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South Carolina Detects First U.S. Cases of More Contagious Strain; Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Threats to Lawmakers, Enemy is Within the House; New York Attorney General Accuses Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) of Severely Undercounting Nursing Home Deaths. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired January 28, 2021 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Thanks for joining us and staying in Inside Politics. I hope to see you back here this time tomorrow. A busy news day. Stay with us.

Brianna Keilar picks up coverage right now. Have a good day.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Hello, I'm Brianna Keilar, and I want to welcome viewers here in the United States and around the world.

We are beginning with breaking news, a disturbing development in the coronavirus pandemic. South Carolina has now detected the first U.S. cases of a more contagious strain of the virus. This is that variant that was first spotted in South Africa. And this is coming at a dire time in the country when we are still losing thousands of people every day and states are dealing with a shortage of vaccine.

I want to go now to CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen on this. What do we know about this strain, Elizabeth?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, this is big news, this is not surprising news. When you have dozens of countries around the world with this South African variant, it is inevitable that it will be in the United States.

So, these two cases were caught in South Africa, and what's really important to know here is that these people did not have a significant travel history, so that means they caught it here in the U.S. So that means it was already here in the U.S. It probably is here in much larger numbers that what we're finding but the genomic surveillance system in this country is not great.

Now, while I say it's bad news, there is absolutely no reason for anybody to feel panicky about this. Unfortunately, COVID is already spreading in the country. This is another variant. It does seem to be spreading more quickly. It may, to some extent, evade the vaccine. In other words, the vaccine will still work but it may not be 95 percent effective and protective, as we have seen in the past. That is still being figured out.

So what this means for us now as we listen to this news is, one, do everything you can to avoid COVID, just as you've been doing, wash your hands, wear a mask, practice social distancing, do not get together with large groups of people. And number two, get vaccinated if you can. I can't emphasize this enough. This variant -- the vaccine will still work to some extent against this variant, it may even work excellently against this variant. But even if it doesn't work perfectly against this variant, it is still so worth getting the vaccine. Brianna?

KEILAR: And so what are some of the simple things that people can do? We've heard talks about double masking. Is that something that any officials are recommending?

COHEN: You know, I think that something that you, one, can always do. I think one of the things we've learned during this pandemic is even if it's not an official recommendation, wearing one mask over another mask isn't going to hurt anybody. It's certainly something that some people are trying, and some people are doing. There is a school system, for example, in Wisconsin that was double and even triple masking, and it might have had an effect because their rates of coronavirus are not very high.

So, really, this variant, this new South African variant that is appearing in the U.S., for the first time, it doesn't change anything. Be as careful as you always were, be as careful as you can be and just remember that, you know, viruses, they're smart, right? We think we're smarter than the virus. Unfortunately, that's not always true. Viruses learn how to mutate in order to spread more quickly.

KEILAR: Elizabeth, thank you so much. It's so important to walk through this.

And the U.S., separately, is a country on alert for another reason. The inauguration may be over. President Biden may have transitioned into office. But the threat that spawned the riot to overturn Biden's victory has not gone away. And if anything, we're learning it may intensify.

The Department of Homeland Security is issuing a new warning about domestic extremists and it says that they may be emboldened by the Capitol insurrection and, quote, could continue to mobilize to incite or commit violence. Once again, America's elected officials may be targeted, according to this bulletin from DHS.

And moments ago, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pointed out the threat against lawmakers may not just be coming from outside Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): I do believe, and I have said this all along, that we will probably need a supplemental for more security for members when the enemy is within the House of Representatives, a threat that members are concerned about in addition to what is happening outside.

REPORTER: What exactly did you mean when you said that the enemy is within? What exactly did you mean by that? PELOSI: It means that we have members of Congress who want to bring guns on the floor and has threatened violence on other members of Congress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now, just a day ago, U.S. Capitol police arrested a West Virginia man who the Metropolitan Police say was armed with a handgun, as well as 20 rounds of ammunition outside the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, which is near, as you can see, the Capitol.

