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Putin Faces Nationwide Protests Mobilized By Navalny; Validity And Format Of Trump's Second Impeachment Trial As Yet Unconfirmed; New Coronavirus Variants Still Present Unknowns; Biden Suggests U.S. May Get 1.5 Million Vaccines a Day; White House: U.S. Will Approach China with "Strategic Patience"; Arizona Republicans Torn after 2020 Election Losses; Farmers Stage Mass Protest on India's Republic Day; European Vaccinations Lagging. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired January 26, 2021 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
JOHN VAUSE, ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Hello, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta.
Ahead this hour. A day of solemn ceremony on Capitol Hill, as Donald Trump, the first U.S. president to be impeached in his first term, the first to impeached twice, now officially the first to be impeached while no longer in office.
Ending the coronavirus pandemic may soon be a lot harder with a new variant which is more contagious and vaccines may be less effective.
And how Putin and the Kremlin are facing a political challenge as never before as jailed Alexei Navalny mobilizes his followers for nationwide protests.
In the coming hours, U.S. senators will be sworn in to serve as jurors in the second impeachment trial of Donald J. Trump.
Nine Democrat lawmakers officially began proceedings by delivering one article of impeachment on Monday accusing the former president of inciting insurrection for his actions leading up to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD.): Donald John Trump engaged in high crimes and misdemeanors by inciting violence against the government of the United States.
President Trump's conduct on January 6th, 2021 followed his prior efforts to subvert and obstruct the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Donald John Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The new president, Joe Biden, tells CNN he believes it's unlikely that 17 Republicans will join Democrats for the two-thirds majority needed to convict Trump. But he says the trial, set to begin in two weeks, has to happen.
More now from CNN's Ryan Nobles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The clock is now ticking on former president Donald Trump as the senate has the articles of impeachment and are preparing for a trial.
We're entering a phase now of preparation, the former president getting about two weeks to get his legal affairs into order.
On Tuesday, the senators that will serve as jurors will be sworn in as well as the presiding judge will take his place overseeing this trial.
This all pushing towards February 9th. That's the date that the trial will begin in earnest.
And we're not 100 percent sure how the trial will take place. Whether or not witnesses, for instance, will be called for instance, both Democrats and Republicans have said that they're open to that idea.
There's even the possibility that the senators themselves may be called as witnesses because they were part of the Capitol insurrection which is, of course, at the heart of this impeachment trial.
Meanwhile, the former president attempting to put together a legal team. He did hire Butch Bowers who's an attorney from South Carolina. Bowers is trying to hire another lawyer from South Carolina but they're having a hard time getting together a big team.
Our Jeff Zeleny reporting that, in some respects, these law firms don't want to be associated with the impeachment trial and in other areas they're just worried that President Trump may not pay. So that's where the president finds himself right now.
Meanwhile, his close ally here on Capitol Hill, Senator Lindsey Graham, said he spoke with the former president over the weekend and the president echoed what many Americans are feeling about the situation, that he would just like to see this impeachment trial behind him.
NOBLES (On Camera): Ryan Nobles, CNN on Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: We'll head to Los Angeles now. Franita Tolson, vice dean of the University of Southern California Law School. Franita, welcome back to the show.
FRANITA TOLSON, LAW PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: Hi John, thanks for having me.
VAUSE: Pleasure. OK. So the Republican defenders of Donald Trump not focusing on the alleged crimes but process. They're saying it's unconstitutional to put a former president on trial in the senate because he's no longer a sitting president.
To that, I want you to listen to the senate leader, Democrat Chuck Schumer. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHUCK SCHUMER (D-N.Y.), U.S. SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Theory that the senate can't try former officials would amount to a constitutional 'get out of jail free' card for any president who commits an impeachable offense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: OK. So is he right? And, if so, explain why.
TOLSON: I do agree with that statement. Essentially, Donald Trump was still president when he incited an insurrection.
And so it is important that we have some process in place to hold a president accountable for actions taken that are wrong over the course of their entire term.
So this argument that the president can't be impeached after he leaves office would undermine that. It would create a very weird incentive structure where you have presidents who are incentivized to engage in wrongdoings towards the end of the term because they don't think they'll be held accountable.
In addition, John, the text of the constitution reads as if conviction is a prerequisite to disqualification.
[01:05:00]
It would be one thing if we were only talking about removal from office, we're also talking about the prospect of disqualifying the president from holding future office.
And so this goes beyond just simply removing him from office which could be a moot point now that he's out of office. This is also about disqualifying from future office.
And then, finally, let me just point out that there's a precedent for this, right. So William Belknap, who was secretary of war under Ulysses S. Grant, was impeached after he left office. So this argument goes against the constitutional text and our historical practice.
VAUSE: Yes, there's also other examples too. I think judges and senators have been impeached after they've left their time in office. So it does seem to be, what, 140 scholars out there or something who have all come to the conclusion that it is constitutional. So why don't the Republicans see it that way?
TOLSON: I wish they'd agree with us, I signed that letter. So to some extent, this goes back to arguments about impeachment being a political process.
The question of whether to impeach and then hold a senate trial is also politicized. And so this is why the senate Republicans are ignoring the underlying conduct and focusing on these procedural concerns.
