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House to Hold Impeachment Vote on Wednesday; Major U.S. Companies Pausing Political Donations; Congresswoman Gets COVID and Blames Mask-Less Republicans; COVID Hospital Admissions Have Risen Sharply Across the U.K.; Germany Introduces Tougher COVID-19 Restrictions. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired January 12, 2021 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world, I'm Rosemary Church.

And here in the United States, the fate of Donald Trump's presidency rests in the hands of Washington this week. Vice President Mike Pence faces pressure from House Democrats to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove President Trump from office, and if that doesn't happen, the House meets on Wednesday to vote whether or not to impeach Mr. Trump again. A Washington, an upheaval would make for a rocky start for president-elect Joe Biden. CNN's Arlette Saenz has our report.

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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With a Senate impeachment trial a possibility, President-elect Joe Biden is hoping that the early days of his administration will not be bogged down by such a trial. The president-elect said that he has spoken with people on Capitol Hill to see if they can operate on dual tracks. Running a Senate impeachment trial while also considering and advancing his nominees and agenda. Take a listen to what Biden had to say after he received the second dose of his COVID-19 vaccine.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: The question is whether or not, for example, if the House moves forward, which they obviously are. If the impeachment is sent over to the Senate, whether or not we're check on parliamentarian as to whether or not you can bifurcate this, go half day dealing with impeachment and half day getting my people nominated and confirmed in the Senate as well as moving on the package.

SAENZ: One of those items that the president-elect would like to push through is a coronavirus relief deal, and he has said that he will outline his plans for coronavirus vaccinations on Thursday as well as saying how much that plan will cost.

Arlette Saenz, CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Joining me now is Kim Wehle, law professor at the University of Baltimore and a former assistant U.S. attorney. Good to have you with us.

KIM WEHLE, LAW PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF BALTIMORE: Good to be here, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, the Democrats moving ahead with the second impeachment of President Trump and they've set a date to vote on Wednesday. Where do you see this going, particularly in the Senate where Republicans say this is just too divisive?

WEHLE: Well, in this moment it looks like we'll see again the Republicans sort of not step up to the plate and do what I think is the important thing to do for the Constitution itself and for the rule of law. What happened this week was astonishing and deadly and corrosive and destructive, but politics is intervening.

And unfortunately, the framer's vision for the impeachment clause to function as a serious check on the presidency isn't working anymore. But I still think Democrats can't sit idly by and just let this one pass as businesses as usual.

CHURCH: And I did want to ask you this, because Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer is exploring the use of an emergency Senate session for an impeachment trial before Trump leaves. How likely is it that that would work?

WEHLE: Well, you know, Mitch McConnell has said that there would need to be 100 percent unanimity from all senators to bring them back prior from this early session, you know, whether the two Democrats from the Senate, if they get certified and seated in time so that the majority goes to Chuck Schumer, still unclear that there would be sufficient votes to actually convict. And there would need to be a conviction in order to not only remove Mr. Trump from office but to do the other thing that many people are talking about, that is to bar him from running in 2024.

But you know, Congress are -- they're deal makers at the end of the day. So, who knows whether there could be some kind of an agreement that that would get some sort of accountability, maybe a censure or some other means of the Senate and the Congress as a whole saying, listen, it's not OK for the president to attack a coordinate branch of government.

[04:35:00]

It's just really frankly, as a constitutional scholar, Rosemary, astonishing in this moment that there isn't more bipartisan support for some kind of line.

CHURCH: Yes, I mean, it is stunning. And of course, if there isn't a conviction and you simply emboldened President Trump who will then become Donald Trump citizen. But then if you censure him, it's just a slap on the wrist. That's nothing, it amounts to nothing. And of course, we know that Kevin McCarthy was trying for that. Nancy Pelosi shut that down.

WEHLE: Well, you know, I really think there are a number of issues here. One is really the safety of the American people from domestic terrorism between now and the 20th. And the question of whether Mr. Trump is a risk to continue in office and that seems to me to go beyond politics, beyond, sort of, theater, the message, even the Constitution and we don't know.

I don't think --- I don't think the Biden team probably even knows the extent to which Mr. Trump is a potential danger particularly given how close he is with Vladimir Putin for all these years. But then the second pieces of course accountability for Mr. Trump personally, he is not -- he is not insulated from state, you know, local charges out of D.C. In theory, during while he was sitting president and certainly after he leaves office.

CHURCH: Our thanks to Kim Wehle for her analysis there.

Well now to a legal battle brewing between a tech giant and a fringe social media company. Amazon says a lawsuit filed against them by the right wing app Parler has, quote, no merit. Parler sued Amazon on Monday in response to being suspended by the cloud services provider. It alleged an antitrust violation, breach of contract and interference with the company's business relationships with users.

