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Navalny Protests Intensify After Sentence, Kremlin Stands Firm; Wuhan Investigators Visit High-Profile Virology Lab; Resources Low In Colombia, Staff Running On Empty And No Vaccines In Sight; Bezos Steps Down But Not Away From Amazon; Biden Turns To Immigration Priorities; Myanmar: Citizens' Calls To Protest Military Take-Over; Biden Pays Respect to Fallen Capitol Police Officer; Trump's Second Impeachment Trial; Republicans Discuss Marjorie Taylor Greene's Future; Fighting Vaccine Skepticism; Russia's Sputnik V Vaccine is Safe, Highly Effective; British Fundraising Hero Dies of COVID. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired February 03, 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: All around the world, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from studio seven here in Atlanta.
Hello, everyone. I'm John Vause. And coming up this hour.
Vladimir Putin sees off another prominent critic. With Alexei Navalny on his way back to prison, a two-and-a-half year sentence now fueling support for his opposition movement.
An international team of virus hunters led by the WHO make it inside that lab where conspiracy theorists believe the coronavirus was created.
And he inspired so many during some of the darkest days of the pandemic. And now COVID-19 has taken the life of 100-year-old army veteran Captain Tom Moore, the man who said, "Tomorrow would be a good day."
The Kremlin's loudest critic, Alexei Navalny, has been all but silenced after a Moscow court ordered him to serve more than two-and- a-half years in prison.
But his supporters remain defiant. Navalny was sentenced Tuesday for a parole violation from a years' old embezzlement case.
He left Russia last year to be treated in Germany for nerve agent poisoning, allegedly carried out by Russian agents.
During his court hearing, he lashed out at the Russian president, branding him "Putin the poisoner."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: (Noises) VAUSE: Navalny's sentence brought protesters back onto the streets in Moscow as well as other cities and a harsh response was brought by police. A monitoring group says more than 1,000 people have been detained.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen was in central Moscow as police moved in on protesters.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SNR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm actually in the area -- right around the Kremlin is full of riot police.
You can see them here, all along the street, they're all surrounding the Kremlin. The Kremlin is right over there -- if you want to point there -- we can sort of see the tips of the Kremlin.
I am right here in front of the world-famous Bolshoi Theater and that also, as you can see, has a lot of riot police here as well.
Now the supporters of Alexei Navalny, after this verdict came down, after it was said that he has to go to jail, they called for people to come out and come into this area and protest.
They said Manezhnaya, that's about maybe five hundred, six hundred yards down that direction. But as you can see, the authorities here have already essentially locked down this entire area.
Traffic is still possible however the entire area around the Kremlin has barriers around it and riot police standing every couple of yards.
As you can see, the cops here checking the IDs, checking many people, checking their paperwork. They obviously have the orders to make sure that there's no major protest here.
This is also something that we've seen a little bit.
(Sound of car horns)
These people are honking seemingly in support of Alexei Navalny. It's something that we've seen a lot of folks do in traffic. It's something, obviously, they got from Belarus.
And there you can see, if you look on the other side here -- just to give you an idea of the situation on the ground here -- there's two people who are being detained right now by riot police, another person being detained there.
Obviously, some of these Navalny supporters are trying to get to these areas, are trying to conglomerate in these areas. And you can see the riot police cracking down very heavily.
And it's not many of these people and yet, they are detaining a lot of people -- also another person right here -- in and around the Kremlin area.
So obviously, the security forces were prepared for something like this, they have deployed in force around the entire Kremlin.
It is surrounded by riot police at this point in time, taking people into custody, out in full force and seemingly preparing for a very long night.
(Sound of car horns)
With people honking their support for Alexei Navalny and his cause right here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Thanks to CNN's Fred Pleitgen, reporting in there from Moscow.
Well, CNN's senior international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, is following the reaction from around the world. He is live this hour from London. Early morning duty for Nick, thank you.
Let's start with the reaction from where you are in London, No. 10. They released a statement saying the --
-- "ruling was pure cowardice, fails to meet the most basic standards of justice. Alexei Navalny must be released immediately."
Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems Europe is less than united here in the response. There's the typical British response was similar, which is fairly tough, other countries have been not as tough.
And I'm wondering how much does that have to do with all the commercial deals with Moscow and issues like supplies of natural gas from Russia?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I think if you look broadly across the European Union -- look (audio distortion) made peace with the European Union, the commission president (audio distortion) and the foreign policy (audio distortion). They've all pretty much spoken with one voice and that is condemnation and calling for the immediate release. (Inaudible) said look, what's happened in Russia stands against the rulings of the --
[01:05:00]
VAUSE: I think we're having a few technical problems with Nic in London. This happens from time to time when you're doing it on the fly as we have been for many, many months.
