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The Lead with Jake Tapper

DOJ Files "Seditious Conspiracy," Most Serious Charges Yet After January 6 Insurrection; Sen. Debbie Stabenow, (D-MI), Is Interviewed About Biden's Speech, Election Reform; Source: Manchin Heading To Meeting With Biden At White House; Voting Legislation In Jeopardy As Sinema Digs In On Filibuster; Supreme Court Blocks Biden Admin Vaccine Rule For Large Businesses; Allows Mandate For Some Health Care Workers; Disturbing Spike In Police Killed In The Line Of Duty; U.N.: Afghanistan On The Brink Of Collapse Unless World Steps In; Emmett Till & Mother To Receive Posthumous Congressional Gold Medal. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired January 13, 2022 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The defendants here are accused of conspiring to use violence or force to stop a government proceeding here, what was supposed to be the peaceful transfer of power. And as the DOJ lays out for the first time here, this extended beyond January 6 well into Inauguration Day.

So some of this video is video that the DOJ references were these members of the Oath Keepers, they actually wore military gear and they traveled in tactical formation, something that DOJ refers to as the stack here. And this plot actually started months before January 6, they communicated over encrypted app. One member of the Oath Keepers also allegedly took a reconnaissance mission to D.C.

They're also accused of stockpiling weapons as part of these teams that they're referring to as quick reaction force teams, QRFs. They even stockpiled some of their weapons in the days leading up to January 6, allegedly, at a hotel in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of D.C., just a few miles from the Capitol.

So the DOJ is talking about those QRF teams in this from the indictment. I'll read it for you. "While certain Oath Keepers members and affiliates inside of Washington, D.C. breached the Capitol grounds and building, others remained stationed just outside of the city in QR F teams. The QRF teams were prepared to rapidly transport firearms and other weapons into Washington, D.C. in support of operations aimed at using force to stop the lawful transfer of presidential power."

And the DOJ indicates here that this plot continues. Stewart Rhodes, who was arrested today, allegedly bought almost $18,000 in weapons and ammunition leading up to January 20. Jake, he was calling for members of the Oath Keepers to form militias to stop and commit violence against the Biden administration.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: And Ryan, these right wing groups are also an important part of the investigation by the select committee investigating the January 6 attack. Tell us more about the committee's focus on the role played by these far right wing groups.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jake, there's no doubt it is very important. And from the very beginning, the January 6 Select Committee has been very interested in the role that the Oath Keepers, their Proud Boys, the Three Percenters, other right wing extremist groups played in creating violence and chaos here on January 6.

But what this evidence revealed here today, one of the reasons it's going to be so important for the committee's investigation is for two reasons. One, the committee has been insistent on creating a narrative of exactly what happened here on January 6, and making sure that it's clear to the American people just how deadly and violent this day was. And of course, there have been individuals that have attempted to whitewash the events of January 6, suggesting perhaps that it wasn't an armed insurrection. You know, this evidence obviously proves otherwise.

And then, the other part is the preplanning of all of this. This is a very important part of the committee's investigation. This evidence showing that there was a great deal of preplanning leading up to January 6, Jake.

TAPPER: And Jessica, we're now more than a year removed from the January 6 attack. The Justice Department is noting the extensive multi state investigation that led to this indictment.

SCHNEIDER: Yes. You know, this is a massive investigation nationwide. But specifically for this indictment they had to use law enforcement from several different states. Stewart Rhodes, for example, was arrested today in Texas, but the other Oath Keeper members, they lived in other states including Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio. So, law enforcement from around the country, they have been working this case and the others, hundreds of others for the past year, Jake.

TAPPER: And Ryan, more breaking news, we're learning of new subpoenas just issued by the January 6 committee.

NOBLES: Yes, that's right. This -- the committee now demanding that four major social media companies, that would be Alphabet, which owns YouTube, Meta, which owns Facebook, Twitter and Reddit handover information that they say is vital to their investigation. The committee asked these groups to voluntarily hand over this information over the summer. They say now that they've been given an inadequate response from these social media giants. The committee now forcefully asking for that information as they believe it is important part for them to get to the bottom of what happened here on January 6, Jake.

