Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

President Trump Expected to Issue Wave of Commutations and Pardons; U.S. Capitol Secured by National Guard Before Biden's Inauguration; Incoming CDC Director's Straightforward Warning on Coronavirus Deaths in the U.S.; France Begins Vaccination Rollout; All 50 States Brace For Potential Violent Protests; Vaccine Responsibility: Disagreement Over Responsibility for COVID-19 Vaccines; No Vaccinations Yet For Palestinians In West Bank And Gaza. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired January 18, 2021 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN HOST (on camera): Hi and welcome to all of our viewers in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN. Thanks for joining me. I'm Robyn Curnow. I want to get right to our top story.

The U.S. president, Donald Trump, has only two days remaining in office and before he leaves he is expected to use his clemency powers one last time. Sources tell CNN he is preparing to issue around 100 pardons and commutations on Tuesday.

He is not expecting to pardon himself but sources say, anything could change between now and January 20th when Joe Biden is inaugurated as president. Well, earlier, Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, blasted Mr. Trump's intentions. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): It's just outrageous. He literally appears to be burning the house of justice down on his way out the door as if it wasn't enough that he sent a mad mob, an angry mob, incited a riot and an insurrection at the capitol.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW (on camera): All of this comes as officials are trying to ensure a peaceful transfer of power across the country. Authorities have been guarding government buildings and FBI warnings of possible violence from protesters who don't recognize Biden's victory.

In Washington, officials have further ramped up security ahead of Inauguration Day. The U.S. capital is now surrounded by barriers and fences and patrolled by roughly 17,000 National Guard troops with thousands more on the way. Police presence at the capital of course is greater than it was on

January 6th when rioters stormed the building with little resistance. Now, a new video from the "New Yorker" magazine gives us a fresh look at the deadly attack. And a warning here, we have not censored the language, and some of the images you are about to see are disturbing.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

CURNOW (on camera): Still disturbing seems to watch. Now, the streets of Washington are a lot calmer now than they are back then. Alex Marquardt explains what police are doing to try and keep things under control. Alex?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Here on the streets of Washington, D.C., things are pretty quiet. There is a sense that this is the calm before the storm. The question is whether the storm comes, whether there is more violence in the days leading up to and on the day of Joe Biden's inauguration.

They are not taking any chances. We are here just near the eastern side of the capital building. You can see they have set up what is essentially a fortress around the capitol. Eight-foot fences, they are called non-scalable. There is razor wire all along the top.

There is just a staggering amount of security here in the streets of D.C., many of which have been closed down for traffic and for pedestrian traffic. Thousands -- 25,000 National Guard troops may be mobilized for the inauguration of Joe Biden. You can see some of them right here behind me. They have been deployed near the capital.

They are armed and they have been joined by various law enforcement agencies to create this patchwork of security, this incredible coordinated security operation. Now, the FBI has said that there are no specific threats, but there is concerning online chatter.

They have said in a bulletin that armed groups have expressed interest in carrying out protests in D.C. and all 50 states. And one of the concerns expressed by the mayor of Washington, D.C. on Sunday was that because the federal buildings here in D.C. are so fortified and there is so much security in the nation's capital, that would be protesters or rioters could target other parts of the city or state capitals. Take a listen.

MURIEL BOWSER, MAYOR OF WASHINGTON, D.C.: I'm not only concerned about other state capitals. I'm also concerned about other parts of Washington, D.C. What you are showing is really the federal enclave of Washington, D.C., not where the 700,000 of us live.

[02:05:02]

So, our police department working with our federal law enforcement partners and the United States Army, quite frankly, also has a plan to pivot if we have any attacks in our neighborhoods. MARQUARDT: The mayor of D.C. also saying that this is the most

security the city has seen since 9/11. Normally, there is a lot of security for inaugurations, but not like this. They are confident, however, that they will have a secure event.

