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House Democrats To Propose Second Impeachment Of President Trump; Video Released Of Protestors On Capitol Hill Overwhelming Security Guards; Twitter Permanently Suspends President Trump's Account Over Concerns Of Incitement To Violence; Video Released Of Protesters At Capitol Calling For Execution Of VP Pence; Biden Administration Plans to Accelerate Distribution of COVID-19 Vaccines. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired January 09, 2021 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Plane was suspected to have crashed. According to Global Flight Tracking Service, flight radar 24, the plane dropped 10,000 feet in less than a minute before disappearing from radar.

Thank you so much for being us today. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. The CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ana Cabrera.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: We're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Thanks for being with me. Breaking news right now, more members of the pro-Trump mob that stormed the capitol are now under arrest. They are people who became infamous in photos and videos, and now they are facing federal charges. I want to go straight to CNN's Evan Perez. Evan, who has been arrested?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Ana, we have a national round-up happening right now. And among the arrests that the Justice Department has now announced is a man by the name of Adam Johnson. He was arrested back home in Florida, and we're expecting that he's going to be appearing in court here in Washington, D.C. next week. But really, he's one of the ones that you see in those images.

He's holding the lectern of the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Another arrest, a man by the name of Jacob Chansley, he is the one that you see in some of these images with face paint and a sort of bearskin hat. Another one arrested is Derek Evans, who is a delegate from the House of Delegates in West Virginia.

Just a flavor of the 17 or so arrests that the federal government -- I'm sorry, that the federal prosecutors have brought in federal court. There's another 40 or so that are facing charges in municipal courts, or the local courts here in Washington. We're told that this is a nationwide effort now.

But really, I just want to stop for a minute. And despite the carnival atmosphere of some of the images that you're seeing, there is a more serious part of this, and that is more than five deaths could have resulted from the mob scene. You had a man with a truck full of bombs that was parked outside one of the House buildings just right across the street from the capitol. He essentially left that truck full of bombs to go attend the Trump rally, and then came back and was arrested as a result of that. A lot more serious consequences could have happened from this event.

CABRERA: So many different adjectives have been used to describe the events and what we witnessed. So what are the charges specifically that they're facing? Because people have talked about domestic terrorism, sedition, insurrection. We've talked and used all of those words in the last several days. What are they facing in terms of charges?

PEREZ: Right, that's fascinating. That's a great point. At this point, some of these charges range from entering a federal building without permission. Some of them are facing weapons charges, some of them brought weapons. At least one man came to Washington, said on text messages that he wanted to kill Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House. He was armed. Some of them had weapons on them.

But a lot of these charges so far are a lot, essentially, stealing materials from a federal building. These are the charges that, again, this is just the beginning of this investigation. One of the things that prosecutors are going to try to figure out is whether they can bring some of those more serious charges that you're talking about.

Over the summer the attorney general, the former attorney general, Bill Barr, told prosecutors that they should look into whether you could bring seditious conspiracy charges against some of the Black Lives Matter protesters who were trying to bring down some of the monuments and so on.

The question is, do prosecutors use that very, those very types of charges, those types of charges against these people? That's the question that I think the Justice Department is going to have to answer in the coming weeks.

CABRERA: And again, it's 17 people that we know of being charged federally at this point. Do we expect more charges? More people to be arrested?

PEREZ: Absolutely. That's the emphasis from prosecutors. Hundreds of agents from the FBI, ATF, Marshals Service, the Metropolitan Police here in Washington, are working through the weekend. We're told prosecutors around the country are working these cases. They anticipate that there's going to be a lot more arrests.

Some of these guys that you see today, they're easy to find because they were on social media boasting about this. The harder work is trying to match up the surveillance camera images with other stuff that you can see on social media. There's facial recognition software being used by some of these analysts to try and match up these people, try to look at cellphone signals and so on to try to find people who are not so public about what they were doing.

CABRERA: OK, Evan Perez, we know there's more to come. Thank you.

In the meantime, House Democrats say they plan to introduce an article of impeachment on Monday charging President Trump with incitement of an insurrection.

[14:05:05]

And just in the last 24 hours, Twitter permanently suspended Trump's account due to the risk of further incitement of violence following just those horrific events at the capitol.

