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New York Has Administered 100 Percent Of Its Allocated Vaccine Doses; Biden Coronavirus Advisers Confident More Vaccines Are Coming; Broadcasting Legend Larry King Dies At Age 87; Trump And DOJ Lawyer Said To Have Plotted To Oust Acting AG; Senate Trial Arguments To Begin February 9. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired January 23, 2021 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:59:50]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, he did. He was so, so special.
Peter, thank you so much for your thoughts on this day.
And to our viewers, an important note, CNN will be honoring Larry King with a special later tonight, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, Larry's old time slot, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, "THE KING OF TALK: REMEMBERING LARRY KING" airs later tonight here on CNN.
Let me just leave you with these thoughts. Larry King was a good friend, a really great guy. Our deepest, deepest condolences to his loving family and his friends. May he rest in peace and may his memory be a blessing.
Our coverage continues right now with Fredricka Whitfield.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me.
I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
A dire situation in the United States as coronavirus is breaking new records.
But first, tragic news on the loss of a legendry broadcaster and iconic CNN alum. We're learning this morning Larry King has died. He passed away at Cedar Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The cause of death has not yet been revealed though King had been hospitalized with COVID-19 just a few weeks ago.
He spent six decades on radio, television and digital media. And we will take a look back at his illustrious career and life.
And right now, we turn to the pandemic and the struggle the country is having to get it under control. Another 3,600 deaths on Friday alone. This as the vaccine rollout continues to struggle.
The CDC reported a single-day vaccination record on Friday, nearly 1.6 million doses administered. But states are now facing critically low shortages as millions of Americans try to get vaccinated -- long lines at vaccine sites across the country, like this one at Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles.
CNN's Natasha Chen is in Atlanta for more on Georgia's vaccine rollout and also CNN's Polo Sandoval in New York.
Let's begin with you, Polo. New York administering 97 percent of its allocated vaccine doses. What is next?
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As of just a few minutes ago, Fred, you can make that 100 percent. We just heard from Governor Andrew Cuomo just a few moments ago saying that what he said would happen yesterday did in fact happen. That is that that five-week allotment of the COVID-19 vaccines that was distributed throughout the state of New York, they've all been administered.
However, he does say that he does expect week six to slowly begin to trickle into the state and distribute it through all parts of the state, including here, which is really the largest vaccination center in the state of New York.
You're looking at about 240,000 more doses that are expected in the days ahead. Again that's that week six allotment. But here is the thing, though, Fred. Just recently the state of New York essentially expanded the list of people that are eligible for this vaccine and that includes now up to seven million people.
You do the math and that is going to take months and that is why the state of New York is adding its voice to the chorus of states essentially calling on the Biden administration to speed up that manufacturing of the vaccine.
The state of New York has been vaccinating about 80,000 people a day. They want to make that 100,000 a day but the reality is in order to get there, they need to have a larger supply.
And again, that's not just New York but that's across the board. You've heard governors in multiple states asking to speed up the production because the big concern right now is that these new variants, including the one that was recently detected in the U.K., there will be more of those cases and yet those vaccination efforts will be continuing to fall short, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Polo in New York, thank you so much.
Let's go to Natasha now in Georgia. The state of Georgia is outlining residency requirements for coronavirus vaccines. How concerned are officials about people, you know, coming out to get their shots?
NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: well, Fred, there have been some isolated reports of people crossing state lines into Georgia to get a vaccine just because they could get an appointment. I did verify with the State Department of Health yesterday that they're reminding all providers that the vaccine coming into Georgia is for residents only. They have to be at least part-time residents with some exceptions like people who might live in another state, but work in Georgia. That's ok.
And I know Florida has had to make some similar adjustments this week to make sure that the vaccine is for Florida residents.
Now, here at the Morehouse School of Medicine, you see all these cars lined up for people to get their first doses. That's not an issue here. They had to actually prove residency in Fulton County to be able to come here.
What's of greater concern when I talked to providers at different locations is that there's no consistency or certainty in when a shipment of vaccine comes in. So they don't open new appointments until they can confirm what they have in hand.
