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Trump First U.S. President in History to Be Impeached Twice; Ten Republicans Join Dems in Vote to Impeach Trump; WHO Investigators in Wuhan to Study Virus Origins; Investigators Pursuing Signs Capitol Riot Was Planned; Snapchat Permanently Bans Trump; Turkey Begins Rollout of China's Sinovac Vaccine; Poisoned Putin Critic Alexei Navalny Plans Return to Russia; Uganda Presidential Vote Underway after Violent Run-up. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired January 14, 2021 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, in a bipartisan rebuke, the U.S. House makes history by impeaching president Donald Trump for a second time.
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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I unequivocally condemn the violence that we saw last week.
CHURCH (voice-over): Under pressure, Trump releases a video condemning the insurrection on Capitol Hill. But investigators are concerned it won't stop more violent protests ahead of Inauguration Day.
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CHURCH: A World Health Organization team arrives at ground zero of the coronavirus pandemic to investigate the origins of the virus.
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CHURCH: Good to have you with us.
Donald Trump is now the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice, coming just one week before he leaves office and one week after the deadly riot at the Capitol.
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REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): The ayes are 232, the nays are 197. There is a -- resolution is adopted. Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.
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CHURCH: The House found him guilty of inciting insurrection during his rally speech last week. The riot led to the deaths of five people, including a Capitol police officer.
But wheels were a set in motion for this historic impeachment during that riot, lawmakers huddled in the House gallery, hoping that the president would call off the, mob but when he didn't, several representatives started making plans to impeach.
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REP. TERRI SEWELL (D-AL): Madam Speaker, I rise today to support impeachment. I do so with a heavy heart and a lasting and searing memory of being in this gallery, the people's House, right up there, fearing for my life.
And why?
Because the president of the United States incited others to be violent, a mob of insurgencies in this House. It's unacceptable. It led to the killing of five Americans. Blood is on this House.
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CHURCH: Ten Republicans broke ranks and joined the Democrats, it is the most impeachment votes a president has ever received from within his own party. But of course, the vast majority of Republicans voted against it, with some saying, it's time to end the division and bring the country together.
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REP. MADISON CAWTHORN (R-NC): Today is a moment for members of Congress to put aside partisan politicking and place people over power. I urge my colleagues to vote against this divisive impeachment and realize that dividing America will not save this republic.
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CHURCH: The trauma caused by the Capitol riot is still raw as the country prepares for Joe Biden to become president next Wednesday. Security in Washington is the highest it's been in years. More U.S. troops will be on Capitol Hill for Biden's inauguration than all of the troops currently deployed in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria combined.
The Pentagon says they will be armed. After Biden is sworn in, Donald Trump will face his second trial of the U.S. Senate for high crimes and misdemeanors. Manu Raju explains.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now after President Trump made history as the only president ever to be impeached twice this time on a bipartisan vote of 232 to 197 in the U.S. House. Now it goes on to the United States Senate, where Trump's fate is in
the hands of Republicans, who are weighing whether or not to convict him and whether or not to essentially prevent him ever from holding office again.
A big question mark going forward is Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, whether or not he will decide with Democrats to convict Donald Trump.
He privately has raised serious concerns about the president's conduct and inciting that deadly riot that came to the Capitol last week, that led to the death of five people, including one U.S. Capitol police officer.
He's also been privately frustrated that Trump's handling of the situation post-November 3rd, costing them the control of the U.S. Senate, by some of the things that he did. McConnell blames Trump for the losses of two key Senate races.
Nevertheless, all this is going to come to ahead in just a matter of days, when the Senate trial begins. Now the expectation is the trial will begin in the early days of the Biden presidency.
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RAJU: McConnell rejected the call by Democrats to move up the trial, to begin it before the Senate is later to return back into session.
But McConnell says the Senate is going to continue with its own schedule. January 19th is when the Senate is set to come back. That means that the trial most likely, almost certainly, will not get fully going until Joe Biden becomes president on January 20th.
Now also on January 20th, Democrats will formally assume control of the United State Senate.
The question will be, how do they pursue a trial, whether or not they bring witnesses in, whether or not they seek documents, how long the trial will last?
The House impeachment managers, the people who Nancy Pelosi, the House Speaker, have selected to actually prosecute this case, have begun to map out their strategies. They are debating whether or not to call in witnesses.
