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The Lead with Jake Tapper

McCarthy Says He Opposes January 6 Commission, Sides With Republicans Downplaying Election Results; Dems Pressure Biden To Step Up Handling Of Israeli Strikes In Gaza; Interview With Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT); Tax Records: N.Y. Gov. Cuomo To Earn $5.1 Million From Book On Pandemic; Giuliani Attorneys Push To Review iCloud Data Seized In Raid; Ethiopian Soldiers, Armed With Guns And Grenades, Raid Hospital Featured In CNN Report; Fauci: It's Reasonable For Businesses To Keep Mask Mandates. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired May 18, 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: McCarthy's own involvement in the interaction is, of course, also under scrutiny, given his months of lying about the election and his phone conversation with then President Trump as the deadly attack was unfolding.

And to CNN's Manu Raju reports for us now.

McCarthy could very well be called as a witness.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy today, undercutting a bipartisan deal to create a commission investigating the January 6 Capitol attack. Announcing his opposition to a deal struck by Republican John Katko, whom he enlisted to reach that agreement.

McCarthy saying he'll vote against the bill because violence caused by left wing protesters cannot be overlooked. Claiming the investigation is duplicated and could undermine ongoing law enforcement probes.

REP. JIM MCGOVERN, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: From that window we were doing this and called up the Minority Leader and said I don't like it.

RAJU: But the investigation will be modeled after the 9/11 Commission with 10 investigators but equally between the two parties. The report, due by year's end, and subpoenas that could be only issued if there's an agreement by both sides. Something McCarthy himself insisted on.

It's such a probe could ensnare McCarthy. The GOP leader was on the phone with Donald Trump as rioters ought to stop certification of Joe Biden's victory. And Trump reportedly told McCarthy that it was Antifa, not his supporters were breaching the Capitol. And said, "Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are."

The bill is still expected to pass the House on Wednesday. So the focus will soon turn to the Senate where other 10 Republicans will break ranks.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R-KY) MINORITY LEADER: We're undecided about the way forward at this point.

RAJU: And some Republicans pushing back on McCarthy's call for a broad probe.

SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI, (R) ALASKA: If you're really making this a very broad approach, it might be difficult to really get a value from a specific type of commission.

RAJU (on camera): Do you President Trump should talk to this commission to detail what was happening on that day?

MURKOWSKI: If you put together a commission that is focused on the events of January 6, I think he's obviously a very key individual.

RAJU (voice-over): But McCarthy, his eyes are set on one thing, winning back the House Majority next year. Knowing full well that investigations could be politically damaging as he himself acknowledged back in 2015 during the GOP led probe of the deadly attack in Benghazi.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY, (R-CA) MINORITY LEADER: Everybody thought Hillary Clinton was unbeatable right. But we put together a Benghazi special committee, a select committee, what are her numbers today? Her numbers are dropping.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

RAJU: Now, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is taking a different approach than Kevin McCarthy. He had previously indicated his concerns that such a probe needs to be wide, broader, needs to focus on the violence from last summer.

But today when I asked Mitch McConnell directly, do you still believe in investigation of a broader scope? He did not go that far and said -- say he's still reviewing it. Wants to make sure the stuff is done in a bipartisan way and that is not a duplicative investigation. Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Manu Raju on Capitol Hill, thanks so much.

Let's discuss. And Tarini Parti, let me start with you. Obviously, Kevin McCarthy helped spread the lie that led to the insurrection. Obviously, he's a witness, he talked to Trump in the middle of the insurrection.

Is it just self-preservation that's keeping him from doing this?

TARINI PARTI, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: I think the way he's looking at it is kind of the way Republican leaders have been looking at every decision so far, which is through the prism of Donald Trump and loyalty to Donald Trump.

TAPPER: What is Donald Trump wanted him to do. PARTI: What does he want him to do? And so, sure, part of it could be self-preservation. But I think at this point, Donald Trump is on everyone's mind still, and he will clearly play into every decision that Kevin McCarthy and others make.

