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Soon: President-Elect Biden Travels To Washington, D.C.; Biden Aims To Unify Divided Nation In His Inaugural Address; President-Elect Biden Faces Unprecedented Challenges, Divided Nation. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired January 19, 2021 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan. Thank you so much for joining us this hour.

A historic transition is about to unfold. A presidential inauguration unlike any ever seen before in this country. This is President Donald Trump's last full day as president. A little more than 24 hours, Joe Biden will be sworn as the 46th president of the United States.

But this transition and this transfer of power has been anything but peaceful and the country is anything but united right now. As political analyst Ron Brownstein put it, America is more divided than any time since the civil war. Making it crystal clear the enormous task ahead for Joe Biden and his team. He'll inherit an incredible set of challenges. Division, chaos and in a midst of a deadly pandemic that Donald Trump has all but forgotten. It was his job to lead. President Trump will be leaving office with 400,000 Americans killed from coronavirus and millions of jobs lost on his watch.

So, we are also keeping a very close eye on the White House today. As we know, Donald Trump has taped something of a farewell address, no word yet though what he's actually said in that recording or when it will be released. But he hasn't been seen in public in seven days. And he's expected to issue about maybe as many as a hundred pardons and commutations as he heads out of the door.

A lot could be happening this hour. We're covering all of the angles ahead of these historic days. CNN's John Harwood, he's live at the White House. CNN's M.J. Lee is in Wilmington, Delaware, covering President-elect Joe Biden. John, what exactly are you expecting from President Trump in his final full day in office?

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is a bit of a mystery, Kate, because Donald Trump has stayed out of the view. He suffered such a psychological blow from losing the election that he's mostly been hiding out from cameras bathing in this fantasy that he actually won the election and it was stolen from him. And one of the few sets of public remarks he made was that speech on January 6th that now left him with legal exposure for the deadly insurrection that followed.

So, we don't expect a live farewell address as president's usually do. Instead he's going to have some taped remarks released at some point, presumably praising accomplishments, perhaps economic or judicial appointments of his administration.

We also expect him to issue a raft of pardons. We just don't know how long that list is going to be, whether it includes himself, his family members. That is all going to be made clear over the next 24 hours. But we don't know the answers to that yet.

BOLDUAN: And M.J., what are we going to see from President-elect Biden today?

M.J. LEE, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he is first of all saying goodbye to Wilmington, Delaware. That is where he was been hunkered down throughout the pandemic where the transition work took place and where the campaign, the 2020 campaign really came to an end during COVID-19. And then, of course, he is going to be heading down to Washington, D.C.

Initially, he had really hoped that he could take the Amtrak train down to the nation's Capitol but he is no longer doing that because of the heightened security concerns. And then tonight, he gets to Washington D.C., both he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will be attending a memorial at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. This is to honor the lives of so many that have been lost during the COVID- 19 pandemic. And really sets a somber tone as we head into Inauguration Day.

And speaking of, tomorrow morning we're getting new details of how Biden will be spending his time. He is going to be going to church services in the morning in Washington, D.C. and invited members of congressional leadership and among those joining him will be Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell. Just a very stark reminder of two Republicans that we are seeing showing a sign of a deference and respect on Inauguration Day. Something that he has not gotten from the outgoing President Donald Trump.

BOLDUAN: John, to the end of what Donald Trump is doing or isn't doing. Let me read just a little bit of a reporting from our colleagues on the president's kind of final moments and where his head is if you will. This are reporting from our colleagues.

While he's early anticipating his military-style sendoff from Joint Base Andrews on inauguration morning, one of the few items that have cheered him up recently -- there were already signs the crowd may be smaller than he hoped.

And a slate of actual celebrities lined up for Biden's inauguration has disappointed a president who tried and often failed to secure A- list support for his own presidency.

I'm struck by just -- I don't know how to put it other than just how small this really is. On his way out of the door, John. He really still cares so much about crowd size.

HARWOOD: Kate, Donald Trump requires constant affirmation for his self-image and for the image that he projected to other people. So he's going to try to conjure up some sort of honor sendoff, flying off not as the ex-president, which is typically what happens after inauguration, but flying off while he's still president, still could command salutes from the military while his plane is still Air Force One.