TAPPER: Jessica Schneider, Ryan Nobles, thanks to both you.

Let's talk about this.

Nia-Malika, before these charges were announced, Republican Senator Marco Rubio was on the Senate floor. I want to be clear here, he condemned the January 6 attack. He said it was a terrible thing, the criminals should go -- there should be consequence for the criminals, et cetera. But he also seemed to downplay the seriousness of what happened that day with this comment. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): You're not going to convince at least more -- most normal and sane people that our government last year was almost overthrown by a guy wearing a Viking hat and speedos.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Do you think these charges that illustrate armed individuals, paramilitary training, a conspiracy to stop the counting of electoral votes, do you think this will stop individuals downplaying the seriousness of that day?

[17:05:00]

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Listen, I think it will for some members of Congress. Members of Congress like Marco Rubio, he of course is up for reelection this year. He wants to sound as closely aligned with Donald Trump as he can. So I think that is sort of where he is coming from.

But you have had other members of Congress essentially say this was just, you know, sort of a spontaneous nonthreatening gathering, a tourist event, if you will. Well, if it was a tourist, why were people cowering in their offices? Why were members of Congress reaching out to Donald Trump saying call off of this riot, these are your people, make an announcement and call it off. They were in fear for their lives because we all saw on television, the gallows that were hung in there, folks with Confederate flags. So, it was very much a violent and chaotic scene with a purpose, and that was to interfere with a certification of Joe Biden's election.

And these details of the case that this if the FBI is lying out now -- lay now with these recent charges, certainly speaks to how complex and serious a threat was on January 6.

TAPPER: Jennifer, do you believe the Justice Department is trying to send a signal by charging these 11 defendants with seditious conspiracy, which is, of course a much graver charge than a lot of the individuals have been charged with so far?

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALSYT: Well, the Justice Department does more than send signals with this, Jake. It's speaking out loud. It is saying that what happened in the months leading up to January 6, and remember this indictment charges from November 2020 all the way through January of 2021. This was sedition.

This was not just breaking into the Capitol, this was not just assaulting police officers, this was not even just obstructing a proceeding, this was sedition. This was actually interfering with the lawful transfer of power as set out in the Constitution. And if it's sedition for these guys, you better believe it's also sedition for people who took part in other plots or this plot spread further out to actually stop that transition of power from happening. So the fact that they have labeled it as such through this indictment means to me, finally, we know that the Justice Department is serious and they're going after other people for this as well.

TAPPER: And Phil, prosecutors say these Oath Keepers were training, recruiting and gathering guns, ammo gear before the attack on the Capitol. Are you surprised the FBI didn't stop them or catch them before this happened?

PHIL MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: No, I'm not. Because if you look at what we're talking about in the days before, you're talking about a political rally sponsored by the president knighted states. So let's say, Jake, you go to a hearing in the weeks before the January 6 event, a hearing that includes both Republicans and Democrats, Republicans who will be favoring President Trump in the hearing you say, we have informants or we have technical coverage, meaning you're reading people's phones, their texts or e-mails of political rallies in the United States. I wouldn't want to do that here, and Jake, I do it today. I wouldn't want to do on January 5, I think that would have been explosive before we realized exactly what was going on here.

TAPPER: Nia-Malika, given the detailed plot in this indictment, given the seriousness of the charge, seditious conspiracy, might that give House Republicans pause about killing the January 6 committee if they do, in fact, take control after the midterms?

HENDERSON: No, I think they will absolutely kill this investigation, this committee, because that's what Donald Trump would want them to do. I mean, that is who they are taking orders from.

Kevin McCarthy, should he be speaker? He will want to remain speaker and he will want to remain in good standing over Donald Trump.

And the committee certainly knows that they have a timeline. They are working under enormous pressure. They've had enormous success. So far, they've interviewed something like 350 people. Most of the people that they have subpoenaed have cooperated with those subpoenas that they have obviously tried to talk to sitting members of Congress who have so far said that they won't comply. But so far, they have made a tremendous amount of ground in terms of trying to lay out a full narrative of what was going on that day.