[13:05:00]

And just three weeks ago, three weeks after this deadly insurrection, authorities are urgently searching for more information about the person who suspected two pipe bombs outside the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic Parties that were rigged to explode. And they're worried the suspect could try to strike again.

Our CNN Correspondents have the latest.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Whitney Wild in Washington, D.C. At this moment, federal officials are racing to find the person who put pipe bombs outside the RNC and the DNC. Officials are poring over video surveillance, they're also looking from cell phone data, and they're looking through a nationwide database to find out if any components of the pipe bombs here in Washington, D.C. can be connected to any other evidence across the country.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jessica Schneider in Washington. Law enforcement is now zeroing in on the rioters who plotted extensively leading up to the January 6th Capitol attack. Prosecutors have now indicted three people associated with the Oath Keepers. That's a right-wing extremist group.

These prosecutors say that these people plotted extensively and communicated for months before the attack and they also received trainings. In the indictment, it's laying out that one of them texted people about a basic training class taught by a drill instructor. Another allegedly attended a training camp in North Carolina.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Shimon Prokupecz in Washington. The FBI is saying they arrested a Trump supporter in California after they raided his home and found five pipe bombs and dozens of weapons.

The FBI saying, they also found alarming text messages on 43-year-old Ian Benjamin Rogers' phone where he wrote, he believed, Trump won the 2020 election and also talked about his intent to attack Democrats. In one text, saying, quote, I want to blow up a Democrat building bad.

The FBI also said they found a mock credit card during the search which talked about white privilege and it referenced Donald Trump.

Now, a California judge ordered Rogers held on $5 million bond. KEILAR: Thank you so much to Whitney, Jessica and Shimon for that reporting.

Americans are now being warned about other Americans. That is where we are right now as our country faces threats of domestic extremism. CNN's Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto is with us now to talk about this.

And, Jim, normally when we talk, we're talking about international terrorism. You have covered this for 20 years. How does it compare to what we're seeing right now in America?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: You know, Brianna, as I read these bulletins and you hear these reports, what's remarkable is the commonality in language, in tactics and threats that we're now discussing regarding internal domestic threats that we used to talk about with ISIS and other international Islamist terrorist groups. And the fact is it doesn't end there.

There are a whole host of commonalities which really gets to the worry here of how they're radicalized. I mean, radicalized online, appealed to a cause greater than themselves. This appeal to and devotion to a cultish leader in the case, now President Trump, but also a belief in a false reality. Fed lies, they believed those lies, it drives them, and a belief that the other side is somehow evil, therefore, justifying violence. I mean that's what we saw in those images from Capitol Hill on January 6th. Even members of law enforcement targeted, but, again, also this deep feeling of humiliation and victimization.

What's different, though, Brianna, about the threat that we see from inside the country compared to what we've talked about for so many years outside the country, is that they have a champion, right? You know, former president who echoed and inflamed many of these passions and, frankly, continues to, and you have sitting members of Congress still doing the same thing, even after what we saw on January 6th. And that's a difference there, and that difference is of enormous importance to U.S. national security officials.

KEILAR: So when the speaker says, Jim, that the enemy is within the House of Representatives, how do you assess that threat?

SCIUTTO: Well, listen, she seemed to be specifically speaking about a member of Congress bringing a weapon onto the floor despite house rules not to do that, and following January 6th, threats that we have heard from Marjorie Taylor Greene posted to social media prior to her entering the office, that's what Pelosi seems to be speaking about here.

But the fact is it goes beyond that, right? Because you had the most powerful person in the land, right, pushing the conspiracy theory that was the fuel behind the assault on the Capitol.

And, by the way, it didn't begin on January 6th. The fact is this has been in the data for years. The Justice Department, the FBI have been warning about domestic terror for years going back to the Obama Administration. And the fact is it's not just me talking, the data shows that the number of attacks, plots and deaths have been greater from domestic right-wing and white supremacist groups than they have been from international group.

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And what happened during the Trump Administration is political appointees deliberately downplayed that. That's changing now into the Biden Administration. It is clearly a priority. They are looking at this hard. They are re-assessing strategies, but it was downplayed for years. And that has consequences.

