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Police Officer Beaten Down During Capitol Hill Riot; Trump Regrets Making Video Condemning Capitol Hill Riot; Vice President Mike Pence On The 25th Amendment; Capitol Rioters Arrested; White House Flag At Half-Staff For Fallen Veteran In Capitol Riot; Vaccine Rollout Reset, Says Former FDA Chief. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired January 10, 2021 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. We have new, shocking and horrifying video from inside the attempted coup at the capitol Wednesday. I first want to warn you this video we are about to show is incredibly graphic, incredibly disturbing, but it is important you see it. You need to understand the full picture about what happened.

In this video there on the right side of your screen at the top of the stairs you can see the mob dragging a police officer. They drag him down the stairs and then they brutally begin to beat him. The officer gets stomped on, even hit with a pole that carried the American flag.

The rioters used anything they have, a broom, a crutch. Even a Trump 2020 flag fastened to a pole. And this is even more evidence of how dangerous this situation was and how much worse this attack was than we first knew on Wednesday as it was going on.

Five people died in this riot including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. He died on Thursday due to injuries sustained while on duty. Earlier today this procession was held in the nation's capital in his honor.

And now three days after his death and after mounting criticism, the White House finally lowered its flag to half-staff. The "New York Times" is reporting that President Trump hasn't even called Officer Sicknick's family. Vice President Pence did.

And we are now just 10 days away from the end of Trump's presidency. There are growing calls from Republicans that for the sake of American democracy, Trump should not remain president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS HOST: Do you think it was an impeachable offense?

CHRIS CHRISTIE, FORMER GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY: Oh, sure. Yes.

STEPHANOPOULOS: You'd vote to impeach?

CHRISTIE: And I think that -- no, in the -- well that's -- if I think it is an impeachable offense that is exactly what I would do, George, but I'm not in there. But you want my opinion. That is my opinion. I think if inciting to insurrection isn't, then I don't really know what is.

What I've heard from fellow Republicans is that they've had enough. And that the president's conduct quite frankly since then has gotten them upset.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: As for the president himself, a man who took an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States, you'll recall President Trump did post this video on twitter Thursday, a day before permanently being banned from that platform.

And in this video, he finally vowed a smooth, orderly, and seamless transition of power. He condemned the violence that he incited. Listen to this. We have learned he appeared to some aides at least like he regretted taping this video, asking those around him whether it was being well received.

With us now, CNN's Jeremy Diamond at the White House and Sunlen Serfaty on Capitol Hill. Jeremy, you first. Some members of Congress are now calling for the 25th amendment to be invoked. What are you hearing about that?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. We are seeing that there are these discussions, this active pressure campaign both from outside the White House and also people inside the administration who have begun to resign themselves.

And I know that there are at least two cabinet secretaries who actually began calling around to other members of the cabinet in recent days to discuss the possibility of invoking the 25th amendment or at a minimum to hold a cabinet meeting to confront the president about that.

Now, the question of course is where does Vice President Mike Pence stand on this? We were told initially that the vice president was highly unlikely to actually invoke the 25th amendment, but now a source familiar with the vice president's thinking telling us that the vice president has not taken that option off the table and that he wants to preserve it as an option should the president's conduct become more unstable.

And in particular, he is not taking it off the table in view of what has happened over the last several days and in view of the reaction that we have seen including from some members, Republican members of Congress who are calling for the president to resign or as Congressman Adam Kinzinger is calling for the cabinet and Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th amendment.

That still remains an unlikely option. But what does appear increasingly likely is that President Trump will be impeached for an unprecedented second time, the first U.S. President in American history to be impeached twice.

CABRERA: And so let's talk more about that, Sunlen. A second impeachment for President Trump. What more can you tell us about where that stands today?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, the House of Representatives is going forward, moving towards impeachment this week, but the details of exactly what will happen are still being worked out. They are still in open discussions among Democrats tonight.

[17:05:05]

Now, we know that at some point, likely early in the week, they will introduce the impeachment resolution, the House Rules Committee will meet and very likely they could vote in the full House on the impeachment resolution as early as Wednesday and that notably right now has 190 cosponsors.

