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President-Elect Joe Biden Announces Appointees To President's Council Of Advisors On Science And Technology; Security Increased In Washington, D.C. Due To Threats Surrounding Inauguration Of President- Elect Biden; State Capitals Across U.S. Prepare For Possible Violence On Inauguration Day; FOX News Owner Rupert Murdoch's Son, James Murdoch Criticizes Media Outlets For Allowing Perpetuation Of Lies Leading To Violence; U.S. Allies Across Globe Express Concern For Violence At Capitol. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired January 16, 2021 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: And the application of his pioneering work are poised to lead to incredible cures and breakthroughs in the years to come. Dr. Lander now serves as the president and founding director of the Broad Institute at MIT at Harvard, the world's foremost nonprofit genetic research organization. And I came to appreciate Dr. Lander's extraordinary mind when he served as co-chair of the president's council on advisers in science and technology during the Obama-Biden administration. And I'm grateful, I'm grateful we can work together again.

I've always said that the Biden-Harris administration is also going to lead, and we're going to lead with science and truth. We believe in both.

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: This is how we're going to, God willing, overcome the pandemic and build our country back better than it was before. And that's why for the first time in history, I'm going to be elevating the Presidential Science Adviser to a cabinet rank, because we think it's that important.

As Deputy Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and Science and Society, I appoint Dr. Nelson. She's a professor at the Institute of Advanced Studies at Princeton University, president of Social Science Research Council, and one of America's leading scholars and award-winning author and researcher, exploring the connections between science and our society.

The daughter of a military family, her dad served in the United States Navy and her mom was an army cryptographer. Dr. Nelson developed a love for technology at a very young age, tinkering with the early computing products and code breaking equipment that ever kid has around their house and she grew up with in her home.

(LAUGHTER) BIDEN: When I wrote that down, I thought to myself, how many kids -- anyway. That passion, it was a passion, forged a lifelong curiosity about the inequities and the power dynamics that sit beneath the surface of scientific research and the technologies we built. Dr. Nelson has focused on those insights into science and technology and society, like few before ever have in American history, breaking new ground in our understanding of the role science plays in American life and opening the door to a future which science better serves all peoples.

As co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, I appoint Dr. Francis Arnold, director of the Rosen Bioengineering Center at Caltech, one of the world's leading experts on protein engineering. A lifelong champion of renewable energy solutions who has been inducted into the National Inventors' Hall of Fame. That ain't a bad place to be. Not only is she the first woman to be elected to all three national academies of science, medicine, and engineering, she's also the first woman, American woman, to win a Nobel Prize in chemistry.

A very slow learner, slow starter, she's a daughter of Pittsburgh. She worked as a cabdriver, a jazz club server, before making her way to Princeton and Berkeley and a career on the leading edge of human discovery. And I want to make that point again. If any of your children are watching, let them know. You can do anything. This country can do anything, anything at all.

And so she survived breast cancer, overcame tragic losses in her family while rising to the top of her field still overwhelmingly dominated by men. Her passion has been a steadfast commitment to renewable energy for the betterment of our planet and humankind. She is an inspiring figure to scientists across the field and across nations. And I want to thank Dr. Arnold for agreeing to co-chair the first all-woman team to lead the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Which leads me to the next member of the team. As co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, I appoint Dr. Maria Zuber, a trailblazing geophysicist and planetary scientist, a former chair of the National Science Board, the first woman to lead the science department at MIT, and the first woman to lead NASA's robotic planetary mission. Growing up in coal country, not far from heaven, Scranton, Pennsylvania, in Carbon County in Pennsylvania, about 50 miles south of where I was as a kid, she dreamed of exploring outer space.

[14:05:05]

I could have told her she could just go to Green Ridge in Scranton and she's would find where it was. I shouldn't be so flippant, but I'm so excited about these folks. Reading every book she could find and listening to her mom's stories about watching the earliest rocket launch on television, Maria became the first person in her family to go to college and never let go of her dream.