We'll try to get Nic back. We'll turn to more on that story in a moment.
But in the meantime, U.S. President Joe Biden is moving to reverse the Trump Administration's cruel immigration policies. He's laying out his plans with executive orders while acknowledging heavy lifting will come in passing legislation through congress.
CNN's Phil Mattingly has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Joe Biden made no secret that immigration is one of the priorities of his administration.
Did it during the campaign, did it on day one in the White House and did it again, signing three executive orders on Tuesday. Including one that would create a task force to try and track down and unify children separated from their parents at the border because of his predecessor's zero tolerance policy.
Now that task force has no shortage of work to do. There are still perhaps more than 600 children that haven't identified where their parents actually are. And that would be part of the process.
And a process is what many of these executive orders set in place. Reviews of the "Remain in Mexico" policy, reviews of delays in terms of individuals getting green cards, getting naturalization -- basically, trying to roll back much of what President Trump put into place on immigration. But a long process indeed.
Joe Biden making clear when he spoke that this is part of the process to do exactly that, roll back what his predecessor put in place.
Take a listen.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to make it clear. There's a lot of talk, with good reason, about the number of executive orders that I've signed. I'm not making a new law, I'm eliminating bad policy.
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ready?
MATTINGLY: Now those executive orders came Alejandro Mayorkas was sworn in as the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, the first immigrant to hold the position and the first permanent head of the Department of Homeland Security since April of 2019.
He will play a crucial role for the Biden Administration as they push forward not just on the scope of the executive orders the president has put in place but also immigration reform, which is a key plank of the Biden team's agenda over the course of the next several months.
All of this playing out as the administration continues to push forward on their current cornerstone legislative priority.
That is the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package. The president making clear to senate Democrats, I'm told, he's not backing off of his proposal which is significantly larger than Republicans are willing to consider right now even though they had a good discussion -- ten Republicans and the president in the Oval Office.
Democrats both on Capitol Hill and here in the White House from President Biden on down making clear, they're planning to go big. If Republicans want to join, they're more than welcome; if they don't, they'll go it alone. Phil Mattingly. CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Let's get back to Nic Robertson in London. We've sorted out our issues and Nic is back with us. So just pick up where you left off when we had -- before we had those technical problems, Nic.
I think you were talking about there has been at least a unified response from the leadership of the E.U.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: There has. And as well, I think if you look at what the French president said and the German foreign minister, they've both called for the immediate and unconditional release of Alexei Navalny.
There's criticism, absolutely, of what was happening in the courts in Russia.
We're seeing this from particularly the Baltic states, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, we've seen it from Finland, from Norway as well, condemnation. So I think when we look at what's being said, there's quite a unified voice from the European perspective.
But when we look at action, there isn't action. And we've seen in recent days, Emmanuel Macron in France, the president, calling on Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, to cut off and end the Nord Stream 2 Project, the gas, new gas pipeline, that comes from Russia to Germany to Europe.
There isn't an agreement yet, it seems to be, about which way to go about this. So I think here, I would say, leaders are going to start to look to Washington, with reason.
VAUSE: Well, yes. And with Washington in mind, clearly, there is a new administration in town. The new secretary of state demanding Navalny's immediate release. Adding this --
"Like every Russian citizen, Mr. Navalny is entitled to the rights provided in the Russian constitution. Russia has international obligations to respect equality before the law, rights of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly."
Until there are serious repercussions that you are talking about, maybe more economic sanctions or maybe cutting off some of those commercial deals, these words and this criticism from world leaders, for Putin, it seems what -- it's a bit like being hit with a wet piece of lettuce?
ROBERTSON: Yes. Not even a chilled piece of lettuce --
VAUSE: Right, yes.
ROBERTSON: -- to be perfectly honest, at the moment. Look, we've seen the way that he's willing to poison a former Russian spy in the U.K. with impunity and then go ahead and poison Navalny, his main critic.
[01:10:00]
There was an interesting -- it was interesting to see the moment that that came, that poisoning -- was Navalny was on the campaign trail for local elections but also there had just been protests at the elections in Belarus, neighboring, and there were widespread street protests.
So this seemed to be a message that, in a way, he's very concerned about what happens domestically about the opportunity for some momentum to gain in terms of street protests, less concerned about international reaction.
