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Trump And Justice Department Lawyer Said To Have Plotted To Oust Acting Attorney General; One Year After First COVID Case, U.S. Nears 25 Million Infections; Man Charged With Threatening To Assassinate Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY); Interview With Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA); Democrats Split Over Prospects For Bipartisanship; Protests Erupt Across Russia After Putin Critic Arrested; Larry King's Former Producer Honors The Legendary Broadcaster. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired January 23, 2021 - 20:00   ET

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

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[20:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. And welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And we begin with some shocking developments out of Washington. A New York Times report says then President Donald Trump tried to use the DOJ to unilaterally void Joe Biden's election win in Georgia and sheds new light on just how far the failed effort went.

And now, as Senate Democrats put together a plan to tackle the second impeachment trial for Trump, some including the new majority leader are calling for a new investigation.

CNN Congressional Correspondent Ryan Nobles joins me now. A very busy weekend for you there on the Capitol Hill, Ryan. How does all of this fit in on the impeachment timeline?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, this bombshell report by the New York Times doesn't directly connect itself to the impeachment trial but it certainly is something that could be in the back of the minds of these senators as they make the decision whether or not to convict President Trump.

And already the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, is responding to this report. He tweeted earlier today, quote, unconscionable that a Trump justice department leader would conspire to subvert the people's will. The justice department inspector general must launch an investigation into this attempted sedition now. And then he adds, and this is important, and the Senate will move forward with Trump's impeachment trial.

Of course, the articles of impeachment will be brought to the Senate on Monday and the senators sworn in, a presiding judge picked by Tuesday. But then there is a two-week period of time where the former president is going to get his legal affairs in order before the trial itself begins on February 8. Now, this was something Republicans pushed for. They believed that the president needed some time to get everything in order and that would be part of the due process he should be afforded in this trial but it also comes with it a degree of difficulty for former President Trump because new information could come out between now and February 8th, which could have an influence the 17 Republican senators that it is necessary that need to vote with Democrats in order to convict the former president.

And keep in mind, impeachment is not a legal argument. It is a political argument. And so if there is pressure put out on those Republican senators, it could make a difference.

But, Pam, there is still quite a bit of time before the trial takes place. In the interim, we are expecting the Senate to move quickly to confirm some of President Biden's new cabinet nominees. Pam?

BROWN: Yes, quite a bit of time and it's new territory for these lawmakers. There's never been a Senate trial for a former president. So keep us posted. I know you will on how all of this plays out.

And the second impeachment trial for Donald Trump comes at a unique time in America. There are some who want the former president to stand trial. Others just want to move on. And I just spoke to President Biden's senior adviser, Cedric Richmond, earlier in the show. He was in Congress until recently and he voted for impeachment before Joe Biden took office. Listen to what he told me about the upcoming trial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: We've learned the Senate trial will be held in February. As we get further away from the January 6th insurrection, do you think the Senate is more likely to acquit former President Trump?

CEDRIC RICHMOND, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: I don't know. That's what trials are for, for people to lay out the facts. And I think that in two more weeks, the president, former president, will be afforded a chance to put up a defense. The House will make their case. And then the Senate will vote.

And, look, that is what the House and Senate should be doing. However, what we should be doing is making sure we get our hands around this economic crisis that we have and the health crisis. We have all the faith in the world in the House and Senate for them to do their duty and what they were sworn to do.

[20:05:03]

BROWN: So you don't want to comment on whether you want to see acquittal or conviction?

RICHMOND: No, and I don't think people should comment on that. The facts should lay out what happens. And that is what makes America one of the best countries in the world is that we have a democracy where you lay out the facts and a jury decides. And this jury is the United States Senate. I know many of those senators and I think that, hopefully, they will let the facts dictate how they vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: White House Adviser Cedric Richmond talking to me last hour.

Well, there is no honeymoon period for President Joe Biden as he hits the ground running amid a dire pandemic and economic crisis.

Let's go to CNN's John Harwood at the White House. So, John, how is the president prioritizing his agenda in just these first few days?

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Pam, in a very real sense, there is only one priority for Joe Biden and that is getting on top of this coronavirus pandemic. It is a public health crisis, of course. We've lost 450,000 Americans, 25 million cases. But it's also the cause of our economic issues. Once the pandemic is brought under control, the economy is likely to take off. So that is job number one.

