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The Situation Room

House Approves Historic $1.9 Trillion COVID Relief Bill, Biden To Sign Into Law On Friday; Interview With Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA); New Study Suggests U.K. COVID-19 Variant More Deadly; Texas Ends Mask Mandate, Lets Businesses Fully Reopen Today Despite Health Officials' Warnings; Queen's Response To Meghan & Harry Interview Fails To End Outrage Over Racism Allegations; FBI Releases Video Of Suspect Placing Pipe Bombs Near U.S. Capitol On Eve Of January 6 Insurrection. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired March 10, 2021 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: We'll talk to parents and teachers and students about the challenges of the pandemic as well as some of the policymakers. That's Friday night at 9pm. Only on CNN.

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @JAKETAPPER. Our coverage on CNN continues right now.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

We're following breaking news. President Biden only moments ago, declaring the passage of the sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus bill a, "historic victory for the American people." The bill will now clear the way for about 90 percent of American Households to receive up to $1,400 per person stimulus checks and it extends jobless benefits. President Biden says he looks forward to signing it, which is expected to do at the White House on Friday.

Also breaking, the President just announced a plan to buy an additional 100 million doses of the single shot Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. That comes in several states are expanding eligibility requirements and allowing more residents to be vaccinated.

Let's get straight to the White House right now. Our Senior White House Correspondent Phil Mattingly is joining us.

Phil, this is a major victory for the new Biden administration.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. And President Biden addresses the nation in primetime tomorrow night, his first primetime address. He says he's going to talk about what's next, launching the next phase in the coronavirus relief process in a central component of that next phase will be the legislative victory he just secured.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE) SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Help is on the way.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Tonight, on day 54 President Joe Biden, the first mission accomplished.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This bill represents historic, historic victory for the American people.

MATTINGLY: The House passing Biden's number one priority, the sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan. And Biden planning to sign it into law on Friday.

REP. NANCY PELOSI, (R-CA) HOUSE SPEAKER: We have passed historic, consequential and transformative legislation

MATTINGLY: The bill broadly popular nationwide with 61 percent supporting the measure according to a CNN SSRS poll, and 66 percent saying the bill will help the economy at least some. Still, every single congressional Republican opposed to the measure.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R-KY) MINORITY LEADER: Already we hear the administration saying they want some of these sweeping new welfare policies to become permanent.

MATTINGLY: And administration officials acknowledge the real work starts now.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He knows directly that the passage and signing of the bill is just the beginning. And he will -- he plans to appoint somebody to run point on implementation.

MATTINGLY: With implementation of key components like distributing stimulus checks, tax credit payments, vaccine distribution and a national testing program crucial to maintaining the bill support. And Biden and his top officials ready to hit the road and a blitz to sell the plan for the next several weeks starting with his first primetime address Thursday night.

PSKAI: The President, the Vice President, the First Lady, the second gentlemen, members of our Cabinet will be communicating directly with the American people, engaging directly with the American people and all sending a clear message, help us on the way

MATTINGLY: The COVID relief bill now forming the backbone of an all of government approach that continues to ramp up with Biden ordering aids to secure another 100 million doses of the Johnson and Johnson one dose vaccine. Yet it's another crisis that's growing more urgent inside the West Wing.

ROBERT JACOBSON, WHITE HOUSE COORDINATOR FOR SOUTHERN BORDER: The border is not open.

MATTINGLY: The record surge at the southern border, unaccompanied migrant children staying at Border Patrol facilities on average 107 hours according to internal documents reviewed by CNN significantly longer than the 72 hours allowed by law. JACOBSON: We can't just undo four years of the previous administration's actions overnight.

MATTINGLY: The administration now restarting the Central American minors program ended by the Trump administration and requesting $4 billion for Northern triangle countries Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

The troubled home nations have a large portion of the migrants making the dangerous journey to the U.S. All, as the administration Sprint's to head off the escalating near term emergency overwhelming U.S. border facilities. Even as yet another official decline to identify the surge as a crisis.

JACOBSON: We have to do what we do, regardless of what anybody calls the situation. And the fact is, we are all focused on improving the situation on changing to a more humane and efficient system.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

MATTINGLY: And, Wolf, we've known President Biden is going to hit the road to sell that COVID relief plan. We now know his first stop, it's going to be Pennsylvania. He will head there next week.

