Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Trump Could Be First President Impeached Twice; Twitter Permanently Suspends Trump's Personal Account; More Capitol Rioters Identified And Charged; Johns Hopkins University: Over 20,000 COVID-19 Deaths In U.S. In 2021; U.K. Sees Record Number Of Cases, Hospitalizations; London Mayor: This Virus Is Out Of Control; North Korea Plans To Expand Nuclear Capability; Capitol Flag At Half-Staff To Honor Officer Brian Sicknick. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired January 09, 2021 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hi. Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Robyn Curnow.

Coming up on the show, Nancy Pelosi's no-nonsense message to President Trump: resign or be impeached a second time.

And Twitter has suspended Donald Trump's account permanently. We talk about that.

And missed messages: how some Capitol rioters spent months online planning their actions but police say they had no idea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Robyn Curnow.

CURNOW: Good to have you along this hour.

So no U.S. president has been impeached twice but Donald Trump could be the first and it's looking increasingly likely. With 11 days remaining, a single article of impeachment is expected to be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday. It accused the president of incitement of insurrection for Wednesday's deadly siege of the U.S. Capitol on Monday by a pro Trump mob.

Meanwhile, Twitter on Friday took the extraordinary step of permanently suspending the president's personal account for fears he would use it to instigate more unrest. He is believed to be the first world leader to ever be kicked off the platform.

Congressional Democrats would prefer the president resign immediately or be removed under the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Neither is considered likely, so impeachment is the most probable next move, as Jim Acosta now explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two days after he incited a bloody siege at the U.S. Capitol, Donald Trump is facing the head-spinning prospect of becoming the first U.S. president to be impeached twice. His sudden commitment to an orderly transition may be too little, too late.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A new administration will be inaugurated on January 20th. My focus now turns to ensuring a smooth, orderly and seamless transition of power. This moment calls for healing and reconciliation.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: Good afternoon.

ACOSTA (voice-over): House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her fellow Democrats are now marching toward impeachment proceedings against the president, all the while making sure Mr. Trump doesn't do anything drastic.

As Pelosi told her Democratic colleagues, "I spoke to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, to discuss available precautions for preventing an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike."

House Democrats say they're ready to move quickly.

REP. JACKIE SPEIER (D-CA): We're not just doing this for the next 12 or 13 days. We're doing this for generations to come. And if we are not willing to state that the acts by the president of the United States to incite domestic terrorism and insurrection is an impeachable offense, then nothing is an impeachable offense.

ACOSTA (voice-over): If the House impeaches the president, some Senate Republicans, who didn't vote to convict and remove Mr. Trump the last time around, say they may have had a change of heart.

SEN. BEN SASSE (R-NE): The House, if they come together and have a process, I will definitely consider whatever articles they might move, because, as I have told you, I believe that the president has disregarded his oath of office.

ACOSTA (voice-over): White House advisers say there is zero chance the president will resign, with one source telling CNN, quote, "He doesn't think he did anything wrong."

But even former White House officials say Mr. Trump should consider stepping down.

ALYSSA FARAH, FORMER WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: They allowed this myth, this lie, to take a life of its own, that the election might be overturned. When the moment called for leadership, he did not do the right thing and lives were lost because of it.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Some of the president's top enablers are also facing calls to resign, like Republican senator Ted Cruz, who released a statement, condemning the violence at the Capitol, saying, "Now we must come together and put this anger and division behind us.

"We must stand side by side as Americans. We must continue to defend our Constitution and the rule of law."

That's after he was amping up voters in Georgia, likening them to Revolutionary soldiers.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): You are patriots, just like the patriots gathered at Bunker Hill, just like the patriots gathered at Valley Forge.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Other Trump loyalists are feeling the wrath of the Trump base. After GOP senator Lindsey Graham told Mr. Trump to give up his election fight ...

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): And when it's over, it is over. It is over.

ACOSTA (voice-over): -- Trump supporters were screaming, "Traitor," as he walked through the airport.