They know that the president engaged in wrongdoing, they know that the president engaged in wrongdoing that he should be held accountable for. But a lot of this is about turning the page.
And I think the current president's focus on unity has given them an opportunity -- has given them cover of a sort, right, to argue that we should move past this and turn a page on the Trump Administration.
VAUSE: Yes. It's always this argument, oh that happened in the past. Well, crimes always happen in the past.
TOLSON: Right.
VAUSE: At the same time, the supreme court has thrown out two unresolved cases against Trump alleging violations of the emoluments clause of constitution that prevents a president or other federal employees from accepting gifts or money from foreign countries.
The ruling was that the litigation is moved now that Trump is no longer a sitting president. I thought (ph) this reaction of the former head of the office of government ethics --
"That's insane. They're not moot. He still has the money. When any other federal employee violates the emoluments clause they have to forfeit the money."
OK. So beyond that, it seems like at first Trump escaped indictment during the Russia investigation because of a DOJ guideline saying indicting a sitting president was -- you shouldn't do it. Now he escapes any legal jeopardy because he's no longer a sitting president?
TOLSON: Yes. So this is -- and I hate to call the court political in a sense but I do think the court is making a political calculation here, right. They're betting that future presidents will be less likely to break the norms that President Trump broke while he was in office.
And so they feel like maybe it's a stretch that they'll see a case like this in the near future.
But keep in mind, it's not really moot, right, because it's capable of repetition. This is something that can happen again.
And resolution would've provided some clarity, it would have provided a path for determining whether or not the court should even be involved in disputes or if this is something that's solely within the province of congress, right; Does congress decide when the emoluments clause was violated?
We don't know because the court evaded the issue. But I do think that they just figure this is unlikely to come up anytime soon.
VAUSE: Now we have word that the Trump Administration could be involved in further wrongdoing when it comes to the election results. The U.S. department of justice writing that --
-- "an investigation into whether any former or current DOJ office engaged in an improper attempt to have [the] DOJ seek to alter the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election."
How does that play, at least potentially, into the impeachment trial and at the same time does it broaden the scope here away from political to criminal?
TOLSON: So yes, there is some potential criminal conduct here. But I think this is important for accountability.
So some of the same reasons why we need to have an impeachment trial also apply here. This IG (ph) report is really important because it seems to signal that there's a possibility that the DOJ essentially operated as an arm of the Trump campaign, right.
That DOJ officials might -- some DOJ officials, let me be clear, not all, right -- might have been involved in furthering the president's claims of fraud in a way that could've potentially fueled the insurrection that resulted on January 6th.
So I do think that we'll hear a lot about this in the context of the impeachment trial.
VAUSE: Hmm, I wonder who? Franita, good to see you. Thank you.
TOLSON: Good to see you too.
VAUSE: Thanks for being with us. Take care.
Drug maker Moderna says its coronavirus vaccine appears effective against two strains first spotted in the U.K. and South Africa.
It comes as officials warn a new variant is more infectious and likely more deadly.
CNN's Nick Watt has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (Voice Over): Is that more contagious coronavirus variant first found in the U.K. also more likely to kill you if you catch it?
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I'm pretty convinced that there is a degree of increase in seriousness of the actual infection which we really have to keep an eye on. JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good afternoon.
WATT: Today, President Biden hoping to slow the spread of that and other variants --
[01:10:00]
-- reinstated travel restrictions for non-U.S. citizens coming from much of Europe and Brazil, also adding South Africa.
FAUCI: The vaccines that we have now do work --
WATT: -- against these variants. Although Moderna now says its vaccine works but not quite as well against the South Africa strain. They'll test if a third dose or a variant booster might help.
For now, in the raw numbers there is some optimism. First time since mid-December fewer than 115,000 Americans in the hospital with this virus. These past two weeks average daily case counts have fallen 30 percent.
But the country still adding more than 1 million infections a week. On average more than 3,000 deaths still reported every day. And --
FAUCI: If the variant that has greater degree of transmissibility becomes dominant, were going to be faced with another challenge.
WATT: And six weeks since the first vaccine shot, only around one percent of the population double dosed. Team Biden says hamstrung by a Team Trump hangover.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Is there at least a ballpark amount that officials are aware of how much vaccine there is?
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, our team is working right now -- we've been here for five days -- to evaluate the supply. So the confusion around this issue -- which we acknowledge there is some confusion -- speaks to a larger problem which is what we're inheriting from the prior administration. Which is much worse than we could have imagined.
WATT: There are more disturbing insights now into how hard it was to fight the pandemic and save lives when Donald Trump was in charge.
DR. DEBORAH BIRX, FORMER WHITE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: I saw the president presenting graphs that I never made. So I know that someone or someone out there or someone inside was creating a parallel set of data.
FAUCI: There was a considerable amount of mixed messaging about what needed to be done from the top down. And that really cost us dearly.
WATT: Well, here in California the stay-home orders have been lifted now across the state. Tens of millions of Californians can again get their haircut and eat, at least outside, a restaurant. But they say the darkest hour comes before the dawn, January is
looking like it will be the deadliest month of this entire pandemic here in the United States.
Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Ashih Jha is dean of public health at Brown University. He joins me now from Newton, Massachusetts. So Dr. Jha, thank you for being with us.
DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Thank you for having me on.