[11:05:09]

He can't concede to Joe Biden. He can't extend the normal courtesies to Joe Biden. But the reality is that no matter how many people he gets to show up to Andrew's Air Force Base, his legacy is going to be of someone who was unfit for the job, who was the only president to be impeached twice, might ultimately be the only president who is convicted by the Senate. We don't know that yet. And he's somebody who spent four years deepening American divisions to the point that it resulted in a violent threat to American Democracy itself. It is a very ugly legacy for Donald Trump.

BOLDUAN: An ugly legacy and a mess, M.J., that Joe Biden is walking into. In 24 hours essentially, it is going to be his mess. What are you hearing from the transition about where they are focused, how they are feeling as they head in?

LEE: Well, they are aware of the reality that Joe Biden is going to be inheriting multiple national crises, COVID-19 being at the top of that list. They are fully aware of what a daunting task he has to try to get COVID under control, the vaccines distributed quickly. He's set this ambitious goal of 100 million vaccine shots in the first 100 days in office.

And there are so many things they feel like they don't know and the Biden presidency and the success of the Biden presidency will hinge so much on whether he could get COVID under control and whether he can turn things around and address sort of this nation that is in crisis and a nation that is grieving the many deaths that they have seen.

Also, the economic impact, right. It goes hand in hand with the COVID crisis and that is why he has proposed already this $1.9 trillion COVID relief package. We're about to find out whether he's able to get something ambitious like that done and work with Congress to get money into the pockets of the American people that have been suffering.

And then finally the other national crisis that he's going to be facing is the division. This is why we are going to be seeing probably -- a speech that will hit really hard on themes of national unity, of national healing. Perhaps not a surprise because this is a Joe Biden that we have heard over and over again throughout the campaign, throughout the transition, but particularly given what we saw happen on Capitol Hill two weeks ago, this is going to take all of the more importance when he speaks tomorrow as he's been sworn in as president, Kate.

BOLDUAN: M.J., John, thanks very much.

And with all of this in mind, and inauguration tomorrow, Washington remains a fortress. 25,000 National Guard troops are in the district. Which means it is virtually locked down after the insurrection on the Capitol January 6th.

And also, amid new concern over new threats. "The Washington Post" reports that the FBI is following tips about far-right extremists posing as National Guard members in order to try and infiltrate the inauguration.

CNN's Brian Todd, he is live in Washington on just a deserted, deserted road. Brian, what are you hearing about these new threats?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, the threats are significant enough that the concern is significant enough that the National Guard is doing more vetting of the troops here. You mentioned 25,000 National Guardsmen on the ground in Washington D.C.

They are giving them more layers of vetting now just to head off any potential for insider threats but military officials telling CNN and other news outlets, they don't have specific intelligence indicating that there are insider threats among the National Guard and General Daniel Hokanson, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, spoke about that not long ago. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. DANIEL HOKANSON, NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU CHIEF: It is not a threat for me. I'm not concerned about that at all. When we look at our National Guardsman, we vet them throughout the process. And we don't allow extremism of any type in our organization. And when we look at this as a national special security event, the inauguration, this type of vetting is standard with all of these events.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: So, you've got the vetting of the National Guard and you've got many layers of security. I'm going to show you an extraordinary one right here.

We're on the 14th Street Bridge. What is amazing to look at still is just look behind me. They're letting traffic go from D.C. to Virginia right there. But no traffic coming from Virginia into Washington. Extraordinary because this bridge is never shut down. It is one of the most heavily trafficked bridges in the entire mid-Atlantic region between these two spans of this bridge and two other bridges, the Memorial Bridge and the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge, about 800,000 cars a day pass over those bridges.

But look at this. No traffic coming in here. You have got a snowplow and a police vehicle blocking access there. We're told that the only vehicles being allowed are people who have I.D. to prove that they live in an area that is accessible from this bridge or security vehicles. Only a few vehicles -- a couple of vehicles you see coming across, only a few being let across but really extraordinary because on a normal day, just the traffic is just streaming through here and it is snarled frankly.

[11:10:06] Here is another visual for you. Here is the National Mall, and the Tidal Basin and The Jefferson Memorial. Normally, you would see people walking all around the basin at inauguration time. Look at it. It is deserted. Only security personnel, security vehicles. The National Mall completely shut down through Inauguration Day.

You know the layers of security. The fortressing of this city is just extraordinary right now. You know these are visuals of this bridge, no traffic on it, I can't tell you as a person who lives around D.C. how extraordinary it is to see this. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Yes. Brian, thank you so much.

