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Reporting Indicates Approximately 49 Million Vaccine Doses Distributed in U.S. with 27.8 Million Administered; Biden Administration Signals COVID Relief Package Possibly Passed through Reconciliation if Republican Lawmakers Withhold Support; Authorities Searching for Man Spotted on Video Planting Pipe Bombs at Capitol Ahead of Riots. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired January 30, 2021 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:27]

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to you at 10:00 on this Saturday, January 30th. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to have you.

Listen, one year ago today, exactly one year, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a public health emergency, and right now the number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. is getting close to 26 million. At least 436,000 Americans have been killed by the virus.

PAUL: And Dr. Anthony Fauci has a warning. He says new variants seen in several states should be a wake-up call. He continues to say that some patients in South Africa have been reinfected due to the new, more contagious strain.

BLACKWELL: Let me give you good news, though. New vaccines could be available soon. Johnson & Johnson will apply for emergency use authorization next week. Novavax says that their vaccine is 89 percent effective. That's in a U.K. trial.

PAUL: And I want to show you some live pictures here. This is from Atlanta, people there waiting inside Mercedes Benz Stadium to get their shot. We're going to take you there later this hour.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Polo Sandoval is following the latest on the pandemic. More than 49 million vaccine doses delivered, fewer than 28 million administered, though. Why is holdup?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Christi, it is the White House's hope, again I say that's their target, that they will have access to this vaccine for most American adults by the end of the summer. But we all know they certainly are facing quite a bit of challenges here. In fact, the White House, one of the main advisers, Andy Slavitt, saying that there are two factors that really seems to be limiting some of the distribution. The first is, of course, supplies. These manufacturers are still trying to keep up with demand. And secondly the ability to actually administer the vaccine from the moment after it becomes manufactured to when it actually becomes distributed.

Let's recap those numbers again when it comes to vaccination numbers across the country. We know that roughly 49 million have been distributed, yet 27.8 have actually been administered. And so that's just one of the reasons that authorities really want to get people vaccinated as soon as possible, particularly because of these new variants that have already been detected in the United States. It's one of the reasons why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is actually instituting now a mask mandate across the board for anybody using any kind of public transportation. That's expected to kick in on Monday night.

What this means is that you will be required, if you haven't been doing it, to actually wear a mask if you're traveling by plane, train, taxis, of course. They have to be worn over the nose and mouth while waiting, boarding, or traveling and disembarking. And important to point out that those bandannas are not going to work here. They are asking for them to be at least two or more layers, and also need to be secured to the head with straps, perhaps, or of course those bands that we've seen on those masks.

And also speaking to this issue of nobody being immune, now we're getting word that there is yet another member of Congress that has tested positive for the coronavirus, talking about Massachusetts Representative Stephen Lynch. According to his office, the representative has tested positive, is asymptomatic. Again, he's not the first member of Congress, but there's some unique sets of circumstances here, including that he had recently been vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, his second dose.

Now, important to point out, doctors have said that this should not surprise anybody, since the vaccination, or vaccine, does not prevent infection, it simply prevents illness, which means that if somebody who has been vaccinated tests positive, doesn't get sick, then technically it worked. And the vaccination worked, which seems to have been the case here. A spokesperson for Congressman Lynch's office saying, again, he is OK, he is asymptomatic, he is self-quarantining. In fact, he also plans to participate in a House vote as early as next week.

But, again, it really does speak to that other threat of nobody is immune, especially with a more contagious variant of the virus being confirmed in the United States.

PAUL: Very good point, Polo, and certainly wishing him the best. Thank you so much, Polo Sandoval for us.

BLACKWELL: President Biden says that a COVID relief package must be passed soon, even if it means doing it without Republican support.

PAUL: Meeting with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in the Oval Office, the president warned of the, quote, cost of inaction. CNN's Jasmine Wright with us live now. Jasmine, good to see you this morning. We know the administration says they want this bill to be bipartisan. It's becoming quite clear that is most unlikely. What is the White House signaling about their strategy moving forward? [10:05:01]

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Christi, the public message coming from the White House, going into next week, COVID negotiations, is still to pass it with bipartisan support. Now, the push to do that urgently could complicate that goal. Yesterday Biden was asked about the possibility of Democrats going it alone, using a rarely used budget process. That means that they don't have to get that Republican support. And Biden didn't exactly shut the idea down. Take a listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you support passing COVID relief through budget reconciliation?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I support passing COVID relief with support from Republicans if we can get it. But the COVID relief has to pass. There's no if, ands, or buts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WRIGHT: Now, that answer from Biden, no if, ands or buts, that is new, and the first acknowledgment from this administration that they just may not get that bipartisan support that they are looking for on this bill. But Biden is still going through the motions. We know that he is reaching out to senators across the aisle to get some support for this bill. CNN has learned that he will be engaging consistently, maybe amping up those calls, as well as turning to interviews to push his message.