We have new video from Wednesday's riot, and I have to warn you, it is incredibly disturbing. It shows the moment an officer was crushed against a door by a pro-Trump mob trying to storm the capitol.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just go home, OK? You see me. Just go home. Talk to your buddies, and go home.

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: And now "The Washington Post" is reporting the FBI is investigating whether some of these capitol rioters were trying to kill lawmakers, or take them hostage. Video after video showing this mob actively searching for certain people. Here's one posted on YouTube by someone named Jayden X.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tell Pelosi we're coming for that --

Tell Pelosi we're coming for her. -- traitor --

We're coming for her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Tell Pelosi we are coming for her, she said.

And it wasn't only Nancy Pelosi the rioters apparently wanted, but also Vice President Pence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Also adding to the urgency now, a warning from Twitter that plans for future armed protests have become circulating online, including a proposed second attack on the U.S. capitol January 17th.

Let's go right now to the White House and CNN's Jeremy Diamond. Jeremy, President Trump is becoming more isolated by the day. People around him are resigning. Now he's kicked off Twitter. Have we heard anything from the president since then?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: An increasingly isolated president and an increasingly frustrated and angry president as well. The president clearly bothered and deeply frustrated by the fact that Twitter moved to ban him last night permanently from their platform.

The president did try and circumvent Twitter's ban, posting a series of tweets to his POTUS account, that's his official government account. And you can see in those tweets, which Twitter later deleted, that the president is not only frustrated at Twitter but also seeking avenues, new avenues to try and get his message out.

The president is warning, we will not be silenced in this series of messages, and also saying that he has been negotiating with other platforms and potentially even considering creating his own platform post-presidency to actually get his message out and have a forum for him and his supporters to voice their opinions without the fear of any kind of censure from Twitter.

But what we are seeing from the president is also a total lack of remorse for the role that he played in those riots, in inciting that mob to march to Capitol Hill and conduct that violent siege that we saw of the halls of Congress. And the president also appears, if he is having any regrets, he appears to be having regrets about the video he taped condemning those rioters and calling for peaceful resolution and healing for this country. That is the only thing that aides have told us the president appears to be expressing some regret for.

And of course, the president now not only isolated with the string of resignations that we have seen from top ranks of his administration, two cabinet members have now resigned, but also now facing the prospect of a second impeachment. And now, not having that outlet on Twitter to actually vent those frustrations, it certainly is an interesting and a strange place for a president who, for years, who has had this avenue to express himself and now finds himself without that.

CABRERA: I can't believe what I just heard you say, and that is the president regrets posting a video expressing that he will go along with a peaceful transfer of power, and that is what we know he regrets versus what actually took place in the violence and five people who are now dead because of it. Jeremy Diamond at the White House, thank you.

Over to Capitol Hill right now, where congressional leaders say they are ready to impeach President Trump a second time if he is not removed from office another way. So momentum to impeach is quickly growing in the House and CNN has already seen the latest draft of the resolution. I want to bring in CNN's senior congressional correspondent Manu Raju. Manu, no final decision has been made yet, we are told, but what will happen if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi makes that call?

[14:10:09] MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's going to move pretty quickly. Expect a vote that could happen as soon as early to middle of next week. Right now behind the scenes, the sponsors of that article of impeachment for an incitement of an insurrection, those sponsors say that they have 176 cosponsors among House Democrats who have signed on to this resolution. And they need to get a majority of the House behind it. There are 222 House Democrats that are trying to ensure that they have the majority vote. There's expectation that they certainly will if and when it comes time to vote.

Now, Nancy Pelosi has contended she would prefer the president to resign himself or Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment and take some unprecedented action to force the president out of office. There are no signs that that is going to happen, so Democrats are planning, at the moment, to take matters into their own hands. If and when Nancy Pelosi decides to move ahead, that's when we expect things to move pretty quickly.

On Monday, the sponsors will introduce the articles of impeachment for incitement of an insurrection. Then as soon as Monday or Tuesday, the House Rules Committee will meet to set parameters for the floor debate. Then it will move to the House floor. The full chamber will debate whether to impeach Donald Trump for the second time, the only president in American history who would be impeached twice. And if that happens, expect that to be in the middle of the week.

