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Storm To Slam D.C. With Possibly Historic Snowfall Ahead Of 2024 Election Certification; Morale Low For Many January 6 Investigators And Prosecutors; Former President Carter To Lay In State Starting Tuesday. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired January 06, 2025 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:31:27]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Back now live. This is a live look at Washington, D.C., the U.S. capital, and those are snow plows right there if you squint really closely.

This morning D.C. is facing a snow emergency. The emergency is in effect right now. Just about everything in the city is shut down. D.C. notoriously struggles when even a dusting of snow falls to the ground.

So all is shut down except Capitol Hill as Congress is preparing to certify the 2024 election, but a record amount of snow could be coming to them. Up to 16 inches possible.

So, of course, we have to send CNN's Gabe Cohen out into it to help us understand what is going on. Gabe, what are you seeing?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Kate, I will say this is not exactly a dusting. We have seen pretty consistent snowfall throughout the morning. If you look you can see there's already several inches accumulated here on the ground. Expecting maybe six to 10 inches in D.C. by the end of the night.

It's shaping up to be the biggest storm to hit the nation's capital in at least three years. That's why there's a snow warning into effect -- in effect until late tonight and emergency declarations here in Washington and in at least six states right now.

Schools are shut down across this entire region. Federal government offices are also closed today. And it's possible this could extend, Kate, into tomorrow -- maybe into the rest of the week. Because as you mentioned, D.C. sometimes has a little trouble getting back on its feet when we experience snowfall like this, especially potential record snowfall.

And it's happening right now on the critical day as we're waiting for the election to be certified here at the Capitol. You can see this line of police cars going in right now to the Capitol. We've seen dozens, Kate, maybe even hundreds this morning. It is a fortified center right now. You can see the fencing that's

gone up around the building there. MPD -- that's the local police department here -- as well as federal law enforcement really on high alert right now not just because of what happened on January 6 four years ago but also what happened in New Orleans a couple of weeks ago.

We know that the local police department fully activated today. Every office on the street working 12-hour shifts, Kate. That's going to continue through the rest of the week. The question for them is how does this storm affect things? They're hoping it's going to mean less security concerns -- that people stay home.

But we'll see, Kate, as the snow continues coming down, and it's going to keep coming down into the night.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Gabe, thank you so much. And you are seeing a lot of police vehicles heading in towards the Capitol right now just showing that security presence -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I want to see more of Gabe's red pants there, which I fully support.

All right. A brand new op-ed from President Biden in The Washington Post this morning on the significance of January 6 and the past, present, and the future on this day when, as Gabe said, Congress will count the Electoral College votes.

The president writes, "We should be proud that our democracy withstood this assault [four years ago]. And we should be glad we will not see such a shameful attack again this year. But we should not forget."

Let's get right to this -- let's get right to the White House. CNN's Arlette Saenz is there with the snow behind you, Arlette.

Why did the president put this out this morning?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well John, President Biden has long held January 6 as a very personal day. And in that Washington Post op-ed this morning he argued that there is an obligation for Americans to remember the truth of what happened in order to not have a repeat of that down the road.

Now, the president wrote in this op-ed that he believes that there are efforts to erase and rewrite history, trying to explain that January 6 insurrection as simply a protest out of hand. But the president argued that the truth should not be lost.

[07:35:05]

He wrote, "We should commit to remembering January 6, 2021, every year. To remember it as a day when our democracy was put to the test and prevailed. To remember that democracy -- even in America -- is never guaranteed."

Now, President Biden made defending democracy a central piece of his re-election bid, and he has long argued that President-elect Donald Trump posed a direct threat to democracy and that his actions on January 6 were proof of that.

Now yesterday, after the president spoke here at the White House at a bill signing, he was asked by reporters whether he still believes Trump does pose that threat to democracy. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Do you still believe he's a threat to democracy?