TAPPER: And Phil, so far, the FBI is arrested 700 people are related to the insurrection. They say they're trying to arrest -- seeking to arrest around 200 more. Would you expect more charges related to seditious conspiracy?

MUDD: I would, just as a numbers game. If you look -- you talked about 700, maybe reaching 900 plus people, only 11 are in the case today. If you assume that there's going to be another 890 plus or more, 900 plus arrested, you've got to believe that nobody else was involved in a conspiracy like that. That beggars belief. I've got to believe there are more cases like (ph).

It's a reason we haven't seen this is they've got 700 cases already to prosecute and this one is so much more complicated to prove. We'll see more of this, Jake, I'm pretty sure of it.

TAPPER: And Jennifer, does this signal, you think, that the Justice Department is going to be pursuing more extremist groups in relation to the insurrection?

[17:10:05]

RODGERS: I think so for sure. I mean the Oath Keepers was only one of the groups that was involved. We know the Three Percenters, the Proud Boys or all sorts of other groups, I think they're looking at all of them. I think they're looking at their links together. And I think they're looking at what they did with people in the White House, in Congress and others who were involved potentially in this broader plot to stop the chance for power. I think they're looking at all of it now, so we'll have to see where it goes.

TAPPER: All right. Thanks to all of you.

A really rough 24 hour period for President Joe Biden, including not getting what he wanted after a trip down in Pennsylvania Avenue. Thanks to Democratic Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin.

And the Supreme Court delivering the Biden administration a big loss, blocking the nationwide vaccine mandate. The Secretary of Labor is going to join us to respond ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:15:12]

TAPPER: Here's some breaking news now, CNN can report that California Governor Gavin Newsom has decided to overrule parole for Sirhan Sirhan. Sirhan Sirhan, of course, is the man who assassinated Senator Robert Kennedy in 1968. Governor Newsom overruling that decision by the California parole board. Sirhan Sirhan will remain in prison.

In our politics lead, President Joe Biden arrived on Capitol Hill this afternoon vowing to keep fighting for election reform just moments after Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona reiterated that she will not support the so called nuclear option to get rid of the 60 vote rule to stop a filibuster in order to pass the election legislation. And now, as CNN's Phil Mattingly reports for us, it appears Senate Democrats are left spearheading yet another futile effort just to get on the same page.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The honest to God answer is, I don't know whether we can get this done.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For President Biden, a day of roadblocks and setbacks, a presidential trip to Capitol Hill for a voting reform bill doomed to fail.

BIDEN: As long as I have a breath in me, as long as I'm in the White House, as long as I'm engaged at all. I'm going to be fighting to change the way these legislatures have moving.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Vaccine requirements on large employers viewed as critical to the White House COVID response efforts blocked by the Supreme Court.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: President Biden will be calling on and will continue to call on businesses to immediately join those who have already stepped up.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Even as a separate requirement for health care workers was given the green light rulings that came at a moment of peak exhaustion with a pandemic in its third year.

BIDEN: I know we're all frustrated as we enter this New Year. Omicron variant is causing millions of cases and record hospitalizations.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): All, as Senate Democrats press toward votes on a sweeping voting reform measure.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MAJORITY LEADER: And every senator will be faced with a choice of whether or not to pass this legislation to protect our democracy.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): No clear path over unified Republican opposition.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: Nobody in this country is buying the fake hysteria. The democracy will die unless Democrats get total control.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Two key centrist Democrats, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, both supportive of the voting measures.

SEN. KYRSTEN SINEMA (D-AZ): While I continue to support these bills --

MATTINGLY (voice-over): But both also still opposed to unilateral changes to Senate rules to do away with the filibuster.

SINEMA: -- I will not support separate actions that worsen the underlying disease of division infecting our country.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): In reality, that throws cold water on the weak Biden went all in on passing the voting measures.

BIDEN: Do you want to be the side of the side of Dr. King or George Wallace? Do you want to be the side of John Lewis or Bull Connor? Do you want to be the side of Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis?