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

ACOSTA (voice-over): Mr. Trump signaled he won't congratulate President-Elect Joe Biden on his Inauguration Day, tweeting he won't be going.

[04:05:00]

ACOSTA (voice-over): Giving the Capitol a break from having the instigator-in-chief on hand for the transfer of power.

TRUMP: And we fight. We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.

ACOSTA: And the White House released a statement on the pending impeachment proceedings saying, quote, "A politically motivated impeachment against a president with 12 days remaining in his term will only serve to further divide our great country."

Of course, Democrats don't see it that way; they see these proceedings as absolutely necessary -- Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Thanks, Jim, for that.

As we told you at the top of the show, President Trump's personal Twitter account is forever dark and the platform is on high alert for any attempts he might make to circumvent the ban.

Twitter said, "After close review of recent tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them, we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.

"In context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action."

Now it is not just Twitter. Other popular social media have also taken action to cut him off as Brian Stelter explains. But also Brian explains why using Twitter is an especially hard blow to this president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is hard to imagine President Trump without a Twitter account. Those two words, Trump and Twitter, have been linked together for the past four years. He has relied on his Twitter account to mobilize his followers, to share incendiary information, to demean the American news media.

But all of that has been taken away from the outgoing president. Twitter has banned him. They call it a permanent suspension. It is a ban. This is the first time any world leader is known to have been banned from Twitter.

It is a moment in Silicon Valley history and also a moment in political history. And one has to wonder how Trump is reacting, how he is feeling about this decision.

The White House did release a statement from Trump. He railed against Twitter's decision. He tried to get his followers to follow him to other platforms. He said he will come up with other ways to communicate via social media.

But make no mistake. He has built up a special following on Twitter that cannot be recreated anywhere else. He had more than 80 million followers. And he cannot just take that somewhere else overnight.

Twitter says this decision was made partly because of fears of further violence. They are concerned Trump will incite further violence in the weeks to come. They are especially concerned about what we're seeing online, that some folks trying to apparently organize future protests that could turn into riots.

That is a real fear among Silicon Valley executives, at Twitter and elsewhere. I'm talking about Facebook, YouTube and other platforms and other companies. They do not want to be seen as even partially responsible for any further violence in the United States in the days and weeks to come -- Brian Stelter, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Brian Klaas teaches global politics at University College London.

Brian, lovely to see you. So the president and his message have been silenced for now.

What do you make of the timing and the coordination here?

BRIAN KLAAS, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN GLOBAL POLITICS, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Well, I think this is a megaphone that's been taken away from Donald Trump and it's going to be something that he feels yet again aggrieved and parrots a victimhood complex.

But we have to speak plainly about what happened this week. Donald Trump for months stoked insurrectionists, who ultimately stormed the U.S. Capitol and resulted in the deaths of five people.

Twitter is very clear about the fact that you cannot stoke violence on its platform and we shouldn't carve out exceptions, no matter who you are, because the consequences of doing so are very, very real. I think that's what we're going to be talking about as the story unfolds in the coming days.

CURNOW: So if the consequences for this president are social media isolation and direct connect with his supporters, but those supporters' links to him and his conspiracy have also been shut down.

So my question is can this message of insurrection be dampened now?

Or has this president managed to incite a movement that endures beyond this silence?

He's promised long into the future.

KLAAS: This is the very dangerous angle that I'm worried about. I saw this coming last May, when I wrote a column saying that Trump would reject the election results, would call the election rigged falsely and then would cause violence, which his supporters would take up and lead to deaths.

What I'm seeing now is that this monster has been unleashed. Trump created it. The Republicans encouraged it and now they can't control it.

[04:10:00]

KLAAS: So we're not out of the woods yet. We have another 10 days of the Trump presidency, 11 days of the Trump presidency. The inauguration is going to be a flashpoint. So I think law enforcement is going to be on high alert.

Twitter is worried about the reputational consequences of Trump continuing to incite violence, more people dying. People point to his Twitter account and say, why wasn't action taken?

