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The Lead with Jake Tapper
President Biden Tests Positive For COVID: "I'm Doing Well"; Soon: January 6 Committee Details 187 Minutes Of Trump Inaction; Bannon Defense Rests, Call No Witnesses; MI6 Chief: Russia Running "Out Of Steam" In Ukraine. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired July 21, 2022 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: They start with, we've been trying to reach you concerning your car's extended warranty.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Wow, I didn't know that was a robocall. Today's order affects 13 individuals and six companies who are making these calls. They are mostly based in Texas and California and as far away as Hungary. They're accused of making more than 8 billion calls in the last four years, and always in the middle of dinner.
BLACKWELL: And I think they call the people who don't own a car first, right? I get the call. I have no car, man.
CAMEROTA: Is that right?
BLACKWELL: Yeah, I respond even though it's a robocall. I've got to get it out. I've got to get out.
THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER starts right now.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Our 79-year-old president has COVID.
THE LEAD starts right now.
President Biden testing positive for COVID, but insisting he's doing fine. The White House just releasing new details about his symptoms, coming up.
Plus, tonight, the January 6th Select House Committee returns to primetime and delivers its last scheduled hearing, accusing former President Trump, accusing him of failing to act while watching the violence unfold in real time in the White House dining room. This as we're also learning they have never before seen video of Trump taping that video on January 6th and struggling to condemn the violence.
And the blistering heat baking over 100 million people in the U.S., countless others abroad, and there is still no letup in sight.
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TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. We start with the national lead. President Biden tested positive for COVID. The 79-year-old president, who is fully vaccinated and received a second booster shot in March, just released a video saying that he is doing fine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The symptoms are mild, and I really appreciate your concern. I'm doing well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: White House COVID coordinator, Dr. Ashish Jha, says that President Biden is breathing well and is oxygen level is normal. He is now isolating inside the White House residence for the next five days we are told. And taking the COVID antiviral drug Paxlovid, which is a drug recommended for people such as President Biden, who are higher risks of developing severe COVID because of either their age or underlying medical conditions.
CNN's MJ Lee joins us now live from the White House.
MJ, the press secretary and the White House COVID coordinator just wrapped a press conference a short while ago, what did they have to say about the president's condition?
MJ LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, it is very clear that the White House wants to emphasize two things right now, one is that the president is feeling just fine. And two is that the president is continuing to do his job, even as he is isolating inside the White House. Both the White House press secretary and the COVID coordinator just briefed reporters in a lengthy briefing, and they basically said they have every reason to believe the president is going to come out of this just fine. But, of course, there is no ignoring the fact that the president is 79 years old.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BIDEN: Hey, folks, I guess you heard. This morning, I tested positive for COVID.
LEE (voice-over): More than two full years into the pandemic, President Biden testing positive for COVID.
BIDEN: The symptoms are mild, and I really appreciate your concerns. But I'm doing well.
LEE: The president's physician saying in a letter that Biden is only experiencing mild symptoms, including a runny nose, fatigue, and occasional dry cough. And that he is taking the antiviral COVID medication, Paxlovid.
DR. ASHISH JHA, WHITE HOUSE COVID COORDINATOR: The goal of Paxlovid is to keep people from getting seriously ill. Because the president is fully vaccinated, double boosted, his risk of serious illness is dramatically lower. LEE: The president promising that even from his isolation in the
White House residence, he's keeping busy.
BIDEN: I'm getting a lot of work done, I'm going to continue to get it done.
LEE: The White House immediately scrambling to conduct contact tracing and also confirming that Vice President Kamala Harris, who last saw the president on Tuesday, has tested negative.
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He is in good spirits. He is feeling well. He is doing well.
LEE: The positive COVID test coming one day after a trip to Massachusetts. Throughout the day Biden had been in close proximity to supporters. Numerous White House aides, members of Congress and other elected officials, and members of the White House press corps traveling with the president on Air Force One.
REPORTER: Cases are going p. What should the country be doing right now?
BIDEN: Getting vaccinated.
LEE: As the COVID pandemic entered its third year, White House officials had increasingly started raising the possibility of the president eventually getting COVID.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is certainly possible that he will test positive for COVID.
JEN PSAKI, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Like anyone else, the president may at some point test positive for COVID.