But doing that could extend the trial and Joe Biden wants to get going on his domestic agenda, fill his cabinet. So they are going to have to weigh how to deal with Biden's presidency, his ambitious agenda, moving forward with this prosecution of Donald Trump.
And of course, the big question, will they get those 17 Republicans to break ranks and convict Donald Trump after 10 Republicans in the House joined Democrats to impeach him? -- Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Several of the 10 Republicans who voted in favor of impeachment are explaining their decision. CNN spoke earlier with Congress man Peter Meijer of Michigan.
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REP. PETER MEIJER (R-MI): Unless we address this and tackle it head on, unless we make sure to send a resounding message that this is not acceptable, then we risk just papering over some of these divisions.
And the wounds will never truly heal unless we air them out, unless we fully understand what happened, and unless we send that signal that this is not something that can ever be acceptable from an American leader.
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CHURCH: And Illinois Republican Adam Kinzinger tweeted this, "It was a sobering moment to vote in support of impeachment today; to walk over to the U.S. Capitol, our symbol of democracy, and recall the violent insurrection we witnessed here just one week ago. This is not a vote I took lightly but a vote I took confidently. I'm at peace."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is telling Republicans that, for the next week they should focus on the transition of power instead of President Trump's impeachment. This means the Senate probably won't start a trial until after Joe Biden is inaugurated.
If so, Biden says, senators should follow through on impeachment while working on other issues on his agenda and he says, quote, "This nation also remains in the grip of a deadly virus and a reeling economy.
"I hope that the Senate leadership will find a way to deal with their constitutional responsibilities on impeachment while also working on the other urgent business of this nation."
Now normally we would have expected to hear reaction from President Trump via Twitter but with his account permanently suspended, he instead released a video statement from the White House.
In it, Mr. Trump made no mention of his second impeachment but called for calm amid new threats of violence and had these comments exactly one week after the attack at the U.S. capital.
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TRUMP: Like all of you, I was shocked and deeply saddened by the calamity at the Capitol last week. I want to thank the hundreds of millions of incredible American citizens, who have responded to this moment with calm, moderation and grace. We will get through this challenge, just like we always do.
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CHURCH: The president's words there, far different than those he's used since losing his bid for reelection and as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, we heard some of them echo his earlier messages. Take a listen.
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TRUMP: The Democrats are trying to steal the White House. You can not let them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't get to steal it from us.
TRUMP: We are bringing our country back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want our country back.
TRUMP: This is our country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is our house. This is our country. This is our country.
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CHURCH: Right now, the president is more isolated than ever before and we are learning that, behind the scenes, he's lashing out at nearly everyone, including some of his closest allies. Kaitlan Collins has the details from the White House.
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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was a remarkable day for Donald Trump's presidency as he became the first U.S. president to ever be impeached twice. Of course, he accomplished that in just one term in office, certainly not something the president was hoping to do during his final days in office.
But we are told that in the aftermath of that the president is angry, he is upset with several staffers, basically anyone left in his orbit. And he feels betrayed by the fact that he has been impeached a second time. And this time Republicans actually joined that effort, with 10 of them from the House voting to impeach the president.
And even for those who did not vote to impeach him, many more condemned him or criticized his behavior.
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COLLINS: As they were debating this article of impeachment on the House floor, including Kevin McCarthy, of course, someone who has been a close ally of the president.
And he said that the president does bear responsibility for inciting that pro-Trump mob to go up to the U.S. Capitol just a week before he was impeached.
And we are told that the president has been extremely angry with McCarthy ever since he left the option of censuring Trump on the table to Republicans earlier this week. Now the president is only more angry with Kevin McCarthy, given what he said on the House floor. But that's not the only person that the president is focusing his frustration on. The other is Rudy Giuliani, his attorney, who he has told staff to stop paying his legal fees; though, we should note that people said they weren't clear if the president was serious about those instructions. But it's just a small microcosm of all the people that the president has been lashing out at in recent days, including his vice president still.
As you are seeing the president increasingly isolated as he is in his last seven days in office, of course, now is facing a Senate trial as well. That may happen once he's out of office -- Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.
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CHURCH: So let's break it all down with our panel, joining me now is "The New York Times" political editor Patrick Healy and CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti.
Great to see you both.