[11:04:53]
CHEN: Another issue is just having the resources, enough people to put shots in arms. And here's what Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, the dean and president of Morehouse School of Medicine said about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. VALERIE MONTGOMERY RICE, DEAN, MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: We fortunately have medical students and residents who we have trained, but all of them are busy where, at the hospitals that are oversubscribed right now. So we haven't been able to pull them.
So we're going to go to retired nurses, retired medical assistants, retired other health care personnel and ask them to come and partner with us through volunteering. And then if we get grant dollars, we will be able to hopefully compensate them some way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHEN: And they've been doing these Saturday vaccinations through January. They're completely booked up. And that's what we're seeing across the country -- just this huge imbalance of supply and demand.
Just as one example Publix grocery stores operating in the southeast, they just opened up new appointments in Florida yesterday. Within two and a half hours, more than 48,000 appointment slots were taken, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Wow. Lines everywhere becoming commonplace, if not for COVID testing, then now for the vaccine.
All right. Thank you so much. Natasha Chen, Polo Sandoval -- appreciate it.
All right. President Biden has promised 100 million vaccinations will be administered within his first 100 days in office. And advisers now say they're confident more vaccines are coming to shore up the supply.
CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz is joining me right now. So Arlette, you know, how is the administration planning to get this done? At least the goal.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, President Biden has said that getting vaccinations to Americans will be a wartime undertaking. And what he is trying to do is leverage all of the tools of the federal government to try to get as many vaccines as possible into Americans' arms. You've heard the Biden administration say that what they inherited from the Trump administration as far as planning for that vaccine is worse than they could have imagined coming into this.
And what you are hearing now from some of his top advisers, including his nominee for surgeon general, is that they are confident that more vaccine will be on the way.
Take a listen to what Vivek Murthy had to tell a group of mayors yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIVEK MURTHY, U.S. SURGEON-GENERAL NOMINEE: We've been deeply involved in conversations with the companies, on a very regular basis. And those are conversations that, frankly, started even before the election to try to understand just more closely what the supply was, what the challenges were, what the roadblocks were to getting even more supply accelerated.
Those conversations I think have given us more confidence that there is more supply coming and that it will continue to steadily increase over the next few months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: Now, one thing you saw President Biden do this week was invoke the Defense Production Act, which could help make some of the equipment and supplies needed to make those shots.
You are also seeing the Biden administration take some steps to try to help states, you know. Yesterday the White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that they've directed the CDC to look into the possibility that states may be running out of the vaccine doses that have been provided to them.
But it's very clear that tackling and getting a plan together for this vaccine distribution is of top of mind and top priority for the Biden administration.
WHITFIELD: All right. Arlette Saenz, thanks so much. We'll check back with you.
All right. Coming up, remembering an icon, Larry King -- tributes to him from all of those who remember being interviewed from him. It was the gamut from presidential candidates to celebrities, athletes and everyday people.
Here is what King said at the end of his last show, December 16th, 2010.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, FORMER CNN TV HOST: It's not very often in my life I've been without words, but I want to thank everybody associated with this program. All the people behind the scenes, as I mentioned, Wendy and the staff. The floor people, everybody who makes it possible, even the suits at the top. I love them, too.
When I started 25 years ago at a little studio in Washington, D.C., I never thought it would ever last this long or come to this.
So I'm going to go on and do a lot of other things, we're going to do specials here on CNN and I'm going to be seen in other places and do some radio work, be around baseball.
So you're not going to see me go away, but you're not going to see me here on this set anymore. For two weeks they're going to be playing highlight shows.
I don't know what to say, except to you, my audience, thank you. And instead of good-bye, how about so long?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:09:50]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Sadly, this breaking news today, the world has lost one of the truly great voices in broadcasting. Larry King has passed away at the age of 87. The cause of death has not yet been announced, but a source close to the family said in early January that King had been hospitalized with COVID-19.
King was a legend, an icon, known the world over for his exclusive interviews with celebrities and world leaders alike. He spent six decades on the air, on television, radio, and digital media. And for more than 25 years, he hosted "LARRY KING LIVE" right here on CNN.