So in some ways, it was to cover themselves from the risk of being tarnished by a president directly inciting violence among supporters that he cannot control.

CURNOW: Van Jones, as always very eloquent, said on Wednesday, the question needed to be asked, was this the beginning or the end of something? Was this the violent death throes of a divisive presidency or is this the beginning of perhaps domestic terror-like events, where these supporters are targeting the Biden presidency or the state itself?

Both are pretty, you know, radical in terms of, you know, where you could be on the spectrum.

Where do you see this moment?

KLAAS: Well, I think it is a beginning and an end. So it is an end in the sense that the elites in the Republican Party, people like Mitch McConnell, are finally acknowledging that Trump is dangerous, right?

We knew he was for a very long time. But people who denied his danger are now accepting it and condemning him unequivocally. That's important.

But at the same time, Trump has conditioned his base to cheer for authoritarian tactics, to cheer for encouragement of violence, to cheer for demonization of political opponents. And that does not end on January 20th.

Trump has remade the Republican Party in his image. So I think what you're going to see over the next two to four years is an internal fight within the Republican Party for its future.

Is it going to try to return to the days of John McCain and the decency that you saw in the Republican Party?

Or is it going to continue with Trump 2.0?

And that's the fight that we're going to see. And unfortunately, the base is still on board with a lot of what Trump has done.

We saw in a poll recently that about half of Republicans had some level of approval for insurrectionists violently storming the Capitol, resulting in deaths of five people. This is a long-term problem and it's something that was foreseeable.

Republicans made the bet that they could get away with it. And now it has serious consequences that are on display for all to see.

CURNOW: I want to talk about this second push to impeach the president. You talk about this is a president who, in many ways, wallows in victimhood.

Does this push -- is it necessary?

Or do you agree perhaps with Lindsey Graham who says this might incite or get Mr. Trump's supporters to see him as a victim in that this is counter intuitive, essentially?

Or do you think this is a way for the Republican Party to make its choice, potentially turn against him?

KLAAS: Well, I signed an open letter with around 2,000 political scientists, calling for Trump to be removed from office for two reasons. One is the immediate threat. We have seen that Trump lives in a fantasy world. What he says is untrue, it is fiction.

And he's causing violence based on that fiction. I don't want to gamble that something else doesn't happen in the next 11 days. That is one reason.

The second reason is precedent. If you don't impeach the president over this, you can't impeach future presidents over more minor transgressions. You have to say, if you incite violence that results in the violent takeover of the United States Capitol, there are consequences.

Even if the impeachment doesn't proceed quickly enough, I think it's worth doing to ensure that future presidents understand, if they behave like Donald Trump did this week, there will be consequences for them. And it will be the first time in United States history that a president has been impeached a second time.

CURNOW: Brian Klaas, always good to speak with you. Thank you very much. 'Bye for now.

The striking images from that day. Officials already have put several people in federal custody. That is ahead.

Plus, were warning signs missed that Trump supporters could attack the Capitol?

We look at the clues that were there months before these rioters arrived.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:15:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CURNOW: Welcome back. I'm Robyn Curnow.

Federal prosecutors are now promising a wide ranging investigation into that riot on Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol. They've pulled in agents from all 56 FBI field offices. Investigators say anyone involved in unlawful activities can expect to get a knock on the door.

So this man got one on Friday. His name is Richard Barnett of Arkansas. He's now in federal custody. His arrest is one of dozens, as agents combed through internet videos, social media posts and tips from the public. Here is Evan Perez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SR. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Hundreds of federal and local investigators as well as prosecutors around the country are working around the clock to try to find and prosecute some of the people behind the terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol.

One of the top priorities for prosecutors is the hunt for cop killers, the people responsible for the murder of U.S. Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick, one of the officers attacked by the pro Trump mob as he tried to defend the Capitol.

And we're learning frightening new details from the court documents on more than a dozen people facing federal charges so far.