TAPPER: And Gloria, obviously, McCarthy wants to be House Speaker. Obviously, I could understand that he would think that this commission, looking into this hideous insurrection in which people lost their lives that that could turn people off from voting for Republicans, and maybe that would mean he doesn't become speaker. But does it also not possibly demonstrate, as Liz Cheney has suggested that he lacks the principles to actually be the speaker?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Absolutely. I think this is about accountability. It's about a devotion to democracy and to getting at the facts and the truth. That's what the 9/11 Commission did. That's what the public deserves from a commission about January 6.

And what I think McCarthy is trying to do, obviously, is derail the commission, because the more Republicans and the public talk about the commission, I think the belief is, the worse it is for the Republican Party just as they felt that the more you talked about Benghazi, the worse it was for the Democrats, and they happen to have been right about that.

TAPPER: Yes. And I mean, I understand that that argument. But before it was -- we saw that House Republicans went all in with the lie, not all of them, but about, I don't know, two thirds of them signed on to that crazy Texas lawsuit, voted to take away disenfranchise Arizona and Pennsylvania voters, spread the lie, et cetera, et cetera.

[17:05:13]

But the Senate Republicans have been relatively sane compared to their House counterparts. But now we hear Senate Republican Whip John Thune say that McCarthy's opposition is going to make it harder for this commission to get the 60 votes in the Senate needed for this commission to actually become a reality. Does that bring -- I mean, tell me what you think the politics of that are? Because I wonder if that makes the Senate Republicans that kind of drags them into this cesspool of the big lie?

PARTI: I think one thing to watch for is going to be the vote count, right? When this bill comes to the floor in the House, what the vote count is how many Republicans actually vote for it. And then if that has any impact on how Senate Republicans view this, that's I think, why we heard Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell say that he wants to hit the pause button here and try to figure out what his conference feels, you know, how Senate Republicans are viewing this commission.

And so, I think once we actually have a vote count on the House side, that might factor in as well.

BORGER: Can I just add here, though, that here is Mitch McConnell, who said that the President provoked the attack. TAPPER: Right.

BORGER: He said it on the floor of the Senate.

TAPPER: Right.

BORGER: The president got really mad at him. And today, after McCarthy does his little trick, he comes out and says, well, wait a minute, we have to make sure that you have a bipartisan staff. And you can just feel him backing away from this. And John Thune, the number to say, well, maybe it'd be more difficult to get those 10 Republicans when you had seven in the Senate who voted for impeachment.

So, it is going to be more difficult. And you'll just have to see where the courage is and where the cowardice is. But we know how McConnell really feels about what occurred on January 6.

TAPPER: Right.

BORGER: We know that. He told us that. And now suddenly, he's saying, wait a minute, wait a minute, maybe this isn't going to be so fair.

TAPPER: But Tarini, what are the actual substantive objections about the commission itself? Because Pelosi wanted it to be a majority Democratic commission. And she caved on that, it's 5050. There's a, you know, there's going to be a Democratic chair and Republican vice chair. So, what are the actual substantive objections beyond this? You know, we also want to cover this incidence and data incidents in a whole bunch of stuff not relevant to the attack on the Capitol.

PARTI: Right. I think that actually is one of the reasons that Republicans are bringing up in terms of scope. They want to also include other things other than January 6, like the Black Lives Matter protests, and they keep bringing up Antifa. And so, they're trying to say that the scope is limited in terms of just covering January 6.

You're right, a lot of -- but Democrats have given in on some of those requests, that it is going to be a bipartisan commission, this in terms of subpoena power of both Republicans and Democrats would essentially have to sign off. So you know, you're hearing as Gloria said, McConnell, bring up things like staff now in terms of, you know, how the details of how this commission would be made up.

So, you're hearing kind of some Republicans bring up things like scope and staff. But really beyond that, Democrats have already sort of agreed on what they originally wanted.