The mayor of Washington, D.C. is saying that all hands are on deck, but this scene, this level of security, is not what you think about when you hear that phrase, peaceful transfer of power.

Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CURNOW (on camera): No, certainly not. Thanks to Alex for that extraordinary scenes there in D.C. So, I want to take you back to our breaking news story, though. U.S. President Donald Trump is apparently planning to make a number of pardons in the next few days. Here is Jeremy Diamond with that story. Jeremy?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump is expected to issue around 100 pardons on Tuesday. That will be his final full day in office. The pardons we are told are expected to include a mixture of some more controversial pardons to white collar criminals, some high profile rappers, as well as potentially some of the president's political allies.

But there will also be in this batch several pardons that are more criminal justice reform minded. Pardons that would be more akin to those -- to the one that the president gave to Alice Marie Johnson who herself has been advocating with the president for pardons for other individuals who have been incarcerated for a long time.

Now, this final batch of clemency actions comes, will really cap off weeks of a scramble by the president's political allies to try and secure pardons either for themselves or for other people. In fact, "The New York Times" is reporting today that some of the presidents allies have been paid tens of thousands of dollars to secure pardons or to at least lobby the president to secure pardons for certain convicted felons.

As of now though, our sources are telling us that a pardon, a self- pardon for the president is not expected at this time or at least that the paperwork for a self-pardon has not yet been drawn up. That is something that we are told President Trump has been considering in recent weeks, asking some of his allies and advisers whether or not it would be wise for him to do that.

And we are told that the idea of a self-pardon really has -- the chances of that have really gone down in the wake of these riots that took place on January 6th because of the optics of the president pardoning himself for something, potentially, that he is now being impeached for.

So, again, more than -- about 100 individuals expected to see pardons or commutations from the president of the United States on Tuesday as the president winds down the final days and hours of his presidency. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the White House.

CURNOW: CNN political commentator, Alice Stewart, joins me now from Alexandria, Virginia. She's also a Republican strategist and former Ted Cruz communications director. Alice, hi. Lovely to see you.

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you, Robyn.

CURNOW: So, we are hearing that the president is going to be handing out a chunk of pardons. What does that tell you and how damaging is this, these last-minute reprieves for people who have been convicted in the American legal system?

STEWART: Well, it won't be damaging if it is your normal pardons and commutations that are typical and customary with any president leaving office or any governor leaving the governorship. These are customary. These are part of the role and responsibility that they have.

The question will be and the damaging aspect will be is if he is pardoning people that should not be pardoned and people that have clear violations of the law, and he is doing it more for what Donald Trump unfortunately does a lot of things for.

It's a transactional engagement. It is, what can you do for me if I do this for you? And that will be the big question. Look, it's not unusual for presidents to be granting pardons, but it is the scope and the scale of these that is causing a concern.

I've spoken with people that have been at the White House recently and this has been a big topic of conversation. But the key is, if he goes and gets too close to his inner circle and starts giving out many that are questionable, it will be long term damage for him and it will raise the question of why did he do this.

There is also the question of preemptive pardons which he could give to friends and family members and allies, and that would be for actions that may have taken place before, before now. They may potentially face federal charges later. And so those will be a concern because there is a lot of people that are friends and family members that names have been bantered about that may potentially receive them.

[02:09:59]

CURNOW: Preemptive pardons. It just sort of defies logic in many ways because by preemptive pardoning somebody or yourself, it means you are acknowledging that you've done something wrong in the first place. But let's also talk about the week ahead.

I mean, goodness, what a week it's going to be. It should be celebrating the foundation American democracy, the smooth transfer of power, yet we see D.C. is a fortress and these terrible security fears about the inauguration. How sad does that make you?

STEWART: It's really sad, Robyn. My heart goes out to Joe Biden. Look, I didn't vote for him, but he won. He clearly won and he deserves all of the pomp and circumstance befitting of an incoming president. And it's unfortunate that so much is distracting from the celebration that he rightly deserves, as well as the incoming vice president, Kamala Harris, who, the first African-American vice president in the United States.

