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Speaker Johnson Refers To Jan. 6 Riot As "Peaceful Protest"; Oath Keepers Founder's Ex-Wife: He's A "Very Dangerous Man"; Nashville Police: 2 Students Shot At Antioch High School; Deadly Once-In-A- Generation Winter Storm Slams South. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired January 22, 2025 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): I think what the -- what was made clear all along is that peaceful protests and people who engage in that should never be punished. There was a weaponization of the Justice Department.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: It was, as we know, as you know, not a peaceful protest. You were just mentioning the whitewashing of this day, the gaslighting of this day.
You said you do not believe that the DOJ was weaponized in this case. Why do you think that narrative has been picked up so successfully?
PAM HEMPHILL, SPENT TWO MONTHS IN FEDERAL JAIL FOR CRIMES ON JAN. 6: Because it starts with Trump and his lie that the election was stolen and they grabbed on to it. They want to stay a victim. They do not want to take responsibility for what they did that day and all the officers that they injured.
We know they're gaslighting us. And we know this narrative has to be continually pushed out there with facts that the Capitol Police did not open the doors that day. The Capitol Police did not start that riot that day.
They gave them a warning. Now, anybody that's having smoke bombs thrown at them, isn't that a message to leave? They had a choice, period. It's that simple. They are not victims. They are volunteers.
They some of them planned it, like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. This is a nightmare and a slap in the face to the nation that they're what they're putting out there.
And I've been trying for a year and a half to let people know that it's propaganda. It's a lie. Every time I hear something like that, especially from Johnson, it upsets me when you know the facts and that they would push this narrative out there.
HILL: Do you -- do you fear at all -- just real quickly -- (CROSSTALK)
HILL: -- the ex-wife -- speaking of the -- the Oath Keepers, the ex- wife of Stewart Rhodes, told my colleague, Jim Acosta, a short time ago she's worried about his release from jail. She's worried about his followers. Are you worried about your safety?
HEMPHILL: Oh, yes. I've had a smear campaign going on for a year and a half and I'm sure it's getting -- well. it's getting worse right now. But you know what, I don't like bullies. And I'm going to keep speaking about the facts of January 6th.
Their narrative is not going to last forever because we got the facts. We got the -- it's propaganda. Everything they've said can be debunked with court records, research, but they don't want to do that. You know, they just keep putting out Trump's lies, you know, to stay the victim.
And it's really frustrating because I'm trying to get people to do your own research. You know, when you're in the MAGA cult, you lose your critical thinking.
And since I've gotten away, I've read a lot of books I've done. I researched the researchers. Now I want to make sure I've got the facts, whether I like them or not. It doesn't matter. I want to know the truth of January 6th.
They have ruined that title because their truth is not truth.
HILL: Pam Hemphill, really appreciate you joining us today.
Boris?
HEMPHILL: Thank you.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We want to turn back to our breaking news now. Nashville police say that at least two students have been shot at Antioch High School.
Let's get the latest from CNN's Brynn Gingras.
Brynn, what are you hearing about what happened?
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris. And we don't quite know the condition of those two students just yet.
What we're learning from officials, that this happened inside the cafeteria of that high school, Antioch High School, which is in the metro area of Nashville, and two people at least, were shot -- again, not clear their condition -- before the gunman turned that gun on themselves.
Authorities right now are saying that there is no longer a threat from that gunman, but it's quite unclear right now exactly who that person was, who these victims were at this point. What we know is that that school right now is in lockdown. And we also
know that officials inside the school are bringing the students now into the gymnasium to sort of congregate before they can get to sort of the place of reunification with their parents.
We know that they will be bused. That's likely why you're seeing all those buses outside the front of that high school. They could be bused to the area where they can actually, you know, reunite with their parents.
We know that a number of agencies, Boris, are going to that school as part of this investigation. Of course, metro police there in Nashville. We know that the ATF is also responding.
But again, this is just happening. We're learning that this happened probably about 11:00 or so in the morning local time there, again, inside the cafeteria of that high school.
Still working to get more details of exactly what went down there at that hour -- Boris??
SANCHEZ: And, Brynn, just to confirm, it sounds as though the shooter is no longer a threat because they turned the gun on themselves, right?
GINGRAS: That is what we are understanding. Correct. It -- no longer a threat. The school is still in lockdown. Actually, authorities are telling parents don't go to the school, we are going to bring your children to you safely.
So at this point, it's probably a little bit chaotic inside -- inside that high school as they work on that. In addition to investigating what exactly went down here inside that cafeteria.
[13:35:03]
SANCHEZ: Brynn Gingras, thank you so much for the update. We know you'll keep monitoring this story for us.
Stay with CNN. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be back in a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: From Texas to Florida, a rare winter storm is sweeping across the south, bringing snow, ice and bitter cold to areas more used to sunshine, short sleeves and flip flops year round.
While some people certainly are enjoying it, playing ice hockey on Canal Street in New Orleans, the storm is also causing dangerous conditions and it's being blamed for at least 10 deaths across the region.
Meteorologist Chad Myers is in the CNN Weather Center for us.
Chad, how long are folks going to feel the effect of this storm? [13:40:03]
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, I mean, we get to the 40s today. So some melting, but it's not going to melt eight inches today. And then it refreezes tonight.
But by the weekend, I think we're in pretty good shape. This says welcome to the Sunshine State. May need to replace the snowy state.
The big, big story, I think, is so many people were caught off guard. I don't know how that happened, but thousands of people were stranded
on roadways overnight.
I watched the Macon Highway Patrol -- or highway Georgia 511 camera that people were stopped on interstate 475 in Macon, Georgia, last night. I woke up this morning and those same cars were still sitting there seven hours later.