BORGER: Ain't there enough to investigate on January 6? We know there are other things in the country that ought to be investigated. We can all agree on that. But so much occurred on January 6, that we do not yet understand that, it's such a large scope in and of itself when you talk about that day, and the planning for that day, and who was involved, and was this domestic terror, and how, you know, how was it orchestrated? That's a lot to cover.

And I think what Republicans want to do is say, well, you have to cover everything in this country. They can't do that. They can't do that and do it well. They just can't.

TAPPER: Yes. All right. Up to Tarini and Gloria, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

Coming up next, the violence in the Middle East dividing Democrats. One of the Democratic senators in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will join me next.

Plus, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo raking in millions and millions of dollars for a book about his leadership during the pandemic. There's just a few problems with that. We'll explain. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:13:09]

TAPPER: In our world lead today, Israeli warplanes continue to pound targets in Gaza and Hamas rockets fired into Israel have resumed after a brief lull overnight today. It's the ninth straight day of violent attacks between Israel and Hamas, an organization the State Department classifies as terrorist. Now Palestinian protesters are hitting the streets in cities across the West Bank and elsewhere demanding for an end of the Israeli bombing as CNN's Ben Wedeman reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Explosions like the sky above Gaza as a brief overnight low breaks with fresh airstrikes from Israel. Gaza militants returned fire according to Israeli officials, and so began another day of violence.

Thousands of Palestinians protesting in solidarity with Gaza, taking to the streets in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Some clashed with Israeli police just north of the Old City, where several Palestinian families face forced eviction from homes claimed by Jewish settlers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're striking for our dignity. We have endured 73 years of occupation and humiliation and we've had enough.

WEDEMAN: Hamas, Fatah and Palestinian civil society groups calling for the demonstrations.

On the ninth day of cross border fire, the ninth day of devastation. The Israeli military says war plane struck nine rocket launch sites in Gaza Tuesday and targeted a tunnel system, homes of Hamas commanders and an anti-tank squad in Gaza City.

The strikes on militants catching civilians in the crossfire.

[17:15:01]

A bereaved father in Gaza clutches his wounded baby. His only surviving family after airstrikes killed his wife and four sons.

There are among more than 200 Palestinians killed so far in the conflict. Israel's Prime Minister says their offensive will press on.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (via translator): We've taken Hamas years back, we'll continue as long as necessary to bring the quiet back to the citizens of Israel.

WEDEMAN: In Israel, two Thai migrant workers were killed and seven people injured after a rocket strike on an Israeli farm just over the Gaza fence. Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility as the death toll in Israel rises to 12.

Further north, rockets also landed on the Israeli cities of Ashdod and Beer Sheba. Some Israelis living in range of the rocket fire have fled to shelters for safety, afraid more violence will come.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My children are suffering from anxiety. They're so scared to sleep at home.

WEDEMAN: A life of fear becoming the norm as civilians pay the price in a conflict raging on.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WEDEMAN: And the death toll is rising with this general strike in the West Bank. Confrontations between protesters and Israeli security forces have left four dead, more than 200 wounded according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Ben Wedeman in Jerusalem, thank you so much. Let's bring in Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. He Chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee that focuses on the Middle East.

And Senator, you have said it's a no brainer for the United States for President Biden to push for a ceasefire. Yesterday, Biden says he supports one. He stopped short of demanding one.

And our reporter, Hadas Gold, in Jerusalem says that in the Israeli government, they're not feeling the pressure at all from the United States. What do you think?

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): Well, listen, I think it's very difficult when both sides, the Netanyahu government and Hamas, feel that they are getting political benefit by staying away from the negotiating table.

I have conveyed my thoughts to the Biden administration that they should be working as hard as they can for a ceasefire. I just don't see any benefit to U.S. security or Israeli security to keep this barrage up when Palestinian kids are being killed inside Gaza. That's not helping to secure Israel in the long run.

So, listen, I think the Biden administration is pushing for a ceasefire. I think the reality is that the sort of alignment of politics in the Netanyahu government and the incentive system that Hamas has to keep sending these rockets into Israel makes it difficult for the United States to try to be persuasive here. TAPPER: Do you think that the Biden administration is doing everything they can to push for a ceasefire? It doesn't sound like you think they are?

