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Trump's Second Impeachment Vote In House Hours Away; FBI And D.C. Debriefs On Capitol Hill Riot; Biden Administration Spokesperson On Plans For Better Vaccine Roll Out; COVID Cases Continue To Soar In The U.S.; Biden's Inauguration Could Be Targeted By Domestic Terrorists; Investigators Probe Police, Military Roles; Twitter, Facebook Banned Trump After Attack on Capitol; Verdict Expected in South Korean Religious Leader's Trial; Japan Insists Olympics Still on Track Despite Virus Surge; Ireland to Apologize for Abuse at "Mother and Baby" Homes; Republican Lawmakers Face Calls for Censure, Expulsion. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired January 13, 2021 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
JOHN VAUSE, ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Hello, everyone. Thanks for staying with us for another hour. I'm John Vause, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta.
Ahead this hour. U.S. lawmakers vote to strip Donald Trump of his presidential powers, another vote on impeachment now just hours away. This time though with at least some Republican support.
A week away from Joe Biden's inauguration and fears are growing the ceremony could be a likely target for domestic terrorists loyal to Donald Trump.
And the same Trump insurgents who stormed the Capitol also refused to wear masks during a pandemic turning an attack on democracy into a super spreader event as well.
In a matter of hours, Donald Trump will cement his place in history for all the wrong reasons. The first ever U.S. president to be impeached twice.
The article of impeachment is for inciting his loyalists to storm the capital last week. And every day we're learning a little more about their level of violence, their level of brutality.
Security has been ramped up again after warnings in the FBI armed protests are planned from this weekend until inauguration day next week in all 50 state capitals as well as Washington D.C.
And a short time ago, the U.S. House voted to urge Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove President Trump from office. The vice president has already rejected that call.
And as all of this unfolds, Trump's once vice-like grip on the GOP is starting to weaken. High-ranking Republicans like Liz Cheney on record favoring impeachment and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has signaled his support.
Ryan Nobles has details on the fast-moving developments from Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The United States House of Representatives one step closer to impeaching President Donald Trump for the second time in his presidency, the first time that has ever happened in United States.
The House voting on Tuesday to ask Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment with a threat that if he did not go through with it, that they were prepared to move ahead with impeachment.
Pence already letting speaker Nancy Pelosi know that he is not going to do that so tomorrow at 9:00 am, Wednesday morning, the House will move forward with those articles of impeachment.
It's going to be a little bit different than it was the last time around. It should go much quicker, there are fewer articles impeachment to go through.
And the other big difference is that there will be Republicans that vote in favor of impeachment this time. There won't be many, it's not going to be the majority of the Republican caucus but there will be some notable names including Liz Cheney, who is the third-ranking Republican in the house of representatives. She has said that she will vote for impeachment.
And then, of course, the next question is what happens in the United States senate? Mitch McConnell signaling that there may be some opportunity for his conference to pick up these articles of impeachment and eventually convict President Trump.
It's not clear how that whole process is going to work but we're told that McConnell has been in contact with President Elect Joe Biden. If that were to happen there is the potential and opportunity for President Trump to be convicted on these articles of impeachment after he already leaves office.
Still a lot of unknowns though in that process between when it gets through the House and before it gets to the Senate. That process all beginning Wednesday morning here on Capitol Hill.
NOBLES (On Camera): Ryan Nobles, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Caroline Heldman is a professor of critical theory and social justice at Occidental College in Los Angeles and she joins us now. It's good to see you; it's been a while, Caroline. Thanks for taking the time.
It's good to see you, John.
VAUSE: OK. Over the past four years, the news has changed every day but the story's essentially been the same.
After every Donald Trump outrage be it criminal, offensive, insensitive or vile, the focus would briefly turn to the Republicans many asking how far is too far?
We might just know the answer. The "New York Times" is reporting that the Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, said to be pleased about impeachment believing it will be easier to purge Trump from the GOP -- McConnell not willing to come out from his shell and say anything on record about that.
But the number three in the House, Liz Cheney, has actually gone public and part of her statement reads:
"The president of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the president.
He could have immediately and forcibly intervened to stop the violence. He did not."
So there's this growing number of Republican lawmakers to support impeachment, at least five on record, a lot more probably more privately.
What does that number actually have to be to remove any appearance that this is a one-sided political hack job, it's all just about getting Donald Trump and is truly a bipartisan effort?
CAROLINE HELDMAN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF POLITICS, OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE: Well, if you look at the make up in the house, you need to get a majority vote to impeach. And I actually think that will happen.
[01:05:00]
I think Liz Cheney and other Republicans, many Republicans in the house, will be voting for impeachment along with the Democrats.
I think the sticking point though is to actually remove the president, it requires a super majority in the Senate and that means 17 Republicans will have to break with their party.
I would expect Toomey and Murkowski and a few others, certainly Mitt Romney, to break with the rank and file, possibly even Mitch McConnell but I don't think they have the votes in the senate to remove Donald Trump.
And so at the end of the day, I think, again, it's going to be a second impeachment but not -- just a slap on the wrist, not an actual removable office.