And doesn't mean his work on Capitol Hill is done. His official still keeping a very close eye on the confirmations of his cabinet nominees, getting two more today. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge was confirmed and most importantly, perhaps. Merrick Garland. The Attorney General was confirmed as well at this point in time, Wolf. Sixteen cabinet officials, his cabinet level officials have been confirmed. The Biden team not only getting a legislative victory, and finally filling out his cabinet, Wolf.

[17:05:19]

BLITZER: Very important, indeed.

All right, Phil, thank you very much.

Let's go to Capitol Hill right now. Our Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju is joining us.

Manu, a clear victory for President Biden today. But will he be able to pass his agenda going forward without Republican support?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, things are going to get a lot harder right now for Joe Biden in the aftermath of passage of this bill, because the bills that are moving forward right now will require bipartisan support to get out of the United States Senate and they don't have bipartisan support at the moment.

Bills that are moving through the House to expand voting rights to deal with push back against some of the voting restrictions that are happening at the state level, that does -- they do not have 60 votes in the United States Senate nor devotes to expand labor union organizing rights, something that passed the House last night or to expand background checks on gun sales, something that was expected to pass the House tomorrow.

In the United States Senate you need 60 votes at the moment to pass any legislation. That's there are changes that are made to the rules that are not expected to be enough support among Democrats to change the rules. So, as a result, Democrats will have to cut deals with Republicans going forward. On those issues, deals remain elusive.

One of the next big packages that Democrats hope to advance is a massive infrastructure package. But that is going to take months to work out and already Democrats are talking about potentially using the same process to advance that plant along party lines that led to the passage of the $1.9 trillion relief plan. But still, doing that could jeopardize its chances also in the United States Senate. For one, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin has expressed reservations about going that route.

So Wolf, even though there's still a lot on the agenda and a lot to move forward, it will require consensus on both sides, consensus on issues that have frankly divided the parties badly over the last several years. And that means that where things end up from here is a big question for the new president as he tries to bring the two sides together, but as Democrats are pushing him with an agenda on their own votes.

BLITZER: And let's not forget it's a 50-50 Senate. And the margin that the Democrats have in the House is narrow, 220 to 211, four House vacancies. So, it's a tight, tight margin in the House as well. We'll see what happens.

Manu Raju, up on Capitol Hill, thank you very much.

Let's get some more now in the breaking news. Our Chief National Correspondent John King is with us. Also with us, our Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger.

John, what this $1.9 trillion relief package it's full of provisions, millions of Americans, they're about to feel it within a matter of a few weeks. How significant is this moment?

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: It's a very significant moment, it's a giant political win for Joe Biden at the 50 day mark. He said he wanted 1.9 trillion, he got 1.9 trillion. Even with your own party running Congress, that's a big achievement. To ask at the beginning and get pretty much what you asked for in its entirety end, a huge political win for the President.

And an opportunity, the Democrats now have every right, Wolf, to celebrate the fact that they were able to stay disciplined and stay unified. As you just noted, no votes despair in the Senate, very few despair in the House. The politics for the Democrats at the moment look good, the American people support this plan. Now comes the hard part, implementing the policy. But right now the policy is pretty popular.

And think about what this is. This is a left of center blueprint that rewrites the federal safety net, a 14 $100 stimulus check for a lot of American families, $300 in unemployment benefits extended through September. There's money for vaccines. There's money for schools. There's a ton of money in this that will now go out.

The challenge for Joe Biden, now that he has the win is to implement. Get the wheels of government to work so that three months from now and six months from now, the American people feel the help.

The numbers today are great for Joe Biden. What matters are the numbers, three months, six months and even a year from now.

BLITZER: That's absolutely true. You know, Gloria, what do you think this bill will mean for the millions of Americans who are still suffering big time from the fallout of the pandemic?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think it's going to provide an awful lot of relief at every level that that John was just talking about. First of all money in your pocket, help with your rent, help with your health care if you've been laid off and on and on.