MURPHY: Well, you know, I've made my feelings known to the Biden administration. They, you know, have been engaged in a flurry of phone calls and meetings. They've got envoy in the region.

My belief is that the Biden administration is working to achieve a ceasefire. Again, I just think we have to understand right now that the Netanyahu government, for whatever reason, believes that they are better off continuing this campaign. And Hamas is going to continue to send rockets into Israel, so long as Israel is knocking down buildings inside Gaza.

TAPPER: Are you telling me that you think Netanyahu is continuing to press on with the offensive in Gaza for political reasons? Or do you think he's doing it for security reasons?

MURPHY: Listen, I can't get into Benjamin Netanyahu's psychology. What I know is that he certainly is believed for a long time that military offensives can secure Israel. I think experience tells us that well, it may give you some short term peace. Ultimately, it just feeds a grievance culture inside the Palestinian communities that guarantees long term unrest.

But I also know that there's no doubt that he is reliant on a coalition that does not support in many respects a Palestinian state. And so, when your partners in government are not actually looking for a two state future, it does dictate some of the decisions that you make.

TAPPER: There's a $735 million weapons sale between the U.S. and Israel that was approved by the by the Biden administration before this recent outbreak of violence began. It's now under consideration by Congress. The sale of this point probably cannot be stopped. But there are Democrats who have been talking about freezing it right now, unless Netanyahu agrees to a ceasefire. What do you think?

MURPHY: So I haven't been briefed on this sale yet, and so I want to learn more about it. I don't know that that tactic is necessarily going to convince Netanyahu to engage in a ceasefire.

[17:20:11]

But let me say this, listen, I think we are going to have to use whatever leverage we possess with both the Palestinians and the Israelis to try to get us back on track to a viable Palestinian state. And our first task is to get the ceasefire agreed to. And I think our second job is to, you know, try to once again, reposition ourselves and our historic role as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinians.

TAPPER: As you know, the Democratic Party is really quite split when it comes to support for Israel. There are those who are stalwart supporters of Israel, and there are those who refer to Israel's treatment of the Palestinians as apartheid. I think Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez used that term. Do you agree with Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez?

MURPHY: Well, I think the narrative here that sort of Democrats have shifted on the issue of Israel misses the point. I mean, Democrats have always been for two states. What has shifted is the position of the Netanyahu government and the Republican Party who now seem to be positioned in a way that makes a Palestinian state almost impossible in the long run.

So, yes, it does mean that Democrats now or maybe more willing to engage in criticism of the Israeli government, but that's because the Israeli government's position has changed the Democratic Party's position, which is supporting a Jewish state in the Middle East. And a Palestinian state has not changed. It's just the reality on the ground the Middle East has.

TAPPER: While I have you here, I want to ask you about the January 6 Commission. Today, Republican Senator John Thune, who's the Senate Whip for Republicans, he said he wasn't sure there are enough Republican votes to establish the commission, which would mean there aren't even 10 Republican votes, because House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has come out against it. Is it possible this commission won't happen, that 10 Republicans won't vote for it?

MURPHY: I mean, this is just extraordinary. I mean, what are Republicans are afraid of? Why do Republicans not want to know what led to an attack on the Capitol which led to a loss of life, which almost interrupted the transition of power? What are they so afraid that this commission is going to find out?

So, I'm just stunned by the fact that we can't get enough votes to just have a simple inquiry as to why this country was overrun by individuals who were intent on essentially ending our democracy as we know it. This shouldn't be partisan.

I mean, yes, I get it. The people who stormed the Capitol were Trump supporters, but nobody here who loves democracy should affiliate themselves with people who are trying to end this hypocrisy that we live in today. So, let's see.

I don't know that his prediction is true. I'm going to have conversations with my Republican colleagues over the next few days and see if we can at least guarantee enough Republican votes in the Senate to get it passed.