CURNOW: Many Republicans though are challenging the legitimacy of this inauguration, this election. They are following the president's lies and conspiracy theories. QAnon, of course, fueling much of this sort of twisted logic. Why isn't that so many Republicans in particular are buying into these lies?

STEWART: QAnon, unfortunately, is getting too much attention. They are not representative of the Republican Party. They have not taken over the Republican Party. They are a far-right, fringe group, and you're fully aware of this, that is made up of, and believes in a crazy conspiracy theory that President Trump is engaging in a secret war to go and weed out pedophiles and sex traffickers in business and politics.

It is asinine, it's absurd, and it is completely ridiculous. But they have clearly made a point to latch on to President Trump and they see in their mind, as you say, twisted logic, that it was their responsibility to try and stop the certification of the results and stop Joe Biden from being the president and make sure that President Trump continue to stay in power.

CURNOW: But broadly though, I mean, this is also, fundamentally, about the Republican Party at a crossroads. I mean, does the party stay on the course in D.C. or swerve off the road to Mar-a-Lago? I mean, has the party been irrevocably changed, broken even, by this president? And what happens next?

STEWART: I think a lot of what happens next, Robyn, will be determined on what the Democrats do in the Senate with regards to impeachment. Now, if they move forward with the Senate trial and they go forward and convict this president with regard to the inciting the insurrection at the U.S. capital, then he would be prohibited from ever running for office again.

So, he would be restrained from running for president again and seeking some public office. That being said, I do think he will continue to be a voice in the Republican Party. He will certainly be a thorn in the side of many of his critics. He has raised a lot of money.

He has a huge war chest and a long enemies list. And he has made it quite clear, those who have opposed him, he will run opponents against them, which, I think, is unfortunate.

CURNOW: Thanks so much for joining us, giving us your time and your expertise. Alice Stewart there. Appreciate it.

STEWART: Thank you, Robyn.

CURNOW: So coming up, the vaccine rollout in the U.S. has been plagued by lofty projections and distrust. Just ahead, we'll talk to a pregnant doctor about her decision to get the vaccine. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:15:00]

CURNOW: Welcome back. It is 17 minutes past the hour. Now, the incoming CDC director is making a staggering prediction. Take a look at this on the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. Dr. Rochelle Walenski says she expects the number of COVID deaths in the country to reach half a million people by the middle of next month.

She added that the impact of holiday travel and gatherings has yet to be fully felt. And although some states are making progress, others are still struggling to combat the virus.

Dr. Tsion Firew is an assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Columbia University Medical Center and she joins me now from New York. Doctor, great to have you on the show. These numbers that we're getting from the CDC, half a million Americans expected to die by the end of next month from COVID. It's just staggering, isn't it?

TSION FIREW, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: It is. And, you know, we've been alarming (inaudible) for the past, almost a year, and just to see that continue to happen as a person who lives in New York and, you know, we were hit the hardest at the very beginning. So, we are hoping that the rest of the country will learn from New York.

But unfortunately, this is where we are. And now with the holiday has just passed, people continue to travel and congregate. Unfortunately, the numbers in the next few weeks are even going to look grand (ph).

CURNOW: You've advised the Ethiopian government on health matters in in addition to your job as an emergency physician there in New York. If you were advising the incoming Biden team, what needs to be done so you and your patients can see results quickly?

FIREW: So, right now, with the vaccine available, I think in the past few weeks we have seen the U.S. how the vaccine distribution has been very slow. It does not go with the same speed as the virus is going. So, we will want it to see the revamping of the vaccine distribution, the logistics, and assuring that the most vulnerable people and populations do get the vaccine in a matter of a few weeks.

And we've seen that happen in some places now, but it really had to take a big push from the government and from different volunteers for that to happen to reality. So, I think it's very important. And also, things like, you know, making sure now that all of the decisions happen universally, not state by state.

