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Don Lemon Tonight

Trump Advisers Drafted Two Executive Orders To Seize Voting Machines; Trump Floats Pardons For Jan. 6 Rioters If Re-Elected; Governors Tell POTUS The U.S. Needs To 'Move Away From The Pandemic'; Whoopi Goldberg Apologizes For Saying Holocaust Isn't About Race; Federal Judge Rejects Hate-Crime Plea Deal In Ahmaud Arbery Murder; Two Connecticut Officers Placed On Leave Following Investigation Into The Deaths Of Two Black Women. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired January 31, 2022 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN HOST (on camera): Breaking news on the plot to overturn the 2020 election. Sources tell CNN Trump advisors drafted two executive orders to seize voting machines, one to the Pentagon and another to Homeland Security.

Plus, the former president dangling pardons for the rioters who stormed our Capitol on January 6th.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: If I run and if I win, we will treat those people from January 6th fairly. We will treat them fairly. And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons because they are being treated so unfairly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): The question is, why are so many Republicans silent?

And Whoopi Goldberg apologizing for comments on "The View" claiming the holocaust wasn't about race. She is educating herself with the help from the CEO of the Antidefamation League, and he is my guest coming up.

Let's turn now to January 6th and all the things surrounding. I want to bring in now CNN political commentator Ana Navarro and Mark McKinnon. He is a former advisor to George W. Bush and John McCain, and the executive producer of "The Circus." Good evening to both of you.

Mark, sources are telling CNN that Trump advisors drafted two versions of the executive order to seize voting machines, one to the Defense Department, one to Homeland Security. This is how far they went to try to overturn the election. It is really chilling. MARK MCKINNON, FORMER ADVISER TO GEORGE W. BUSH AND JOHN MCCAIN, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF "THE CIRCUS": It is amazing. We keep learning new things or even worse than what we are already know, Don. You know, I've been saying for Republicans who, you know, wish for some future for the party that we could put -- take Donald Trump off the windshield and put him in the rearview mirror.

And then over this weekend and last couple days, just think of what has happened. He said the inside stuff out loud. He said that he wanted Pence to overturn the election. He said that he wanted protests over racial prosecution because the prosecutors are Black. He said he's going to pardon insurrectionists, which is very mafia-like to say, you know, I'm going to cover you if you cover me.

We found out about shredded documents, and the we found out about plans to seize elections through two different executive orders.

It is just -- when we can't be shocked anymore, here we are shocked again. We have so much more important things to talk about than Donald Trump and yet we just can't get him in the rearview mirror.

LEMON: Ana -- right on. Ana, I want to get your take on Mike Pence's former chief of staff, Mark Short, testifying before the January 6th Select Committee and doing it at length. How big of a deal is it? Because it seems like Short wouldn't talk without a blessing from team Pence, no?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Oh, I don't know if he had the blessing from team Pence or not. I hope he did because let us remember that part of what they wanted to do was literally hang Mike Pence, and they had built the gallows to do so outside the Capitol.

But I think it's very important because Mike Pence was crucial to this narrative they wanted to build and to what they wanted to do, overturn the elections. It was Mike Pence who had to do it. And still to this day, Donald Trump is furious at Mike Pence for not having gone along with this crazy plan.

And I think -- listen, when Trump says when he dangles pardons for the terrorists who took part in the January 6th insurrection, we should believe him. Look at his track record. This is a guy who pardoned Rod -- Michael Flynn and Roger Stone and Manafort and Papadopoulos and Jared Kushner's father. And he pardoned a lot more than that in the last few months of his presidency.

So, he has a record of doing this, of pardoning people who stick up for him and who don't tell on him. So, Republicans should believe him when he's saying this.

LEMON: Mark, I mean, we know they want to speak with Mike Pence as well. I mean, do you think he'll do it?

MCKINNON: Well, Don, I think what's been shocking to all of America but especially Republicans like Ana and I is the extent to which the entire party has rolled over under the thumb of Donald Trump's autocratic thumb. But it only takes a few good men and women. People like Mark Short, who I know really good things about. He is a very straight shooter.