VAUSE: He'll be out of office anyway so what does it matter, I guess, by that point. But it seems that Trump is making it harder by the day for Republicans to defend him.
On Tuesday, he toured the border wall in Alamo, Texas -- no coincidence, I guess.
Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So if you read my speech -- and many people have done it and I've seen it both in the papers and in the media, on television -- it's been analyzed. And people thought that what I said was totally appropriate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: That was just before he arrived at Alamo.
But he has shown no contrition, no recognition of the seriousness of what's happened. Even the name of the town of Texas he went to -- there are a lot of towns impacted by the border wall -- he didn't have to go to Alamo, that's no coincidence.
HELDMAN: It is no coincidence. Historians will tell you it's similar to the confederate flag. While it means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, one of the clear meanings is that it is a nod to white supremacy.
And the fact that don Trump has no contrition over this, I guess, is not surprising. What is surprising to me is that a lot of Republicans, rank and file Republicans, are behind him on this.
So if you look in terms of the percentage of Americans who want to remove him from office because of what happened, it's only 15 percent of Republicans. And when you look at their support for the insurrectionists, one in three Republicans have sympathy for the insurrectionists.
And these are folks who were wearing Camp Auschwitz shirts, "Six million wasn't enough," referring to Jewish people in the Holocaust. Zip ties. At least three looking to murder Mike Pence, at least one man looking to murder Nancy Pelosi. How you can't have shame about this is a mystery.
It's not a mystery in terms of Donald Trump, as you pointed out, John, he's been doing this since he ran for office in 2016. He's used his rhetoric to incite violence and to incite hatred.
But its effectiveness with some members of the American population is a mystery.
VAUSE: Yes. I want you to listen to some of those what Donald Trump calls "totally appropriate" remarks he made last week. Here they are.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're going to have to fight much harder.
When you catch somebody in a fraud you're allowed to go by very different rules. We're going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that
they need to take back our country.
So let's walk down Pennsylvania Avenue --
You'll never take back our country with weakness, you have to show strength and you have to be strong.
We fight like hell and if you don't fight like he'll you're not going to have a country anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Clearly, this is incitement -- I don't know what it legally is -- it maybe does not rise to those levels but it certainly sounds like it does.
But given the growing security risk around the inauguration, threats of armed protesters planning attacks in every state capital, do you see January 20th not so much the end of the Trump area but maybe the beginning of a period of sustained unrest, violent unrest, a dark chapter that's beginning in U.S. history?
HELDMAN: Well, that's a great question, John. We know that with the Civil Rights Movement that this overt racism went underground but it didn't go anywhere. So Donald Trump pulled it back out.
The question is whether it will diminish if he doesn't have the bully pulpit of the presidency and he doesn't have access to social media. My thought would be that it won't disappear. That if you look at racial resentment one in five Americans has very high racial resentment.
What is driving his ability to manipulate them using fear is this thing called aggrieved entitlement where they believe that the social order is shifting, women are taking their jobs, people of color are making advances. And they believe that they're entitled to these things.
It's not an accurate picture of what's happening but it's really easy to play upon the fear of Americans who are hurting.
It would be great if they were blaming the right people which would be the sub-standard living and wages, the fact that we don't have a healthcare system.
But to get to your question, John, I don't think we've seen the end of this because we haven't addressed the root cause which is high levels of racial resentment and sexism in our culture that are really easy to dig into and whip up using fear tactics. Which Donald Trump has just showed us the last five years.
VAUSE: Caroline, yes. It's one of those issues, I guess, which is going to be with us for a while and we'll be seeing it play out for many months, possibly years to come.
But good to see you, Caroline. Thank you for being with us.
HELDMAN: Great to see you, John.
[01:10:00]
VAUSE: The investigation now just beginning into the attack on Capitol Hill. Just who knew what and when, who was complicit, did some lawmakers give reconnaissance tours a day earlier?
The department of justice says this will be one of its biggest nationwide investigations ever.
CNN's Brian Todd has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Federal law enforcement is quickly widening the scope of investigations into the violence at the Capitol. Hundreds of charges, officials say, are forthcoming.
MICHAEL SHERWIN, ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: We're looking at significant felony cases tied to sedition and conspiracy.
We're looking at everything from simple trespass to theft of mail to theft of digital devices inside the Capitol, to assault on local officers, federal officers both outside and inside the Capitol to the theft of national security information or national defense information to felony murder and even civil rights excessive force investigation.
So just the gamut of cases and criminal conduct we're looking at is really mind-blowing.
TODD: Law enforcement officials are seeking the public's help in finding suspects.
STEVEN D'ANTUONO, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, FBI WASHINGTON FIELD OFFICE: We have received more than 100,000 pieces of digital media. The FBI has a long memory and a broad reach.
Agents from our local field offices will be knocking on your door if we find out that you were part of the criminal activity at the Capitol.
TODD: The FBI says before Wednesday's riot, the Bureau tried to coordinate with other law enforcement agencies.
D'ANTUONO: We shared intelligence through the JTTF model and we also shared it through our command post structure and then also through other means of -- they have access to our information readily available because they have access to our systems.
TODD: Meanwhile, a chilling assessment from a congressman briefed by law enforcement on new threats to the U.S. Capital.