TAPPER: The key phrase in what you just said, nobody here who loves democracy. That's regrettably kind of an important clarification.

Senator Chris Murphy, Democratic Connecticut, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

MURPHY: Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: Coming up next, embattled Governor Andrew Cuomo set to make $5 million off a book about the pandemic and his leadership during it even as he faces questions about covering up coronavirus data in his state. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[7:27:43]

TAPPER: In the politics lead, tax records released this week revealed that New York's Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo is set to earn more than $5 million from Crown Publishing for his book in which he shares his leadership lessons from the pandemic. This despite harsh criticism of Cuomo's handling of the pandemic.

Accusations he and his administration covered up data about nursing home deaths. And despite reports that the State's Attorney General is investigating whether Cuomo inappropriately or even possibly illegally use state resources and staffers to help write and promote the book.

CNN's Brynn Gingras reports for us now on the multiple investigations involving Governor Cuomo as we learn how much he is profiting off the pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is cashing in tax returns released by his office Monday show Cuomo will pocket more than $5 million for his book, "American Crisis, Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic," a book written in the summer of 2020 as the state was staring down a second wave in the coronavirus pandemic.

MIKE SHATZKIN, FOUNDER & CEO, THE IDEA LOGICAL COMPANY: It's a lot of money. I would be very surprised if there were more than two or three books last year that Random House paid more than $5 million for to a person like Andrew Cuomo.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO, (D) NEW YORK: Learn the facts. You're the person who's going to keep your family safe. And that's the point of the book.

GINGRAS: When the book released last fall, the governor was still riding high on his newfound popularity. Gaining global attention for his daily on camera pandemic briefings.

Cuomo's book quickly climbed to number seven on "The New York Times" bestseller list. But then sales plummeted amid accusations his administration was covering up the true number of nursing home deaths after he issued a since retracted advisory in March 2020 forcing nursing homes to admit patients even if they tested positive for the virus and if they were deemed medically stable. Cuomo denies altering the nursing home numbers and has called the controversy a political attack.

CUOMO: On the nursing homes, you have to separate the political propaganda from the facts here.

GINGRAS: Even still, the New York based publisher pulled its plans for a paperback version according to "The New York Times." [17:30:05]

The multimillion-dollar book payment has raised eyebrows for being so much larger than other politicians' book deals and far from the more than $700,000 Cuomo earned for his first book in 2014.

MIKE SHATZKIN, FOUNDER & CEO, THE IDEA LOGICAL COMPANY: They took a multimillion-dollar risk and they lost multimillion dollars.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Last month, New York's comptroller asked the State's Attorney General to review if the book violated state ethic rules after allegations that the Governor use state employees and resources to write and promote it. The A.G.'s Office declined to comment, Cuomo's office called the claims absurd.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: So some people volunteered to help on the book.

GINGRAS (voice-over): All this as the State Attorney General's Office continues to probe allegations of sexual harassment by several of Cuomo's former and current staffers, lawyers for at least three women who accused the Governor of inappropriate behavior telling CNN last week, their clients have been subpoenaed to testify under oath to their claims. Cuomo has denied the allegations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GINGRAS: And those interviews under oath are expected to happen within the coming weeks. Now back to the book, according to a Cuomo staffer, the Governor donated $500,000 to United Way of New York for pandemic relief from the book's proceeds. The rest went into a trust for his daughters.

Cuomo is expected though to be paid $2 million of the total sum for the book over the next two years, though, Jake, it's unclear if that will still happen as the publisher reportedly also stopped promoting the book. We did reach out to the publisher for comment but didn't hear back. Jake?

TAPPER: All right, Brynn Gingras, thank you so much.

Today, another well-connected New Yorker is jumping in the race to replace Andrew Cuomo as Governor, Andrew Giuliani, son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani announced his bid for the Republican nomination this as his father Rudy Giuliani tries to mount a new legal defense. His lawyers urge the courts not to take Rudy Giuliani literally when he told a riled up crowd this on January 6th.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S PERSONAL ATTORNEY: If we're right, a lot of them will go to jail. So, let's have trial by combat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Let's have trial by combat. At the time, Giuliani was former President Trump's personal attorney and one of the loudest, loudest peddlers of the big election lie. Hours after his hype speech, rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol in the deadly insurrection.