So Patrick, let's start with you. Ten Republicans joined the Democrats and voted to impeach the president for an historic second time representing the most bipartisan impeachment vote in U.S. history. But other Republicans did not have the courage to do that, despite some being outraged by Trump's actions.
What does all of that signal to you?
PATRICK HEALY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: That's exactly right, Rosemary. Those 10 Republicans, while a relatively small number, is so significant after four years of a Republican Party that has been in total lockstep with Donald Trump and really afraid of payback from Donald Trump.
So even the fact that 10 would break from him is significant. What we know from our reporting is that a good number more Republicans were so deeply troubled by President Trump's incitement and inspiration for the mob attack on the Capitol.
But a lot of these Republicans are, frankly, trying to hold their party together right now. And they know that President Trump won 74 million votes in November and that to turn on him in the final days after his voters feel the news media is against him, Twitter is against him, that if more Republicans start to vote against him, it would really break the party. The party is still at risk of splintering but it would be such a break.
CHURCH: Yes, still a lot of fear reigning over the Republican Party.
Renato, in a video message on Wednesday evening, President Trump condemned the violence and called for calm. But he didn't admit he lied about the election outcome that incited the siege. So those lies are still out there, uncontested, with so many supporters still believing them.
How might Trump's latest message impact the Senate impeachment trial, do you think?
RENATO MARIOTTI, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think it's clear he's trying to sway jurors and that message reportedly, I think "The New York Times" reported, that Pat Cipollone, the White House counsel, was involved in drafting it. And that makes sense.
He's got to convince senators that he is going to be a good citizen for the short term, at the very least and that they can count on him to fade off into the night and not to create more problems, at least in the next several days as president.
But I have to say, as you point out, he did not acknowledge there is going to be a transition of power to Vice President and now President- Elect Biden.
He did not condemn the attempts to overturn the election or suggest that that was mistaken in any way. And a lot of his supporters online still believe that, somehow, he is going to become president.
CHURCH: Yes and, of course, there are still some Republicans that keep perpetuating those lies.
Patrick, Donald Trump will be tried in the U.S. Senate after Joe Biden takes office. And while the current majority leader Mitch McConnell says he hasn't yet made a final decision on how he will vote, he has made it known he thinks Trump should be impeached.
What impact might that have on the Senate trial and convincing other Republicans to get on board with a vote?
HEALY: If McConnell came out in favor of conviction, that would be incredibly significant, Rosemary. And it is telling that he is not taking a stand.
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HEALY: Normally, he would have said from the get-go, I don't even need to hear the evidence, I am standing with my party's president. But in this, case he's keeping his powder dry.
What we are going to see probably is 3 to 4 Republicans who will say early on that they are leaning towards conviction or they will vote for conviction. These would be Mitt Romney, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Pat Toomey.
If McConnell comes forward and says he would support conviction that I think that would lead to a sizeable -- we don't know how many -- but a sizable number of Republicans who would join in that vote.
I think it's partly to make that historic, first ever declaration of president convicted in the Senate, that his comments inciting the mob were impeachable offenses. It would also be to pave the way for the Senate to vote for a simple majority to bar President Trump from ever running for public office again, which is something that Mitch McConnell and other Republicans would like to see, to see this president never run for office again. CHURCH: Yes, indeed, they might not say it out, loud but that's how
many of them feel.
And Renato, many are asking him if inciting an insurrection on his own government doesn't constitute a reason to impeach, then what does?
If Senate Republicans fail to do this, will they pay dearly for being on the wrong side of history?
MARIOTTI: I do think the precedent it would set is very dangerous, because this was an attack on their own branch of government. Remember, you literally had Donald Trump encouraging and lending a -- suggesting a path to the Capitol to a mob that ultimately attacked the legislative branch of government entirely.
So it's a very dangerous precedent for them to set. I suspect, at least what we are seeing, now is a number of Republicans using legalistic arguments to set aside the issue. We've seen Tom Cotton suggest the president can't be convicted after he leaves office, things like that. Trying to find technicalities.
But on its, face it's the sort of conduct that the framers intended to capture within the impeachment process.
CHURCH: Patrick, where does all of this leave the Republican Party?
We know polls show a majority of Americans want to see Trump removed or impeached for his actions. But other polls reveal most Republicans are fine with what he did last week.
HEALY: It's a really important point, Rosemary most Republicans are fine with, it and this base of the party again, 74 million votes is still Trump base. It's not Mitch McConnell's party, it's not Tom Cotton's party. This is still very much Donald Trump's party.