REP. CONOR LAMB (D-P.A.): They're talking about 4,000 armed patriots to surround the capital and prevent any Democrat from going in and they have published rules of engagement, meaning when you shoot and when you don't. So this is an organized group that has a plan.
TODD: Congressman Conor Lamb didn't name a specific group but did say, quote, "they have to be stopped."
The perimeters around the Capitol, other government buildings and the monuments are being reinforced and expanded, ringed by high fences and thousands of National Guard troops.
D.C. metropolitan police manning checkpoints at key intersections with huge dump trucks providing more barriers.
One of the most dangerous threats up to and on inauguration day?
PETER LICATA, FORMER FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: Primarily, it's active shooter. Somebody with guns that's just going to start shooting randomly into a crowd or over a crowd. And then you scale it up to snipers -- with that being snipers and then the use of improvised explosive devices.
TODD: Security at state capitals is ramping up significantly. Another lawmaker briefed by law enforcement spoke of how those making the threats are being tracked.
REP. TIM RYAN, (D-OHIO): There's a very aggressive response to this. A lot of the communication has dried up for a number of these people because they've been banned from some of the social media platforms, like the president has.
TODD: Meantime, manhunts continue for rioters who breached the Capitol last Wednesday. The FBI is asking for the public's help in identifying a man seen in photos carrying a large confederate flag inside the Capitol during the riot.
On Tuesday, two men were indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in Wednesday's riot including a man from Alabama alleged to have parked a truck filled with homemade bombs, guns and ammunition two blocks from the Capitol.
And officials say the investigation from this point will be unrelenting.
SHERWIN: We're looking at everything; money, travel records, looking at disposition, movement, communication records. So no resource related to the FBI or the U.S. attorney's office will be unchecked.
TODD: And against the backdrop of the threats, there's new concern about possible leadership vacuums at key security agencies.
The department of homeland security is bringing in a new secretary after the acting secretary, Chad Wolf, abruptly resigned on Monday.
And the Capitol Hill police have just sworn in a new chief after the resignation of their chief, Steven Sund.
TODD (On Camera): Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Bob Baer is a CNN intelligence and security analyst, also a former CIA operative. He is with us from Telluride in Colorado. Bob, great to have you with us.
There's always a cost-benefit analysis in almost everything we do. If you put aside the costs -- just to put that to one side -- focus purely on security and risk, would you move the inauguration, if not to another city, maybe hold it the Capitol or the White House in a locked down building somewhere?
ROBERT BAER, FORMER CIA OPERATIVE: Well, it's funny, John, last night I was talking to a member of congress who asked me that very question.
Her advice to the president is not to hold the inauguration in Washington D.C. It's too dangerous.
[01:15:00]
They worry about even the National Guard, the police, the Capitol police and the rest of it, and they just wonder what's a good idea on the 20th. To have president elect Biden stand in the open, in a building that was just overrun.
VAUSE: We hear the chats inside the Capitol, hang Mike Pence," and the allegations they wanted to shoot Nancy Pelosi, whatever. Are they like dogs chasing a car, what happens when they catch the car?
BAER: We don't know that. People in congress believe that they just got lucky, that the house wasn't overrun. There's a belief in congress they were going to assassinate Nancy Pelosi, hang Mike Pence.
And the congressman from this district I'm sitting in right now, was tweeting the location of Nancy Pelosi. She said she just left the chamber and nobody knows whether there was inside help.
There are a lot of people in congress who believe that the rioters were let into the senate side and came in the underground passageways. That's still being investigated but it's the confusion that's scaring people
And what sort of inside help let these people in, including the Capitol police.
VAUSE: So with that in mind, there's new video, new details that emerge from this attack which -- this is clearly a lot more than a group of Trump supporters who somehow wanted into congress.
Here's the Acting U.S. attorney for D.C.
SHERWIN: In some instances, MPD and Capitol police were in open- handed combat with some of these persons inside the Capitol. And I think people are going to be shocked with some of the egregious contact that happened within the Capitol.
VAUSE: OK. So that's one side of the story, what about those who may have been complicit, because you touched on this. There's obviously investigations underway right now. But is it possible between now and next week to have everyone within the security apparatus who's loyal to the constitution and those may not be, those who've joined the Trump cult?
BAER: Well, that's exactly the problem. We have a secret service officer that's been put on leave. There's the question how many police overran the capital and you have question of the National Guard.
You have a lot of support for the president, for President Trump, and nobody knows what they're going to do. They just had an ex-SEAL that was run in that showed up.
So -- and really, what is the sentiment of the military? I keep on hearing that combat units at Fort Bragg are very -- they believe the election was stolen and it's an unconstitutional vestiture of Biden. And I don't really know what they're going to do.
I tend to think nothing's going to happen. But if I were sitting in congress or I were protecting the president elect, I would be worried.
VAUSE: When we're talking about Fort Bragg, we're talking about Georgia, we're talking about the South. This is sort of deep Trump country, right?
BAER: It's the confederate army.
VAUSE: Yes.
BAER: It's been this way for a long time. And it's why you see so many veterans that showed up at this demonstration in the capital.