The question then will be, what happens in the United States Senate? The majority leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell, has indicated that bringing the Senate back before January 19th, which it's currently scheduled to return, is highly unlikely because all 100 senators would have to agree to change the schedule to come back.

That is simply not going to happen. So the president may have an impeachment trial once he's a former president after January 20th when the Senate considers whether to convict him at that point and potentially bar him from future office. Ana?

CABRERA: OK, we will get more details, we hope, when we speak with Congressman Ted Lieu who is on the Judiciary Committee coming up later in our show. Thank you, Manu Raju, on Capitol Hill.

Joining us now is someone who knows a thing or two about covering the downfall of a president, journalist Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame, and CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter. Carl, can we just take a moment and reflect on the idea that the most powerful man in the world had to have his Twitter account taken away out of fear he was inciting unrest for a second attack?

CARL BERNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, he is a truly seditious president. The only president of the United States in our history to make his presidency subordinate to the enemies, both foreign and domestic, of this country. And this call for incitement, to storm the capitol, is something that is a real danger to an orderly, legal society, the social compact we have in this country about our government and being a democracy. No president has engaged in this kind of incitement before. And what we're seeing in terms of Twitter is a little bit like de- Stalinization in the old Soviet Union. Those who have enabled this autocrat, this unique president, are pulling down the statues after he is finally gone so far that it is apparent even to his enablers that he has crossed a line that puts him in a unique position in the history of our country, incitement to criminal acts. And that's where we are.

CABRERA: And Ryan, Twitter, of course, has always been the president's, I guess, first choice in his ability to change the narrative, to tell his supporters his distorted version of reality. So without that, what does he have?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: He has very little. He has been de-platformed almost everywhere. I'm looking at his campaign email list. He was sending out dozens of emails a day begging for money up until Wednesday. Even the emails have stopped. I am starting to suspect that those servers have been turned off, that his email providers have shut him off. He used to be able to text message his campaign supporters. That's not happening either. He's off of Facebook. He's off of YouTube.

There are, of course, fringe social networks that he can run off and try to gain a following on, but those are very small compared to Twitter. So this Twitter action is unprecedented. It's actually a moment in big technology history, because no other world leader has ever been taken off of Twitter this way. And perhaps this will be, Twitter will now be more strong, more forceful in its rules, because up until now it has not wanted to do this, but I think it was a real fear inside Twitter about having blood on their hands.

[14:15:09]

CABRERA: OK, so social media, of course, is one thing, but then again, he's still being -- his supporters still have these beliefs, and they're still being spoon fed these lies --

STELTER: That's the most important thing, yes.

CABRERA: -- by other rightwing media outlets, and that hasn't even changed after all the violence we saw on Wednesday, right?

STELTER: I think that's the most important point here. The big lie is still being spread. The big lie that led up to this riot is still out there. First, Trump supporters were told that the states would count the votes over. Then they were told the courts would intervene. Then they were told the Supreme Court would fix this. Then they were told Vice President Mike Pence would step in and make sure Trump would remain in office. They were lied to every single step of the way.

Our colleague Elle Reeve said to me, this is like Internet brainwashing, mass brainwashing on the Internet of millions and millions of people. And polling from PBS and Marist shows many Republicans do not believe this election was a free and fair election. It's like a mass delusion in this country, Ana, and it is going to continue after Trump is out of office and Biden takes over. And I think that is ultimately the big danger going forward.

CABRERA: Carl, Senator Lindsey Graham was one of the president's most loyal supporters. And yet, when he didn't object to Biden's win and the facts there, look at how he was greeted by Trump supporters at the airport in Washington, D.C.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lindsey Graham, you are a traitor to the Constitution. You know it was rigged. You know it was rigged. You know it was rigged. You garbage human being. It's going to be like this forever, wherever you go, the rest of your life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Carl, they just turn on him like that. What's your reaction to that?

BERNSTEIN: That we have a hugely dangerous element that has been encouraged by the president of the United States for four years, that he has created this situation through his lies in which we now have hundreds -- millions, actually, of people in this country who believe in the kind of thing we have seen in these days at the capitol and expressing themselves around Lindsey Graham.