I think when you look at the White House -- and the reason I raise that is the White House is saying from Tony Blinken, the new secretary of state -- we're doing a wide review of all of Russia's malign activities.
And they've said, his spokesman, Ned Price, has said we're not going to allow Russia to act with the way -- with the impunity that it's been able to act over recent years. So they're talking about having a step change from the way that President Trump dealt with President Putin.
However, they still haven't -- it appears -- announced the results of this new analysis over Russia's malign activities and how they're going to move forward.
So the pressure is kind of on them there but they're making much stronger noises about this than we would have seen from the Trump Administration.
So we're not at the moment yet of this lettuce even getting firmed up by a toothpick or chilling it.
VAUSE: Bit of time in the crisper, perhaps.
ROBERTSON: There's nothing stronger yet.
VAUSE: Nic, thank you. Thanks for rolling with us, we appreciate it. Nic Robertson, early morning duty in London. Thank you.
Well, still to come. The military coup in Myanmar. After that, there are now sounds of protest --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(Noises)
VAUSE: -- with calls for nightly demonstrations but the government has already issued a stern warning.
Plus WHO scientists searching for clues about the pandemic's origins in one of China's leading research labs. What they hope to find is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: It all started as just an idea three decades ago; it's grown to be one of the most valuable companies in the world.
And now the man who had that idea, founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, has announced he will step down as chief executive later this year. Bezos will also remain on the board as executive chair. Long-term employee and deputy Andy Jassy will take over as CEO.
Brad Stone is a senior executive editor at Bloomberg Tech and author of "Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire." To be released this May, available at all good book stores and probably on Amazon as well.
Brad, thank you for being with us.
When we book guests and an expert to talk about these topics ahead of time, our bookers usually ask a couple of questions to get an idea of your thoughts and perspective.
So, Brad, your pre-interview notes had three words, "This is monumental." Can you expand on that a little?
[01:15:00]
BRAD STONE, SENIOR EXECUTIVE EDITOR, BLOOMBERG TECH: Well, we can just stop and consider what Jeff Bezos has done over the last 25 years. Built a $1.7 trillion company that's probably done more to shape our economic reality than probably any other company or entrepreneur.
And you can count all the things he's created. Alexa, the Amazon Marketplace, the Kindle, Amazon Web Services, it goes on and on.
At the same time, the company's never been more controversial. You have regulators in the U.S. and Europe looking at the company. And he probably doesn't want to be the guy in the hot seat anymore.
So while he's certainly not going anywhere and he'll continue to oversee new things at Amazon, it's going to be Andy Jassy now in that hot seat talking to politicians.
Your reporting for Bloomberg came with this headline -- "Jeff Bezos Walks Through a One-Way Door, Opening a New Age for Amazon." So explain the reference here to the one-way door and what it means to Bezos?
STONE: Bezos has introduced a whole lexicon at Amazon, he's got all sorts of sayings.
And the idea of one-way door are basically decisions that aren't reversible; two-way doors you can make quickly and you can always go back if it doesn't work. He likes to talk about acquisitions, for example, as one-way doors.
Well, of course, he could always go back to being CEO but it does seem like this is a permanent decision to elevate himself to executive chairman, to spend more time with his philanthropies and Blue Origin, a space company.
And now you've a new CEO. Andy Jassy, who really started and ran the enterprise computing service, Amazon Web Services, for the last 15 years. He's created a $50 billion a year company which in itself is a remarkable achievement, AWS.
And look, it's going to be a different future, it's a different kind of front man for Amazon. I don't think Bezos will go anywhere, but from now on this very much is going to be Andy Jassy's company.
VAUSE: And I guess we'll finish, if you're going to go, go out on top.
Amazon's fourth quarter earnings, net sales, are almost $126 billion, up 44 percent from the fourth quarter in 2019. Is this just the pandemic which has been very kind to Mr. Bezos or is there more going on here?
STONE: It is largely the pandemic. It's almost perverse when you think of all of the companies and the small businesses that have (inaudible) over the past year.
The entire playing field which was already kind of tilted in Amazon's favor really slopes even more towards Bezos and Amazon. People are kind of locked in their homes, ordering on Amazon or groceries on Amazon which they didn't do.
I think some of that goes away in 2021, hopefully, as people return to stores. But a lot of habits have been formed, a lot of new people have probably sign up for Amazon Prime.
So the wind will continue to be at Amazon's sails. It's now such a profitable company, it's such a large company, that it can invest and invent a lot of new things.
