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The Lead with Jake Tapper
Soon: House Votes On Commission To Investigate Insurrection; New York A.G. Joins Criminal Probe Into Trump Organization; Biden Pushes Netanyahu For A Ceasefire, But Israeli P.M. Says Offensive Will Continue; Vaccine Hesitancy In Law Enforcement; Interview With Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA); Texas Inmate Set To Be Executed Tonight For Killing His Great-Aunt, Despite Family Calls For Clemency. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired May 19, 2021 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: They don't have some sort of mental health diagnosis.
[16:00:03]
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, you know, especially if you're seeing this content on your feed non-stop.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Yeah.
O'SULLIVAN: It's difficult to believe otherwise.
BLACKWELL: All right. Thanks so much.
"THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts right now.
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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Sure is interesting that Republican leaders don't want an investigation into the attack on their own workplace.
THE LEAD starts right now.
In just minutes, the House of Representatives expected to vote on forming a congressional commission to investigate the MAGA terror attack on the U.S. Capitol as Senator McConnell ultimately caves to Trump and says he cannot support the bipartisan inquiry.
While another investigation is intensifying, turning up the heat on Trump as the probe into his company turns into a criminal investigation.
Plus, it was the biggest killer of law enforcement in the United States last year. Why are so many officers refusing to get a COVID vaccine?
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TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD, everyone. I'm Jake Tapper, and we start with the politics lead and a vote
expected in the next hour that will come down essentially to the truth versus Trump. The big question right now, how many House Republicans will vote against the creation of a bipartisan commission to investigation the deadly January 6th insurrection and attack on their own workplace, and how many will support such an inquiry?
The commission will very likely dig into the actions of any number of Republicans including former President Donald Trump before and on January 6th, including what he said at that rally moments before rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, leaving people dead in their wake.
At the 11th hour before today's vote, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell joined with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in throwing his political weight against the formation of the commission. McConnell called it a, quote, slanted and unbalanced proposal but tellingly instead of offering fixes to the bill he just wants to kill it completely. McCarthy struck a similar tone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), MINORITY LEADER: This is driven solely by politics and Nancy Pelosi, but we should not be a part of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: There is a long history of such bipartisan commissions on Capitol Hill. This one was negotiated between the top Democrat and the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee. In terms of Pelosi versus McCarthy and their desires, frankly Pelosi caved to every demand that McCarthy made officially.
In this letter to Speaker Pelosi back in February, McCarthy made three specific demands for this commission. He wanted, quote, an equal 5-5 ratio and appointments by Democrats and Republicans, and Pelosi did not want that, but Democrats ultimately conceded, and it is now 50-50. McCarthy wanted, quote, co-equal subpoena power. He got that, too.
Lastly, McCarthy said he wanted, quote, no inclusion of findings or other pre-determined conclusions which ultimately could be rendered by the commission itself, unquote. He got that, too. He got all three things he asked for in that February letter.
But here's the truth of the matter: We all saw what happened on January 6th and in the months leading up to it. The big election lie that incited the insurrection was pushed by folks like Kevin McCarthy. I can't imagine anyone who helped spawn these lies would truly want a commission to lift up the rock to see what's under it.
Trump is out there making it clear he doesn't want anyone looking into it, and now McCarthy's and McConnell's public opposition will undoubtedly pressure other Republicans to fall in line. So you be the judge. You tell me who do you think is playing politics here?
Let's go right to CNN's Ryan Nobles tracking all of this on Capitol Hill. Ryan, gauging the House vote, it's been a moving target all day. We
expect it will pass because Democrats control the House, but how many Republicans do we think are going to vote with Democrats for the formation of this commission?
RYAN NOBLES, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That's a great question, Jake, and we've been asking Republicans that for the last 24 hours and the forecast is anywhere between 20 Republicans to as many as 50 Republicans that will vote to pass this 1/6 commission bill into law.
Now, that's far less than what Republicans had initially thought was going to happen, when the ranking member on Homeland Security, John Katko, secured this deal with Bennie Thompson, the chair of the Homeland Security Committee. But ever since House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise made it clear they don't want their members to support it. It seems as though the Republican members inclined to vote yes are starting to peel away.
And then, of course, the big question is what happens when it comes to the Senate side?