One of them is Lonnie Coffman, a 70-year old from Alabama, whose red pickup truck filled with bombs was parked outside one of the Capitol buildings for hours as he attended a Trump rally near the White House. Police say they found a handgun, assault rifle and 11 Molotov cocktails and materials that, combined, had the effect of homemade napalm.

[04:20:00]

PEREZ: Also charged is Richard Barnett, one of the rioters whose photo went viral, showing him with his feet on the desk of Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Another man, Cleveland Meredith, came to Washington from Colorado and discussed killing Speaker Pelosi. Prosecutors say the investigation is only beginning and they anticipate there will be more arrests and charges announced soon -- Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Now the mob attack on the Capitol didn't just come out of the blue. There were numerous, numerous warnings on social media for months. The rioters were advised to come with weapons and supplies for a violent siege. And as Drew Griffin now reports, the threats are still coming.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SR. INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over) : Caught flat-footed, federal and local officials insist they had no idea the siege would happen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was no intelligence that suggested there would be a breach of the U.S. Capitol.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): But that seems hardly believable. In the days and weeks before the insurrection, the warning signs were clear. Violent and threatening online posts and online call to arms, "Operation Occupy the Capitol," one viral post called it.

"Go to Washington January 6th and help storm the Capitol."

"We will storm the government buildings, kill cops, kill security guards, kill federal employees and agents and demand a recount."

"Trump or war today. That simple," another user posted. JOEL FINKELSTEIN, NETWORK CONTAGION RESEARCH INSTITUTE: The writing

was on the wall months ago that this could turn into something extremely violent.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Researchers who track hate, violent speech and extremist groups say what happened at the Capitol shows what some dismissed as just online boasting was actually a plan of action and some of those who sieged the Capitol were prepared.

JOHN SCOTT-RAILTON, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO: There were men on the Senate floor wearing tactical equipment, carrying zip-tie restraints of the kinds that police use to handcuff people. I somehow doubt that they just brought those to a protest.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): The nonprofit rhetoric had wide reach. The nonprofit Advanced Democracy tracked 1,480 violence-related QAnon Twitter posts just since January 1st.

On TikTok, videos promoting violence reviewed 279,000 times.

SCOTT-RAILTON: If you look at the work of anybody who has been tracking violent extremism in the United States, you will find that they have been issuing warnings regularly about these groups and the language that they're using.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): One of the main Stop the Steal rally organizers, Ali Alexander, told followers on Periscope he and three Congress men were planning something big.

ALI ALEXANDER, STOP THE STEAL ORGANIZER: We four schemed up a pretty maximum pressure on Congress. We could change the hearts and the minds of Republicans who were in that body, hearing our loud war from outside.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): He told followers, "Bring tents, sleeping bags and other supplies," and added this, "If D.C. escalates, so do we."

A follower responded to the post, "Bring a gun."

Investigators of the Anti-Defamation League say they were sharing the violent posts and concerns about January 6th with law enforcement right up until this week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been in touch with law enforcement on a very regular basis.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Fearing the warnings were being ignored, the ADL went public.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our level of concern rose so dramatically that, on Monday, we actually published a blog to put it out on the public record about our degree of alarm. We weren't surprised by the intensity of what happened.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): What's next?

January 20th: researchers are worried about the increasing chatter about violence at the inauguration.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's very plausible that we are just at the beginning of this.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): "Round two on January 20th," one poster writes on the online forum The Donald. "I don't even care about keeping Trump in power. I care about war."

"Please take urgent action to save our country."

"On January 20th," says another post, "it's our last chance."

GRIFFIN: All of this means the same groups that attacked the Capitol on January 6th may already be planning to be back in Washington. Hopefully, this time, law enforcement is taking note -- Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: Thanks, Drew, for that.

And, of course, this is CNN. We're not done digging into those shocking events in Washington. The death of a Capitol police officer injured in the riot will be investigated as a murder. We have the latest on that straight ahead.