This country is very divided, John, and these people truly believe that this President Elect Biden is illegitimate. And if they believe he's illegitimate, they're going to take up arms or there's a good chance of it.
So I think between now and the 20th -- and they're talking about the 17th as a key day -- we're going to see some more violence, at some level.
VAUSE: According to the "Washington Post", an FBI report warned of war at the Capitol highlighting an online thread which called for violence including this line:
"Be ready to fight. Congress needs to hear glass breaking, doors being kicked in and blood from their BLM and Antifa-slave soldiers being spilled. Get violent, stop calling this a march, or a rally or a protest. Go there ready for war. We get our president or we die. Nothing else will achieve this goal."
How can there be a report like that with the FBI and no one actually from the speaker's office or the leader of the senate actually even knowing anything about it? BAER: They knew nothing about it. There was no briefing about the
danger of this demonstration, that it could be an attack on the -- they knew nothing at all.
And this is what has really shaken them because congress has no real control over the Capitol police, there's a board that does and they can't look into it, it has an intelligence arm.
But none of this has been passed to the members of congress which is just an intelligence failure -- I've never seen anything like it since 9/11.
VAUSE: Yes, failure of imagination. Bob, good to see you. Bob Baer there from Telluride. Appreciate it. Thanks, Bob.
Just 13 days into this year and the U.S. is smashing COVID record after record. Ahead, a massive jump in the death toll and changes to the way the vaccine is being distributed.
And if the deadly siege at the U.S. capital was not upsetting enough, we're now hearing some lawmakers who were trapped inside may have caught COVID from their peers who refused to wear masks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:20:00]
VAUSE: Yet again, the U.S. set another record for the deadliest day of the pandemic on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, COVID-19 claimed more than 4,300 lives, the second time the death toll has topped 4,000. This comes as the U.S. Government revamps its vaccine distribution plans after a much slower than expected roll out.
CNN's Erica Hill has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A major shift in the government's vaccination plan.
ALEX AZAR, U.S. SECRETARY OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: We are releasing the entire supply we have for order by states rather than holding second doses in physical reserve.
HILL: In line with plans announced last week by the incoming Biden Administration.
DR. LEANA WEN, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: This briefing today was so important to hear that they're saying, OK, we know that there are problems so let's help to problem solve.
HILL: HHS Secretary Azar calling on states to expand eligibility to those 65 and over and with underlying conditions citing current state restrictions as roadblocks. Though several states had already began vaccinating more groups of essential workers and younger seniors.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: It's the first time in my life I look forward to getting a shot.
HILL: More mass vaccination sites coming online. Disneyland will be ready by the end of the week. Welcome news in California now the epicenter of this pandemic.
Essential workers and their families especially vulnerable in hard-hit L.A. County.
BARBARA FERRER, DIRECTOR, LOS ANGELES COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT: Right now because there is so much spread, we're also recommending that people keep their face coverings on while they're inside the home.
HILL: Hospitalizations in L.A. County soaring. Up more than 680 percent since November 1st. Daily reported deaths skyrocketing more than 1,400 percent.
FERRER: This slide is a very real reminder of our failures to protect each other.
HILL: Meantime in Tuscaloosa overnight, massive crowds celebrating Alabama's national title prompting super spreader concerns. The state's mask mandate still in place though, in the crowd, tough to tell.
Rising hospitalizations in Central Texas triggering new rollbacks.
Nationwide, they're hovering around 130,000. The country adding more than 200,000 new cases a day for the last seven days. In that same time, reporting more than 20,000 COVID deaths.
Including this 37-year-old mother who died just three days after giving birth to her sixth child.
STEVE LEDER, RABBI & AUTHOR, "THE BEAUTY OF WHAT REMAINS": Death is the great teacher to impel us all to lead a more meaningful life. And a life in which we take care of each other more, not less. And God knows this country needs that now.
HILL: Here in New York, City Field behind me, the home of the Mets, will the Mets will soon be a 24-hour vaccination site. It will process up to 7,000 people a day.
That is welcome news as are the developments from the federal government today to push more vaccine out there.
That being said, Mayor Bill De Blasio remains concerned about the distribution calling it way to slow and warned that New York City may run out of vaccine soon.
HILL (On Camera): In New York, I'm Erica Hill, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE) [01:25:00]
VAUSE: With us now from New York is Dr. Celine Gounder, a member of the COVID advisory board for the incoming Biden Administration recently named number 28 on "In Style"s annual list of the 50 bad-ass women making the world a better place.
Congratulations on that honor. Good to have to you with us.
DR. CELINE GOUNDER, BIDEN-HARRIS TRANSITION CORONAVIRUS ADVISORY BOARD: Thank you. Thank you, John.
VAUSE: OK. Well, down to business now. The Trump Administration has announced it will release almost all vaccine supplies to the public as opposed to keeping a stockpile in reserve for a second injection which is required within a few weeks. As well as telling states to dramatically expand who gets priority.
Now StatNews (ph) did the numbers and reports that these new instructions put 152 million people, about half the population of the country, at the front of the vaccine line.
Operation Warp Speed currently estimates it will take until the end of March before it has 200 million doses to distribute. That's assuming there's no problems, nothing goes wrong.
