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First One-Dose Vaccine Shows 85 Percent Protection Against Severe COVID; Blame Trump Emerges Among Charged Insurrectionists; GOP Bows to QAnon, Trump Despite Deadly Attack on Capitol. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired January 29, 2021 - 13:00   ET

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

VANESSA YURKEVICH, BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: And Chrysler will see if those other two companies will continue to meet G.M.'s new standards. John?

JOHN KING, CNN INSIDE POLITICS: It's fascinating. We'll watch it play out. Vannessa Yurkevich, I'm grateful for the reporting and insights there. Very much telling, I'm grateful for your time today. We'll see you back here on Monday. Have a good weekend.

Don't go anywhere though, Brianna Keilar picks up our coverage right now.

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

We are following breaking news. CNN has learned that pipe bombs found near the Capitol on January 6th were placed there the night before. This is according to the FBI. Two pipe bombs were discovered near Democratic and Republican headquarters on the day of the Capitol insurrection.

CNN's Justice Correspondent Jessica Schneider is following this. What more can you tell us, Jess?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, since this happened on January 6th, the FBI has been releasing more and more information. So they're now saying that the bombs were placed near both of those headquarters, DNC and RNC, between 7:30 and 8:30 P.M., January 5th, of course, the night before the Capitol attack.

So, authorities, they have been hunting for whoever placed these pipe bombs now for more than three weeks. And today is the third time that they've increased their award for tips leading to any arrest. It is now $100,000.

This really speaks to how much difficulty the feds are having tracking this perpetrator that you can see in this picture. This is the picture that has been released from the FBI. And now the FBI releasing a bit more detail about the picture itself. They're saying that the suspect is wearing a light sweatshirt, their face and head mostly covered.

And as you can see there, that is surveillance video that was obtained by The Washington Post. It shows that suspect actually walking in a residential area right near the Capitol and making their way to plant these pipe bombs. The suspect there, according to the FBI, wearing Nike Air Max Speed Turf shoes, yellow, black and gray.

And then we have information, Brianna, about the pipe bombs themselves. We actually got these a few days ago from a law enforcement source. So we understand that the pipe bombs were eight inches long, they were rigged to egg timers filled with an explosive powder. And the bombs, we've heard from law enforcement, they did work but they didn't go off.

So law enforcement believes this may have actually been a diversion, and, of course, a lot of law enforcement officers, they were sent to this location when they were discovered, and that took some officers away from the Capitol, where there was obviously the massive surge of these rioters.

So a lot more information now coming out from the FBI, Brianna, but they are having a difficult time locating whoever this suspect was leading to the possibility and the probability that this was a sophisticated actor here placing these bombs, covering their identity, and, really, at this point, escaping undetected.

So increasing that reward for information here, Brianna, and just hoping to get more tips from people who may have some information. Brianna?

KEILAR: Yes, and the possibility it's a diversion. There's obviously so much more ahead. And, Jessica Schneider, we know that you will be reporting on it. Thank you.

And now to a major boost in the fight against coronavirus. America on the verge of its first single dose vaccine as the nation averages 158,000-some new cases a day. This vaccine comes from Johnson & Johnson and the company says that it's going to apply for emergency use authorization and it's going to do that next week after releasing its clinical trial results this morning.

The results show that J&J candidate, this candidate, it works, but not as well as the vaccines that are now available. The phase three trial results found that it was 66 percent effective in preventing moderate and severe COVID disease and that it's 85 percent effective against severe disease. You'll recall the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccines, which each require double doses, are 95 percent effective against moderate and severe illness.

And more troubling are Johnson & Johnson's results against this South African variant, this is, of course, a more infectious strain that it was just found in South Carolina, the vaccine was found to be 57 percent effective in South Africa where nearly all of the trial cases involve this variant.

Also, Dr. Anthony Fauci predicting today that the coronavirus variant first discovered in the U.K. may become the dominant strain in the U.S. by the end of March. All of these mutations, Fauci emphasized, can be stopped or slowed by an increase in vaccinations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: This is a wake-up call to all of us that we will be dealing, as the virus uses its devices, to evade pressure, particularly immunological pressure, that we will continue to see the evolution of mutants. So we, that means that we, as a government, the companies all of us that are in this together, will have to be nimble to be able to just adjust readily to make versions of the vaccine.