MATTINGLY (voice-over): The Biden speech serve to only more deeply entrenched GOP opposition both to the bill and to his rhetoric.

MCCONNELL: God known I liked and personally respected Joe Biden for many years. I did not recognize the man at the podium yesterday.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Leaving Democratic leaders barreling toward a doomed effort to change Senate rules, arguing that state GOP efforts to change voting laws have forced the so called nuclear option to the forefront.

SCHUMER: In the coming days, we will confront this sobering question.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

MATTINGLY: And Jake, the effort may be doomed, but President Biden is not giving up. We are now told from sources that Senator Sinema and Manchin will be heading to the White House to meet with President Biden at some point this evening. The topic will be voting rights.

And while it's very clear where they stand on filibuster changes right now, what is unclear is what are the next steps both for voting rights but also for the President's broader agenda. Obviously, it's a midterm year now most things look stuck and those are the two critical senators. They'll be meeting with President Biden tonight. Jake.

TAPPER: Phil Mattingly. Thanks so much.

Let's discuss this with Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.

Senator, what was Biden's message today's lunch with Democrats?

SEN. DEBBIE STABENOW (D-MI): Well, Jake, it's always wonderful to be with you.

And I will say I think the President was very powerful today. He was clear as somebody who has -- who loves the Senate that he is coming to this decision about changing the rules very seriously and reluctantly based on what is happening right now. Donald Trump that trying to take over the election process and stop the election process with violence on January 6, the strategy across the country which is totally partisan, including in Michigan, not one Democrat.

[17:20:00]

This is not a bipartisan effort on voting reforms. This is a Republican effort to take away people's freedom to vote. And so, we're at a crossroads as a country. And I really believe that.

I really believe that we're at a point where folks are going to look back in history about where were you when there was a strategy by Republicans to -- whether it's by violence or by changing laws in states, an effort to take away people's freedom to vote in the United States of America. And that's what's happening.

TAPPER: Senator Sinema says that getting rid of the filibuster is merely treating the symptom of the partisanship in -- that's in the Senate and not the underlying problem. What did you make of her speech right before President Biden came to Capitol Hill?

STABENOW: Well, with all due respect, I've told this senator directly that we have a big disagreement on that. If the filibuster worked to bring people together, then we'd be coming together, right, because we have it right now. But what we've seen is a perversion of the rules of the Senate. They're now being just used to stop everything and for the Republicans to try to get and keep power.

What I support is what the Founders originally saw is the filibusters, let people talk. If you want to try to stop legislation of the United States Senate, stand up, talk, keep talking. And when you have been heard, I mean, the minority has every right to be heard, and should be heard. But then when you're done, we should do what Hamilton said and Madison said, which is to allow the majority to make the decision for the country, not the super majority, the majority.

TAPPER: With all due respect, I've been covering Senate for a long time. And when Democrats are in the minority, that's not how Democrats operate.

STABENOW: Well, we should be doing the exact same thing. I mean, the truth of the matter is, over the years, the filibuster has been used more and more in a dilatory way.

You can phone it in, Jake, you know that. I don't have to go to the floor to object, I call the cloakroom, and then somebody objects, and then that stops a bill from moving forward, and then it takes 60 votes that should be reformed, so that I can't do that or that other members can't do that either. The truth is that we're now at a point where this has been so eroded and perverted. I mean, we have the tyranny of the minority. And whether it's Democrats or Republicans, that should stop.

And the truth of the matter is, we have never used it as it has been used now. And I think that it makes sense that we move forward in a way where it's a majority of people in the United States, not a super majority.

TAPPER: So --

STABENOW: If -- we're in the United States of America, constitution says the majority are the ones that decide what happens.

TAPPER: Right. But there's also the idea of the Senate being the cooling saucer from the hot tea of the House. But to Senator Sinema's point, if the rules get changed, she might be concerned just based on reading her statements and listening to her that when Republicans take over the majority again, which will happen, you and I know that that will happen at some point.