We saw the president on his first full day in office sign those executive orders, saying he is going to use the Defense Production Act to enhance the production of vaccines, create a pandemic testing board, take other steps of that kind. On Friday, we had him sign executive orders to ease some of the economic strains on Americans, adjust the way food stamps are calculated so Americans who are hurting can get a few more dollars in their pocket.

But the real step that he needs to take has got to go through Congress. That's that $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan that would fund the testing and the vaccination, to fund relief for Americans, $1400 checks. He is not going to get it all through Congress but he can get a significant chunk of it.

And the real question is does he do it with Republican and Democratic votes by producing some sort of a compromise or does he fall back on a special procedure that would let him move a more limited bill with only Democratic votes? That is the strategic calculus. He has got to make that decision in the next couple of weeks.

BROWN: And he has to decide, look, if I go the latter route, as you point out, which is just the Democrats, is that going to hurt my efforts going forward where I need Republicans onboard to move forward with other plans in these first hundred days.

And the president has made his first calls to foreign leaders as well. Who has he spoken to?

HARWOOD: He has spoken to the heads of state of Britain, Canada and Mexico, three very close U.S. allies. It is expected that you would make those kind of leader calls early in your presidency. They are all the more important with Joe Biden because of the way Donald Trump has strained some of those relationships. So, Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, talked about climate change with the president. Joe Biden has rejoined the Paris climate accord. Boris Johnson welcomed that.

They also talked about support for NATO, the U.S. commitment to NATO is something that Donald Trump had called into question. He talked to the President Lopez Obrador of Mexico about immigration. That was a huge friction point between the United States and Mexico.

And with Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau, they talked about the XL pipeline, Keystone XL pipeline. Joe Biden has pulled that permit, fulfilling a campaign promise. Prime Minister Trudeau does not like that. They acknowledged that disagreement and with all of the leaders they talked again about that job one not just for the United States but globally and that is getting on top of COVID-19.

BROWN: All right. John Harwood, thank you for bringing us the latest there from the White House. We appreciate it.

And you are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. The vaccine rollout is getting a lot faster but is still not fast enough in many areas across the country. And that is causing a lot of frustration. More on that when we return.

And we're saying good-bye to a CNN legend and our longtime friend, talk show super host Larry King. We're going to look back at his life and career with his long time executive producer.

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[20:10:00]

BROWN: Well, the United States is set to cross a somber threshold at some point in the next few hours, with 25 million COVID-19 cases registered since the pandemic began just over one year ago. But also as of today, more than 20 million vaccine doses have been administered.

Getting vaccinated is not yet a simple task for everyone who qualifies. Take a look right here at your screen. This is Los Angeles. The parking lot at Dodgers Stadium where some people say they waited up to five hours to get the vaccine, but as CNN's Natasha Chen reports, not every area has the vaccine on hand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As the Biden administration went into its first weekend promising to remain laser focused on the pandemic, the virus continued its lethal now year-long rampage, 764 deaths on Friday alone in California, an all-time single- day record for the state.

Meanwhile the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Saturday more than 1.4 million vaccine doses were administered. So far, the Biden administration has been meeting its goal of 1 million shots per day about double what the U.S. was averaging in the month before the president took office. But local health providers are hitting roadblocks and ramping up.

What resources would you need to be doubling what you're doing every day? ERIC NICKENS JR., DEKALB COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH: A dependable vaccine supply. Right now, we're having to kind of dance a delicate dance between opening up additional appointments and the amount of vaccine we have on hand.

CHEN: Friday night, the board of health in DeKalb County, Georgia, offered new appointments for the first time in nearly two weeks because they had been uncertain of how many new doses they'd get.

[20:15:01]

Publix grocery stores, which are offering the vaccine in three states, told CNN they're also only releasing new appointments when they've confirmed and verified shipments of vaccine.

GOV. PHIL MURPHY (D-NJ): I am less worried unless no news pops up about running out, as I am, this is going to take at the moment a lot longer than we had expected in early December. I think the Biden team has found that the cupboard is a lot barer than anyone thought.

CHEN: The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health says they've only received enough vaccine to inoculate one in every four people who are currently eligible. About 5 percent of the U.S. population has gotten at least one dose. Around half of the doses distributed to states still haven't been administered, according to data from the CDC.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The feds need to take control so that they can help the states. The line was long and I waited an hour and a half but that's okay. If you really want to get this, you'll wait.