Also, incoming U.S. president Joe Biden doesn't want to hold any COVID vaccines in reserve right now. Just ahead, the vaccination plan he wants to set into motion as soon as he takes office.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:25:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CURNOW: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Robyn Curnow. You're watching CNN. It is 27 minutes past the hour.

So the coronavirus appears nowhere close to slowing down here in the U.S. So far in 2021, more than 20,000 Americans have died of the virus already. On Friday alone, there were more than 3,400 deaths.

It's so bad in California that dozens of refrigerated trailers are now being used as makeshift morgues, adding fear to the crisis that there might be a new U.S. variant that spreads more quickly than the one from the U.K. But the CDC says so far there is no evidence to support that.

And vaccines were meant to be a strong tool against the coronavirus. Joe Biden is planning to take a controversial approach to these vaccinations, as Nick Watt now explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good afternoon.

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Team Biden tells CNN they have a radical plan: release nearly every vaccine dose on hand. Stop holding back for second doses.

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): We would certainly pick up the speed of our vaccination. We need some assurances that those second doses are going to be there.

WATT: Pfizer and Moderna won't say if they're able to manufacture those second doses in time.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The second dose is absolutely critical. That one dose of Moderna and one dose of Pfizer has not been proven to be efficacious to the degree that we want.

WATT: The latest numbers reported just over 22 million doses distributed, fewer than 7 million actually in arms, calls for easing the rules on who gets it when.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: If we can't vaccinate the people who are most in danger, we're going to lose lives we did not need to lose.

WATT: So, New York's governor just expanded the pool of people who can get a shot and now includes first responders and over 75s.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): That's, by far, the largest group and those are people who desperately need it.

WATT: Just look at New York's new case count line, exploding way higher than spring. The NYPD commissioner just tested positive.

Across America 4,085 people reported dead yesterday. The most COVID deaths in a day ever and here in Los Angeles?

MAYOR ERIC GARCETTI (D), LOS ANGELES: We had 259 deaths. That's one more than all the homicides in 2019 in L.A. city combined, in a single day, equal to a year of homicides.

WATT (voice-over): Arizona has now overtaken California, leads the nation in new cases per capita. But still no statewide mask mandate to control the virus.

WATT: A crumb of comfort: the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine does appear to work against that more contagious coronavirus strain first identified in the U.K., now spreading across the U.S. -- Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: COVID is tearing through the U.K., too, so much so that London's mayor has declared a major incident. Nina dos Santos joins me now live from London.

Nina, what can you tell us about this?

Certainly very worrying signs.

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNNMONEY EUROPE EDITOR: Well, there are. And if you take this statistic into account, Sadiq Khan reckoned that one in 20 people across certain parts of the British capital could be infected with COVID-19. If you take that into account, it really gives you a stark picture of the reality here on the ground in London.

Also, Sadiq Khan said currently 7,000 people were in hospital at present due to coronavirus. That's a 35 percent increase versus the figures back in April during the first wave of this pandemic. The head of the NHS in England says those numbers are actually more stark.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON STEVENS, CEO, NHS ENGLAND: We are seeing over 800 patients a day admitted to London hospitals with coronavirus. That is the equivalent of a new St. Thomas' Hospital full of COVID patients fully staffed every day or a University College Hospital full of coronavirus patients every day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOS SANTOS: Now London is one of the worst affected parts inside the entire United Kingdom but the U.K., as well, is unfortunately notching up more and more grim statistics every single day.

In particular, yesterday when it was learned 1,325 people lost their lives after getting a positive result over the last 28 days, Robyn. And that brings the total death toll in this country to 80,000 so far, making the U.K. the fifth worst affected nation in the world anywhere after the United States, Brazil, Mexico and India.

But what are public health officials trying to do?

They're trying to go on the record and tell people that it is very, very serious. They are trying to curtail travel, making sure people have a negative coronavirus test, a reliable one, before flying to the U.K. Those restrictions will be coming in soon.