Here is Wolf Blitzer with much more on King's extraordinary life and legacy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: He was the King of talk.
WENDY WALKER, CNN PRODUCER: Larry was the face of CNN.
BLITZER: From presidents to professional athletes.
KING: Do you still face racism when you play?
[11:14:56]
BLITZER: Music royalty --
KING: How did they tell you you're going to be a knight?
BLITZER: -- to royalty. Movie stars to murderers.
KING: What's it like to kill someone?
BLITZER: Heads of state to captains of industry.
KING: Is that a logical expansion bill for Microsoft?
BLITZER: No one captured pop culture like Larry King on his iconic show.
WALKER: It was breaking news. It was long profiles. It was presidents.
TED TURNER, FOUNDER, CNN: It was the most interesting show that we had.
BLITZER: Interesting in part because King landed so many exclusives.
KING: "Deep Throat" himself, Mark Felt finally speaks.
BLITZER: And got hard-to-get stars to open up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A good question can open up doors in my mind that I would never think of discussing with anybody.
BLITZER: Larry King made news, broke news, and broke ground.
KING: Together for the first time ever on television: Jordan's King Hussein, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat talk about peace in the Middle East.
BLITZER: In live TV anything can happen.
KING: It is like a leg.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Only a lizard.
BLITZER: And on "LARRY KING LIVE" it certainly did.
MARLON BRANDO, ACTOR: Goodbye.
KING: Goodbye.
He got up close and personal in more than 50,000 interviews, across a career spanning more than six decades.
Not bad for a Jewish boy from Brooklyn, born in 1933. Back then, he was Lawrence Zeiger.
KING: My father died when I as nine and a half. I was on relief for three years. I've dreamed of being on the radio one day. That's all I ever dreamed of.
BLITZER: That dream came true in the 1950s in Miami, Florida. New city, new job and a new name, courtesy of his boss.
KING: He's got the "Miami Herald" open and there was an ad for King's wholesale liquors. And he says that's your name, Larry King.
BLITZER: In the late 70s, King hosted a show airing coast to coast.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mutual Radio presents "The Larry King Show".
BLITZER: A national audience got to know King and his knack for lively conversation.
KING: What you want in an interview is a passion, a sense of humor, ability to explain what you do very well, and a little bit of a chip on your shoulder.
BLITZER: Ted turner came calling in 1985. He needed a new host for his fledgling Cable News Network.
KING: This is the premiere edition of "LARRY KING LIVE".
TURNER: I think we both put each other on the map.
KING: We made CNN because everyone started coming to that show.
BLITZER: Among them, the leaders of the free world.
KING: I don't want to dwell on the Watergate thing.
You might well have been re-elected if you didn't pardon Richard Nixon.
What are you proudest of?
What is it like to be shot?
BLITZER: Former CNN White House producer, Wendy Walker, oversaw King's show for 18 years.
WALKER: Larry talked to all the presidents and I think they all felt very comfortable talking to him.
KING: Do you still like this job?
WALKER: Nobody knew if Larry was a Republican or Democrat. He had no agenda.
BLITZER: One frequent guest even filled in for Larry before moving on to other things.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm Donald Trump, sitting in for Larry tonight.
KING: Trump was a great guest because he was a character. But president, I never thought of him as president.
BLITZER: "LARRY KING LIVE" had an international audience. Global leaders knew if they talked to King, they talked to the world.
NELSON MANDELA, FORMER SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT: Terrorism depends on --
KING: Who wins.
MANDELA: Not. I was called a terrorist, yesterday. but then came up would many people embraced me, including my enemies.
KING: Was there a holocaust.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you want to impose your viewpoint on me.
KING: No, it's not a viewpoint, it's a question.
KING: I normally don't like to get argumentative, but that really drove me up a loop.
BLITZER: As an interviewer, King usually was easy going, but sometimes critics were not.
WALKER: I loved having people say that Larry asked softball questions because I just figured more people would come on. I think it was more that he didn't ask long questions. He asked those short questions so it would be about the guest.