So it really leaves a president leaving office in disgrace but with significant influence over Republican voters and the potential for being seen, I think falsely, by many of those voters as a martyr, as someone who Twitter and social media and now Congress, for a second time, have moved against.
I think you would see a president coming out of power, looking for retribution, certainly against any Republican who moved against him in the 2022 elections.
CHURCH: Good point. Patrick Healy and Renato Mariotti, many thanks to both of you.
Much needed relief is coming to Turkey as the country gives emergency use approval to China's Sinovac vaccine. A live report coming up from Istanbul with a look at how the country plans to distribute and administer the vaccine.
And details on why the World Health Organization has just sent a team of investigators to Wuhan, China.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.
With the coronavirus killing and infecting more Americans more quickly than ever before, since January 1st, in less than 2 weeks, the U.S. has recorded over 3 million new infections.
Last, year it took more than 5 months to reach that same milestone, the new surge brings the overall U.S. tally to upwards of 23 million with the death toll approaching 385,000. As it stands the five deadliest days of the pandemic in the U.S. have all occurred this year.
Meantime, investigators from the World Health Organization are in Wuhan, China, to help scientists look into the origins of the coronavirus. The visit comes as China reports its first COVID related death in almost 8 months. New daily cases are at their highest level since July. CNN's Paula Hancocks is following these developments, she joins us now live from Seoul.
Good to see you, Paula. What can this team of investigators achieve, given the initial infections were more than a year ago and how much access and cooperation will they likely receive from Chinese authorities?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, the key from the WHO side is that they want to find out first and foremost how that leap happened from animal to human. So what they have done now is, as you say, arrived in China.
They have, according to state media, CGTN, had throat swabs, they've had serum antibody tests at the airports and we have seen them being taken away by officials in full PPE. They will have to go through quarantine requirements, 14 days in quarantine, before they can get to where they want to get to.
But we have been hearing from the spokesperson in particular that they are hopeful to shed light on what's happened.
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MARGARET HARRIS, WHO SPOKESPERSON: Now having said that, our scientists are equipped, better equipped, super smart, really good at what they do. So they are in a place where we can understand, we can learn more quickly.
And we've got this fantastic global collaboration and cooperation, which also hasn't happened before. So our chances of understanding more are ever greater, especially because we've got everyone working together. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: One of the virologists who spoke to CNN also said they had had guarantees that nothing would be off limits and they would be working with their Chinese counterparts to try and join some of the dots up there, make some connection.
But this has been a long time coming. There have been negotiations behind the scenes for some time. Just a week ago there was expected to be this visit by the WHO officials and at the last minute that was blocked by China, which led to a rare rebuke from the WHO, the director general, at that point, saying that he had spoken to senior Chinese officials, saying this was of the utmost importance.
And well over 100 countries in May of last year signed on to this pledge that there would be this independent investigation, this independent probe into what happened and how this originated, this COVID-19. That's why the WHO agreed to it.
From China's point of view, they say they have been open, they've been transparent, giving all the cooperation needed.
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HANCOCKS: It's not certain what we will see, once these officials get out of quarantine and how many updates we will actually have -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: Absolutely. We need to know the origins of this, so we can stop it ever happening again. Paula Hancocks, bringing you the latest there from Seoul. Many thanks.
Hardhit Turkey is launching its widespread vaccination plan. Health officials have granted emergency use authorization for China's Sinovac vaccine. Turkey's health minister received his first dose, live on television, shortly after the announcement. He says the vaccine will now be distributed across all 81 provinces.
We are going to move on. We were going to have a live report there. We will hopefully bring that to you a little later.
Let's move on. Human Rights Watch accuses Brazil's president of sabotaging efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19. It cites multiple attempts by Jair Bolsonaro to spread misinformation about the pandemic and strip states of their authority to impose travel restrictions.
He infamously referred to the coronavirus as "a little flu" last year and has downplayed its significance, even after contracting it himself. So far no comment from the president's office.
Time for a short break now. Just ahead, why investigators say the Capitol siege was not just a protest that spiraled out of control.
Plus Donald Trump is lashing out at Big Tech as more businesses break ties and social media platforms ban his accounts.
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TRUMP: I think Big Tech has made a terrible mistake and very, very bad for our country and that's leading others to do the same thing. There's always a counter move, when they do that. I've never seen such anger.