They've approved a third vaccine that they're going to be distributing soon. But some of these statistics, especially when it comes to vaccinating a huge number of people over such a short time period, some people are questioning whether or not that is feasible, given the rapid spread of this virus.

CURNOW: So what are authorities doing in response to how things are going right now?

How are they communicating that?

DOS SANTOS: As you hear, there's public officials going on the record, saying that this is such a serious type of situation that they're declaring a major incident. To put that into context, that's the type of thing that you see in the wake of the Westminster and London Bridge terror attacks when emergency rooms are deluged with casualties.

The last time we saw one of these major incidents announced was 2017 after that terrible Grenfell Tower disaster where many people lost their lives. The whole point of these public messaging initiatives trying to convince people that COVID-19 is real and it is deadly.

And you have to listen to authorities' advice to try to contain the spread of this virus. As of today, we're seeing parts of the government's medical and scientific advisory team taking to the airwaves with a prerecorded advert.

[04:35:00]

DOS SANTOS: Saying, behave as if you think you have the virus anyway. That's the safest way to behave in the U.K.

This is affecting a different demographic as well. So for all of these reasons, they're saying, err on the side of caution and finally curtail travel, which many people have said the U.K. could have suppressed the death tolls perhaps if they would have contained that in the earlier days of the pandemic-- Robyn.

CURNOW: Thanks, Nina.

Again, this pandemic is taking a serious toll on health care workers. With me now is Dr. David Nicholl from the Doctors Association U.K.

Doctor, thank you for joining us. Just describe for us what it's like going to work every day for you and your colleagues.

DR. DAVID NICHOLL, DOCTORS ASSOCIATION U.K.: It's a very grim situation. In many ways, I think the situation is deteriorating. And it is really, really important that people listen to the public health advice.

You know, just this week, in my own region in West Midlands, we're reporting that we could potentially run out of critical care beds in two weeks. So it is vital that people pay attention.

I'm fed up of some of the idiots you'll see in some of the videos that we've seen outside of St. Thomas's Hospital but we've had people in our own region breaking into hospitals and actually getting in the way of the hospital functioning.

COVID-19 is a serious condition. Earlier this week, a colleague of mine died of it. So I'm fed up of dealing with these COVID idiots, as they get called.

CURNOW: I want to talk about them in a moment.

But with your colleague, was he or she a doctor?

Certainly that must ricochet throughout the community to have to lose someone. NICHOLL: Absolutely. He was one of the most senior physicians in the

country, registered with the Royal College of Physicians, 64 years old. And I became aware that he was ill just before Christmas.

I was going to fill up my car with petrol and I was the only person in the petrol station wearing a mask. I think we are going to get through this together but we need to get through this together as a community.

And I think some of the issues are is that we are talking -- you know, people in Birmingham, England, aren't going be so bothered about what's happening in Birmingham, Alabama.

And it's really important that the story of COVID-19 comes from health care professionals, nursing staff and others, that people realize the gravity of this condition and where we're heading, which is not a pretty place.

CURNOW: You talk about your frustration of people who believe this is a hoax and you say they also sort of get in the way or come into the hospitals. Talk to us more about that and why don't you think people are getting the severity of this now after all these days.

NICHOLL: Absolutely. And I think it's interesting. I think the numbers don't help. Actually, just imagining in the U.K. the same number of people as you would see in an Olympic stadium in London. That's how many people have died.

Understanding these are real people, your neighbors, your friends, your colleagues. And I think it's difficult because, obviously, some people can be asymptomatic and can spread.

Yesterday I was speaking to one of our secretaries, 12 people in her family have become infected before they became aware. So it's these kind to have challenges. But also if they a medical problem, they contact a doctor and we will see you by video or by phone and contacting 1-1-1.

These are a real challenge. It's also some of the mainstream commentators I think have been unhelpful. In a day, we're hearing about Trump being banned from Twitter. You know, it's also some of them saying lockdown skeptics website, this kind of thing, are really unhelpful.

CURNOW: What are you dealing with in terms of the direct implications of this virus on the body, particularly when it comes to incidents of strokes and clots?