And that's what Bezos's continued impact will be. He's still going to be there trying to expand Amazon into new directions like health care and satellite internet access.
And it's going to be really interesting to watch.
VAUSE: Yes. Most people step back to just a gardening interest or more time with the family, he wants to save the planet.
Brad, it's great to have you with us. We really appreciate it. Thank you.
STONE: Thanks, John.
VAUSE: Well, viral investigators led by the World Health Organization are visiting a top research center in Wuhan, China, to try and find out the origins of the pandemic.
This site came under scrutiny last year when the Trump Administration claimed the coronavirus first emerged from one of its labs, a claim China has denied.
Investigators arrived at the institute surrounded by tight security. The team said it will inspect several areas and question the staff about its research and procedures.
CNN's Steven Jiang following this story for us from Beijing.
I guess it is notable that the authorities in Beijing allowed this visit to happen?
STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: That's right, John. And this is one of the most anticipated and closely watched stops for this WHO mission.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology is famous -- or infamous depending on your perspective -- because of these allegations you mentioned from senior Trump officials, especially from former U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo who actually doubled down on this claim during his last days in office.
But they did not provide -- present much concrete evidence to support their claim. And even the intelligence communities in the U.S. and its allies have said it's unlikely this virus originated from one of the labs in Wuhan.
The Chinese, of course, have vehemently and repeatedly denied these accusations, actually turning the tables on Washington increasingly insinuating this virus may have been leaked from a U.S. military-run lab in Maryland, also without providing much concrete evidence.
So this has become such a politicized issue from both sides making this visit by these experts all the more relevant but also sensitive.
[01:20:00]
Now these experts, of course, say they are going to focus purely on science. That's why they are going to talk to the staff about their studies and research but also check on the bio-safety protocols because this institute does house this country's only bio-safety level four lab. That's the highest level of biocontainment.
And the members of the team also are going to learn more about the study published about a year ago linking the COVID virus to a previously detected bat coronavirus.
The place they're visiting actually is the place where China's leading coronavirus scientist, Dr. Shi Zhengli works and she, of course, is known as China's bat woman for her years of bat hunting expeditions across the country's caves in search of bat borne coronaviruses.
And that's why the conversation she's going to have with these experts are going to be super-interesting and important.
And she previously has told state media it's absurd to point a finger at her labs being the origin of the virus so it's going to be very interesting to see what she actually shares with these WHO experts. John.
VAUSE: Steven, thank you. Steven Jiang live for us in Beijing.
Well, researchers at Oxford University say the AstraZeneca vaccine can not only reduce or prevent symptoms, it can also slow transmission. Other Oxford researchers say that while this vaccine does require two doses, just one shot can still offer substantial protection. A single dose is deemed about 76 percent effective for three months.
Meantime, a large British study finds antibodies in people who contracted COVID can last at least six months. That suggests survivors can be protected against reinfection for that time.
What's not known is whether those antibodies hold up against new variants and mutations. Officials say mutations of concern have been found in a number of parts of the country. And a government adviser says the cases of the South African variant identified in the U.K. are just the "tip of the iceberg."
They may have underestimated the number of those infections in the entire country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT HANCOCK, BRITISH HEALTH SECRETARY: Our mission must be to stop it spread altogether and break those chains of transmission.
In those areas where this variant has been found, we're putting in extra testing and sequencing every positive test. Working with local authorities we're going door to door to test everyone in those areas and mobile testing units will be deployed offering PCR tests to people who have to leave their home for work or other essential reasons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Colombia is seeing another wave of COVID infections. Last week, the defense minister, he lost his life to the virus and now health workers are feeling the pain with cases rising and vaccines nowhere to be found.
Stefano Pozzebon has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Resources are running low in Bogota's intensive care units as a dramatic second wave of coronavirus is putting hospitals under siege.
Inside this hospital in Soacha, a working class suburb of Colombia's capital, respiratory therapist, Lina Perdomo, says January was the worst month since the beginning of the pandemic.
LINA PERDOMO, RESPIRATORY THERAPIST (Speaking in Foreign Language, Captioned): Patients are coming in more complex conditions and breathing problems. It is much harder to treat. POZZEBON: Until early January, these rooms were part of the pediatric ward. But as the hospital ran out of space, she says the children hospitalized here had to be moved to make room for COVID-19 patients in need of ventilation.
After 10 months on the front line, Perdomo and her colleagues are equally out of energy.
PERDOMO (Speaking in Foreign Language, Captioned): It's tiring but we cannot stop. We must (caption obscured) the vaccine. Here every day is worse than the day before.