Let's bring in CNN's Evan Perez. Evan, Giuliani is trying to get a lawsuit against him dismissed. Does his defense hold any weight?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, look, I mean, you hear from police who say that what they experienced at the U.S. Capitol was exactly that. It was hand to hand combat for hours and hours.

And so, this is in response to a lawsuit that was brought by Representative Eric Swalwell, who wants people like Giuliani, who helped incite the riot, who he says helped incite the riot, to have some consequences for what they did. And now Giuliani in his court filing late last night, he says that you can't -- don't listen to what he said on stage, that it was hyperbolic.

I'll read you just a part of what the court filing says. He says, "No reasonable reader or listener would have perceived Giuliani's speech as an instruction to march to the Capitol". It goes on to say, "Nor would anyone perceive the trial by combat reference as a call to arms to invade the Capitol". And, you know, this is obviously an attempt that -- to diminish those words. But as you pointed out, you know, those words were heated by a lot of those people who went on to march on the Capitol.

TAPPER: Yes, they engaged in trial by combat a few hours after he said that.

PEREZ: Exactly what he said.

TAPPER: Yes. And Giuliani is also facing that federal investigation into his activities in Ukraine. He's trying to see what the feds might have recovered from the iCloud data seize in last month's raid. Tell us about that case. Where does that stand?

PEREZ: Right. Well, what he wants is to take a look at some data that was taken from the iCloud back in 2019. And he says in his court filing, he says that this was an illegal search. The federal government, the prosecutors in New York have already asked for a special master, special -- a third party essentially to take a look at everything to make sure that it is being separated for anything that is -- attorney-client privilege, anything that is too sensitive that has nothing to do with this investigation, which has to do with Giuliani's activities in Ukraine.

Now, Giuliani wants to be able to take a look at every thing in there. But Jake, keep an eye on this. What we haven't heard from is President Trump in this case. Team Giuliani wants Trump to become involved.

They would love for them to intervene, to try to at least support Giuliani's point that what he did in Ukraine with those Ukrainians was all on behalf of the President. So far, Trump has not done that and so it bears watching what happens next,

[17:35:03]

TAPPER: Evan Perez, thank you so much. Soldiers raid a hospital featured in a CNN report after patients talk of the atrocities they survived. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our world lead, violent reaction in East Africa to a CNN report you saw first on the lead last week. CNN's Nima Elbagir traveled to Tigray in northern Ethiopia, which is near the border of Eritrea to report on the terror happening there. Ethiopian civilians told Nima about daily atrocities committed by Eritrean troops, troops that the Ethiopian government insisted were withdrawing. Here's part of her report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every patient you see here, the old, the young, the helpless, all injured in this country.

[17:40:02]

Our journey here has bought into focus the hollowness of Ethiopia's promises. As we leave Aksum, a line of soldiers in circles the hospital, there is no respite.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Fearless reporting, and now we're learning after the CNN report, the soldiers returned and raided that hospital this weekend accusing patients of, quote, tarnishing the country's image because they spoke to CNN, because they told Nima Elbagir the truth and she joins us now. Nima, what are the doctors at the hospital saying what are you hearing from the Ethiopian government?

ELBAGIR: Well, Jake, we have tried to stay in touch with everyone we spoke to because of exactly this fear that there would be retaliation. And medical staff at that hospital were able to get messages out to us and they tell us that in the early hours of Sunday morning, they were raided by soldiers carrying grenades, carrying machine guns, who attempted to harass patients and doctors to compile a list to allow them to understand who exactly had perpetrated this tarnishing of Ethiopia's reputation.