LEE: In recent weeks, the president traveled abroad to Germany, Spain, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, and participated in many crowd indoor events at the White House.
Biden, now the second U.S. president to test positive for COVID while in office.
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Former President Donald Trump got COVID in October of 2020, well before vaccines were available and spent three nights at Walter Reed.
The Biden White House promising transparency and regular updates on the president's condition.
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We were transparent. I got the letter from -- we put out a statement as soon as we did the test and were able to put out the information. We will have daily updates from his doctor on his status.
(END VIDEOTAPE) LEE (on camera): Now, there are real flashbacks right now to when former President Donald Trump got COVID and spent several days at Walter Reed. But when Dr. Jha was asked about that possibility at this briefing just now, he dismissed that as purely a hypothetical, and that basically that doesn't seem like a real possibility given the president right now is feeling just fine.
But, Jake, I'll tell you, I have traveled abroad with the president recently, obviously covered many of these very crowded East Room events at the White House. When the White House was asked about all of these events and schedules and travels the president has had, they said they have no regrets and have been preparing for the possibility of the president getting COVID for a number of months now, Jake.
TAPPER: Yeah, he's gotten full vaccinations, two shots and two boosters since. And he's physically in a better place because of that than Donald Trump was.
MJ Lee at the White House, thanks.
I want to bring in CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta in the conversation.
Sanjay, President Biden is fully vaccinated and double boosted, and he's taking Paxlovid. He's almost 80, though, will turn 80 in November. What's your level of concern for his health?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, I think that if this were my parents calling me and they're in the same position in terms of their vaccination status and said they got COVID, I'd be worried. They're around the same age as the president. I would be worried.
I think the vaccines and stuff work really well, but the idea of making sure they're not developing new symptoms, spiking a fever, you know, get them an oxygen monitor to make sure the oxygenation doesn't drop. So the vaccines are really, really protective. But his age is a risk factor here. So, optimistic but being careful.
People often ask, Jake, how much of a difference does it make, being vaccinated and boosted versus not? There's some data which basically says if you look now, at least in May of 2022, if you were vaccinated and boosted, you're about 29 times less likely to die of this disease, compared to unvaccinated. So that at least gives you some context in terms of putting a number on the level of protection. It's not perfect but it's good.
TAPPER: The White House says he's been treated with Paxlovid. What does that treatment entail?
GUPTA: So it's a five-day treatment. It's an oral pill, so something you take by mouth. You don't have to be on the hospital or in the clinic for that. Most of the data around this, at least recent data comes from Israel. There was a 109,000 person study at the beginning of the omicron. So it gives you an idea of what -- how this responded to omicron. And what you find is that people over the age of 65 had a significant benefit when it came to hospitalizations, severe illness, as well as death, you know, 60 percent -- 67 percent reduction likelihood of severe illness, and close to 80 percent reduction when it came to death.
So, it's a really -- it's a really effective medication. You have to start it early, that's one of the keys. People get it right at the time they developing symptoms have the most benefit.
TAPPER: What possible side effects are there from Paxlovid? I know of a tinny -- metallic taste in your mouth being one of them. Is there anything more serious?
GUPTA: I think the two big things here, there are some medications that you need to stop if you are taking Paxlovid. And the president is on two of those. One is to lower cholesterol, statin drug, and another is a blood thinner. So, at least for the time he's on Paxlovid, he's not to take those medications. And they were asked about that, and for a few days it shouldn't be a problem not to take the medications.
The second thing is something called rebound, Jake. So you do fine, you test negative, and then a few days later, you test positive again, and even develop symptoms. If you look at the data, that happens around 6 percent, 7 percent of the time.
But it did happen to Dr. Fauci, you may remember. He had that Paxlovid rebound. It's going to be important with the president, probably to be tested every day for a few days after he tests negative to make sure he doesn't develop that rebound.
TAPPER: The president released a video this afternoon, explaining that he's continuing to work from the residence. He's feeling fine.
How long do you think he needs to continue to isolate before he can resume a normal work schedule, just as soon as he tests negative?
GUPTA: Yeah. That's right. That's what the White House's plan is. It's interesting, because it's a little different than what the CDC says. The CDC says day five, regardless of test, you don't need to continue to isolate.