POZZEBON: Every time you enter those doors, every time you get out of those doors and into taking things off to understand the physical toll, the tiredness, that this situation is causing for these health workers. Some of them have told us they have been working for 26, 27 days per month on a 10-hour, 12-hours, 15-hour shift.
And this is why the vaccine is so crucial because it's the only thing that can put an end to all this ordeal.
While other countries in South America have already begun their vaccination campaigns, Colombia has yet to receive their first doses.
An analysis by Duke University shows that countries that participated in large-scale vaccine and clinical trials or with vaccine and manufacturing capabilities were able to secure earlier doses.
Colombia took part in a single trial with fewer than 5,000 volunteers. It has so far secured orders from manufacturers for enough doses to vaccinate 35 million people, about two-thirds of the population.
[01:25:00]
But Colombia's health minister, Fernando Ruiz, is defending the response, even to assure citizens that help is on its way.
FERNANDO RUIZ, COLOMBIAN HEALTH MINISTER (Speaking in Foreign Language, Captioned): It's true that there are other countries that started dispensing vaccines. But our goal is not just the photo of the first shot. The fundamental goal is to set up a massive inoculation plan.
POZZEBON: That plan is now due to start on February 20th. And the Colombian government claims that 70,000 health workers are being trained to dispense the vaccine as proof of its resolve to curb the pandemic.
But for Perdomo and her colleagues on the frontline, three more weeks feel like an eternity.
Just last week, a therapist in their own unit died of COVID-19. A devastating loss that serves as a powerful reminder that the vaccine cannot arrive soon enough.
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN, Soacha. (END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Calls are growing inside Myanmar for nightly protests in the aftermath of Monday's coup.
(Noise)
VAUSE: That's the sound of banging pots and pans as well as car horns heard across Yangon on the first widespread protest.
The information ministry is warning the public and the media not to incited unrest urging cooperation with the so-called government.
The military has tried to justify seizing power by claiming election fraud detaining leader Aung San Suu Kyi and others from the ruling party.
About 400 members of parliament are being held in a guest house in the capital.
And CNN's Will Ripley following developments from Hong Kong.
Twenty-four hours ago, we were asking where the protests, when were they going to take to the streets? I guess now we have our answer. But how will this be tolerated by the military officials now in charge?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, if the past is any indication, John, the military dictatorship that held a tight grip over Myanmar for 50 years quickly squashed any signs of political dissent.
Now we didn't see any sort of widespread crackdowns on the streets last night, the first night of this grassroots movement where people went out on their terraces and porches and started banging their pots and pans. There's talk about doctors and nurses going on strike.
Because the people of Myanmar overwhelmingly elected the National League Democracy Party led by Aung San Suu Kyi awarding them nearly 400 seats versus just 33 seats in parliament for the military's proxy parties.
A humiliating defeat for the military and the people of the top who have always insisted on retaining a large share of control even while giving this facade of a democracy.
That's why they have guaranteed cabinet positions, guaranteed seats in parliament, hands on the key levers of power in the government -- they even helped write the constitution that they are using to justify this state of emergency over unfounded claims of election fraud that civilian investigators have said just didn't happen, at least not at the scale that the army is alleging.
But they're using that election fraud claim to declare this state of emergency, potentially continue to hold indefinitely all of these hundreds of people who were elected by the citizens of Myanmar, putting their own people in place, restructuring the government more in their favor.
Of course, the big question right now, John. Where is Aung San Suu Kyi herself? We don't know her whereabouts, we don't know if she is going to be facing any criminal charges but it's something that we're watching very closely.
There are a lot of reports coming in from Myanmar right now. We need to keep our eye on this one.
VAUSE: That's the question though. We have not heard from Aung San Suu Kyi, there's been no sightings, there's been no public appearances, there's been no a glimpse of her. What about the other leadership of her political party?
RIPLEY: Well, the NLD put out a statement basically calling for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and the other lawmakers who've been detained calling the actions of the military a stain on the history of Myanmar.
There was a Facebook post that we have not been able to verify whether it came from Aung San Suu Kyi or not calling for people to demonstrate against this. To come out into the streets and voice their opposition to this military takeover of a civilian elected government in a fragile democracy that's not even a decade old.
But whether that post came from her, whether she has actual access to the Internet given that they've cut off many people's access to things like social media, telephone calls, even some of the TV channels that haven't been playing military propaganda for the first time in years -- a throwback to the old days when it was one of the most isolated, militarist countries in the world.