STABENOW: Sure. Sure.

TAPPER: That what's to stop them from saying, well, the Democrats got rid of the filibuster for their election reform bills, we're going to get rid of it and pass a nationwide abortion ban. I mean, isn't that a risk?

STABENOW: Jake, you know Mitch McConnell. Let me just say this, he will say or do whatever is necessary in terms of a rationale to do what he wants to do, right? I mean, do you think he would have allowed us truly through the filibuster to stop Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominees from being put on the Supreme Court whether or not we had changed the rules for --

TAPPER: I don't know.

STABENOW: -- federal district judges? No, there's no way.

TAPPER: I know that --

STABENOW: There is no way.

TAPPER: I know that President Trump pressured McConnell throughout his presidency to get rid of the filibuster, and McConnell didn't.

STABENOW: He got rid of the filibuster for the things he wanted to accomplish, which was judges and Supreme Court judges. And if he has something else that he wants to accomplish, he will do the same thing, regardless of what we do.

I mean, the reality is they're not focused on legislation. I think they would just assume that we stopped some of the more radical things that come out of their side. And so, you know, he will move forward with whatever rationale works. Merrick Garland hold up a Supreme Court --

TAPPER: Yes.

STABENOW: -- nominee. On the other hand, Amy Coney Barrett, no, no, no, there is no need. We can do it right before the election. Mitch McConnell --

TAPPER: Yes.

STABENOW: -- will use whatever rationale works for him at the moment to accomplish his goals.

[17:25:04]

TAPPER: Michigan Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow, thanks for joining us today. We appreciate it.

STABENOW: You're welcome.

TAPPER: How will the White House respond to this latest blow from the Supreme Court? The Secretary of Labor will join us live next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Topping our health lead today, the United States Supreme Court today blocking the Biden administration's nationwide vaccine and testing mandate for private businesses of 100 employees or more. However in a separate case, the court is allowing a mandate to take effect for federally funded health care facilities.

Joining us live to discuss, the Secretary of the Department of Labor, Marty Walsh.

Secretary Walsh, thanks for joining us.

So the court's decision to block the OSHA mandate, that's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which protects workplace safety, is a big blow to the Biden administration. But I'm wondering if you were surprised, because it's - it seemed like this was going to be the ruling based on arguments that we heard earlier.

MARTY WALSH, LABOR SECRETARY: Well, what it is, it's disappointing. I mean, it's disappointing the court rule this way. It's disappointing, the court ruled against workers to keep them protected in America.

As we were putting this together, we talked to medical experts and we talked to legal experts who all said we had the right to do this. And it's really unfortunate today. And, you know, last week when we heard the arguments, and I'm not a lawyer, but certainly the arguments that were put on your station TV, certainly weren't the best as far as what the justice was saying. But we were in court today, so we weren't in court last week. So we did it. And then now what we have to do is find other ways to make sure that we keep Americans safe.

TAPPER: I want to read a quote from the majority opinion, "Although COVID-19 is a risk that occurs in many workplaces, it is not an occupational hazard in most. COVID-19 can and does spread at home, in schools, during sporting events, and everywhere else that people gather. That kind of universal risk is no different from the day-to- day dangers that all face from crime, air pollution, or any number of communicable diseases."

They're saying that COVID isn't an occupational hazard for everyone and therefore, is not -- should not be covered by this. You disagree, obviously, why?

WALSH: I certainly do. Because the intention of what we wanted to do was make sure that people that worked -- went to work every day that were vaccinated knew that the people around them that weren't vaccinated, we're going to be tested once a week. And we're also going to be wearing masks and to create a safe environment for the workplace.

That was the intention behind this. This is not a mandate. This was certainly well thought through and well thought out. And we said, we're going to do a vax and our test as we move forward here, and that's one of the things we're going to do.

And, you know, as I said earlier on the show today, you know, the first Friday of the month is jobs day, and people are going to say, well, what's keeping people out of work? One of the reasons why people aren't going back into the workplace is because they're concerned about their own health.

