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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Top Biden Officials to Meet with Chinese Counterparts Next Week; 59 New York Democratic Lawmakers Tell Cuomo to Resign; Texas Attorney General Files Lawsuit Against City of Austin and Travis County Over Mask Requirement. Aired 4:30-5p ET

Aired March 11, 2021 - 16:30   ET

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

[16:30:01]

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: He's since pleaded not guilty to five federal crimes. He has been released from jail.

But, Jake, this is just the latest charge against a military veteran. CNN has found veterans are actually disproportionately represented among the 300 people facing federal charges. We've counted at least 29 current and former service members who have been charged so far, Jake.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Yeah. We should also note that some of the heroes of the insurrection were military veterans, as well.

SCHNEIDER: Yes.

TAPPER: A lot of those Capitol police officers.

Jessica, you are also learning about another person charged in this riot, an alleged Oath Keeper who has a connection to a Trump associate.

SCHNEIDER: Right, these are details coming out as a result of a court hearing today. This alleged Oath Keeper member, he was actually a driver for Roger Stone one day before the attack. That's coming from testimony from an FBI agent in court.

Now, we knew about ties between stone and this Oath Keeper member, whose name is Joshua James, but this is the first we're hearing that he was actually part of this security detail for Stone on January 5th.

And, Jake, so far, 12 members of the Oath Keepers have been charged in connection to January 6th.

TAPPER: All right. Jessica Schneider, thanks so much.

Joining me now to discuss, retired Admiral James Stavridis. He's the former NATO Supreme Allied commander. He has a new book out, a novel called "2034: A Novel of the Next World War." I'll give it a look.

Admiral, thank you so much for joining us. I want to start with the insurrection. Because Trump's former acting secretary of defense, Chris Miller, tells "Vice" that Trump was responsible for inciting the attack.

Here's the clip from "Vice" on Showtime.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

INTERVIEWER: Do you think the president is responsible for what happened on the sixth?

CHRISTOPHER MILLER, FORMER ACTING DEFENSE SECRETARY UNDER TRUMP: I don't know, but it seems cause and effect, yeah. The question is, would anybody have marched on the Capitol and overrun the Capitol without the president's speech? I think it's pretty much definitive that wouldn't have happened. So -- yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Pretty much definitive that it wouldn't have happened without Trump's speech ahead of time. Now, Miller goes on to say he's not sure if the president knew that he was inciting the crowd.

What do you make of this? What will it mean globally if the U.S. continues to be so deeply divided?

ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS (RET.), AUTHOR, "2034": Well, first of all, the comments by former acting secretary of defense, retired Colonel Chris Miller, strike me as an attempt to kind of rehabilitate his own reputation, which was not very well received during his brief time in office. I think what is really germane here and you put your finger on it is how does the rest of the world see this? And the answer is, very poorly.

And let's face it, we're in a worldwide competition at the moment, ideologically, with authoritarian regimes like China. They see an event like the 6th of January and it diminishes us immensely in the eyes of the world. So, it is incumbent upon the new team, the Biden administration, has to work past this and ensure that our allies can come to rely on us again. Those images are seared into the global consciousness.

TAPPER: You have this new novel, "2034," it's a terrifying cautionary tale of a confrontation between the U.S. and China. Do you think that war with China, because, well, we're already in a cyber war with China, but do you think a kinetic war, a war with weapons is inevitable?

STAVRIDIS: I do not, but I worry about it, because if you look at history, Jake, you go back 2,500 years to the ancient Greeks and I'm allowed to use this, because I'm Greek-American, Athens and Sparta, established power challenged by a rising power, led to what was then a global war.

Look at that through history. More often than not, kind of two-thirds of the time, when an established power, in this case, the United States, is challenged by a rising power, in this case, China, two- thirds of the time, a war ensues. So, we wrote the novel looking into the future, imagining how terrible a war like that would be so that we could collectively start to think about it, reverse engineer it and hopefully avoid it.

TAPPER: So, on the subject of China, the White House today confirmed that next week, Secretary of State Blinken and other top Biden officials are going to raise human rights abuses when they meet with Chinese representatives in Alaska. This weekend, an independent report found that the Chinese is, in fact, responsibility for genocide, sending 2 million Uighurs and other minorities to detainment camps.

How much should Biden press the Chinese on this? I know he wants to work with the Chinese when it comes to North Korea and climate change, but how much is this human rights violation, this genocide, just something that cannot be ignored?

STAVRIDIS: It cannot be ignored. Now, we're lucky, because we have somebody like Tony Blinken as the secretary of state, Jake Sullivan as national security advisor, Lloyd Austin as secretary of defense, as part of this trip, as well.

[16:35:06]

These are deeply experienced individuals. This is an A-team.

They know how to find the balance between pushing hard, confront where we must, but also, we've got to find ways to cooperate where we can. For example, on climate.

So, we're going to have to push China on South China Sea, on their activities in cyber, on human rights violations, when they are so gross, they must receive global focus.