This is something that we've learned in the past seven or eight months, how each state have been making their own decisions in a way that has caused the number of deaths that were seeing.

[02:20:03]

So, I think universal masking all over the state shouldn't be a state decision, but it should be something that all of the U.S. should actually do. And, eventually, once the vaccine is distributed and hopefully by the summer and the next few months and we'll be free from this disease and with the spread so in that way, it's important that we really focus on this vaccine distribution.

CURNOW: I understand that you are pregnant and that you've also had the vaccine. Why did you make that decision?

FIREW: The Pfizer and Moderna data on pregnancy is limited, but we decades of research on mRNA vaccines. And both Pfizer, and Moderna didn't have pregnant people at the beginning, but some of the cohort, some of the experimental population ended up being pregnant, and so far, the data is looking good.

And also the risk of adverse effects are related to pregnancy were not increased when compared to the placebo on the study. And, you know, looking that altogether, and also discussing -- in addition to discussing with my own physician, my OBGYN doctor.

And also people that have done this for years, immunologists, virologists, I was able to look -- I went to the data, discussed with them. I took my time. I was at the first percentage on the line to get the vaccine.

Based on all that, I made the informed decision. You also have to understand. I am at a higher risk of being re-infected due to my line of work. I'm a high risk as a black person in the U.S. to complications of the disease from pregnancy and also from COVID is a lot worse compared to general population.

So, all this added, I made the informed decision to get the vaccine and I want people to do that.

CURNOW: It's been now a year since this virus hit. You're a professor of emergency medicine. As you said, you have treated people from the beginning. What is the one question you still have about how this attacks the human body?

FIREW: So, one thing I have seen is the really -- the disproportionate rate of blacks and Latinos dying from the virus in the U.S.A., and this really is could be because of, you know, the disadvantage, and also the lack of access in these communities.

But I still don't understand how in the U.S., really the inequities could be this visible even while we have all the best medical interventions in this country. You know, being in a very rich country and, you know, as we were discussing earlier, as somebody who was born and raised in Ethiopia and seeing the lack of access to health care in this country, and being in the U.S., seeing these disparities that exist, is something that I continue to just, you know, process and how this can be such the reality here in the U.S.

CURNOW: Doctor, thank you very much for joining us. Thank you for all of the work you are doing now on the front line and good luck with your pregnancy.

FIREW: Thank you.

CURNOW: So in France, COVID vaccines are now available to all people over the age of 75. It's the latest move to help speed up vaccinations and stop the spread of the virus there. Well, let's go straight to Paris. Melissa Bell joins us now. Melissa, hi. Lovely to see you agan. Just talk us through this latest stage of where the vaccination process is in Paris and France.

MELISSA BELL: Well, the French strategy, Robyn, was to first vaccinate all those people who are in nursing homes, both residents and the staff. They now move on to that second phase of their vaccination program. Those over 75 who were not in care homes who can sign up from this Monday morning to go and get themselves vaccinated for that first dose.

And it is important how they can move on with this because things have been remarkably slow here in Europe. When you consider that it's now been more than three weeks since the E.U.'s evacuation campaign began, when you look at the figures, only Germany and Italy have so far managed to vaccinate more than a million people.

Spain is about 750,000 people. France hasn't yet vaccinated 450,000 people. That is how slow it's been. It's been a question of organizational problems in countries here like France and other countries like Germany.

It's been more Robyn, about a shortage of supplies. Now, of course, the announcement by Pfizer last week that there would be delays in the delivery of its vaccines as a result of those modifications being made at its plant in Belgium, clearly, very worrying to European countries, especially for those under pressure over that slow rollout.

And I've been hearing from a government minister here in France this week who said that should not affect the rollout of this next part of the French vaccination program because they have the stocks that they need to compensate for those delayed deliveries.