VAUSE: OK. Well, the variant of the moment know as B1351, first detected in South Africa, drug maker Moderna is now reporting that lab tests found that --
-- "there was a sixfold reduction in their vaccine's neutralizing power against B1351 than against earlier forms of the coronavirus."
"Sixfold" sounds like a lot. So what does that actually mean?
JHA: Yes. A great question, John. And basically, at this point, based on everything we've seen I still believe that the Moderna vaccine's going to be effective against this variant but it may be a little bit less so.
So right now the vaccine is generating incredibly high levels of antibodies and that's why you get the 95 plus percent protection against this virus. It may be that the level of protection maybe a little bit less with this variant.
VAUSE: OK. So when the first (inaudible) mutation was reported in the U.K. the official word was this variant is a lot more contagious, not more deadly. That assessment is changing, it seems.
Here's Dr. Anthony Fauci. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: When they looked at it, it did not look like on a case-by-case basis that it was actually more virulent -- is the word they use -- namely, more likely to make you more seriously ill or kill you.
When they went and became more granular and looked at the data they became convinced that it is, in fact, a bit more virulent, namely, making it more difficult when you get to the point of serious disease and even death.
So I believe their data. I haven't seen all of it but from what I've heard, I believe the data.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: So it's slightly higher in terms of mortality, vaccines may be slightly less effective. Do two "slightly's" add to up to be a significant problem?
JHA: Yes. Look first and foremost, these variants are not great, they're not good news and we want to try to prevent more of them.
The U.K. variant does look like it's a bit more deadly, it's a lot more contagious. For that one, the Moderna vaccine and the Pfizer vaccine are quite effective. There's no question in my mind that they're going to be effective against that.
It's the South Africa variant where we're starting to worry about how effective is the vaccine going to be. Again, I remain reasonably confident it will be.
But all of this suggests that we have some challenges ahead of us we've got to deal with. And we've really got to get these vaccines out as quickly as possible before more variants come online.
[01:15:00]
VAUSE: Yes. Moderna's now working on a vaccine for that variant which was found in South Africa.
Here's the president of that drug-making company, Stephen Hoge. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN HOGE, PRESIDENT, MODERNA: The virus is evolving, it's not sitting still. It didn't start in a human host and it's still figuring out its best way through the human population.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: That really sounds like there's a lot worse still to come. And if we had vaccinated a lot faster, if we'd got people immunized quicker, would we be seeing these variants right now?
JHA: Yes. So variants arise basically because we keep giving the virus a lot more chances. Every time the virus spreads to more people you get more variants and more opportunities for mutations to become significant.
So no, if we had really been able to really stomp out this pandemic much earlier, if we had gotten vaccines out earlier, I think you would see a lot fewer variants than we're seeing right now.
Our playbook is still the same; get people vaccinated, bring the pandemic under control. And then make updates to vaccines as we need to.
VAUSE: And if we had implemented social distancing and hand washing and implemented lockdowns on a much more significant, effective basis, that was the other way of stopping this pandemic, right? Because that did not prove effective because of our own behavior, that's allowed this virus to flourish and mutate.
JHA: Yes, absolutely. You look at places like New Zealand and Australia that have had relatively few cases without having a vaccine. They have used what are called non-pharmaceutical interventions, the stuff you talk about, the public health measures.
We could have done that as well. And we haven't done that in the U.S. and in much of Western Europe for a variety of reasons but I think the lack of political leadership has certainly been part of that.
VAUSE: When the variants were first detected in the U.K. many public health officials and others warned yes, it was more contagious but not more deadly. And then they would add, "as far as we know," or "the available data suggests."
It seems there's a lot more emphasis on the "no more "deadly part" of that message, compared to the "we really don't know for certain."
Given how this virus is mutating and the dangers it presents, perhaps the emphasis should be more about the unknowns at this point?
JHA: Yes, absolutely. This has been one of the challenges of the pandemic is -- obviously, this is unlike any health crisis we've dealt with and there are twists and turns that are not predictable.
And I think one of the things that we have to do a better job in public health is communicating to people that there is a lot we don't know. There is a lot we do know, of course, and we should communicate that with certainty.
But there's a lot we don't know and we've got to keep working away at generating more knowledge so we can fight this pandemic more effectively.
VAUSE: And people have to listen, people have to actually follow what's happening and be (inaudible) to the news and these developments and be aware of the world around them as well.
Dr. Jha, good to see you. Thank you for being with us.
JHA: Thank you.
VAUSE: New restrictions could be imposed on travel within the E.U. as well as for international travelers.
European leaders are considering moves to try and slow the spread of the coronavirus. The E.U. is now approaching 30 million confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic.
More details now from CNN's Cyril Vanier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Europe right now is bracing for a deteriorating COVID situation. French authorities are said to be mulling a third national lockdown over fears of the new COVID variant first identified in the U.K..
The head of the French scientific council says if we don't tighten rules now, the situation could become very serious by mid-March.
But the government just imposed a 6:00 p.m. curfew less than two weeks ago. So many are still hoping that can avert or at least delay a new nationwide stay-at-home order.
For an example of how the new variant can spread, look no further than neighboring Germany where an entire hospital in Berlin has had to quarantine after an outbreak. At last count 12 patients and 10 staff members tested positive for that variant so that hospital is closed, new patients no longer being admitted since Friday.