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PELOSI: They were sent here, sent here by the president, with words such as a cry to "fight like hell."
Words matter. Truth matters. Accountability matters.
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CHURCH: U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking ahead of Wednesday's historic second impeachment of President Trump. The president only has one more week in office. Even, so 10 Republicans joined with Democrats to impeach him for incitement of insurrection, following the deadly riot in the Capitol one week ago.
Here are some of the highlights of Wednesday's debate, both for and against impeachment.
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CHERYL JOHNSON, HOUSE CLERK: House Resolution 24 resolves that Donald John Trump, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors.
PELOSI: We know that the president of the United States incited this insurrection, this armed rebellion against our common country. He must go. He is a clear and present danger to the nation that we all love.
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): In seven days, there will be a peaceful transfer of power, just like there has been every other time in our country. But Democrats are going to impeach President Trump again.
This doesn't unite the country. There is no way this helps the nation deal with the tragic and terrible events of last week that we all condemn.
REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): President Trump has made clear in word and deed that he will persist in such conduct if he is not removed from power. He poses a continuing threat to our nation, to the integrity of our elections and to our democratic order. He must not remain in power one moment longer, not one moment longer.
The danger is too great. We must impeach.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), MINORITY LEADER: Most Americans want neither inaction nor retribution. They want durable, bipartisan justice. That path is still available but it is not the path we are on today.
That doesn't mean the president is free from fault. The president bears responsibility for Wednesday's attack on Congress by mob rioters.
REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): The Left in America has incited far more political violence than the Right. For months, our cities burned, police stations burned, our businesses were shattered, and they said nothing or they cheer-led for it and fund-raised for it and they allowed it to happen in the greatest country in the world.
Now some have cited -- some have cited the metaphor that the president lit the flame. Well, they lit actual flames, actual fires and we --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There will be order in the House.
REP. CORI BUSH (D-MO): The 117th Congress must understand that we have a mandate to legislate in defense of Black lives. The first step in that process is to root out white supremacy starting with impeaching, the white supremacist in chief. Thank you and I yield back.
REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): Emotions are still high. But in this moment, we need to be focused on toning down the rhetoric and helping heal this nation as we move towards a peaceful transition of power to President-Elect Joe Biden next week.
REP. STENY HOYER (D-MD.): Soon the clerk will call the roll and ask for our votes. Make no mistake, this will be no ordinary roll call. This is about our country, our Constitution and our democracy.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): On this vote, the ayes are 232. The nays are 197. The resolution is adopted. Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.
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CHURCH: President Trump's impeachment comes days before the next administration takes over. And when Joe Biden is inaugurated next week, security at the Capitol will be tight.
Several states in Washington, D.C., are providing National Guard troops to secure the event. Some 20,000 Guardsmen are expected to be in Washington. That's more than three times the number of U.S. troops currently in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria combined. The insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is likely to motivate follow-up
attacks from extremists throughout 2021 as thought. And that is the assessment from U.S. intelligence officials in a new bulletin obtained by CNN.
They say the extremists feel emboldened by the attack and, quote, "Chatter is off the charts" right now. We learned the siege was most likely not just a protest that got out of hand but was planned in advance. Listen to how some of the insurrectionists were communicating with one another as they penetrated the building.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, guys, I've been in the other room, listen to me. In the other room on the other side of this door, right here where these feet are standing, there is a glass that, if somebody -- and if it's broken. You can drop down into a room underneath it.
There's also two doors --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Open this, like this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- in the other room, one in the rear and one to the right when you go in. So people should probably coordinate together if you're going to take this building. (INAUDIBLE). We got another window to break to make in and out easy. And this window here (INAUDIBLE) needs to be broken.
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CHURCH: Stunning there. And we get more now from CNN's Evan Perez.
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EVAN PEREZ, CNN SR. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Investigators have discovered evidence that suggest there was a lot more planning behind the U.S. Capitol attack than first thought. That evidence includes weapons and tactic seen on surveillance video that increasingly portrays a level of planning that makes clear that the attack was not just a protest that spiraled out of control.
For instance, the FBI is looking at indications that some participates at the Trump rally at the ellipse outside the White House left the event early, perhaps to retrieve items to be used on the assault on the capitol.