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So they're saying they're taking it a step further, waiting for a negative test, which can be a while. It's interesting, five days, there may be people who clear a virus and test negative within five days. But if you look at some of the recent papers with regard to these new variants, nine days is also the case for some people to continue to test positive. So we'll see how long it takes for him.
TAPPER: So, we saw the president at an event -- outdoor event in Massachusetts yesterday. He was shaking hands, in close contact with lawmakers and others who attended the speech. We're seeing a surge in infections across the U.S. from this rapidly spreading and highly infectious BA.5 subvariant. Should people in vulnerable groups, such as Joe Biden, be wearing masks more often, even outdoors, if they are in close proximity to other people within a foot or two, given you much spread there is in the community?
TAPPER: Jake, I would invoke sort of my own parents again. As a doctor, people often ask, what if it was your parents or what if it was your family member? My parents on their own, have been wearing masks, they go into crowded indoor settings, high filtration, masks, N95 or KN95 masks. I think masks are a good idea.
I think there's still a lot of vulnerable people out there, and even if you're vaccinated and boosted, you can still get sick. I mean, you know, just because you're not getting severely ill, as one virologist said to me, it can still be one of the worst viral illnesses of your life. Just because you don't get hospitalized, it doesn't mean it's not significant.
The other thing, Jake, is that the question is how likely are you to come in contact with virus if you're out there? If you look at the community transmission maps of the United States, they looked yellow for a long time but are increasingly getting red. But if you look at this map, the transmission map, that's a lot of virus spreading out there.
Jake, where you live on the community map, it would say you're in the yellow district. But with transmission, you're in red, which means people in D.C. should probably be wearing masks indoors.
TAPPER: All right. Well, I'm looking at a bunch of masks right here among my crew members. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Coming up next, the January 6th hearings during primetime, and the committee ready with new evidence they claims makes the case that Trump violated his oath of office.
And Steve Bannon's criminal contempt of Congress trial now heading to the jury, after Bannon's defense decided to call no witnesses. Why?
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TAPPER: In our politics lead, just hours away from the last scheduled hearing from the January 6th Select House Committee. Of course, you can catch CNN's own live coverage beginning at 7:00 Eastern this evening.
The committee plans to detail the extent of Donald Trump's inaction for three hours and seven minutes as his supporters and others, far right extremists, ransacked the capitol.
We will hear live testimony, we're told, from former deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger, and former deputy press secretary Sarah Matthews. Both of them quit the White House that day in the wake of the attack.
Plus, we'll hear we're told a never before seen outtakes from a video Trump recorded the day after the insurrection. Sources tell CNN that the tapes show Trump having extremely difficulty recording the speech and refusing to admit the election was not stolen.
As CNN's Ryan Nobles reports, tonight will be a critical night for the committee to make its case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The January 6th Select Committee is ready for another primetime event, setting the stage for what may be their most important hearing yet.
REP. ELAINE LURIA (D-VA): It's pretty simple, he was doing nothing to stop the riot.
NOBLES: The committee led tonight by military veterans Elaine Luria and Adam Kinzinger, planned to outline in specificity what they describe as Donald Trump's dereliction of duty.
Kinzinger teasing the hearing with clips of White House aides, saying Trump watched the riot unfold on TV.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know whether he was watching TV in the dining room when you talked to him on January 6th?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's my understanding he was watching television.
NOBLES: The hearing is expected to reveal clips of testimony from witnesses we have never seen before. Like Trump's executive assistant, Molly Michael, in addition to live testimony from former aides Sarah Matthews and Matthew Pottinger, who both quit after the insurrection.
REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): The president didn't do anything, and we're going to fill those blanks in. If the American people watch this, particularly my fellow Republicans, watch this with an open mind. Is this the kind of strong leader you really think you deserve?
NOBLES: The committee will also show outtakes of Trump's video message to the nation the day after the riot.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: We have just been through an intention election and emotions are high. But now, tempers must be cooled and calm restored.
NOBLES: A short, three-minute address, designed at the time to unify the country. But select committee members say the outtake shows Trump struggling and looking for ways to excuse his supporters' conduct.
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): It will be significant in terms of what the president was willing to say and what he wasn't willing to say. It's also, of course, very significant how long it took him to say anything. That is, anything that wasn't just adding fuel to the fire.