There are a lot of numbers here. But can you explain this, the bottom line seems to be one dose for all and then maybe another one and see what happens otherwise there's not enough vaccine out there for everyone to get what they need?
GOUNDER: John, there are a couple different things that are actually going on here. So first of all, the president elect, President Elect Biden, had announced recently that he was in favor of releasing nearly all of the current vaccine stock to states so that people could get vaccinated as quickly as possible.
But we've been very clear that the Biden brand is all about following the science. Which means we're not deviating from FDA authorizations with respect to the dosing of the vaccine or the timing with which the vaccine should be given.
So in other words, the Pfizer vaccine should still be given at full dose, the second dose should be given at 21 days and the second dose of the Moderna vaccine should also be given, full dose, and at 28 days. So that guidance has still not changed, from our perspective.
This is really more of a supply chain management question in terms of releasing nearly all the doses, as opposed to a recommendation about dosing or priorities.
VAUSE: The health secretary also announced another significant change when it comes to distribution. Here he is. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ALEX AZAR, U.S. SECRETARY OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: Allocations among the states will not remain purely on a per capita basis but rather be based on the reported data showing the percentages of vaccine administered versus their allocations that they've received.
In other words, if you're not using vaccine that you have the right to then we should be rebalancing to states that are using that vaccine.
VAUSE: Or in other words, use it or lose it. Is this something the Biden Administration might look to keep in place when it takes office?
GOUNDER: I'm frankly not sure what the policy is going to be on that, John. I think one thing that is concerning about that approach if you punish some states for underperforming as opposed to addressing the very reasons why they're underperforming, maybe what you actually need to do is support them with more federal aid, more federal funding, more guidance, more technical assistance. As opposed to punishing them for underperforming.
This is sorted, by analogy, what we see sometimes with underperforming schools, that they get funding taken away from them when what they really need is more help and support.
VAUSE: An unusual ideas these days, to actually give support for states that actually need the assistance.
It now seems that the riot on Capitol Hill last week by the Trump insurgents, it was also a text book example of a super spreader event. At least five members of congress have gone public and say they've tested positive for COVID-19.
It seems to be made all the more worse because of scenes like this.
There's a Republican congressman there, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, declining to wear a mask which is offered to him by Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester.
He can be heard saying on the tape, "I don't want to get political here." And adds, "She's a nice lady."
One congresswoman who tested positive tweeted this:
"Only hours after Trump incited a deadly assault on our Capitol, many Republicans still refuse to take the bare minimum COVID-19 precaution and simply wear a damn mask in a crowded room during a pandemic- creating a super spreader event on top of a domestic terrorist attack."
The ginned up doubts over the credibility of the election and the anti-maskers and the pandemic truthers all seem to be interconnected here. And dealing with a global pandemic is never easy. Dealing with one that has become so political seems almost seems impossible.
So as someone advising the incoming administration, how do you advise them to deal with these things? GOUNDER: I think we absolutely have to de-politicize and take the
level, the heat, out of the conversation as much as possible. I think it's really unfortunate that this happened.
We know what super spreader events look like; they're indoors, crowded with lots of people who are not wearing masks and it's especially likely you're going to see transmission of the virus when we know the rates of community transmission are so high right now.
[01:29:38]
So I don't know, to me this is just something you should do out of care and collegiality to your coworkers, in this case your fellow congressmen and senators. And I think we need to rise above the partisan politics and just be human and be Americans with one another again.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, that's a good point to finish on. Dr. Gounder, thank you. Good to see you.
Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, what role, if any, did Capitol police and off duty officers from around the country play in last week's insurrection? The very latest on the investigation when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
Well, current and former members of the U.S. military, as well as officers with Capitol police are among at least 170 open investigations after last week's insurrection in Washington.
With details, here's CNN's Alex Marquardt.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The violent insurrection at the Capitol has put law enforcement and the military in the spotlight, their failures, their victims, and potentially their participation. While some officers were violently beaten by the mob, crushed, even killed others moved aside as the attackers tried to break through a door. One Capitol Hill officer in a selfie with a rioter.
According to Congressman Tim Ryan, that officer and a different one, who appeared to direct some in the mob, have been suspended. A congressional aide tells CNN at least 17 others are under investigation.
But this video posted on the day of the insurrection highlights the difficulty of figuring out what, exactly, happened. A Capitol police officer is seen in a red "Make America Great Again" hat. It's unclear whether he is showing his allegiance or trying to avoid becoming a target from the mob. He asks for help getting fellow officers out of the building. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, but if you guys can help me -- (INAUDIBLE)
people?
MARQUARDT: Then, the man he is speaking to agrees, and appears to flash a badge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can -- I can help. I can help.
MARQUARDT: Also unclear whether that man, possibly a police officer, is a protester or undercover. Moments later, the two men helped this line of riot police leave the Capitol building.
Officers around the country are also being investigated.
ADRIAN DIAZ, SEATTLE WASHINGTON INTERIM POLICE CHIEF: If any SPD employee participated directly in assaulting the U.S. Capitol, I will terminate them.