[23:04:58]

I think he is compelled whether by Mike Pence or his own conscience to tell the truth. And people like Liz Cheney. It only takes a few of them to tell the truth, and the truth gets out and the truth will prevail.

LEMON: Mark --

NAVARRO: I think it takes more than that, Mark. You know, I had a little glimmer of hope. Call me maybe naive or an optimist. But when I -- you know, when I heard Lindsey Graham, who spent the four Trump years doing nothing but polishing his shoes, when I heard Graham talk about how it would be inappropriate to pardon the terrorists of January 6th, when I hear Susan Collins distancing herself, people like Asa Hutchinson, the governor of Arkansas, coming out against the people like Governor Sununu of New Hampshire, coming out against it, I get a little glimmer of hope.

But there needs to be more of those voices. More people need to break with this man because we just cannot continue denying the truth. You know, when you put it all together, this narrative is a horror story. It is something that we couldn't have imagined in Hollywood.

LEMON: I'm going to put a new name in front of your first name, Ana, and it's going to be "Polly" (ph) with that statement but --

(LAUGHTER)

NAVARRO: Believe me, there's been a lot of names put in front of my name, baby. So, put "Polly." I've gotten much worse.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON (on camera): Mark, let's listen to the moments from some of these Republicans, at least Lindsey Graham, that Ana was talking about. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): I do not think the president should have made -- President Trump should have made that pledge to do pardons. We should let the judicial process proceed.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I think it's inappropriate. I don't want to reinforce that defiling the Capitol was okay. I don't want to do anything that would make this more likely in the future. I want to detour people who did what -- on January 6th. And those who did it, I hope they go to jail and get the book thrown at them because they deserve it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): So, we're talking about pardons for people convicted of brutally assaulting officers, trying to kill lawmakers. You know, some of them were chanting "hang Mike Pence." Where are the other Republicans, Mark?

MCKINNON: Well, they're under the thumb of Donald Trump and they fear his power. And occasionally, we see these glimpses from the ones we just saw, Lindsey Graham and Susan Collins. It doesn't happen very often. And often, too often, they reel it back in a day or two later after they get assaulted by the Trump base.

But the truth, you know, we get a peek at it occasionally, and I said, I think, ultimately, it's going to prevail.

LEMON: Yeah.

NAVARRO: Listen, whatever backbone powder Lindsey Graham is taking because he also talked about possibly supporting Joe Biden's Supreme Court nominee and wanting for the Supreme Court to look representative, so whatever powdered backbone pill Lindsey Graham took this weekend, I hope he continues taking it because the Lindsey Graham Mark and I knew was very different than the coward accomplice we've seen for four years.

MCKINNON: Come back home, Lindsey. Fire is burning.

LEMON: Who knows? Hopefully, it not just an opportunist pill. But thank you. Thank you both. Ana, we will see you a little bit later. Ana is going to weigh in on a story that we are going to discuss regarding Whoopi Goldberg in just a little bit. So, thank you, Mark. We will see you in a little bit, Ana.

I want to turn now to Peter Wehner. He is a former advisor to George W. Bush and a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Hey, Peter, thank you for joining.

Listen, listening to Trump, there is no question what his intentions are if he runs and wins again. The country will be dragged through a nightmare of revenge against his enemies, pardoning criminal insurrections, using his supporters like a goon squad, and who knows what else.

PETER WEHNER, FORMER ADVISER TO GEORGE W. BUSH, SENIOR FELLOW AT THE ETHICS AND PUBLIC POLICY CENTER: Yeah, I agree. I mean, look, the starting point with Donald Trump is to accept that fact that he is a sociopath, and those tendencies just gotten worse. And he was bad enough in is one term as president. But if he were somehow to get power again, it would make that term looks like a walk in the park.

He is a very disturbed person with a disordered personality. He's a very dangerous person. At least he is a very dangerous person in particular if he gets the power to the presidency. It can't happen for the good of the country.