[13:05:01]

Viruses cannot mutate if they don't replicate.

And that's the reason to continue to do what we're doing, namely, intensify our ability and our implementation to vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Though a model often cited by the White House believes that these variants may worsen the spread as well as the death toll.

For the first time since the pandemic began, the Institute for Health Metrics has taken variants into account, forecasting some 595,000 deaths by May 1st, as many as 620,000 if there is rapid uncontrolled spread of these variants.

Let's talk about this, those are quite divergent numbers, Dr. Jorge Rodriguez with us now. He's an Internal Medicine and Viral Specialist. He's a CNN Medical Analyst.

Let's talk first though about the vaccines, because I think that is what so many people are interested in here. The trial results from Johnson & Johnson which are clearly more mixed, what's your reaction?

DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well my reaction is the vaccine is good enough to probably be applied and given to people and cut down the infectivity of the virus in a community.

Now, what it's going to do more than anything -- let's talk about the pluses first. It's one shot. It doesn't have to be kept in a deep freeze, so, therefore, it can be distributed to many parts of the country that don't have those capabilities, so those are the pluses.

But the negatives are that it is really not as protective as both the Pfizer and the Moderna. But what it's going to do, if given, is that it's going to decrease the number of people that are going to get seriously ill. Therefore, people will survive it, they may get a little bit sick but they're also not going to be a physical burden on the health care system. It's a plus and minus.

KEILAR: The vaccine is less effective when it comes to the South Africa variant. Explain that to us. How significant is this?

RODRIGUEZ: Well, that's very significant because that South African variant may become the dominant virus here in the United States. I don't know if it's being imported from South Africa or whether the virus here is mutating naturally into that variant.

I think Dr. Fauci made a great point, which is that the more infections there are, the more mutations will occur. So don't put all your money just on vaccines saving the day. Masks are what's going to save the day. We need to stop the spread and the replication of the virus now.

KEILAR: And so, looking at this mutation that, you know, we're seeing different responses and different vaccines to it, is the future of the COVID vaccine similar to that of the flu shot, where doctors are adjusting it each year and trying to predict which variant of coronavirus is dominant each year?

RODRIGUEZ: Yes, Brianna, I think so. And I think a lot of scientists -- I know a lot of scientists are already thinking so. I know that Pfizer and Moderna, we already know what those mutations and where those mutations occur in the virus spike protein. I know that they have already started programming future messenger RNA virus -- I mean, vaccines to have those mutations taken into consideration.

So in my opinion, yes, that's probably what we are going to have to do until we get this virus completely under control worldwide, not just in the U.S.

KEILAR: And let's talk finally about double masking, because Dr. Fauci, he said it's a good idea. You know, is that something that you're going to start practicing, that we should start practicing?

RODRIGUEZ: That's something -- yes, I started practicing it yesterday when all the information started coming out more clearly. It's so disturbing to me. There are some tweets by representatives saying -- making fun of people that single mask, double mask, that's just toxic masculinity trying to make people feel less than.

The truth is that a simple cloth mask is only going to protect you around 21 percent. If you double mask, for example, with a surgical mask first and then follow it up with a cloth mask, it protects you around 91 percent.

Now, the big daddies are the N95 or the KN95s that protect you around 90 percent, but they're not always available.

Again, this is not about politics, this is about protecting yourself and the community. The more spread there is, the more mutations are going to be, the longer it's going to take to open up the economy. It's really that simple.

KEILAR: Wow, that is quite the jump between one and two masks. So, Dr. Rodriguez, great to see you, thank you so much.

RODRIGUEZ: Thank you. KEILAR: We do have some more on our breaking news. We are getting word that the pipe bombs found near the Capitol on the day of the insurrection were placed there the night before.

Plus, a judge scolding the charged insurrectionist who sat at Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk. Hear why he denied the suspect bail.

[13:10:00]

And the other Republican congresswoman associated with QAnon mocking one of the Parkland shooting survivors.