So when that goes forward, that is where they essentially has a decision point on sort of strategy to take. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, she could send those articles of impeachment straight over to the Senate.

But there is some concern if she does that that will impact the first few days of the Biden administration that would be engulfed in talk of impeachment rather than focusing on things like getting his nominees through, focusing on COVID relief that the Biden administration has said that they will prioritize in their new administration.

So there is some concern about doing that. There is talk now about delaying sending the articles of impeachment over to the Senate holding on to it for potentially the first hundred days or so, let the new president really have his way for a few weeks and months and then get to it at a later date.

But as support for impeachment grows among Democrats here on Capitol Hill it certainly does among Republicans as well. Now, it's notable this morning that we saw the second Republican senator, Senator Pat Toomey, come out for impeaching President Trump. Here is what he told Jake Tapper earlier this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: -- Republican colleague Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska says President Trump should resign. She said, "He's caused enough damage." Do you agree?

SEN. PAT TOOMEY (R-PA): Yes, I do. I think at this point with just a few days left it's the best path forward, the best way to get this person in the rear view mirror. I think there is also a possibility that there's criminal liability here.

I'm not a lawyer. I'm not a prosecutor so, and I do know that the, you know, the standard for a conviction in a criminal prosecution is quite high so I'm not sure whether that could be met.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And Senator Toomey also spoke about personal responsibility, that individual Republican senators have up here on Capitol Hill, those like Cruz and Hawley, those senators that stood up to object to the electoral votes being counted. He says he believes those senators will pay a price and they have some soul searching to do. Ana?

CABRERA: All right. Sunlen Serfaty, Jeremy Diamond, thank you both. I want to bring in former Homeland Security Secretary under President Obama, Jeh Johnson. He is also a former general counsel of the Department of Defense. Thanks so much for being with us.

JEH JOHNSON, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY UNDER OBAMA: Thanks for having me, Ana.

CABRERA: Secretary Johnson, the insurrection at this capitol was not spontaneous. Republicans including President Trump, they goaded their supporters for weeks about this day. There was plenty of right wing social media chatter about storming the capitol on January 6th. Who dropped the ball here? Why were the federal government and police so unprepared?

JOHNSON: Ana that is a question that deserves to be answered and it should be examined very carefully in the coming days. We know how to secure the perimeter of the U.S. Capitol. Four years ago for the inauguration of President Trump when I was in office, I had the overall responsibility for the security of the inaugural event.

There is a standard in place. There is a protocol in place if you can anticipate the security challenges. We know how to do this for an inauguration, for a state of the union, for a U.N. General Assembly. We know how to do this.

Clearly, there was a failure to anticipate that this mob would try to rush the U.S. Capitol. And it seems rather obvious. This is not a matter of classified intelligence, but a matter of open source public information about what we could anticipate what happened here.

That, coupled with the president's own incitement of this crowd just before they marched on the capitol seems to me made it pretty obvious what they should have suspected.

CABRERA: And it wasn't just that they weren't prepared at the onset. It was what appeared to be a delay in responding as well. What do you make of the two or three-hour delay between the request for the National Guard and the National Guard actually showing up?

JOHNSON: Well, Ana, those are facts that should be carefully examined by seeking information from those on the ground who were making decisions, real time, at the time. I'm not in a position to give you an answer except to say that the guard should have been poised some place to respond much quicker and much more ably than they did by the time they got there. By the time they got there, the guard -- the event was pretty much over. [17:09:55]

CABRERA: And so far there have only been 18 people who have been arrested on federal charges that we know of so far. No one is facing murder charges. Nobody is facing a charge of insurrection or terrorism. Obviously somebody who killed Officer Sicknick is still out there. Are you surprised by how many have been arrested and by the types of charges we're seeing at this point?

JOHNSON: I suspect that a lot of the looters, the rioters, have retreated to other states from where they came. I'm heartened to see on social media and elsewhere the photographs of these individuals, the names of these individuals. I believe it is a matter of time before that number of arrests will grow. Deservedly so for very, very serious federal charges.