BLITZER: Sometimes it really was about King or really his signature suspenders. He started wearing them in the 80s after he lost weight following heart surgery.
KING: You both wore bracers in my honor?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right. We certainly did to -- just because you always wear these things.
BLITZER: Sometimes the show focused on more serious subjects.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to a special edition of "LARRY KING LIVE": The Northern American Free Trade Agreement.
BLITZER: Like the historic NAFTA debate he moderated in 1993. It was Larry's most watched show on CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you stop it without NAFTA?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me your whole mind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I'm listening. I haven't heard the answer but go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's because you haven't quit talking.
KING: -- clearly won that debate and Clinton called me up the day after that and he said I owe you big-time.
BLITZER: June, 1994 -- another historic TV moment unfolds while King is on the air.
[11:19:59] KING: Police believe that O.J. Simpson is in that car.
BLITZER: The slow-speed chase gave way to the trial of the century and one of the biggest stories of King's career.
WALKER: The O.J. Simpson story was the first reality TV.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, live from Los Angeles, here is Larry King.
BLITZER: After court wrapped up for the day, key figures in the trial headed to King's show night after night.
WALKER: We ended up knowing all the players from Johnny Cochran --
KING: A lawyer doesn't have to believe his client did or didn't do something, correct?
WALKER: -- to Marcia Clark.
KING: Did you say we are fighting a losing battle here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You bet.
WALKER: It was such a shocking, amazing story that we covered it from the beginning until the end.
BLITZER: When it was over, even the man at the center of it all, went to King first.
KING: With us on the phone now is O.J. Simpson.
O.J. SIMPSON, FORMER FOOTBALL PLAYER: So many of my friends have told me that you've been fair in hosting your show and bringing the points of view from both sides.
BLITZER: Covering the trial from Los Angeles affected King's personal life. That's where he met his seventh wife, Shawn. They were together more than 20 years before filing for divorce in 2019. But his longest relationship was with the microphone.
KING: I was in love with what I was doing. You know why? It never lets me down. This is my blanket.
BLITZER: In dark times, viewers turned to King to help make sense of the world. He said the hardest story he ever covered was 9/11.
KING: Tonight, we'll visit Ground Zero, a place of unspeakable horror and extraordinary heroes.
BLITZER: King hosted telethons benefiting victims of disasters like the Haiti earthquake and Hurricane Katrina. He started his own charity after his first heart attack in the late 80s.
The long-time smoker also had diabetes, successfully fought prostate and lung cancer and underwent quintuple bypass surgery. In the spring of 2019 King checked back into the hospital for chest pain, one of many hospital stays for reported cardiac and circulation issues.
In the summer of 2020, he mourned the loss of two children, his son Andy to a heart attack and his daughter Chaia to lung cancer.
After a quarter century at CNN, King decided to hang up his cable news suspenders.
KING: Welcome to the last "LARRY KING LIVE" -- it's hard to say that. I knew this day was coming --
BLITZER: It was 2010 and by then King had set the Guinness world record for longest running show with the same host on the same network in the same time slot.
KING: It was a wonderful ride. Best years of my life.
BLITZER: He was done with CNN, but he wasn't finished.
KING: Welcome to "Larry King Now" --
BLITZER: In 2012, King returned to the interview chair on the digital streaming network ORA TV.
KING: I haven't changed. Technology has changed.
BLITZER: Larry King spent his life asking others about themselves. But when the king of talk was asked about himself, he reflected on a broadcasting legacy that entertained, enlightened and endured.
KING: Through his ability he brought information and entertainment to people. In times of stress, he helped them overcome it. In times of joy, he helped them enjoy it. Loved every minute of it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And boy, did we enjoy and loved every minute of him being in that space.
I want to bring in now my colleague, Wolf Blitzer. Wolf, so good to see you.
I know you and Larry were long-time, you know, friends and colleagues. What do you remember about him today?