And, you know, we've been around Washington long enough that we've seen a lot of money bills that have been written from the top down. This is one that has been written from the bottom up to help the people below the safety net who need that help. And you know, I'm reminded just when Joe Biden was running for president at first. He called himself he said, look, I'm just -- I may be a transition and a transitional figure to the next generation. And what I think we're seeing is a transformational piece of legislation.

Some of it is going to be zeroed out in a year or two, but the Democrats say they're going to find ways to keep it. And it really is different from any kind of major legislation that we have seen over the last decades.

BLITZER: It's big time, indeed.

[17:10:01]

You know, John, Wall Street clearly was happy about this relief bill passing today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a new all- time record high this afternoon closing higher than 32,000 up 464 points. But despite the bill's popularity, it had to pass without any Republican support. So, what does that say to you about the political climate in the United States right now?

KING: Two things, it tells you as Manu just smartly noted, the rest of Joe Biden's agenda is going to be very hard. Everything that is sensitive and controversial is a high wire act for President Biden and for the Democrats, because they even have fewer votes to spare now in the House, because these House members have been confirmed to the cabinet.

And so the next several months, anything Joe Biden wants to get done, President Biden wants to get that, it's literally a high wire act, no votes to lose, essentially, maybe one or two in the House and not in the Senate. So, that part's going to be very challenging. Can he get Republican support on infrastructure? Can he get Republican support on anything else? Be very skeptical about that going forward.

Because the Republicans have made a decision here, Wolf, they have made a decision that they are going to say no, when Joe Biden says it's Tuesday, they're going to say, no, it's not. When Joe Biden says spend money on this, they're going to say, no, we won't.

And so that's what said -- That's why the implementation of this bill and the salesmanship that the President is doing with the Primetime address, and with getting out of the road when he can, is so important, because Republicans have said, no.

If the economy is gangbusters a year from now, if Wall Street was right, and this money is needed, if inflation does not overheat the economy, the Democrats will have a good message going into the midterms, because they can say, look how things are, things are better. We're coming out of this pandemic, finally, and the Republicans said no.

BLITZER: You know, Republicans, Gloria, they learned during the Obama administration that it certainly pays to stick together. Was this an early test of Republican unity even as President Biden says he wants to try to find, he still says, he wants to find bipartisanship in other areas?

BORGER: Sure. Look, they're so divided, generally as a party. They don't know who they are. They don't know whether they're the Trump party, they don't know whether they're something else. So, you know, there is unity in opposing Joe Biden and in opposing the Democrats. And that is the one thing they needed an enemy, and so they think they have one.

But as John points out, this is a popular bill. Joe Biden, by the way, is a popular president at this point. And so, they're taking a big risk here. There's risk on both sides for this, because, of course, this legislation has to be implemented in a way that's not full of waste and fraud. But, you know, they have said, look, we are going to stick together, because that is a way to hide the fact that we don't really have an agenda of our own yet beyond Donald Trump. And so, this was -- this was easy for them to do.

BLITZER: You know, John, this is obviously the first big legislative achievement of the new Biden administration. What do you think this could mean for President Biden's legacy?

KING: Well, look, legacy is defined by history at the end, but it also helps to get a good beginning, right? So 50 days, and again, he gets exactly what he asked for from the Congress.

It gets hard from here, there is no honeymoon for Joe Biden. The Republicans have decided to say no. His approval ratings of 51 percent, that's above where Donald Trump was. But it's still proof to you that we live in a polarized country, that the new president, that day 50 is only a 51 percent. So, he has to put his shoulder down and implement this bill, number one.

His best hope, Wolf, and we'll see if this bears out. Let's save the tape and come back in a year. The vaccine rollout is accelerating, more dose is ordered today. Some people are beginning to get a sense that by late spring into summer, not normal, but back to relative normal, more normal. Maybe you get to go to a baseball game, you get to see your family on summer vacation.

If the economy kicks in along with that, and life gets more normal, financial health gets better, that's a big boon for the President in his first year in office. What is his legacy? You get four years in a term. But it's great to have momentum out of the gate.

BORGER: You know Biden said, you know, I'm going to do two things when I become president, I'm going to get you some help, I'm going to get you some relief, because of the pandemic, and I'm going to get a vaccine in your arm. And those are the two things right now that he's having a lot of success on. It's early, 50 days in, but this certainly wouldn't hurt his legacy.