[16:05:01]
It's obviously a much higher bar. It would require ten Republicans to vote yes. The fact that Mitch McConnell this morning is now out saying that he opposes the bill makes its pass and much more unlikely. Some Republicans are talking about making tweaks to the bill and then perhaps they will support it. But right now, Jake, this bill seems as though it's in big trouble of being eventually fully passed into law.
TAPPER: So, Ryan, what happens -- what happens next? If Democrats get this through the House, but they don't get ten Republicans in the Senate, so they can't pass it through the Senate. What will Speaker Pelosi do?
NOBLES: Well, she has options, Jake. And at this point, she's not saying specifically what her plans are, but take a listen to what she just told a group of us reporters a few minutes ago about what options she has on the table.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I certainly could call for hearings in the House with a majority of the members being Democrats with full subpoena power for the agenda being determined by the Democrat, but that's not the path we have chosen to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBLES: Now, what she's talking about is a special select committee that would be majority Democrats and they would control subpoena power. It would very similar to the Benghazi Commission that Republicans used to look into the Benghazi attacks when they controlled the majority.
Now, Pelosi makes it clear she does not want to go down that path, but when pressed upon this issue today, Jake, all she would say is we will ultimately find the truth. So it certainly seems as though she's keeping this option open -- Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Ryan Nobles on Capitol Hill, thanks so much.
A lot to discuss with my panel.
Jamie Gangel, we expect this vote in the next hour. What are you hearing from your sources? How many House Republicans will buck Leader McCarthy and vote for the creation of this commission?
JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: It's 4:06 p.m. I'm hearing between 20 and if you're optimistic maybe up to 38. But when Donald Trump came out last night at 9:09 and he said, quote, hopefully Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy are listening.
It was the word went out, he doesn't want this. They don't want it. We see Mitch McConnell come out this morning against it, and my Republican sources in the House who are in favor of the commission feel that Mitch McConnell really has suppressed the vote, so they don't know where it will land.
One of them said to me that it was the most calculated move and craven move that they have seen.
TAPPER: Mitch McConnell coming out.
GANGEL: Yes.
TAPPER: He didn't have to say anything at all. He could have waited for it to pass.
And, Dana, McConnell called the commission a slanted and unbalanced proposal even though Democrats literally gave McCarthy everything he asked for.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Everything.
TAPPER: In the February letter. Every single thing, but he was at least open to the idea, McConnell, 24 hours ago. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: I think I'm safe in characterizing our conference as willing to listen even though the commission appears to be balanced. My staff tells me that in fact the majority, the chair who will be determined by Pelosi and Schumer control all the staff hiring.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: This seems link a excuse. McConnell could say I will agree to this but it has to be the chair and vice chair agree on all staff hiring and then we'll do it. But he's not doing that. He's just killing it. BASH: That's right. They are -- you're exactly right. As Pelosi said I
believe yesterday, they just won't take yes for an answer, these Republicans, because they didn't expect what you said, Jake, for the Democrats to give them what they were asking for. They thought that it would be, know, that it would be a tug-of-war and then would sly a slow death. That didn't happen.
And so, look, before I came on I talked to a Republican senator who has been quiet about this particular issue but was considering voting yes because the assumption was that Mitch McConnell and John Thune and other Republican leaders before McCarthy came out were also going to be for it, and there's a lot of scrambling going on in the Senate cloak room because of the -- I wouldn't say it's a is 80 from McCarthy pause he was never embracing this, but certainly for McConnell based on what he said after January 6th about how intense he was in his criticism of the former president and how much he said it was important to get the truth.
TAPPER: Yeah, and in fact both McConnell and McCarthy even, McCarthy had a moment of moral clarity. McConnell more than a moment. But take a listen to what they had to say in the days after the insurrection.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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MCCONNELL: The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people.
MCCARTHY: The president bears responsibility for Wednesday's attack on Congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: So let me bring in Congresswoman Mia Love.
Congresswoman, what happened? I don't understand why would they not want a bipartisan commission with equal subpoena power and no pre- ordained conclusion to get to the bottom of why their workplace was attacked?
MIA LOVE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, McCarthy has got really good reason to be concerned, for two reasons. One is he is going to have to testify to the phone call that he had with the president and explain how incredibly concerned and upset he was during that phone call, and also he's going to have to rehash what he said on the floor which was that the president is responsible for what happened on January 6th.