Look at New Orleans, eight inches of snow. If you add up all the other snow events for 77 years, as long as they've been keeping records, it doesn't add up to eight. It's only 6.7.
And then for -- even for parts of Florida. Milton, Florida, 10 inches. That's more snow than any place in Florida has ever received. The old record was four.
Cold air to the north, warm water to the south, all kind of combined to make that storm right through here, through the gulf and along the gulf. And it's the cold air again, even right now, that's going to make a bitter night for some people that have even lost power.
Wind chills are in the teens. To the north, I know it's colder, but people in Minnesota are used to this. People down across the south are certainly not. And 30s and 40s for high temperatures.
Now New Orleans, you do warm up to the 60s by the weekend, but it's going to be a long time to kind of get there.
Houston, you're going to be a much better day today and tomorrow. But watch out for that refreezing overnight. That slush that is still there tonight will be an ice chunk tomorrow.
It does -- it gets better. We're seeing the horizon. But you just have to be careful getting there -- Boris?
SANCHEZ: Got to pace ourselves until spring.
Chad Myers, thank you so much.
MYERS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Stay with NEWS CENTRAL. We're back in just moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:46:01] HILL: Senate lawmakers are grappling with new and potentially damaging claims about President Trump's secretary of defense nominee, Pete Hegseth.
In a new affidavit given to the Senate Armed Services Committee and obtained by CNN, Hegseth's former sister-in-law accuses him of being abusive toward his ex-wife and also claims to have witnessed him drinking excessively.
She goes on to say Samantha Hegseth feared for her safety, and even had a code word to help her get away from her then husband.
Hegseth has denied the allegations. In a statement to NBC News, Hegseth ex-wife says there was, quote, "no physical abuse in my marriage."
CNN congressional correspondent, Lauren Fox, is joining us now live from Capitol Hill.
So, Lauren, this affidavit coming just a day after the committee voted, of course, to advance Hegseth's nomination. What are lawmakers saying in response?
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so far, the response we are seeing is largely falling along party lines. As you noted, the Senate Armed Services Committee had already voted on Hegseth nomination when we got word and started reporting on this affidavit.
But so far, it doesn't appear that, at least for members of that committee, it's having much of an impact.
Here's the top Republican on the committee, Senator Wicker, who said, quote, "I have not reviewed the document. My reaction is that I have grave doubts as to the substance. I think the nomination is going to go forward by Thursday."
Now, the anticipation on Capitol Hill is that this nomination may receive a floor vote as soon as the end of the week, more likely into the weekend if Democrats continue to drag their feet out and try to burn the clock down in the process.
As you know, there's very little that Democrats can do to ultimately bar this nomination from moving forward. All they can do is use procedural tactics to try to delay it as much as possible.
But, you know, Democrats are arguing this should give Republicans pause while Republicans are arguing they don't believe it's credible.
Here's what we have.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA): If this was a one off, I could understand that. But this seems to be a pattern that is constantly repeating itself. SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): Nope. His wife said it was not true. This is
just the Democrats doing what they're doing. They're obstructing Trump's putting together a team.
Trump won the election. He won the electoral vote. He won the popular vote. He needs to be able to put his team together. And the Democrats are being obstructionist.
SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY (R-IA): It's my understanding that both his wife and his himself said it's not accurate. That's what I go by.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: So it --
(CROSSTALK)
FOX: And Republicans can afford to lose three votes and still get Hegseth's nomination through. But all eyes are on people like Senator Susan Collins, Senator Lisa Murkowski, and perhaps even Senator Mitch McConnell, who's no longer the Republican leader.
Just a couple of minutes ago, I did catch up with Senator Susan Collins. She said she still has questions and wants more information as she weighs this nomination -- Erica?
HILL: All right, Lauren Fox with the latest from Capitol Hill. Lauren, thank you.
[13:49:02]
Well, President Trump adding another pardon to his list. This time, the man who founded the Silk Road Web site where illegal drugs were sold. Those details just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And if you vote for me, on day one, I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht --
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: -- who has sentence, of time served.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: He's already served 11 years. We're going to get him home.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: We're going to get him home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Well, that was Donald Trump back in May of last year, speaking at the Libertarian Party's national convention in D.C. And now he's made good on that campaign promise to pardon the founder of the dark web marketplace Silk Road.
Ross William Ulbricht was accused of creating the shadowy e-commerce site that the Justice Department once described as -- get this -- "the most sophisticated" -- there we go - "the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet.
According to trial evidence, public statements and other court documents, the now defunct Web site and marketplace, which the government says Ulbricht founded in 2011, allowed users to anonymously trade drugs and other illegal goods and services in near-total secrecy. And they did it using Bitcoin.
From 2011 to 2013, law enforcement agents made more than 60 individual purchases of controlled substances. --they did this undercover -- that they purchased from Silk Road vendors. We're talking about things like heroin, cocaine, Ecstasy, LAD, among other drugs.
[13:54:55]
Ultimately, the FBI shut down Silk Road in October of 2013 and arrested Ulbricht. He was found guilty and -- in 2015. We're talking about a slew of charges here, money laundering, drug trafficking, computer hacking. Ultimately, he was sentenced to life in prison.
And at his sentencing, Preet Bharara, who, at the time, was the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, called him a drug dealer and criminal profiteer who, in his words, "exploited people's addictions and contributed to the deaths of at least six young people."
When a Truth Social post last night announcing the pardon, Trump called Ulbricht's sentence ridiculous. And called the prosecutors involved in Ulbricht's conviction scum, accusing them of weaponization of government against him during his time in office.
For its part, the Southern District of New York declined to comment on the pardon, as did Preet Bharara.
Just ahead here on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, we are following the breaking news out of Nashville, where two students were shot at Antioch High School. The latest details after this quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