But the question remains, Christi, whether or not those actions from Biden are going to be enough. And if they are not, do Democrats turn to that rarely used budget process? If they do, that is going to present a test for Democrats as they need to be unified. They can't lose a single vote to get this passed based on their slim majorities, and it's going to be the first time as a majority party legislating, really the first time in nearly a decade. Christi, Victor?

PAUL: Jasmine wright, so appreciate the report. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: So, while President Biden works to pass the relief measure already in his $1.9 trillion proposal, there's a group of 34 mayors who say that one more stimulus check is not enough to help families struggling through the pandemic. They want checks every month for their constituents until the crisis ends, and they recently used this full-page ad in the "Washington Post" to publicize their cause. The Mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota, Melvin Carter, is one of those mayors who signed on. He is with me now. Mr. Mayor, thanks you for your time. First question here, how much and to whom?

MAYOR MELVIN CARTER (D-MN), ST. PAUL: Good morning. Thank you so much for your time. First of all, you're exactly right. The argument that we're making on behalf of the 16 million Americans that we represent is something everybody knows. This is a bigger pandemic -- this pandemic is a bigger thing and it is more sustained than any of us imagined a year ago. That requires a response that is bigger and more sustained than we might have imagined a year ago.

We all know that one check is not enough, whether it's $600 or $1,400. I know Americans appreciate it, but they also know we're going to need a lot more to help Americans to stability. We are arguing that through the end of the pandemic, we ought to provide a new standard of care that says, you know what, for those folks who have lost their job or lost their income through this pandemic, and for those who were falling between the cracks of our economy far before the pandemic, that we ought to create a stimulus package that provides significant and ongoing resources for them to help see those families, those children, through the end of this pandemic.

BLACKWELL: Is that a settled number, or does that vary depending upon where the people live? A check in San Francisco is not the same as a check in Athens, right?

CARTER: That's very true, and we're very flexible to work with our Congress to figure out kind of what that means for all of our communities. Fortunately, there's a number of bills already in Congress, including one sponsored by former senator and current Vice President Kamala Harris that call for ongoing checks during the pandemic. I believe that getting that logic kind of established is the first step, and figuring out what the amount is, is the next step from there.

BLACKWELL: Let's listen to the now vice president from back in the summer when she proposed that bill. She worked with Senators Gillibrand, Markey, and Sanders to sponsor a bill to continue payments through the pandemic. Here is Kamala Harris.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Through the course of this pandemic and crisis we need to give people $2,000 a month as recurrent payments, people below a certain income level, to help them and sustain them through these months of crisis so that at the end of it they can get back up on their feet instead of having fallen deep, deep, deep into the crevices of this crisis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Fifty House Democrats signed onto a letter with Congresswoman Ilhan Omar calling for $2,000 monthly checks. For those senators who signed on with Vice President Harris, Markey, Gillibrand, Sanders, if Democrats pass this bill with just a majority vote, should they hold their votes up to require recurring payments? Should they hold the bill hostage?

[10:10:08]

CARTER: That's a great question. I think we have to provide direct payment to Americans. I think we have to do that. I would like to see that happen. We know there's a whole bunch of other crises right now that have to be funded, that includes the continued vaccine rollout and all the other things the president has talked about greatly. And so that's something that I would hope that we wouldn't have to come to, and that's something that I don't know that I would fight to say stop the rest of it. But we ought to be moving forward towards thinking about continued and ongoing checks, ongoing payments to Americans.

I think that $2,000 amount would be transformational for American families, and that's what we need right now. We have more American families unemployed, more homeless, more hungry, more in stages of mental health crisis than really ever before in our lifetimes. That requires a bigger response than we've ever endeavored before.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about the vaccine rollout and in prepping and research for our conversation, I came across this cartoon in "The Star Tribune." There's a line of seniors, and one says to the other, "Is this the line to sign me up for the lottery that gets me on the wait list to take a number receive my vaccine bingo card?" and the other senior says, "It was, they just changed the procedures again." Comical. But this week the state launched this lottery system for the vaccine, 226,000 seniors signed up for fewer than 10,000 doses. Now you've got more than 200,000 people on a waiting list. The state health director now says that that program is under review, no guarantee that it will be back. Are you satisfied with the way that this is rolling out in Minnesota, the infrastructure that the state has built to deliver these doses?