It's really unclear how much these people are able to communicate. The handful of lawmakers that CNN has been able to reach did confirm that they are being held at that government guesthouse in the capital of Naypyidaw.
We've seen the images of tanks and military vehicles and guards standing outside, a clear sign that the military has control. And none of those lawmakers elected by the people of Myanmar will get out unless the military allows them to do so.
VAUSE: Will, thank you. Will Ripley there reporting for us on the very latest live from Hong Kong. Thank you, Will.
[01:29:42]
Just ahead is it free speech? Is it inciting an insurrection? Is it even a legal defense? We'll take a look at the legal strategies with (ph) Donald Trump impeachment trial now they're are being filed ahead of that trial date next week.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: In the U.S. Capitol, a final honor for the police officer killed in the line of duty during last month's insurrection. Brian Sicknick's remains have been placed under that famed rotunda with the U.S. president and first lady paying their respects Tuesday night.
Joe Biden placed a hand on the table where Sicknick's remains were resting then placed a hand over his heart, bowing his head and said a prayer. Sicknick's remains will later be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
Well apparently, we're getting our first look at the legal briefs filed ahead of Donald Trump's impeachment trial which starts on Tuesday.
House Democrats claim Trump is singularly responsible for the Capitol insurrection which left five people dead.
But the president's attorneys say that his comments at that rally on January 6, just free speech protected by the First Amendment. But they're not.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID SCHOEN, ATTORNEY FOR DONALD TRUMP: We know now, apparently, that Mr. Swalwell and the other managers intend to show videotapes of the riots. Read the words of his speech, calls for peacefulness.
This has nothing to do with President Trump, and the country doesn't need to just watch videos of riots and unrest. We need to heal now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Democrats do indeed plan on showing videos from the insurrection as evidence. The president's legal team also says it's unconstitutional to put him on trial since he is no longer in office. But that is not true.
House Republicans will meet again in the day ahead to discuss removing controversial lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee assignments. She's been a vocal supporter of wild conspiracy theories including one that space lasers caused the wildfires in California.
More now from CNN's Manu Raju.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Republicans now in a battle for the soul of their party, facing a major test this week about whether they should purge the party of conspiracy-mongering conservatives or punish Republicans who stood up to Donald Trump.
Their first test: Marjorie Taylor Greene, a freshman who dabbled in conspiracies such as spreading falsehoods about whether the 2018 massacre at a Parkland, Florida high school was staged.
[01:34:54]
RAJU: With more of Greene's controversial views coming to light -- and top Republicans staying silent, Senate Republican leaders finally had enough with the top Senate Republican, Mitch McConnell, calling out Greene's "loony lies" and conspiracy theories saying they amounted to a cancer for the party.
SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: I think I adequately spoke out about how I feel about any effort to define the Republican Party in such a way.
RAJU: What McConnell would not say if he should have pushed back earlier against Trump's conspiracy theories.
(on camera): Do you wish though you spoke out about Donald Trump's conspiracies about the election being stolen much earlier than you ultimately did?
MCCONNELL: Well, with regard to the former president, we're going into an impeachment trial next week --
RAJU (voice over): Senator John Thune, the number two Republican, said today that House Republicans have to make a choice. "Do they want to be the party of limited government? Or do they want to be the party of conspiracy theories and Qanon? And I think that is a decision they have got to face."
Some Republicans aren't taking sides yet.
SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Before I judge what to do about her, I want to know what the facts are.
RAJU: But even close Trump allies said there is no room for Greene's views with North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer telling CNN that he would support her removal from the House Education Committee, which House Democratic leaders are threatening to do this week if House Republicans don't do it themselves.
SENATOR KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): The tent can only be so big that there has to be some sort of guardrails.
RAJU: All that comes as House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy has yet to weigh in publicly on Greene saying to a spokesman that her comments are deeply disturbing and that the GOP leader plans to meet with her one on one.
Greene has fired back at McConnell, calling him the real cancer in the party. And she has begun to walk back some of her conspiratorial views, including over the horrific school massacres.
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): It's terrible, the loss that these families go through.
RAJU: As House Republicans deal with one internal battle, another messy fight also taking shape. This over the future of Liz Cheney, the number three House Republican who joined nine of her colleagues last month to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting the deadly January 6th insurrection at the capitol.
On Wednesday, House Republicans will meet behind closed doors in what is expected to be a tense meeting in part focused on Cheney's vote.