This is CNN special live coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: The president made me do it, faced with federal charges and possible prison time, the once diehard supporters who stormed the Capitol are now blaming President Trump for their actions.

In a statement released by his attorney, Garrett Miller wrote the following to explain his part in the riots. He said, I was in Washington, D.C. on January 6th, 2021 because I believed I was following the instructions of former President Trump and he was my president and commander-in-chief. His statements also had me believing the election was stolen from him.

[13:15:01]

CNN Legal Analyst Paul Callan joins me now. Okay, so explain what kind of defense this is and if it will work, Paul.

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Brianna, it's kind of a desperation defense, is what I would have to say. They're really saying don't believe your lying eyes because everything was depicted on videotape in terms of what these rioters and insurrectionists did at the Capitol that day.

This particular lawyer is using the argument that Trump issued an order, and his poorly educated homeless client just followed the president's commands.

Now, even if that were true, that would not be a defense to the criminal charges, because in mob, a lot of times, mobs follow the instructions of one criminal leading the mob. Now, here ,that criminal may, in fact, be the president. We'll have to see how this plays out. But it's not a valid defense if you follow somebody who is engaging in an illegal act. It's the just following orders defense and it's never worked.

KEILAR: Okay, so it's never worked. Is this a public authority defense or does it not fit that?

CALLAN: It's really not a defense at all. The attorney right now is using it in a bail hearing to try to say that his client is not a legitimate threat to the community and that he acted inappropriately or maybe violently only in this rare circumstance involving the president of the United States who he describes as his commander-in- chief ordering him to attack the Capitol.

So he's saying to the judge, listen, he's really not a threat to the community, in general, he's not a risk, so it's okay to let him out on his own personal recognizance rather than keeping him jailed until the time of trial.

KEILAR: Okay.

CALLAN: I think you'll see a lot of rioters using this argument to get lower bail or no bail at all when they are arraigned.

KEILAR: Does this -- you know, just this idea that this sort of thing is not even a defense, does that say anything about Democrats and their argument that President Trump is responsible for this as they proceed in an impeachment trial?

CALLAN: Well, ironically, I think, Brianna, you have the rioters here who are saying they were inspired by the president's words. Of course, the president's defense now is that he never intended for this to happen and he hedged his words in some respect by saying he wanted a peaceful demonstration. But here we see the actual people charged with this criminal activity saying they were inspired by the president and they would not have done it but for the president's order.

So I think that gives a lot of strength to the Democrats' impeachment articles, which, of course, say that the president really orchestrated an attack on the Capitol of the United States.

KEILAR: I think it would be a bit of a wild card if Democrats certainly called some of these Trump supporters to testify, but is there any way that Democrats will use some of these claims here in these court filings to make their case in the impeachment trial?

CALLAN: Oh, yes, I think they most definitely will. And I have to say, Brianna, the more I watch the video, and more and more video is coming out because everybody in the world has got a camera, and hundreds of these rioters actually videotaped what they were doing and what others were doing, the best presentation of this impeachment is going to be using videotape to show that these rioters were acting at the behest of the president.

They often say that they are acting on behalf of the president. They often reuse his words when they engaged in this attack on the Capitol building. So I think this will be a very, very strong piece of evidence for the managers of the impeachment to offer.

KEILAR: You don't expect Trump supporters to testify though, right?

CALLAN: I doubt it. I really doubt it. I think their attorneys might be hoping that if they had particularly compelling evidence that maybe Congress would intervene and try to offer some kind of an immunity deal in exchange for testimony, that would require cooperation from the Justice Department as well, so President Biden would have to go along with that. But I'd really be very surprised if there was any kind of a deal.

They can make their case just by playing the videotape. And, in truth, Trump had very little personal contact with any of these rioters other than giving what was an incendiary speech on January 6th.

KEILAR: Paul Callan, thank you.

CALLAN: Thank you, Brianna, always nice being with you.

KEILAR: Always wonderful to see you.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo accused of undercounting deaths at nursing homes by his attorney general, the attorney general he endorsed and fundraised for.

[13:20:04]

We're going to roll the tape.

Plus, is there a strategy behind the recent media appearances by Vice President Kamala Harris?