CHEN: And there is hope for improvement because Dr. Anthony Fauci says now science is guiding the way.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER ON CORONAVIRUS TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: That is a different tone actually. That's strikingly different. And that's the reason why even though there is still going to be a lot of challenges ahead, if you stick with the scientific data and are transparent, open and honest with the American public, I think you will see things that are going to be different as we move forward.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the work of getting here was worth it.

CHEN: Natasha Chen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And in California, like you saw just a couple of minutes ago, there is no shortage of frustration there.

CNN's Paul Vercammen joins me now. Paul, some people there say they've waited upward of five hours waiting for this vaccine. Why the logjam? Is there any sign right now that things are improving?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is a sign right behind me, Pam, and that is some of the super sites are opening up not in the city of Los Angeles, per se, but they're being run by the county of Los Angeles. This one is at The Forum at Inglewood. Why the logjam?

They just didn't have enough of the vaccine and enough people administering them. So they're opening up these sites, all of this under terrible conditions. Listen to the latest statistics right out of L.A. County. 269 new deaths, we have more than 15,000 deaths in L.A. County and 5,000 of those since December 30th.

Sp how do you get after this problem? Well, as I said, they're starting these vaccination sites, these mega sites throughout the county, this one at The Forum. People described that same sense that you said, frustration. They were trying to get an appointment. They got on the websites that sometimes broke down. They couldn't make a phone call. So when people got their shot today, never have you heard somebody so happy to be stuck in the arm with a needle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Relief. Relieved. The hunt for trying to get it has stopped. Now I got the first one. I'll just wait for the message to come back and get the second one.

VERCAMMEN: How long did you hunt for it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the beginning of time. From the beginning when this started (INAUDIBLE) going to be something to help me now and worry so much about it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I feel great. I don't want to be actually away from my kids and grandkids. I want to be able to hug them and kiss them and be with them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: A very sweet sentiment indeed. And the county supervisor here saying, we think we now have the infrastructure. We now just need more vaccine. You're hearing that echo throughout the country, Pam.

BROWN: More vaccines, absolutely. And before you go, Paul, I want to ask you about Larry King because you worked with him for a very long time. Tell us how you will remember him.

VERCAMMEN: I remember him as being very generous and extremely gracious. One time I was able to go out to dinner with him and some other work cohorts. And we were at this fancy place called The Palms and I noticed Troy Aikman was there and Timothy Hutton and John Lovitz, and all of them began various conversations with Larry King. He was so cordial to them.

But it struck me at that time that Larry King was such a powerbroker. Everybody wanted to be on his show because so many eyeballs were on it. And he made a lot of news. And I could just laugh at some of the things that Larry would say. And back then when I was 31, he said, you know, you're a funny kid, and I don't think Larry doesn't mind me doing the imitation. I did that to him many times in person and he just loved it. We also we bonded over the Dodgers. I can't express how much he loved Dodger baseball, going back to his Brooklyn days, by the way, Pam.

BROWN: He is a great man. I remember, I called him for career advice a few years ago. I said I want my own show and I really want to do a better job interviewing. Can you give me some tips? And he said, if you ask a question with more than one sentence, you've got issues.

[20:20:03]

He was just so authentic, such a unique human being, and he will be missed.

All right, Paul Vercammen, thank you so much.

VERCAMMEN: And he said the same to me about those short sentences.

BROWN: Exactly. I have to keep that in mind in honor of him. All right, thanks, Paul.

When we come back, an accused Capitol rioter is also charged with threatening to assassinate Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. I'll speak to Congressman Ro Khanna about this and the divisions within the Democratic Party, that's up next

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[20:25:00]

BROWN: Disturbing new charges stemming from the Capitol insurrection on January 6th. A man has been charged with threatening to assassinate Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. It's one of five criminal charges facing Garret Miller of Texas. He was arrested Wednesday for his alleged role in the Capitol siege.

An attorney for Miller tells CNN, quote, he did it in support of former President Donald Trump but regrets his actions. He has the support of his family and a lot of the comments are viewed in context as really sort of misguided political hyperbole. Given the political divide these days, there is a lot of hyperbole.