Meanwhile, the executive branch of the European Union is pushing for more coordinated travel restrictions. The Commission wants to cut down on non-essential travel within the E.U. and be stricter on international travelers by requiring a 14-day quarantine. That plan still requires approval though by the member states.
One of the rare solar linings at the moment in Europe, the AstraZeneca vaccine could get approval by the European Medicines Agency by the end of the week giving the 27 member states another tool to fight the pandemic.
VANIER (On Camera): Cyril Vanier, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: A third night of clashes in the Netherlands between police and protesters angry over new restrictions on movement. Many have been growing angry over nightly curfews. So far hundreds have been arrested protesting the country's first curfew since World War II.
Well, streets in more than 100 cities are being filled with protesters. It's a challenge to Vladimir Putin like he's never seen before.
How Alexei Navalny is reshaping Russia's political dynamic.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:20:00]
(CNN HIGHLIGHT)
JASON BOSWELL, UNDERWATER CINEMATOGRAPHER: My name is Jason Boswell, and I'm an underwater camera operator and technical diver based in Cape Town, South Africa.
I normally get to spend my days out in False Bay getting to film all the amazing wildlife that lives in this incredible part of the world.
Owing to the current situation, the beaches here have been closed and therefore access to the ocean is severely restricted. Which means that I now spend my days on the deck using a pair of binoculars to look longingly towards the ocean.
But I've been lucky to see massive pods of dolphins, maybe five or 600 strong. There's seals playing in the kelp forest, there's loads of bird life.
Whilst it's been fun being dry-docked on my deck and getting to look out on the ocean and see things from a bit of a different perspective, I'm really looking forward to the day that things normalize and we can get back out there.
(CNN NEWSROOM)
VAUSE: Russian president Vladimir Russian has condemned the huge weekend protests calling them illegal and dangerous.
But demonstrators demanding the release of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny are already planning more protests for this Sunday.
CNN'S senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance reports on Russia's political turmoil.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWD: (Shouting)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SNR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is how Putin's Russia has suddenly changed.
Across this vast country, supporters of a jailed opposition leader have come out in their tens of thousands, some clashing with police, losing all fear --
CROWD: (Shouting)
CHANCE: -- even as protest organizers were quickly detained.
"There's no need to be afraid, they're scared of their own people," says this opposition campaigner before she's hauled away.
Nationwide, riot police detained more than three and-a-half thousand others according to an independent monitoring group in the single day biggest day of arrests Russia has ever recorded.
And this is what has jolted so many Russians into action. Not just the horrific nerve agent poisoning of Alexey Navalny in Siberia last year but also the arrest of the Kremlin critic, when recovered he flew back to Moscow this month.
The brave farewell to his wife at the airport seems to have struck a chord.
ALEXEI NAVALNY, RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER (Speaking in Foreign Language) --
CHANCE: As does his latest anti-corruption expose detailing an extravagant palace in Southern Russia, alleged to have been built at over a billion dollars for Vladimir Putin forcing the Russian president to publicly deny it's his.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT, RUSSIA (Speaking in Foreign Language)
"I haven't seen the whole film," Putin admitted to these university students, "but nothing of what is listed there is my property, has ever belonged to me or my close relatives," he said. "Never."
Still more than 87 million people have now viewed the investigation online. A sign of how broad the appeal of Alexei Navalny and his anti-corruption campaigning has become.
CROWD: (Chanting)
CHANCE: And that's a terrifying challenge to the Kremlin now frantically casting these protests as a Western plot.
Opposition activists say this protester draped in a U.S. flag was planted to reinforce the idea of a conspiracy before they ejected him (ph).
Russian officials accused the U.S. embassy in Moscow of actively encouraging the protests by listing the locations nationwide for U.S. citizens to avoid.
[01:25:00]
MARIA ZAKHAROVA, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISRY SPOKESWOMAN: They even used such a term as "March on Kremlin " before the protests started. So on Friday, was that an instruction, was that a motivation, who knows? But actually, this --
CHANCE: Or was it a warning --
ZAKHAROVA: Absolutely not.
CHANCE: -- because the embassy put that statement out to warn --
ZAKHAROVA: Because when --
CHANCE: -- American citizens not to go.
ZAKHAROVA: No, no, no. Because those who organized the protest never mentioned the "March on Kremlin."
CHANCE: It seems like a desperate attempt to distract from the very real crisis now unfolding on Russia's streets.
CHANCE (Voice Over): Matthew Chance, CNN Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: CNN national security analyst, Steve Hall, is the former CIA chief of Russia and Ukraine operations.
He is with us this hour from Tucson in Arizona. And it's good to see you, welcome to the show. STEVE HALL, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Thank you.
VAUSE: OK. Well, there's been some key images from these demonstrations over the weekend like riot police standing almost dazed while they're being pelted with snowballs. They sort of were caught off guard by that, they didn't seem to know what to do.
And then police in full riot gear were charged by these young protesters in another instance. They also seem to be taken off guard by that, certainly by the ferocity of the response from the protesters there.
Some are pointing to this as signs that these protests are substantially different from previous anti-government, anti-Putin demonstrations.
So do you agree with that and, if so, what does that mean?