There's still a lot to uncover, and there are no conclusions yet. But investigators and prosecutors are looking at traveling and communication records to determine if they can build a case that is similar to a counter-terrorism investigation. Presence of corruption and counter-terrorism prosecutors and agents is in part because of their expertise and financial investigations. One official tells CNN, "We are following the money" -- Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.
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CHURCH: And Steve Moore is a CNN law enforcement contributor and former FBI supervisory special agent. He joins me now from Los Angeles.
Good to have you with us.
STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Good to be here, Rosemary. Thank you.
CHURCH: So we are learning that the storming of the Capitol last week was carefully planned and coordinated.
Do you believe they had inside help to pull off this siege?
MOORE: I would be surprised if they had preplanned inside help. But it appears, in certain circumstances, that they did not have a lot of opposition. This is not to say that all the Capitol police officers were not opposing them, far from it. But there could been some who were sympathetic.
CHURCH: How worried are you that some of those insiders, if there were some, might still be embedded in security operations and offer a risk for Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20th, given we know protests are being planned, not only in D.C. but all around the country?
MOORE: I think what you have to do is due diligence. The problem, Rosemary, is you have limitations on what you can do.
Simply because a person might even show sympathy online for the actions, which would be sad to say the least, that's not criminal in nature. However, because of their role, they might be sequestered from the inauguration procedures and security planning.
CHURCH: And how concerned are you that Trump's far-right supporters will continue to pose a threat to this country in the months or years ahead?
And what could be done about that, anything?
MOORE: The FBI is very good at this type of deep investigation into national groups. I worked on -- against militias and white supremacists' organizations for a long time. We know -- or they know how to do this and they're going to have to change directions on the fly because this appears to be a much bigger threat than they had perceived before.
And whether or not this is going to go on, yes, I do believe that there are going to be some disruptions. I would be very surprised if it went to the point of large, violent outbursts. But there will be protests that could be dangerous in that they might be armed. And when both sides are armed, anything can happen.
CHURCH: Very quickly, you feel confident with 20,000 or so National Guard troops in D.C. that everything will run smoothly? MOORE: Yes, I believe everything is going to run smoothly. Maybe other places in the country, not so much. But the inauguration, I believe, is going to be safe.
CHURCH: All right, good to hear. Steve Moore, many thanks for your analysis, I appreciate it.
MOORE: Thank you.
CHURCH: President Donald Trump is losing another outlet on social media. Snapchat says it is permanently banning the president from their site. Last week it suspended his account indefinitely. The company says it has since decided to terminate the president's account in the interest of public safety.
Snapchat is the latest social media platform to suspend or permanently ban the president following the riot at the U.S. Capitol.
And CNN's John Defterios joins me now, live from Dubai.
Always good to see you, John. So U.S. social media companies are shutting accounts and businesses ending contracts and breaking with Donald Trump.
What could this mean for him, financially, and him trying to get his message out?
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JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Rosemary, the news is tightening every single day on two strategic fronts, I would add here, on social media and also conducting business in his original home market of New York City where he built that reputation.
Snapchat is the latest -- it's not popular with his, base but clearly popular with Millennials and many who support the MAGA cause. So it's a definite decision here, definitive in terms of future plans on that platform.
The CEO of Twitter was interesting; Jack Dorsey went out of the way on that platform to explain why they banned Donald Trump, mainly because they have real concerns about national security that you were talking, about and for the security of the Twitter staff both online and personally themselves, getting a lot of abuse and a lot of threats against the Twitter staff, including Dorsey.
On the business, front New York City says it will no longer work with the Trump Organization whatsoever. And a very well-known developer, real estate manager, Cushman and Wakefield in New York said it will do the same.
Extraordinary. And this follows the conversation that we had yesterday, Rosemary, with Deutsche Bank, with $2.5 billion of exposure to the Trump Organization and Signature Bank, which has the personal accounts of Donald Trump, saying he should resign.
So literally every single day we see some major actions on those two fronts.
CHURCH: It is interesting; while that's happening, at least one international company appears more willing and eager to do business with Trump.
So how much will that help him balance some of those losses?
And will it encourage other international companies to get on board?
DEFTERIOS: That's a multi billion dollar question, Rosemary. Let's dig into the Dubai developer, where I am today, who decided to back Donald Trump. I reached out to the chairman, Hussain Sajwani, who is a close friend of Donald Trump to try to get an interview. They said we don't want to talk on the record.