CARTER: I don't know that anyone is satisfied with how fast these doses are coming out. I think our state has done a good job in general navigating the doses that we've received. I know that our governor has been livid about the false promises made by the Trump administration about how many doses were there and how many doses were available for the stockpile to be released. I know that we've gotten somewhere around 350,000 people vaccinated so far, at least with the one dose, and I know that I'm very heartened when I hear the president say we have to go a lot faster, we have to go a lot harder, and the federal government has to be a much more diligent partner than they've been in the previous administration to ensure that we have the dosage that we need when we need it, so that we can provide those doses for our senior citizens and all of those populations that we know are at risk.

We have children going back to school, starting to go back to school this week. We have to make sure that we're able to vaccinate not just those senior citizens who we know are at risk, able to vaccinate our essential employees who run our recreation centers and our libraries, childcare providers, and our teachers who take care of our children. Those things are critical toward getting our economy back up and running. And until we do that, we're going to continue to be hamstrung economically by this virus.

BLACKWELL: And I know Bloomington, they've now after just a week of bringing students back, now that they have to send students in elementary to preschool back to virtual learning because of a few cases as well. And courtesy Steve Sack, that editorial cartoon, I want to give him credit for that. Thanks so much, Mayor Melvin Carter. Good to have you.

CARTER: Thanks for having me on.

BLACKWELL: Christi?

PAUL: Up next, the FBI is offering new details about that attempted pipe bombing during the U.S. Capitol Hill riots, and we're seeing new disturbing video of the violent siege itself. That's ahead. Stay close.

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[10:17:52]

PAUL: There is some disturbing new video from the Capitol insurrection three weeks ago that we need to show to you. It's revealing more of the brutality from that day, that maybe we think we've seen everything, and then we realize in video like this we have not, and we're going to see more of it now. I do want to give you a heads-up, it is violent, and it's disturbing to watch, and just I didn't want you to lose sight of that as we head into this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

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BLACKWELL: That bodycam footage from Metro D.C. Police, you see the chaos, the violence there when police were being attacked. Rioters beat an officer with a flagpole, the American flag still attached to it. That was after they dragged him down the stairs of the Capitol. Another officer was beaten with his own baton, and then jumped by rioters who also attacked him with a hockey stick.

PAUL: We know at least 170 people have been charged in connection to the insurrection thus far, and police are hoping to add to that list by identifying the person in this video. Take a look there. This is a person believed to have planted pipe bombs near the Capitol the night before the insurrection. Surveillance video is obtained from the "Washington Post" and shows the suspect before one of those bombs was placed in an alley behind the Republican headquarters. That was just one block from the Capitol grounds.

BLACKWELL: Marshall Cohen is on top of the hunt. Marshall, so the FBI has increased the reward, again, for information about this suspect. That just suggests that they have no idea where this man is and they're losing maybe some leads?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Well, they need help. They're appealing to the American people. As you mentioned, Victor, they've increased the reward. It's now $100,000 for anybody who can help direct the FBI to the arrest and conviction of this person. Look, you just saw the surveillance tape.

[10:20:07]

Look, you just saw the surveillance tape. It's grainy. They're wearing a hoodie. It's not clear. You don't get a good look at their face. And it's been more than three weeks now, and the FBI does not seem to have a clear grasp of who this person is. But we are learning a little bit about what they did. They planted the bombs, real bombs, guys, with explosive powder inside and timers that were rigged to go off. They never went off, thank goodness. But they were planted the night before, and investigators are now wondering if the intent may have been a diversion, to try to peel away the cops from the Capitol Building to allow the insurrectionists to storm in. So there's a lot more still developing here, guys.

PAUL: OK, so we also know, Marshall, that there are congressmen and women who do not feel secure at the Capitol. What are government agencies doing to try to secure that?

COHEN: You've heard this, frankly, from members of the aisle, of both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans. Just a few days ago the acting chief of the Capitol police said that she was recommending a permanent barrier, a permanent wall to go around the building. But, you know, it's Washington, people are always going to find something to disagree on. The mayor came out against it, some Democrats and Republicans came out against that idea. They said it's not the American way.