What do you want to know about how this attacks the human body?

NICHOLL: That's an extremely good question. Actually, I think there's been too much of the focus has been on respiratory as if it's just a lung disease when it's a multisystem lung disease. I'm a neurologist. It causes stroke, it causes blood clots. My renal colleagues are dialyzing half the patients which have COVID-19. So it affects every specialty.

[04:40:00]

NICHOLL: I would say every doctor in the NHS is a COVID doctor on some level.

CURNOW: And how are you feeling now?

Do you think like there is light at the end of the tunnel?

NICHOLL: It is fantastic news about the vaccines. But we have to follow the public health measures. And I almost think of the first wave, like the blindfolded woman on the train tracks. This time, we have the blindfold off and we don't know how many carriages are on the train.

CURNOW: Consulting neurologist Dr. David Nicholl, thank you very much for your insight and all your hard work. Good luck. Appreciate your joining us and sharing your message.

NICHOLL: Thank you.

CURNOW: Well, 81-year-old Stefano Bozzini of Italy became an internet sensation back in November, when video surfaced of him serenading his wife outside her hospital room.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW (voice-over): Because of COVID restrictions, he wasn't able to go inside. Well, sadly, Carla, his wife of 47 years, passed away last year from health issues unrelated to the coronavirus. And now Bozzini himself has been diagnosed with COVID and has been admitted to an assisted living facility.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CURNOW (voice-over): Despite his hardships, Bozzini still finds a way to bring joy by playing the accordion. He's been serenading nurses, doctors and fellow patients from his room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: We'll be right back.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CURNOW: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un says his country is building new nuclear weapons and research for a nuclear powered submarine is now complete when he addressed the North Korean Workers' Party. He calls the United States his nation's greatest enemy and says Pyongyang's development of nuclear weapons to deter the U.S. will be pushed forward without interruption.

[04:45:00] CURNOW: Paula Hancocks is standing by in Seoul, South Korea, with more on this.

Hi.

What can you tell us about this?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We had an insight into the foreign policy, the military and economic goals of North Korea coming forward. And in this very important party congress for them, we did hear from Kim Jong-un, talking about the U.S. as the biggest enemy.

Also pointing out that whoever is in the White House, not mentioning Biden by name, we still haven't heard him mention President-Elect Biden by name since he won the election.

But saying whoever is in the White House, they will be anti-North Korea as far as he's concerned, saying that they have to change their hostile policy.

What we did hear a lot about was the military goals that North Korea has at this point. We heard about the nuclear-powered submarine that we know North Korea has wanted, which would boost their deterrence capability. They talked about this, saying the research into this has been completed.

So we're still some way off on that particular weaponry but there are other nuclear weaponries that they were talking about that are in various states of development, a solid fuel ICBM, for example, that could potentially hit mainland United States, saying that the plans are in place for that as well.

Now one thing we did hear from North Korea was that they wouldn't have a -- that they have a no first strike policy, meaning that they wouldn't use nuclear weapons first. They would only use them if nuclear weapons were used against them.

And if you are looking for a slight sliver of optimism, there was at one point a mention that even though they are talking about these upgraded systems, it doesn't exclude diplomacy. So a slight sliver of optimism that there could be another way forward -- Robyn.

CURNOW: Another way forward but what does it tell us about the future?

What did he say about South Korea and how could that relationship potentially change from here?

HANCOCKS: Just a few days ago, we heard from the unification minister, saying he thought there would be some sort of olive branch. There wasn't an olive branch per se. The message was that there is a real crossroads at this point.

There was severe criticism of the fact that South Korea is continuing to have these joint military drills with the United States, something that has always annoyed Pyongyang and also talking about the fact that they could go back to where they were before these peace talks started back in 2018 between Kim Jong-un and President Moon Jae-in.

But it was up to South Korea whether or not they were going to move the relationship forward. So putting an awful lot of conditions on South Korea as to whether or not they were going to decide to have a good relationship with them.