BLITZER: He was just a great, great guy and he was always so nice, always so helpful. He was a mentor. It's been many, many years, even before he joined CNN, Fred, he used to do an overnight show on Mutual Broadcasting here in Washington, actually northern Virginia right across the Potomac River. You're familiar with the area.
And he would often invite me. I wasn't working for CNN. I was just a print reporter here in Washington and he would invite me to come out and talk about what was going on. That's when I first got to know him. Then when he eventually, you
know, joined CNN, he would invite me on as well. I had a couple of books that came out, he would have me on for the hour. The books sold well as a result of that.
And he always asked the right -- he made it clear he never read my books or anything like that. But he just wanted to talk about the subject and I was more than happy to talk about it.
And then over the years we worked very closely together here in Washington before he moved his show and moved out to Los Angeles. I would see him almost on a daily basis.
[11:24:56[
BLITZER: And he would invite me and his executive producer, Wendy Walker, would invite me to fill in for him when he was off.
And sometimes it was sad times when I had to fill in for him because he was in the hospital having bypass surgery or something like that. And I would come in and I was a White House correspondent at the time. But all of a sudden I was doing a one-hour fill-in for "LARRY KING LIVE" and we were talking about Jon Benet Ramsey, or the Balloon Boy or stuff or O.J. Simpson, stuff like that which I wouldn't be covering as a White House correspondent.
But He and his team were always so generous, sop helpful. They taught me so much about being an interviewer on television. It was just a great experience for me
But what was most important, Fred, and you got to know him, I'm sure, a little bit as well, he was always so decent and, as I said to Anderson Cooper earlier, he was a real mensch.
WHITFIELD: Well, you know, I love the simplicity about him and people might find that hard to believe. First time I met him, probably around 2006 or 2007 and I had only been here, you know, about four or five years and he just kind of casually walking into the newsroom and, you know, we chatted a little bit and he was complimentary and kind.
And then I would see him again 2017, of course he had left CNN by now. but I actually ran into him while covering the inauguration for President Trump. And you know he was just really, you know, short and sweet about that next chapter in his life.
You know, you talked about how -- you would talk about you would be on his show about your book but he would never read it. And it's funny to hear from his long-time producer Wendy Walker, who would say he actually wouldn't read books and he wouldn't do a lot of research on someone. He just wanted it to be a real casual, regular conversation.
BLITZER: Yes. And it was so obvious and it worked.
You know, to be on television, as you know, Fred for 25 years, a primetime show on CNN from 9:00 to 10:00 and that show was not only airing here in the United States, it was simulcast on CNN International. It was going out all over the world.
And wherever I would go, and I would do a lot of international traveling, people would always say to me, whether I was in Europe or Asia or South America, wherever I was, do you know Larry King, we watch Larry King.
WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh people ask me that about you, Wolf. But go ahead.
BLITZER: Right. They would always ask me about Larry King and I would always say he's a great guy, he does a great show. I love his show and they would be watching his show as well. And he just had a global presence.
And, you know, in that clip I showed, it was so significant. Here he had, you know, the King of Jordan, King Hussein at the time, Yitzhak Rabin, who was the prime minister of Israel and Yasser Arafat, who was the head of the PLO. All three of them are together at a time when there was great hope that maybe there could be real peace emerging in the Middle East.
And he brought them altogether and they were willing to go on his show because he was Larry King and he had this global international presence, which was so important, so powerful. And he did so much for you and me and all of us here at CNN, he gave us that U.S., that global presence. He put CNN really on the map.
And I remember when I was hired in 1990 by Ted Turner, who was the founder of CNN, you know, one of the things he was saying to me at the time is, you know, this is going to be an amazing time at CNN.
And Ted was so proud -- he was so proud of Larry, what Larry had done for CNN. You and I are so proud of him as well.
WHITFIELD: Absolutely. I mean, because of him, you know, we are able to enjoy so much at this network.
Wolf, so good to see you. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
BLITZER: And, Fred, we're so proud of you, too.
WHITFIELD: Oh, thanks. You're kind. Thanks, Wolf.