Look, everybody wants to be safe. Nobody wants to ever see this happen again. But it's not clear how they're going to prevent this, it's not clear how they're going to secure the premises. They're still fighting, they're still bickering. And look, the investigation is just in the earliest stages. They're still trying to get heads or tails of this thing. So there's a lot more to do.

PAUL: Definitely. Marshall Cohen, so good to have you with us today. Thank you.

COHEN: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Still ahead, the conspiracy theories and the impeachment and the violence, there's an identity crisis right now in the Republican Party. The question is, who are they? What do they stand for? We'll talk about this growing divide next.

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[10:26:38]

PAUL: So, Republicans in Congress are really struggling to follow their own demands for unity. Headlines featuring the GOP include a defiant congresswoman under fire for fringe views and disturbing past comments. There are some members trying to kick out one of their party leaders over an impeachment vote. And looming over all of this, the debate over what role former President Trump will have in the GOP's future as he awaits a second Senate trial. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is on Capitol Hill. Suzanne, good to see you this morning, as always. We know House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, I know that is making it clear that he's still willing to stand with Donald Trump, but is there any word from him as to how he's going to strategize his way through this?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. This really is a crossroads here, and this is a true test of leadership for Kevin McCarthy and what direction that he is going to pull the party. We do know and have a pretty good sense of where he's going with this. His trip with the former president, President Trump, at Mar-a-Lago, essentially both of them coming out with very strong statements of support, saying that the goal here is for Republicans to take back the House and the Senate in the majorities, and that that is what they're working to do. Trump issuing a statement saying that he is more popular now than ever, that his endorsement is more powerful now more than ever, and McCarthy essentially agreeing, saying that this is about rejecting a Democratic agenda, what he calls a radical agenda.

Big question here, of course, is how is he going to act as a leader when it comes to the lightning rod Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, the freshman from Georgia, who we have seen in her previous Facebook postings of 2018, 2019, essentially supporting, calling for the execution of Democratic politicians, including Nancy Pelosi, calling 9/11 a hoax, and saying that the massacres at Sandy Hook Elementary and Parkland, calling them false flag operations, again, sponsored by the government. These are the kinds of things that she has been promoting now for years before she became a congresswoman.

Democrats, they say, look, she needs to be censured, kicked off the committees, perhaps even expelled, but Pelosi, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, again looking to McCarthy for some leadership here. Does he actually confront what happened in Wyoming as well, Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida in Wyoming calling for the impeachment of Representative Liz Cheney, the number three House Republican there. He has been saying that he supports Cheney in her leadership role, but, again, that he is concerned about her vote for impeaching the president on the House side. These are all the kinds of questions and issues that are going to come to light in the days and weeks ahead.

PAUL: Suzanne Malveaux, thank you so much for wrapping it up for us. Good to see you, as always.

MALVEAUX: With me now, A. Scott Bolden, former chair of the Democratic Party of Washington, D.C. and former chair of the National Bar Association PAC, and Scott Jennings, former special assistant to President George W. Bush, columnist for "USA Today" and CNN political commentator. Welcome back, gentlemen.

SCOTT BOLDEN, FORMER D.C. DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIRMAN: Good morning.

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: All right, so this is the segment in which I have to use first and last names. Scott Jennings, you are first.

(LAUGHTER)

BLACKWELL: Marjorie Taylor Greene, should she be expelled, censured, committee appointments revoked? What's your view?

[10:0:08]

JENNINGS: Well, first of all, I just want to say I totally reject everything she has said that's come out. It's crazy. To call it crazy is not even adequate. It's dangerous. And so this is not the kind of person that you want to be the face of the Republican Party, and so I hope Leader McCarthy, when he speaks to her next week, makes that clear. They've done this once before. They did it with Steve King and they stripped him of his committees.

So I don't know ultimately, Victor, what the right punishment or the right confrontation is. I just know that you have to pick something that makes it clear that this person and the views that they have espoused is not representative of the larger party, because if this person becomes your face of the party, it totally destroys anything else you're trying to do from a policy perspective, and it will just eat the party alive. So I really hope they take a firm hand with this, and I'm waiting to see if they do.

BLACKWELL: We should point out that Republican leadership rode with Steve King for quite a long time. He had made comments about immigrants having calves like grapefruits and many other racist comments before 2019 when they stripped him of his committee assignments. Scott bolden, what is your view?