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think what he did was a genuine threat to democracy. I'm hopeful that we're beyond that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, Vice President Kamala Harris will preside over the Senate as they are certifying the results of this election -- an election that she lost and Donald Trump won. President Biden has argued that they are trying to give to Trump what was not afforded to Biden four years ago -- a peaceful transfer of power, which is set to happen in two weeks from today.

BERMAN: And the president has an agenda today as well, Arlette. He's headed to New Orleans. What are the plans there?

SAENZ: Yeah. President Biden and first lady Jill Biden will spend about 5 1/2 hours on the ground in New Orleans, Louisiana today to meet with local officials but also meet with the families of those victims of the New Year's Day terror attack. President Biden spoke by phone with some of the families just last week, but this will give him an opportunity to meet face-to-face, hear their concerns, and mourn with them at this time as well.

The president will also attend an interfaith prayer service in New Orleans marking that New Year's Day attack.

This could be one of the final moments that we see President Biden step into that role of consoler in chief -- a role that he has stepped into time and time again amid senseless tragedies. And he is hoping today to offer some solace to the family members who lost their loved ones on New Year's Day.

BERMAN: All right. Arlette Saenz for us at a very snowy White House. Thank you so much, Arlette -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you, John.

Donald Trump's return to the White House is already upending hundreds of pending prosecutions against his supporters who attacked the Capitol four years ago today. Federal prosecutors and the Justice Department are feeling the pressure as defendants talk of Trump pardoning them and are not eager to cut plea deals.

The vast majority of January 6 cases have been resolved with plea deals. Eighty percent of all the cases prosecuted so far have ended with defendants pleading guilty.

CNN's Marshall Cohen has much more on this story. Marshall, what are you learning about the impact of Donald Trump's presidential win here?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Hey, Sara. It's been a long four years, and the Justice Department and FBI are still investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol. They're still running down new leads, making new arrests, and they are actively prosecuting about 300 pending cases in court.

A federal law enforcement source told CNN that Trump's election has already upended those ongoing efforts to hold the rioters accountable. A big reason for that is because prosecutors, like you said, were hoping to resolve most of those cases with plea deals. But with Trump taking office in two weeks sources say many of these defendants are in no mood to negotiate. Many of the plea talks have simply broken down.

Yes, it's been four years, but arrests are still trickling in. The FBI recently nabbed a member of the Proud Boys from New York and a man from Alabama who allegedly stabbed police with a flagpole.

This investigation, four years later, is very much ongoing. But a source says that after the November election the FBI issues new guidance telling agents to prioritize felony cases instead of misdemeanor cases. With limited time and limited resources investigators are focusing on rioters suspected of assaulting police or using weapons. That means man of the Trump supporters who breached the Capitol but didn't contribute to the violence will likely never face justice if they haven't been charged yet.

And Sara, morale has tanked inside the DOJ division that's been working these cases. One official told me, "That sometimes it feels like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic." And you can understand why. They just spent the last four years of their lives hunting down and prosecuting more than 1,500 rioters and President-elect Trump might wipe that all away when he takes office just two weeks from today -- Sara.

SIDNER: Marshall Cohen, thank you for your reporting on that -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: And joining us right now is former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania, Charlie Dent. So Charlie, it's great to see you.

For -- I just want to jump off of Marshall's reporting right there. I mean, even just one bit of it. Roughly 300 federal cases are still active and unresolved. And Trump -- Trump's win is essentially frozen -- all plea negotiations that were ongoing -- is some of the reporting.

[07:40:08]

I mean, what do you think the real impact is if Trump's Justice Department completely stops progress with these cases and if Trump makes good on his promise to pardon a lot of these people?

CHARLIE DENT, (R) FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE, SENIOR ADVISER, OUR REPUBLICAN LEGACY (via Webex by Cisco): Well, if the DOJ doesn't proceed, I think a lot of folks are going to look at this and say boy, justice has not been done and that there is no accountability. And if Donald Trump does, in fact, pardon everybody associated with

January 6, including those who were very violent that day -- again, I think that will be a big problem for Donald Trump going forward because most Americans, I believe, still think people should be held accountable for their actions.