CABRERA: And that's just it, though. The federal charges that we know of at this point for a layman like me don't seem to be the most serious charges when you look at the gravity of the situation and the videos that we're seeing as what we know we witnessed at the capitol of the United States, which should be one of the most secure buildings in the world.

At this point, there are some weapons charges. There's a charge for knowingly entering or remaining in an unrestricted building or grounds without lawful authority, theft of government property, violent entry, disorderly conduct. But that doesn't carry the same weight as something like insurrection or sedition or terrorism. Right?

JOHNSON: Two things, Ana. First, I believe, I suspect, I predict that the U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C. will charge many, many more people out of this event. It is also the case, and I used to be a federal prosecutor myself 30 years ago, that very often you arrest someone on the quickest, easiest charge to hold that person on or to charge that person with, and then the charges become more serious as the investigation proceeds and develops.

And so it is entirely possible that someone who is arrested on day one on a certain charge will then face much more serious charges as the investigation progresses. And I suspect that's part of what is going on here, Ana.

CABRERA: Got you. It took three days for the White House to lower the flag to honor the fallen capitol police officer. The president we are told still hasn't called Vice President Pence who he was attacking on twitter even as the violence was under way while Pence was in the capitol with his family and while rioters were calling for Pence to be hanged.

And our reporting is that the one thing Trump has appeared to express remorse about is taping the video where he condemned the violence and committed to a peaceful transition of power. What is your reaction to that?

JOHNSON: My reaction to that is Donald Trump needs to be gone from the White House one way or another. Ten days may not be soon enough. He needs to be gone. And, you know, when I looked at the last four years, it is filled with cruel irony. Recall that in his inaugural address Donald Trump stood on the western front of the capitol and decried, deplored American carnage.

Now four years later on the western front of the capitol, that is exactly what we saw brought by Donald Trump. He needs to be gone. He was never qualified to be president. Dangerously unqualified to be president. And I hope that this is -- this dangerous experiment in democracy over the last four years is a real lesson learned for the American people.

The election of a president, who occupies the Oval Office, is not a matter of who can best entertain us, who can best offend us. The office carries with it real responsibilities and powers and it requires someone with a sense of maturity and responsibility and an understanding of how to govern and an understanding of our history and values.

So, I mean, I could go on and on about how terrible this whole experience has been, capped by what happened on Wednesday. That should be the capstone of Donald Trump's legacy.

CABRERA: Let me just ask you real quick though. Is the U.S. more or less vulnerable today than it was before the insurrection we witnessed on Wednesday?

JOHNSON: Ana, after January 20, Trumpism if you will is not going away. There will be people who are angry, who are disenchanted, who are cynical, filled with hate, filled with racism, filled with anti- Semitism. They are not going away. This is a strand of our society and our culture that we're going to have to wrestle with.

[17:15:04]

This is not simply -- and this is something for the incoming government to appreciate. This is not simply a matter of reaching across the aisle or trying to build bridges. There is an ugly strand in our society, in our culture.

And we saw the face of it last Wednesday that somehow has to be addressed and that is not simply a matter of patting them on the back and calling them special people and telling them you love them and please go home. We'll be at this for quite some time. This ugliness has been brewing in our society for quite some time, Ana.

CABRERA: You said what doesn't need to happen. What does the Biden administration need to do? What has to happen on day one to try to nullify this growing threat of domestic terrorists due to white supremacy ideology?

JOHNSON: Well, there needs to be a focus from the law enforcement perspective, from the homeland security perspective on the strand of violent, white nationalism, racism. You know, in my time in national security at the Pentagon and at the Department of Homeland Security, we spent a lot of time dealing with foreign born, foreign commanded, foreign inspired acts of terrorism. That has now evolved to domestic based violent extremism. Just ask the

Anti-Defamation League for example that tracks this. And so from the law enforcement perspective, this needs to be a top priority at the national level for the U.S. Government.

And there are a host of other things that you and I could spend an hour talking about, but we need to reckon with the fact that the face of terrorism now is what you saw on the steps of the U.S. Capitol last week.