BLITZER: You're absolutely right. All right, Gloria and John, guys, thanks very much.

There's more breaking news, we're following details of President Biden's deal to buy 100 million more doses of the Johnson and Johnson COVID vaccine and what it means for the country's vaccination efforts.

Plus, the Royal drama escalating as the Queen's response to the Meghan and Harry interview fails to end outrage over allegations of racism.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:18:18]

BLITZER: We're following breaking news, the House of Representatives this afternoon gave final approval to President Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan. The President now expected to sign it into law on Friday.

We're joined by California Democratic Representative Ro Khanna right now. He's part of the leadership of the House Progressive Caucus.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

The White House said today that passage of this bill is just the beginning, and that they're looking ahead to implementation. So, how soon do you think Americans will start to feel the impact of this?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Well, Wolf, this is a truly monumental achievement for President Biden and Speaker Pelosi, I think we're talking a matter of weeks.

This is going to give cash to every child in America so that they have the opportunity to buy food, to buy medicine, to get education, it's going to cut child poverty in half. And a family of four would get about $5,600 in stimulus checks on top of that.

BLITZER: Ahead of the final vote, the House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy, said and I'm quoting him now he said, "History will not be kind to what transpires here today." So what do you say to that?

KHANNA: Well, first, he ought to get his facts straight. He keeps saying this is only 9 percent COVID. Actually, it's far more. Most of the COVID relief is actually in direct checks to the American people.

So, I guess my question for Leader McCarthy is what part does he not like? Does he not like that Americans are getting $1,400 checks? Does he not like that we're giving checks to fight child poverty? Does he not like that we're giving money to open schools? Does he not like that we're funding vaccines so that people get shots in their arm?

He never is specific. You know, his tactic is use socialism and every four words and misleading statistics. People aren't going to buy it.

[17:10:02]

BLITZER: You're a member of the House Progressive Caucus, you've been advocating as so many other people have been for at least a $15 minimum wage. Obviously, that was not included in this bill. So, what's the path forward when it comes to raising that $7.25 cent current federal minimum wage?

KHANNA: Well, if it's so important that we raise that wage, because workers deserve it, their productivity is higher. And we have to increase the wage if we want sustainable economic development and actually to tackle structural inequality. I believe we have to do it with 50 votes. We have to do it through reconciliation. We have to be willing to overrule the parliamentarian.

Wolf, my question is, if you didn't get a single Republican voting for such a monumental bill that's going to cut child poverty, do we really expect them to vote for a wage increase? So, we're going to work towards the next reconciliation and making sure a $15 wage is in there.

BLITZER: But you might not even get 50 Democrats to support it, at least two Democrats in the Senate are continuing to say they're opposing that $15 minimum wage?

KHANNA: Well, we can look for a compromise in terms of small businesses that are effective. Let's talk about tax credits for small businesses. Let's talk about what we can do in terms of the schedule for small businesses. I think that there is a way to have a compromise within the coalition. But that will only happen if they know that we can pass this with 51 votes.

BLITZER: So, beyond the $15 minimum wage, what's your next biggest priority? I'm talking about you and your Progressive Caucus colleagues.

KHANNA: It's health care. I mean, 15 million Americans have lost their health care. This bill did a good job in increasing ACA subsidies. But the reality is, health care costs are still too high and we ought to be expanding Medicare that is a huge priority, getting free public college, making sure that young people who have 1000s of dollars 50, $100,000 of student loans, that those student loans are forgiven. BLITZER: You got a lot on your wish list right now -- right there, but congratulations on the wind today.

Representative Ro Khanna, thanks so much for joining us.

KHANNA: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Coming up, a mask no longer required in most of Texas despite urgent warnings from health experts.

Plus, what the purchase of 100 million additional doses of COVID vaccine means for the U.S. vaccination.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:26:37]

BLITZER: More now on the breaking pandemic news, President Biden announcing that the United States will buy an additional 100 million doses of the single shot Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

CNN National Correspondent Erica Hill is joining us right now.

Erica, you're in New Rochelle, New York that's right outside of New York City, but that was one of the early epicenters of the pandemic.

ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was. And you'll recall both a year ago Governor Cuomo announced a one mile radius containment zone in New Rochelle because of a cluster of just over 100 cases.

Well, speaking with the mayor of this city earlier today, he told me being under the microscope in those early days was tough. It was definitely a test, but that his city met that test with strength and resilience and he's very proud of this community one year later. They also learn very quickly, Wolf, that of course it containment zone could not keep this virus contained, it was already spreading all across the country.

I do also want to update you, Wolf, on something we're learning just a short time ago, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services updating their recommendations for nursing homes and now saying that because of a drop in cases and a boost in vaccinations, indoor visits are OK regardless of vaccine status. There are some caveats with that. But overall, they are OK. Noting in the statement the psychological emotional and physical toll of prolonged isolation and separation. And so that's just one of the updates happening across the country today.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

HILL (voice-over): The Lone Star State open for business. Masks no longer required. Though, some of the state's largest cities, many businesses are keeping their mandates in place.

DR. JOSEPH VARON, CHIEF OF STAFF, UNITED MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER, HOUSTON: Texas is around 8 percent vaccination rate, our positivity rates are still over 10 percent. Probably not the time to tell people, it's OK not to wear a mask

HILL: Boosting vaccinations a top priority.

ANDY SLAVITT, SENIOR ADVISER, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE: Today, President Biden will direct Jeff and the Health and Human Services team to procure an additional 100 million doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

HILL: Almost 10 percent of the population is now fully vaccinated. Early vaccine data shows no signs of safety issues for pregnant women or nursing mothers and more states are expanding eligibility. Alaska, the first to offer shots to anyone 16 and older.

GOV. MIKE DUNLEAVY, (R) ALASKA: I think we'll get enough Alaskans that want to be part of this process that we're going to put this behind us.

HILL: CDC officials that calling initial CDC guidance for fully vaccinated people an important first step in resuming pre pandemic lives. But it still leaves a lot of questions unanswered.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: -- travel, what about going out? What about getting a haircut? What about doing things like that? That's all imminently going to be coming out.

HILL: While we wait Spring Break looms. Disney's theme parks in Orlando open at reduced capacity almost fully booked next week. At UC Davis offer students' $75 grants to stay put.

CANDIE AQUINO, UC DAVIS STUDENT: It's better than nothing. And I think it helps people maybe on the fence of staying or not staying. While the picture is improving, the seven day average positivity rate in the U.S. now down to 6 percent.

Newly published research shows the variant first discovered in the U.K. is not only more contagious, but also more deadly. Fueling concerns that reopening too soon could send us in the wrong direction.

[17:30:00]

FAUCI: When you start doing things like completely putting aside all public health measures as if you're turning a light switch off, that's quite risky. We don't want to see another surge.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: We've just learned that the variant identified in New York City is more infectious, likely more infectious. And when you couple that variant with the one first identified in the U.K., those two now make up 51 percent of all the cases in New York City right now. I should point out, preliminary data though, Wolf, shows that that New York City, the variant identified in New York City does not right now appear to cause more severe illness nor reduce the efficacy of the current vaccines.

BLITZER: Erica Hill reporting for us from New Rochelle. Thank you very much.

Joining us now, the Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo. Chief Acevedo, thank you so much for joining us. Your Governor, Governor Abbott says masks are not mandatory in Texas right now. But businesses can keep their own requirements in place. You say -- you see where this is going, there will be conflicts, police officers will be stuck in the middle of all this. Can you explain what you and your officers are bracing for?

CHIEF ART ACEVEDO, HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, we know that the masks somehow in this country has become a divisive issue for too many Americans. And we've seen that we've had a police officer killed in another state trying to enforce this mask mandate, we've had a member, an employee of a bar have a glass broken over his head here in Houston.

And so what we're going to see, and what we're bracing for is an onslaught of calls for service at businesses that are exercising their property rights and requiring mask, like they require shoes, and they require shirts, and they require people to follow rules, calling us for people that are refusing to wear masks and refusing to leave.

And so, it's going to add more to our plate. But our men and women will do their very best. And we've already issued guidance to our folks so they understand what to expect and what to do to get those calls.