Today, she oversees the Lincoln Laboratory at MIT, and leads the institution's climate action plan. She's played a leadership role in ten NASA missions. Her groundbreaking work on planetary mapping has generated some of the most accurate topographical maps humanity has ever produced of the moon and of Mars. Not only is she an explorer of outer space, she's one of the most accomplished explorers in generations. And I'm truly honored that she's agreed to answer this call to service to help us chart new courses of discovery.

And finally, he could not be here today, but I'm pleased to announce I've had a long conversation with Dr. Collins, Francis Collins, could not be here today. I've asked him to stay on as director of Institute of Health at this critical moment. I've known Dr. Collins for many years, I worked with him closely.

He's a brilliant pioneer, a true leader, and above all, he's a model of public servant, and I'm honored to be working with him again. And in his absence, I want to thank him again for being willing to stay on. I know that wasn't his original plan, but we worked an awful lot on the moonshot and dealing with cancer, and I just want to thank him again.

And to each of you and your families, and I say your families, thank you for the willingness to serve -- not that you haven't been serving already, but to serve in the administration. And the American people, to all the American people, this is a team that's going to help restore your faith in America's place in the frontier of science and discovery and hope.

I'm now going to turn this over, starting with Dr. Lander, to hear from each of our nominees. And then we'll hear from the vice president. But again, I just can't thank you all enough, I really mean it. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being willing to do this. Doc, it's all yours. I better put my mask on or I'm going to get in trouble.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right, you're listening to President-elect Joe Biden there, saying that with this new science team, people that he's putting in place, he says he believes that they can make more progress in 10 years than has been made in 50 years. And among those he says he is elevating the science adviser to a cabinet position, and among the scientists that he has named, he's got a Nobel Peace prize winner and an outer space explorer hailing from MIT. We'll keep close tabs on the announcements there.

So in just four days, President-Elect Biden will take the oath of office in Washington, D.C., were right now we're seeing unprecedented security following last week's riot at the Capitol. Across the country, the pictures are very similar in other capitols where security is being stepped up amid new threats of violent protests in the days leading up to and possibly on inauguration day.

We have reporters across the country covering the preparations ahead of those potential new threats. Let's go first now to the nation's capital where the Pentagon has authorized the mobilization of an additional 5,000 National Guard troops to secure Joe Biden's inauguration. And that means 25,000 troops will be on hand for the ceremony. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is tracking the security measures. And Shimon, why the decision to bring in more troops, and what now is also being learned about people who are suspected of this insurrection?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Yes, so the threat continues to evolve. And I wouldn't say that it necessarily grows, but certainly officials from the FBI to the Secret Service are very concerned, and we've been hearing about this for days, about the chatter over social media and other places about people wanting to come here and disrupt the inauguration, the peaceful transfer of power.

So the military and law enforcement are not taking any chances, increasing security. We're now talking about bridges, roads with access into D.C. being shut down. So they need extra military and extra law enforcement to do that.

I want to show you what's going on around here. We're just about a block or so from the capital. And there is actually more fencing going up. We have been seeing so much fencing around Washington, D.C., almost at every site, every high-profile site, from the monuments to government buildings, this type of fencing going up everywhere.

[14:10:09]

And this morning and this afternoon they have continued doing this. Then I want to show you on the other side here, there are military vehicles, just over my left shoulder here, Jerry (ph) over here is going to show you, there are military vehicles. These are the National Guard buses that are passing through here now.

Almost daily, we have seen more and more National Guard troops arriving. So these military vehicles are set up at many of the checkpoints, many of the roads here in downtown D.C., and the National Guard troops are all over D.C., blocking a lot of the roads.

And one of the concerns that I've been told is over vehicles, and actually perhaps someone trying to either store IEDs or bombs inside vehicles. We've seen that, where police arrested an individual on January 6th with those 11 Molotov cocktails that were stored in a pickup truck. That is something that has law enforcement very concerned, so that is why we are seeing so many roads being blocked so early here in Washington, D.C.