LEMON: Congressman Adam Kinzinger responded to Trump's comments confirming that he wanted Pence to overturn the election, saying in part, and I quote, "It is time for every Republican leader to pick a side. Trump or the Constitution. There is no middle on defending our nation anymore."

It seems like they already picked. Is this why you called the GOP a great treat to the American democracy?

WEHNER: Yeah, that is exactly right. I mean, Adam is right.

[23:10:00]

I mean, people do have to choose between truth and falsity, between the Constitution and lawlessness. But the problem is we've seen this movie for quite a while now. And so far, the Republican Party in the main (ph) has chosen lawlessness and falsity and conspiracy theories.

And I just don't think there is much hope in the short term if that is going to change. I mean, here and there, people are speaking up like Adam Kinzinger and like Liz Cheney, but the core of the party is afraid of him. They are really afraid, Don, not of him per se, they're afraid of the base. That's what -- if Trump were unpopular, then they would, of course, stand up to him.

The problem here, why this is really in some way such a deep and fundamental problem, is that the base of the party has been morally deformed and, in many respects, I would say corrupted, morally corrupted. And that is the problem.

We saw these Republicans, remember, after January 6th, people like Kevin McCarthy and others begin to speak out against Trump, and within 48 hours, they had flipped and moved the other way. And the reason is that they saw the backlash.

They had been indulging Trump and his lies, his conspiracy theories, and his craze comments for five or six years. So, it is not surprising that after that, just having (INAUDIBLE), that this is what you would be left with. But it is a real threat to the health of the country and to American democracy.

LEMON (on camera): And then there is Mike Detmer, a Republican candidate for Michigan State Senate, telling people that they should bring guns to polling places. Again, guns to the polling places. According to the Detroit News, Detmer was responding to a question on what can be done to prevent voter fraud. I want you to check out this video. It is posted by Ryan Kelley's campaign. He is a Republican running for Michigan governor. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE DETMER, MICHIGAN STATE REPRESENTATIVE CANDIDATE: The Second Amendment is there. The founders put it there to protect all the others. And it says to the government the people have the right to stop what is going on. That's what it's there for, right? The right to bear arms tells the government, the citizen is fine.

And if they go back and look at our Declaration of Independence and then our power, the ideal thing is to do this peacefully. That's ideal. But the American people at some point in time, if we can't change the tide, which I think we can, we need to be prepared to lock and load. So, you ask, what can we do? Show up armed.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON (on camera): Okay. Again, I just want to read it here. The ideal thing is to do this peacefully. That's ideal. But the American people at some point in time, if we can't change the tide, which I think we can, we need to be prepared to lock and load. So, I ask you -- so you ask, what do we do? Show up armed.

Now, Detmer was asked by the Detroit News what he meant by lock and load, and he responded, ultimately people have the responsibility to stop tyranny. Is this the kind of intimidation we should expect in November -- come November and going forward? This is lunacy.

WEHNER: Yeah, it's dangerous lunacy and it may turn out to be lethal lunacy at some point. We've already seen this, of course, with January 6 where people did die. You know, that kind of reckless rhetoric isn't common to all Republicans by any means --

LEMON: But when you think about it, Peter, if you're saying, okay, it should be peaceful and what does he -- if it's done -- it appears -- what he's saying, if it's not done the way that you want it to be done, what are they going to do? Shoot people at polling places like --

WEHNER: Yeah, that's the trouble, Don. I mean, that's how they're talking. Josh Mandel, who is the leader in the polls for the republican nomination in the Senate in Ohio, has said similar stuff. Marjorie Taylor Greene. I mean, you can go through a whole list of people.

This kind of rhetoric is pretty widespread and it's really dangerous. The membrane that separates civilization and barbarism is thinner than most people think. And because of the recent history of this country, I think a lot of folks had assumed that what we're seeing really wouldn't or couldn't happen in America and it can.