But still, when you consider, Robyn, those countries in Europe, so many of them where the situation continues to worsen, the indicators of the progression of the virus continue to get worse and suggests that things are for the time being not stabilized, so many countries that have either extended or expanded their lockdowns.

[02:25:02]

Clearly, the race is on to get as many people vaccinated here in the E.U. as they can.

CURNOW: Okay. Thanks for that update there. Live in Paris, Melissa Bell. Thank you.

So, it's not just the U.S. capital on high alert just days before the inauguration of Joe Biden. Now, leaders in state capitals across the country are also brazing for possible violent protests of their own. You are watching CNN, that story is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW (on camera): Good to have you along. I'm Robyn Curnow. Its 28 minutes past the hour. So we want to bring you some more of that chilling new video from the attack on Capitol Hill on January 6th. This time, the "New Yorkers" video takes us inside of the Senate chamber, and for a glimpse of the chaos and the confusion as rioters search lawmakers' desks. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Ted Cruz's objection to the Arizona --

UNKNOWN: -- this is objection. He was going to sell us out all along.

UNKNOWN: Really?

UNKNOWN: What the (BLEEP).

UNKNOWN: Objection to counting the electoral votes on the state of Arizona.

UNKNOWN: Wait, no. That's a good thing.

UNKNOWN: That's a good thing.

UNKNOWN: That's a good thing.

UNKNOWN: All right. All right.

UNKNOWN: Hawley, Cruz. I think Cruz would want us to do this.

UNKNOWN: Yes, absolutely.

UNKNOWN: So, I think we're good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW (on camera): So, the threat of violence has put police in all 50 states on high alert. National Guard troops are mobilized across the nation. They're aiming to prevent a repeat of that deadly riot at the U.S. capital in Washington. And an FBI warning is in place for all state capitals.

Well, CNN's security correspondent Josh Campbell is in Michigan where a small demonstration was held over the weekend.

[02:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: What you see behind me are military personnel patrolling American streets. These are members of the Michigan National Guard. They're here outside the state capitol. That following this FBI warning that we've been reporting on about potential armed protests in all 50 states. They've left nothing to chance here. A massive security posture. Let

me show you what the capital looks like right now which is similar to what we saw earlier in the day. You can see not a soul in sight. It is very desolate here, no protesters.

There was a small group out here during the day, about 25 protesters including some self-described members of the so called Boogaloo movement that have been on the radar of law enforcement but no violence, no instigators.

We talked to a police official here about what went into the planning and why this perhaps ended without a massive presence. Take a listen.

1ST LT. MICHAEL SHAW, MICHIGAN STATE POLICE: So we wanted to make sure that what happened in Washington did not happen here in Michigan so we put a lot more security outside, a lot more visible security than normally would be there. Naturally we always have security here so it's not like a big change.

But we wanted to make sure that people that wanted to come out here and exercise their first amendment rights if that was their choosing were able to do so peacefully.

CAMPBELL: Now when it comes to why they didn't see a large number of protests, it's worth pointing out that security officials are saying that it may be this bit large presence of personnel out here that served as a deterrent.

Perhaps people didn't want to come out and engage in violence and then get arrested by authorities. It's also worth noting that this wide net that the FBI has cast across the country after the January 6 capital attack, arresting so many people, could have also served as a deterrent.

The Feds saying that if you were part of instigating violence, they will be looking for you. Finally we've also been reporting that prior to today there were messages on some of these online messaging boards that are frequented by extremist groups that were actually warning people to boycott protests today saying that this may be a trap by law enforcement.

They wanted people to come out so they could then take them into custody. A lot of theories out there about why we didn't see these mass protest but law enforcement tells us that that doesn't mean that the security posture is going away anytime soon.

A state official that we talked to said that they are continuing to conduct an intelligence assessment, that will then dictate how long we will see U.S. forces patrolling American streets, especially up to the inauguration of the new president Joe Biden.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: Josh Campbell there reporting from Michigan. Thank you Josh. So disagreement over who should be responsible for vaccinating the Palestinian territories. How Israel stance differs from that of the United Nations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CURNOW: Israelis are getting vaccinated against the coronavirus at a record rate. More than 20 percent of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine. The UN says Israel has obligations though to vaccinate Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza as well. Israel says that's the job of the Palestinian authority.