Coming up for us, we're going to show you live pictures right now of the confirmation hearings that are beginning of three of Joe Biden's key cabinet picks. Next, what they are saying about the massive task before them right now.

Plus, as more details are emerging about the brutality of the Capitol Hill attack, there are more rioters facing federal charges. A look at some of the latest people charged including an army reservist with security clearance.

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[11:15:24]

BOLDUAN: We have breaking news just into CNN. The first conspiracy charges have just been filed against a man involved in, quote, "planning and coordinating" the breach against the Capitol. This coming from new court documents.

Let me get right over to CNN's Jessica Schneider who is tracking this. Jessica, this also involves leader of the right-wing group the Oath Keepers.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. A 65- year-old that they've arrested. So, prosecutor announcing they have made the first charges dealing with conspiracy, which is a very hefty charge here, it carries up to 20 years. This is against a leader in the extremist group Oath Keepers. Prosecutors saying that it is a Virginia man, 65-year-old Thomas Caldwell.

They say quite directly in these court documents, he was involved in planning and coordinating this breach from January 6th. So, Caldwell, he's allegedly the leader paramilitary right-wing group and prosecutors say he worked alongside eight to ten people who were wearing Oath Keeper gear.

So, again, this is a right-wing extremist group, prosecutors saying very specifically in the court documents that the 65-year-old Thomas Caldwell, that he did plan and coordinate this attack on the Capitol.

So, Kate, this is what we've been hearing from federal investigators. That they've been rounding up suspects all around the country. A lot of them charged with minor, somewhat minor charges, violent entry, they had gone into restricted property of the Capitol. But this is significant because as prosecutors have promised, they will be looking toward for serious charges and this is the first we're seeing of this conspiracy charge which carries a very hefty penalty, up to 20 years.

So, we're probably going to see more of this as these federal agents, really fan across the country. They're looking into these groups like this man is involved in and a leadership position, this right-wing group the Oath Keepers. So, this is the first. But expect to see more in the days ahead, Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right. Jessica, if you could just stand by for a second. Because also happening right now, on Capitol Hill, we have three of Joe Biden's cabinet nominees in the midst of their Senate confirmation hearings. Treasury secretary, director of National Intelligence and the secretary of Homeland Security. But even with these hearings, Biden is weeks behind schedule in getting his cabinet in place as we could see. He is on track to be the first president in a long time to not have a single cabinet member confirmed when he takes office.

So, Alejandro Mayorkas, he is Biden's pick for secretary of Homeland Security. His testimony this morning is understandably focused on preventing another attack like what we saw on the Capitol January 6th.

Jessica Schneider, she's back with me. She's also been tracking as well. Jessica, what have you heard from Alejandro Mayorkas so far?

SCHNEIDER: Well, he's taking a very forceful posture here, Kate. And he's stressing that DHS under his leadership will allocate all possible resources to combat white supremacist threats, domestic terrorism, hate crimes, all of this. And he's promising that if he is confirmed an attack on the U.S. Capitol in his words, will not happen again.

Notably, Mayorkas has extensive experience within DHS. He was deputy secretary under the Obama administration. He also served as the director of Citizenship and Immigration Services. And that's prompted four former DHS secretaries to issue bipartisan endorsements saying that he needs no training, he would be prepared on day one.

And notably as well, Mayorkas would be the first Latino and immigrant to lead DHS. He was born in Cuba and raised in Southern California. But it will be domestic terrorism that will likely continue as the number one threat to this country. Especially based on what we've seen over the past few weeks. And Mayorkas has said in this hearing that he is ready. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY NOMINEE: I will do everything I can to ensure that the tragic loss of life, the assault on law enforcement, the desecration of the building that stands as one of the three pillars of our democracy, the terror that you felt, your colleagues, staff and everyone present will not happen again.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SCHNEIDER: And, Kate, the senators here, they're stressing the disarray that DHS has seen during the Trump administration. Six secretaries of Homeland Security in the past four years.

But as you noted, Kate, it does not look likely that a lot of these secretaries, cabinet members will be confirmed by Inauguration Day. They're way behind schedule.

[11:20:02]

And just to give you an idea, President Trump had two confirmed on Inauguration Day. President Obama had six approved on Inauguration Day. So far Joe Biden is still working to get these nominees out there. With a lot of stake here, Kate.

BOLDUAN: No kidding. As we're seeing more and more today. Thank you so much, Jessica.