My fear is that we're edging closer to political violence than we know. Again, we saw it on January 6th. But there is a lot of dry grass out there and people are tossing around matches. And that's not a good thing to do.

And remember, you've got Donald Trump, right, former president, the most popular person in the party, encouraging unrest if law enforcement proceeds against him. That's what he did in that speech the other day.

[23:15:00]

And he's holding up insurrectionists as martyrs. So, there is -- you know, I told a friend years ago at the beginning of the Trump era, I said, when there is no bottom, there is no bottom. And I don't think that there is right now.

As long as this party is in the grips of Trump himself and the MAGA world mentality, the MAGA world ethic, if you will, I don't think that there are any or many lines they won't cross and there aren't many or any things they won't say. And we have to be prepared for it. We have to fight back because this country is worth saving.

LEMON: Yeah. Peter, thank you. I appreciate it.

WEHNER: You bet.

LEMON: Bipartisan governors telling President Joe Biden the country needs to move away from the pandemic. Are they right?

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[23:20:00]

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LEMON: A bipartisan group of governors is calling on President Biden to offer clear guidelines on how the country can move past the pandemic. COVID cases and hospitalizations dropping as the Omicron surge appears to have peaked. Right now, 45 states seeing cases holding steady or going down.

S, joining me now, the former surgeon general of the United States, Dr. Jerome Adams. He is now a distinguished professor and director of Health Equity Initiatives at Purdue University. Dr. Adams, thank you so much for joining us.

Let's get right to it here. On both sides of the aisle, governors want to move past the pandemic. When you look at where we are right now with this thing, with signs that things are improving, are we in a place where we can safely transition from pandemic to endemic?

JEROME ADAMS, FORMER SURGEON GENERAL: Well, we're not there yet and that's just a matter of definition and the actual virus. We still have over 2,000 people dying every single day. We know that it is long to take to get up the hill, it takes not long to get back down the hill.

But people should understand there is hope. We are seeing cases going down. We are seeing more and more people, about a half a million people every day getting vaccinated. So, that's critically important. I think we are headed toward a brighter spring, a brighter summer, but we got to pick up the pace with vaccinations and boosters.

LEMON: I hope you're right that we are heading towards brighter spring and summer. Look, Dr. Adams, even with cases on the decline, nearly every single U.S. county is still seeing high transmission. That is according to the CDC. And so many local officials are keeping mask mandates in place. Do you think we need maybe a different set of guidelines to measure where we are right now with this pandemic?

ADAMS: Well, I think the guidelines are clear. We just have to articulate them. We got to help people understand that personally, if you're vaccinated and boosted, that is the best protection. But on the societal level, we got to step it up as adults.

I've tweeted about this recently, Don. We can completely unmask our kids in school and still come out ahead if we had the same vaccination rate as Singapore. People like to compare themselves, our country, to the U.K. or France and look at their policies in terms of kids. Well, there are more unvaccinated adults in the United States than there are total people under 18. There are more un-boosted people than there are people under 18.

The adults are not stepping up. And yes, there are people out there who have questions, not shaming them at all. But the people who say it's about my freedom, they're not stepping up and they're causing our kids to have to pay the price.

LEMON: Yeah. You tweeted this. You said, in the U.S., we're forced to ask more of our kids because we get so little from our adults. Talk to me about that. Do you think American adults failed our children during this pandemic?

ADAMS: Well, I think when you look at comparable countries, we absolutely could be doing a lot more. There are more unvaccinated adults in this country than there are kids under the age of 18. We could literally get rid of masking in schools altogether and still come out ahead of this pandemic if people would just do their part.

And again, it's not to shame people. If you have questions, talk to a doctor. Get your questions answered. If you're Black, remember, Barack Obama got vaccinated. If you're Republican, remember, Donald Trump said, get vaccinated and get boosted. We have to pull together not just for ourselves but for our kids. That is really what this is about. It is not fair to our kids, for us to expect them to pick up the slack because we won't do our jobs.