Well, let's go to Sam Kiley. He joins us now from Jerusalem. Hi Sam. What more can you tell us about this?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Robyn as you say, there is a sort of dangerous irony that Israeli authorities accept that if you have a very successful vaccination program in the Israel - in Israel rather but not in the Palestinian territories, they're so close in proximity, ultimately herd immunity and such achievements will not be reached.

But none the less it is throwing up this disparity. A great deal of friction and a great deal of incomprehension for many people. This is my report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KILEY: This Jewish man and this Arab resident of Jerusalem have something lifesaving in common. They both got Israeli ID cards and can therefore benefit from Israel's world leading anti-COVID vaccination program.

Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on track to meet his claim of inoculating Israel's entire 9 million population by the end of March. But that, says the United Nations isn't good enough. The UN insists that Israel as the occupying power is responsible for ensuring that more than 4.5 million Palestinians also get vaccinated.

Morally and legally this differential access to necessary healthcare in the midst of the worst global health crises in the century is unacceptable, UN experts said.

A recent study produced by B'Tselem, an Israeli Human Rights group now says that the treatment of Palestinians across the whole area under Israeli control, it's so unequal they've labeled it apartheid.

Israel's embassy in London dismissed the report has not based in reality but on a distorted ideological view. Israel also rejected claims that it was responsible for the health of Palestinians insisting that the Palestinian authority was in charge.

YULI EDELSTEIN, ISRAELI MINISTER OF HEALTH: We're trying to get as many vaccines as is possible but our calculation was based on the Israeli citizens. If we'll get to the station where the all those in this country who wants to be vaccinated will be vaccinated, we will be more than ready to share the vaccines with our neighbors.

At this stage we are talking about Israeli citizens.

KILEY: This is Kafr Aqab, a Palestinian town annexed illegally according to international law to Jerusalem by Israel. It's cut off from the city by a security wall. Some Palestinians here like Anan on the right can get the COVID vaccine with their Israeli IDs. Others like Mahmood on the left cannot.

It's racist, Mahmood says. Anan says half of the people here cannot take it and also I'm not going to take it. Why would I take it when they can't? I won't. The Palestinian hospitals are struggling for funds after Donald Trump cut U.S. aid of $200 million to the Palestinians in 2018. Still the Palestinian authority says it's hoping to import vaccine soon but is struggling amid a worldwide shortage.

The percentage of Palestinian patients infected with COVID-19 who die is about 1.1 percent. Israel's is 0.7 percent but worse is the U.S. at 1.7 percent or the U.K. 2.6 percent. Yet infection rates are climbing and medics here cannot get vaccinations.

WAFA SHIHADEH, RAMALLAH CENTRAL HOSPITAL: We are starting to feeling get depressed because we're not getting the vaccines here in Palestinian territories in Palestine and we are seeing our - at the borders - at the other side of the border Israel are getting I think three days ago 1.6 million people got vaccinated and here in Palestine, the number of vaccinated people is zero.

[02:40:00]

KILEY: A statistic that shocks few Palestinians but is certain to add to the bitterness so many already feel towards their efficient and powerful neighbor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KILEY: So Robyn, ultimately this all boils down to the extent to which Israel is considered or considers itself an occupying power particularly when it comes to a control of the Palestinians in the areas under Palestinian authority control. Now 60 percent particularly of the West Bank is under complete Israeli's security and administrative control but that bleeds into more Palestinian control, the closer you get, particularly into the heavily urbanized areas. Robyn.