MARQUARDT: So far, the activities of at least 14 police officers from Seattle to New York, are being looked into for possible roles in the insurrection. CNN has just learned that seven of them are transit police officers from Philadelphia.
[01:35:01]
MAYOR JIM KENNEY, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA: That is certainly a person's right to participate in a First Amendment activity, but it's not a right to attack the Capitol.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
KENNEY: So we'll see what -- we'll see what the investigation brings forth.
MARQUARDT: What experts have seen has them worried there may be larger numbers of well-trained, current or former law enforcement and military in the crowds.
JOHN SCOTT RAILTON, SENIOR RESEARCHER, THE CITIZEN LAB: What we are seeing again and again is men and some women with a military bearing, who are wearing the right gear, cheering it in the right ways. And this really concerns me.
MARQUARDT: The rioter who was shot and killed as she tried to climb through the broken pane of a door, Ashley Babbitt, was an Air Force veteran.
Larry brock, who is seen here, is a retired lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserves. He has now been charged. Before his arrest, he told "The New Yorker" magazine he assumed he was allowed into the building.
There are reports of others with military training.
REP. RUBEN GALLEGO (D-AZ): Once civilian, judicial system is done, the military judicial system should be involved. MARQUARDT (on camera): We asked the U.S. Capitol police about that
officer in the red "Make America Great Again" cap. They did not respond about him specifically, but they did give CNN a statement in which they said that they are actively reviewing videos and other materials of officers and officials who may be in violation of their department's policy.
They said that disciplinary action could include termination. And they note that several, and CNN has reported two, officers have been suspended.
So far, we know of no law enforcement here in D.C. Or across the country that has yet to be charged or arrested.
Alex Marquardt, CNN -- Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: The U.S. President is facing more than a second impeachment after inciting the riot on Capitol Hill. The Trump brand it seems has turned toxic. Several banks, including one of his biggest lenders, Deutsche Bank, will no longer do business with Trump and his company.
John Defterios is live in Dubai for more on this.
So let's just start though with the backlash that some of these tech companies are facing like Twitter which, you know, has banned or suspended Trump for life. Their shares are not doing so well.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Yes. They lost about $2.5 billion of market cap for taking that stand, John. But day by day, we see big tech, if you will, striking a blow to the outgoing president.
The latest that we've seen overnight is from YouTube, which because of a video that was posted citing hatred and violence, according to the company, is suspending the president for at least a week.
It has a three-strike policy so it could accelerate those plans, depending on what the Trump Organization plans to do, at least to social media people.
YouTube is part of a company owned by Google here. And Google took the Parler platform down. Apple did the same as you suggested what Twitter and Facebook's done. And this, of course, no doubt, sparked the ire of President Trump on a trip outside the White House, attacking big tech.
Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that big tech is doing a horrible thing for our country and to our country, and I believe it's going to be a catastrophic mistake for them. They are dividing and divisive, and they are showing something that I have been predicting for a long time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: This is something, of course, many blamed on the president for dividing the country. That's big tech and the president.
How about the finance? Deutsche Bank, which has been a major lender for the president and his commercial organization for years, saying it will no longer do new business. It has exposure of some $2.5 billion, $340 million of loans, John, due in 2023 and 2024.
And also his personal lender, Signature, a small bank in New York, is going to be shutting down the personal accounts and even took the steps saying that the president should resign.
So this is Silicon Valley on the West Coast and the banks on the East Coast striking at Donald Trump after the events just a week ago.
VAUSE: You know, when it turns, it really turns, doesn't it? John, thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
DEFTERIOS: Really turns.
VAUSE: Absolutely. Thanks, John. Appreciate it.
Also to come, officials in Tokyo determined to hold the already delayed Olympics later this year, but a growing number of people in Japan saying maybe it's just not a good idea.
[01:39:11]
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VAUSE: In the past 24 hours, Spain saw the deadliest day for COVID-19 since December 1st. New infections also surged on Tuesday. The government has now extended restrictions on travelers from the U.K. to try and stop the spread of that highly contagious variant.
The death toll also rising in Britain, reporting more than 1,200 fatalities also on Tuesday, making it the second deadliest day in the U.K. since the beginning of the pandemic.
More supermarkets there now say shoppers won't be allowed in without face coverings, with restaurants and bars and other retail outlets closed and more traffic in food stores.
A verdict is expected any moment in the trial of a religious leader at the center of South Korea's coronavirus outbreak. He's accused of hampering efforts to contact trace and investigate after his followers were suspected of spreading the virus last year.
Paula Hancocks is covering the case live for us from Seoul. What are the details here? What is he actually accused of? What's the charge?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we just had a verdict coming out from that Suwon court just south of Seoul. Lee Man-hee, who is the leader of this religious group Shincheonji, has actually been found guilty of some counts, not guilty on others. But he has been sentenced to three years suspended sentence, so very unlikely that he will spend any time in prison. He is an 89-year-old man, so presumably, that was taken into account as well.
And what he was found guilty of was obstruction of justice and embezzlement. Now this all goes back to almost a year ago now back in February and March of last year when the first wave of the coronavirus really exploded here in South Korea. Much of the blame on that was put by authorities on this religious group.