And really, as you said, it's unprecedented. Never in this nation's history have we seen security like this in one place. It's just swarmed with military and law enforcement.

WHITFIELD: So Shimon, it is unprecedented, but already this effort is netting at least one suspect, right, one arrest of an individual who had some fake credentials, who was stopped at a D.C. checkpoint and who was armed. Tell us more.

PROKUPECZ: Yes, so this information was stopped by the police at a checkpoint at the capital, on the north side of the capital, at a checkpoint. He stopped, police, it was a pickup truck, and law enforcement there asked him some questions. He showed them what they say are fake credentials for -- inauguration credentials. His name is Wesley Allen Beeler. He's from Virginia. And police say they also found a begun, a nine-millimeter Glock inside his pickup truck, and also 500 rounds of ammunition.

We don't even what he was up to, we don't know why he had this weapon, we don't know why he had all this ammunition. There's nothing to indicate, obviously, that he was coming here to do any harm. But given all the security measures, and given everything that's been going on, obviously law enforcement on high alert, so they stopped this individual, they questioned him, and this is what they found. He has been arrested, and he's facing charges for possessing that ammunition, and also that weapon.

But you should know, we don't exactly why he was in this area. Right now there's nothing to indicate that there was any kind of threat or that he was coming here to do any harm. But he has been arrested, and he is going to be in court at some point, and police did find this weapon and ammunition.

WHITFIELD: But ominous at best, Shimon, because this information does say there was a fake inaugural credential, not just a fake credential of something unrelated to what is going to be transpiring in a matter of days, but a fake inaugural credential, plus the kind of weaponry that you just spelled out. It's pretty stunning.

PROKUPECZ: Yes, it is stunning, and it certainly is concerning, and that's why I think we need to learn more. And I'm sure authorities are trying to learn more.

As I said, one of the things authorities are very concerned are vehicles and what possibly someone could store inside a vehicle. And so of course someone driving through a checkpoint in a pickup truck, something that officials are concerned about, they saw something suspicious, and they asked him questions. He did admit to possessing this weapon.

They then searched and they did find this ammunition. So we need to learn more, exactly what he was doing here. why someone would think they could get through a checkpoint with police and this amount of military surrounding the secure zone now, really is mindboggling, and to think that he could possibly get through it. Obviously, this is why we have these checkpoints, why the police have and the military have set up all these checkpoints all across D.C.

We're talking -- this is not just the capital, not just obviously in the blocks around the White House, but at key intersections to get into any part of this area is blocked off with military vehicles.

WHITFIELD: Right, and apparently, I'm reading the same kind of information, some of it that you probably have, that this pickup truck with this individual, Wesley Allen Beeler, that checkpoint was at north capitol on E Street northeast, which is right next to the train station. Thank you so much, Shimon, we'll check back with you there on Capitol Hill.

With me now to talk further about this arrest and more, other concerns surrounding the inaugural activities, Garrett Graff, a CNN contributor. Also with me, Jonathan Wackrow, a CNN law enforcement analyst and a former Secret Service agent, good to see both of you.

[14:15:03]

Jonathan, you first. This is quite alarming, to hear of this arrest, that somebody would be stopped, a Virginia man at this D.C. checkpoint, that the individual would be asked if he had any weaponry, and that, according to this reporting, the person said, yes, I do, and in fact right in the glove compartment having a Glock, and then 500 rounds of ammunition. But really what's so unsettling here on top of all that is that there were fake inaugural credentials. So what do you make of what the possible intent would have been for this individual?

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Listen, first of all, this is evidence that law enforcement is facing a persistent threat by those seeking to cause harm. And they're going to be continuously challenged by lone actors. And what the intent was by this individual still remains unknown. But what we do know is that someone tried to utilize those fake credentials. Was this someone trying to test the defenses to see if they could get in, and then put these rounds and this weapon someplace for future use? We really just don't know right now.