BLITZER: Well, let me give you a hypothetical and then you can tell me what's going on. Let's say a restaurant or a store owner for that matter, encounters a patron who won't comply with their request, their requirements in that store, restaurant to wear a mask, could that potentially end in an arrest?

ACEVEDO: Yes, absolutely. In Texas, property rights matter, private property rights matter. And if individual isn't following the rules of the restaurant or the supermarket, whatever it may be and they're asked to leave, the police will be called and they can be arrested for criminal trespass.

In addition to that, if the police are -- respond, they can also opt to not have them arrested and just issue cruel trespass warning, which means they can't come back to that location for at least a year, and not get arrested.

And so, look, common sense goes a long way in life. I am convinced that our fellow Texans are going to do the right thing. They're going to wear their masks because wearing this is not about ourselves, it's about the people that live around us, work around us and are around us. It's about our loved ones. It's about saving the lives of others, and most people are decent. So I am hopeful that most people will do the right thing and just wear the mask. And if you don't want to wear it, go somewhere else.

BLITZER: Your Mayor, the Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, says employees and visitors will still be required to wear masks on city- owned property. Do you foresee any issues with enforcement now that state and city mandates in Texas, at least right now, are different?

ACEVEDO: Yes, I think. Look, what it's going to require, it's going to create some confusion. And so, we have always had the mindset as a police department that we're going to try to use honey and use voluntary compliance and education rather than site people. Because people are going into one city where maybe that city government says yes, another city government says no, the state says you don't have to wear them. So it's going to create confusion.

There should be no confusion in that if you go someplace and you're told you have to wear, you must wear it in the state of Texas. You don't have a choice when you go to a business. And if a governor tells you to wear it, just wear it. Simply grab a mask. We'll have extra ones in our facilities in case someone forgets it or they forget that they're in a city that's requiring it because again, common sense goes a long way we hope to exercise it here in our city, in our state.

BLITZER: It's not hard to wear a mask, you just put it on and you take it off later, you know, and it save lives, it could potentially save your life as well. It's not complicated by any means. Chief Acevedo, thanks so much for joining us. Good luck in Houston.

ACEVEDO: Thanks, Wolf. Take care.

BLITZER: Thank you.

Coming up, the fallout continues after Oprah Winfrey bombshell interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The statement by the Queen didn't tell. Plus, an update on the search for the elusive suspects in the wake of the Capitol siege. We have new information. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:39:03]

BLITZER: We're seeing plenty of fallout from Oprah Winfrey's interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Yesterday short written statement from the Queen hasn't tamped down the outrage generated by the couple's revelations of racism and mistreatment by the Royal Family. Let's go to Windsor right now. CNN Scott McLean is on the scene for us. So what's the latest, Scott, what do you see?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Wolf, this discussion at the Royal Family would much prefer to have in private is instead being had wide out in the open. This drama has now managed to engulf a high profile TV host, the British Broadcasting regulator and tens of thousands of complaints including one from the Duchess of Sussex herself.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCLEAN (voice-over): Tonight, the Royal Palace still attempting to privately handle the fallout, now forced to confront issues of racism and mental health within its walls.

MEGHAN MARKLE, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: I knew that if I didn't say it, that I would do it and I I just didn't want to be alive anymore.

[17:40:03]

MCLEAN (voice-over): Three days on from her landmark interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan's brutally honest revelations are still making waves.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, I'm done with this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sorry, no. Sorry.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, no.

MCLEAN (voice-over): We now know that the Duchess of Sussex filed a formal complaint to a British network after TV host Piers Morgan questioned the seriousness of mental health concerns. Morgan is now gone after an avalanche of more than 41,000 viewer complaints. That network not the only institution that says it takes mental health seriously.

PRINCE WILLIAM, DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE: Almost was on with us and what's happened with others as long as you've had to prioritize, you know, prioritize your mental health.

MCLEAN (voice-over): The royal family, especially William and Kate, who have so far been silent on the interview, have made mental health a priority. They even have a branded campaign called heads together, which encourages Brits to speak up when they're struggling.

CATHERINE MIDDLETON, DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE: Amazing (INAUDIBLE) and yes ...

PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: (INAUDIBLE).

MIDDLETON: No, but it's -- you know, and some families sadly, aren't as lucky as you guys have been and being able to share things.

PRINCE WILLIAM: But we have been brought closer because of the circumstances as well.

MCLEAN (voice-over): The parallels between their mother Princess Diana and Meghan are long. Mental health was also a focus of Diana's own landmark interview after leaving the family in 1995.

PRINCESS DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALERS: When no one listens to you, or you feel no one's listening to you, all sorts of things start to happen. For instance, you have so much pain inside yourself, that you try and hurt yourself on the outside because you want help, but it's the wrong help you're asking for people see it as crying wolf or attention seeking.

MARKLE: Begging for help saying very specifically, I am concerned for my mental welfare. And people will, oh yes, yes, it's disproportionately terrible what we see out there to anyone else but nothing was ever done.

MCLEAN (voice-over): The queen in her only statement so far after the interview says, "The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning".

MARKLE: So we have in tandem the conversation of he won't be given security, it's not going to be given a title. And also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born.

OPRAH WINFREY, TV HOST: What?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't know it is all -- I don't want to cast -- the aspersions are being caused because they won't say, but they haven't eliminated the Queen and Prince Philip. So they've gone halfway. I think he's incredibly unfair on the ones who have left.

MCLEAN (voice-over): That parlor guessing game is a serious issue also unresolved. British tabloids have run wild with the Queen's edition. Some recollections may vary. It's unclear what the palace means with that, but it is clear that the palace will deal with this quietly as a family matter.

PRINCE HARRY: When you think if, you know, everyone else is like perfect, there must be something wrong with me. Yes, if you can have a family environment where you can talk openly about your issues, that makes for a better family, better preparation, probably working better job, doing better at school.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCLEAN: And William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have not responded to this interview. But just last week, they happened to post their support for a mental health charity on Twitter. And, Wolf, don't forget that all of this is playing out just as the Queen's husband, Prince Philip, is in a London hospital room tonight recovering after a heart procedure one week ago.

BLITZER: Yes, indeed. All right, Scott McLean in Windsor for us, thank you very much. Let's bring in CNN's Richard Quest. Richard, has this interview brought about a reckoning in the British media about its own issues of racism?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, no, no, no, no. They will deny until the nth degree that they have done this. Remember that there have been several public inquiries into the British media over the years on a variety of different things from phone hacking, and the like. They are denying collectively any form of racism.

And even though there may eventually be a calling to account for the way that they treated, the Duchess of Sussex in the run up to her marriage, and since so far, they are basically saying they are not racist. And they're moving away from the idea that what was said by any member of the Royal Family was systemically or inherently racist either.

BLITZER: What's been the response, and you've been studying this looking at a very closely, the response in Britain, is the feeling there that the Royal Family still needs to do more considering the seriousness of these issues, issues of racism and mental health?

QUEST: Yes. But the problem is no matter if that feeling does exist, and I think there's probably more support for the Royals than most people would realize, what do you do about it, Wolf? You're not going to have a public inquiry into the Royals. You're not going to have massive public statements. The Royals themselves, the close knit Royals, loathe (ph), absolutely loathe and detest this sort of detailed scrutiny of their personal, private family life.

[17:45:01]

They know it takes place and they know they have to put up with a certain amount of it, and so to be catapulted on something as sensitive as race. And then, and then as Scott's report said, this in -- this open hypocrisy, arguably, of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who have got all William and Kate, who've got all these policies and these plans, and these foundations about mental health, and their own sister-in-law is in crisis, and nobody responds. That's the sort of thing that's going to get the British people saying, not so much get rid of them or lose them or whatever, but it's not fair. What happened wasn't fair, and it's not right.

BLITZER: How are the similarities, Richard, between Meghan and Princess Diana resonating right now?

QUEST: That is the similarity. History is repeating itself. And the way the person who gets the Royal that gets the most criticism for that would be the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles. Remember what Harry said in the interview, Wolf, Harry said, I thought my father would help. He's been in pain before. He would understand. That's why I'm so disappointed. I'm paraphrasing, obviously, what he said.