TAPPER: Yes. Individual employers, of course, can still choose to impose their own, in-house vaccine mandate or testing mandate on employees. Many companies like United Airlines have done this. Does the Biden administration plan to incentivize in some way to promote that option? WALSH: I wouldn't say incentivize, but we are certainly encouraging companies to do that. And any company that would like our assistance at DOL, we'd love -- we'd be glad to help them whether it's here at the Department of Labor or with OSHA. We're going to continue to encourage people.

I mean, I think it's really important as we go through the coronavirus, and we -- the ongoing issue around by the virus we're seeing right now with the Omicron variant raising, we're seeing opportunities for people who have the vaccine. They're not good -- they're not dying. They're getting sick --

TAPPER: Yes.

WALSH: -- but they're in better shape. So we just need to continue to encourage people to get vaccine.

TAPPER: So let me just ask you, the federal government in the past has made rulings decisions. We're not going to do businesses with companies that discriminate. Given this ruling and also the other one that allowed you -- the administration to impose a mandate on companies that take Medicare and Medicaid dollars, might you do that and say if you want to do business with the United States government, you have to have a vaccine mandate? Is that something you're considering?

WALSH: No, we're not. I think today's ruling was a ruling that we put a lot of work and emphasis on, talking to medical experts, talking to legal experts. What we're going to do now, what I'm going to be doing here at the Department of Labor just like I'm doing right now to you, I'm encouraging companies in America that if you want -- if you will take the route of vaccine to -- for your employees, and testing and making sure your workplace is safe, if you need help, we have all the guidelines. We would love to work with you on that.

TAPPER: Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, thanks so much for your time. We really appreciate it.

WALSH: Thank you.

TAPPER: Losing a mother, a brother, a troubling uptake, and police officers being targeted and killed and the loss they leave behind. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:38:20]

TAPPER: In our national lead, 73 U.S. law enforcement officers intentionally killed in the line of duty last year. The FBI says that marks a 20-year high. FBI Director Christopher Wray wrote this sobering opinion in the Wall Street Journal. "When I started as FBI director, I made it my practice to call the chief or sheriff of every officer intentionally killed in the line of duty. I have now made more than 200 such calls. Each conversation reminds me that behind the uniform, the badge and yes, sometimes the flashing lights in your rearview mirror, there are real people."

As CNN's Josh Campbell reports for us right now, there are also real friends and partners and children left behind.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The city of Baltimore is saying goodbye to a police officer and mother of four who authorities believe was shot last month by two people who walked up to her patrol car and opened fire.

LAWANDA SYKES, OFFICER'S SISTER: My sister has always been hard working, always been determined. And she was able to bring joy to everybody that she touched.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Officer Keona Holley had been on the force for just two years.

COMMISSIONER MICHAEL HARRISON, BALTIMORE POLICE: A remarkable woman who joined the police department. A little later in life. She wanted to live a life of service.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): That service also came with danger when she talked about with her sister.

SYKES: Her faith was bigger than her fear. So no matter how fearful of it she was, she got up every day.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Holley's murder is part of a terrible year in policing. Preliminary statistics from the FBI show that 2021 was especially deadly for cops in the United States. With 73 officers killed intentionally in the line of duty most by gunfire up from 46 in 2020 and the highest number in 26 years aside 911.

[17:40:11]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) attention.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): It's a problem from coast to coast. In Bradley, Illinois last month, one officer was shot and killed, another badly wounded after responding to a call about barking dogs at a hotel. In Arvada, Colorado, a 19-year veteran officer shot dead in what police called a targeted attack.

Those ambush and unprovoked killing specifically are also up, totaling 33 last year, the FBI reports, a starling jump from 11 in 2020. Summon law enforcement tell us they believe criminals have been emboldened by disruption to the criminal justice system during the pandemic.

HARRISON: Over the past 18 months to two years, many of our grand juries were non-existent. Indictments didn't happen. Trials didn't happen. We know that people felt more emboldened because they didn't see or feel those consequences.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Another issue police site, policy changes that have allowed more people out of jail pending trial. Criminal justice reform advocates say practices like cash bail have long been discriminatory against low income people and people of color. But some policing advocates insists changes have led to more crime.

