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U.S. Capitol Becomes Fortress ahead of Inauguration; Trump Wants Grand Departure; Recorded Global COVID-19 Deaths Reach 2 Million. Aired 12-12:15a ET
Aired January 16, 2021 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello, everyone, welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company. Let's get to the top story.
With just 4 days to go until Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, the U.S. Capitol is being transformed into a fortress. Some 25,000 National Guard troops have been deployed ahead of the inauguration. The FBI warns, armed protesters could begin later today in D.C. and state capitals across the country.
So far investigators opened 275 criminal cases and charged nearly 100 people in connection to last week's pro-Trump riot.
Meanwhile new details are emerging into the days leading up to last week's insurrection. According to a source familiar with the matter and a senior official at the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and DHS failed to issue threat assessments about potential violence that day.
And "The Washington Post" is reporting three days before last week's insurrection, a Capitol police report warned violent pro-Trump supporters could zero in on, quote, "Congress itself," which, of course, is what happened.
So following several security failures, the nation's Capitol now readying itself for any impending threat. CNN's Alex Marquardt with more on the challenges officials are facing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): The American Capitol now a fortress, unprecedented scenes as Washington and the country brace for more violence around Joe Biden's inauguration.
MAJOR GENERAL WILLIAM J. WALKER, D.C. NATIONAL GUARD: People should be aware that we have a new national security environment we're operating in.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): A new bulletin from the country's main security agencies warning, domestic extremists who believe the election was stolen from Donald Trump are the main threats.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mayor Bowser --
MARQUARDT (voice-over): Today, D.C.'s mayor, police, Secret Service and others, trying to reassure a nervous country, the inauguration will go well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's all hands-on deck for our entire agency.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): New 12-foot fencing with concrete bases around the Capitol complex, the National Mall officially closed until after the inauguration. Threats being monitored across the country. At least a dozen states have activated the National Guard to secure their capitals.
MATT MILLER, USSS WASHINGTON FIELD OFFICE: We have so many assets inside the Penn Quarter Capitol area that there is the potential for people to go elsewhere whether it's back to their state capitals or to other parts of the city.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): Few specific threats, the FBI says, but lots of worrying chatter.
CHRISTOPHER WRAY, FBI DIRECTOR: We are seeing an extensive amount of concerning online chatter.
MARQUARDT (voice-over): Now 9 days after the storming of the Capitol building, we are learning how much worse things could've been. A terrifying new revelation: "The Washington Post" reporting that Vice President Mike Pence was even closer to the rioters than previously known.
"The Post" reporting that, as this heroic officer led rioters away from the Senate chamber, Pence and his family were less than 100 feet away in another room, reportedly staying out of the view of the mob by mere seconds.
D.C. police officers are now describing their terrifying ordeals to CNN.
MICHAEL FANONE, METROPOLITAN POLICE OFFICER: I was beaten from like every direction and then tased a number of times on the back of my neck. And then some guy started getting a hold of my gun and they were screaming out, you know, "Kill him with his own gun."
MARQUARDT (voice-over): Officer Daniel Hodges was brutally crushed in a doorway as rioters charged in.
OFFICER DANIEL HODGES, METROPOLITAN POLICE: There was a guy ripping my mask off and he was able to rip away my baton and beat me with it. And he was practically foaming at the mouth.
MARQUARDT: Just horrifying stories from those Capitol police officers. Now we are learning that there may be even more National Guard troops on the streets of Washington, D.C. The Pentagon on Friday authorizing up to 25,000 National Guard troops for the inauguration of Joe Biden. That is 4,000 more than had previously been authorized. They come from
every state, territory and the District of Columbia. It bears repeating that that is four times the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria combined -- Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.
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HOLMES: With all those resources going into protecting the inauguration and with the entire nation on edge, President Trump is reportedly looking ahead to a big sendoff. Chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta reports.
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JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even as he carries the shameful stamp of being impeached twice, President Trump is planning to leave the White House with one last "dear leader" moment. On the morning before Joe Biden's inauguration, the White House is expected to stage a grand departure ceremony for Trump that may include a color guard, military band, 21- gun salute and red carpet.
Unlike his own inauguration when he was greeted by Barack and Michelle Obama, Trump won't do the same for the Bidens. After last week's bloody siege at the Capitol, Trump allies say it's probably better that way.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Maybe that's best now given the situation we're in and it seems to me the president is ready to move on.
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And may God continue to bless the United States of America.
ACOSTA: Vice President Mike Pence is expected to attend Biden's inauguration, another sign he's all but become the nation's acting commander in chief. On Thursday, he called his successor Kamala Harris to congratulate her after thanking National Guard members for protecting the capitol.
PENCE: Thank you all for stepping forward to serve your country.
ACOSTA: Pence was at the capitol and fled the rioters as some were trying to hunt him down.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants an investigation into whether some members of Congress aided the insurrectionists.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): If, in fact, it is found that members of Congress were accomplices to this insurrection, if they aided and abetted the crime, there may have to be actions taken beyond the Congress in terms of prosecution for that.