The real danger, and Brian started to get to this, is, look, Trump is going to continue to be able to reach his followers, his sycophants, his cult. He's going to find the means to do it. And he has every right to do that in terms of free speech. That's something far different than media outlets that are regulated, like cable news, like Twitter ought to be. The exception that Twitter has, ought to be removed so that it is subject to the same kind of regulation that says you can't shout fire in a crowded theatre.

Not only has Trump shouted fire, he has started the fire in the theatre itself. There have to be legal consequences for starting the fire. And what theatre he started it in, in the capitol, the people's house of the United States. He's marginalized by this, yes, he has lost his biggest megaphone. But we should not be under any illusions that his cult is going to go away, and that his incantations of lies, appeals to violent behavior, et cetera, that's going to continue.

CABRERA: And where it ends is the bigger question, I think. Carl Bernstein and Brian Stelter, I appreciate your analysis and perspective. Thanks.

The president now facing impeachment for a second time. What does this mean legally? How possible is a conviction? We'll answer your questions right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:23:11]

CABRERA: The insurrection at the capitol has plunged President Trump's presidency to an all time low, one that will no doubt define his presidency. With just days left in office, House Democrats are planning to introduce articles of impeachment as soon as Monday, which means Trump could become the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice.

There are a lot of legal questions right now, so I want to discuss with CNN legal analyst and former federal and state prosecutor Elie Honig. He's here to answer your questions this hour. And Elie, one viewer wants to know, can President Trump be impeached a second time during his tenure? And what's really the point of impeaching so close to January 20th?

ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: So yes, Ana, he most certainly can be impeached again. Our Constitution allows that. There is no limitation on the number of times any official can be impeached.

Now, what's the point? Good question. First of all, if the president is impeached by a majority vote of the House, and then convicted, which we will remember from last year, takes a two-thirds vote of the Senate, he will be removed from office immediately, even if that's just a few days before January 20th.

And, and this is important, he can be disqualified from ever holding future federal public office. Now, that takes a separate vote of the Senate, and importantly, if you look back at our precedent, that vote only has to be by a majority of the Senate, not by a two-thirds vote.

Also, there's a federal law called the Former Presidents Act, and that tells us that if a president is convicted and removed from office, then he loses those post presidency perks, the pension, the travel stipend, even Secret Service protection. And of course, Ana, there's the vital matter of historical precedent, sending a message, making it clear that it is utterly unacceptable for future presidents to do what we saw from this president this past week.

CABRERA: So that's the impeachment path. Vice President Mike Pence, on the other hand, has faced a lot of pressure to invoke the 25th Amendment.

[14:25:02]

So another viewer asks, what exactly has to happen for the president to be removed from power under the 25th Amendment?

HONIG: So the 25th amendment sets up a sort of constitutional tug of war. It has to start with the vice president. Without the vice president on board, this goes nowhere. If the vice president and a majority of the cabinet officers certify to Congress that the president is unable to perform the powers and duties of office, then temporarily power transfers over to the vice president. But then the president can counter-certify that no inability exists.

And at that point, either the president retakes power, or the vice president and cabinet can counter-counter-certify that actually he's not able to fill the duties of office. And in that case, it goes to Congress where it takes a two-thirds vote of the House and a two- thirds vote of the Senate to move power to the vice president. Anything short of that, and power stays with the president. And Ana, importantly, the 25th Amendment does not and cannot disqualify a person from running for future office.

CABRERA: And another viewer wants the know to know, could any criminal charges be brought against President Trump? And can he issue pardons for people who took part in that riot at the capitol?

HONIG: So yes and yes. There are a menu of federal crimes that can be brought against the people who actually physically went into and tore apart the capitol, from riot to sedition to destruction of federal property, even murder. There were people killed inside the capitol. But that's not the end of it. Our law, very importantly, also recognizes that a person can be criminally responsible, even for a crime he doesn't commit with his own hands, if he incites it or aids and abets it, meaning if he inflames or encourages others to go and commit these crime.