And that's just the latest corporate fallout from last week's riot on Capitol Hill. Joining us now to discuss this is John Defterios. He's live from Dubai. Good to see you, John. So big tech and other major U.S. companies are flexing their muscles sending a very clear message to Republicans who supported Trump's election lies that triggered Wednesday's riots. How powerful is the message and the action?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN BUSINESS EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: I like the way you framed it, Rosemary. This is taking us to a whole new level of corporate activism. Corporate America though dividing into kind of two different strategies, if you will. There are some saying we're not going to donate at all when it comes to money, and money talks in Capitol Hill terms, that's for sure. So they're just not donating and all saying the system is broken and we're not going to participate until it's fixed.

Then there's the other camp that's saying to 147 Republicans who went against the electoral vote process in Capitol Hill which sparked those riots and the attacks that institution, we're not going to donate.

And by the way, let's take a look at this list. This is a group that would like to steer clear normally of political controversy. I worked in Washington in these circles for five years. Names like Mastercard, Marriott, which is a conservative company getting involved. Dow chemical, the parent of CNN AT&T doing so. AmEx, Amazon, Airbnb, Blue Cross which is an insurer getting involved here in the medical debate in the past, are saying this doesn't work for us.

So it's two messages coming out of this. For Senators like Ted Cruz of Texas or Josh Hawley of Missouri, right now we don't like you angling for 2024 in the name of Trumpism and your political futures, and all the rest of you that went against the system, we don't want you to break what has been created over the last 250 years in the United States. And we don't like you angling in the name of politics when it breaks the system as we see it today. It is really out of the realm, Rosemary, for them to take that stance.

CHURCH: Yes, John Defterios joining us live from Dubai. Many thanks.

Well New Jersey House Democrat Bonnie Watson Coleman announced Monday she tested positive for COVID-19. A statement from her office says she believes she was exposed to the virus while sheltering with other members of Congress last week during the attack on the U.S. Capitol. CNN previously showed this video of six house Republicans refusing to accept masks but it's unclear if Coleman was in that same room. She spoke earlier to CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN (D-NJ): It has been a bunch of malarkey. They have been Trump sycophants. They do and say what he wants them to do and say. If they're responsible for half the chaos that we have going on there and then they had the arrogance and the defiance of other people's rights and the right to be safe and healthy and so they don't -- they lack a heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Well now a second member of Congress has tested positive for the virus. Representative Pramila Jayapal tweeted that she also suspects it came from last week's lockdown of Capitol Hill.

[04:40:00]

And coming up, Britain's COVID fight. The race to vaccinate the population is ramping up, but there are warnings of further lockdown measures as the virus rages. We'll have that in just a moment.

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CHURCH: Well, Britain's health secretary says the country has now administered vaccines to around 2.3 million people and those vaccinations can't come soon enough. COVID is running rampant with more than 32,000 people now hospitalized. That is up 22 percent from the same time last week. Tougher lockdown measures have not been ruled out.

In Germany they're already in place. Schools are closed until the end of the month and only grocery stores and drug stores will remain open. Chancellor Angela Merkel says the coming weeks would likely be the most difficult phase of the pandemic.

So let's talk now with Salma Abdelaziz live from London, and Melissa Bell who joins us from Paris. Good to see you both. Salma let's start with you. What is the latest on this vaccination rollout and of course, soaring infections and hospitalizations across the U.K.?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: I mean, the speed of this vaccination, Rosemary, every day it is being ramped up. It's going to be at breakneck speed. If you ask the authorities here, they want to see 2 million people vaccinated per week. Every single week, Rosemary, 2.3 million people vaccinated so far.

But the goal is to get 50 million people across this country vaccinated, the most vulnerable people. Those who are considered extremely clinically vulnerable to COVID. Those who are over 70. Those who live in nursing homes or care homes, the staff of those nursing homes as well, as well as frontline health care workers. Because quite frankly, Rosemary, that is the only option.

[04:45:00]

That is the only way out of this new variant that has been plaguing this country causing record breaking hospitalizations, record breaking death rates. Temporary morgues are being used in some parts of the country. That's how much this death toll is just piling up -- Rosemary.

CHURCH: And Melissa, to you now. What is the latest you have on COVID numbers and the response in Germany and France?

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Much of the European continent here, Rosemary, with further restrictions that could be necessary. France for the time being has said that its curfew system should be enough although the Prime Minister would not rule out yesterday a third lockdown.

Spain introducing fresh restrictions in some of the worst hit areas there. Germany extending and strengthening as of yesterday its partial lockdown as well in the face of those rising figures.

Still, some good news. The continent compared to the U.K. has been slower in getting its vaccine program rolled out and getting jabs into arms, but we have just heard that the European Medicines Agency has received an application for the marketing of the AstraZeneca vaccine, all of which the European Commission had agreed to purchase 400 million doses.

So that should help those European countries where the slow pace of the rollout has been blamed on a lack of supplies. Germany, for instance, there's 400 million vaccines. Should they go ahead and approve that marketing request, it will come and add to the stocks of the 600 million Pfizer and BioNTech vaccines that the commission has agreed to buy, and the 160 million Moderna vaccines that that are even now being delivered to European member states.