PATRICK YOES, PRESIDENT, FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE: A lot of it has to do with with policies in cities that are clearly making our cities less safe. Allowing some of the most violent offenders back on a street to continue to reoffend.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): The head of the country's largest police union also blames anti-police sentiment in some parts of the nation.

YOES: It's taking its toll and it's eroding the lack of respect for the law enforcement profession.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): While criminologist say crime is complicated, and there are no easy answers to determining the root causes of a rise in certain kinds of violence, including against officers, police say repairing relationships with the community is a must.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKERS (in unison): Floyd.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKERS (in unison):

CAMPBELL (voice-over): After a series of high profile cases where police killed black men and women like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, which sparked nationwide outcries over police use of force.

HARRISON: I tell this to every graduating class, every class that starts in again when they graduate to do three things, build relationships that will never go, improve on good relationships and then repair broken relationships.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): One of the recruits up to that task was Fallen Officer Keona Holley.

KEONA HOLLEY, FALLEN OFFICER: Our crime level is so high.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): In a video recorded while she was still in training, she gave her reason for joining the force.

HOLLEY: I didn't want to be a Baltimore City Police Officer before. I feel like Baltimore City police officers have a bad name about themselves. And we have to change that and change it together.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMPBELL: Now the biggest killer of cops last year was COVID-19. Nevertheless, this surge in the number of officers intentionally killed in the line of duty is certainly troubling law enforcement leaders across the country. It's also getting the attention of lawmakers, Jake. For example, Senator Thom Tillis, Republican of North Carolina has filed a bill that would make seriously injuring a law enforcement officer, a federal crime. Jake?

TAPPER: All right, Josh Campbell in Los Angeles for us, thanks so much.

One the highest honors from Congress given to a boy whose death help sparked the civil rights movement. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:47:432]

TAPPER: In our world lead today, Afghanistan is on the brink of total collapse unless the world's leaders step in. That is the message from the United Nations. The U.N. now launching a $4.4 billion funding appeal to help Afghanistan from sinking into a deeper humanitarian crisis after the Taliban takeover and U.S. withdrawal unravel the economy of the country.

Here to discuss is Martin Griffiths. He is the United Nations Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. Martin, thanks for joining us. Medical systems in Afghanistan, as you know, are in dire need of resources. Millions of Afghans face starvation. Explain what the needs are on the ground and what this international assistance could provide.

MARTIN GRIFFITHS, UNITED NATIONS HUMANITARIAN CHIEF: Thank you very much, Jake, for having me on the program. We were facing in Afghanistan the biggest humanitarian catastrophe that benighted country has ever faced. 24 million people out of a total population of just over -- just a little more than double that face hunger this year, if we don't manage to step in.

And about a million children under five faced severe acute malnutrition. Again, the aid doesn't get to them on time. And that's why, as you said at the beginning, we are launching the world's largest ever humanitarian aid program for Afghanistan, for a country around $5 billion for this year.

But the key point that I would like to make here to your -- to the program is the relationship between that program, between the humanitarian aid and the collapse of the economy and the vital relationship that exists. And this is what -- this is the big message that we're trying to put across in meetings tomorrow with Secretary Blinken and others.

TAPPER: How is aid being distributed right now under Taliban rule?

GRIFFITHS: It's being distributed with -- effectively a direct to beneficiary arrangement. So there are about 150 humanitarian agencies. The great majority of them local NGOs, and national Afghan NGOs, who received funding very generously from your government, but through the big agencies, who fund those NGOs to deliver food support, medical supplies direct the beneficiaries.

[17:50:03]

TAPPER: You say salaries of --

GRIFFITHS: That secure --

TAPPER: Go ahead, I'm sorry.

GRIFFITHS: Sorry, the security in Afghanistan, of course, is better now than it has been for many years. And so we're able to get out across the country to do that. But the problem that we're facing is that without cash in the economy, you can't pay for the gas to get the fuel to get to the people. You can't pay salaries, the frontline health workers. Teachers haven't been paid since 15th of August. So it's getting the cash into the economy, which is as important as getting funding into the aid program.