CABRERA: A lot of work needs to be done as you point out. Secretary Jeh Johnson, thank you so much for being with us. I appreciate it.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

CABRERA: Will the president be held accountable? One Republican senator admitting today the president's actions were "reckless." But he thinks Trump has learned his lesson. Really? We'll discuss, next.

But first, join CNN for all day live coverage of the inauguration of President Joe Biden, a history making event in unprecedented times. A special all day live coverage starting Wednesday, January 20th on CNN.

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[17:20:00]

CABRERA: Congressional Republicans are now facing a moment of reckoning after this week's deadly attack on the nation's capital. Wednesday's violence was incited by the words and lies of outgoing President Trump and at least five people lost their lives. Just this morning, one Republican senator called Trump's actions clearly reckless. But does that mean he is ready to impeach? Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ROY BLUNT (R-MO): I think the president's decisions and his actions that day and leading up to that day on this topic were clearly reckless. I said that very early in the evening on Wednesday that this was a tragic day for the country and the president had involvement in that.

My personal view is that the president touched a hot stove on Wednesday and is unlikely to touch it again. And if that's the case, we get -- every day we get closer to the last day of his presidency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Joining us now CNN political commentator Margaret Hoover, host of PBS "Firing Line" and CNN senior political analyst John Avlon, the author of "Washington's Farewell" and "Wingnuts." John, you heard Senator Blunt there. Any evidence this president has ever learned his lesson?

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Absolutely not. When I saw that, first, I just burst out laughing. I mean, and you know, there is nothing funny about what our country is going through, but for any senator, for anyone to say I think Donald Trump has learned his lesson is to be willfully blind and ignorant about everything we've learned about this president that culminated in him inciting an insurrection and attack on the capitol building in order to stop the peaceful transfer of power.

If you don't get it now just give up. This is serious. A lot of people get how serious this is. This is history book serious. And it's not over and it's not done and anybody who thinks Donald Trump's learned his lesson is just clueless.

CABRERA: It kind of reminds me of what Susan Collins said after the first time President Trump was impeached, Margaret.

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, that's because she said the exact same thing. And look, even at that point it was clear that Donald Trump would never learn the lesson. I mean, his job is to double down and to do whatever he can and that he can get away with.

And the law, the Constitution, the rules, none of it apply to him. We all know that. What we didn't know and some people say they did and I think my husband warned of this for a long time but many, many Republicans, myself to a degree included, never realized or expected that it would come to what we saw this week.

And I tell you, Susan Collins didn't think that in 2020, but for Roy Blunt at this point, it is just inexcusable. It is choosing to live in denial in a way that is no longer defensible.

CABRERA: It does feels like he is putting his head in the sand. I just want to give you guys a look at this new interview we have with Nancy Pelosi. It was taped with "60 Minutes." Take a listen as she lays out her case for why President Trump needs to go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LESLEY STAHL, CBS HOST: What if he pardons himself?

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF RERPRESENTATIVES: What if he pardons these people who are terrorists on the capitol? What if he does that?

[17:25:00]

STAHL: Or pardons himself.

PELOSI: He can only pardon himself from federal offenses. He cannot pardon himself from state offenses and that's where he is being investigated in the state of New York.

STAHL: There is a possibility that after all of this, there is no punishment, no consequence, and he could run again for president.

PELOSI: And that is one of the motivations that people have for advocating for impeachment.

STAHL: Won't that take more than the 10 days and does it actually make sense?

PELOSI: Well, I like the 25th amendment because it gets rid of him. He is out of office. But there is strong support in the Congress for impeaching the president a second time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Let me bounce it back to you, Margaret, and ask you about the 25th amendment Pelosi mentions there at the end. A source close to the vice president tells our Jim Acosta that Pence has not ruled it out and the source says that there is some concern inside Pence's team that there are risks to invoking the 25th amendment or even to an impeachment process as Trump could take some sort of rash action putting the nation at risk. What is your reaction to that?

HOOVER: So we're still being scared by the bully as we try to figure out what's the right thing for the country? I mean, look, if Mike Pence is unwilling to stand up to the president after the president hasn't apparently reportedly spoken to him, since his life was threatened by the protesters that he incited on Wednesday.