NOBLES: All this, as the investigation into Trump and his allies continues on many fronts. His chief of staff, Mark Meadows, who is not charged with contempt, despite defying the subpoena, spotted just steps from the Capitol campus this morning and refusing to comment on if he's been contacted by criminal investigators related to his role in the January 6th riot, or attempts to overturn the election.
REPORTER: Have you heard from the Department of Justice since the January 6 committee hearings started?
MARK MEADOWS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: I don't comment on anything on January 6.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBLES (on camera): There is no doubt the committee has been building towards tonight. First, they laid out the case that Donald Trump held false claims about the election narrative, despite knowing that he lost. And then he used that to fuel all of his supporters to come to Washington on January 6th. And then, as his supporters attacked the Capitol, the committee plans to show tonight exactly what he was up to. And Jake, that was not very much.
TAPPER: Yeah. Ryan Nobles reporting live on Capitol Hill, thanks so much.
This just in to CNN. The inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security has informed the U.S. Secret Service that they're investigating the missing text messages from January 5th and 6th. In the letter, the watchdog calls this an ongoing criminal investigation.
This comes as the inspector general has also directed the U.S. Secret Service to stop its own internal investigation into what happened to these texts.
CNN law enforcement Whitney Wild joins us now live.
Whitney, how big of a deal is this investigation? It's criminal?
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: This is a big deal. This is certainly complicating matters for the Secret Service in the short term, because as you know, they have this house select subpoena that directed them to conduct an internal investigation.
Meanwhile, the inspector general came back to them today to say, in effect, stop what you're doing. Here is a quote from that letter, to ensure the integrity of our investigation, the Secret Service must not engage in any further investigative activities regarding the collection of the evidence that they are discussing earlier in this letter, including immediately refraining from interviewing potential witnesses, collecting devices or taking any other action that would interfere, Jake, and this is crucial, with an ongoing criminal investigation.
Again, this letter adding to this growing tension between the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general over the potentially missing text messages. Again, those are being sought by other oversight committees. Further, the National Archives has also directed the Secret Service to conduct an internal investigation, to figure out what happened to those text messages. However, at this point, the Secret Service is trying to figure out which oversight body to listen to. So, this is a huge deal. The Secret Service tell us, Jake, that they
are not aware of a specific criminal allegation directed at them. They are in this moment trying to satisfy all of these investigative bodies, including the inspector general back to you.
TAPPER: All right. Whitney Wild, thank you so much.
Joining us live to discuss is Donald Trump's former acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney. He later served as special envoy to Northern Ireland. He resigned from the post in the wake of the Capitol attack.
And, let's start with that, because you resigned from that post because you thought, I believe, you said that what President Trump did or did not do that day was dereliction of duty.
MICK MULVANEY, FORMER ACTING WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Yeah, I didn't use the exact words, but I thought he failed at being the president, failed at leading the nation at a critical time. I didn't think it was criminal.
I just -- it didn't meet my sort of level of expectations from my boss. And the only thing you can do in those circumstances is quit. So I did that.
It would be curious to see tonight if the committee is going to lay out a case if there was criminal activity order or just dereliction of duty. It's very difficult to prove somebody committed a crime by doing nothing.
I had thought, Jake, as this was going through, that the hearings, they are going to draw a line from the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to the Oval Office either through Steve Bannon or Michael Flynn or through mark meadows to start of get the president in on the seditious conspiracy.
I don't think you're going to see that tonight. They're going to focus on what he did during that 187 minutes. I'm not sure how that ties into the overall narrative. So, it will be very interesting to see what happens tonight.
TAPPER: I want to start with your reaction to the videos that Congressman Kinzinger put out on behalf of the committee this morning. You saw some of the individuals testifying, basically talking about how Donald Trump was during that three hours and seven minutes in the dining room off the Oval Office, watching it on TV, not doing anything, even though people were calling him, people were pleading with him, please go to the press room and just tell them to stop, go on Twitter and tell them to stop and he didn't.
MULVANEY: I was one of those people. I texted Mark Meadows and said, look, he needs to do something to stop this. Can I do anything to help?