There was one particular patient, Patient 31, who is very well-known here in South Korea because that was really the turning point. That particular person was a member of this religious group and when positive went to some church services. And within two weeks, there were then 4,000 cases within the country.
Now, prosecutors and the judge agreed, in some cases have been saying that these members obstructed justice. That they weren't forthcoming in helping authorities trying to control this outbreak.
In fact, hundreds of police officers at the time had to be brought in to try and help with the contact tracing because prosecutors say that the leaders of this group had told their members to not admit to being members and to not give details.
So at the time, there was a lot of anger in the country, believing that this one particular religious group had really stonewalled authorities trying to contain this outbreak. And that is why this first wave was quite so ferocious and so quick here in South Korea.
So the leader of this group has been found guilty of obstruction of justice. He was found not guilty though, of violation of the anti virus laws.
But I've just in the past couple of minutes have a text message from a member of Shincheonji saying that they will appeal for those counts that he was found guilty on, John.
VAUSE: Paula, thank you. Paula Hancocks there, with the very latest. We appreciate it. Thank you.
Well, preparations for the Tokyo Olympics continue on in the midst of a state of emergency because of the pandemic. Many in Japan now saying the games actually should be postponed once again or maybe just canceled altogether.
CNN's Selina Wang is live for us in Tokyo. So, I guess it's understandable that they thought that they'd have this pandemic under control, you know, a lot sooner than now and clearly it's not.
SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, despite the situation we are seeing, the Japanese government still maintains that the games will go on as planned. That's despite Japan -- Tokyo being in a state of emergency. That's despite the government preparing to expand that state of emergency beyond Tokyo. That's also despite this dramatically waning public support.
[01:45:00]
WANG: According to the latest NHK (ph) poll, now 77 percent of people in Japan think that these games should be canceled or further postponed.
Now, just yesterday, I spoke to the longest-serving member of the International Olympic Committee, Dick Pound. And he told me that he is 75 percent confident that the games will go ahead, but that nothing is guaranteed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WANG: 10,000 competitors, millions of spectators, a record $15 billion bill under 200 days until the Olympic Games are set to open in Tokyo. The global event of the year for sports looms at the deadline on the Japanese calendar, a deadline to get the spiraling pandemic under control.
After initial success in keeping cases low by closing its borders and pushing citizens to socially distance, Japan's second wave has been vicious.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has announced another state of emergency as hospitals fill and cases grow in their thousands each day. A public health expert, Dr. Kenji Shibuya says it's too little, too late.
DR. KENJI SHIBUYA, JAPAN INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL HEALTH: The message from the government has been confusing. On our hand, they enclosed domestic huddle (ph) and eating out. On the other they asked the people to behave properly.
WANG: The government spent billions to encourage domestic tourism through the COVID-19 economic slump only temporarily halting the program in late December.
Now, over half the population oppose the games being held this year. According to a survey by national broadcaster NHK.
(on camera): Convincing people to get vaccinated in Japan is a challenge of its own. Vaccine skepticism is wide spread here driven by a history of vaccine safety scares and concerns about side effects.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I don't trust it, I will avoid getting vaccinated.
WANG (voice over): Despite the challenges, the prime minister and International Olympic Committee maintained the games will go ahead. But if they don't, officials say there will be no more delays. The summer games would simply be no more.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WANG: I asked Dick Pound if a further delay is really out of the question and he said there are no discussions being held about a further delay. He said it would be unrealistic because number one of the massive cost it would incur and also because a further delay would then conflict with other global sporting events already on the calendar.
Now in addition to this, he also said he thinks that athletes should be required to get vaccinated and the really big question now is how many spectators can come and how many international fans if any, will be allowed to arrive.
But he did make the point that for the vast majority of people around the world, they already experience the Olympics virtually, whether through TV or digitally. So for most of the world it won't make a difference, John.
VAUSE: Except there may be no cheering crowd in the stadiums -- it makes a little bit of a difference.
Selina, thank you. Selina Wang there in Tokyo.
Still to come, some Republican lawmakers are under scrutiny for riling up Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol. They are facing calls to be kicked out of Congress. Details when we come back.
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[01:49:53]
VAUSE: Ireland's Taoiseach is set to apologize in the coming hours for horrific abuse at so called "mother and baby" homes. It follows the release of a report detailing decades of mistreatment at these church- run institutions.
But as CNN's Nina Dos Santos reports, some survivors want more than an apology.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The shocking impact to the abuse and neglect in Ireland's island's mother and baby homes was laid bare with the release of a landmark report on Tuesday.
The document running nearly 3,000 pages long was the fruit of nearly six years worth of investigation. And it estimated that a least 9,000 children had perished in these institutions, homes run by the church where unmarried mothers were sent to give birth in the 76 years between 1922 and 1998. When the last of these facilities shut their doors.
The report from Ireland's Commission of Investigation into "mother and baby" homes, said that one in 7 or 15 percent of all children born in these facilities died. Well, above the national average and its author chillingly said that before 1960 in particular, mother and baby homes quote, "did not save the lives of illegitimate children. In fact, they appear to have significantly reduced their prospects of survival."