LEMON: Would it help if places like a Spotify or a Facebook did their part or did more to help people realize what is true and what is not? I know that now they're putting caveats, warning labels or what have you across some of their content. But would that help?

ADAMS: Well, Don, everybody is free to speak, but it doesn't mean everybody deserves a microphone. Everybody deserves to have the same amplification of the rhetoric that they're spewing out there. And that's where social media channels, that is where Spotify and companies like that come in.

I think they've got to do a better job of helping people understand, okay, this is information from a reputable source, this is information from someone who doesn't quite have the credentials to be answering this question. This is saying this is blatant misinformation. We know that this over here is not true.

They got to do a better job because, unfortunately, they're preying on our citizens, they're preying on our kids, they're preying on people out there who just want the facts, who have good reasons for distrust of the government, quite frankly, but then they're getting fed misinformation that is causing them to make bad choices.

LEMON: Look, this is why people are so hesitant to say, oh, you know -- you know, your prediction of the spring, you said you hope we are going into a better swing and summer, because every time it's happened, there is a new variant around the corner, right?

[23:25:03] So, there is a new variant that U.K. data suggests is more contagious than Omicron, but it doesn't appear to be more severe. How do you deal with these new variants as we try to move back to normal?

ADAMS: Well, you deal with it with honesty. Don, you and I talked about this before. Both administrations were guilty of wanting to declare victory over this virus and over this pandemic. American people, hear me. We're going to be living with this for a while. But we got the tools and we got vaccinations and boosters which are incredibly effective, 50% effective against infection, 90% against hospitalization, 95% against death if you're fully vaccinated and boosted.

And unfortunately, one of the things that comes out of Omicron beyond 22,000 people dying a day is many more people are going to have some baseline immunity there. So, I think we will transition into an era where you're starting to see cases delinked from hospitalizations and from deaths moving forward even as we experience new variants, but will get there quicker if people get vaccinated, get boosted, and take precautions in the meantime.

LEMON: Doctor, you said both administrations were guilty of saying that we had defeated the -- did the Biden administration actually say that?

ADAMS: Well, we know that in July of last year, the president said that we were turning the page on COVID. We know that they said that we wouldn't have to mask anymore if we are vaccinated. And again, I don't want people to mishear me here. The administration that I was a part of was also guilty of wanting to declare victory over this virus.

And the fact is, this virus is going to dictate the terms when the pandemic is over. But the control we have is through vaccinations, through boosters, through masking, through taking protective measures. We have to get the politics out of this and really rally around the things that we know work for us and for our kids.

LEMON: I think everyone will agree. We got to get the politics out of it. Thank you, Dr. Adams. I appreciate you joining.

ADAMS: Thank you.

LEMON: Whoopi Goldberg now apologizing for her comments on "The View" suggesting the holocaust wasn't about race. Well, her co-host and an expert she named in her apology, they both join me to respond. That's next.

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[23:30:00]

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LEMON (on camera): During a segment on "The View" today discussing the banning of the book "Maus," the co-host, Whoopi Goldberg, made some ill- informed comments about the Jewish people and the holocaust. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHOOPI GOLDBERG, ACTOR: If we're going to do this, then let's be truthful about it, because the holocaust isn't about race.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): No.

GOLDBERG: No, it's not about race.

(CROSSTALK)

UNKNOWN: It's about a different race.

GOLDBERG: But it's not about race. It's not about race.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): What is it about?

GOLDBERG: It's about man's inhumanity to man. That's what it's about.

UNKNOWN: But it's about white supremacy.

(CROSSTALK)

GOLDBERG: But these are two white groups of people.

(CROSSTALK)

GOLDBERG: But you're missing the point. You're missing the point. The minute you turn it into race, it goes down this ally. Let's talk about it for what it is. It's how people treat each other. It's a problem. It doesn't matter if you're Black or white, because Black, white, Jews, Italian -- everybody eats each other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): Okay. So, Whoopi has since come out with an apology and she says on "Today" show, I said the holocaust is not about race, but about man's humanity to man. I should have said it's about both.