Well, as this alleged death threat comes to light, it is worth revisiting what Ocasio-Cortez said one week after the riot. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): It is not an exaggeration to say that many, many members of the House were nearly assassinated. It's just not an exaggeration to say that at all. We were very lucky that things happened within certain minutes that allowed members to escape the House floor unharmed. But many of us nearly, narrowly escaped death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: With the nation still processing the January 6th attack and another impeachment trial on the horizon as a result, Democrats in Congress have a full plate and big plans. But will internal divisions between progressives and moderates and a fierce fight over the Senate filibuster complicate those plans?

Here to discuss is California Congressman Ro Khanna. Congressman, nice to see you, thanks for coming on this Saturday evening. We sure have a to talk about. And I want to start with this alleged death threat against your own colleague, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez. What is your reaction to that?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): It is shocking and outrageous. Representative Ocasio-Cortez has spoken truth to power multiple times. She has put herself out there making fights with very powerful interests and been visible. And I think we should appreciate her courage and make it very clear that violence has absolutely no plans in our democracy, that we should recognize diverse perspectives and this person should be held to account to the full extent of the law.

BROWN: Do you feel safe doing your work at the Capitol now?

KHANNA: I do feel safe but I have concern for some of the very high profile colleagues, people who are much more susceptible to death threats. We have to figure out in this country regardless of political party how we lower the temperature so that we do not have the kind of threats that are being made on members of Congress.

BROWN: Are you talking about maybe boosting security for certain members of Congress?

KHANNA: I think that has to be on the table. I mean, I think there are certain members of Congress who have received more threats and they should be held and given more security. But I think, more broadly, we all have an obligation in both parties to make it very clear that crossing the line and inciting the violence is completely unacceptable.

There were Republicans, as you know, such as Vice President Pence, who faced death threats. So this is not just an issue for Democratic lawmakers, it's an issue more broadly for our country.

BROWN: Should your colleagues -- just to switch gears here, should your colleagues on the Senate side remove the filibuster to make it easier to pass legislation? Where do you stand on that?

KHANNA: Yes, absolutely. It is important to understand the history. The filibuster wasn't part of the Constitution. This was not the brain child of Madison or Jefferson. It was the brain child of Calhoun. And he had the filibuster because he wanted to protect the interest of slave states.

So the filibuster is a relic of the Jim Crowe era. It has no moral legitimacy. It should have been removed years ago. And it certainly should be removed now.

BROWN: Let me ask you about this idea of working with Republicans, because the Biden administration keeps stressing the first name on major legislation is to get Republicans onboard, but many progressives are skeptical of that approach. Why is that? Why would that not be a good thing to get Republicans onboard and reach across the aisle? KHANNA: It would be a great thing. And if they support the $2,000 checks and they support the child allowance for kids which would reduce poverty by 50 percent and they support a $15 minimum wage, I'm all for it. They should support it. These are top policies that are outrageously popular with the American public. So let's try to get the 60 votes at an initial go-around. But what we shouldn't do is sell out the working class, compromise working families to try to chase Republican votes if they don't share those values.

BROWN: But you're saying, basically, if they come to our table, of course, we'll work with them but, obviously, we'll take compromise.

[20:30:01]

Should Democrats compromise? Should you be able to -- will it be willing to compromise with the Republicans?

KHANNA: And we should be willing to compromise on certain issues, but not on issues that have 70, 80 percent support among the American people. The minimum wage is $7.25. Poll after poll says that Americans want that wage raise. So, why should we compromise with elected politicians? We're not representing the will of the American public. Now, if there are areas of honest compromise, yes, but not when it comes to issues that have broad public support from Republicans and Democrats.

BROWN: A short time ago, I spoke to Republican congressman, Madison Cawthorn, of North Carolina, he voted to decertify the electoral college results. And I asked him about the legitimacy of Biden's victory. Watch what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: You wrote this letter and you signed on to it. Can you now say that Joe Biden was duly elected, that he was duly elected and in a legitimate election? Because if you want to work together with him, I would think you would need to acknowledge that before you can actually develop a working relationship with the new administration?

REP. MADISON CAWTHORN (R-NC): Absolutely, no. So, when I contested to the election, that was within the constitutional guidelines that the framers had set up, but after I've done that, and the electors and the delegates from each state elected Joe Biden, as our president, I respect the office. He is my president and I want to work with him to make sure that we can bring some meaningful change to the American people. Although I think he will disagree with most of my policies.