TAPPER: And you -- when you talk about that, the salaries of key public sector workers, doctors, nurses, teachers, having not been paid in months, what can the international community do about that?

GRIFFITHS: Well, there's a number of things that we're putting on the table tomorrow in Washington. First of all, fund the aid program, because that's the money that will most quickly get to those beneficiaries. Secondly, reprogram some of the money that was in the World Bank and other assets to put it through, again, aid agencies to get money straight to the beneficiaries. But these are short term measures.

What we're also saying is that to get liquidity into the economy, you need to provide for the support of the local currency, the Afghanis, and that needs to be backed up by dollars. Before the 15th of August, the United States had a very, very long term and detailed support to the banking system.

When the U.S. left, that support stopped. The banking system hasn't functioned since. You've got to get the banking system back -- jumpstarted back to enable us to meet local costs.

TAPPER: I assume one of the problems here is the reluctance of individuals throughout the world to send anything to Afghanistan that the Taliban could use for violence.

GRIFFITHS: Yes.

TAPPER: How do you guard against that?

GRIFFITHS: We -- that's a very good question and we are very conscious of the issue. We're well aware that paying public civil servants, public officials is not the same as paying Taliban officials and Taliban leaders. It's the same as in your country or mine. Paying the health service doesn't mean paying the Democrat Party.

But we make sure of this through the arrangements that I've described as the direct delivery. We pay directly to those who are doing the work and who need the aid. And the job of the aid agency is to make sure that that leakage doesn't happen.

TAPPER: Martin Griffiths, thank you so much. Thank you for the work you do. Stay in touch so we can continue to shine a light on this problem.

GRIFFITHS: Thank you very much, Jake. Thank you.

TAPPER: In our national lead, Emmett Louis Till, the 14-year-old boy savagely beaten and murdered in 1955 by white supremacists in Mississippi will be awarded the highest civilian honor that Congress can give, a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal. His mother, Mamie Till Mobley will also get one. She famously decided to have an open casket funeral for her boy because she, quote, wanted the world to see what they did to my baby, unquote.

The recognition comes a month after the Justice Department officially closed its investigation. It's one of the most grisly and horrific murders documented in the Jim Crow era.

In our pop culture lead today, she's one of the most iconic actresses of the past century. But underneath the blonde, bombshell persona was a complex and powerful and savvy woman who was ahead of her time. This Sunday, a new CNN Original Series re-examines Marilyn Monroe's life and legacy, including her headline making marriage to New York Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The romance that thrills the world. The marriage of Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After two years of dating, Marilyn and Joe's marriage captivates the nation.

SARAH CHURCHWELL, PROFESSOR, AMERICAN LITERATURE: Just because it began as a publicity stunt doesn't mean that they couldn't have fallen in love and had a real relationship after that. It does seem to have been what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has the very sensitive nature in many respects. When he was young, he had a very difficult time. So he understood something about me and I understood something about him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no surprise in the fact that it attracted a record crowd to the San Francisco court where the ceremony was performed.

MICHELLE MORGAN, BIOGRAPHER: There were hundreds of reporters. I think we can assume that Joe didn't tip them off, because he hated all that stuff.

CHURCHWELL: The story was that actually it was Marilyn who called up the journalist. She recognized that this was an opportunity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: "Reframed Marilyn Monroe" premieres this Sunday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.

[17:55:00] Coming up in "THE SITUATION ROOM," my friend Wolf Blitzer will talk to the Surgeon General, Dr Vivek Murthy, about the Supreme Court blocking the Biden administration's vaccine mandate. That's right ahead. See you tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now breaking news, the most serious charges yet in the Capitol riot investigation. The leader of the far- right group, the Oath Keepers, is arrested and accused of seditious conspiracy, along with 10 other defendants.

Also today, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy dodges and deflects about his refusal to cooperate with the January 6 Select Committee. McCarthy attempting to rewrite history about his communications with and comments about Donald Trump.