As Jonathan Greenblatt from the Anti-Defamation League shared, the holocaust was about the Nazis systematic annihilation of the Jewish people who they deemed to be an inferior race. I stand corrected. The Jewish people around the world have always had my support and that will never waive. I'm sorry for the hurt I have caused.

Jonathan Greenblatt joins me now along with CNN political commentator Ana Navarro, who was co-hosting "The View." She is also a co-host on "The View." They both join us. Thank you so much. I appreciate you guys coming on to speak about this.

Jonathan, good evening to you. Whoopi mentioned you there as someone who helped educate her on this. So set the record straight. The role of race in the holocaust.

JONATHAN GREENBLATT, CEO AND NATIONAL DIRECTOR, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: Well, thank you, Don, for the question. I kind of wish we weren't having this conversation. But let's be clear about one thing: The holocaust was all about race.

The Nazi ideology was predicated on the hateful antisemitic idea they were a so-called superior race and that the so-called Jewish race was inferior and that led them to commit this act of genocidal annihilation, to literally execute the systematic extermination of the Jewish people across Europe, attempted across North Africa.

I mean, it was the singular tragedy in human history and it was predicated on race. And those six million people we're talking about, there was more than a million and a half children who were slaughtered by the Nazis, incinerated in the oven, gassed in the chambers.

So, this was not just about people treating each other poorly. This was one of the most diabolical offenses in human history.

[23:34:59]

LEMON: So, Jonathan, when Whoopi said these are two groups of white people, meaning the Nazis and their Jewish victims, some people might see it that way. And, you know, the idea that some people would say that Jewish people -- it's about religion. Judaism is a religion. Jewish people, it is about religion. It is not a race. Being a Jew is not a race.

GREENBLATT: Yeah.

LEMON: But is it wrong when it comes to the holocaust to think about it in that way? Please explain that to us.

GREENBLATT: Well, look, the reality is that antisemitism is the oldest hatred. It has crossed cultures and countries for millennia. And sometimes, it is a kind of racial antisemitism as perpetrated by the Nazis. Sometimes, it is kind of a religious antisemitism, a case long made by the Catholic church. Today, we see kind of political antisemitism by those who castigated Jewish people or the Jewish state.

And while it's true that many Jews present as white, many Jews are also considered people of color. African American, Latino, Mizrahi. If you were to go Israel, Don, you would see that the majority of that population hail from Arab and Muslim countries and they don't present as white.

So, I think we do ourselves a disservice when we try to import the way we think about race in a 21st century American context on to conflicts in the Middle East, on to historical events in the 20th century and so on and so forth.

Look, I'm glad that Whoopi apologized and recognized the hurt that she caused, and I really hope that we can work together to educate people about the holocaust and why we need to learn its lessons today at a time when antisemitism, Don, as we talked about on your show, it is absolutely on the rise coming at the Jewish people (ph) from all sides.

LEMON (on camera): It is also -- you said about how we think about race today, because there is something to that. Ana, I want to pose that to you, but first, I just want -- you pushed back on Whoopi during that. I want to play part of the segment and then I'll ask you the question. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAVARRO: We're living in an era where people are comparing vaccine cards to the yellow stars, where people are comparing vaccinations to what Anne Frank went through.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Yeah.

NAVARRO: So, it is necessary for kids to learn about the holocaust.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): Ana, is this about, as Jonathan said, this sort of 21st century idea about what race is, that we are -- that people -- that many people will sort of use that comparison to explain how they feel about the holocaust?

NAVARRO: I think so. I think -- listen, when I -- when you, for example, look at a government form, a U.S. census form, and asks you for race information, Jewish does not appear on there. And so, I do think that what Jonathan is saying is exactly right. We're putting our 21st century eyes on it.

But I also -- listen, I want to put things in context, because this conversation was, where we were condemning the school board in Tennessee for banning a book, a classic book about the holocaust that's taught too many high schoolers, "Maus," because we feel that there needs to be education.