But it talks about the, really, volatility of this moment, where law enforcement must be hypervigilant to threats that could present themselves at any moment. This was a checkpoint, sort of an administrative role right now where people are searching these vehicles. But a threat can present itself at any moment. They're dynamic, they're unpredictable, and the severity is always unknown.

So law enforcement has a challenge right now. We know that there are groups out there who are actively engaging in domestic terror acts, and at any moment we could have an issue. So the deployment of 25,000 National Guard troops and the mobilization of law enforcement not just from the Secret Service and federal entities but local and state partners is absolutely necessary to secure this inauguration and the transfer of power into the Biden administration.

WHITFIELD: And so Jonathan, you used the word "volatility" there, and I wonder, Garrett, can we zero in on that? So while we have an impressive amount of National Guard, 25,000 troops there descending upon the nation's capital, you've got heightened enforcement from park police to Capitol police to metropolitan police.

But then when you also have the departure of, say, the DHS Secretary Chad Wolf, that is expected to happen because of the changing of the guard, so to speak. But there are other national security posts that are filled by interim people. How volatile is law enforcement right now, particularly at this time as it pertains to national security?

GARRETT GRAFF, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: We are -- as Jonathan mentioned, we are headed into a presidential transition, which is normally a very fraught and tense and security-conscious moment. And yet thanks to Donald Trump's years of underinvestment and mismanagement of the nation's security agencies, they are wrestling with and struggling with vacancies unlike anything that we have ever seen in American history.

Every presidential transition since 9/11, we have had a confirmed attorney general, a confirmed Homeland Security secretary, and a confirmed defense secretary headed into the presidential transition. Now coming into this week, we have none of those. All of them are acting positions.

WHITFIELD: Jonathan, how unsettling is that to you?

WACKROW: Well, listen, it's unsettling, but we've also had acting positions within DHS for a long time. Really at this point in time, the career government officials, the nonpolitical appointed folks such as the director of the Secret Service, will actually carry the mantle and coordinate the immediate response to any type of incident.

And what I do think is really important to note is that the incident we're just talking about around the checkpoint, it just actually goes to prove, and I think this should serve as a reassurance, that the model that's set up under the national special security event, is working. We do have a massive security structure that is in place that actually is working. It is hypervigilant. They are trying to ensure that we are having a safe and secure structure.

So what we saw on January 6th was a lack of command and control, a lack of communication, and really a bifurcated responded to a crisis incident. What we have moving forward under this NSSE structure is a fundamental process that has very coordinated communication around intelligence and operations, and that will guarantee the success of this event moving forward.

[14:20:2]

WHITFIELD: And Garrett, last word. Obviously, this is an unprecedented type of inauguration that's about to get under way, but obviously, prevention has already just occurred as a result of the kind of reinforcements that have descended upon the nation's capital.

GRAFF: Yes, and I think Jonathan's right that one of the things that's particularly challenging about this threat environment, you have a very decentralized threat. You are not necessarily looking for an organized terror group or an organized criminal group.

There are going to be a lot of lone actors trying to pull off their own shenanigans and possible assaults and possible attacks over the next week across the country. And that's going to be a really, really big challenge for law enforcement, not just in Washington, but remember, across all of the state capitals this weekend and over the course of this forthcoming weekend.

WHITFIELD: From coast to coast. Garrett Graff, Jonathan Wackrow, thanks so much, appreciate it.

Coming up, nearly 100 people have been arrested in connection with the insurrection on Capitol Hill, but why aren't the suspects facing domestic terrorism charges? Plus, the Manhattan district attorney's office expands its investigation into the Trump Organization just days before the president's term ends.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:25:37]

WHITFIELD: All 50 states are on high alert for potential protests and attacks at President-elect Biden's inauguration is just now four days away.

We have Natasha Chen standing by at the Georgia state capital in Atlanta. Let's first go to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where security is being stepped up to protect the state capital there. Miguel Marquez is with us. Miguel?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, Harrisburg and capitals across the country certainly stepping up security. I can show you what's happening here right now. They've closed off the capital. It will be shut from tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. through the inauguration.