Look, I'm not surprised, but I'm also not waiting around for this president's cabinet who is bullied and scared by him to do the right thing.

AVLON: Yes. I mean, look. This is the dance we've been seeing all along. That's what makes the people who enabled this president's incitement and insurrection. This is a president who perpetuated a big lie on his supporters with the support of many members of Congress and his cabinet and his administration because they were afraid of a tweet. Because they were afraid of him.

This is a president who isn't strong but is weak. And whether he is -- the 25th amendment, there is a process in place. We've got 10 days so there is -- impeachment, there is an argument to be made as Chris Christie, his former ally and endorser and supporter said. If inciting insurrection isn't impeachable, nothing is.

And there also is the question that was raised by Lesley Stahl in that question. What if he tries to impeach himself? I believe that would be just proven --

HOOVER: You mean pardon himself.

AVLON: -- pardon himself. Thank you. That I believe would ultimately be struck down by judges but it has never been tried. If he tries to pardon everybody involved with inciting this insurrection, if he tries to offer general amnesty to the people who stormed the capitol, his supporters.

These were never intended by the founders to be things a president could pardon for, but its broad current language and an impeachment could restrict his ability to do that and that's a strong argument in addition to (inaudible).

CABRERA: And apparently, he is expressing some regret for taping the video in which he is committing to a peaceful transition of power and where he condemned the violence. I think that speaks volumes about where his head is at and whether he has learned a lesson.

But I also wonder, Margaret, given, you know, what we saw in Georgia that was just this past week where the Republicans lost those Senate seats, so you now have one term Donald Trump losing the White House, he's lost the house previously, now the Senate.

Do you think that could change the calculus of Republicans getting on board with impeachment if in fact they are thinking about the party's political future?

HOOVER: It could, although, you know, the ultimate sign is Mitch McConnell. And Mitch McConnell has said, look, folks, there's just not enough time to do this, you know. He hasn't said, nope we're not doing it, but Mitch McConnell still runs the senate until January 20th.

And that's why this scenario that impeachment articles could be sent to the Senate after Joe Biden is inaugurated, when Mitch McConnell no longer runs the Senate, is also an interesting scenario to explore. Let Joe Biden have his first hundred days in office and then one might impeach a president and prevent him from holding future federal office. That would be, you know, a slap on the wrist. It wouldn't remove him from office but it would be something.

CABRERA: Final word, John?

AVLON: Well look, I mean, it is not just about shutting down Donald Trump's political future. There needs to be absolute accountability for a president committing -- inciting insurrection against the government and for anyone in the government who enabled that.

There is more information that is going to come out. It is going to be ugly, you know, and already we're seeing the FBI arresting people and we're realizing what the character of this cabal has been. I mean, these people who've rushed and destroyed and attacked our capitol. But the senators and congressmen who gave these people aid and comfort have a lot to answer to as well. Some things will be dealt with --

CABRERA: How are they held accountable?

AVLON: Well, first of all, go look at the 14th amendment, Section 3. It is, no person shall serve in the Senate or House if they have engaged in an insurrection or given aid or comfort thereof.

[17:30:00]

Now, obviously that is the context of the civil war. But I think a strong case can be made. It could apply today. And just there needs to be every constitutional and legal level of accountability put at the people who perpetuated this on our country, who enabled it, and who encouraged it and who enacted it, who stormed our capitol.

And that needs to be done. And the fact that there is a possibility these people could be pardoned by the president should frighten everybody, but not to the point where they are intimidated by the president. He is weak. He is not strong. Push back, insist on the rule of law, really, insist on the Constitution, really, so we can get past this.

CABRERA: You know, they've had a chance all four years to do that at different times. John Avlon, Margaret Hoover, many thanks as always.