Luckily, humanitarian workers from MSF Doctors Without Borders were there at the time and they confirm this incident to us. They also were able to hold off some of these soldiers while patients fled. We have since spoken again to these doctors, Jake, and some of them remain in the hospital because not all of the patients could flee.

Some of the patients simply were too unwell, too wounded to move. And the doctors tell us that they will stay for as long as their parent -- their patients stay. They also say they don't regret speaking out, Jake. This is important that the world knows. TAPPER: It is. And your fearless reporting, exposing this to the world led to the U.S. government condemning Eritrea and Ethiopia's governments.

ELBAGIR: It did. Secretary Blinken did that over the weekend, although disappointingly, Jake, we reached out to the State Department regarding this appalling retaliation. We still haven't heard from them.

And that is incredibly worrying because people's lives tonight are at stake. And the hope is that the Secretary of State, the State Department will speak out at some point to drive home to the Ethiopian government, how important it is that those doctors, those patients are OK.

TAPPER: Yes. We're paying attention here. We're paying attention. Thank you, Nima, as always, our Senior International Correspondent.

Coming up next --

ELBAGIR: Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: -- growing calls to cancel the Olympics. We're live in Tokyo where a major new group says the games should not begin. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:47:08]

TAPPER: In our sports lead today, increasing skepticism about whether July is already delayed 2020 Summer Olympics will or should take place in Tokyo. Look at this and you'll see the problem. Japan is in the midst of a new wave of coronavirus infections. Tokyo is under a state of emergency. CNN's Blake Essig is there. And Blake, doctors organizations say that the game should be canceled.

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jake, that's because the medical system and several prefectures, including Tokyo is nearly filled the capacity and the situation is only getting worse. In fact, in some spots, doctors say that the medical system has completely collapsed with people dying at home because there's simply no bed space available, are generally speaking the Olympic Games here have been deeply unpopular in Japan for a long time.

But with each passing day, the chorus of voices speaking out against the Olympics is getting louder. And just in the past several days, two groups of Japanese doctors or thousands of physicians have called for the games to be canceled. Anti-Olympic protests have been held a petition with more than 352,000 signatures all collected within a week was submitted to Tokyo's government calling for the games also to be canceled.

And a recent poll conducted by a major Japanese newspaper shows that more than 80 percent of people here want the games to be canceled or postponed again. It's worth noting that democracy doesn't have a long history here and protests are uncommon. So the fact that ordinary people, athletes, medical professionals and

industry leaders are speaking out publicly against the Olympics, even in small numbers is significant. And it's clear that the anti-Olympic movement is growing, Jake.

TAPPER: And Blake, has the Japanese government likely to respond to these calls to delay or even cancel the games?

ESSIG: Well, you know, Jake, just this past week, Prime Minister Suga speaking to the lower House. He basically deflected responsibility, saying that the final decision to hold the Summer Games is the International Olympic Committees to make but Olympic scholars I've spoken to say that that's not totally true yet.

Based on the Host City Contract, the IOC has an incredible amount of control over what happens. But given the ongoing pandemic, I'm told that Japan could pull the plug but if they do, Jake, the IOC could sue Tokyo and Japan's national government sticking them with the bill for the canceled games.

TAPPER: All right, Blake Essig, thanks so much.

Let's bring in Dr. William Schaffner, and he's a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Schaffner, you just heard our report on the Tokyo Olympics. If they asked you, the International Olympic Committee or the government of Japan, what would you advice?

DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFFESOR, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: Well, Jake, it really does sound as though it's going to be a super spreading event and the fact that the medical care system is all already stressed.

[17:50:02]

Clearly the virus itself is in charge in Japan. They're not vaccinating very many people. And to bring a whole cadre of international people into that environment, the public health equation solves in the direction of postponement. This is not an anti-Olympic movement, this is an anti-COVID movement. That's what seems to make sense to me.

TAPPER: Would you suggest that they hold their games in a safer part of the world or, I mean, what -- the athletes already delayed from last year?