There are lots and lots, and they're hearing in Washington, lots of concerns out there, but nothing specific. They'll all shut down, to traffic at least,, State and Third Street here, and they expect protesters to show up possibly in the thousands, but they don't really know.

This protest, this 50-state protest, was talked about and circulated before January 6th, and since January 6th, a lot of the groups involved in them may not want to come out in as big of numbers. So it's a moving target for officials here. They're not really sure what to expect. They have everything from federal resources, state resources, county and city. The National Guard, 450 National Guard members of the Pennsylvania National Guard have also been called up for across the commonwealth, not just here at the capitol building. So they will see.

One of the biggest concerns they have is that they will have protesters, those for the president, some of them armed. They've dealt with many, many protests here over the last year. It is an open carry state. They often carry, many of them often carry arms. But they're concerned that there may be a counterprotest, and there may be some friction between those two groups, and that's one thing they're watching very carefully, Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Wow, tensions very high. Thanks so much, Miguel.

Natasha Chen now to Atlanta, what are they bracing for?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, the governor's office just responded to an email clarifying with me that there are no scheduled closures to the capital this week. What we do have here is just some low barriers on this side. But there's a lot of visual presence of armored vehicles and law enforcement.

That said, on the other sides of the capitol, on two other sides, actually, the sidewalks are closed, so it's not really possible for people to get too close to the building. The governor has said that the threat level is relatively low here, but he's not taking any chances.

The fact that there has to be heightened security right here in Atlanta, in Georgia, is mindboggling, especially to Republican leaders who are cognizant of the fact that they're trying to ward off threats potentially from people in their own party. Here is Republican Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan acknowledging that President Trump's words have made Georgia less safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GOV. GEOFF DUNCAN, (R) GEORGIA: Actions have consequences. And when you're willing to lie to 350 million people, then you're going to see consequences. And unfortunately, we're watching those consequences play out. It's troubling. But look, we're in the midst of picking up the pieces in Georgia and trying to move on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: The Georgia Building Authority is the one to be giving out permits for protests. They tell us that they have not given out any permits at this time. But then again, the Stop the Steal protesters who were here in November, they didn't have a permit to come at that time. So people here are still prepared for crowds to gather, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Natasha Chen, Miguel Marquez, thanks to both of you, appreciate it.

The terrifying scope of the U.S. Capitol attack is becoming even more clear as federal authorities piece together a chilling picture of the January 6th insurrection that left five people dead, including a Capitol police officer. Officials say they have opened some 275 investigations and have taken nearly 100 people into custody.

Joining me right now to discuss is a Lis Wiehl, a former federal prosecutor. She's also the author of "Hunting the Unabomber, The FBI, Ted Kaczynski, and the Capture of America's Most Notorious Domestic Terrorist." Lis, good to see you, and happy New Year. It's our fist time seeing each other.

So you say it is crazy that we don't have a federal domestic antiterrorism law. It does sound crazy. Why don't we have that after all that this nation has been through?

[14:30:01]

LIS WIEHL, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Absolutely crazy. There has been some division about whether or not we should have an antiterrorism statute. By the way, Governor Cuomo in New York in 2019 did propose one for New Yorkers. It's never passed, but it is there.

And the reason is there's been some debate about whether or not this would capture First Amendment folks, people that are just saying things but not actually doing things. And I think that's really the reason that there hasn't been a statute passed thus far. But I think one could be crafted so that it captures the actions of people, people that are taking material steps in support of terrorism domestically.

And we have to realize that international terrorism right now is really not what the FBI and the CIA are focusing on as the ultimate terror threats. It's domestic. We saw it with Kaczynski, even back then he should have been charged with domestic terrorism. He was not. It goes back to Timothy McVeigh.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh, yes, there just seems to be so many instances in which it would provoke something like that. And like you said, the biggest threat to America right now is domestic terrorism, not necessarily foreign terrorism.