I have to tell you, as you said, Brianna, I've covered terrorism going back to 9/11, and to see so many similar threats, as what we saw with Islamist terror here in this country, is truly alarming. And, by the way, when you hear national security officials now talk about soft targets too, again, that language and the tactics that we associated with an outside threat now inside this country.

KEILAR: Yes, Jim, thank you so much for you talking with us about this. Jim Sciutto.

SCIUTTO: Thank you.

KEILAR: And a newly elected Congresswoman from Georgia who Jim was just talking about, she harassed a mass shooting survivor, and she's just been given a plum committee assignment. House Republican Leadership has assigned Marjorie Taylor Greene to the Education Committee. She got this despite the fact that in March 2019, before she was in office, she hassled and tried to antagonize a young survivor of the Parkland School shooting that left 17 dead. Greene's social media shows that she has agreed with people who spread the fallacy that the 2018 shooting was a false flag operation.

Before seeing this confrontation, remember that the teen, David Hogg, had just month before hidden in an office at his school fearing for his life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Why are you supporting red flag gun laws that attack our Second Amendments rights? And why are using kids to get -- as a barrier? Do you not know how to defend your stance?

He's got nothing to say. Sad. He has nothing to say because there really isn't anything to say, you guys. He has nothing to say because he's paid to do this.

Guess what, I'm a gun owner. I'm an American citizen, and I have nothing. But this guy with his George Soros funding and his major liberal funding has got everything. I want you to think about that. That's where we are. And he's a coward. He can't say one word because he can't defend his stance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Oh, that video of the congresswoman harassing Hogg has gone viral.

My next guest posted it on twitter, Fred Guttenberg, who is the father of Jamie who was killed during the 2018 school shooting. His 14-year- old daughter loved the color orange. She was a straight A student. She wants to be a pediatric physical therapist. And since her killing, Fred has written a book, it's called "Find the Helpers: What 9/11 and Parkland Taught Me About Recovery, Purpose, and Hope." And Fred Guttenberg is with us now. Fred, thanks for being with us.

FRED GUTTENBERG, FATHER OF JAMIE GUTTENGERG, WHO WAS KILLED IN PARKLAND SCHOOL SHOOTING: Thank you for having me. And I hope you're doing well.

KEILAR: I hope you are doing well, sir. And, you know, you posted this clip of the congresswoman. The teen in the video of course is David Hogg. Why did you think that it was important to talk about this?

GUTTENBERG: Yes. So, about a week ago, we learned about her prior posts, calling Parkland a false flag, Sandy Hook a false flag, Las Vegas false, and 9/11. And after learning about that over the past week, I've really been utilizing Twitter to continue to call her out and ask for her to disown that, to apologize, and she hasn't.

And I think two nights ago, somebody shared with me the clip that was shared back in 2019 of that video. And I decided -- I mean, I had to share it. I was horrified. This person is on a committee right now on education. This person is right now serving in Congress. This person got there on a lie, on conspiracy theories and she now is going to play a role that affects our kids. No chance.

I needed people like Kevin McCarthy to see it because they need to own this. This congressperson has not yet disowned a single thing she said. She -- by not doing that, she is saying she's okay with people taking a bullet to the head, she's okay with harassing kids, while she harassed David Hogg, she announced that she had a gun on her. She needs to be out of Congress, and she needs to be out of there today.

KEILAR: And to be clear, what she was saying to him in that video, she was questioning him or really attacking him, harassing him --

GUTTENBERG: Yes.

KEILAR: -- about being a supporter of red flag laws.

And just to remind people, in the Parkland shooting, the shooter was able to legally purchase a weapon, an automatic weapon, despite having a very, very long history of troubles, constantly being moved to schools because of disciplinary issues and apparently mental health issues.

[13:15:04]

And, you know, some Republicans have agreed with there being red flag laws.

GUTTENBERG: Well, listen, in the state of Florida three weeks after Parkland, we passed red flag laws. And not a single legal lawful gun owner, she kept on mentioning the second amendment, has complained about red flag laws because there is no impact on them.