So, Joe Biden's pick to be director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines. She is making clear in her testimony this morning that she sees no place for politics when it comes to the nation's intelligence. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AVRIL HAINES, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE NOMINEE: To be effective, the DNI must never shy away from speaking truth to power, even especially when doing so may be inconvenient or difficult. To safeguard the integrity of our intelligence community, the DNI must insist that when it comes to intelligence, there is simply no place for politics ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Janet Yellen, Biden's pick for Treasury secretary is also speaking out in confirmation hearings, imploring Congress today to go big when it comes to the next COVID relief package.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANET YELLEN, TREASURY SECRETARY NOMINEE: Neither the president-elect nor I propose this relief package without an appreciation for the country's debt burden. But right now, with interest rates at historic lows, the smartest thing we can do is act big. And in the long run I believe the benefits will far outweigh the costs. Especially if we care about helping people who have been struggling for a very, very long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining me right now is Democratic senator from Maryland, Chris Van Hollen. Senator, thank you for the time.

Janet Yellen, it is one thing to hear that from the nominee to be Treasury secretary, to go big on the COVID relief package. Do you think what she is saying, though, convinces what we've already seen as skeptical Republicans about this?

SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): Well, Kate, it is good to be with you. First, once President Biden is sworn in, there are some measures that he could take immediately through executive action. But you're right, in order to pass the American rescue plan, we're going to need Republican cooperation in the Senate or we're going to have to use a longer process called budget reconciliation.

I hope we could enlist number Republicans who hopefully recognize the urgency of the situation. Both in terms of the pandemic and providing economic relief that we'll be able to do this without having to take the longer process of budget reconciliation.

BOLDUAN: But senator, just on the simple fact of what you're looking at today, it looks like Joe Biden will have zero of his cabinet secretaries in place when he takes office tomorrow. Are you concerned about what that means? I mean do you know who the acting's are going to be even in charge come noon on Wednesday?

VAN HOLLEN: Well, I am concerned about this delay. And it is why the Senate is going to need to move very quickly to confirm these individuals. I think the president-elect has indicated that the senior civilian officers in these agencies will take the helm until his nominees are confirmed. But it is really important that we move forward quickly to confirm these individuals given the stakes that we all face.

BOLDUAN: And look, I also wanted to ask you about the breaking news that we just reported, that the first conspiracy charges have now been filed, federal charges relating to the Capitol Hill riot. This is really a first charge relating to the fact that this was planned and coordinated. And the man charged is an apparent leader of the extremist right-wing group the Oath Keepers. What is your reaction to that?

VAN HOLLEN: Well, we have to take these right-wing extremist groups, these white supremacist groups much more seriously. You know the FBI identified this as a threat some time ago. But under the Trump administration, it appears very little action was taken. We need to prosecute people who planned this attack. And of course, we also need to hold President Trump accountable.

That is what the House did in the impeachment proceedings because he incited this violent attack on the Capitol. All for the purpose of disrupting the Electoral College vote. So, it is going to be very important, Kate, that we pursue all of these avenues and hold people fully accountable.

BOLDUAN: Can I ask you about impeachment. Part of impeachment question I have is - well, let me just play it for you, what Lindsey Graham actually said this weekend about impeachment and it was his message to Joe Biden on how to handle it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): You talk about unifying the country. If you do not stand up against the impeachment of President Trump, after he leaves office, you're an incredibly weak figure in American history. President Trump is trying to heal the nation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:25:09]

BOLDUAN: President Trump is trying to heal the nation. Senator, what do you say to that?

VAN HOLLEN: Yes, look, this is really rich coming from Senator Graham who was one of the people who bought into and spread the big lie that Trump had been cheated out of this election. Lindsey Graham contacted Pennsylvania legislatures. He was part of the effort to overturn the election.

So, the first stop, first measure is Senator Graham and the other sort of co-conspirators in this big lie need to be front and center about the role they played in undermining our Democracy and our Constitution.

We need at this moment to do two things. We need to make it absolutely clear that this kind of unconstitutional conduct is unacceptable. That is why we will proceed with the trial when we receive the article of impeachment. We also do need to get about the urgent business of defeating the pandemic and getting the economy going. And we could do both. And that is what president Biden wants to do.

BOLDUAN: A huge task ahead. Senator, thank you.

VAN HOLLEN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, a veteran of the New York City Fire Department, an army reservist and a possible plot to sell a stolen laptop to Russia. New details ahead about the latest round of charges in the Capitol Hill attack.

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