On that theory, President Trump and others could face potential criminal liability. President Trump would probably defend himself by saying that was just heated political rhetoric, but putting back my prosecutor's hat, I think a prosecutor would argue that the rhetoric crossed the line to incitement. In particular, I think the best evidence of the president's intent is look what he said after the attack on the capitol was complete. He applauded what they did. He called them great patriots and said we will remember this day.

These crimes happened in Washington, D.C. So we're talking about federal charges, so yes, the president could issue a pardon even to himself. That would be a wild, unprecedented abuse of power. It also might be a factor that Congress considers in thinking about whether they need to impeach and remove.

CABRERA: Elie Honig, you always have such good information, and we have 1,000 more questions. I'll save those for another day. We appreciate our viewers continuing to send them in. Thank you very much, sir.

Up next, new disturbing video from the capitol riot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: So we're hearing this, we're seeing this as we're learning the vice president and the president have not spoken since the attack. We'll talk to one of Pence's former advisers next, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:32:21]

CABRERA: CNN has now obtained new video of Wednesday's mob violence at the capitol when pro-Trump protesters, rioters, made verbal threats to hang the vice president, and for not legally trying to block the Electoral College vote certification. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: The president and the vice president have yet to speak since those deadly riots when Pence and his family had to be evacuated. Joining us now, former Pence adviser Olivia Troye. Olivia, thank you for joining us. The rioters were literally threatening Pence's life. First, what's your reaction to that?

OLIVIA TROYE, FORMER ADVISER TO VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: It makes my stomach turn. That is frightening images. These are Americans calling for the hanging of the sitting vice president of the United States. It is deplorable.

CABRERA: Given the president and Pence haven't even spoken since all of that, what do you think Pence is thinking?

TROYE: He certainly knew to expect that. We know who Trump is. We know how he behaves when you speak out against him. Anybody who does not tell his truth and go along with the lies that he wants said, the second you take a stand against this man, he does everything he can to discredit you and to destroy you. And so I think Mike Pence has seen this firsthand of what many around this administration have lived.

CABRERA: We're hearing calls from the private sector, from big business, to members of Congress, including a Republican member of Congress saying that the 25th Amendment should be invoked, which would start with the vice president here. Our reporting is that Pence's advisers have been having informal discussions with several cabinet members about the 25th Amendment, but that Pence himself has not been part of those discussions, and that it is, quote, highly unlikely Pence would pursue this path at this point. What do you think?

TROYE: I think Mike Pence should change his mind and do the right thing for the country. This is a moment like no other. This is dangerous. This man has proven time and time, repeatedly, that he is unfit to be sitting in the Oval Office. And I think it is prudent for others to be making these calls. I think they should be calling especially Republican lawmakers and telling them to push for this. And if not, then impeachment needs to be moving forward regardless.

CABRERA: So that's what you think he should do, but what do you think he will do?

[14:35:04]

TROYE: I think Mike Pence is weighing the calculus of where the Republican Party wants to stand on this. And the right thing for the party to do right now is to do the right thing for the country. It is selfish to sit there and claim to be a Republican and have values that represent America when there was a clear insurrection and movement at the U.S. Capitol that put the top leaders of our country in danger. And so if you want to be on the right side of history, finally, if you

want to finally take a stand, you need to remove this man from office. And I think they need to put pressure on the vice president, and he needs to hear from you, because that's the only way that I see Mike Pence actually moving forward with this.

CABRERA: If Trump were removed from office through impeachment, how likely is it that Pence might preemptively pardon Trump?

TROYE: I hope that Mike Pence would not ever do that, considering the number of lives that have been lost in this administration, the number of lies that have been told, the suffering that has happened. But look, I've seen the vice president stand by this president over and over again. So all bets are off when it comes to this?

CABRERA: Why does he put up with it? Why has he stood by the president through all of this, and even seemingly continuing to do so now?

TROYE: I think you have a lifelong Republican who has always remained consistent and be a loyal soldier to this president, unfortunately, to his detriment. And I think that it's time for him to take a bigger stand. He's gone along with this for way too long. I personally worked for this man. I have seen his frustration at times first hand. I've seen the struggles that we all had inside this White House. And it's time to move forward and finally do the right thing.