But they'll also know that they need to find venues and zones of cooperation, probably starting with climate. It's a smart approach.

TAPPER: Admiral James Stavridis, thank you so much. The book again is called "2034." It's out in bookstores now. Has a pretty good Amazon post there. Congratulations.

Coming up -- actually, now in the world lead, a call for urgent intervention in Yemen following a story that you saw here on THE LEAD yesterday, 400,000 children at risk of dying of starvation right now in that war-torn country.

Today, the U.N. World Food Programme chief called for an immediate end to a U.S.-backed Saudi blockade. That's kept tankers from fueling trucks needed to deliver food and supplies to millions of desperate families.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DAVID BEASLEY, U.N. WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME CHIEF: These aren't just numbers, these are real people. And we're headed toward the biggest famine in modern history. It is hell on earth in many places in Yemen right now.

(END AUDIO CLIP) TAPPER: Our Nima Elbagir and her team snuck into one of those places controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who have been fighting for the U.S.-backed Saudi coalition for six years. Nima went in to local hospitals. She showed us images of small children, even babies dying of starvation.

We should note that the Biden administration's new envoy to Yemen denied that the U.S.-backed blockade is keeping food from reaching those children. He told Nima that food was flowing in northern Yemen, when clearly it is not. What he was saying was not true.

The White House says it no longer supports the war effort, but it has not changed its stance on the blockade.

Coming up, under pressure. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gets a letter today he did not want to read.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:41:42]

TAPPER: The politics lead, double scandals closing in on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. New today, 59 new -- sorry, 59 New York state Democratic legislators are now calling for their fellow Democrat to resign. They say Cuomo has been rendered ineffective during a time of crisis.

And now, CNN's KFILE is finding that Cuomo's denials and deflections on nursing home deaths are nothing new, as CNN's Brynn Gingras reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): Know the facts. Be calm.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, once hailed for his daily updates at the height of the pandemic, now facing a firestorms of controversies and increasing calls for his resignation one year into the crisis.

The pressure is mounting within Cuomo's own party, from New York City's mayor --

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: He can no longer serve as governor. It's as simple as that.

GINGRAS: To state assembly speaker, Carl Heastie, who today met with some members of his caucus on, quote, potential paths forward. Plus, 59 other lawmakers issuing a letter stating, we have a lieutenant governor who can step in and lead for the remainder of the term and this is what is best for New Yorkers in the this critical time.

For his part, Cuomo has been adamant, he's not going anywhere.

CUOMO: I was elected by the people of the state. I wasn't elected by politicians. I'm not going to resign because of allegations.

GINGRAS: Five women, four who worked with or for the governor, have publicly accused Cuomo of either sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior.

CHARLOTTE BENNETT, FORMER AIDE TO GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO: Without explicitly saying it, he -- he implied to me that I was old enough for him and he was lonely.

LETITIA JAMES (D), NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: Just a few minutes ago --

GINGRAS: New York Attorney General Letitia James is investigating all the allegations and has appointed two private lawyers to lead the probe. Cuomo says and his administration will fully cooperate and denies any wrongdoing.

CUOMO: I never touched anyone inappropriately.

GINGRAS: Then, there's the nursing home scandal. Some families of more than 15,000 long-term care residents who died during the pandemic are no closer to understanding why the administration issued the controversial directive barring nursing homes from rejecting patients solely on the basis of a COVID diagnosis, or the handling of death data.

CNN's KFILE finding Cuomo downplayed questions about nursing homes in the daily press briefings last spring, which are often broadcasted in full by news outlets, including CNN.

CUOMO: We've been more aggressive than any state in nursing home precautions. I think we release probably more than any other state in terms of nursing home data. I don't know what else he could release.

REPORTER: Accusation you are facing that you are changing the numbers.

CUOMO: No numbers were changed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GINGRAS (on camera): And, of course, Cuomo has always maintained that he was following federal guidelines when it came to directives in regards to nursing homes.

Well, Jake, talking about impeachment, we know they are ongoing right now with Democrats in Albany. But question is, will there be enough Democrats to actually file articles of impeachment? Of course, we're going to stay on top of that for you.

Separate of that, the issue of the sexual harassment allegations, we learned that the two lawyers heading up that investigation, they've set up a website to get any tips in regards to those allegations.

[16:45:01]

Investigation is very much under way -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Brynn Gingras on top of the story for us, thank you so much.

Breaking news out of Texas. The state attorney general is suing the city of Austin because they want to keep their mask mandate. Will Houston be next? We'll talk to the mayor right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: We have some breaking news for you in our national lead. The attorney general of Texas has filed a lawsuit against the city of Austin and Travis County for keeping its mask requirement. Republican Governor Greg Abbott lifted the state's mask mandate, so city of Austin leaders implemented their own mandate.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner joins us now to discuss all of this.