So let's talk about the terrorism that just took place on Capitol Hill, the charges ranging from trespassing to threatening a witness, disorderly conduct. Nearly 100 charged, federal officials say more charges are coming. These seem like minor charges when you look at the mayhem, when you look at the video. Do you see attempting to overthrow U.S. government, domestic terrorism, like we just mentioned, among the charges to come?

WIEHL: Look, of course domestic terrorism should have been the first charge.

WHITFIELD: So what are they waiting for?

WIEHL: Here's one of the reasons why, OK? If you charge someone with a heavy beef like that, domestic terrorism -- then you've got something hanging over their head. You're looking at 20 years to life, bub. You're going to want to maybe turn on some of your co-conspirators, you're going to want to name the guy over there, maybe even testify against President Trump. You've got a heavy charge against you, unlike something, a misdemeanor, something that is only going to carry one or two years.

As to why some of the charges might be coming, oh, come on, it's that they're waiting for a pardon. And the pardon is only going to come in a couple of days. Now, of course, a pardon could say for any crime you committed, so it could be a blanket pardon, and they may be waiting for that.

WHITFIELD: So you see it as very intentional, to delay those kind of charges right now.

WIEHL: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right, and then what about what now may be a growing scope for the district attorney in Manhattan to look into the Trump Organization? We already know that this has kind of been hanging over the head of Trump, what happens once he leaves office. But do you see that that effort is intensifying?

WIEHL: Absolutely. We're seeing it with the Westchester Compound where they just issued subpoenas, which, by the way, Trump sued to squash those subpoenas -- quash those subpoenas, excuse me -- quash or squash those subpoenas, and lost and they were able just to serve those subpoena. So those are going on forward. And the reason that they have been delaying all of that happening now,

"they" being the Manhattan D.A. and also the New York attorney general, there are two investigations going on in time, is you can't indict a sitting president. So there was really no rush, if you will, the last four years.

But now all bets are off. And these are criminal charges that, by the way, even if President Trump tries to pardon himself, which is a whole other discussion we could talk about, even if he were able to do that, that would not cover any kind of state charges.

WHITFIELD: Right, his pardon for himself would only apply to federal charges.

WIEHL: Correct.

WHITFIELD: But like you said, not the state, so fair game, so to speak. I hate to use that word, but I think we know what it means. All right, Lis Wiehl, good to see you, thank you so much.

WIEHL: You got it, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, Facebook is denying any role in the Capitol riots, how the company is cracking down on extremist groups online.

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[14:39:00]

WHITFIELD: We're getting new details about the arrest at a Washington, D.C. inauguration checkpoint. U.S. Capitol police say Wesley Beeler of Virginia was arrested while attempting to pass through the police checkpoint. Police say Beeler had a loaded handgun and over 500 rounds of ammunition. A source tells CNN he also had a fake inaugural credential. Beeler was arrested for possession of an unregistered firearm and possession of unregistered ammunition among other offences.

Following last week's attack on Capitol Hill, social media platforms have been cracking down on online extremism and violent groups organizing online. The conservative platform Parler has also disappeared from the Internet after Google, Amazon, and Apple all pulled the app. But some groups and individuals spreading lies about the 2020 election and calling for protests are still maintaining a presence online, and they're hiding in plain sight.

With me now, CNN's Donie O'Sullivan, who has been reporting on this, Brian Stelter, CNN chief media correspondent and anchor of "Reliable Sources." Good to see both of you. So Donie, you first. What are you learning about how these groups are remaining on social media, even though, say, Parler, you can't find it anywhere?

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN POLITICS AND TECHNOLOGY REPORTER: Yes, there's been a major crackdown over the past week. On Twitter alone just in a few days last weekend they removed 70,000 QAnon accounts. Likewise on Facebook they have banned the Stop the Steal, the conspiracy theory movement alleging election fraud.