Many children died of malnutrition, infectious child hood diseases, or neglect and were buried in unmarked graves according to the report.
DOS SANTOS: The investigation was prompted after the discovery of hundreds of bodies at a mask grave at a former home in the hurt in 2017, just one year before Ireland finally legalized abortion.
56,000 women passed through the 18 homes examined, according to the findings and many never learned the fate of their children. Some of whom were also forcibly removed for adoption.
(on camera): The reports released the government says marks a crucial step in coming to terms with one of the darkest chapters in Ireland's recent history.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHEAL MARTIN, IRELAND'S TAOISEACH: It opens a window onto a deeply misogynistic culture in Ireland, over several decades with serious and systematic discrimination against women. We did this to our selves as a society.
We treated women exceptionally badly. We treated children exceptionally badly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOS SANTOS: For those women and their children finding each other remains a painfully difficult task thanks to Irelands church privacy rules. As recently as October, Irish lawmakers voted to seal the 30- years of records for mother baby homes. Since they soften their stance of Mother and Baby homes. And although they've since stuff on that stars, survivors say they face an uphill struggle to get access to their information especially to their birth certificates.
Nina Dos Santos, CNN, in London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has canceled a trip to Europe because no one wants to meet with him. He was snubbed by officials in Luxembourg. He's also scheduled to travel to Brussels and meet with a NATO Secretary General.
But state department sources say the troops was not turning out as planned given the criticism of President Trump over the Capitol siege. One official said, there's not a whole lot that the Secretary can do with the president being impeached and the world watching on in outright horror.
Well, a number of Republican lawmakers who spent months whipping up Trump supporters with incendiary language and lies about a stolen election are now facing calls for censure even expulsion from congress over those deadly Capitol Hill riots.
Details from CNN's Drew Griffin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The siege on the Capitol with a protests just like dozens of stop the steal rallies across the country since the election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 1776.
CROWDE: 1776
GRIFFIN: And one of the main organizers, extreme right-winger Ali Alexander who says he was getting help from three members of congress.
ALI ALEXANDER, PROTEST ORGANIZER: And I'm the guy who came up with the idea of January 6th, when I was talking with Congressman Gosar, Congressman Andy Biggs and Congressman Mo Brooks.
GRIFFIN: The plan according to Mr. Alexander? To march to the Capitol as a huge loud crowd to try to over turn a democratic election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was the build momentum and pressure and then on the day came heart and minds of congresspeople who, weren't yet decided or saw everyone outside and said I can't be on the other side size of that mob (ph) .
GRIFFIN: Who helped?
Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar has been working with Alexander since the election, firing up crowds with lies about the election results.
REP. PAUL GOSAR (R-AZ): Live free or die.
GRIFFIN: Gosar replied to or mentioned Ali in dozens of tweets including, "I'll be in D.C. with @ali and the rest of America." Adding, "We will fight back against the leftists who've engaged in sedition."
Another tweet, "On January 6th we fight for Trump."
On the morning of the siege, he would send followers this image stating, "Biden should concede. I want his concession on my desk tomorrow morning. Don't make me come over there."
He promptly went to Congress, stood up and opposed the certification of the electoral college results.
[01:55:00]
GOSAR: I rise for myself and 60 of my colleagues to object to the counting of the electoral ballots from Arizona.
GRIFFIN: The end of his speech interrupted by the very mob he helped stir up. Former Republican congressman Denver Riggleman has been warning about the impact of lies being fed to the public by America's own leaders.
DENVER RIGGLEMAN, FORMER Republican CONGRESSMAN: I think there is a mass of issue here with education and facts that these individuals don't have. This information is being pushed by people in positions of power.
GRIFFIN: Gosar's Arizona colleague, Andy Biggs was near Gosar on the house floor January 6th and met with President Trump along with others protesting election results, even provided a taped message to be played at one of the Arizona rallies.
REP. ANDY BIGGS (R-AZ): We are fighting for the freedoms that made this country great.
GRIFFIN: Biggs now strongly denies any involvement in the protests. His staff stating Biggs can't even recall meeting with Ali Alexander.
Mo Brooks is more direct.
REP. MO BROOKS (R-AL): Today is the day the American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass.
GRIFFIN: This is the Alabama congressman the morning of January 6 in Washington D.C., a few days later, he told an Alabama news service, "I make no apology for doing my absolute best to inspire patriotic Americans to not give up on our country and to fight back against anti-Christian socialists."
Former Congressman Charlie Dent says the actions of his former colleagues show it's time for a serious reckoning with the Republican Party.
CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: We have to rid ourselves of these radical elements. I would just recommend to every one of my Republican colleagues, sometimes you have to risk your job in order to save it.
Well this is the time.
GRIFFIN (on camera): CNN has learned that Democrats are discussing possibly censuring Republican colleagues who took part in this but it's just talk so far.
As for Ali Alexander, he is in hiding yet continues to raise funds -- a fund-raising page link to his stop the steal campaign has raised $184,000 all based on lies far exceeding his fund-raising goals. He vows to continue his campaign which means the danger continues.
Drew Griffin, CNN -- Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.
The news continues with my colleague and friend Rosemary Church after a short break. Thanks for watching.
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