prevalent here in this region, it's not yet, that we'll be able to respond accordingly. And we'll have time to respond.

CAMEROTA: You did something interesting that other states weren't doing, and that is that you made eligibility for the vaccine by age. So not pre-existing conditions, no co-morbidities, not the career -- you know, your working environment. And why did you decide to do that?

LAMONT: Ewe decided to do that, because, A, age is closely correlated to public health, co-morbidities, complications, you know, the overwhelming majority of the people who have suffered, you know, fatalities, 98 percent, 99 percent are over the age of 55. If it got really complicated, some people could cut the line. I thought in the interest of fairness, simplicity was important. But, remember, we're taking the vaccine right to the most underserved communities, very deliberately allocating 25 percent of the vaccines to make sure that no population is left behind.

CAMEROTA: Governor, I want to ask you about Governor Cuomo and what he is going through right now. I know you've worked very closely with him during this pandemic. And so now that he is embroiled in these two potential controversies, the nursing home death count as well as these sexual harassment allegations, do you think that he can still lead effectively, or is it time for him to step aside?

LAMONT: Well, I got to know Governor Cuomo and I got to know all of our regional governors very early on in this pandemic, because, obviously, COVID doesn't know any state borders. So we collaborated closely and that Governor Cuomo was a good partner as we worked our way through, especially last spring, when the New York region was really on fire.

And, you know, now going forward, we still need a strong partner in New York. I think Governor Cuomo is working hard on COVID. And the other stuff, let's let the investigations take their course.

CAMEROTA: I mean, Charlotte Bennett, one of the accusers, came out last night. She spoke on CBS, and people have described it as compelling, you know, her story is compelling. She seems emotional. Did you have a chance to hear what she has said about that experience with Governor Cuomo?

LAMONT: No, I didn't hear that, Alisyn. But, look, she deserves to be heard. There ought to be a strong independent investigation. And I think that's what's going to happen in New York.

[07:20:01]

CAMEROTA: Governor Ned Lamont, thank you. We appreciate you being on and talking about all of this.

LAMONT: Thanks, Alisyn. CAMEROTA: We have new CNN reporting on the Capitol insurrection, investigators examining possible communications between lawmakers and the insurrectionists. How will they determine if there was a link, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Federal investigators have examining communications between members of Congress and the pro-Trump mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol. They're trying to figure out if any lawmakers knowingly or unknowingly helped the insurrectionists.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is live in Washington with more. What have you learned, Shimon?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly the question that law enforcement right now is trying to figure out. Was this completely innocent contact between the lawmakers and some of the rioters or is there something more here?

What the FBI and the prosecutors have found is that going through some of the phones of some of the people they have arrested, they have found that there was contact. There was some kind of form, some form of communication between some of the rioters and members of Congress.

[07:25:01]

They have also received other data where they see there was contact.

They don't necessarily know what the contact was, what was exchanged. However, in some of the phones that they have recovered from the rioters, they found that they were also discussing between each other, rioters -- to rioters, discussing their association with Congress members.

So that is something still certainly authorities are trying to figure out, what does this all mean. One law enforcement official speaking to my colleague, Evan Perez, who's been reporting on this, said that there's certainly smoke here. And now investigators are going to work to try and figure out exactly what all of this means.

Again, important to stress, it doesn't necessarily mean that any of the Congress members did anything wrong, but, certainly, this has authorities asking questions. John?

BERMAN: All right. Thank you very much, Shimon.

Joining us now, Democratic Congressman John Garamendi of California. Congressman, thanks so much for being with us.

What's your reaction to this news that investigators are looking into these contacts between some Republican Congress members and the people who invaded the Capitol?

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D-CA): I'm not at all surprised. All you need to do is take a look at the tape of the rally before. I think three members of Congress were down there encouraging the mob to be violent. In one case, one of our colleagues wanted to make sure that asses were kicked. So, yes, I'm not at all surprised.

BERMAN: How surprised would you be if it does turn up that there was a level of coordination between either the members themselves or the staffs and the people who took over the Capitol?

GARAMENDI: They ought to be thrown out of Congress. And if it's a prosecution is warranted, they ought to be prosecuted. This was a violent attack on people. I've seen a lot of things in my life, but I've never seen such a violent mob attacking police. And if any member of Congress was involved in any way, to encourage or enable that, A, they ought to be thrown out of Congress, and if appropriate, they ought to be charged with a crime.

BERMAN: Do you think they'll be able to prove it at this point?

GARAMENDI: I have no idea. But I do know they were down at the rally, encouraging the mob to engage.

BERMAN: Zoe Lofgren, congresswoman also from California, she posted some research that she gathered, a social media post from Republican members of Congress, just to make the point, the type of things they were saying up around the insurrection.

Paul Gosar, she put up tweets from him and he was saying things like sedition and treason for stealing votes is appropriate, stop the steal, 2021. You know, Biden should concede. I want his concession on my desk tomorrow. What do these tweets tell you?

GARAMENDI: Well, that's just one example. Certainly, Mr. Gosar was tweeting and saying things and at the rally, I mean, just hours or an hour before the mob was attacking the Capitol, members of Congress were down there encouraging, encouraging all of them to engage with language that was clearly, in my view, intended to rally the mob to go to the Capitol and to engage here and to stop, as they said, stop the steal.

Well, how do you stop the steal? You stop the Congress, the Senate from carrying out its constitutional responsibility of affirming the selection of the president. That's how you stop the process. And that's precisely what they tried to do. They tried to overtake the democratic process and keep Trump in power.

Is that sedition? I think it is.

BERMAN: I want to go from burning bridges to building bridges, quite literally.

GARAMENDI: Good, let's do that.

BERMAN: You were part of a bipartisan group of members who met with the president yesterday on infrastructure. It does feel like infrastructure week might happen, for real, finally. What was discussed? GARAMENDI: Well, it was a terrific opportunity for Democrats and for Republicans to meet with the president. The president clearly wants to do an infrastructure bill. He talked about it through the campaign. His third day in as president, he issued an executive order that said, we must use the taxpayer money to buy American-made products. He's followed up on that with additional executive orders and now beginning the process of engaging in the infrastructure discussion. He wants us to build back better.

He, in that meeting, laid out a vision for America about a modern American infrastructure, whether it's sanitation systems, water systems, bridges, roads, trains, planes. He laid it all out and said, this can be America. We can create jobs. It was a very visionary. And all along, he called for bipartisanship and he wove into it, I think, very adroitly, the climate issue, that you can't build yesterday's infrastructure. You've got to build infrastructure taking into account climate change and reduction of carbon emissions along the way.

He was right on the game. Vice President Harris was there and Buttigieg, and eight members of Congress, four Democrats, four Republicans.

[07:30:05]

It was a very, very important meeting.

BERMAN: So infrastructure has always been seen as this thing that.