BOLDEN: Well, this is the problem with the Republican Party, right? They want to have a conversation with that far right extreme part of their party, but they don't want to outright reject them. They don't want to censure them, expel them. They don't want to do anything about that part because they know they need them as voters. So that's a bit of a hot mess for the GOP. We simply cannot have this element.

The problem with American democracy, the dirty little secret is all you have to do is give one more vote than the next person. And Marjorie Greene, the congresswoman from Georgia, certainly got one more vote than the next person, but she is completely unacceptable. As Nancy Pelosi said, the enemy is within right now, and those statements which she has removed from her website still bears our focus and still bears dealing with.

So, until the GOP deals with this swiftly and affirmatively and stands up for America values versus GOP values or Trumpism, the GOP is going to continue to struggle.

BLACKWELL: Scott Bolden, let me stay with you and turn to this $1.9 trillion COVID rescue bill and the president's desire to have some bipartisan support. How much of this COVID package should he be willing to sacrifice to get Republican votes? Because that's what it's going to take to get the Republican votes, right?

BOLDEN: Well, they certainly would like to have Republican support. I think that it's necessary to have GOP support, but remember, through reconciliation, the Democrats don't have to wait like they do in 2008, 2009, on other really important legislation. People are dying, the economy is in the toilet because of how Trump handled COVID-19, and so I think the Democrats and the leadership at the White House, they're prepared to go it alone regardless of the criticism because we've got to do something to save this economy, get kids back in school, get businesses back up, and defeat COVID-19. Now, remember, there's a variant out there that we haven't even begun

to talk about, so we need to be moving very fast without hesitation to get this done. The Republicans should get on board. But if they don't, we'll certainly move ahead without them.

BLACKWELL: Scott Jennings, this is not an original question, I'll admit, but it's still relevant as the negotiations on how to pare this bill down continue. One of the lessons of the great recession was that the rescue package in 2009 was not robust enough, it was not big enough, and therefore the recovery was elongated, and it was slow. And that is something that Janet Yellen, especially, in the Oval Office this week said that it has to be big. Is that not applicable to this as Republicans try to cut back on the spending?

JENNINGS: There's a lot of issues at play here. First of all, we had four percent growth in the last quarter, and I think as the vaccine rolls out this year the economy is bound to get better as the vaccine protects us all from coronavirus.

BLACKWELL: But you also had a 3.5 percent contraction over the year, didn't you?

JENNINGS: Over the year, yes. But look what happened at the end of the year in the third and fourth quarter. You had growth. I know it was slower in the fourth quarter. But we're not even in a recession right now. You want to compare it to the great recession, we're not in a recession at the moment.

BLACKWELL: We've still got millions people who are unemployed or underemployed. But go ahead, I'll stop interrupting. I'll let you finish your point.

JENNINGS: Sure. I think there are a couple of things Republicans are asking. Number one, we just spent $900 billion. Most of that hasn't even landed in America yet, wherever it was supposed to go.

[10:35:00]

Number two, I do think they want to work with the Biden administration on coronavirus vaccine distribution, and so that specific part of it I think Republicans would love to spend whatever it takes to get the vaccine out into the communities as fast as possible.

But there are other things in this stimulus package that Republicans just don't see as germane to the overall issues of coronavirus and vaccine distribution, and they just don't want to do it. And so I think if Democrats go down this road of reconciliation, which they obviously can, it's going to be a direct opposition to what Joe Biden's message was, which was we need unity in this country, we need to work together. Well, that's the opposite of that, and I think that could be a political problem for him moving forward. So, I hope they find a way to split out the things they agree on and do that and then leave the other more contentious, non-germane issues for further debate.

BLACKWELL: Scott Bolden, let me wrap with you. Vice President Harris did some interviews in the home states of moderate Democrats, Arizona, West Virginia, West Virginia obviously the home of Senator Joe Manchin. His reaction after finding out about those interviews to a CNN affiliate, was, "I saw the interview, I couldn't believe it. No one called me about it. We're going to try to find a bipartisan pathway forward, but we need to work together. That's not a way of working together." These interviews, were they bad forum or just politics as usual and Joe Manchin should get over it?

BOLDEN: Well, she's the vice president of the United States of America, she certainly has every right to bring their message to moderate states or all of the states in this country. I don't think Joe Manchin ought to get over it. I think there should have been a phone call, they should be on the same page, and they can fix and wrap that up.