So, I know there was a lot of folks. One of the things we have learned from the January 6th committee, is that a lot of folks not very critical of the president were reaching out to Mark Meadows and the president saying you have to do something. And still he didn't for more than three hours.
It doesn't surprise me he was watching television. That's how he spent a lot of time. The TV in the dining room, you can watch four channels at one time. That was the standard operating procedure back there. So it doesn't surprise me that he was watching television.
Surprised me the, surprised me now that he did nothing about it. It would be curious to see what sort of texture gets added to that tonight.
TAPPER: So, we know that two former White House staffers are going to testify. The same ones that along with you, I think you testified -- did you, I'm sorry, resign on January 6th?
MULVANEY: Yeah, that night. I called Mike Pompeo and actually sent my resignation letter the next morning.
TAPPER: So, Deputy National Security Adviser Matt Pottinger did as well. Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews did as well. They resigned in protests.
You know them. I don't know them. What are they like?
MULVANEY: Yeah. But I don't know Sarah. Sarah got there after I left. She came in with Kayleigh McEnany.
TAPPER: OK.
MULVANEY: But I knew Matt. Matt had been there since Robert O'Brien became a national security adviser. Matt -- it'd be curious to see what he sees because Matt's -- Matt's specialty is Asia and China. That's what he does.
Yes, he was a deputy national security adviser, and it may be he was filling in for Robert O'Brien on January 6th.
TAPPER: Yeah, he wasn't there for some reason.
MULVANEY: I don't know what that would be. But it's unusual for Matt to be in the oval office on sort of a regular basis.
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So, it will be curious to see what he heard or saw himself, but why he was there, because it was just a mass of people in the Oval Office and people were coming and going that's correct contribute to this sense of chaos inside the West Wing at a critical time.
TAPPER: When we were watching the piece from Ryan, you noted that we saw Trump's executive assistant, Molly Michael. We didn't know she had testified behind closed doors before the committee. What can you tell us about her and the job she had as executive assistant?
MULVANEY: Molly was in critical position. Molly ran sort of the outer oval. Molly was the person who sat at the desk outside of the Oval Office. You could not get into the oval office except through the back doors, which very few people used. But 95 percent of the people who would come into the Oval Office would walk past Molly's desk.
So, she knew all the time who was in there. She usually knew who the president was on the phone with, if the door is open, she could hear and see into the Oval Office.
So, again, I don't know what we'll see from her tonight. Obviously, she's not testifying live. But if she's testifying on video, it will be curious to see somewhat she heard and saw. That's firsthand testimony.
Keep in mind, a lot of what we heard from Cassidy Hutchinson, while very compelling and very credible, she admits the stuff that she heard from other people --
(CROSSTALK)
TAPPER: The limo story -- the SUV story and ketchup story was hearsay. Everything else she heard from people.
MULVANEY: Correct.
TAPPER: But those two big stories were hearsay, yes.
MULVANEY: Exactly. Molly will be in a position -- most of what Molly might testify to is things she seen and heard herself because of where she physically sat.
TAPPER: Yeah, lastly, I just want to get your response. The Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Trump called him last week as part of a new effort to get him to decertify Wisconsin's electoral votes for Biden from 2020, from two years ago.
Listen to what Vos told our CNN affiliate WISN about that call.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBIN VOS (R), SPEAKER, WISCONSIN STATE ASSEMBLY: He makes his case, which I respect. He would like us to do something different in Wisconsin. I explained it's not allowed under the Constitution. He has a different opinion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: I mean --
MULVANEY: Yeah, here's my takeaway. I saw that and I scratched my head thinking to myself, because I understand a little bit about how a presidency works and Oval Office works and how the president thinks and so forth.
Who is advising him? Who gave Donald Trump the idea, by the way, you can call Wisconsin today and they can undo what they did back in 2021? I don't -- I don't understand that. And I keep coming back to a
regular theme here. When Donald Trump started his presidency, he was advised by the former president of Goldman Sachs. He was a member -- former CEO of Exxon was one of his cabinet members.
At the end, he had a bunch of crack pot lawyers and folks practicing law who were not lawyers. Peter Navarro apparently wrote like a 36- page memo on the legalities of the election. He's not even a lawyer.
TAPPER: Right.