But I have to tell you, the most concerning is what -- the conversations that are happening in conference right now where there are a lot of Republicans that are fearful that this is going to be the narrative in the mid-term election.
Make no mistake about it. This is the number one concern. How is this going to affect Republicans gaining control in the House of Representatives and even the Senate? My guess is that McConnell and McCarthy have had a conversation about this very clearly.
TAPPER: Let me ask you a question just to follow up, Congresswoman. Which is worse? The idea that Republicans are trying to suppress this commission, and if they kill it, if McConnell kills it in the Senate, Nancy Pelosi has a select committee which will be much more of a spectacle and Democrats will be able to say and Republicans tried to cover this up, or having this bipartisan, bicameral commission that tries to do it in a responsible way.
If I'm a Republican, I'm a House Republican, even if I'm a MAGA House Republican, I think I'd rather have the commission.
LOVE: Right. There is an issue. In my opinion it's easier to say let's be transparent about this. Let's talk about what happened. Let's make sure that the American people can see what has happened on January 6th.
And also I would demand that the commission tell us what they are going to do to make sure that this doesn't happen again, that this commission is actually going to be effective, but in essence what they are doing is getting away from all of this and now it leaves an open question, what's more important to you? What happened January 6th or re-election?
TAPPER: Right. Well, unfortunately, there's one answer that's good for the country and one that has nothing to do with the country.
Congresswoman, thanks so much. Jamie Gangel and Dana Bash, appreciate it.
LOVE: Thank you.
TAPPER: A New York investigation into the Trump organization is now a criminal probe. What that might mean for the former president? Next.
And masks? Forgot about it. What was once the terrible epicenter of the COVID outbreak reaches a major milestone in the comeback.
Stay with us.
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TAPPER: In our politics lead, the New York state investigation into Donald Trump and his family business is intensifying.
The New York Attorney General Letitia James has added a criminal component to her investigation into the Trump Organization and now the former president finds himself exposed to a whole new level of legal risk just as he relocates from Mar-a-Lago in Florida to his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, not far from the people investigating him.
CNN's Paula Reid reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Today, the Trump Organization on notice, the New York attorney general has joined the Manhattan district attorney in its criminal investigation.
Attorney General Letitia James campaigned on a promise to investigate Trump's businesses.
LETITIA JAMES, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: It doesn't matter who you are. If you are betraying the public trust for personal gain, I will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.
REID: For the past two years, her office has been investigating the Trump Organization for possible fraud.
JAMES: What we are investigating is the fact that the Trump Organization inflated their assets for the purposes of obtaining loans and insurance coverage and deflated their assets for the same -- same assets for the purposes of avoiding and evading tax liability and/or limiting it.
REID: But that civil investigation has now turned criminal. James' office saying in a statement to CNN, we are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity along with the Manhattan D.A.
Earlier this year, James said --
JAMES: Until we uncover some unlawful behavior or conduct, our investigation will continue as a civil matter.
REID: Her investigators have deposed multiple Trump Organization officials, including Eric Trump and chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg.
Today, the former president fired off a lengthy statement saying they failed to stop me in Washington so they turned it over to New York to do their dirty work. He has previously dismissed the investigation.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is just a continuation of the witch hunt.
REID: The news comes as the former president relocates along with his aides to his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club. Between rounds of golf, the former president is expected to focus on his political future.
According to records obtained by CNN, Trump has spent the first five months of his time away from Washington surrounded by a generously paid group of staffers.
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At least one received a $32,000 raise over their White House salary. Since Trump is working out of a property he owns, he is able to keep
his office costs down and employ a larger team to help him map out his political future.
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REID (on camera): While other former president focused on writing their memoirs or philanthropy, former President Trump is channeling his energy to building a political machine to help him maintain his grip on the GOP. This weekend, he's expected to attend a Make America Great Again fundraiser at his golf club, his first official appearance since relocating to New Jersey -- Jake.
TAPPER: All right, Paula. Thank you so much for that report.
The Israeli prime minister seems to shrug off President Biden as Biden calls for a path to a cease-fire and missiles and rockets continue to fly. Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal is here to respond next.
Stay with us.
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TAPPER: In our world lead, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Israeli Defense Forces will continue military strikes against targets in Gaza, quote, until its objective is achieved. Gaza's health ministry now reporting a total of 227 deaths, including 64 children. At least 12 people have been killed in Israel, according to the IDF.