HOOVER: Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: Up next, it's one of the more disturbing videos from the Capitol Hill riot. An angry mob of Trump supporters chasing a black Capitol Police officer. And it turns out this officer's actions are a lot more heroic than they even seen here. We have the full story behind this, next. Stay with us. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:35:00]

CABRERA: Four days since we witnessed a deadly pro-Trump riot at the United States capitol and federal authorities have just charged two more men for their alleged roles in the invasion. Authorities say each of them was carrying restraints inside the capitol. Let's get straight to CNN's justice correspondent Jessica Schneider. Jessica, what are you learning?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, federal officials, they promised more charges and tonight we're seeing two new sets of charges just being announced. Now, both against men whose photos and really, video have been widely circulated on social media.

So first we have Eric Munchel. He was also known as zip tie man online. He was seen in photos and video inside the capitol walking on chairs in the gallery. He was wearing paramilitary gear and he was also carrying those plastic restraints.

Police say that he had a holster on his right hip and a cell phone that authorities believe he was filming everything throughout. So he is now charged with entering restricted grounds, violent entry. And then a second man charged is Larry Rock of Texas.

He is identified as the man who entered the U.S. Capitol wearing a green helmet, green tactical vest, a black and camo jacket. He also had beige pants that was holding a white flex cuff that's used by law enforcement to restrain suspects. So he is also charged with violent entry and entering restricted grounds.

But, Ana, this is going to probably keep happening in the coming days because the acting U.S. attorney here in D.C. says hundreds of people may end up under arrest as they continue this investigation, you know, hundreds of prosecutors, hundreds of FBI agents. They are working from three command centers 24/7. So the charges tonight are just the latest in what will likely unfold throughout this week, Ana.

CABRERA: Another person facing federal charges, Jessica, from the riot is this man seen in a video here. He is there at the front of the mob and he is in a stand-off with this black capitol police officer at the doorway.

He moves in on the officer, eventually chasing him up these stairs. And we've learned the man who is leading the mob, his name is Doug Jensen, according to a CNN comparison analysis of his booking photo and posts on social media. CNN has reached out to Jensen's lawyer but no response as of yet.

But watch what happens as this officer gets to the top of the stairs. He looks toward an open door to the left and then he moves away from it and he goes toward the camera. We've learned that open door was the entrance to the Senate floor.

So this officer led this mob away from the Senate floor. Jessica, what more are we learning about the charges against Doug Jensen, again, the man who appears to be leading the mob in this video?

SCHNEIDER: Yes, Ana, he is facing five federal charges. And amongst all the other defendants we've seen, five federal charges is actually a lot in comparison to what others are facing. It includes, you know, violent entry, disrupting government business, blocking law enforcement during the riot.

So he is 41 years old and we know that he actually made it back to Iowa before he was arrested. But FBI agents, you know, they've been getting tips. They've been investigating all of these people who kind of flaunted their presence at the capitol on social media.

FBI agents worked along with local law enforcement in Iowa to move in to arrest this 41-year-old. They actually took him into custody on Saturday. So he, too, is facing these federal charges. Right now, we're up to 20 people facing federal charges. And again, Ana, we should be seeing a lot more people arrested and charged in the days to come, Ana.

CABRERA: Okay, thanks for that update, Jessica Schneider. Up next, what we're learning about Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. The National Guard veteran killed in Wednesday's attack.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:00]

CABRERA: Democratic Congresswoman Alyssa Slotkin is now asking for U.S. Capitol police officer and veteran Brian Sicknick to be given posthumous special honors and burial at Arlington National Cemetery. The Office of the Secretary of the Army says it supports that request. CNN's Brian Todd reports on Officer Sicknick's life and the emotions many are now feeling with his death.

(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-MA): 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 "BUTCH" 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 "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.

In a statement sent to CNN, the family is 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.

[17:44:57]

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 -- is your life is at danger. It'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 to 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.

PELOSI: 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 -- and they deserve our gratitude.

REP. ANNIE KUSTER (D-NH): We were all very fortunate 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): Now, one of the men who helped prevent that horror is being remembered by his family for his empathy, his commitment to rescuing dogs, his love of the New Jersey Devils hockey team. Brian Sicknick had no children but lived with his girlfriend of 11 years.