And I actually disagree with Jonathan in that. I'm glad we're having this conversation, because for me, it emphasizes the need to have the uncomfortable conversations that in many states, they want to ban. We must be educated about this so that we know how to condemn the Marjorie Taylor Greenes and how to condemn the RFKs and how to condemn and fight against antisemitism any time it rises its ugly head.

And I will say that "The View," and I'm very proud to be part of that show and I'm very proud to be a friend of and colleague of Whoopi Goldberg and all the other women that are on there, does that constantly.

Just last week, we had Lily Ebert, a 98-year-old survivor of Auschwitz for Holocaust Remembrance Day. We have condemned antisemitism time and time again. And so, I think this is a learning moment, and I'm so glad that Jonathan reached out. I'm so glad he took the time to educate us and that we are having this conversation and that we are being uncomfortable and we're being taught. We're being --

LEMON: Listen. I agree. I think it's a teaching moment and I think that's the reason we're doing this. And no one is slamming Whoopi here. She apologized. Whoopi stated her case and she didn't say, I apologized if I offended you. She said, I was wrong, I learned, and I'll do better. That's the way to apologize.

Jonathan, I have to ask you. She said that she learned from you. Have you spoken to Whoopi? Will you speak to Whoopi? Are you going to appear on "The View" with Whoopi?

GREENBLATT: I'll be on "The View" tomorrow morning, Don, which will be a great opportunity to talk with Ana and with Whoopi and with Joy and all the hosts about these issues. I agree it's a teachable moment. And I believe we got to call people in before we call them out. The fact she apologized matters.

[23:39:57]

And now, let's use this as an opportunity at a time when --- as Ana was alluding to, we have holocaust survivors passing on. Memory is fading. But to learn the histories of the past enables us to be prepared for our future. So, I really hope that we can move forward from this in a way which educates all about the dangers of antisemitism, racism and hate in all forms.

LEMON: Thank you very much.

NAVARRO: And, you know, Don --

LEMON: We look forward to seeing you on "The View" tomorrow. I got to run, Ana. I got to run.

NAVARRO: But, Don, it is important.

LEMON: Thank you both. I appreciate it. We will be right back. Sorry.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:45:00]

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LEMON: New tonight, a federal judge is rejecting a plea deal reached by prosecutors. And two of the men convicted in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery under the terms of the agreement, the McMichaels, would have been transferred from a state prison to federal custody. Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, was angered by the proposed deal and told the judge not to accept it.

Lee Merritt, the attorney for Ahmaud Arbery's family, joins me now. Lee, thank you so much. We're so happy that you're here to discuss this. Good evening to you. Ahmaud's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, called the plea deal disrespectful. Tell us why this deal wasn't enough.

LEE MERRITT, ATTORNEY FOR THE FAMILY OF AHMAUD ARBERY: Well, the main concern with the deal was that Wanda fought hard to secure a state conviction for the three men who murdered her son, two without the possibility of parole, and this deal would allow them to avoid that really difficult state prison term and transfer to what is considered a relatively lighter federal penitentiary incarceration.

LEMON: Both of Ahmaud's parents spoke in court as witnesses against the deal today. This is a quote from Ms. Cooper-Jones. She testified. She said, Ahmaud didn't get an option of a plea. Ahmaud was killed. Ahmaud was haunted down. I'm asking you on behalf of my family to please do not accept this plea.

An FBI special agent on the investigation also speaking as witness today, testifying that they found frequent use of racial slurs on Travis McMichael's cellphone and social media account. How do you think this will play out if and when this case goes before a jury?

Well, that was one of the selling points when the Department of Justice was trying to convince Wanda Cooper-Jones that this was a plea deal that she should look forward to, because she would finally get to hear the truth about the racial animists that motivated these men and their actions in murdering her son.

But as she said from the courtroom today, she gets no benefit of hearing about how racist these men were. She already has the outcome that she's looking for. These men are serving the rest of their lives behind bars. And she doesn't want to do them any benefit. She didn't want to do them any favors by allowing them to transfer to their preferred location.

LEMON: Lee, thank you so much. Best to the family. Appreciate you appearing.

Two police officers in Bridgeport, Connecticut suspended for mishandling the investigations into the deaths of two Black women. Now, activists are pointing to a bigger problem within the police department.

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[23:50:00]

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LEMON (on camera): The mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut ordering two officers be placed on administrative leave after the families of two Black women criticize the way police handled the investigations into their deaths. Now, the community is looking for answers to how this could have happened. CNN's Athena Hones has the latest.

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CROWD: We want justice!

ATHENA JONES, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outrage and frustration in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

MARIA PEREIRA, COUNCILWOMAN, BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT: The police department just dropped the ball. And not one, but two suspicious deaths.

JONES (voice-over): Two police officers now on administrative leave and being investigated by internal affairs after the families of two Black women, found dead in separate incidents last month, slammed the police department's handling of the investigations into their deaths.

SHANTELL FIELDS, MOTHER OF LAUREN SMITH-FIELDS: I just want everybody to (INAUDIBLE). And we need justice. We need answers.

JONES (voice-over): Twenty-three-year-old college student Lauren Smith-Fields and 53-year-old Brenda Lee Rawls both died on December 12th. Police in both cases fail to immediately notify the women's families of their deaths, according to the families.

Smith-Fields's family attorney saying they instead learned she had died from her landlord, who left a note on her apartment door. Smith- Fields died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, alcohol, and prescription drugs, according to the medical examiner. Her death was reported to police by a man she had met on the dating app, Bumble.

ALEXIS FARROW, FAMILY REPRESENTATIVE: We do not believe that if she took those drugs, she knew what she was taking. The bottom line is, no matter how she passed away, it was not investigated properly and it was not handled properly.

JONES (voice-over): Smith-Fields family plan to sue the city for violating their civil rights. Their lawyer writing that two weeks after Smith-Fields' death, her family has to force police to collect evidence, including a used condom, a bloody bedsheet, and a pill used as a sedative. Bridgeport Police say her death is being investigated as a crime. CNN is not identifying her date, an older white man, because he has not been named a suspect.

DARNELL CROSLAND, FAMILY ATTORNEY: You have to be interested in the last person she was with before she died.

REV. D. STANLEY LORD, PRESIDENT, GREATER BRIDGEPORT BRANCH NAACP: If it had been the other way around, and had been a white woman and a Black man, you cannot tell me that the Black man would have been arrested or questioned or his phone taken.

JONES (voice-over): Meanwhile, Brenda Lee Rawls's cause and manner of death are still pending.

DOROTHY WASHINGTON, BRENDA LEE RAWLS'S SISTER: Her death is being treated like nothing, like she was never here or existed.

MAYOR JOSEPH GANIM, BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT: Again, to make a clear --

JONES (voice-over): Bridgeport mayor, Joseph Gannon, now apologizing.

GANIM: I want to be clear to members of the public and the department, insensitivity, disrespect, inaction and deviation from policy will not be tolerated by me or anyone in this administration.

[23:55:03] CROWD: Mayor Ganim, step up!

JONES (voice-over): Local activists say poor treatment of minorities in Bridgeport, which is 35% Black, has long been a problem, and argue the police department does not represent the community.

LORD: The Black and brown community really does not feel that the police department of the greater Bridgeport -- of the Bridgeport area does not -- does not have the best interest of people of color in mind when they come to investigate.

JONES (on camera): Both cases have been reassigned to other officers and the supervisory officer overseeing these matters retired on Friday. Meanwhile, Rev. D. Stanley Lord, the head of the local NAACP chapter, tells me he plans to hold a press conference on Wednesday to demand a federal civil rights investigation into the Bridgeport Police Department. Don?

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LEMON (on camera): Athena Jones, thank you very much for that. And thank you for watching, everyone. Our coverage continues.

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