But a lot of people are asking why did it take until now, why did it take until there was an insurrection here in Washington? And Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook, spoke this week and tried to distance her company from the insurrection. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERYL SANDBERG, COO, FACEBOOK: I think these events were largely organized on platforms that don't have our abilities to stop hate and don't have our standards and don't have our transparency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN: So there Sandberg trying to downplay Facebook's culpability in all of this. But I saw this week on Facebook's platform a video getting 5 million views that had the false conspiracy theory that it was Antifa, that it was left-wing activists that were responsible for the violence here in Washington last week. So if you're running a platform where a lie like this in the days after an insurrection can go viral, you have a major problem still.

WHITFIELD: Right. I mean, there are still gaping holes at the very least. So then Brian, let's talk about another family enterprise and entity. James Murdoch is the youngest son of billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and apparently he is criticizing what he's calling media properties owners, he's talking about his dad, and outlets for promoting disinformation, conspiracy theories over the election. So what is to come of this, and what's this all about?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he is speaking directly to his father Rupert and his brother Lachlan who run FOX News. Here is the blistering quote that was given to "The Financial Times," James Murdoch saying, "Those outlets that propagate lies to their audience have unleashed insidious and uncontrollable forces that will be with us for years. I hope that those people who didn't think it was that dangerous now understand that it is, and I hope that they stop."

Those are strong words directed right at FOX News. Now, James is the more liberal son, he's distanced himself from the family company, but he's not absolved from past sins at FOX. He is pointing out, however, these lies on TV and on the Internet have real life consequences. New NPR-Marist polling finds that only one in five Republicans in this country believe the results of the election. Only one in five trust the result of the election. They still don't believe the data is accurate.

That is going to be a festering problem even after Trump flies to Mar- a-Lago. And the fact that Trump still won't face reality and admit he lost, that's part of the problem. But it's bigger than Trump. As Donie said, these lies on Facebook, if this trutherism continues on television, it's going to be a festering problem in this country for a long time to come.

WHITFIELD: I mean a really long time, just not a matter of months, Donie, or years. How in the world will there be a correction when there are so many people who have been hypnotized, not being able to discern the difference between truth and lies?

O'SULLIVAN: Yes, and these platforms, as you can see, are still nowhere near able to get ahead of this problem. And it's a bad day for Facebook when a Murdoch is seemingly more tethered in reality than Sheryl Sandberg and willing to face up to the problem and say that there's culpability there.

WHITFIELD: We'll leave it there for now, gentlemen, thank you so much, Donie O'Sullivan, Brian Stelter. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:48:04]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. The eyes of the world are on the U.S. Capitol ahead of next week's inauguration. U.S. allies are watching as the Capitol is taking on the look of a fortress after last week's attack, the Pentagon authoring the mobilization of another 5,000 more National Guard troops, 25,000 troops will now be on hand for the ceremony. Nic Robertson, CNN international diplomatic editor, joining me now from London. So how are other countries seeing all this?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: They're shocked. The level and scale of security that's going into place in Washington, D.C., is something that's not really been seen in any European capitals, it's not something that any of the European allies would expect to have to use themselves to go through a once every four years process of democracy.

So this is shocking. It's certainly getting a lot of media attention here, the whole idea that you can have three, even four times as many U.S. troops deployed in Washington, D.C., as are currently deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, really catches people's attention, the fences, all of that.

What we're not seeing at the moment, Fred, is what we saw 10 days ago, which is leaders, allies of the United States, taking to Twitter or making speeches saying how shocked they are by this situation. I think what we're seeing here is a realization in global capitals that President-elect Joe Biden, when he gets into office, is going to have his hands full with a divided country, and that there is a level of concern. It's not really being expressed publicly, but there will be a level of concern that he is going to have to deal with not only divisions but the possibility of ongoing violence.

So these scenes that people are witnessing in Washington, D.C., at the moment, do lay the grounds for concern. But of course, everyone really hoping that this goes off smoothly and the weeks and months ahead do as well, because there's a lot the U.S. allies would like to do with President-elect Joe Biden, not least shore up the trans-Atlantic alliance, which is so important, and protect the sort of global institution of democracy as well.