McConnell and other top Republicans such as Lindsey Graham have given Cheney their full-throated endorsement. But as McCarthy has tried to get back into Trump's good graces after criticizing him on the House floor last month, the House GOP leader has offered only a qualified endorsement of Cheney.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): Look, I support her, but I also have concerns.
RAJU (on camera): There's still no decision made by House Republicans about whether or not to get rid of Marjorie Taylor Greene's committee assignments. There was a meeting behind closed doors that Kevin McCarthy first had with Marjorie Taylor Greene on Tuesday.
Then the House Republican Steering Committee met. They make those decisions about whether to strip a member from his or her committee. They have not made a decision. They plan to continue to discuss it.
One of the concerns is the precedent it would set by punishing a member for things they did before they won their election. That is an issue I'm told that they're going to continue to grapple with and ultimately see if they can make a decision come Wednesday.
Manu Raju, CNN -- Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: To Los Angeles now and Ron Brownstein, a CNN senior political analyst and senior editor for "The Atlantic".
Ron, it's good to have you with us. Thank you.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi John.
VAUSE: You know, it's never a good sign when your best legal defense, the argument that this trial in the Senate is unconstitutional, is basically a total nonstarter. But that's what we have here with this legal brief filed by the Trump team complete with front page typo.
And then on the substance, nothing in this makes a case for acquittal. So if this is, you know, an open and shut case as it seems to be, and Republican senators have a choice to either condemn or condone the behavior of Donald Trump, and Trump is the defendant, are Republican senators really the ones who will be on trial?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. In many ways, it is -- it is the future of the Republican Party that we are seeing on trial here because there was a moment, a minute, an hour after the January 6th attack where more Republicans, including the outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared ready to grapple with the full implications of what Trump has done to their party over four years, the way he has essentially opened the door and erased any last distinctions between the Republican coalition and far-right white nationalist extremism, the way he has overrun the rule of law and so forth. But you know, over the course of the month, that has significantly eroded and you have 45 Republican senators essentially signaling that they will take the dodge of, you know, hiding behind the fig leaf of what is clearly a very flimsy argument that you cannot hold a trial, an impeachment trial for someone after they have left office.
In fact there's precedent for doing so in the 19th century. And above all, they want to avoid grappling with the substance of the charges that he faces.
[01:40:02]
VAUSE: You know, you talk about the future of the Republican Party. Well, the leader of the Republican minority in the lower House -- he met with the crazy Qanon lady from Georgia on Tuesday night.
According to Republican officials, Kevin McCarthy gave no indication that Greene showed any remorse or contrition for her comments. This is about, you know, the school shootings being (ph) red flags and, you know, hanging Nancy Pelosi.
While there is a belief among GOP members that she should be off her two committees. There's a concern about punishing members for things they did before winning their elections. And hence we have the dilemma for Republicans.
The good folk of north Georgia overwhelmingly sent her to Congress. They knew about all the crazy stuff that she believed because they believe that crazy stuff as well. She's a true representative of her district.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Right. And look, I mean it is a reflection at the most extreme end of the way the Republican coalition has been evolving for years, but certainly under Trump.
I mean what we see is the Republicans are more and more dependent on the voters who are the most alienated from the way America is changing -- demographically, culturally, economically. She is obviously an extreme version of that. The people who rioted at the Capitol are an extreme version of that.
But we don't see the willingness within the leadership of the party by and large to draw a firm boundary between these kinds of extremist voices and kind of, you know, more mainstream conservatives.
You look back in the early 1960s, Republicans were more willing then to separate from the John Birch Society than we see Republicans today being willing to separate from Qanon.
And I think overhanging any decision they make about Marjorie Taylor Greene is the fear of offending Trump, who has not only welcomed to her, but described as we go back to Charlottesville, the kind of the Neo-Nazis marching in there as very fine people and who may take it as a personal affront if the GOP tries to withdraw from the kind of extremist elements to which he has provided so much oxygen over the last four years. VAUSE: Yes. And on the other side of the aisle, Democrats on Tuesday
took the first step towards parliamentary procedure known as reconciliation. That would allow Congress to approve this pandemic relief bill with a simple majority as opposed to the two-thirds to prevent a filibuster.
Here is the Senate leader, Democrat Chuck Schumer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Joe Biden is totally on board with using reconciliation. I've been talking to him every day. Our staff have been talking multiple times a day.
We are not going to dilute this, so it doesn't help the American people get out of this crisis quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Yes. He said not -- there will be no diluting, no dithering, no delay. If history is prologue, you're seeing chances are that Democrats will have to go the reconciliation route to pass this bill, right?