CABRERA: Has the president and the vice president, have they actually had a close relationship? You hear about the previous administration between President Obama and his Vice President Joe Biden and how they were genuinely friends and enjoyed each other and respected each other. Is that the type of relationship Pence and Trump have had?

TROYE: I think from what I saw was it was a cordial working relationship. I think that at times, I have to say that I was personally grateful that the vice president's voice was in the room, because I really think that there would have been so many worse things that would have been horrifying that would have happened if he hadn't been the calming voice in the room. And so I think he played that role when he needed to.

But at the end of the day when you're working for Donald Trump and the enablers around him, your hands at some point are tied, and I think it's a very hard, toxic environment to work in, and it's unfortunate that the vice president continued to sign up for it.

CABRERA: Olivia Troye, appreciate your insights. Thanks.

TROYE: Thanks for having me.

CABRERA: Join CNN's Wolf Blitzer for "The Trump Insurrection: 24 Hours that Shook America," a look at what happened at the U.S. Capitol, and what happens next. This new CNN special report airs tomorrow night at 10:00 here on CNN. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:42:26]

CABRERA: Welcome back. If there's anything we have learned this past week, it's that there are people in this country who truly live in an alternate reality, one entirely built on lies and conspiracy theories and garbage from the darkest corners of the Internet. Those armed thugs who stormed the capitol genuinely believe the election was stolen, as scary as that is.

And history will point to the president, Rudy Giuliani, and rightwing media and those lawmakers who still objected to Biden's win and wanted to throw out the votes of millions of Americans even after the deadly attack. Their legacies are permanently stained.

But what about those lawmakers who until the 11th hour helped poison people's minds?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R-SC): If Republicans don't challenge and change the U.S. election system, there'll never be another Republican president elected again. President Trump should not concede.

SEN. KELLY LOEFFLER (R-GA): My number one objective has to be winning January 5th so that we can get to the bottom of what happened in these elections.

SEN. JAMES LANKFORD, (R-OK): It's reasonable to be able to ask if people can drift around and gather ballots from other people and do ballot harvesting, and in some states, that's legal, does that provide an opportunity for fraud? I think the obvious answer is yes.

KEVIN MCCARTHY, (R-CA) HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: That is why our country needs President Trump for four more years, and we'll continue to fight for reelection until all the votes legally cast are counted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: For weeks they ignored election officials who begged and pleaded and warned, call off the lies, someone is going to get killed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GABRIEL STERLING, GEORGIA VOTING SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION MANAGER: Stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence. Someone's going to get hurt. Someone's going to get shot. Someone's going to get killed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: But suddenly, when it was their own safety at risk, those same lawmakers magically took it all back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R-SC): From my point of view, he's been a consequential president, but today, first thing you'll see. All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough.

SEN. KELLY LOEFFLER (R-GA): The events that have transpired today have forced me to reconsider, and I cannot now in good conscience object to the certification of these electors.

SEN. JAMES LANKFORD, (R-OK): In Oklahoma, we'd say something like, why in God's name, would someone think attacking law enforcement and occupying the United States capitol is the best way to show that you're right?

KEVIN MCCARTHY, (R-CA) HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: It was the saddest day I've ever had as serving as a member of this institution. No one wins when this building and what it stands for are destroyed. America and this institution is better than this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:45:08]

CABRERA: These are people who knew better, and their ability to just turn on a dime reveals to the world who they really are. They were supposed to be leaders, but they chose to follow. They knew the truth, but chose to elevate lies. Instead of choosing courage and integrity and public service, they chose what was good for them politically in the moment.

And that fateful choice allowed extremism to seep into America's bloodstream, culminating in what amounts to a domestic terror attack on the symbolic heart of America's democracy. It literally took armed rioters smashing out windows and ransacking lawmakers' offices and at least five people dying for some of these elected Republican leaders, but not all, to reverse course.