MULVANEY: So, at the end of the Trump administration, he's being advised by some very sketchy individuals, and it looks like he's still being advised by people who don't understand the law, because I'm not sure who told him, not only that this was a good idea, but calling Wisconsin was even -- having them undo the election was even possible.
TAPPER: It doesn't seem particularly sane, just as an observation.
Anyway, Mick Mulvaney, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it, as always.
Coming up next, Steve Bannon passes on putting up any defense for his criminal case. Why would that be?
Stay with us.
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[16:32:40]
TAPPER: In our politics lead, Steve Bannon just hours away from having his fate in the hands of a jury. That's because his legal team today said they were not going to put on a defense in his contempt of Congress trial for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the January 6th Select House Committee.
The jury will hear closing arguments tomorrow, and then they will start deliberating. This after the prosecution rested its case after only two witnesses.
Let's go to Sara Murray who's outside the courtroom for us.
Sara, a very interesting decision from Bannon's legal team. How do they explain it?
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right. I mean, remember, Bannon said this was going to be the misdemeanor from hell. He's saying he's going to go medieval on his enemy. That's certainly not exactly what has been happening in the courthouse.
They decided the defense was going to rest and not put forth any witnesses and not put Steve Bannon on the stand. As they were explaining their reasoning for this when the jury was not in the room, they were, again, saying that they needed to call House Select Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson in order to really make a case to make their defense. The judge has not allowed that.
They also said that Steve Bannon was eager to take the stand, but if he had done so, he would have explained that he was listening to the advice of his attorney that he believed he had some protection under executive privilege, which has been highly contested, and that's why he didn't show up. The judge is not allowing him to make those arguments. And so, that is why they didn't move forward with putting forward this defense.
TAPPER: All right. Sara Murray, thank you so much.
Before you go, I want to ask you one quick question, if he's found guilty, and that's an if, we have no idea, how much time behind bars might he be looking at?
MURRAY: He's looking at a minimum of 30 days behind bars. But it's clear from this that his lawyers intend to appeal. Because these are misdemeanor charges, there's a really good chance that Bannon will not end up serving that time while he is fighting a possible conviction, while he goes to appeals process, Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Sara Murray, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Joining me now to talk about this and much more, former D.C. Police Officer Michael Fanone. He was one of the heroes on January 6, who defended the Capitol as he was viciously attacked by members of the pro-Trump mob. I will note he was in the same courthouse today giving a victim impact statement in the sentencing of one of the January 6 defendants.
Michael, we'll talk about tonight's hearing in a moment. But, first, I just want to get your reaction. Steve Bannon months ago was talking about this being a big case and he was going to go medieval on everybody.
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And now, they're not providing a defense and he's not going to take the stand.
MICHAEL FANONE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yeah. Well, on the first, I think he doesn't have much of a defense to put up. But this also shows like how there's -- there's Steve Bannon, the person, who appears in the courtroom. And then there's Steve Bannon the entertainment media personality. And that's the guy you see outside the courtroom and appears in his podcast and gives all of these, you know, flamboyant remarks and whatnot.
But like you said with the reporter just now, my assumption was that he planned on appealing, and that's why he put forth no defense. The last time I had a case similar to that was in 2011, the defendant did not put forth any defense because of his intention to appeal. Fortunately in that case, it was a felony charge, and he spent time in prison before his appeals were heard.
But in a misdemeanor case, I'm afraid that Mr. Bannon will not be incarcerated during that time.
TAPPER: So, let's talk about tonight. We're told the hearing is going to focus on the three hours and seven minutes from Donald Trump, between his leaving the ellipse when he gave that speech and the time he told the mob to stop attacking law enforcement officers and vandalizing the Capitol, here is a preview they put out earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was the president in that dining room the whole time that the attack on the Capitol was going on or did he ever go, only to your knowledge, to the Oval Office, to the White House Situation Room, anywhere else?
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: To the best of my recollection, he was always in the dining room.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did the say, Mr. Meadows or the president at all during that brief encounter with you in the dining room?
GEN. KEITH KELLOGG, FORMER VP NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: I think everyone was watching the TV.
TAPPER: So he was sitting there watching TV for the three hours and seven minutes while you and your brothers and sisters in blue were being attacked. You said this is what you wanted to know, this is one of the main questions you wanted answered. So we'll find out much more tonight.