CURNOW: Thanks for that update. Good to see you, Paula Hancocks live in Seoul.

So there's much more to come right here on CNN, including new details about this man, U.S. Capitol officer Brian Sicknick, who was fatally injured during the insurrection in Washington.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:50:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CURNOW: You are looking here at live pictures coming to us from the U.S. Capitol, where the American flag has been lowered to half-staff in honor of Officer Brian Sicknick. He died late Thursday.

Capitol police say he was injured while physically engaging with protesters during the Capitol riot. The U.S. attorney's office says a federal murder investigation will be opened into his death. His family has given us new information about the person he was, his military service, his love of dogs and his commitment to his oath.

Here is Brian Todd with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With flags lowered to half-staff, the Capitol Hill community is reeling over the death of a respected police officer, 42-year-old Brian Sicknick. But with their sorrow, some, including members of Congress, are also expressing anger.

REP. KATHERINE CLARK (D): My heart goes out to Officer Sicknick's family. There are a lot of people who have Officer Sicknick's blood on their hands.

THEORTIS JONES, FORMER CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER: The way that they went out or the way that he died was unnecessary.

TODD (voice-over): Capitol Hill police say Officer Sicknick was injured on Wednesday while, quote, "physically engaging with protesters," that he then returned to his division office and collapsed. He died late Thursday.

The youngest of three sons, born and raised in South River, New Jersey, Brian Sicknick is being called a hero by his family tonight. In a statement sent to CNN, the family saying he wanted to be a police officer his entire life.

As a means to that end, they say, he joined the New Jersey Air National Guard. That branch says Sicknick joined in 1997, was deployed to Saudi Arabia and Kyrgyzstan and served in a security force squadron, the Air Guard's military police.

Sicknick was honorably discharged from the New Jersey Air National Guard in 2003 and joined the Capitol Hill police in 2008. Capitol Hill police say Sicknick most recently served in the force's first responders unit. One former Capitol Hill officer says the job is dangerous, even under normal circumstances.

JONES: Every day is -- your life is in danger. There's no promise that you're going to come home the next day or the same day that you go out. Every officer that swears in takes the job very seriously: protect Congress.

TODD (voice-over): Officer Sicknick and his colleagues, though by most accounts overwhelmed by the rioters, are drawing praise from members of Congress who they fought to protect.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: Many of our Capitol police just acted so bravely and so -- with such concern for the staff, for the members, for the Capitol, for the Capitol of the United States, many of the men.

[04:55:00]

PELOSI: And they deserve our gratitude.

REP. ANNIE KUSTER (D-NH): We were all very fortunate that the Capitol Hill police that were there were thinking as quickly as they had. If they had automatic weapons, they could have killed hundreds of members of Congress.

TODD (voice-over): Tonight, one of the men who helped prevent that horror is being remembered by his family for his empathy, his commitment to rescuing dogs and his love of the New Jersey Devils hockey team. Brian Sicknick had no children but lived with his girlfriend of 11 years.

TODD: In a statement to CNN, Brian Sicknick's family asked the public and the media not to make his passing a, quote, "political issue." But his death will be the subject of a federal murder investigation with the U.S. attorney's office, the Capitol Hill police and the D.C. Metropolitan police taking part -- Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW: So while the investigation into Officer Sicknick's death continues, police have identified and charged more rioters from that insurrection. Far more are facing charges, including a man from Alabama, who investigators say had a car nearby packed with 11 homemade bombs, a handgun and an assault rifle.

Also this man, Richard Barnett, who was seen sitting with his feet on Nancy Pelosi's desk, he's been tracked down and arrested. Officials say he faces three federal charges.

Wolf Blitzer this weekend has a special report. Please join him for "The Trump Insurrection: 24 Hours That Shook America." It's at 10:00 pm Sunday in New York and 11:00 am Monday in Hong Kong.

So that wraps up this hour of CNN. I'm Robyn Curnow. But I will be back in just a moment with more news. Join me for that.