So I think it would really bode very poorly for the incoming administration if they were to -- if they were to start pardoning so many of these people who behaved so disgracefully on that day four years ago.

BOLDUAN: And Charlie, let's talk about that day four years ago. I mean, with -- Arlette was pointing to President Biden's op-ed that he has put out kind of warning what he sees as a long-term effort to kind of whitewash history.

Let me read one bit of the president's opinion piece saying, "An unrelenting effort has been underway to rewrite -- even erase -- the history of that day. To tell us we didn't see what we all saw with our own eyes. To dismiss concerns about it as some kind of partisan obsession. To explain it away as a protest that just got out of hand. This is not what happened," he says. "We cannot allow the truth to be lost."

What do you think of the fact that four years after that horrible day, Donald Trump's election win is about to be certified sending him back to the White House a second time?

DENT: Well, in many respects, it shows that our system does work. Donald Trump won this election fair and square just as Joe Biden won it fair and square four years ago. And we are about to witness, in a few hours, the peaceful transfer of power. The certifications will be accepted from the states and that will set up the peaceful transfer and the inauguration a week and a half later.

And so, in many respects, I can make a case that our system held -- it's strong -- but that does not change the fact that what happened four years ago -- that it was shameful that the -- that the president- elect behaved the way he did to deny the fact that he lost an election -- that he lost an election.

And so -- but the system is working. And, you know, good for Joe Biden for standing up and being a -- being big about everything. And I hope the Democrats certify just as they have promised they would.

BOLDUAN: Broadly -- more broadly though -- I mean, right after the insurrection there were even Republicans calling for -- some calling on Trump to be impeached or at the very least saying he needs to be held accountable for the attack on the Capitol and blaming him for what happened.

What do you think it says about the country that -- I mean, I'll just say that it doesn't matter now or didn't matter in this election?

DENT: Well, it's clear that Donald Trump doesn't appear like he'll be held accountable for his actions on that day. It seems that much of the country has moved on. Clearly, January 6 was not the issue that motivated most voters. They were motivated by inflation, and the border, and other issues that played more to the Republicans' benefit.

So I think the country has moved on. That said, it doesn't appear that the -- that President-elect Trump is going to be held accountable. We'll see what the judge up in New York does with his sentencing decision coming shortly. But right now if you're looking for accountability for the former president, you're probably not going to get it.

BOLDUAN: You retired from Congress in 2018. And I was curious when you were watching the speaker's fight play out on Friday, wondering what you think that might be foreshadowing for what's going to happen with this very slim Republican majority now.

DENT: Well, with this slim majority there -- House Republicans are going to have a very difficult time doing much of anything. We had a little mini or micro drama on Friday.

But now Republicans want to take up the reconciliation process, which means you need simply over 50 votes to pass a bill in the Senate -- or 51. And it strikes me right now that the Republicans would be wise, and Donald Trump would be wise to listen to Sen. John Thune about how they should proceed.

With a narrow margin they're probably going to need to do, like -- something like the border bill first. It's easier to do politically.

There is some talk between Johnson and Trump that they put all this stuff in the one big bill. I have news for them. The more stuff you put in a bill the harder it is to pass it. And they're talking about putting, say, a debt ceiling into this reconciliation process, which to me means he has a group of House Republicans who will never got for a debt ceiling.

So, I mean, I could tell you a whole bunch of reasons why with this narrow majority trying to jam everything into one big bill will make things more difficult.

[07:45:00]

So we'll see what they do because they just don't have a margin for error. And certainly, Johnson will need to keep Hakeem Jeffries' cell phone on speed dial because he will need Jeffries on some issues like the debt ceiling, like funding the government -- just passing appropriations bills and continuing resolutions.