And as CNN's Phil Mattingly report, Netanyahu's actions are proceeding despite President Biden scaling up public pressure for the Israelis to enact a cease-fire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A dramatic shift in U.S. posture as violence in the Middle East is not easing up. President Biden, 48 hours after privately taking a firmer tone with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for the first time ramping up the public pressure, the White House today releasing a readout of the call between the two leaders stating Biden, quote, conveyed to the prime minister that he expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a cease-fire.
Netanyahu for now showing no intention of backing down tweeting that while he very much appreciated the support of, quote, our friend Joe Biden, quote, I am determined to continue this operation until its objective is achieved, to restore peace and security to you, citizens of Israel.
Biden facing pressure on several fronts, including from close allies.
SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): I think standing publicly for a seize fire is what we would do in virtually any situation, and we ought to do it here.
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): I have conveyed my thoughts to the Biden administration that they should be working as hard as they can for a cease-fire.
MATTINGLY: And on the international stage with Biden and top U.S. officials warning the Israeli counterparts Monday that pressure could only be withstood for so long. But as the U.S. sticks publicly to its message of quiet but intensive diplomacy, it's the White House's readouts of a week of calls with Netanyahu to tell a story of what one official deemed clear and growing frustration.
It was on May 12th when Biden underscored, quote, unwavering support for Israel's right to defend itself and agreed to maintain close consultation, to May 15th where he reiterated the strong support for Israel's right to defend itself and agreed to continue that close consultation. To the start of the shift on May 17th where he repeated the firm support for Israel's right to defend itself but for the first time expressed his support for a cease-fire.
To today where a curt readout dropped any mention of support and for the first time laid out an explicit timeline. It's a clear and pointed shift, one official say underscores the grave risk that escalate with each passing day of this conflict.
NATAN SACHS, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR MIDDLE EAST POLICY, THE BROOKINGS INSITUTE: This is the kind of danger with every single moment and every single day that continues without a cease-fire that each side tried to get their victory and the other side, of course, then feeling that it has to strike back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY (on camera): And, Jake, underscoring the domestic intra- party pressure that the president is facing, a group of progressive House measures introducing a measure to block a $735 million arm sale to Israel. And that sale pre-dated the current conflict but it just underscores the pressure he's under from a Democratic Party that's shifted away from a traditional position on Israel that the president has long since held. That block is not expected to go through but it is a warning sign to the president, Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Phil Mattingly, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal of Washington state joins us now.
Congresswoman, thanks so much for joining us.
So, you are calling for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Let me ask you a question because you've been critical of Israel, what do you think the appropriate response for the Israeli government and military should be given that this particular military conflict began ten days ago with Hamas firing rockets indiscriminately at Israeli civilians? REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): Well, we condemn Hamas' firing of those rockets, but I think you have to look at what prompted even that behavior. I think that there was, you know, the continuing annexation that Israel has been undertaking for years actually.
And, you know, Jake, I was at Khan al-Ahmar several years ago when the bulldozers arrived to bulldoze that village. It was stopped by an injunction from the supreme court.
But this has been a pattern of action from Israel that frankly has taken away the idea even of a two-state solution that has led to increased hopelessness from the Palestinian people.
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And I think what Hamas has done is -- obviously, we condemn that, but we have to look at the power balance here, or imbalance, as it were. And we have to put more responsibility on Israel in maintaining peace in the region.
And so I think a lot of this, when you look at the bombing of the AP building, when you look at the indiscriminate bombing that has been happening, the disproportionate loss of lives of Palestinians, you just have to be in a situation where you cannot -- we have to do everything we can, as the United States, to work towards a cease-fire, not just call for a cease-fire, utilize the U.N., obviously, a united front there, and use all the tools that we have, as the United States, in pressuring Israel to -- and Hamas to work towards a cease-fire.
TAPPER: I think one of the situations the White House finds itself in is trying to figure out the best way to get Netanyahu to do what you're talking about, a cease-fire.
Clearly, Netanyahu right now is not listening to Biden's public call for de-escalation. But people in the White House, according to my sources, also think that floor speeches or U.N. Security Council resolutions won't get Netanyahu to do what they want him to do in terms of de-escalating.