TODD (on camera): In a statement to CNN, Brian Sicknick's family asks the public and the media not to make his passing a "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)

CABRERA: And we'll leave you with this image as we head to a quick break. The White House now lowering the flag, just today, to half- staff.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:50:00]

CABRERA: The doctor who once ran the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is so concerned about the speed and the manner in which the coronavirus vaccine is getting to people across the U.S. that he says it might be necessary to stop the vaccine rollout and start all over again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER FDA COMMISSIONER: The game has changed on the vaccine. We really need to get this vaccine out more quickly because this is really our only tool, our only back stop against the spread of these new variants. If we can get a lot of people vaccinated quickly, we might be able to get enough protective immunity into the population that this stops spreading at the rate that it is. So, we need to acknowledge that this it's not working. We need to hit the reset and adopt a new strategy in trying to get it out to patients.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: That game changer, as Dr. Scott Gottlieb puts it, is the new variant of the coronavirus that's emerging and the doctor say is more easily transmissible. I want to get Dr. Megan Ranney in here. She is an emergency physician at Brown University. Dr. Ranney, is a reset on this vaccine rollout plan even remotely possible at this stage? And how wildly held is this opinion that the rollout is not working?

MEGAN RANNEY, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY: So, the rollout is absolutely not working as intended. We have three times as many doses that have been distributed to states as have actually gotten in arms. We have to do something different, and we have to do something different now.

There is absolutely consensus on that fact. But stopping distribution of the vaccine doses that are already out there doesn't make sense. What we need to do is invest in better logistics, develop better plans, and do that in parallel to the current rollout plans.

CABRERA: At this point, we know around 7 million people have been vaccinated. I understand you just got your second vaccine dose yesterday. What was your experience like?

RANNEY: So, my first experience was that I am just tremendously relieved to have that second dose in my arm. I know that I'll be fully protected in one or two weeks. I did have a few more symptoms this time, Ana, than after my first dose. After the first dose, I had a sore arm for about a day. This time I had a headache, some fatigue, some chills. That all lasted about 24 hours and I am mostly back to myself now.

CABRERA: Okay. So that's good and it's good for people to know that they might experience some of these side effects, but that it goes away quickly, and obviously the protection is what's so valuable here that you have now going forward.

Even though some people like yourself have received both doses, there is a question about how do you go about this. Joe Biden says as soon as he takes office, he's going to release nearly every available dose of the vaccine to get more people their first doses.

So he's not going to hold anything back to make sure that there is indeed, you know, that supply for the second dose. Do you see pitfalls to this plan, and will this ultimately result in more people getting protected faster?

RANNEY: So, I think that that type of plan is exactly the type of reset that Scott Gottlieb was talking about, which is so needed. We need to re-think how we take the doses we have and get them out into people's arms. Time is absolutely of the essence. And holding back doses now makes no sense.

That said, we still need to keep to the two-dose, 21-day to 28-day dosing regimen that has been approved by the FDA. And what the Biden/Harris administration is banking on is that production is going to continue at least as quickly if not more quickly than it currently is.

They're holding back a little bit just in case there are production difficulties, but their plan makes sense. We are under a dire public health emergency. And the best part about their plan, Ana, is that they are not just releasing doses.

They're also talking about releasing funding and guidance and logistics to go along with it because as we're already seeing, doses alone are not enough. We need that last mile to get the vaccines in people's arms.

[17:55:01]

CABRERA: All right, Dr. Megan Ranney, I really appreciate you being with us. Thank you. So glad to hear you are now protected. Yay. That is something to celebrate.

RANNEY: Thank you.

CABRERA: Back to our developing story. CNN is learning Vice President Pence has not ruled out invoking the 25th amendment. But there is a reason he wants to preserve the option for now. A live report from the White House right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: You are live in the "CNN Newsroom." I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. And tonight we have new, shocking, horrifying video from the attempted coup at the capitol on Wednesday. And I first need to warn you this video we're about to show is incredibly graphic.

It is disturbing. Take your kids out of the room. But I do think it is important for us to show it to you. You need to see the truth.

[17:59:59]

You need to get the full picture of what happened in this attack. In this video you can see this mob dragging a police officer down the stairs.

[17:59:59]