All right. We'll have so much more of Larry King's iconic moments with world leaders, politicians, musicians and celebrities throughout the day. Including this one on the day of O.J. Simpson's infamous chase.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Perhaps he doesn't think that maybe the money that athletes are being paid today is --
KING: Ok, I'm going to have to interrupt this call. I understand we're going to go to a live picture in Los Angeles, is that correct?
Ok, this is Interstate 5 and this is courtesy of KCAL, one of our L.A. affiliates.
Police believe that O.J. Simpson is in that car. Police believe he is in that vehicle. Let's pick up what the KCAL broadcaster is saying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:29:25]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. We're also following today breaking news on former president, Donald J. Trump. "The New York Times" is reporting that the former president plotted with a Justice Department lawyer to oust acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen in an attempt to undo Georgia's election results.
The "Times" report says justice leadership threatened a mass resignation in protest if then-President Trump went ahead with that plan. This development comes as the Senate prepares to hold a second impeachment trial for Trump in early February.
With me now: Michael Zeldin, a former federal prosecutor. He's also host of the podcast "That Said with Michael Zeldin". Michael, good to see you.
MICHAEL ZELDIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. So this is pretty, you know, extraordinary. On the Georgia race, do you see potentially that Justice Department officials might be called to testify in an upcoming impeachment trial of the president?
[11:34:57]
ZELDIN: Yes, it's very possible. The article of impeachment has sort of two clauses to it. One is the incitement to riot and that's really the January 6th speech and everything that took place on that day.
The other part is the part that precedes that, and that includes the efforts to pressure Georgia election officials to decertify or certify for Trump those election results. "The New York Times" report says that Trump was really trying to undo that with a false DOJ investigation.
And so the people who were party to those calls with Trump, the White House counsel people and the former DOJ people, may well be witnesses to that pressure campaign.
WHITFIELD: And at the same time in this upcoming trial, you have senators and other lawmakers who have implicated or accused of assisting or even helping to incite the riot. How would they potentially play a role in an upcoming trial as well?
ZELDIN: Well, they're potential witnesses. They're also potential victims because they were there in the Capitol building. So it's an odd thing to have a juror who is a witness and a victim. (CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: And then potentially making judgments.
ZELDIN: Exactly -- exactly right. But that's sort of collateral to the impeachment, whether or not Hawley or Cruz or any of those members of the House who are alleged to have done stuff in preparation for the incite would be separately asked to be censured or expelled or something.
But those guys could be witnesses too to the pressure campaign that gave rise to the incitement, because you can't easily charge just the speech, because there's First Amendment stuff that protects it. So you have to really lay the foundation for the months' long effort to undo the election results. And those guys, if they were part of that effort, will become relevant witnesses, yes.
WHITFIELD: And then, Michael, for a long time you've been both inside looking in and outside looking in in high profile cases in Washington for a very long time during the Clinton impeachment. You were very much involved there, which brings me to Larry King.
You were a regular on Larry King's show and here we are celebrating his life sadly, at the passing of this icon. What are your memories of what it was to be interviewed by Larry King?
ZELDIN: So I did a lot with Larry King during the Clinton impeachment. And then Deshawn (INAUDIBLE) and wolf and I were emailing this morning, we both said the same words at the same time which was he was a mensch. He was just a good guy.
And when you were on his show, you felt like -- it's sort of like being on your show, Fred, in a sense, in that I don't feel like he was ever going to try to set me up or trap me. It was just a friendly conversation, let's just have a conversation about the issues that America wants to listen to and everyone will learn from it.
So that's why you had all these high people, the Yasser Arafats of the world willing to come on, because there was no setup. It was always just going to be like this show, it was always going to be an honest conversation, which made it a pleasure to be with him.
WHITFIELD: Oh, that is so nice of you Michael. It's nice to hear your reflections and nice to hear those kind words, too.
And certainly I'm a student of Larry King, always admired him and hoped that I learned and gained from his style.
Thanks much. Thanks, Michael.
ZELDIN: You know, one more point, Fred. The first thing I remember about Larry King when I -- my very first show with him was on the set he was there in jeans and not a full suit. I thought, oh, my God, are you allowed to wear jeans on television? But there he was. That was just quintessentially him.