CHURCH: All right, Salma Abdelaziz and Melissa Bell, many thanks to both of you for those updates.

And when we come back, how a bunch of basketball players helped shape the future of American politics by going against the person that signs their checks. Stay with us for that.

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CHURCH: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church.

Some alarming findings about the virus out of China where a study found 3/4 of Wuhan patients who were hospitalized still had symptoms six months later. The most common problems where fatigue and trouble sleeping. As more evidence that even people who recover could have long lasting health impacts including possible anxiety and depression. Scientists around the world continue to study what they call long COVID symptoms.

Well a remarkable story now about a basketball team that may have played a role in shaping the future of American politics. WNBA player Elizabeth Williams and her teammates campaigned against the Senator who owns their team, which may have played a role in that Senator losing his seat. CNN's Don Riddell spoke with Williams about how her actions on the court impacted who controls Capitol Hill.

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DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was only a t- shirt worn by a group of basketball players that many people have never heard of. It was a simple message, but it was a message that might just have changed the course of history.

ELIZABETH WILLIAMS, ATLANTA DREAM: I think it's just a testament to the women in this league that even though we might not be huge in numbers, we can still make a huge difference.

RIDDELL (voice-over): The British born American basketball player Elizabeth Williams plays for the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA. A team that's jointly own by Georgia's outgoing Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler. But in the summer of 2020 after the controversial killing of George Floyd in police custody, the players wanted to embrace the Black Lives Matter movement. Loeffler was is a loyal supporter of President Trump tried to stop them.

WILLIAMS: Our co-owner wrote a letter to our league commissioner Cathy Engelbert, essentially denouncing Black Lives Matter and the movement and, you know, saying that we need to keep politics out of sports and all of these words that were meant to kind of ramp up her political base.

SEN. KELLY LOEFFLER (R-GA): I'm not going to let a political movement, which is what the Black Lives Matter movement truly is, tear our country apart.

WILLIAMS: I think a lot of us felt a combination of disappointment, frustration, even a bit of confusion in that, you know, you're an owner of a team in a league that's 80 percent black of people that, you know, have lost family members to gun violence, have, you know, felt a lot of this in a very personal way.

RIDDELL: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm not sure you've referred to her by name yet during this interview. You keep referring to her as the co-owner of the team. Is there a reason for that? WILLIAMS: Yes. Yes, there is. As we kind of shifted into this more

political sphere of how things were moving, we talked to people in politics and they talked about the power of saying someone's name and so you can also do the opposite by not saying someone's name.

RIDDELL (voice-over): The name they instead chose to say was Raphael Warnock, a Democratic challenger to Loeffler's seat who at the time wasn't even polling in double digits. They vetted Warnock and his policies and soon other players across the country were promoting him too. In a November election Warnock forced Loeffler into a runoff which he then won in January.

REV. RAPHAEL WARNOCK, INCOMING U.S. SENATE DEMOCRAT: When I think about the arc of our history, what Georgia did last night is its own message in the midst of a moment in which so many people are trying to divide our country.

RIDDELL (voice-over): But Warnock's victory was much more significant, and not only because he becomes Georgia's first black Senator and first black Democrat to represent the Southern state in the Senate. Along with Jon Ossoff's win against David Perdue, it handed control of Senate to the Democrat for the first time in six years.

President-elect Joe Biden will now find it considerably easier to govern in the new term. Nobody could ever calculate just how important the players' role was in elevating Warnock, but many believe it was crucial. As the results came in, Williams phone was exploding with messages.

WILLIAMS: Just like, wow, we really did this. You know, we helped flip the Senate.

[04:55:00]

And I think a lot of the messages were just being thankful for being a part of this group of really, really impactful and incredible women.

RIDDELL: How does that make you feel?

WILLIAMS: It's a lot. You know, you feel all of the emotions. You feel initially the relief of, wow, this really long process is over. To, you know, the pride like I mentioned before, the joy and then the optimism.

RIDDELL (voice-over): Williams says that until recently she didn't consider herself to be political but that has changed now. She realizes the value of being a leader both on and off the court. And the example set by these players is that everybody has the power to change the world.

Don Riddell, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Every vote counts. Well football coach Bill Belichick is refusing Donald Trump's offer of

the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Belichick says he reconsidered the award after seeing Trump supporters attacking the U.S. Capitol and here's part of his statement.

One of the most rewarding things in my professional career took place in 2020 when conversations about social justice, equality and human rights moved to the forefront and became actions. Continuing those efforts while remaining true to the people, team and country I love outweigh the benefits of any individual award.

And finally this hour, the child heard all across Alabama after the University of Alabama known as the Crimson Tide crushed Ohio State to win the college football national championship. The final score 52-24. Thousands of Alabama fans packed the streets to celebrate. Back in Tuscaloosa the win earned head coach Nick Saban a record setting seven national titles, six of those with Alabama. Well done.

And thanks so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. "EARLY START" is up next. Have yourselves a great day.

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