CURNOW: Thanks so much. Live there in Jerusalem Sam Kiley good to see you, thanks for that. So thanks to you also for watching CNN. I'm Robyn Curnow. For all of our international viewers, World Sport is next. For our viewers here in the U.S. and in Canada, I'll have more news after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CURNOW: It's 45 minutes past the hour and the national in Washington

looks far less crowded than it normally does around inauguration. Usually Giant Park in front of the capitol is used as a viewing area for the swearing in ceremony but this year, it'll be close to the public due to security concerns.

One official says seeing the empty mall is surreal but acknowledges it is necessary to ensure a peaceful transfer of power. But we do want to show you more of that shocking video of the capital siege released by the New York.

Again, we want to warn you the language and the images are disturbing but we feel it's important to show you an unfiltered version of the violence that day. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let the people in.

POLICE OFFICER: It ain't safe for you guys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We love you guys. Take it easy.

CROWD: Treason treason treason.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're scared of Antifa? Guess what? America showed up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Knock knock we're here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where the (BEEP) are they?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While we're here, we might as well set up a government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, let's take a seat people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is Nancy Pelosi. Where the (BEEP) is Nancy?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CURNOW: So with just days left until his inauguration, president elect Joe Biden is preparing to hit the ground running when he takes office. His team announced about a dozen executive orders he plans to sign on the first day and their direct rebuke to the Trump administration's policies. Arlette Saenz now reports.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, president elect Biden wants to show he's getting right to work right after his inauguration and his team is preparing roughly a dozen executive actions for him to sign on that very first day. A lot of these policies will build on promises he made during the presidential campaign and some of the executive actions are aimed at undoing policies from the Trump administration including rescinding that ban on travelers from predominantly Muslim countries as well as re-joining the Paris climate agreements. There are also some executive actions focusing on the pandemic, ones

that will halt evictions and foreclosures as well as continuing that pause on federal student loan payments throughout the pandemic and the president elect will also be signing an executive action to mandate masks in all federal buildings and interstate travel.

And with his inauguration just around the corner the president elect sent a message to his supporters. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT ELECT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We relied on you through those hard fought early days, the ups and downs all the way through today as Kamala and I get ready to become the next president and vice president of United States.

I can tell you that we would not have been here, we would not have this opportunity had you all not stepped up. You made this moment possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: And the president elect is expected to participate in a service event for the Martin Luther King Junior holiday. His inaugural committee is promoting a national day of service leading into the inauguration. Arlette Saenz, CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.

CURNOW: And Mr. Biden has already announced his first signature legislation, a $1.9 trillion economic relief package. Investors are eager to see what will happen with that. So I want to talk to John Defterios. He joins me now from Dubai. John, hi. Good to see you.

So president elect Joe Biden pledging to hit the ground running in his first 100 days. He certainly has a lot to do, a lot to achieve. Is he setting his sight too high?

[02:50:00]

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, there is a danger robin that this list is a little bit too long, particularly if you merge the domestic and international agendas if you will. I think priorities have to be political stability. That's what the international community is watching and also suppressing the virus as our reporter was suggesting there.

Let's look at this agenda that you talked about. $1.9 trillion, that's an ambitious surplus stimulus plan here if you can get it through. A 100 million vaccinations in the first 100 Days and importantly he says he wants those masks in place, at least for the first 100 Days to turn this thing around and so they can start to grow again.

And then finally which I think is also very important here is getting these stimulus checks out. he's adding $1400 to the $600 that we saw at the end of 2020 there. So $2000 and this is where the Biden finesse will come into play Robyn. Appeasing the progressive wing of his party. At the same time getting

the Senate Republicans on board but also talking about a minimum wage of $15 will need to make tax changes and in the corporate tax environment which is not going to happen right away. They have to get these other priorities out first but keeping the business community on board as well.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the business roundtable which was a leak gathering of CEOs both giving support to Joe Biden. I think they kind of welcome the stability vis a vis what they saw from Donald Trump over the last few years but they're going to need to keep him on board and not go too radical when it comes to the overall, the tax codes going forward.