WHITFIELD: Right, you can do that if you're Larry King. That's cool. All right. Thanks, Michael. Appreciate it.
And we've got so much more on other news, but first another memorable Larry King interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Did you say to yourself, this is the president?
MONICA LEWINSKY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE INTERNET: Larry, I was a 22-year- old foolish kid and I think there was this charismatic, powerful man, who was standing there showing interest in me. And I was attracted to him and I -- I think I was swept up, you know, with the power of the presidency and later found myself swept away by the government as a result of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:39:49]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Senate leaders have reached a deal scheduling the second impeachment trial of former president Donald J. Trump. It is expected to begin in two weeks, starting February 9th.
Suzanne Malveaux joins us now from Capitol Hill. Suzanne, tell us more about the timeline.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fred.
Well, this deal that was struck by the new Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Mitch McConnell offers both sides something that they want, this two-week period allowing potentially Democrats and the Biden administration an opportunity to get some of those cabinet nominations through.
At the same time McConnell asking for the Trump legal team to give them time to prepare for this case. Not as much time as he had hoped, but certainly a two-week window.
So here is how it becomes in earnest on Monday, January 25th. Literally you have the House managers will walk through the capitol from the House side to the Senate side and present the single article of impeachment to the secretary of the senate: incitement of insurrection.
[11:44:56]
And then the formality the next day as required by the constitution, there will be some ceremonial functions of the trial, including a summons issued to Trump. February 2nd, a critical deadline where Trump has to give his response. The House managers present their pre-trial briefings.
Another critical deadline is February 8th. That, Trump must present his own pretrial briefing and there will be a House rebuttal. And then, of course, in earnest February 9th is when the senate trial begins.
Big question, Fred, of course, is whether or not there's going to be a conviction. It would require all 50 Democrats, as well as 17 Republicans -- two-thirds majority in the senate. That is not likely, but we are looking at some who are on the fence who are expressing some reservations, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. And then apparently there's kind of a backroom cajoling and negotiating, talking about, you know, the president would need to at least face some sort of consequence for helping to incite. And if they don't have some sort of consequence, that too, sends a pretty damaging message.
MALVEAUX: There's also a move afoot for Senator Mitch McConnell to basically purge Trump from the GOP. That is something that people are quietly discussing that they want to create some sort of distance from Trump moving forward as well, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Suzanne Malveaux on Capitol Hill. Thanks so much for that.
All right. Still ahead, remembering the legendary Larry King and some of his most memorable interviews.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't touch this. This is a cane toad, everybody. All right. If you notice these are poison glands. Will he hop right here?
This is a king toad. Those are poison glands. This toad, Larry, is the one that came over from South America. They brought it into this country, southern Florida. It's causing a lot of deaths with dogs. Dogs try to eat this and there's poison glands right here, man. Right back there.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get it away from me. Get it off me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just a toad. It's a toad.
KING: You're ok.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's ok. He didn't bite you.
KING: He didn't bite you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey Chance, I don't like him either.
KING: yes. You're ok. He didn't bite.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's good. You were good, Chance.
KING: Give me five.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me five. Give me five, Chance. Give me five.
KING: Say good-bye to the toad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bye.
[11:47:15]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: This morning we're remembering the life of legendary broadcaster Larry King. The pioneering talk show host has died at the age of 87. The cause of death has not been announced, but a source close to the family said in early January that King had been hospitalized with COVID-19.
King became a household name during his quarter of a century interviewing a wide range of guests on his popular nightly tv show "LARRY KING LIVE" right here on CNN.
Tom Johnson was president of CNN, and worked with Larry King. So, good to see you, Tom. What are your thoughts and your memories of Larry King?
TOM JOHNSON, FORMER CNN PRESIDENT: Fredricka, The Larry King Show was the only show that reported directly to me for my 11 years at CNN and I had conversations with his wonderful executive producer Wendy Walker frequently, four or five times a day, including weekends.