So expect Republicans to need a big lift from Democrats on many major issues of governance.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. What is -- what the priority is, and the desire is, and what the reality is can smack you pretty hard in the face when you're heading to Capitol Hill for this -- for this new Congress.

It's good to see you, Charlie. Thank you so much -- John. BERMAN: All right. This morning bloodshot eyes and history in Detroit. The Detroit Lions have been playing football for forever but overnight, for the very first time, they locked up the number one seed in the NFC heading into the playoffs. Again, for the first time.

CNN's Coy Wire has all the action.

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COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Two hundred seventy-two games were played in the 2024 season, and it took every one of them to decide which team would take the number one seed in the NFC headed into the playoffs.

The finale between the Lions and Vikings in Detroit started as a defensive slugfest -- 10-9 midway through the third. But then the Lions' Jahmyr Gibbs erupts, scoring three touchdowns in the second half and a franchise record-tying four TDs on the night.

Aaron Glenn's defense keeping Minnesota's top five passing offense out of the endzone as Detroit rolls 31-9 in the win, back-to-back NFC North titles, a first round playoff bye, and homefield advantage throughout.

Stop what you're doing and watch this. Chicago fooled the entire state of Wisconsin and the Green Bay Packers. They made it look as if the guy at the bottom of the screen was fielding the punt but it's a stealthy Josh Blackwell who actually fielded the ball. Now, the Packers, on the punt team, can't see where the ball is going. They just look for the returner. It's a 94-yard punt return for a touchdown.

Then on the final play of their season the Bears would beat their longtime foes for the first time in six years on that game-winning field goal for a 24-22 win.

Here's a look at the playoff matchups. The Chargers and Texans get wildcard weekend started on Saturday, followed by Steelers-Ravens. A tripleheader on Sunday with the Bills hosting the Broncos. The Packers taking on the Eagles in Philly. And the Commanders going to Tampa to face the Bucs. The action wraps up Monday night with the Vikings flying west to play the Rams.

Now, the Patriots -- they were all set to land the number one overall pick in the next NFL draft after an abysmal season -- sorry, John Berman -- but they beat their division rivals Buffalo, who sat a lot of their starters, losing the top pick.

Afterwards, New England firing head coach Jerod Mayo after just one season. Now the four-win Titans secure the number one overall pick. And there will likely be more coach firings in the coming hours as today in the NFL is known as "Black Monday."

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SIDNER: I don't know why Coy Wire apologized to our John Berman. He has won more freaking football championships than any of us here, but anyway. He's yelling back there.

All right. Georgia is bidding a final farewell to its native son. In the next 24 hours former President Jimmy Carter's body will be taken from his home state to the nation's capital where he will lie in state there.

And emotional wins, history making firsts, and some wicked snobs at the Golden Globes where host and comedian Nikki Glaser roasted Hollywood's finest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI GLASER, COMEDIAN, HOST, GOLDEN GLOBES: Welcome to the 82nd Golden Globes, Ozempic's biggest night.

The bear, the penguin, baby reindeer -- these are not just things found in RFK's freezer; these are TV shows nominated tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[07:53:45]

SIDNER: Today marks the final day that former President Jimmy Carter will lie in repose at his presidential library. Over the weekend crowds of people paid their respects to the 39th president before his body travels to Washington ahead of a state funeral.

CNN's Eva McKend is at The Carter Center this morning and joins us now. What have you been seeing and hearing from people as they come to pay their respects?

EVA MCKEND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Sara.

It has slowed down a bit this morning as it is raining here in Atlanta, but people are still saying their final goodbyes. And President Carter, of course, so intimately connected to the city of Atlanta. It is home of The Carter Center, but this is also the city where he served as governor before he ultimately ascended to the presidency.

And then post-presidency, of course, he spent a lot of time in Atlanta out and about in the community attending his beloved Atlanta Braves games. So Georgians got to know him well in that capacity.

Now, it was much different in his small hometown of Plains where we have been the last several days -- much different than here in Atlanta. But, of course, his legacy looms so large in his hometown.