HALL: Yes, John. I do agree with that. I was in Moscow in the 2011 Bolotnaya protests which were different. They were not as emotional, perhaps. And importantly, they weren't behind a specific oppositionist like Navalny.
So this time you're seeing, I think, much more of an uprising in terms of an emotional response -- as your correspondent was saying previously -- to the arrest of Navalny after, of course, the government attempted to poison him.
So yes, this is different. And I think that's one of the reasons why Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin are so much more concerned this time and are taking really sort of unprecedented actions and acting in ways that we really haven't seen before.
They're very worried. And Putin, I think, is personally fearful of this situation.
VAUSE: And it's different in a way too because it's sort of coming from all angles, if you like. Because there was that two-hour long documentary which was released by Navalny's anti-corruption foundation.
And it revealed Putin's mansion by the sea, this palace on steroids. It had a spa, it had a hockey rink, it had a casino hall. It was incredibly opulent and, obviously, a sign of where billions of dollars had gone. And obviously, Putin denied any involvement, I guess.
But this documentary is being seen as motivation for many of protesters. And then also at the same time, Navalny's group organized demonstrations in more than 100 cities across the country.
At this point, is Putin just being outplayed by Navalny?
HALL: Well, we'll have to see whether or not at the end of the day he's outplayed. But Navalny and his supporters and really the Russian people have upped the ante and have upped the game.
Certainly, I would agree with the assessment that Navalny is playing a sort of three-dimensional chess game.
He actually made the film about the palace on the Black Sea, Putin's palace, before he was arrested so he planned obviously to be arrested and then for this to come out.
So this is all part of a plan and Navalny is really thinking this through. His organization is really doing things that is giving the Kremlin fits. And, of course, Navalny's individual braveness and that of his wife, Yulia, is of course remarkable as well.
So yes, I think this really has the Kremlin back on its heels. And it has been doing the things that we've seen them do so traditionally -- oh, it's a Western plot, oh, the Americans were paying for it.
No, of course it's not mine, says Putin because his standard procedure is to deny everything and make counter-accusations.
So this is -- but it does have them back on their heels and it's interesting to see that.
VAUSE: Yes. "The New York Times" published an op-ed by Alexey Kovalev from "Meduza," which is an independent Russian news outlet -- I hope I've got his name right. He finished with this conclusion --
"Crackdown and coercion are no long enough to discourage Russians from protesting. According to sociologists who studied Saturday's demonstrations, at least 42 percent of all participants were first- time protesters.
Mr. Navalny has clearly struck a chord well outside his regular circle of supporters. The Kremlin, its room for compromise limited, is likely to respond with further escalation.
If he is right, what does that look like? And does that sort of crackdown just lead to further unrest, more protests?
HALL: Yes. This is the totalitarian's problem, this is their conundrum. Do you crack down harder and risk more of a pushback? Do you leave Navalny in jail and make him a martyr, do you kill him and make him a martyr? Or do you let him go free and let him continue his pretty sophisticated attacks on the regime?
But I think one thing that is oftentimes lost on a lot of Western viewers -- and if you read Russian history, you'll see it more. The tradition that Vladimir Putin comes from, which is a KGB background, a Chekist background, these things go all the way back to Stalin and even earlier, back to Lenin.
[01:29:51]
So the ability of the Russian government to use its special security services and intelligence services to repress and kill people is really unmatched. I mean these are the people who came up with the gulag, you know, these horrible death camps that killed Russians.
So you know, we have really yet to see the beginning of significant repression inside of Russia. There are entire segments and entire units inside the Russian intelligence service dedicated to nothing more than monitoring and disrupting dissident activity inside of Russia.
So we really haven't seen that yet, and I'm afraid if it gets too far down the road, we'll see some really aggressive repression coming out of the Kremlin.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: I guess this could get a lot worse actually than we're already seeing, which is the big fear I guess.
HALL: Yes.
VAUSE: Steve, thank you. Steve Hall there for us in Tucson. Appreciate it.
HALL: Sure.
VAUSE: Well, still to come a party divided amongst Republican ranks in the once ruby-red Arizona. Now there is rebellion with many saying they're done with the divisiveness and they're leaving the party.
More when we get (ph) back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody.
You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause with the headlines.
The U.S. House has formally delivered one article of impeachment against former President Donald Trump to the Senate. His trial will start February 8th in two weeks. Trump is accused of inciting insurrection through his actions leading up to that January 6th riot on Capitol Hill.
Drug maker Moderna claims it's coronavirus vaccine appears to protect against the strains first found in the U.K. and South Africa. But it warns that doses could be less effective on the variant from South Africa. It's now working on a booster shot targeting that particular strain.
And President Biden making the coronavirus pandemic his top priority, pushing to increase the number of COVID-19 vaccinations from the official goal of 100 million doses in 100 days. He's also reinstated international travel restrictions.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins has details from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): President Joe Biden now predicting every American who wants a vaccine can get one by this spring.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we'll be able to do that this spring. But it's going to be a logistical challenge that exceeds anything we've ever tried.
COLLINS: That comes after his health officials had declined to make a prediction.
XAVIER BECERRA, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY NOMINEE: And once we have that information, I guarantee you, we will share it.
COLLINS: In his first press conference since taking office Biden also raised his goal of one million COVID-19 vaccinations per day after experts said that threshold was reached last week.