However, if Marjorie Taylor Greene lived in Florida, I suspect red flag laws could affect her. Her behavior, her comments are making her look like a threat to other people. She should have her weapons removed. And if she lived in Florida, I think that would be a possibility.

KEILAR: Fred, you have said that you want her to see proof of the death of your daughter. I know other parents have said this as well. I guess I would ask you, what do you think would prove it to her?

GUTTENBERG: So, she says Parkland didn't happen. She said a lot of crazy things. And I intend to come back to Washington, D.C. I intend to meet with her the way I once did with Senator Cruz. We didn't agree on anything, but we met, and it was live streamed so nobody can question who said what. And that's what I want to do with her. And I'm going to bring proof. I'm going to bring -- I'm just going to say, she will see things that I've not shared publicly before that will validate, she can't question that my daughter was murdered that day.

KEILAR: And do you think that maybe she still would though?

GUTTENBERG: You know what, she is depraved. So, I wouldn't doubt it if she did. However, that just makes it all that much more important that Kevin McCarthy do something about this today.

KEILAR: And what's your message for him?

GUTTENBERG: Remove her. She does not belong in the Congress. It was cute when she was a conspiracy theorist on social media. It's not when she's in Congress. She doesn't just serve her district, she is serving the country, she's making decisions that affect all of our kids because of where he placed her, he needs remove her.

KEILAR: What does that mean for her to be on the Education Committee when she is someone who has questioned, really -- really, you know, I think what something that a lot of parents think is, one of the most are concerning things is that they want to send their kids to a school that is safe. What does that mean for her to be on the Education Committee having questioned what she has?

GUTTENBERG: What a question, I guess it means that the GOP doesn't really care about the education of our kids if they don't remove her. But that said, you can't really answer that question. It means she doesn't belong there. She questions what it takes to make our kids safe. She questions the facts of what has happened. She has nothing of value to add. She has threatened kids. She has harassed kids. She is somebody who, honestly, should not be in the halls of Congress. She's a threat to the members of Congress. She's already said she wants to see bullets in some of their heads. She needs to be removed.

KEILAR: Fred, thank you so much. I mean, you know talking to you, it's just -- you would hope it wouldn't come to this where you would talking about having to prove to someone that your daughter died. I know you live with this reality every day, and it's still very, very, very difficult, so thank you.

GUTTENBERG: We're literally two and a half weeks away from three years, and the idea that this has to be coming up is horrific. She is depraved and she needs to be removed.

KEILAR: Fred Guttenberg, thank you for being with us.

GUTTENBERG: Thank you.

KEILAR: Next, skipping the line, a millionaire couple poses as motel workers to get vaccines on an Indian reservation.

Plus, South Carolina now detecting the first U.S. cases of the COVID strain from South Africa. We're going to have some details on that next.

And the New York attorney general accusing Governor Andrew Cuomo of severely undercounting COVID deaths in nursing homes?

This is CNN special live coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:20:00]

KEILAR: As we reported at the top of the hour, there is another highly transmissible coronavirus variant that has spread to the U.S. South Carolina is the first state to detect the South Africa variant and some state officials have confirmed two cases. Some health experts are concerned that the spreading of these variants, including ones from Brazil and the U.K. could ignite another devastating coronavirus surge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we're now going to see of these new variants, much more infectious viruses, much more easily transmitted, even causing more serious illness are now going to overlay on top of that very high baseline.

So, what we can so what we can expect to see in the course of the next, I think, 6 to 14 weeks is something that we have and even come close to experiencing yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Companies like Pfizer are working on boosters to combat these new variants, and a new lab study suggests that the Pfizer's vaccine is effective.

In the meantime, CNN has learned that President Biden's COVID team will meet with top vaccines distributors today as part of the administration massive plan to flood state with millions more vaccine doses. FEMA is also asking the Pentagon for help. They have requested 10,000 troops be deployed to mega vaccine sites. New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, under fire today, he is accused by the state's attorney general of severely undercounting the number of nursing home deaths from COVID by as much as 50 percent.

[13:25:09]

These accusations come in a new 76-page report that was just released today. And CNN's Brynn Gingras has been following this for us.