It will only enable him to pursue his domestic politics the best way that he can in the situation he's in. What do you think the Biden administration should be doing?
JAYAPAL: Well, I do -- I don't agree with that assessment.
I mean, I don't think that there's been a situation in the world where you have had intense violence where it hasn't been helpful to have a full diplomatic full-court press from the United States and the U.N.
So, to have the U.N. come out with a cease-fire resolution is very important. I don't think it's appropriate that the United States blocked that. And, in fact, I think that might have emboldened Netanyahu even more.
So we have to use that tool. I think that President Biden has been giving a very mixed message. As you say, it's transitioned. And I'm happy that has happened. But we're a little bit too late to the picture with that.
And I think Benjamin Netanyahu thinks that Joe Biden is going to stand by him. And I think we have to quickly reverse that idea. I think sending out these -- this arms sale in the middle of it, approving the arms sale in the middle of it sends an extraordinarily bad message.
TAPPER: Well, let's talk about that.
JAYAPAL: So, we have another -- we have a number of tools that we can use.
TAPPER: Let's talk about that, because your colleagues and fellow progressives, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Congressman Mark Pocan, they have all introduced legislation to block the sale of $785 billion in weapons to Israel that was happening before this conflict started.
Would you support their legislation to block it?
JAYAPAL: Yes, I'm on that resolution. It's a resolution of disapproval. And I will be on that resolution.
And I will tell you, Jake, this isn't just about Israel. I really believe that the United States Congress has to be involved in approving these arm sales, regardless of where they are. We have for too long -- there's a staff person that somehow notifies the staff person on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, and that's supposed to be sufficient.
That's not sufficient. And I believe even the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee feels this way.
We need to be involved in these issues. Congress needs to have a say. And, in this case, it's Israel. I can tell you, I think that should be the case regardless of where it is. So, yes, I'm going to be on that resolution to disapprove this arms sale.
I do not think that this is the moment for it. But, beyond that, I think Congress needs to reassert itself in these matters.
TAPPER: Before you go, I want to ask you, because you're leading this effort of more than 50 House Democrats urging both Democratic Majority Leader Schumer and Speaker Pelosi to go against Republicans and push the Biden White House for a larger up-front investment on infrastructure, and not focus as much on trying to make it bipartisan.
Why?
JAYAPAL: It's not about going against Republicans. It's about doing what the people are calling for, Republican, independent and Democrat.
If Republicans are going to refuse to come along with actually helping us to get to a package that meets the scale of the crisis, meets the needs of this country for this once-in-a-generation investment, then we have to go -- we have to go it alone. But we have given them a chance. Nothing has emerged from that. And
don't forget, Jake, they voted no and took the dough, right? They voted no on the rescue package, and then went home and bragged about how it was important that that money was coming into their communities.
In spite of the fact that people in their districts wanted them to vote for that package, they essentially said, no, we're not going to do that.
So, yes, I don't have a lot of faith that they're going to come along. And I think this is too urgent, and we need to go big, go bold and go fast.
TAPPER: Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, thanks so much for joining us. Good to see you again.
JAYAPAL: Thank you, Jake. Good to see you.
TAPPER: The number one killer of cops in the line of duty in the last year? According to a study, it was the coronavirus.
[16:35:03]
So, why are so many in law enforcement hesitant to get the vaccination?
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TAPPER: In our health lead today: As of this morning, vaccinated New Yorkers can ditch their masks on their morning bagel and coffee run, if the business lets them, of course.
Restaurants stores, salons and gyms are allowed to open at 100 percent capacity.
And as CNN's Erica Hill reports for us now, it's not going to be an immediate full return to pre-COVID days in the city that was once, sadly, the epicenter of the pandemic.
[16:40:03]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL DE BLASIO (D), MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: This is a really important day. It proves that vaccination works.
ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fully vaccinated? You can ditch the mask inside most places in New York and Connecticut, and businesses across the tri-state area can now operate at full capacity, as the early epicenter of this pandemic shifts reopening into high gear.
VIKRAM MULCHANDANI, VACCINATED HOSPITAL WORKER: I think it's a major milestone for us, and definitely happy that we are at this point in time. HILL: Though not everyone is ready for the change.
BRENDA JONES, NEW YORK RESIDENT: I'm going to wear my mask for as long as I can. It's very confusing. How do you know who has the vaccine and who doesn't?