And if Republicans don't play ball on COVID relief, will Democrats go it alone?

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[13:25:00]

KEILAR: A medical center in rural Georgia has been kicked out of the state's COVID-19 vaccination program for six months because it gave doses to local school district staff who were ineligible under state guidelines. This suspension prevents the center from getting any more shipments. Georgia is currently in the phase one stage of vaccine administration.

And here's a look at other national headlines that CNN correspondents are following.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kristen Holmes covering vaccine distribution in Washington, D.C. A Washington State hospital is now apologizing after it sent roughly a hundred donors an email inviting them to sign up for the coronavirus vaccine.

The statement to CNN, they say that the email went out to thousands of people. That included retired physicians and nurses and all employees as well as those donors. And they say this. We recognized we made a mistake by including a subset of donors and by not adopting a broader outreach strategy to fill those appointments and we apologize.

Now, this apology comes after the governor of Washington expressed concerns over these emails.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Polo Sandoval over New York. The city of Philadelphia said it's no longer working with a nine-month start-up called Philly Fighting COVID, citing a loss of trusted members in the organization. An investigation this month by a local station, WHY, WHY revealed the group was entrusted by the city as a non-profit COVID-19 vaccine clinic but unexpectedly switched its corporate status to become a for-profit entity.

So they said Philly Fighting COVID also stopped offering COVID testing services that are being offered to the community, and the statement of the CEO of the company, Andrei Doroshin, said that he never heard the group's intentions to transition to a for-profit business, and a recent interview, he also admitted to taking vaccines that were intended for public distribution and then administering them to four of his friends claiming that he was unable to find the recipients before the vaccine expired.

KEILAR: Polo and Kristen, thank you for those reports.

The Republican Party is at a crossroad. Will they choose the path of traditional GOP values, lower taxes, free market, strong military, or will they continue down the path of conspiracy theorists with a win at all costs mentality? The latest examples, freshman Congresswoman Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene, they have become GOP darlings despite their embrace of fringe far-right conspiracy theories.

Before Greene even ran for office, she promoted a QAnon lie that President Trump was fighting a cabal of pedophiles in control of Washington and Hollywood. She's accused Speaker Nancy Pelosi of treason. She has supported her possible execution. She has called the deadly Parkland School shooting a false flag event. And in a recently on this video from 2019, she is seen harassing Parkland survivor David Hogg.

Hogg responding today tweeting that Greene and Boebert are threats inside the Capitol. Boebert mocked him, again, tweeting, give your keyboard a rest, child.

Now, the silence from Republican leaders on these two conspiracy theories in their midst is deafening.

Joining me to talk about this is former Republican Congressman and former Governor of South Carolina Mark Sanford. Sir, thank you so much for being with us. And as you sort of look at all this playing out, is this the future of the Republican Party?

FMR. GOV. MARK SANFORD (R-SC): I can only hope not, because if so, the Republican Party is headed for extinction. But I think that you see shoots of Greene, whether that is in what Liz Cheney did there on Capitol Hill or what a handful of folks did in sort of pushing back on some of the craziness that's been invoked there in the steps of the Capitol here of late. So I would simply say, I hope not. And if we stay on this course, indeed, we're headed for political extinction.

KEILAR: If Republicans, and we're looking at Republican leaders, who, you know, years ago took very different approaches here, and it would have been hard to imagine them siding with someone or certainly not disavowing someone like Greene or Boebert. If they don't disavow these kinds of things, do they end up owning them? SANFORD: Yes, silence is deafening. And silence is, in essence, acquiescence. It is a casual form of absolute condoning of baby (ph) that doesn't fit. I think it's telling here though, if you look at the majority of the Republican House membership representing Georgia, they have spoken up fairly strongly against some of the crazy that's been coming from Marjorie. And so I think that that's a good sign. We need, obviously, more of that.

But I think in fairness to someone like Buddy Carter, who represents the Savannah area, he has spoken out and said some of what she said is absolutely not appropriate, and that's the case who the number of other Republican representative, not from across the country but from right there in Georgia.

[13:00:00]

KEILAR: Three weeks after the siege of the Capitol, we see Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, travel to Florida to visit with Donald Trump.