You know this report, Brynn, lays out specifics from nursing homes across New York State and it kind of confirmed something that has been dogging the governor for some time. So, tell us what you're learning.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Brianna. And, you know, the deaths in New York, as you're mentioning here in the nursing home at the beginning of this pandemic last year, has always been a source of controversy in the state. You reported on it several times.

The New York attorney general's office looked at dozens of facilities in the last year and found that significantly more residents died of COVID-19 in the state's nursing homes than what is reflected in the deaths publicly reported by the New York State Health Department, as you've said, as much as 50 percent more deaths.

Now, this is why these matters. Because, you know what, this is providing some answers to families who we've spoken with, who you've spoken with, who've lost loved ones and felt that their deaths weren't being accounted for, that they weren't getting straight answers from the homes where their loved ones lived. And also, this is important because members of the state legislature for months have been demanding from the state an accurate count of how many nursing home residents died of COVID-19.

So let's go back to the report. Much of the A.G.'s findings released today stemmed from nearly a thousand complaints about nursing home conditions. An A.G.'s office found some nursing homes were putting residents' lives at risk by not following infection control protocols. What do I mean by that? Well, not separating COVID positive patients from other residents, not having enough PPE on hand, demanding sick employees, get this, still come to work or possibly be fired, also not properly screening staff members, of course, all of these, contributing to the spread of that virus among the most of vulnerable.

It's also, Brianna, important to note that the A.G.'s office reports determine the states guidance to admit COVID-19 patients into nursing homes may have put residents at risk. And this is what you're talking about, this is a big deal, something you probably have heard about. It talks about the governor's executive order on March 25th that required nursing homes to accept patients who were recovering from COVID-19. That order, if you remember, was reversed in early May, and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo repeatedly has said that order was in line with federal recommendations and that the state was merely suggesting nursing homes follow it.

Well, controversial state health department report that released last summer said the March memo wasn't to blame for increase of deaths, but this report today questions that saying, quote, nursing home implementation of some guidance may have led to an increased risk of fatalities in some facilities and may have obscured data reported by nursing homes.

Now, Brianna, we have reached out to the governor's office and the state health department and we are learning that we're expecting a response from them in the near future. Brianna?

KEILAR: Okay, you are expecting a response. And it's worth noting, Brynn, that in the early days of the pandemic, Governor Cuomo got a lot of, I think, positive attention for the way that he was putting forth a lot of information that was based on science and informing the public. It stood in contrast to what we saw coming from the White House. And he really did, I think, enjoy the positive reviews of that.

But this has been -- we've seen sort of an effort on the part of his administration to not share data, that when you look at, say, New Jersey compared to New York, if you look at other neighbors, the numbers just don't add up, as you said the overcounting -- an undercounting by up to 50 percent. They stand in stark contrast. Do we have any sense why they haven't been particularly forthcoming as this whole thing has bubbled now for months and months?

GINGRAS: No. And, again as you have said, this is sort of what's been dogging the governor's office. And you talk about the praise that received. He put out a book himself. This is one issue that constantly comes up, even from state lawmakers who are of the same party as Governor Cuomo. So these are now going to be more questions that are asked. We know from talking to many of those state lawmakers.

But, again, let's bring it back to the families, Brianna. I mean, these are families who we've talked to who just don't understand how, they can look at a state number and see that in one particular nursing home where their loved one lived, one person died, and yet they know just from having a family member there that their family member died, their roommate died and someone down the hall died.

So, there has just been such a frustration from these families to not just have the state official say, no, okay, these numbers are wrong. Let's take it seriously, looked at them and there are some people on the state, again, legislature that are doing that, but then there's also this other side is fighting those numbers saying they're pretty accurate. So this is to be continued.

KEILAR: It's sure is. Hey, Brynn, this is such an important report. Thank you so much for bringing it to us.

Not only are officials worried about vaccine scams, but they are trying to stop people who are ineligible for the vaccine from getting it before people who really need it. In Northern Canada, a wealthy couple is accused of posing as motel workers to jump the line and get their shots.

[13:30:02]

CNN's Paula Newton is here to tell us more about who these folks are and how they managed to pull this off. How did they do it?