But you know that people were begging him and calling him, Mick Mulvaney said he texted, tell him to stop it, tell him to stop it. We know about all the texts from Fox personalities and the rest. What's your response?
FANONE: I mean, it's clear to me that former President Trump was derelict in his duty. He failed to act. He had a responsibility to ensure that this mob that he incited was dispersed and he should have been doing everything possible to make sure that that happened, whether it was giving statements, whether it was providing federal support to the officers that were battling this mob.
And it's clear from what I've heard and what I've heard about what we're going to see tonight that was not the case. And the opposite, that he enjoyed what he was watching. So I look forward to seeing evidence of that.
TAPPER: So we know that one of his supporters was shot while trying to break into the speaker's gallery, or the House chamber rather. Three of his other supporters died during the attack. Officer Brian Sicknick died immediately after the attack and several other police officers there that day, presumably traumatized, suffering from post- traumatic stress or traumatic brain injury, died by suicide.
How much of that blood is on Donald Trump's hands do you think?
FANONE: I think he's responsible, not object only as the president, the buck stops there, but he's certainly responsible for this seditious conspiracy that he brought about and, you know, directed at the American people.
TAPPER: Nearly a year ago, you testified before the committee and the country about what you endured you and the other three officers that we've had on the show before. You've been at every hearing the committee has held since then, to sit with your fellow officers, to support with other witnesses who came forward. We have seen at times how difficult it's been for you and the Officer Hodges, Officer Dunn, Officer Gonell.
Does it get easier or harder reliving that day?
FANONE: I would say that for me this whole experience, speaking out about what happened to me on January 6th, and then also talking about the bravery and courage and selflessness that I witnessed from other officers has been cathartic. Attending these hearings, at times it's -- it's aggravating, and it's also infuriating.
[16:40:01]
Not just about the experience that I had on the 6th and the assaults and the violence of that day, but watching so many American leaders who are so indifferent to the brutality of what was occurring right before their very eyes, not just Trump but all of these individuals in the White House at that time, whether it was a low-level staffer all the way up. I heard some people resigned and I give them credit.
But some people it's taken many months for them to come forward and talk about their experiences of how unhinged the president and the White House was during that time. And that is the ultimate betrayal to someone who fought so viciously on that day, to be betrayed by so many Americans.
TAPPER: Yeah. Well, we've heard a lot about the dereliction of duty of police officers in Uvalde, Texas, who didn't do what they did. But you and your fellow officers, men and women, you held the line and you protected so many lives. I can't even imagine what the day would have been like if you hadn't been doing what you were doing.
So, thank you. Thank you for being here as always. Good to see you.
FANONE: Thank you.
TAPPER: Next, the sweltering heat waves across the globe. In Athens, sparking dangerous wildfires, while the U.S., cities are scrambling to keep people cool and alive.
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[16:45:36]
TAPPER: In our world lead, extreme temperatures this week, gripping the globe. Wildfires breaking out in the Greek capital of Athens, tearing through residential neighborhoods and forcing thousands to flee. Europe is experiencing one of its hottest summers ever. And that brings us to the national lead, where those temperatures are
having devastating effects in the United States, as well. More than 100 million people are living under extreme heat advisories in the United States.
CNN's Ed Lavandera now reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than 100 million Americans are under heat alerts in more than two dozen states.
In Dallas, where temperatures have been in the hundreds this week, this homeless outreach group, Metro Relief, is handing out supplies and water to help the homeless stay clean and cool during the heat. Heat that can be deadly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Metro Relief, we know a few people that passed from heat exhaustion. This is the hottest it's been in a long time.
LAVANDERA: Other parts of Texas are also scorching, with heat advisories are in effect for Austin, and Houston, and the brutal weather is making it hard for firefighters to calm brush fires in north Texas.
CHASE BARBER, GLEN ROSE NATIVE, TEXAS RESIDENT: All of the trees on our property are just burnt to sticks.
LAVANDERA: The Chalk Mountain Fire continues to burn in Somervell County, destroying more than 6,000 acres.
BARBAR: We had a beautiful homestead out there with a lot of different houses on it. And it all got burnt up in a few hours.
LAVANDERA: In Phoenix, an excessive heat warning is in effect. The area is forecast to see temperatures up to 114 degrees, making it hard for people who have to work outside. Like U.S. postal workers.