BROWN: And that's OK. Disagreement of policies is normal. But can you now say that the election was not stolen, that it wasn't a fraudulent election?

CAWTHORN: Yes, I think I would say that the election was not fraudulent. I -- he constitution allowed for us to be able to push back as much as we could. And I did that to the amount of the constitutional limits that I had at my disposal. So now, I would say that Joseph R. Biden is our president. BROWN: And you have no regrets?

CAWTHORN: No, I do not have any regrets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So, if he has come around and accepted the reality of Biden's win, does that give you hope that more Republicans could be swayed to work with your party?

KHANNA: It does. I mean, I'm glad he did that. It's too late, and it was unconscionable for him to cast a vote trying to decertify the election. But at least he now recognizes what is obvious, the truth, that President Biden and Vice President Harris were elected by this country.

And I would work with people like him to advance a $15 minimum wage, to advance infrastructure, to help people get $2,000 checks.

BROWN: So, how else would you convince the Republicans to play ball if they're not willing to fully come to the table with you?

KHANNA: I would say, look at what people around this country want. The infrastructure bill is not something that is a democratic idea. Even Donald Trump proposed it, and your Senate voted it down. $2,000 checks, that is something actually Donald Trump supported, and your Senate voted it down. Ending wars overseas, your party has stood in the way of that even when Donald Trump proposed it.

So, look at policies that this country wants, they want help for working families, they want an end to overseas wars, they want action on climate change. These are not partisan issues. The question is, are you going to just obstruct Joe Biden, because you want to win an election in 2022? Or are you going to actually work to advance this country and help this country? If you want to do the latter, you're going to find partners on the Democratic side.

BROWN: All right. Congressman Ro Khanna, thank you so much for coming on, and we hope to have you back.

KHANNA: Thank you. Thank you, Pam.

BROWN: Well, you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Protests erupt across Russia over the arrest of a staunch critic of President Vladimir Putin. Our report from Moscow, up next.

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[20:35:58]

BROWN: Well, tens of thousands of protesters are braving Russia's bitter cold to call for the release of Alexei Navalny. The opposition leader was arrested almost one week ago after returning from Germany. He spent months there recovering after he was poisoned.

Now, his arrest has been met with outrage and chaos. It's a kind of public defiance that hasn't been seen in Russia in years. CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNTIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Pamela. Well, these protests were certainly a lot bigger and a lot more widespread than many people would have thought. And what we saw on the ground here in Moscow, the protests that we were at is a very heavy-handed response by the Russian riot police, but also people pushing back as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (voice over): Russian Riot cops cracking down with a heavy hand, detaining protesters in Moscow who are calling for the release of Kremlin critic, Alexei Navalny.

PLEITGEN (on camera): The folks that you're hearing around me, they're screaming shame, shame as the riot police are making their advance.

PLEITGEN (voice over): Despite massive efforts by authorities to stop people from coming and the risk of detention, thousands showed up. Some saying they simply can't stay silent anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not proud of my country, and I don't want my government to poison people and put them in prison. I want more freedom. I want proper elections and normal government.

PLEITGEN: Alexei Navalny was detained when he arrived in Moscow last Sunday from Germany, where he got treatment, after being poisoned by the chemical nerve agent, Novichok. The Kremlin has denied involvement in the poisoning.

Even in jail, Navalny managed to publish an investigation into Putin's alleged ownership of a gigantic palace worth around $1.4 billion. A Putin spokesperson said the president doesn't owned a palace. Navalny called on Russians to take to the streets.

ALEXEI NAVALNY, RUSSIAN DISSIDENT (through translator): I will urge you not to be silenced, to resist, to take to the streets.

PLEITGEN: Russian authorities arrested many of Navalny's supporters, even his wife, Yulia, as she was trying to head to the protests in Moscow. She was released after several hours in detention.