ACOSTA: That could include lawmakers like Republican Mo Brooks of Alabama. REP. MO BROOKS (R-AL): Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass.
ACOSTA: Questions have also been raised about White House involvement as well as top aides and members of the Trump family were on hand for the rally that sparked the violence.
DONALD TRUMP, JR., TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Mark Meadows, an actual fighter, one of the few.
ACOSTA: Before his own speech at that rally --
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.
ACOSTA: -- CNN has learned the president was back in touch with his former strategist Steve Bannon discussing Trump's election conspiracy theories. Sources say Bannon who's facing federal fraud charges is seeking a pardon from Trump.
Back in November, Bannon called for administration officials to be executed.
STEVE BANNON, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: I'd put the heads on pikes, right? I'd put them at the two corners of the White House, as a warning to federal bureaucrats.
ACOSTA: It's those familiar with the planning for Trump to purchase as the soon to be ex president doesn't have any events on his schedule after hair bribes in Palm Beach Florida on Biden's Inauguration Day. When the president will not be able to do is tweet. Twitter spokesman reaffirmed us at CNN that Trump will remain permanently suspended on the social media platform even after he leaves office. Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House.
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HOLMES: And a reminder that, in a couple of hours from now, we will have more on President Trump, his impacts and his legacy. I will be talking with Timothy Snyder, a history professor at Yale University and author of the book, "On Tyranny." Do join us for that.
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HOLMES: A shocking admission from the Trump administration: despite what they had promised, they do not have a federal stockpile of second coronavirus vaccine doses to give to states.
On Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said the administration would release a reserve supply to state leaders but an official told CNN, when that announcement was made, the doses had already been released.
Then on Friday Azar said, there is no reserve stockpile at all. That leaves states scrambling to adjust vaccination campaigns. Pfizer says it has doses ready to deliver but it's not clear how long it will take to get those into people's arms.
Meanwhile President-Elect Joe Biden is outlining his vaccination plan. He says it will include opening up eligibility to more people, creating more vaccination sites and increasing supply and distribution. His goal is to administer 100 million doses in his first 100 days in office. Mr. Biden says he is determined in face of the odds.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Some wonder if we're reaching too far for that goal.
Is it achievable?
It's a legitimate question to ask. Let me be clear: I'm convinced we can get it done. And this is a time to set big goals, to pursue them with courage and conviction because the health of the nation is literally at stake.
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HOLMES: No matter how many vaccines get distributed in the U.S. or elsewhere, it doesn't change the fact that more than 2 million people have now died from the coronavirus.
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HOLMES: And that is just the people we know of. The death toll rising faster than ever at the moment. It took the world 252 days to reach 1 million deaths. Less than half that time to reach the next million. And nearly half those deaths happened in just 5 countries. The USA leading the pack followed by Brazil, India, Mexico and U.K.
Now Pfizer is telling the European Union it will make far fewer coronavirus vaccine deliveries than planned, at least temporarily. And some European countries, starting with Germany, saying they're being left in the dark as to when they will actually get the doses they need.
Of course, that couldn't come at a worse time for Germany, which is now reporting more than 2 million cases and broke its daily death record this week. Norway and Denmark also among those reacting to the unexpected news. Melissa Bell is in Paris for us.
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MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here in Europe, several countries continue to report worsening COVID-19 figures in a week that saw several E.U. nations either extend or tighten restrictions that are now in place.
Now there is bad news also on the vaccination front, several countries expressing disappointment at an announcement by Pfizer that there will be delays in terms of the delivery of the vaccine over the next few weeks. It's the result of modifications that are being done at its plant in
Belgium. Several countries expressing their disappointment, including Germany, one of those E.U. nations really under pressure over the slow rollout of their vaccination program.
In fact nearly 3 weeks after the E.U.'s vaccination program began, Germany has vaccinated just 1 percent of the population. This Friday Italy became the first E.U. nation to announce it had vaccinated 1 million people -- Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
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HOLMES: India's prime minister is launching what he calls the world's largest vaccination campaign. The country's goal right now is to bring coronavirus infections under control with 2 shots manufactured locally.
The government says about 100 people will be vaccinated in each vaccination center. There are more than 3,000 of them across the country. Nurses, doctors and other front line workers will have priority.
At least 42 people have died following the powerful earthquake in Indonesia on Friday, crews still working feverishly to rescue survivors buried under the rubble. And we've learned about a woman we told you about some 24 hours ago. Now she's being rescued and taken to the hospital.
The 6.2 magnitude quake hit Indonesia's Sulawesi island with the epicenter near Majene. Thankfully it did not trigger a tsunami, but a number of strong aftershocks have been reported.
Thanks for watching, appreciate your company, I'm Michael Holmes, stay tuned. "MARKETPLACE AFRICA" coming up next. I will see you a little later.