[14:50:15] WHITFIELD: And given the volume of threats, certainly it's not going away overnight just because he's sworn in on Wednesday. Nic Robertson, thank you so much, from London.

And this just in. Vice-President-Elect Kamala Harris will be sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, more on that, plus a closer look at Harris's professional and personal life, including how she met her husband.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:55:03]

WHITFIELD: All right, this just into CNN -- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor will administer Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris's oath of office next week. And that means the first Latina Supreme Court justice in U.S. history will swear in the first woman to be elected president. CNN's Abby Phillip sat down with Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff, soon to be the first second gentleman, about how they met.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: So I do want to start all the way at the beginning for the two of you. You guys have, I'm going to describe it a little bit as a Hollywood love story.

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS, (D-CA) VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: My best friend set me up on a blind date. And my best friend can be a little bossy, so I didn't say no.

(LAUGHTER)

DOUG EMHOFF: I had never met her friend before. So I met her friend for an hour at a business meeting as a lawyer. And by the end of the hour, it was like, yes, you seem pretty cool. I might want to set you up with somebody. Do you know Kamala Harris? I'm like, Kamala Harris, the attorney general? And she said yes, but I think you would be great.

HARRIS: So he texted me that same night. You were at a Lakers game.

EMHOFF: I was.

HARRIS: But I'm a Warriors fan, but I said, go Kobe, or something.

(LAUGHTER)

HARRIS: And then, yes, you called me that morning, the next morning.

EMHOFF: I violated every rule of dating, I believe.

HARRIS: We ended up talking for, like, 45 minutes to an hour and just laughing the whole time.

EMHOFF: I felt like I had known her forever. And we figured out she was going to be in L.A. a couple days later. I said, great, we'll go out to dinner. And I didn't want it to end. And so the next morning I pulled the move of emailing her with my availability for the next four months, including long weekends. And I said something like, I'm too old to hide the ball. You're great. I want to see if we can make this work. Here's when I'm available next. And I guess it worked, because then we saw each other a week or so later.

PHILLIP: That's the part of the story I think THAT a lot of people will either identify with or be totally terrified by. How did you feel about that?

HARRIS: I was terrified.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIP: So when it came --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: They're so cute. Abby Phillip with us now. It's just so lovely to see them. It's almost like they're still on that first date. They're just really kind of giddy about all the possibilities in their relationship. So it didn't look like you had to twist their arm on that either. They were willing to go there.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Fred, in a lot of ways, Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff really haven't been married all that long, and so much of their relationship has played out in such a public way from her Senate campaign to her presidential run. And now she's about to become the vice president of the United States. And there's a little bit of, in the two of them, a little bit of surprise that they're on this journey together.

But one of the interesting things that you'll see in the documentary is just her talking about her upbringing as a child of divorce, getting to this point where she was willing to fall in love or able to fall in love a little bit later in life. And then blending their two families, both a biracial family, multiethnic and racial, different religions even.

And that kind of reflecting this sort of modern family that I think a lot of Americans will also identify with. But yes, no question about it. They're in for a really different future come next Wednesday, and already their lives have changed so much.

WHITFIELD: Oh, big time. I love that they're really willing to divulge about all that. So now, what were you able to get her to express as it pertained to her decision to end her 2020 presidential aspirations, and then position herself for this opportunity to become vice president?

PHILLIP: Yes, this was a moment for her to reflect a little bit about that race, because one of the things about Kamala Harris, she's been such a glass ceiling breaker in so many different roles. But when it came to the presidency, she fell short, left the race before votes were even cast, and so many people around her wondering, what does that say about the United States of America, that a black woman couldn't make it that far?

And a lot of -- she and the people closest to her, they actually took a completely different view of this. Looking at it, actually, as more of a stepping-stone, a story that ended where it is now, where she's about to be the vice president of the United States. And so I think that there's a sense that this is not over for her by any stretch of the imagination. And those who know her I think have seen her as a rising star and believe that's the case as well.

WHITFIELD: It's all so exciting.