[01:34:58]
BIDEN: I think with the grace of God, and the good little neighbor (ph) and the creek not rising -- as the old saying goes -- I think we may be able to get that to 1.5 million a day rather than one million a day.
COLLINS: Biden estimated it could take weeks to negotiate another coronavirus relief bill, amid bipartisan pushback on Capitol Hill to his proposal that said he's willing to negotiate.
BIDEN: No one wants to give up on their position until there's no other alternative.
COLLINS: While the White House hammers out details with Congress, Biden's first days in office had been filled with efforts to undo President Trump's actions.
After Trump tried to terminate COVID-19 travel restrictions on his way out door, Biden reinstated them on non-U.S. citizens who had been in Brazil, Ireland, the U.K. and much of Europe, while also extending them to South Africa due to the spread of as coronavirus variant strain.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I believe the travel ban will be important in addition to having a situation where anybody coming in to the country now is going to be re quired to have a negative test before they even get on the plane.
COLLINS: In the Oval Office, with his new Defense Secretary by his side, Biden also reversed Trump's ban on transgender troops serving in the military.
BIDEN: And what I'm doing is enabling all qualified Americans to serve the country in uniform.
COLLINS: Trump had announced the ban by tweet, effectively ending an Obama administration effort that allowed transgender service members to serve openly.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think I'm doing a lot of people a favor by coming out and just say it. As you know it has been a very complicated issue for the military. It's been a very confusing issue for the military. COLLINS: Meanwhile the Justice Department watchdog announced today that he'll investigate whether any current or former officials tried to improperly use the department to quote "alter the outcome of the 2020 presidential election". That comes after "The New York Times" first reported that a little known Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark secretly plotted with President Trump, about ousting the acting attorney general and using the department to pressure Georgia lawmakers to overturn the state's results.
While it was another stunning sign of how far Trump tried to go to change the election, he never followed through fearing mass resignations.
(on camera): And CNN spoke exclusively with President Biden later on in the day, asked about the impeachment trial and what effect it could have on the agenda that he's trying to carry out.
He said of course, it could but he thinks the effect that it would have if the impeachment trial did not happen would be worse. He said he views this impeachment trial for former President Trump as something that quote, "has to happen".
And when he was asked if he thinks that 17 Republicans will actually vote to convict a very popular leader of their party, President Biden said no. He noted all the time that he spent in the Senate as a senator, he said it's changed a lot since he was there.
But it hasn't changed that much. But he thinks that if course, President Trump had six months left in his term, some kind of period he wasn't out of office like what we're about to see with this trial, something that U.S. history has never seen before with a former president actually going to a senate trial.
President Biden said if he was still in office, he thinks that then maybe that would lead to those Republicans to convict President Trump. But for right now, he doesn't think that's on the horizon.
Kaitlan Collins, CNN -- the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: And when it comes to relations with China, the incoming Biden administration says it will take a strategic patience approach. The White House adds it plans to work with allies to confront challenges posed by an increasingly assertive Beijing.
CNN's Steven Jiang is live for us in Beijing for us. So Steven, I guess at the end of day, what will be noticeable here about the difference in how Biden responds to Beijing compared to Trump? Because the goal seems to be the, hold China accountable, you know, for unfair and illegal trade practices?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: That's right John. It's interesting because the Biden team obviously is trying to have a very clean start from the past four years. But that is -- China as you said is the exception. It's almost like Trump 2.0 because remember Tony Blinken the nominee for the new secretary of state during his confirmation hearing last week told senators actually agrees with Mr. Trump's tough on China principle. What he strongly disagrees or rejects is Mr. Trump's approach or specific policies.
So that sentiment is being really echoed by other new secretaries or nominees and Mr. Biden himself who during the campaign said there was a need to get tough on China. So that's why you see a lot of the last- minute policy measures or other announcements by the outgoing Trump White House.
They are not being reversed or changed. They're not expected to be changed anytime soon because there is this consensus in Washington between the two parties. And that of course includes a whole range of issues when it comes to trade, especially on the technology front. That's why you see a lot of these policies Mr. Trump announced on his way out including sanctions and the restrictions over Chinese technologies, they are still in place.
[01:39:53]
JIANG: And when it comes to Xinjiang, for example, Pompeo, the last secretary of state designated China's policy in that region as genocide and crimes against humanity when it comes to the alleged internment of up to two million Uyghurs and other minorities in that region.
And Mr. Tony Blinken actually said he agreed with that designation. And Mr. Biden had expressed a similar sentiment back in 2019 as well.
And similar things happening to Taiwan, you know, Pompeo lifted almost all U.S. government restrictions over official exchanges in contact with Taiwan. And then Mr. Biden doubled down by inviting Taiwan's de facto ambassador to attend his inauguration -- the first such official invitation since 1979.
So there is a lot of continuity on this issue, John so this is why China and Beijing leadership is definitely watching what Mr. Biden may do next with a lot of anxiety as well as anticipation, John.
VAUSE: Steven, thank you. At least we know there'll be no more more chocolate cake at Mar-A-Lago for the Chinese leader.
Steven Jiang, live for us there in Beijing.
Well, Arizona was once the ruby-red jewel in the Republican crown, but not now. After turning Democrat blue this past November, the state's Republican Party is facing an internal rebellion between those who are firmly on board the Trump train and those left outraged by the former President's inciting of the Capitol riot.