But they provided a statement shortly thereafter and the statement that backs Trump wholeheartedly here, they have one golf course that's been completed and, remember, when the Trump Organization, or Donald Trump, rather, put out the Muslim travel ban, his administration, and Sajwani stood by the president, saying it was not a racist decision and he wants to continue to do business.
And this time around, they say we stand by our man, we have a great relationship with the Trump Organization and, as the former president, he's not restricted to do more business.
It's interesting to see, to your point, he has operations in Turkey; I followed Donald Jr. in India. They have operations in four cities there. Indonesia, the largest Muslim market in the world, they, too, stand by Donald Trump.
That's a huge question mark after having the second impeachment put forward and the contrast to me, which I thought was fascinating, you had the business roundtable, an organization follow-on in Washington, which is the premier group of CEOs putting out a statement, we believe the president's behavior deserves the strongest condemnation.
They say they don't want to get involved in politics but they wanted to make their feelings extremely well known. Look at the contrast between what's happening overseas and back in the U.S.
CHURCH: Exactly right. John Defterios, many thanks, joining us live from Dubai.
I want to go back to Turkey now, where it's launching a widespread vaccination plan. That's where our Arwa Damon is joining us live. She's outside a hospital in Istanbul where the vaccine being administered.
Arwa, administering these vaccines en masse has proved to be a major challenge for most countries, including the United States.
How is it working in Turkey?
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, the big difference here -- because in Turkey, they are using China's Sinovac vaccine. And that does not require the same extreme cold temperatures for its storage.
And Turkey says that it does have its own cold chain facilities, plenty of them, to be able to store this and that it is using its already well-established plan for vaccinations to begin this rollout.
Now it is beginning as to be expected with health care workers. This is one of the hospitals where that is taking place. Turkey received its initial order for 3 million vaccinations but it has ordered tens of millions of them.
And here is where the issue lies, not necessarily with how the vaccine is going to get logistically moved one way or another but how effective it actually is.
Now Turkey did end up releasing the findings of its phase II trial, saying that the Sinovac vaccine, again, according to Turkey's findings, was about 91.25 percent effective. That sounds great. But questions are beginning to arise, because Indonesia, also conducting its own trial.
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DAMON: Releasing numbers that put its efficacy at about 70 percent. Brazil's findings for this very same vaccination dropped efficacy down to 50 percent.
So there is a lot of confusion surrounding all of this. And we don't know exactly what the various different parameters for these different trials were. But bottom line is, at least for Turkey right now, vaccinations have begun. And for many, they will say that it is hopefully the beginning of the end but it could still be a long, journey -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: Indeed. But it is a start. Arwa Damon, joining us live from Istanbul, many thanks.
A Russian opposition politician, who was poisoned and spent months recovering in Germany, says he's going home on Sunday.
What could be awaiting Alexei Navalny once he lands in Russia?
A report from Moscow after the short break. Stay with us.
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CHURCH: Five months after he was poisoned and rushed to a German hospital, Alexei Navalny says he is going back home. The Russian opposition leader and Vladimir Putin critic announced on social media that he has bought a plane ticket and will fly back to Russia on Sunday.
Navalny has been recovering in Berlin from the nearly fatal poisoning. The Kremlin has denied any involvement. But CNN learned that Russian government agents, who specialized in nerve agents, had been tailing Navalny for years. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is following the story for us from Moscow. He joins us now.
Good to see you, Fred.
What's been the reaction so far to Navalny's plan to return home and what awaits him when he gets there?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So far, there's been very little reaction here, especially from official Russian. There have been a few backbench politicians who've said something, a couple of op-eds in Russian media.
But nothing from the Kremlin. We asked the Kremlin whether or not they have any sort of comment on this. So far no answer at all. From official Russia there hasn't been much in the way of any reaction.
That's not really surprising, Rosemary, because Vladimir Putin doesn't speak very much about Alexei Navalny. During his yearend very long press conference in December, he didn't even say his name. That's something that has a tradition with Putin as well, he calls them the patient in Berlin.
Basically, they try to keep him out of public life or even keep talk about him out of public life to a certain degree. As far as him coming back, it does pose certain risks for him.
It was quite interesting, because when there was talk of him possibly coming back in the past, we did ask the Kremlin about this, that in the past -- and the spokesman for Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, came out and said, of course, Alexei Navalny can return to Russia at any point in time because he is a Russian citizen.