And then there are still those who are trying to have it both ways. Listen to Senator Ted Cruz during an exclusive interview with KTRK Houston.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R-TX): The president's language and rhetoric often goes too far. I think yesterday in particular the president's language and rhetoric crossed a line and it was reckless. I disagree with it. And I have disagreed with the president's language and rhetoric for the last four years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Here was Senator Cruz just days earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ, (R-TX): Dismissing these claims, I think, does real violence to these democratic systematic. We ought to have a serious, fair process and tribunal to consider these claims.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CABRERA: OK, the process happened. There were investigations. In fact, there were recounts. There were audits. There were dozens of lawsuits, and state and federal officials of all political stripes came to the same conclusion -- that the election was free, it was fair, it was secure, it was legitimate. So is he in denial, or is this intentional deception to avoid accountability? I'll let you be the judge.

The very, very sad reality is the damage is done. Senator Graham once predicted years ago if we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed, and we will deserve it. But Senator, this great country that so many Americans have given their lives to defend, the people you and your colleagues were elected to serve, deserve so much better.

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[14:52:01]

CABRERA: Breaking news. The death toll from COVID-19 in the U.S. just passed 370,000 Americans. So help is so desperately needed. But as of latest update from the CDC, just 6.7 million vaccinations have been administered, far behind where officials said this country would be. This has prompted a change in vaccination strategy. President-elect Joe Biden will aim to release every available dose of the coronavirus vaccine when he takes office, instead of holding back half of the U.S. vaccines produced to ensure second doses are available.

That's a change from the Trump administration's current strategy. With us now to discuss, Dr. Celine Gounder who is a member of the Biden- Harris transition COVID-19 advisory board. Dr. Gounder, can you just explain the reasoning behind this change?

DR. CELINE GOUNDER, MEMBER, BIDEN-HARRIS TRANSITION COVID-19 ADVISORY BOARD: I want to be very clear that we are not recommending that the second dose be delayed. So people should still get their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine at 21 days, of the Moderna vaccine at 28 days.

What we're really trying to do here is simplify the distribution. In a sense, we've been getting in our own way, making things overly complicated. And so long as there are not any manufacturing glitches, we're confident that the supply of vaccine will be there when people return for their second dose.

CABRERA: So what does this mean for who can get the vaccination? Will it still be limited to priority groups, or can anybody who wants one come and get one?

GOUNDER: We've been actively discussing this, debating this, whether the current guidance should be changed. Right now, we are still in Phase 1A, which is the health are workers, the long-term care facilities, including nursing homes and assisted living facilities, and whether we will expand to other groups quicker really remains to be seen. Some states already are doing so.

They do not have to follow the CDC guidance, and so some states are expanding to the older age groups and to other critical infrastructure workers. But I think big picture, the goal here is to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible and as safely as possible.

CABRERA: How does this make the process move more quickly? Because we know already the doses that are available aren't being fully utilized, right? In fact, there's only like 30 percent of the doses that have been shipped out and distributed nationwide have actually led to people getting shots in the arm.

GOUNDER: So if you think about this as a massive supply chain management problem, if you're having to figure out, OK, John Smith has been vaccinated, and I need to make sure I have the second dose on the shelf for John Smith in three weeks, and I need to have it right there sitting for three weeks, that actually leads to doses sitting on the shelf. So what we're really trying to do is just get doses out as quickly as possible, simplify the tracking that's necessary here. And we have faith that the supply will meet the need in this case.

[14:55:00]

CABRERA: A spokesman for Operation Warp Speed released this statement following this news of a change in the vaccination strategy, and I quote here, "If President-Elect Biden is calling for the distribution of vaccines knowing there would not be a second dose available, that decision is without science or data and is contrary to the FDA's approved label.

If President-Elect Biden is suggesting that the maximum number of doses should be made available consistent with ensuring that a second dose of vaccine will be there when the patient shows up, then that is already happening." So quick answer, if you will, but how do you respond to that?

GOUNDER: Unfortunately, we are not seeing everybody who needs to be vaccinated getting vaccinated. There's a whole host of reasons for that. Unfortunately, plans were not made to assist local and state health departments to do the distribution, to do the vaccinating. That would have required hiring many more public health workers. That would have required a real infusion of funding from the federal government. And unfortunately, that has not happened yet.

CABRERA: Dr. Celine Gounder, thank you, and of course we'll continue to be in touch in the days and weeks ahead.

Much more on our other breaking news. New arrests made following the insurrection at the capitol. That's next live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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