CNN's Kyung Lah reports now from Scottsdale.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Keep Arizona red and to make America great again.
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Donald Trump may have lost the 2020 election, but he has not lost the Arizona Republican Party.
BARBARA WYLLIE, MEMBER, ARIZONA REPUBLICAN PARTY: However Trump rolls, is how the Republican Party is going to roll.
LAH: This is the first gathering of the Arizona Republican Party this weekend since Trump's defeat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning Arizona patriots.
LAH: In just four years of Trump's MAGA messaging, voters in this once reliably Republican state voted to elect two Democratic senators and a Democratic president.
But here, members punish their own for not being Trump enough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good afternoon everyone --
The AZGOP censured Republican Governor Doug Ducey, Cindy McCain the widow of the late Senator John McCain's and former Senator Jeff Flake.
Ducey's perceived Republican offense was enforcing emergency health orders as COVID cases spiked. Flake and McCain for not backing Trump.
(on camera): Did you vote for John for McCain?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I voted for John McCain.
LAH (voice over): That was then, say these lifelong Arizona Republicans. This is today.
(on camera): Are you concerned about the censure of Cindy McCain?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I'm sorry I voted for John McCain. We're here to increase the Republican Party by making it a MAGA party.
C.J. DIEGEL, FORMER REGISTERED REPUBLICAN: I finally had to say no. I don't want to be associated with the Arizona Republican Party.
LAH (voice over): That's it, says C.J. Diegel.
DIEGEL: That was a good show.
LAH: The registered Republican, a married father of two, hoped that after this --
CROWD: Treason. Treason. Treason.
LAH: -- his party would move away from Donald Trump. They didn't.
DIEGEL: When you go down that path, and that's how you gain your notoriety, when you abandon decency, it's hard to go back on it. LAH: Diegel changed his party registration, among the more than 9,000
Republicans who the secretary of state says changed their affiliation since the insurrection at the Capitol.
DIEGEL: We've got a bankrupt party here in the state and it needs to be rebuilt.
LAH: And remade, away from the images of Arizona's arrested at the Capitol to winning statewide elections says State Senator T.J. Shope.
T.J. SHOPE, ARIZONA SENATE REPUBLICAN: I mean obviously I wear a different hat than the guy in the horns, but you know, it's definitely time for a reset.
LAH (on camera): Is what the AZ GOP doing turning the page?
SHOPE: Absolutely not, absolutely not. I have no idea what they're doing.
LAH (voice over): But the state party seems intent to stay on the path forged by Trump, led by far right chairwoman Kelly Ward --
KELLY WARD, AZ GOP CHAIRWOMAN: We have to stop the steal.
LAH: -- who played an audio message from Trump at the state party meeting.
TRUMP: I give my complete and total endorsement to Kelly Ward. Thank you very much.
LAH: And was reelected.
(on camera): As far as the censures, the governor's office here in Arizona called it quote "of no consequence". Cindy McCain said that she would wear her censure as a badge of honor. And Jeff Flake tweeted a picture of himself, Cindy McCain and Arizona's governor at Joe Biden's inauguration with the caption quote, "good company".
Kyung Lah, CNN -- Scottsdale, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Bottlenecks, skepticism and a chaotic roll out. Ahead, why European vaccination programs falling far behind what was initially expected.
[01:44:50]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Hundreds of thousands of angry farmers have traveled to New Delhi on foot and on tractors to protest new agricultural laws on one of India's biggest national holidays. It's part of an ongoing demonstration against three laws which the farmers say benefit the agricultural business at their expense. CNN's Vedika Sud is in New Delhi right now, with the very latest. And I guess if nothing else the farmers managed to get some big changes to this Republic Day celebrations.
VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is a show of strength and a massive one, John, because you don't have tens of thousands of farmers, but hundreds of thousands of farmers who are converging in the national capital of India, New Delhi, today.
So the plan according to the Delhi police was that first the Republic Day parades they've been just commemorating it 72nd Republic Day today will end and then these rally protests will start.
Now, this is a tractor rally that we're talking about. According to the Delhi police 5,000 tractors were allowed inside Delhi and will be allowed inside Delhi. But if you look at these visuals they paint another picture altogether.
You have definitely more than 5,000 tractors on the roads and highways entering New Delhi. This has got to be a logistical nightmare for the Delhi police. So we do know that these farmers are protesting against three new agricultural laws that have been controversial according to them. And farmer union representatives have been meeting with the government representatives. 11 rounds of talk have happened but they remain inconclusive.
Yes the government has yielded. They've said that we're ready to suspend these laws for next year and a half. But that's not enough for these farmers. They want it to be completely rolled back, John.
VAUSE: So yes exactly. So what is the status right now because the government did make this offer to suspend the new laws. Why is that not enough for the farmers? Why do they want them repealed entirely?
SUD: Well, perhaps they don't have that much trust in the government to suspend -- you know, roll this back later. They feel that maybe a year and a half is all that they're giving them but what farmers have been telling to media and when we have spoken to farmer representatives is that this is a protest that is carried on from the 26th of November. It has been over two months really that they have been sitting at the border areas then enter into Delhi. And this is a protest and show of strength that carried on for far too long just to let it with the suspension of these three new agricultural laws which remain controversial for the next year and a half.