No one can prevent him from doing that.
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PLEITGEN: But Peskov also said that he believes authorities in Russia, as he put, it are simply doing their job. We have to keep in mind, Rosemary, there are some criminal cases against Navalny, against organizations that he's the head of and is a part of as well.
There is one fraud case in particular, where, in the past, he was sentenced to a suspended jail sentence and the authorities are currently in the process of turning that into or try to turn it into a real jail sentence.
Therefore, there certainly is the threat and possibility that he could be arrested when he arrives here in Moscow. He will do that on Sunday. It's going to be very interesting to see how the authorities here in Russia or Moscow are going to handle that.
As you mentioned, he has so far said he has bought a ticket on a specific airline, everyone knows which one he's flying into, they know which time he's going to arrive and they know what airport he's going to arrive at as well.
And Navalny has also called all of his supporters to show up at the airport. Certainly Sunday, when that happens, it is going to be a very interesting day here in Moscow -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: We will keep a close eye on all of this. Many thanks to our Fred Pleitgen bringing us updates from Moscow.
South Korea's Supreme Court has made a final ruling in a corruption scandal that has gripped the nation for years. The judges upheld a 20- year prison sentence for former president Park Geun-hye. She was convicted in 2018 of bribery involving the country's major conglomerates, including Samsung.
Prosecutors had appealed a ruling in July that reduced her sentence. But just a few hours, ago the top court dismissed the appeal.
Now Ugandans are picking their next president.
But if their long time leader loses, will he accept defeat?
We will look at the contentious run-up to today's vote.
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CHURCH: Voters in Uganda are choosing their next president after an election cycle that's been especially violent and now an internet outage ordered by the government. Ten candidates are challenging the incumbent president, Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power for more than three decades.
He's told CNN he will accept the results if he loses. But the main opposition candidate Bobi Wine says the election is not and never was free and fair. Wine has been arrested and accuses the army of raiding his home this week. David McKenzie is covering the vote live from Johannesburg. He joins us now.
David, what is the latest on this?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right now it appears to be peaceful. But it's in the context of security that in the recent days had been put on the streets, including armored personnel carriers in what seems like an attempt by the government to maintain security.
But also the opposition saying it was really to intimidate their supporters. As you mentioned, Bobi Wine, the opposition candidate, has been arrested multiple times before this election in November, when he was arrested under the guise of COVID regulations, more than 50 people were killed in a security crackdown.
Museveni has been accused of clinging onto power, though he has been democratically elected in somewhat spurious elections last time. [02:55:00]
MCKENZIE: But the leader of Uganda is older than most of the population. In fact, he's been in power longer than most of the population has been alive and has changed the constitution twice to allow him to continue to serve as Uganda's president.
So while he told CNN he is willing to step down, many observers feel that isn't necessarily the case. You've had the internet shut down prior to that; Facebook and other social media was shut down, inhibiting the opposition from organizing and people from communicating any perceived issues with the vote.
And major western powers like the U.S. has withdrawn their observation missions in Uganda. So a lot of people are watching this extremely closely and worried about violence and also whether this will be a test of a free election, which many observers, at least I've spoken to, despite Museveni's assurances, say that it well may not be.
CHURCH: You say monitors from the U.S. have been withdrawn.
What about other monitors?
Who is watching this?
MCKENZIE: It's difficult to have a clear understanding from observers, given that internet shutdown. A number of key donor countries and regions like the E.U. have criticized Uganda for cracking down on the democratic process.
Bobi Wine has been arrested multiple times. And he's not the only one. As you mentioned, there are 10 opposition candidates vying for the presidency. Several of them have also been harassed and arrested.
So while Museveni has this kind of folksy demeanor, the security forces have really cracked down on those trying to challenge him in power.
CHURCH: David McKenzie, joining us from Johannesburg, bringing us the very latest, I appreciate it.
The United Kingdom's space agency and engine maker Rolls-Royce has signed a deal to develop nuclear powered spacecraft. British science minister Amanda Solloway says the technology could propel astronauts into space faster.
The U.K. space agency says nuclear powered spaceships could make it to Mars in as little as three months, half the time of a chemically propelled craft.
That does it for me this hour. This is CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Rosemary Church, I'll be back with more news in just a moment. Stick around.
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