HILL: The short answer, you don't, despite the CDC's recent guidance,
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: I think people are misinterpreting, thinking that this is a removal of a mask mandate for everyone. It's not. It's not their fault. That's just people either read them quickly or listen and hear half of it.
HILL: Nationwide, about 60 percent of adults have at least one shot. And while average daily vaccinations are slowing, their impact is not.
Cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to drop, as a CNN analysis finds, in the seven states that have already met President Biden's July 4 goal of at least one dose for 70 percent of the adult population, average cases per capita are about 10 percent lower compared to other states.
In the 10 states that have vaccinated less than half of adults, average per capita cases are nearly 20 percent higher.
DR. PAUL OFFIT, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: I think we can dramatically slow the spread of this virus. I think what we should do is what charities do, put up that -- those little thermometers where you need to get to like 80 million, and just keep checking that off every day. We're almost there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Almost there, but not quite yet.
And some new information from the American Academy of Pediatrics today, Jake, recommending that children who are unvaccinated under the age of 12 -- of course, they're not yet eligible for the vaccine in the United States -- they should continue to mask up in public places, as they have been doing for the last year-plus, especially when they can't be socially distant from other people.
Now, the AAP did say that when kids are with fully vaccinated family members or in small groups, it's OK to de-mask, but, otherwise, better safe than sorry -- Jake.
TAPPER: All right, Erica Hill in New York, thank you so much.
In our national lead: something Erica mentioned in her report is worth noting again. About 60 percent of American adults 18 and over now have received at least one shot of the coronavirus vaccines, yet vaccine hesitancy remains a problem in the United States. And it surfaces in places you might not necessarily expect, places such as police departments.
We asked CNN Ryan Young to look into why there is so much vaccine hesitancy among law enforcement.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An untold victim of the COVID-19 pandemic.
DET. JOSEPH KING, SOUTH FULTON, GEORGIA, POLICE DEPARTMENT: I worry about coming home every day, period, not just because of a vaccine, because of COVID.
YOUNG: Police departments across the country devastated by the virus, and yet convincing officers to get a COVID-19 shot hasn't been easy.
STEVE GRAMMAS, PRESIDENT, LAS VEGAS PROTECTIVE POLICE ASSOCIATION: Some people let politics, I think, play into it in their decision- making.
KEITH MEADOWS, SOUTH FULTON, GEORGIA, POLICE CHIEF: We're going to try to continue to educate our people to try to get more and more officers comfortable.
YOUNG: Keith Meadows, police chief for the city of South Fulton just outside Atlanta, says less than half of his police department officers have been vaccinated.
YOUNG (on camera): How much do you think about them on a day-to-day basis when they're out there dealing with people who may have COVID, who may have not had the shot before?
MEADOWS: I think about it every day. It's even more important, to be perfectly honest with you, that our officers are educated around this issue.
YOUNG (voice-over): Like Detective Joseph King, who remains skeptical.
KING: I just want to kind of stand back and let them work through the kinks. And I will then make a decision later on.
YOUNG: While some are reluctant to take the vaccine, others have opted to get vaccinated.
GRAMMAS: I made the decision to go ahead and get the vaccine, in hopes that I don't have to feel that way again.
YOUNG: Roughly 60 percent of U.S. adults have had at least one dose. But in many police departments, where vaccines aren't mandatory, it's a different story.
As of May 10, about 40 percent of Las Vegas Metropolitan Police employees have received their first dose. In New York, that number is 40 percent among NYPD employees. And, in Chicago, it's 28 percent, according to the department's limited data, so that number may be higher.
DAVID BROWN, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, POLICE SUPERINTENDENT: It was painless, and I am afraid of needles, but I didn't feel a thing. YOUNG: Earlier this year in Chicago, the police superintendent got his
vaccine on camera, hoping it would inspire his officers.
But the president of the Chicago Fraternal Order Police union isn't surprised by the low vaccination rate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the officers are no different than the general population. There's a skepticism.
YOUNG: The reluctance to get vaccinated comes amid a year when police departments were hit hard by the virus. The NYPD estimates more than 11,000 have had COVID-19. And, last month, the NYPD counted their 55th COVID-related death.