But remember, America is suffering, and they're suffering because while we may not be united, who is driving the negativity and divisiveness over the last four years? That's just been the Republicans, Trump, and his enablers in the House and Senate, and his followers who cannot win without that element. That's a real problem.

But I think the Democrats are going to move forward with or without the Republicans. The Republicans need to get on board, because people are dying over COVID-19, and enough is enough.

BLACKWELL: Scott Bolden, Scott Jennings, thank you both.

BOLDEN: Thank you.

JENNINGS: Thank you, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Christi?

PAUL: So we know that there is an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus now in Georgia. One of Atlanta's biggest venues is open today for vaccinations. The Mercedes Benz Stadium, we have live picture of it here, is hoping to vaccinate more than 1,000 people today. We're live inside that venue as it happens next.

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BLACKWELL: According to the CDC, nearly 28 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered throughout the U.S.

PAUL: Now, White House adviser Andy Slavitt says seven states have vaccinated at least 10 percent of their population. He's also warning, though, that it will take months before everyone who wants a vaccine will actually be able to get one. CNN's Natasha Chen is at a vaccinate spot in Atlanta, and they're expecting to vaccinate more 1,000 people today. So, Natasha, there's a lot of people in Atlanta waiting to get these vaccinations. What does it look like there this morning?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they're very eager over here to get a vaccine. There's far more demand than there is supply. But you can tell from the people who are here just how eager they are. They actually started lining up outside this building in the cold, and they're coming through that line right there waiting to get registered. That line wraps around. And then they come over to these tables. They fill out some paperwork, and then they come over to this waiting area and wait for their names to be called.

Just to point out where we are, this is Mercedes Benz Stadium, which has been empty for much of the past year. You can see all those seats in the background now of course being repurposed for the vaccinations here. This is Fulton County, Atlanta, and these people here today, most of them are here to get their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. So, a lot of them were already here getting their first dose around January 8th or 9th. Overall, in Georgia we're seeing more than half of the vaccines that have been distributed to the state have been administered into people's arms. That's according to the CDC as of yesterday's numbers. So of course, the goal is to continue and get those shots into arms right now. This is good news, definitely, for seeing people getting their second doses. Some of the people here are getting their first doses as well. And because of the high demand there is a waitlist right now. As soon as more shipments come in, they work through the waitlist. Christi and Victor?

BLACKWELL: Natasha Chen, thank you so much.

PAUL: So, we are learning more about the people that were involved in the January 6th Capitol riot. Also learning about disturbing links between some of those who are charged and the U.S. military.

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[10:48:24]

PAUL: The U.S. military as an institution is called and committed to protecting America from invasion.

BLACKWELL: We're learning, though, that there were a lot of members of the military who were part of that mob that took part in the insurrection at the Capitol. CNN's Sara Sidner has more on the investigation into the Capitol riot.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They have the tactical training, gear, and guns to bring the war home. CNN tracked down nine of the military veterans who were charged in the Capitol siege.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's right there.

SIDNER: This guy is one of the most well-known, a far-right personality known for spouting extremist views long before January 6th.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's going on, everybody? This is Joe Biggs.

SIDNER: Thirty-seven-year-old Joseph Biggs is an Army veteran. He is also a leader in the far right, violence-prone Proud Boys. His violent rhetoric got him banned on social media sites. On January 6th in Washington, D.C., it wasn't just rhetoric. Prosecutors say he did aid, abet, counsel, command, induce, or procure others to unlawfully enter the U.S. Capitol by means of destruction of federal property.

This is Biggs as he helps lead the Proud Boys to the Capitol steps. Once there, one of his Proud Boys, this guy, broke into the Capitol. According to court documents, 20 seconds later Biggs is seen inside the building. Biggs is charged for an alleged commanding role in the insurrection. A judge ordered he could go home on house arrest. We visited him there.

[10:50:00]

Mr. Biggs, I'm Sara with CNN. Look, all we want to ask you is whether or not you were in the Capitol on January 6th and what you were doing there. I'm sorry?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm calling the police.

SIDNER: You're calling the police, you said? Are you an insurrectionist? You're not an insurrectionist? Come talk to me. What are you? I've seen some things that you've said over time. They've been pretty violent. Give us an answer. What were you doing in the Capitol on January 6th?

If we don't get the f out of here, you're calling the police.