SCHAFFNER: Yes. Well, from the athletes point of view, if it could be kind of subcontracted, different venues around the world participating. I mean, COVID has obliged us all to be remarkably flexible. Here I am not in a studio, but in my office doing this. And likewise, I think we have to continue to be flexible internationally, and not provoke even more COVID that could make many people including the athletes, some of them, very, very ill.

TAPPER: Yes, time to get creative, perhaps. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky says that the seven-day average of deaths is at the lowest level in the U.S. since the pandemic started. Have we, in the United States, officially turned the corner?

SCHAFFNER: I don't know if there's anything official about it, but it looks that way to me. The cases are going down, deaths are going down, hospitalizations are going down, vaccinations are going up. Now, if the vaccinations increased even more rapidly, you would see those other metrics, those COVID metrics going down even more.

There's still lots of people out there who haven't come forward and rolled up their sleeves. We need them to do that. Vaccine in the refrigerator cannot prevent disease.

TAPPER: The patchwork of mask mandates from city to city, states to businesses rather confusing. Dr. Fauci said today that he thinks it's reasonable for businesses to decide to keep their mask mandates. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: We don't have any way of knowing who is vaccinated and who's not vaccinated. It's perfectly reasonable and understandable, for the owner of that establishment to say, you know, we're going to keep the mask mandate up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What do you think businesses should do? Do you think there is wisdom in asking people to see proof of that they were vaccinated?

SCHAFFNER: Well, you know, Jake, some of us are very conservative, some of us are more risk prone. And I think there will be some business owners who want to be more conservative. Others are ready to open up. You have to ask yourself, what's happening also in your community? Are those cases really going down or are we still seeing in your particular community a lot of cases? And the individuals, the public, they should chill a little bit.

Yes, in some stores, they can go in not wearing a mask. But if they go down the street into another, and they're asked to wear a mask, chill out, get your mask out of your purse or your pocket, put it on and keep smiling.

TAPPER: What would you do if you had a Starbucks? Would you tell people to keep their masks on? Would you ask to see vaccination proof at the door? What would you do?

SCHAFFNER: Well, I certainly wouldn't ask for vaccination proof. And I'm a pretty conservative person. Public health first. Save those lives. I'm still wearing my mask.

TAPPER: All right, Dr. William Schaffner, thanks so much for your thoughts today. Appreciate it.

Coming up, a legendary brand of sports car is going electric. That story is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:58:07]

TAPPER: In our money lead, Lamborghini going green and we don't just mean the color, although, that's a nice shade of green. That carmaker CEO just announced that every model Lamborghini offers will be a plug- in hybrid by the end of 2024.

And yes, they will still go vroom, vroom. Plug-in hybrids are designed to keep the feel and sound of an internal combustion engine when driven aggressively. However, the car also can operate under purely electric power at times.

We should know that really top of the line Lamborghinis are not allowed on public streets. The company offers to store them in Italy and send them to the racetrack of your choice.

Sad news in our pop culture lead, saying goodbye to an iconic sourpuss. Sad news today, the actor Charles Grodin has died. Millennials may remember him as the co-star to the drooling dog Beethoven. But to your folks, an old folks like me, he is the guy who turned the uncomfortable into comedy on Late-Night.

Dead panning his way through guest spots on Carson and Letterman way before Kimmel and Matt Damon were fake feuding for the laughs. Grodin's family says he died in his home after a battle with cancer.

Charles Grodin was 86 years old and it was great to watch him. May his memory be a blessing.

Finally from us in our pop culture lead, my new novel is now out, "The Devil May Dance", it takes place in the 1962 Hollywood Rat Pack era, featuring Charlie and Margaret Marder, the heroes from my first novel, "The Hellfire Club". You can order an autographed copy, just tab to the bottom of the page at JakeTapper.com or pick up a copy wherever you buy books, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, preferably your local independent bookstore.

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, even TikTok at JakeTapper. You can tweet the show at TheLeadCNN. Our coverage continues now with one Mr. Wolf Blitzer, who is, as it turns out, right next door in "THE SITUATION ROOM."