Last year, the virus was the biggest killer of law enforcement in the U.S., causing at least 145 of the 264 line-of-duty deaths, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
[16:45:08]
GRAMMAS: One of our own, Lieutenant Eric Lloyd, we just recognized his name being put on a police memorial, that passed away from COVID last year. Maybe if Eric was still alive, he would tell people please, go get it. Go get a vaccine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
YOUNG (on camera): Jake, when you think about this, this is not a job that you can do by zoom. These officers are out here on a day-to-day basis and in some big cities crimes have gone out during the pandemic so you need the cars up there.
Still, a lot of chiefs tell me they don't want to mandate that because that's the last thing they want to do to alienate the officers. They want to make sure they overeducate them at this point, to hope they'll get the shot -- Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Great report. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
A Texas death row inmate convicted of beating to death his great aunt may have just hours to live, but his family and the victim's family asking for mercy. A close friend of Quintin Jones joins me next.
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[16:50:15]
TAPPER: In our national lead now, a Texas death row inmate is set to be executed in just hours despite the fact that the victim's family does not want him to be.
Quintin Jones was found guilty of beating his 83-year-old great aunt to death in 1989 with a baseball bat after she refused to lend him money to buy more drugs. Jones was 20 at the time and a major drug addict. He admits to the murder but he has devoted the past 21 years of his life to personal growth and redemption. His family who has forgiven him are publicly opposing the execution.
Here is the victim's sister.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love him very much. I think the governor should spare him because he has changed and he's a different person than he used to be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Here to discuss is, Suleika Jaouad, author of the memoir "Between Two Kingdoms" where she writes about her friendship with Jones.
Thanks for joining us, Suleika. For people sitting at home who might be thinking he's guilty. He did this, why should I care? Tell us why they should care?
SULEIKA JAOUAD, AUTHOR, "BETWEEN TWO KINGDOMS": So, Quin's story is really one of mercy and redemption. He entered death row at the age of 20 as lost as a soul can be, and over the last two decades on death row he's become the model of a prison success story through the forgiveness of his family, who's also the victim's family, their prayer, reconciliation, with friends and his community, through his sobriety.
He has become a kind, decent, compassionate man and I think here, you know, we have an opportunity not just to spare this man's life but to model a kind of restorative justice where harm isn't perpetuated but restored and really it begs the question of who we want to be as a society.
This morning --
TAPPER: How did you become friends with Quintin? I'm sorry for interrupting.
JAOUAD: So Quin sent me a letter a decade ago while I was undergoing cancer treatment in response to a column, and he wrote me this beautiful letter reflecting on our shared experiences of facing mortality and isolation, and I had my own, you know, preconceptions about what a death row convict might be like and he upended every single one of them.
I had the chance to visit him five years ago. I had the chance to visit him on death row two weeks ago, and every time I encounter him, I'm struck by the depths of his remorse and his accountability and, I -- you know, believe that it's a grave miscarriage of justice to execute this man as he's set to be in just a couple of hours no matter where you stand on death penalty.
TAPPER: So, Texas Governor Greg Abbott who you want to commute the sentence or at least put it on pause to review it, he's only commuted one death sentence since he became governor in 2015. A motion was filed this morning asking him for this 30-day reprieve. Do you expect him to at least grant that?
JAOUAD: I hope he does. The world is watching. We have religious leaders. We have advocacy groups on the ground asking him to do the right thing.
The clemency that he granted two years ago to Thomas Bart Whitaker was on the same grounds that are present in Jones' case, which was that his family forgave him and, you know, his family was also the victim's family and that they were asking to not be re-traumatized by another death.
But Whitaker is white and from a middle class background. Jones is poor and black, and yesterday, all seven members of the board of pardons and parole voted unanimously against clemency. But Governor Abbott has the power now to grant a 30-day delay which his attorneys have asked so that they can investigate the possibility of concerns that the decision was compromised by racial discrimination and bias.
TAPPER: Best of luck. Suleika Jaouad, we real appreciate your time and this story you've just shared with our viewers.
[16:55:03]
JAOUAD: Thank you, Jake.
TAPPER: Any minute, the House is expected to vote on a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6th insurrection. How many Republicans are going to opt for the truth instead of Trump?
Stay with us.
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TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.
This hour, a first for the Biden presidency, a face-to-face meeting between top U.S. and Russian officials. Sources say no topics are off limits.