Former Army Captain Gabriel Garcia of Miami, Florida, is also a Proud Boy. He ran as a Republican for state office and lost the vote in 2020.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's people starting to doubt this process.

SIDNER: Here he is inside the Capitol, and now accused of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, among other charges. According to the federal complaint, Garcia posted video of himself inside the Capitol saying "We just went ahead and stormed the Capitol. It's about to get ugly." And that he also called police "f-ing traitors" for trying to stop the siege. Time after time our efforts to get comment were met with calls to police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No comment, leave. Leave now.

SIDNER: This man was outside the business of insurrectionist suspect Ryan Nichols in Longview, Texas. Nichols was not there. On the street outside his house, his neighbor confronted us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to call the police right now. I don't have an issue with that.

SIDNER: Nichols is a former marine who ended up on "Ellen" for his work rescuing dogs in hurricanes. He also runs a wholesale business he says has made him a fortune.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ryan here. I'm the owner and president of Wholesale Universe. I've made millions of dollars on the e-commerce platforms.

SIDNER: This is also him in a camo hat at the Capitol. On the right side, his Texas buddy, Alex Harkrider. Both are military veterans who also ran a nonprofit. In D.C. the FBI says Nichols sprayed what is believed to be pepper spray in the direction of federal officers trying to restrain the mob. Court documents show Harkrider posted this on Snapchat, "We're in. Two people killed already. We need all patriots of this country to rally the f up and fight for our freedom, or it's gone forever." They are both charged with conspiracy and assault with a deadly weapon on a federal officer.

Former FBI agent Michael German, who spent years undercover in domestic extremist groups, says he's not surprised so many of the rioters are former military. There are many possible reasons for their actions, but one stands out.

MICHAEL GERMAN, BRENNAN CENTER FELLOW AND FORMER FBI AGENT: What we've seen too often is that this kind of ideological militancy is allowed to exist in the military, and there isn't enough effort to root it out and to actually paint it as what it is, an anti-democratic movement that's a threat to our security within our security forces.

SIDNER: That includes an Army veteran who was awarded a Purple Heart. According to court documents, Joshua Lollar is caught on police body camera video wearing a gas mask at the Capitol, saying "I'm good, just got gassed and fought with cops. That I never thought would happen." Lollar was released on bond to his home. His father briefly talked to us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't tell you anything.

SIDNER: Do you know him? Are you his dad?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

SIDNER: Is there anything you want to say just on his behalf?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

SIDNER: We also went to this accused Texas veteran's home. He's out on bond, too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please leave your message for Larry Brock.

SIDNER: Air Force veteran Larry Brock is seen dressed for combat inside the Senate chamber holding zip ties. Brock is the guy in the green helmet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I agree with you, brother, but it's not ours. It belongs to the vice president of the United States.

SIDNER: Authorities say he may have intended to use those to restrain individuals who he saw as enemies, presumably lawmakers, something Brock denied to "The New Yorker."

One-thousand miles away in Woodstock, Ohio, two more military veterans face some of the most serious charges yet in the insurrection, including conspiracy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Overran the Capitol. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in the Capitol.

SIDNER: That's army veteran Jessica Watkins in the background and former marine Donovan Crowl in front, both dressed for battle inside the Capitol. Watkins' boyfriend knows them both.

What's he like?

MONTANA SINIFF, WATKINS' PARTNER: When drunk, the guy you want to shut up. When sober, the best man you could have.

SIDNER: What was she doing?

SINIFF: She was supposed to help protect some VIP members within the Trump rally. And then of course Trump said go protest, and some people took that to mean more than they should have, probably.

SIDNER: Crowl was right there with her, so was Thomas Caldwell of Clarke County, Virginia.

[10:55:00]

The three are the first to be indicted on federal charges of conspiracy, obstruction, and destruction of government property. Caldwell's disdain for Congress made clear before they stormed the Capitol.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every single -- in there is a traitor.

SIDNER: And that guy you saw there, Thomas Caldwell, who called lawmakers traitors, he actually dabbled a bit in politics himself. He was a delegate to the Clarke County Republican Convention. And we reached out to all of the attorneys for all nine of the people who we tried to speak with. None of the attorneys had comment.

Sara Sidner, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PAUL: Sara, thank you so much.

And we thank you for sticking with us here this morning. We hope you make good memories today.

BLACKWELL: There's more ahead in the next hour of CNN Newsroom. Fredricka Whitfield is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone.