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Don Lemon Tonight

U.S. Say Russia Has Added 7,000 Troops Along Ukraine; Interview With Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA); January 6 Committee Getting Trump's White House Visitor Logs; The Impact Of Trump's Endorsement In 2022; Tense Moments As Two Ex-Officers Accused Of Violating George Floyd's Civil Rights Testify In Their Own Defense; Voter's Oust SF School Board Members Over School Closings; Russian Skater Competing Tonight Amid Olympic Doping Scandal; Millions At Risk For Dangerous Tornadoes Thursday. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired February 16, 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): Vladimir Putin claims he is pulling his troops back, so why does the Biden administration say they have spotted 7,000 more troops at Ukraine's border?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NED PRICE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: In fact, we have seen the opposite in recent weeks and even in recent days, more Russian forces not fewer are at the border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: We're live in Ukraine in just a moment. And they want to know who is coming and going. The January 6th Committee soon to get possession of the former president's White House visitor logs including for the day of the attack on the Capitol. I'm going to speak with a member of the committee.

Plus, tension in the courtroom as two of the ex-Minneapolis officers accused of violating George Floyd's civil rights take the stand in their own defense.

Also ahead, ousted. Three members of the San Francisco school board removed in a recall vote pushed by parents angered that their children were kept out of school due to COVID for well over a year.

But I want to go live to Ukraine. That's where CNN international correspondent, Michael Holmes is in Lviv for us tonight.

Michael, hello to you. Russia may claim that they're withdrawing, but senior U.S. officials are saying that Moscow has added another 7,000 troops to the border. Are Ukrainians expecting an invasion soon?

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Hi, Don. Yeah, they expect it in terms of preparing for it, but still here there is no panic or great fear of it, I must say. Let's not forget Ukraine has had an ongoing war with Russian backed separatists in the east of the country for eight years now along, of course, with Russia's taking of Crimea.

So an invasion would be an extension of an existing war not a new one. And yes, many have said watch what Russia does not what it said. Those few thousand troops may have been returned to their bases as Russia claimed, but it's a tiny number of the overall amassed forces around Ukraine.

And as you said U.S. Officials are now saying that far from drawing down troops in some places Russia is adding forces elsewhere, 7,000 in key areas, convenient for an invasion.

Important to note, Don, that those troops that did withdraw or supposedly did were based not far from the border anyway and could be pretty quickly and easily back in play.

LEMON: Michael, there's also new satellite imagery showing this bridge and a series of approach roads under construction just four miles from the Ukraine border. A source is telling CNN that Russia is building bridges and field hospitals. What more can you tell us because this all seems very ominous?

HOLMES: Yeah, that bridge is interesting. It's in a very strategic area. It's a new road, a new bridge. It's only a few miles from the border, and U.S. officials say that what it could do is make it easier for Russian troops to invade in a strategic sense.

You know, there's another concern about the Russian troops in Belarus. There's a lot of analysts saying that they're concerned that those troops there could stay, that they could become a permanent base in Belarus, which of course would just mean that the -- that the threat to Ukraine would be ongoing even if this current threat passes.

And so there's a lot of concern that while they're there and these roads are being built, it suggests that a potential permanency to the threat to Ukraine even if this current situation alleviates, Don.

LEMON: Michael Holmes, thank you very much. I appreciate that.

Now to President Joe Biden rejecting his predecessor's claims of executive privilege to keep White House visitor logs under wrap. The White House council saying it's, quote, "Not in the best interest of the United States and therefore is not justified as to these records."

So joining me now to discuss is Democratic Congresswoman, Zoe Lofgren, she is a member of the House Select Committee on January 6th. Were so happy to have you here, Congresswoman. Thank you very much.

The National Archives telling Trump that they're going to turn over these records in 15 days. Can you tell us more about these laws? Will they show anyone who entered the White House grounds and exactly, you know, what do you hope to learn from these?

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA) (on camera): Well, we haven't seen the logs yet so we can't say what we'll learn, but we do think it's important to find out who came into the White House. You know, we've had various witnesses give testimony on that. But it would be important to certify those facts.

The -- as you know, the former president is a litigious individual. He fought this in court and lost, you know, in the trials court, he lost in the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court declined to intervene. So he may try some frivolous lawsuits, but we think the legal case is very clear. And we expect to get the documents promptly.

[23:05:15]

LEMON: Will these documents cover just January 6th or also the days before and after January 6th?

LOFGREN: It's beyond January 6th. Obviously it includes January 6th. But the committee is looking at not just the events of the 6th but the various events that led up to the 6th.

You know, we didn't have thousands of people just randomly show up on the 6th of January. There was a method. There was a planning. There was a purpose. And we are going to uncover all of that.

LEMON: Congresswoman, even if staffers were sloppily about recordkeeping inside the White House, doesn't everyone have to be cleared through the Secret Service? Wouldn't they have exactly -- know exactly who came and who went?

LOFGREN: Well, we think so. And we've gotten other information that has been produced as required by sort of official-type staff, the diarists, the phone logs. And we believe that these records do exist.

It wasn't a decision by the former president. It was the institutional staff that kept these reports, and we think we will get them and learn something from them.

LEMON: So, on that (inaudible), would the logs reflect business to the White House residence or if someone was scheduled to meet with one person and visit another? And I ask because Stephanie Grisham, Trump's former press secretary, said that Trump held secret meetings in the residence in the days before January 6th?

LOFGREN: Well, we don't know that but having seen some of the diarist accounts, it's minute by minute who came into the Oval Office, for example. So interesting information.

LEMON: Your committee this week issuing six more subpoenas targeting two Trump campaign officials and Republicans in three battleground states Trump lost having to do with this fake elector's plot of undermining the certification of Biden's win. What are you learning about this scheme?

LOFGREN: Well, we want to know and we know what happened in terms of the certain people pretending to be electors and filling out fraudulent documents, but we also believe this didn't happen randomly. This was organized. The documents -- the fraudulent documents they filled out were the same.

So we need to know who organized it, who paid for it, who directed it, and how far and wide did this go. It was an attempt to overturn the vote of the people and it was serious.

LEMON: As more information comes to light how damning does the RNC statement that January 6th involved legitimate political discourse look to you now?

LOFGREN: Well, my jaw dropped when I heard that. I mean, open your eyes. Take a look at the more than 100 Capitol police officers who were severely harmed. An officer lost an eye, officers lost fingers. Officers had strokes and heart attacks. They were monstrously abused. And to say that that was legitimate political discourse is just jaw dropping. It's -- it's terrible.

LEMON: You know, the switching boxes retrieve from Mar-a-Lago, reports of documents being flushed down toilets and potentially incomplete logs, this is a White House that clearly didn't want a full record of what it was up to. That's what it appears.

LOFGREN: Well, it sure does look that way, doesn't it? The archivists are going through the documents. We expect to get them. You know, as to the documents being flushed obviously we're not going to recover those, but it doesn't look good. Why would you try and hide material if you didn't have something to hide?

LEMON: Congresswoman, thank you for your time. I really appreciate you appearing this evening. Thanks so much.

I want to turn now to former Republican Congressman Charlie Dent and Republican strategist pollster, Kirsten -- Kristen -- excuse me, Kristen Soltis Henderson. They're both CNN political commentators. Thank you, Kristen. Sorry for butchering your name there. We have Kirsten and we have Kristen.

KRISTEN SOLTIS HENDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR (on camera): All good.

LEMON: Thank you so much. Good evening to both of you. Charlie, I'm going to start with you. We're learning a bipartisan resolution condemning Russia's actions could get a vote in the Senate as soon as tomorrow. But sanctions are really what will actually punish Putin, but that is still stalled. With the world on edge do you think Congress is capable of acting?

FMR. REP. CHARLIE DENT (R-PA), CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR (on camera): I do. In fact, I think this is one of those issues, Don, where Republicans and Democrats are largely aligned. We all agree that American troops should not go into Ukraine to fight Russians. We all agree on that. And I have to give the administration some credit here.

[23:10:06]

I think they're actually taking the right steps reinforcing the eastern NATO allies. You know, they're trying to reveal some of these covert activities with the Russians, publicly. They are doing all source of things, I think are necessary.

Having said that, it may not be enough because the villain here is Vladimir Putin. The big fight between Republicans and Democrats really seems to be mostly over these, you know, should be sanctions be preemptive as many Republicans are arguing, the Democrats think they need to be more reactive, I don't think that that fall apart. I think they are largely in agreement. But it's unfortunate that they didn't come to an agreement before the recess.

LEMON: Kristen, there's new Quinnipiac polling out today showing President Biden's approval rating under water on top issues including COVID response, the economy, Russia-Ukraine tensions. How worried should the White House be about these numbers?

SOLTIS HENDERSON: Pretty worried in part because it's already historically the kind of mid-term that's going to be tough for Democrats. Whenever you're the party that's just come into power you're always looking at a really challenging mid-term, so you want to have numbers that are at least in decent territory so that you can blunt the blow, you can make sure that the wave doesn't crash as hard as it could.

And those aren't the numbers that Democrats are looking at right now. Now there's a long way until November. Inflation could go down, the economy could get better. COVID could become something of an aforethought by the time we get to November. Gosh, I hope so.

But all of those dominos really need to fall in order for Democrats to be in a position where they've got more voters going, you know, maybe I don't want a change in Washington.

LEMON: Yeah. You know, Kristen, there's a big race that we're following in the GOP primary for Georgia's next governor. The Former President Trump is putting his support behind David Perdue because he wants to punish the current Republican Governor, Brian Kemp, for not pushing his big lie.

The latest polling shows Kemp in the lead, he is also dominating Perdue in fund-raising. So, how do you this race playing out?

SOLTIS HENDERSON: Well, this race is going to be interesting because the biggest thing Perdue has going for him is that he has Trump backing him. He also has a lot of name I.D. in the state, very close to being a United States Senator. So it's not as though he's someone who has come out of nowhere that Donald Trump has given his blessing to very randomly.

This is more calculated sort of endorsement on Trump's part. But bear in mind Donald Trump's endorsement is not a guarantee of victory in a primary. A lot of people forget that Lauren Boebert and Madison Cawthorn, two very Trumpy members of Congress, who are become notorious as freshmen members.

While they are very Trumpy in spirit they were not endorse by Donald Trump. In fact Trump had endorsed their primary opponents in their runs for Congress. So, Donald Trump has a lot of sway in the party, but his blessing does not automatically mean you win a primary.

LEMON: Charlie, you know, Trump loves to hate Governor Kemp. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: You're a rhino Governor, Brian Kemp, who's been a complete disaster on election integrity. When Stacey Abrams say's I'm going to concede, that's OK. Of course having here I think might be better than having your existing Governor, if you want to know the (inaudible). You have one of the dumbest governors in the United States. I wasn't happy with Brian Kemp. I wasn't at all happy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: But despite all of, you know, Trump's bashing it seems like very few Georgia Republicans are looking to ditch Kemp for Perdue. What would it say about Trump if Perdue loses this race? Look, there's still sine tine. Things can change, but what does it stay?

DENT: Well, let me just say this having been called a rhino, a squish and a bed wetter, I feel Governor Kemp's pain. But -- look, I think Donald Trump is actually better at hurting candidates in the primary, than helping them.

Clearly, you know, Governor Kemp seems to be more than holding his own. In North Carolina we saw an endorsement by Former President Trump for a Republican candidate Ted Bud, but the former Governor seems to be doing quite well, and Mark Walker, a former Congressman is doing well.

Now, look at Massachusetts where Donald Trump endorsed a likely primary opponent, basically giving away the Governor's race now because Baker's stepped out. So, I think, right now, I mean, again, I agree with Kristen that Trump's endorsement is not necessarily -- does not guarantee victory, but he is much better at hurting candidates.

If he goes out and trashes somebody terribly, it can have an impact particularly if it's a more moderate member in a more swing district. Then of course he ends up giving the race away to the Democrats.

LEMON: Kristen, you have been looking at the numbers in a lot of races with Trump-backed candidates. Is he helping or hurting their campaigns?

SOLTIS HENDERSON: So in some cases I think he'd be very helpful. So for instance he has not made a choice in Ohio yet, but the three major candidates there have all been trying to vie for that Trump lane in hopes that that will help to set them apart. But there is also a real worry. I mean, think back to the 2010 mid-terms. That's the midterms that this reminds me of the most.

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You have a new Democratic president who is still going through some political environment struggles and Republicans are poised to win, but they left some seats on the table because they had some candidates win in primaries who just couldn't survive in a general election even in a good year.

Remember Christine O'Donnell in Delaware, I am not a witch, that was a seat that Republicans completely could have picked up in 2010, and yet their primary candidate just couldn't get across the finish line. So I'm still keeping an eye on that. Are these Trump-backed candidates actually able to make a pivot into a general and survive even in a good year?

LEMON: Kristen, Charlie, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

We have the latest tonight on three ex-officers standing trial in federal court for violating George Floyd's civil rights. Why one of them snapped at the prosecutor for asking why he didn't tell Derek Chauvin to get off George Floyd's neck.

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LEMON: Now to the trial of three ex-Minneapolis police officers facing federal civil rights charges tied to George Floyd's killing. There was a tense moment today during cross-examination. Ex-officer Tou Thao snapped at the prosecutor for asking why he didn't tell Derek Chauvin to get off George Floyd's neck. And back during the nine minutes and 29 seconds.

So joining me now, CNN legal analyst and civil rights attorney, Areva Martin. Areva, thank you very much. So here we go with what's happening in the courtroom here. Here's how ex-officer Thao responded. He said I think I would trust a 19-year veteran to figure it out.

He along with his former colleague Jay Alexander King are charged with failing to intervene in Chauvin's use of unreasonable force. Is differing to a colleague a valid excuse?

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR (on camera): I don't think it is, Don. What we are seeing with respect to these three ex-officers is blame shifting, right? They're trying to make Derek Chauvin the responsible party and to relieve themselves of any responsibility with respect to what happened on that day, the day that we know Chauvin kneeled on George Floyd's neck for those nine minutes and 29 seconds.

So, there are a couple strategies that they have with respect to their defense. One, blame it all on Derek Chauvin who's not going to be on trial because he's pled guilty, and the second strategy is blame it on the Minneapolis Police Department. A big part of their defense is that they were not trained properly and that the training they did receive was consistent with the actions that were taken on that day. And I just don't think either of those arguments are going to be winning arguments for these defendants.

LEMON: Thao said that using a knee to restrain a suspect was commonplace in the Minneapolis Police Department. Is that significant if he thought Chauvin was doing what a lot of others did? It's just the way it's done.

MARTIN: Well, again, Don, that's their defense. And they've actually shown videotape from their training where they have shown officers who are kneeling on, you know, civilians or who are playing the role in these videotapes who are handcuffed and on the ground.

But we can't forget the prosecution's case. The prosecution put on a case over three weeks, 21-plus witnesses. And they had Minneapolis Police Department officers testify that that is not the training and that what happened on that day was not consistent with Minneapolis Police Department policy.

So I think the testimony that's been elicited during the prosecution's case is going to carry far more weight. Because the eyes don't lie. I don't think anyone believes that a police department is out there training police officers to engage in the conduct that we saw from these three officers.

LEMON: Kneeling on a back, but do they show them kneeling on someone's neck? I mean he was on the man's neck, Areva.

MARTIN: Yeah. Absolutely. That's why I don't think this defense, Don, is going to (inaudible). They're trying to shift the blame to the police department, but they're asking this jury to just relieve itself of common sense.

We already know what happened in the Derek Chauvin trial when his defense attorney made a very similar defense, that somehow this was consistent with Minneapolis Police Department training. It was already rejected in that state trial of Derek Chauvin. And I think this argument of blaming the police department is going to be rejected in this trial as well.

LEMON: Former Minneapolis police officer, Jay Alexander King also testifying in his own defense today. He was one of the officers that restrained Floyd on the ground. He says that he didn't know George Floyd had stop breathing, he couldn't tell how much pressure Derek Chauvin was using. How will a jury hear this?

MARTIN: Again, Don, all of -- the two men that have testified so far and we're going to hear from Lane, he also had stated that he's going to testify, they want the jury to believe that they were almost like innocent bystanders. That they were there, they didn't quite have an understanding of everything that was going on.

One of the officers testified that he did hear George Floyd say he couldn't breathe, but that became a common refrain after Eric Gardener was killed by police in New York City, so he didn't really believed that. He said, he was trained that if you can talk you can breathe.

All of these arguments that, you know, shift the blame have been tried in the Derek Chauvin case. Obviously these three officers weren't on trial there but we saw some of these same lines of defense used and they were rejected by the jury. I just don't think based on what we've seen so far, the limited testimony from the defendants that they're presenting a persuasive case. People expect police officers to protect and serve. They expect them

to know what's going on. They expect them to intervene if they see an officer doing something that's going to cause the kind of harm that was caused to George Floyd. Again, until we hear from these defendants I think the prosecution's case is going to carry the day.

LEMON: Areva, I've got to ask you about this. I want to ask you about this incident at a New Jersey mall. Video showing what happened when police break up a fight between a black teen and a white teen. The female officer pulls the white teen away and pushes him on a couch, while the other officer presses the black teen to the ground and kneels on his back, and the black teen ends up in handcuffs and he says he has to go to a holding area, and the white teen is just, you know, allowed to leave. How does this look to you?

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MARTIN: It was appalling, Don. Watching that videotape, and then I saw the Facebook posts or the social media posts from the African- American teen's mother asking is this really what this police department stands for, handcuffing and restraining a young African- American teenager? She says her son was there actually trying to break up a fight, and then to see that white kid sitting unrestrained, un- handcuffed, you know, on the side of this incident and the black kid on the ground being treated in such a rough manner by the police, this is the kind of video -- these are the kinds of actions by police that we have been protesting for, for so long.

People are tired of seeing this kind of disparate treatment of African Americans by police officers. And you would think, Don, with all the lawsuits, cops going to jail, cities paying multi-million dollar settlements, that police would get the message and that we would see a different kind of policing.

I don't know what it's going to take, but this videotape demonstrates that they are not getting the message that it's a new day and African Americans -- and people of good conscious all over this country are not going to stand for this kind of policing that dehumanizes African Americans.

LEMON: Areva, thank you very much. I appreciate it.

MARTIN: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: Half of San Francisco school board members ousted, accused of putting political correctness above student's education. Will it be a wakeup call for some Democrats?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LONDON BREED, MAYOR, SAN FRANCISCO: The bickering, the politics, and who suffered the most? Our children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [23:30:00]

LEMON: Half of San Francisco school board ousted, pushed out by voters after a nasty recall fight pitting Democrat against Democrat voters. Angry the public schools were closed for in-person learning for 17 months. And while kids were kept out of the classroom the board prioritized things like renaming 44 schools because they were named after public figures. The board thought were too controversial except some of those public figures were people like Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.

So joining me now CNN political commentators Bakari Sellers and Alice Stewart. Good evening to both of you. Bakari, these school board members were voted out by a 70 percent majority. Should this be a wakeup call for anyone wanting to know what Americans really care about?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (on camera): I mean I hope so. I think that this is a wakeup call, and I hope that people understand that this isn't just some micro-election that happened on the West Coast. I mean, the fact is this permeates throughout most individual, you know, campaign headquarters who are Democrats.

The fact is Republicans have tapped into parental exhaustion. They understand the exhaustion that parents are going through throughout this COVID episode. I mean it's been two years of almost -- almost more than two years -- were parents are having to deal with it. Yes, there's a balance that has to be had between the science, the vaccines and the mandates, but there's also a balance with what's happening in the real world.

And apparently the school board members didn't understand it. One more important thing, Don, is when you take this exhaustion and you couple that with misinformation and disinformation, it's a hell of a mixture and combination that means Democrats have to truly listen to what voters are saying.

LEMON: And I want you to listen to an Ohio parent who spoke with CNN correspondent, Evan McMorris Santoro. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGIE SCHMITT, MOTHER: If you would have told me like two years ago that I would be alienated from a Democratic Party I wouldn't have believed it. I just don't think people realize what a big deal (inaudible). Why was my son who has already had doubled vaccinated and already had corona masking 40 hours a week when no one else is, and he's low risk. That's another thing I think Democrats have been way too dogmatic about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: She's not an ally, Bakari. Do you think Democrats -- should we say Houston we have a problem? Did they realized that? SELLERS: I don't think it's Houston we have a problem. I mean, it's

Houston or better yet Washington, D.C. you need to listen. Now, I mean, everything that she says, you know, you may or may not agree with it, but you still have to give her an open ear.

I mean, we can talk about the science, we can talk about getting kids back in school, but the fact is you have to actually listen to what these parents are saying, and that's simply not happening.

LEMON: Alice, Republicans are very effectively using parent's voices as a rallying cry. Bakari says, you know, parental exhaustion. You see it in Texas. You see it in Florida, Virginia. Governor Glenn Youngkin won his election largely because he touted parents' rights so much.

But what about parents of kids of color who want them to learn the truth about race? What about parents who want mask mandates in school to protect their kids and so on? What do you think?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR (on camera): Well, look, I think what we saw in San Francisco is a classic case of taking politics out of education and taking politics out of COVID. And look, this was not a Republican effort. These were Democrats versus Democrats as you said in your introduction, Don.

And this was arguably the most progressive city in the country, and parents say they're mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore. As for what the Teachers Union and what these progressive school board members are doing.

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They're tired of what the progressive school board members are doing with regard to putting more of an emphasis on renaming schools instead of putting kids back into school. They're tired of them using their positions on the school board to push their progressive agenda instead of pandemic policies and strategies and using schools to indoctrinate instead of educate students.

That's where this is coming from. The rage is not a Republican or Democrat. It's not black or white. This is parents who are frustrated with the current state of education. And these parents are -- they are not just parents, these are taxpayers. And if their taxpayer dollars are not being used to get their kids back in school safely and educate them, there's going to be a lot more of what we saw in San Francisco all across the country.

LEMON: Alice, the thing is Republicans are going further than listening to parents. They're using schools as a culture war pawn in some places. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis essentially censuring what teachers can say about race or gender identity or sexual orientation. Books are banned in Texas. I mean these are some extreme politics that aren't necessarily what parents really care about either, no?

STEWART: What's happening, Don, is they're giving more power to the parents. The parents are the ones saying this is what I would like to have my child taught in schools. I do not want to be distracted with a lot of the progressive social policies that are being put upon them. This is not about politics. This is about parents speaking out.

And whether it is Glenn Youngkin or DeSantis or other elected officials, they're taking it directly from parents who have learned a lot. COVID has lifted the vail on what we see in our public education, and it's about time that parents have a lot more say on what their kids learn in school.

LEMON: Bakari, I want you to listen to San Francisco Mayor London Breed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BREED: The frustration, the uncertainty, the inconsistent information, the lack of clarity, the bickering, the politics, and who suffered the most? Our children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Kids are the collateral damage you know, to all of this politicking. Are both parties failing kids in some ways?

SELLERS: There's no question. But I do feel as if this is a battle in the realm of public education Democrats will be fine. The message put forth by London Breed was pitch perfect. There is a difference, though, and I have to push back on my friend Alice here.

There's a difference between understanding parental exhaustion, making sure kids get back in the classroom safely, using the COVID Relief Funds and ensuring that schools have adequate ventilation, et cetera.

Particularly where you're talking about poor, rural overcrowded classrooms. I mean, those things are important. But there's also a difference between talking about parents being able to tell school districts what they should be able to teach their kids along the lines and issues of race, along the lines and issues of gender, et cetera.

The fact is what Ron DeSantis is doing is -- is actually the miseducation of not just the Negro but every child in Florida. What is happening in Texas is the antithesis to what education is. The fact is education is the gateway to the American dream.

And for all these individuals who want to quote-unquote push back or influence the way the kids are taught about black history, about gender, et cetera, by simply negating it, rewriting it or acting as if it doesn't exist are doing nothing but dumbing down America. Everybody doesn't want to be as dumb as Ron DeSantis.

LEMON: Alright. That's got to be the last word. We will continue the conversation. Thank you both.

Why was Russian skater Kamila Valieva using multiple drugs that can be used to aid the heart? And who is to blame? We're live in Beijing right after this.

Plus, 11 million Americans could face dangerous tornados tomorrow. We're going to bring you the latest on that. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:40:00]

LEMON: As the Beijing Winter Olympics wind down the eyes of the world are on Russian figure skater star Kamila Valieva who is still allowed to compete despite the doping scandal surrounding her.

Let's discuss now with CNN sports analyst, Christine Brennan who in Beijing and Polina Edmunds, a former Olympic figure skater. Good to see both of you. Thank you very much for appearing on the program.

Polina, at 15 years old you were the youngest U.S. Olympian across all sports at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. You know firsthand the intense pressure these young athletes faced.

Valieva is also 15, a minor. Many feel that she's a victim here and shouldn't be held responsible for this positive test, but you disagree with that.

POLINA EDMUNDS, FORMER OLYMPIC FIGURE SKATER (on camera): You know, I -- I think that there is definitely coaching issues with her team if there has been a drug found in her system, which she did fail a drug test. And I was also 15 at the Olympics. You know, I know the rules. I signed the anti-doping agency contracts, and I think that everybody needs to be held accountable for their actions no matter what age you are in order to provide a clean, fair playing field for every single athlete regardless of age.

[23:45:01]

LEMON: See, Christine, some skating officials are pushing to raise the minimum age of Valieva's event from 15 to 17 before the 2026 Olympics. Do you think this is the right move?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST (on camera): Don, you know, Polina is such an important voice here because she lived it and she did it right. I think the idea of an age limits, in other words so you couldn't be maybe 18 years old as Maria Bell said, my concern is just then at the younger levels they'll be cheating and gearing up so when they turn 18 trying to say, you know, delay puberty so that the girls stay little and they can do their quadruple jumps.

Polina knows the whole situation there. I think the bottom line is if the adults around this young people are cheating, if they are corrupt, then you could raise the age to 25 and your still going to have cheating.

So, I think it sounds good to people, everyone is outrage, right, Don? Everyone says we've got to do something. I get that totally, but I think their cheating would just continue under the radar with the younger athletes especially with Russia doing that.

LEMON: You know, Polina, Valieva was allowed to compete after a failed drug test. Is this, out a shadow over the whole sports of skating? I mean, how would you have felt if you were there competing against her?

EDMUNDS: Absolutely. You know, I do think it is just a huge dark cloud over the event, which again is so unfair to the clean athletes that have also worked their entire lives to be at this Olympics and have their special moment. It's a huge deal. And regardless of everything going on I think the real problem here is judging, not age.

The judging system in the last four to five years has largely valued technical over artistry and this caters to young minors, before puberty who are filling their jumps with their (inaudible) of quadruple jumps and if you can't hold a minor accountable for something as big as doping, they shouldn't be competing there.

And it seems with this case in Beijing that this has become a competition of chemistry over natural abilities. And it is just so unfortunate, because we've seen it in so many sports. We've seen it in baseball. We've seen it in bicycling, so how do we fix this in figure skating? The judging needs to change. It needs to become honest.

LEMON: You know, Christine, Russia was still allowed to participate even after being caught in a state sponsored doping scheme in 2014. Now we have a 15-year-old with three different substances found in her sample. Should Russia face more serious consequences even, you know, being kicked out of the Olympics possibly?

BRENNAN: They sure should, Don. People have been basically giving them a pass, the IOC, being those people, time and again. And they've been coming to the Olympics and they've been stealing medals in some cases from clean athletes, and it continues. And then they kick the can down the road.

What I would do is you have to basically say to Russia you cannot appear, no athletes at the Paris Summer Olympics in 2024, no athletes from Russia at the Milan Winter Olympics in 2026, and maybe even go to L.A. in 2028. It should be so severe because what they have done here is basically blow up the Olympic Games.

They are detracting from everything else. It is the story that has swallowed the games and making the experience for those clean athletes like Polina, eight years ago. Like Maria Bell, Elisa Lu and Karen Chen now representing the United States.

You know, the question should be about their programs but instead we're asking very professionally and hopefully courteously and they're answering, and frankly, they're soaring because Mariah Bell is speaking from the heart about clean sport and doing things the right way. So we are seeing the athletes actually rise to the occasion, but they shouldn't even be having to ask this question. They shouldn't be in this position. You got to -- you got to kick Russia out, Don. You just have to kick them out.

LEMON: But do you think the committee would do that? Do you think they have the guts to do that?

BRENNAN: You know where it has to happen now, sponsors. It happened to Washington Football team named change sponsors. They got angry, FedEx, Nike and that did it. These sponsors have to say -- we finally have to hear from them. They have been so quiet and silent on Chinese human rights abuses. We need to hear from these sponsors and they need to say to the IOC, you've got to do something big because we're just not going to be a part of this anymore.

LEMON: Polina, as I ask Christina a question, I saw you shaking your head. Do you disagree, do you think they don't have the guts to do it?

EDMUNDS: Well, I think with the scoring of the short program that just happened at the Olympics it's very clear that Russia skating is still being very favoritize (ph) because two of the top four are Russian women who made huge mistakes, and they're still sitting in the top four over other athletes who skated much better with not the same mistakes of falling or flipping out of a jump. And I think that just tells you how it's going.

LEMON: Yeah. Thank you both. I appreciate it.

[23:50:00]

Eleven million Americans at risk of dangerous tornados in just hours. We're going to tell you where they're expected to hit right after this.

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LEMON: Potentially severe weather for people in Western and Central Tennessee, Mississippi, and Northern Alabama. More than 11 million people could be facing the threat of tornados tomorrow, as a powerful storm moves into the region.

Cities at risk for damaging winds, and tornados include Memphis and Nashville in Tennessee, as well as Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and nearly all of Mississippi.

[23:55:05]

Storms developing along a strong cold front will develop mainly during the late-afternoon and the evening hours.

Stay tuned and thanks for watching, everyone. Our coverage continues.

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JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: Russian justifications for attacking Ukraine are fully. Russian military preparations on the other hand are real and growing. John Berman here in for Anderson. That is the double barrel warning tonight on and off camera from the Biden administration. Beware of what Russia says, keep an eye on what it is doing, as in pumping more troops into the region, 7,000 more in recent days, according to a senior administration official just before air time.