Mr. Mayor, what do you make of the Texas attorney general suing the city of Austin and Travis County for wanting to have a mask mandate?

MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER (D), HOUSTON, TEXAS: Well, you know, I disagree with the attorney general on this.

[16:50:01]

I applaud Austin, in fact, I talked with the Austin mayor just the other day and they're proceeding under the health code and not under any emergency order. And in the city of Houston, for example, at all city venues, facilities, events, masks will still be required. And then, of course, I'm encouraging everybody else to keep their masks on, especially right now.

TAPPER: You follow the science. You understand the importance of masks for stopping the spread of the virus. Even after the attorney general suing Austin, are you still considering following the mayor of Austin's footsteps, perhaps implementing your own mask mandate citywide?

TURNER: Well, I think -- I don't know to what degree we're going to do things citywide, Jake. I do know that with regards to all of the city's facilities, all of the venues, if you are coming to the municipal courts, our convention center, for example, if you are going to Jones Hall, any of our venues, masks will be required.

If you are at our parks, for example, and you are sitting in the stands, masks are going to be required. And if you are not playing on the field, for example, then you still have to put on your mask. Those are requirements. Those are mandates.

When you go beyond that, we're certainly encouraging businesses to keep their -- to have their employees, their customers to keep their masks on, others in the city, as well. So, that's where we are right now, but what I've said to people, depending on where the numbers are and we'll see where numbers are two to three weeks from now, that could be -- that could change everything. TAPPER: So, two to three weeks from now, perhaps you'll contemplate a

mask order, you're just not there right now.

TURNER: No, we're not, other than mandates masks at all city facilities, yes.

TAPPER: Right.

So, only 16 percent of Texans have received their first vaccine dose. Fewer than 9 percent are fully vaccinated.

TURNER: Yeah.

TAPPER: Should vaccination rates be tied to reopening and lifting mask mandates?

TURNER: Well, if -- that's what I would have preferred, that we should be taking a very measured, methodical approach. The more people vaccinated, fully, the more you can open up. It should be -- it should be very measured and tied to the vaccines.

Otherwise, for example, if you don't -- if you haven't gotten the first shot, then you haven't been fully vaccinated, then these masks happen to be your protection against other people and then protecting other people from you. That's what's important.

But when you open up 100 percent and you say, you roll back the requirement for masks, then you are treating this virus as if it no longer exists. You are going back to the pre-COVID days, and we are -- you know, that's not the case.

So, what's happening right now with respect to opening up everything, rolling back totally the mask requirement, you're treating this virus as if it doesn't exist and it will show up and remind you that it has not gone anywhere. It's contrary to the science and the medical professional advice.

TAPPER: At least five of these new variants have been identified in the city of Houston. How concerned are you?

TURNER: Yes. Very concerned. All five, we were the first city, for example, where all five have shown up and then we look at it two ways.

Not only do we look at the testing, positivity rate is still higher than what it should be. The positivity rate is 13 percent, a little over 13 percent and as you know, it should be down to 5 percent and below and stay there.

And then the second, you know, we've been partnering with the Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University, testing our water and wastewater treatment facilities and the variant is showing up 20 percent of the time. And that's much higher than what it needs to be.

TAPPER: Yeah.

TURNER: So, very concerned. This is a race now against the variants, all five of them. And that's why we want to get these needles in the arms as much as possible and speed the vaccination program up.

TAPPER: All right. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, good to see you again, sir. Thanks for joining us.

TURNER: Thanks. Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: Be sure to join me tomorrow night. We're going to have a live CNN special called "Back to School: Kids, COVID and the Fight to Reopen."

We're going to talk to students, teachers, patients, policymakers about the challenges of education during the pandemic. That's at 9:00 p.m., only on CNN.

Prince William is responding publicly for the first time to his brother's stunning sit-down with Oprah.

That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:59:07]

TAPPER: Almost every day for almost a year now, we have taken a moment to remember at least one person of the now more than 530,000 who have died of the coronavirus in the United States.

And today, we honor Master Officer Woodrow "Buddy" Doughty III. He spent 33 years with the Virginia Capitol Police, the oldest police agency in the United States. Doughty made quite the impression, manning the main entrance at Richmond's Capitol complex. Colleagues say he help put intimidated visitors at ease.

Doughty was eligible for a vaccine but recent health issues kept him from making an appointment. His agency says he started feeling sick late last week. By Monday of this week, he was on a ventilator. He died on Tuesday.

Doughty was just 60 years old. He leaves behind a wife and a son. To his family, our deepest condolences. May his memory be a blessing.

And another sad story that hits close to home here at CNN. My colleague and friend Andrew Kaczynski and his wife, they lost their beautiful Baby Francesca, or as they called her, Beans, on Christmas Eve, to a rare form of brain cancer. Today would have been Beans' 1st birthday.

You can honor her by joining Team Beans. You can get a beanie by going to teambeans.shop. All proceeds will help fight childhood cancer.

Our coverage continues now on CNN.

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