[20:40:09]

But across Russia, it's estimated tens of thousands turned out with rallies in places like St. Petersburg, in the Far East, and even in the Siberian town Yakutsk at almost minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Russian officials accused the U.S. Embassy in Moscow of quote, encouraging the protests after it disclosed the location of the demonstrations on its website, urging U.S. citizens to avoid them. But people at the rally in Moscow said, their message is to their own leadership.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With the political situation right now, I just don't see a future in this country. PLEITGEN: After a day with scenes like these and over 2,000 arrests across the country, according to a monitoring group, Russian authorities launched an investigation, but into violence against the police.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: And, Pamela, the State Department under the new Biden administration has already come out and condemned the tactics that were being used by Russian authorities both against the protesters and also against journalists as well. But it certainly seems as though the supporters of Alexei Navalny, of course, he himself are not backing down. They've already called for new protests to take place next weekend. Pamela.

BROWN: All right. Frederik Pleitgen, thank you.

And we at CNN are mourning the loss of one of our own tonight, the legendary Larry King. You can't have a broadcasting career spanning six decades without collecting a few stories of your own. When we come back, I'll speak to his longtime executive producer about working with an American icon.

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[20:45:06]

BROWN: Well, tonight we were thinking about and remembering a Bonafide CNN icon. Longtime talk show host, Larry King, died today at the age of 87. His cause of death has not been released. But a source close to family says that Larry King was in the hospital since last December because of coronavirus.

And for 25 years, Larry King was a CNN fixture and for some of those years, he handed off at the end of his show to Anderson Cooper. Well, tonight Anderson is remembering a man who wasn't just a colleague, but also a friend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was the king of talk.

LARRY KING, AMERICAN TELEVISION HOST: Who came up with the bunny? Do you miss it? Was it embarrassing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, Larry. Nice to have you here.

KNIG: You know the Dalai Lama well. What is it like to be shot? How do you handle tabloids? The one thing you didn't answer is why. Was it true that you want to sort of taking your own life? Why do you have one name? A whole lot there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One second. I know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brando, Broncos.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: O.J. Simpson is in that car.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Collides up with a Z.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: That's right. Liza Minnelli, David Gest.

KING: Train wreck.

COOPER: Train wreck. I didn't want to say it but it was. On that mike, those specs, those iconic suspenders, he was the T.V. legend, who hosted CNNs Larry King Live for a quarter of a century.

COOPER: Would you consider the Frank Sinatra interview the best interview that you've done?

FRANK SINATRA, AMERICAN SINGER: From the minute you step out into that spot like, you got to know exactly what you're doing.

COOPER: What come to mind when you think of Monica Lewinsky? Are there ever times you can't come up with a question for somebody?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They weren't fair. Let me finish now. I'll let you --

COOPER: From political to personal. Heather Mills-McCartney takes off her leg.

KING: Well, that's what you call good risk taking. I take risks.

COOPER: He had a career so rich, so deep. And you saw it all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: "Larry King Live" was an addictive hour featuring everything from showbiz celebrities to political kingpins to true crime. It was even known to tackle Middle East peace.

Wendy Walker was Larry's longtime senior executive producer. Wendy, I know this is a difficult day for you as you mourn the loss of someone you worked with for so long, for so many years. What was it about Larry at his show that made you want to sign on?

WENDY WALKER, FORMER SENIOR EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF LARRY KING LIVE: Oh, my gosh. Well, thank you for having me, Pamela. I think -- I was producing the White House at CNN for 10 years. And I was 10 years at the White House as you know, as a long time, and I thought, what am I going to be able to do that's going to top this?

Well, Tom Johnson called me at the White House one day and said, I have an idea. We need a new producer for Larry King, would you like to do it? And I thought OK, that might top it. So that's how I got the job. And it was -- it was amazing 18 years. I was blessed.

BROWN: And I'm sure you have countless stories. Larry was involved in the O.J. Simpson murder case from the get-go when he cut off a caller to take the infamous Bronco chase, the night that that happened. And you ended up producing countless shows about the trial with lawyers, investigators, family members, but let's listen to what happened the night after the verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING: With us on the phone now is O.J. Simpson. How are you?

OJ SIMPSON, FORMER AMERICAN FOOTBALL PLAYER: I'm doing fine. And, one, I want to thank you, you know, a lot because so many of my friends have told me that you've been fair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So, tell me what was happening behind the scenes when O.J. called.

WALKER: This was really funny because we -- I had told his people if he wants to call in, I wanted him to make sure it was -- it was him. So, I had a name then a number specifically for him to call in. So, we get this call and I picked it up and it's him. So, we put him on the air and he went -- and of course, it was huge that he called in.