CURNOW: Yes and who would have thought that political stability would be have to be the top of the list for an incoming president of the United States. With that in mind, what about the international agenda for the president elect. I mean what can we expect first and what sort of demands and impressions are now being made by many long-time allies of the U.S.

DEFTERIOS: Yes, you can almost feel sorry for Joe Biden, right? Robyn. Everyone's going to be pulling at him and this administration very quickly, particularly allies who have felt offended if you will under the Trump administration. We've talked about a couple of them but let's look at the kind of the great American reset of Joe Biden internationally.

The Paris Climate Agreement is worth mentioning again because he's putting John Kerry as his special envoy and as a member of the national security council, it is a priority for the Biden administration. They're even talking about a green deal. The Muslim travel ban we talked about.

That was implemented in the first month of the Trump administration. He amended it a few times if this is going to be a dislocated completely and from the business standpoint, the trade sanctions, it was a weapon that Donald Trump used on many, many occasions, probably pulled it out of far too many times.

The French foreign minister was suggesting over the weekend that they should suspend the U.S. sanctions on the European Union with those trans-Atlantic relations that were frayed. This again is going to be probably on the action list for it to Joe Biden and then we can't overlook this one and two largest economies of the world.

What does he do with China? Can't look soft on China but also you can't leave the relations where they are today which are torn because of the tit for tat sanctions over the last three years. Robyn.

CURNOW: Yes, certainly a lot in this inbox when you talking about it and a lot during this coming week. John Defterios, always good to speak to you though. Joining us live there.

DEFTERIOS: Thank you. CURNOW: So of course join us for extensive live coverage of the Biden

Inauguration this Wednesday January 20. And another story that we're following here at CNN. Immigration reform is high on president elect Biden's list of priorities. He'll take office just as a tense situation is developing in Guatemala.

On Sunday police there used batons and tear gas to stop a caravan of thousands of injured migrants trying to reach the U.S. border. Well Patrick Oppmann now describes what happened during that harrowing clash. Patrick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A caravan of migrants clashed with Guatemalan army at the border with Honduras over the weekend. CNN and its Espanol team witnessed Guatemalan forces firing tear gas and striking migrants with batons on Sunday morning.

Thousands of migrants tried to break through a security ring that had been set up but Guatemalan troops retaliated by detonating a stun bomb reports the group which included children back. Some of the migrants were detained. CNN has been unable to confirm how many people were injured. Guatemalan government says up to 8000 migrants have entered the country from Honduras since Friday, trying to gain access to highways to Mexico and ultimately the U.S. border.

The economic strain caused by the coronavirus pandemic along with two devastating hurricanes that struck the region late last year have pushed thousands of people to join U.S. bound caravans to flee the poverty and violence in their home countries.

Guatemala's ministry of foreign affairs urged Honduran authorities to do more to "contain the massive departure all its inhabitants" in a statement that was issued on Saturday. While, not responding directly to Guatemala's request, the National Institute of Migration in Honduras said on social media, it has reinforced three border points between the two countries with immigration inspectors.

[02:55:00]

Mexico's government has sent National Guard troops to the southern border with Guatemala to prevent the group from entering Mexican territory as they try to reach the United States. Patrick Oppmann, CNN, (inaudible).

CURNOW: Thanks Patrick for that. So a snowboarder has survived an avalanche in Colorado and caught all of this heart racing experience on video. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm good, I'm good. I'm safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CURNOW: Goodness. Maurice Kervin was carving down the slopes near

Loveland Pass for less than a minute when he really got swept up in that snow. He says he noticed the snow breaking, looking like what he described as spider webs. He used his backpacks fitted with an airbag to keep him on top of this snow. Now Kervin managed to escape without any injuries. So lucky, he's calling the experience very surreal.

So thanks for watching. I'm Robyn Curnow. Great to have you along this hour. The news continues as my colleague Rosemary Church. Enjoy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)