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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Jury Deliberates After Closing Arguments in George Floyd Murder; Medical Examiner: Sicknick Had 2 Strokes, Died of Natural Causes; Former Vice President Walter Mondale Dies at Age 93; CDC: Disinfecting Surfaces to Prevent Virus Often All for Show. Aired 5- 5:30a ET

Aired April 20, 2021 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:33]

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Minnesota and the nation await Derek Chauvin's fate. Why the judge says one congresswoman's comments may give Chauvin a shot on appeal

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: A new development this morning in the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. We'll tell you why it just got harder for prosecutors to bring homicide charges.

ROMANS: And tributes are pouring in for former Vice President Walter Mondale. His touching farewell message just before his death.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. This is EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

JARRETT: Hey, Christine, I'm Laura Jarrett. It's Tuesday, April 20th. It's 5:00 a.m. here in New York.

And the most high profile criminal trial in a generation now in the hands of 12 people. The jury continues deliberations today in the case against Derek Chauvin for killing George Floyd after roughly four hours of deliberations yesterday.

And for the first time during this trial, the defendant sat unmasked at length yesterday during his lawyer's closing arguments. The jury finally able to see his expressions, his reactions and the prosecution and defense offering their final words to the jury as the nation prepares for a verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE SCHLEICHER, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: You can believe your own eyes. This case is exactly what you thought when you saw it first, when you saw that video. It is exactly that.

You can believe your eyes. It's exactly what you believed, it's exactly what you saw with your eyes. It's exactly what you knew. It's what you felt in your gut. It's what you now know in your heart.

This wasn't policing. This was murder. The defendant is guilty of all three counts. All of them, and there's no excuse.

ERIC NELSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The 9 minutes and 29 seconds ignores the previous 16 minutes and 59 seconds. It completely disregards it. Coronary heart disease, not relevant according to the state. Drugs acting to further constrict an already heart -- diseased heart, not relevant. And the failure of the state's experts to acknowledge any possibility, any possibility at all that any of these other factors in any way contributed to Mr. Floyd's death defies medical science and it defies common sense and reason.

JERRY BLACKWELL, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: The fact that it's so simple that a child could understand it, in fact, a child did understand it when the nine-year-old girl said, get off of him. That's how simple it was. Get off of him. Common sense.

You were told, for example, that Mr. Floyd died -- that Mr. Floyd died because his heart was too big. You heard that testimony. And now having seen all the evidence, having heard all the evidence you know the truth, and the truth of the matter is that the reason George Floyd is dead is because Mr. Chauvin's heart was too small.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: On that crucial question, the cause of death, the judge told the jury it must find Chauvin's actions were a substantial factor in Floyd's death. But key here, that does not mean Chauvin's knee on Floyd's neck had to be the sole cause of death.

JARRETT: I love it, Christine. You sound like a lawyer.

ROMANS: Well, that's you. Listen, there are three charges here and let's talk about what these charges are. What each is.

First, the second-degree murder charge. Laura, what is that?

JARRETT: Right. So this is the most serious but the first thing to realize here for these three charges, none of them require that Chauvin actually intended to kill Floyd that day. He didn't have to premeditate this murder. That's why you don't see him charged with first-degree premeditated murder.

So, let's start with the most serious charge here. Second degree, on this one, Chauvin would be guilty if the jury finds that both the knee on the neck caused Floyd's death and that that act meets Minnesota's definition of an assault in the third degree. So, that is the underlying felony at issue.

ROMANS: So, that's the second-degree murder charge. There's also a third-degree murder charge here.

JARRETT: On this one, Chauvin is guilty if he caused Floyd's death through actions that were imminently dangerous to others. That means highly likely to cause death. And that there are also some state of mind requirements here.

[05:05:00] The instruction describes something called a depraved mind. What's that? Basically someone who's indifferent to the loss of human life.

ROMANS: And the final of the three counts is second-degree manslaughter.

JARRETT: Right. So, this one, it sounds a lot like the third-degree murder charge that we just talked about, but there are some subtle differences here both in terms of how risky the behavior was and Chauvin's state of mind.

For this one, Chauvin is guilty if he created an unreasonable risk and consciously took the chance of causing death or great bodily had a recall to Floyd.

Now, unreasonable here is lower than eminently dangerous, right, for the third degree and depravity isn't required here. The jury just has to find that an ordinary person would realize that the actions would cause serious injury.

So a knee on the neck would cause serious injury for over nine minutes.

ROMANS: All right. Very good there. All right. Thanks.

Also this morning, a major development in the investigation into the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. Sicknick died one day after that pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol. Now a new revelation will make it difficult for prosecutors to pursue homicide charges.

CNN's Jessica Schneider explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Laura and Christine, after more than three months of mystery, the D.C. medical examiner announcing that Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died of natural causes, specifically that he suffered two strokes. Now, this is significant because over the past 100 plus days since January 6th, there has been much speculation about how Officer Sicknick died. Capitol police initially announced that he died due to injuries on duty that day and officials said that they were pursuing a federal murder investigation.

Then in February, the investigation stalled because the exact cause of Sicknick's death was undetermined. Now, in the meantime, two men have been charged with assaulting Officer Sicknick and two other officers with chemical spray and after that there was question whether the chemical spray could have been the cause of Officer Sicknick's death.

But the medical examiner now saying there is no evidence that Sicknick had an allergic reaction to the chemical spray. That's according to the "Washington Post." Meaning it is all but assured the Justice Department will not be able to pursue homicide charges related to Sicknick's death. Of course, there are still some looming questions here. The medical

examiner has not said if Officer Sicknick had any preexisting conditions or what may have caused the strokes that resulted in his death one day after the Capitol attack. We know that he collapsed in an office later that night and died at the hospital the next day on January 7th.

Capitol Police now saying that while they accept the findings of the medical examiner, they still consider Officer Sicknick's death in the line of duty and say he died courageously defending Congress and the Capitol -- Laura and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: Jessica, thank you for that.

A new report says Russia, China and other foreign adversaries have weaponized the QAnon conspiracy theory to sow discord and potentially incite violence in the U.S. The report by a global security think tank says nearly one fifth of QAnon posts originate overseas. And last year, most of that activity originated from Russia, but this year, China dominated. Other foreign actors include Iran and Saudi Arabia. Multiple sources telling CNN, U.S. officials are investigating efforts by foreign agents to amplify QAnon messaging.

ROMANS: All right. Breaking overnight, former Vice President Walter Mondale has died at the age of 93. Known as Fritz, Mondale was the son of a Methodist minister and music teacher. He was Minnesota's attorney general in the early 1960s. He spent 12 years in the U.S. senate. He was elected vice president alongside Jimmy Carter who honored his VP overnight.

Quote: During our administration, Fritz used his political skill and personal integrity to transform the vice presidency into a dynamic, policy-driven force that had never been seen before and still exists today.

JARRETT: In 1984, Mondale won the Democratic nomination and made history by naming a woman, Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate. In his final days, Mondale received calls from many friends and leaders including a final call from President Biden over the weekend. CNN has also obtained the moving farewell message Mondale wrote to his staff.

ROMANS: It reads: Well, my time has come, I'm eager to rejoin Joan and Eleanor, that's my wife and daughter. Before I go, I wanted to let you know how much you mean to me. Never has a public servant had a better group of people working at their side. Together, we have accomplished so much and I know you will keep up the good fight.

Joe in the White House certainly helps. I always knew it would be okay if I arrived someplace and was greeted by one of you. My best to all of you, Fritz.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [05:13:52]

ROMANS: All right. So, remember all that time you spent wiping down your groceries?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Virus transmission through direct contact, droplets and airborne aerosols.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The CDC now says the risk of getting coronavirus from contaminated surfaces is low, although the risk is slightly higher indoors.

And new this morning, a coalition of 60 top hospitals and health care institutions joined forces to encourage adults to get vaccinated.

JARRETT: The nationwide campaign is designed to reassure that minorities and people living in rural communities that the vaccines are safe, effective and necessary to return to normal activities. Still some states are loosening up right now, Connecticut is ending all restrictions on May 19th, the governor still recommends wearing masks indoors, though, and more colleges now requiring vaccines to return to campus.

EARLY START has the pandemic covered coast to coast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York.

Two of the nation's most prestigious universities have announced that they will require all students to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 before returning to campus in the fall.

[05:15:06]

Yale and Columbia Universities joined more than three dozen U.S. colleges and universities such as Georgetown, Duke, Rutgers, Pomona and the University of Seattle in Washington requiring student vaccinations. Schools will provide vaccines. Schools will provide vaccines for students who have yet to be vaccinated.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Alexandra Field.

More than half of all U.S. adults have now received at least one dose of a vaccine, now officials are turning their attention to those who may be more hesitant to get a shot. In Mercer County, Ohio, they are struggling to fill appointments at one drive through vaccination location. Appointments are now down by about half what they were when the site launched back in January. Local health officials are saying they're seeing similar trends throughout the state of Ohio, particularly in rural areas. KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kylie Atwood

at the State Department.

The Biden administration continues to urge all Americans not to travel abroad due to the coronavirus pandemic. And the State Department issued a statement on Monday saying that they are going to be updating their travel advisories to be more in line with the travel advisories coming from the CDC.

And as a result, they're going to be approximately 80 percent of countries worldwide that are now going to be at the level 4 travel advisory from the State Department. That is their highest level travel advisory, it means do not travel. These are advisories for all Americans no matter if they have received their vaccination or not.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Alison Kosik in New York.

Starting this week, CVS will begin selling three different over the counter COVID-19 tests at its pharmacies and online. One is a rapid test that gives a result in 15 minutes through a free app that you can download to your phone. The second is a pack of two rapid tests. If you get a negative result after the first test, you need to take the second one within three days.

And the third is a PCR test with results within one to two days. You don't need a prescription and all the tests have received FDA emergency use authorization.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Thanks to all of our colleagues for those coronavirus updates.

To voting rights now. Last week hundreds of companies and business leaders took a stand for democracy and against discriminatory voting laws. It was the largest show of support from corporate America we've seen so far but what comes next?

LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman says companies need to cut off funding for politician who is limit voting rights. Quote: Protecting voter rights and making voting more accessible is both pro-business and more importantly pro-American.

Hoffman also urged business leaders to give their employees paid time off to vote and actively encourage employees and customers to head to the polls. Dozens of leaders recently met to brainstorm ways to fight controversial voting restrictions. Organizers said their support for reevaluating campaign donations to candidates and reconsidering investments in states that pass restrictive legislation.

A tally from the Brennan Center for Justice shows lawmakers have introduced 361 bills with restrictive provisions in 47 states.

JARRETT: Wow, just amazing. Look at that map.

All right. So what's a little sibling rivalry between NBA stars? How Steph Curry took out his frustrations on his little brother. That's your "Bleacher Report", next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:22:51]

ROMANS: All right. The Warriors Steph Curry putting on another show in a win over Philadelphia.

Andy Scholes has this morning's "Bleacher Report."

Hey, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, good morning, Christine.

You know, Steph Curry has won two MVP awards but this stretch over the last month may be the best of his entire career. He has just been absolutely amazing. Last night curry was on fire, making threes from all over the court, some of them right on his little brother's step who plays for Philly. Steph ended up making ten threes in the game, finished with 49 points as the warriors get the win 107-96.

This is Steph's fifth 40-point game in April which passes Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan for the most 40-point games by a player 33 or older in a month.

76ers head coach Doc Rivers said after the game he's never seen anything like the run Curry is on right now.

All right. We saw history in the NHL last night, San Jose Sharks Patrick Marleau breaking Gordie Howe's record for most gamed played at 1,768. That's a lot of hockey games. Marlowe's wife and four sons were attendance. To put this in perspective, the 41-year-old began his NHL career when Tom Brady was in his second season at the university of Michigan.

All right. Last year's NFL come back player of the year hanging up his cleats. Alex Smith announcing his retirement yesterday after 16 seasons. The 36-year-old's retirement follows his incredible return after a gruesome injury. The former top overall pick suffered a compound leg fracture back in 2018. He required 17 surgeries and nearly lost his leg to an infection. But he made it all the way back, played last year, started six games leading Washington to the playoffs.

All right. We are a little over a week away from the NFL draft and the Rams will be drafting in style. The team has converted a Malibu beach house into their draft headquarters. The 9,000 square foot house has an infinity pool, ocean views.

[05:25:05]

But, Laura, funny thing is the Rams don't even have a first round pick on Thursday night. So I guess the staff there is just going to get a little rest and relaxation while they watch the first round.

JARRETT: All right. I guess they get to hang out by the pool. It sounds nice to me.

SCHOLES: It's nice. Yeah.

JARRETT: All right, Andy. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

SCHOLES: All right. Quick programming note for you. Vice President Kamala Harris sits down with our Wolf Blitzer, he will ask her about everything from the pandemic to gun violence to immigration. This exclusive interview airs on THE SITUATION ROOM today at 6:00 p.m.

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JARRETT: Good morning, everyone. This is early start. I'm Laura Jarrett.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Tuesday morning.