[20:50:14]

Well, it -- we went over a little over our time, we were just a little over 10:00 o'clock. And I got a call from Atlanta, and they said, you're running over. We have an O.J. special. You have to get off the -- off the air. And I said, well, have you had any chance to know what we're what's on? It's O.J. himself. So maybe it's OK if we go up, stay on a couple more minutes. But that we laughed about for a long time.

BROWN: That is amazing. And we have to do this pre-produced piece, you know, like, well -- we're actually talking to him.

Another memorable moment came when Heather McCartney appeared on the show. Tell me about that night.

WALKER: Well, Heather was a great guest. And she was really a good guest. And, you know, nobody said, hey, sit down. And, by the way, if you feel like you can take off your leg. I mean, this was not something we had planned. Although, I wish I had thought of it, but I didn't.

And so -- but what I love about that, if you really watch that scene, that's so typical Larry, because here's this beautiful woman, she takes off her leg to show him what it's like. And he kind of pats it, like, you know, instead of going, you know, jumping off and saying, oh, my gosh, or, you know, having any kind of reaction, it was a very normal reaction for him just like everything was. I mean, nothing really fazed him on the air. He never -- he never got flustered -- never got flustered on the air.

BROWN: That's amazing. I wonder -- what do you think it was -- how -- why do you think he was able to just be so calm, cool, collected, no matter what was thrown at him?

WALKER: I think it was part of his success. And part of his secret of his -- of what he did, and it was a couple things. Larry had no agenda. So, you know, some -- a lot of times somebody were in this business will say, oh, my gosh, we got this -- you know, we've got this big get, and we're going to, you know, we're going to get the news out of them.

Larry never approached any interview with -- I've got to get this out of -- out of a guest. So, he had no agenda. But he also, you know, wanted to make sure -- and he always would teach this with anybody asking him, keep your questions short, don't ask long questions. If he heard somebody on the air asking a long question, he would just like, listen to that, listen to that. All he had to do is say what, why, you know, it was very short.

And the other thing is, he would say is listen, listen to -- you know, listen to your guests, listen to what they're saying, so you can react and his reactions -- I mean, he really never was at a loss for thinking like, what should I ask now, you know.

And I think the other thing that made him his show really special was --

BROWN: Seems like we lost Wendy there. But she was just talking about all the years she spent working with Larry King as his executive producer, and just what made him so talented and such a success. And one of those is making sure his questions were short and sweet that he was big on that. And Wendy, thank you so much for coming on. Sorry, we lost you there.

But through the years, when a celebrity passed away, Larry King could always rise to the occasion by perfectly capturing that person's spirit and impact on the world. And it's surreal to think that tonight, we must try to rise to the occasion for him.

CNN president Jeff Zucker sums it up like this. "We mourn the passing of our colleague, Larry King. The scrappy young man from Brooklyn had a history-making career spanning radio and television. His curiosity about the world propelled his award-winning career in broadcasting, but it was his generosity of spirit that drew the world to him.

We are so proud of the 25 years he spent with CNN, where his newsmaker interviews truly put the network on the international stage. From our CNN family to Larry's, we send our thoughts and prayers and a promise to carry on his curiosity for the world in our work.

And then there's Ted Turner, the founder of CNN who captures the magnitude of this loss, saying. "Waking up to the news of the passing of Larry King felt like a punch to the gut. Larry was one of my closest and dearest friends, and in my opinion, the world's greatest broadcast journalist of all time.

If anyone asked me what are my greatest career achievements in life, one is the creation of CNN, and the other is hiring Larry King. Like so many who worked with a new Larry, he was a consummate professional, an amazing mentor to many and a good friend to all. The world has lost a true legend."

Well, from his desk, Larry King turned the spotlight on countless people, including presidents, celebrities, athletes and movie stars and all the while his star shone just as brightly. So long, Larry King.

[20:55:06]

Stay with us. In just a moment, it will be 9:00 p.m. Eastern, Larry King's old timeslot, and CNN's Anderson Cooper will host a special tribute to our colleague, mentor, and friend, "The King of Talk: Remembering Larry King," starts after a quick break.

And thank you so much for joining me this evening on the premiere of my new show, I'm Pamela Brown. I'm going to see you again tomorrow night starting at 6:00 p.m. Eastern.

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