JEFFREY CLARK, PRESIDENT, ARIZONA STATE ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS: They're working an average of 10, 12 hours a day in this heat. What I'm hearing is letter carriers are leaving because they're in the heat all day and night.
LAVANDERA: Heat advisories are also in effect in Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Memphis, Jackson, New Orleans, and Birmingham. And along the East Coast, including Raleigh, Richmond, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, D.C., and New York.
GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D), NEW YORK: Going out in the peak hours, stay out of it, stay hydrated, keep your pets inside, check on your neighbors, be aware of any other induced illnesses.
LAVANDERA: The heat is the number one cause of deaths in the United States. That's why cities are setting up cooling stations. DELORIS MARTINEZ, ARIZONA RESIDENT: It felt so good, it felt so good.
I can't be out in the heat too much, because I get really nauseated. And since we've been here, it's been really nice.
LAVANDERA: The high temperatures are expected to linger. Around 275 million Americans are expecting to see a high above 90 degrees. And more than 60 million people are expected to see a high at or above 100 degrees over the next seven days. And with much of the summer still ahead of us, it's hard for some of the most vulnerable.
CHARLIE LEAVITT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, METRO RELIEF: It's hard, because you don't have enough hotel rooms. Sometimes I think the heat is worse than the cold.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (on camera): So Jake, we have so many cities across the country, setting record high temperatures. But now we're seeing many of those cities also setting record high low temperatures. So that means for many people, millions of people across the country, they're not seeing temperatures below 85 or 80 degrees ever, 24 hours a day of heat, that's what makes this all so punishing -- Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Ed Lavandera, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
Coming up next, Britain's foreign intelligence chief tells CNN he believes Russia is losing steam in Ukraine. What might that mean for Putin going forward?
Stay with us.
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[16:53:40]
TAPPER: Now to our buried lead. Russia will, quote, "run out of steam" in its war against Ukraine. The head of MI-6, Britain's foreign intelligence service, making that prediction to our own Jim Sciutto at the Aspen Security Forum and revealing that Putin's ability to spy in Europe has been cut in half.
Jim Sciutto joins us now.
Jim, this would be very promising news for Ukraine if true. What else did the head of MI-6 tell you why he seems so optimistic?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, this is the first time that the MI-6 chief has done an interview and just skating in his assessment of Russia' capabilities in Ukraine, saying that their intelligence service failed to recognize the strength of the Ukrainian resistance, saying that Russian forces are not showing themselves capable of taking much more ground there, and holding it but also saying that Putin has, in the words of the MI-6 chief, had epic fails in all of the strategic objectives.
Have a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD MOORE, CHIEF OF MI6, UK SECRET INTELLIGENCE SERVICE: There are three things he wanted. One was to remove Zelenskyy. Second was to capture Kyiv, and then to sow disunity within the NATO alliance.
So, on all of those, they count as epic fails. So I think he has suffered a strategic failure in Ukraine. It's obviously not over. He's obviously made, and the Russian forces have made some incremental progress over recent weeks and months.
[16:55:07]
But you have -- it's tiny amounts, a small number of miles of advance. When they take a town, there's nothing left of it, Jim. I mea, it is obliterated. And so, I think they're about to run out of steam.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Run out of team. He believes that Russian forces will have to take another pause in their military operations there, and that will give, in his view, Ukrainian forces the opportunity to potentially take back ground.
TAPPER: And, Jim, the MI-6 chief weighed in on CIA Director William Burns, saying there's no evidence that Putin is suffering from serious ill health. Does the MI-6 agree?
SCIUTTO: He said exactly in those terms. And as you know, British and U.S. intelligence share intelligence under the Five Eyes program. He said there is no evidence to indicate that.
When I pressed him to say how much do you really know about what's going on inside the Kremlin? He said, listen, we got our prediction right of when and how Russia would invade Ukraine. He let on that they know something.
TAPPER: Fascinating stuff. Jim Sciutto, thanks so much for joining us. Really appreciate it.
SCIUTTO: Thanks.
TAPPER: Coming up next, what was President Trump doing for three hours and seven minutes while the Capitol was being attacked? The January 6 committee returns to primetime tonight and they say they have some of the answers. Stay with us.
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