And so you end up with -- and, you know, remember, most of that take the United States of America, you've just watched the crown fiction know much of it is, you've just watched the crown fiction though it is its depiction of Charles and Diana. And yet, we know, listen to what Scott's report said, what Diana said can be just duplicated into what Meghan said vice versa and that is why that's going to be difficult for Charles. That's where the problem is going to be. This is Diana Redux.

BLITZER: The story is not going away by any means. Richard Quest, thank you very, very much.

Coming up, we'll have the latest on the FBI manned (ph) for the person who planted pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic Party headquarters here in Washington, right near Capitol Hill right before the January 6th Capitol siege. Plus, when millions of Americans can expect to get their stimulus checks now that Congress has passed the sweeping COVID relief bill.

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[17:51:34]

BLITZER: We're following developments of the investigation into the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and the search for an elusive suspect. CNN's Brian Todd has been working in the story for us. Brian, there's some key new surveillance video, update us on the latest information.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Wolf, and that's one of two significant cases presenting big challenges for law enforcement authorities. If there are breaks in either of those two cases, they could end up being two of the most significant cases in the entire investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): From the FBI, we have images of the suspect walking down to Capitol Hill Street and stopping, being spotted by a dog walker, sitting on a park bench tending to something, walking down an alley and walking near Republican Party headquarters. From the Washington Post, we have previous surveillance video of what the Post said was the suspect moments before they placed a bomb near Republican headquarters on the night of January 5th. We have pictures and information on the bombs and timers. We even have enhanced pictures of the suspect's shoe. So why hasn't law enforcement been able to catch or seemingly identify the person who left pipe bombs by Democratic and Republican Party headquarters the night before the Capitol insurrection?

PETER LICATA, FORMER FBI LEAD BOMB TECH IN NEW YORK CITY: This individual knows something about forensics, knows how to clean his or herself with regard to trace evidence, that's DNA, that's latent prints, that's hairs and fibers. They've known how to clean themselves very well. Otherwise, I can assure you they would have been identified weeks ago.

TODD (voice-over): Another case file seemingly open in the capital investigation that of Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the far right anti-government group, the Oath Keepers. Rhodes was photographed outside the Capitol on January 6th wearing a cowboy hat and sunglasses. Prosecutors have new information tonight, the first time they've come out and said Rhodes was communicating with some of the Oath Keepers who are now charged with conspiracy in the attack, telling them before and during the riot where to go gathering with them in person.

KATHLEEN BELEW, HISTORIAN OF EXTREMIST MOVEMENTS: Here we have evidence that people at the highest ranks of the organization within the Oath Keepers were involved even more than we had suspected.

TODD (voice-over): In newly filed court papers, prosecutors say Stewart Rhodes use the messaging app signal to describe what he called several well-equipped forces surrounding Washington for backup. Prosecutors say he advised other Oath Keepers, "Do not bring in anything that can get you arrested. Leave that outside D.C." Rhodes has not responded to a request from

CNN for comment on the latest information. He has not been charged in the assault, has previously told CNN he had no role in planning anything, has said he didn't enter the Capitol that day and has criticized those who did on info wars.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you need to protect the people that were arrested whether you agree with them or not. I disagree -- I think there was a mistake to go in there.

SAM JACKSON, AUTHOR, "OATH KEEPERS": He's long been a guy who is careful to avoid breaking the law in most cases. He does a really good job quite often of walking right up to the line of breaking the law or engaging in violence and not crossing that line.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Now, if prosecutors are building a case against Stewart Rhodes, they have several other Oath Keepers they can lean on for possible information. They have just charged to Oath Keepers who are providing security for VIPs around the time of the insurrection with storming the Capitol. One of them Roberto Minuta, appears to have provided security for Trump right wing ally Roger Stone around the time of the riot. And nine other members of the Oath Keepers face more serious charges of conspiracy in the attack. Wolf?

[17:55:10]

BLITZER: All right, Brian, thank you. Excellent reporting as usual.

There's more breaking news here in THE SITUATION ROOM, President Biden declares a historic victory for Americans, as Congress sends the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill to his desk.

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BLITZER: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world, I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. We're following breaking news. Tonight, President Biden is calling final passage of his COVID relief bill.