Along the way I became close friends with Larry. I mean, I will always remember Larry's generosity. His thoughtfulness. I mean he had this incredible just personal spirit about him.
And it -- I was always warned that you should never get too close to those who work with you because there may come a time when you have to deliver some bad news. Well, I've disregarded that always, and especially with Larry King.
He -- was just an extraordinarily kind person, full of curiosity, loved his work. And it just -- you know, it's such a sad day in many ways. I also should emphasize within the last 24 hours I've also lost another very close friend and friend of Larry's. And that was the legendary Hank Aaron who died in his sleep yesterday morning.
In my opinion, two of the real giants of the world -- one in sports, and one in broadcasting.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh, that is so true. I mean just within a 24-hour period, I mean, to lose a legend, you know, him and Hank Aaron. You know, they really are just a year apart, and he and Larry King, and we understand, you know, Hank Aaron dying in his sleep.
And so nice of you to bring him up and pay tribute to him with your relationship. So give me kind of a succinct memory of your interactions with Hank Aaron.
JOHNSON: Well, Henry was a person we first got to know each other on the Turner board where we both served together on Ted Turner's board. That meant at times we traveled together, at times Ted would take his board to the Goodwill Games. He would take us to the World Series and others.
[11:55:00]
JOHNSON: But we became friends. And my wife and I with his wife Billy and Henry. And, you know, he was just a person of unbelievable modesty, humility. A quiet person. And of course, as I said, as some of the clips have shown he was also a guest from time to time
A quiet person. And of course, as I said as some of the clips have shown he was also a guest from time to time on Larry King, so a friendship had developed there.
WHITFIELD: Well, Tom, I'm so glad you brought him up in this context because all day I've been thinking about Hank Aaron as well and looking forward to talking with someone who knew him. And I didn't even know that you, you know, Tom Johnson, knew him but of course you would here in Atlanta as well.
Let me ask you, you know, you know in listening to Larry King, he talked about the suits. The suits were the ones makes the decisions. You were one of the suits that Larry King, you know, referred to, you know calling the shots here at CNN.
So what was it about Larry King the Miami deejay that appealed to you and Ted Turner where you thought, you know what, he's -- he needs to be in the chair for "LARRY KING LIVE". And, of course, you know, decades later it would be a hallmark show of this network.
What did you envision at the very beginning? Why him?
JOHNSON: Fredricka, I so regret being called a suit.
WHITFIELD: I think he meant it affectionately.
JOHNSON: I should tell you, though, with Larry the show was about the guest. The show was not about Larry.
And he could be so spontaneous. And Larry could cover from, as we know, from celebrities to major political figures, to global figures. I mean, the idea that he could be interviewing Prime Minister Rabin of Israel, Yasser Arafat a Palestinian -- but also he could switch right over to do comedy and, of course, the entertainers.
And I did hear Wendy Walker this morning say that during our years of working together that I was mad at her one time.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Was that the Marlon Brando moment -- was that when I heard her talking about the Marlon Brando kiss, and she says you had said, you know, why did you let that happen? Or why didn't you stop him? How do you remember it?
JOHNSON: Well, it wasn't just a kiss -- it was a full frontal kiss of the two of them. And I just sat there.
I think I turned my head, I'm ready to get under the desk. I received a lot of calls from time to time but I knew that I would have them then and as I did. My call to when Wendy was -- it really was why did you let that happen?
But, you know, he could go from very substantive interviews, and clearly his ability to extract from Ross Perot a rare commitment, breaking news that he would run for president is an example of his spontaneity and staying on it.
But he also just could work it in ways that, yes, I don't think Larry did read many of the books of the authors that we had on it but his ability to go to the questions that really brought out the essence of the person being interviewed.
WHITFIELD: So true.
JOHNSON: But I should just tell you, we just -- we love Larry. We love Larry King.
WHITFIELD: We sure do.
Tom Johnson, thank you so much. Good to see you and thank you so much for sharing your very lovely and personal memories of the great Larry King.
JOHNSON: I love him too. Thank you, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Thanks, Tom.
We'll be right back.
[11:58:32]
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