They are adamant John. They said this is it. If it really takes another protest and a rally to Delhi, we're going to do it. So they plan to hold another rally in the beginning of February into Delhi. That's when the parliament session in India resumes, John.
VAUSE: Vedika, thank you. Vedika Sud there with the very latest for us from New Delhi. Thank you.
SUD: Thank you.
VAUSE: Well, the world's biggest single market has vaccinated a small fraction of its population, way behind Israel, the U.S. and Britain. That means patience among European is starting to wear thin.
CNN's Nina Dos Santos explains what's causing the delays?
[01:50:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Boris Johnson and Joe Biden rolling up their sleeves at vaccine programs vital to ending the pandemic. But across the E.U., the slow of inoculation is raising concern.
ARIEL WEIL, CENTRAL PARIS MAYOR (through translator): It's the limited number of doses that don't allow us to go faster.
DOS SANTOS: So far, Israel has covered the largest proportion of its people at 44 cumulative doses per 100, followed by the U.A.E. and a newly-Brexited Britain.
By contrast, just 12 E.U. nations have vaccinated more than two people per 100.
JEANNE BECART, GARCHES, FRANCE MAYOR (through translator): I'm a bit angry when I see the lack of preparation from the government. I remember our president saying we were at war, that we would do everything necessary whatever it cost.
DOS SANTOS: The E.U. has ordered almost 2.3 billion doses from six suppliers including Sanofi but just two made by Pfizer and Moderna have been approved.
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: There will be no parallel negotiations, no parallel contracts. So the framework we are all working in is the framework of 27.
DOS SANTOS: And while the E.U. promised to act in unison, powerful nations like Germany have struck their own deals with drug makers, and their concerns over supply exacerbated by recent change in manufacturing at Pfizer.
(on camera): Part of the problem is supply but part is also distribution. Well, the E.U. did centralize its procurement of vaccines, leveraging upon its sizable negotiating power on price. It left the rollout of those vaccination programs to individual members.
And many of those countries were either unwilling or unable to put on the mass vaccination schemes you see here in London run, in many cases, with the army, and the help of private pharmacies and supermarkets chains.
(voice over)Each country can set its own rules of who gets their injection first and when. And not all have the staff or logistical ability to get the vaccines to where they're needed.
In France, the coverage has been particularly low. National bureaucracy is a massive barrier, says this man. NICOLAS MAYER-ROSSIGNOL, ROUEN FRANCE MAYOR: We just need far more
transparency in direct pragmatic cooperation between the member states, the national authority and the local authorities. We don't need additional extra layers of administration, that's not necessary in that particular emergency situation.
DOS SANTOS: With new, more virulent strains claiming more lives on the continent, this is the E.U.'s best shot at beating COVID-19. But to do that, 27 countries need to get it right.
Nina Dos Santos, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Still to come, who let the dogs out? The White House once again pro canine and for the first time, home to a shelter dog.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Well you've seen the meme, now you can own the doll, the viral image of Senator Bernie Sanders, bundled up at Joe Biden's inauguration was inspiration for Tobey King to crochet her own version. It's now being auctioned on eBay, 100 percent of profits will go to Meals on Wheels America.
Selling bid, a little low, just 99 cents. Last time we checked, more than 150 bids later, the price now $16,000 that's dollars, yes.
[01:54:54]
VAUSE: Well, it's a long way from a homeless dog shelter to the White House and for the first time, a rescue is calling 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue home.
Here's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: First came the still photos: entering the White House, Jill Biden on her knees petting that 12-year old German Shepherd. The younger one romping on the lawn. The first lady tweeted "Champ and Major have joined us in the White House" complete with heart and paw emojis.
Even Hillary Clinton chimed in. "Dogs are back."
But it wasn't until a photo op in the Oval Office was ending, that we heard the proof.
As members of the press were escorted out, lo and behold and there they were under the watchful eye of the groundskeeper who has tended White House plants and pets for almost half a century.
News of their arrival was heralded with tweets like, "The beagle has landed." Countless owners posted photos of their own pets, welcoming Champ and Major. Any openings to be there in turn? And lobbing soft balls like Bull and
Mazy want to know, if the first dogs get to sleep on the furniture. Prepare for the dog puns.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first ever in-dog-uration.
JOSH GROBAN, PERFORMER: Happy in-dog-uration.
MOOS: Yes that's Josh Groban who helped raise money for shelter dogs by singing at the in-dog-uration held on Zoom.
(MUSIC)
MOOS: Major was profiled as a wee pup at the Delaware Humane Association before the Biden started showering him with affection, adopted from a shelter, now top dog at the White House.
There were some curmudgeonly comments, "We still don't have a $2,000 stimulus, who cares about the dogs?"
Responded someone, "I do. My wife does. Our friends and neighbors care. It's a sign of a return to civility."
But some were impatiently tapping, tapping out tweets saying "That's great but where is the cat? We were promised a cat."
JILL BIDEN, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, I'd love to get a cat. I love having animals around the house.
MOOS: Around the White House -- and tongue. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Dogs are good.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm John Vause. Stay with us, 100 percent of me in the next hour. Yes, the news continues right after this.
[01:57:34]
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