[07:55:00]

We were at Maranatha Baptist Church and the church has its first female pastor. President Carter very notably broke with Southern Baptists over the issue of women being able to ascend to leadership positions in the church. Take a listen to how the pastor is thinking about Jimmy Carter's life and legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEY GUTHAS, PASTOR, MARANATHA BAPTIST CHURCH: In this country where, to speak bluntly, we still live in a patriarchal nation. We still live in a place where white men are often -- their voices are often elevated, and listened to, and believed more strongly than a woman.

And so to have a President of the United States who realized within his lifetime the importance of speaking out to the harm that's been done. I am just incredibly grateful for the legacy and the work that we have to continue to do because women are still not equal, and we have a long way to go. But his voice was one of power that was used for good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: So Sara, when you hear stories like this one it really puts it into context, right? We talk about his remarkable legacy as a humanitarian or even the work that he did at The Carter Center in terms of protecting democracy or preventing disease. But when you hear about this one pastor in his small hometown of Plains, of a few hundred people, that is able to be in that position now because of his own advocacy, I think it really speaks volumes.

So people will be able to pay their respects up until 6:00 a.m. here tomorrow. There will be another ceremony in the 9:00 a.m. hour tomorrow here in Atlanta before ultimately, President Carter's remains move to Washington, D.C. and then to Plains, his final resting place, on Thursday -- Sara.

SIDNER: Yeah. You talk about that pastor and then you have the thousands of people who have homes because of Habitat for Humanity, which he created. He has such an incredible legacy.

Thank you so much, Eva McKend, for that reporting -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: So a strike by a ski patrol at one of North America's largest ski resorts has shut down the majority of Park City's resort and right now this is happening during its busiest time of the ski season.

The Park City Professional Ski Association, which represents 200 patrol members and mountain safety staffers, is demanding higher wages and says that they have not seen enough progress in the 10 months of negotiations to go back to work.

So what this means if you're heading to ski is only 99 of Park City's 350 trails were open over the weekend. Just 26 of 41 lifts were operating.

A spokesperson for Vail Resorts, which owns Park City, said this. "We're opening the terrain. We can open safely with the staff that we have."

And if you are driving to Lower or Midtown Manhattan anytime soon it is going to cost you. New York City's new and controversial congestion toll is officially in effect after decades of battles over efforts to help ease traffic on some of the busiest streets, really, in the world. It's the first-ever toll of this kind in the country. Drivers are going to pay $9.00 to go below 60th Street during peak hours. The city says this is to reduce gridlock, fund public transit improvements, and improve air quality -- John.

BERMAN: All right. This morning the dust is settling after a big night at the Golden Globes. We're talking about the Globes but maybe it's the glitter that's settling.

The first-ever win for Demi Moore for "The Substance." Big wins for "The Brutalist" and Emilia Perez. "Wicked" got a little something, though maybe not the top prize it was hoping for.

And this morning, host Nikki Glaser is getting pretty good reviews, which is something of an upset victory given some of the past performances of the hosts on this show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GLASER: Welcome to the 82nd Golden Globes, Ozempic's biggest night.

The bear, the penguin, baby reindeer -- these are not just things found in RFK's freezer; these are TV shows nominated tonight.

And "Challengers," girl -- oh my God, it was so good. I mean, that movie was more sexually charged than Diddy's credit card. I mean, seriously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, let's get right to CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister. More laughs than cringes for Nikki Glaser, which like I said, at the Golden Globes that's a victory. And you had a chance to actually talk to her.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: I did, yes. And Nikki Glaser absolutely killed it. I not only sat down with her days before the show, John, where she told me that she was just going to lightly roast the stars but not make them cringe and not make them sweat, and she delivered on that.

But I also was in the room last night for the show and I have to tell you the room loved her. As you said, the reviews for her are great. She told me before the Globes that she hopes to return and that she'd love to host again and again.