BROWNSTEIN: Right. Well, there's some real relevant history here, as you know. In 2009 when Barack Obama came in with another enormous economic crisis, Democrats bargained away several hundred million dollars in spending in their stimulus bill that they had then. Shifted some of the spending toward tax cuts all in the name of winning three Republican votes in the Senate to avoid a filibuster.
And to this day, there is a substantial portion of Democrats who believe that because they shrunk the size of the package, it did not have the impact economically that they expected and it contributed to their historic losses in the 2010 midterm.
There just is very little stomach for repeating that particularly after all of the bruising partisan warfare of the Trump years.
And you know, this is really a prologue. There is only so much that you can do with reconciliation, the special tools that allows you to do this with 51 votes. They can do this. They can do one more package with reconciliation.
But the bulk of their agenda, everything from immigration to voting rights and criminal justice reform, will still be subject to that 60- vote limit in the Senate unless they are willing to end the filibuster.
So you know, the fact that they had this alternative here gives them an out but sooner or later, they are going to have to confront that underlying structural issue that gives the Republican Party that now represents I believe 44 percent of the country in the Senate a veto over what the majority wants to do.
VAUSE: Right. Ron, a good point to finish. Thank you, Ron Brownstein there in Los Angeles. Appreciate it.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks, John.
VAUSE: Globally, there is overwhelming, almost desperate demand for limited supplies of the coronavirus. And then there are the anti- vaxxers, not just refusing to be vaccinated, but campaigning against it and spreading misinformation in the process.
[01:44:19]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: These numbers are staggering. More than 100,000 people in the U.S. has died from COVID-19 since the beginning of the year. It's February.
Put it this other way. 32 days, more than 100,000 dead. A year ago, it took the U.S. nearly three months to record its first 100,000.
Still despite the rising death toll, infection numbers are actually falling. The worst-hit state California has recorded its fewest cases since Thanksgiving last November.
And at this point the country has administered more vaccine doses than it has confirmed infections. Health experts say those inoculations are key to containing the new and more transmissible virus strains.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: If you vaccinate people and double down on public health measures and keep the level of viral dynamics low (ph), we will not have an easy evolution into mutations.
That's something the people really need to understand. The way you stop those mutations, get vaccinated and abide by the public health measures.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: But then there's skepticism over the safety of vaccinations in general, misinformation too from an ugly chapter in U.S. history, hindering this vaccination effort around the United States especially within minority communities.
CNN's Ryan Young explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do believe in COVID, yes really.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At Playmakers Barbershop in Atlanta, the tight fades (ph) are blended with energetic and sometimes loud discussions about who the greatest basketball player of all-time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name was Yanous (ph) before the basketball player.
YOUNG: But now COVID-19 stimulus checks and the COVID vaccines are talked about just as passionately.
YANOUS WILLIS, ATLANTA BARBER: I really don't trust it because it actually came kind of fast.
YOUNG: Barber Yanous Willis feels strongly that the development of COVID-19 vaccines was rushed and comes with serious side effects.
WILLIS: People that take it, they had Bell Palsy.
YOUNG: Outside the shop, James Harris had other concerns.
JAMES HARRIS, ATLANTA RESIDENT: I know the doctor took it, it killed him. And the nurse I know (INAUDIBLE), it killed her.
YOUNG: While the CDC and FDA are looking into those and similar claims around the country, Harris' and Willis' beliefs underscores a serious concern for Fulton County health director Lynn Paxton and her team, who are fighting the misinformation online about as hard as they're battling the virus itself.
DR. LYNN PAXTON, DIRECTOR, FULTON COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH: This vaccine is very effective and very safe.
YOUNG: But it's not easy, especially when rumors spread on social media, like posts claiming baseball legend Hank Aaron died from the vaccine because he received his dose publicly days before passing away. He didn't. The Fulton County medical examiner says he died from natural causes.
But many in Atlanta's black community believe the claim forcing health officials to speak out.
KATHLEEN TOOMEY, COMMISIONER, GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH: I think it's just important that we quell these kind of rumors.
YOUNG: Which is why Paxton's team is now distributing information in these communities.
DR. PAXTON: Seek out trusted sources for information about the vaccine. Facebook and your neighbor next door's postings are not trusted sources.
YOUNG: Health officials worry misinformation could complicate the process of getting shots in the arms of black and brown communities.
[01:49:49]
YOUNG: New CDC data from the first month of vaccination shows black and Latino people lagging way behind in the states reporting racial breakdown.
So far 60 percent of those vaccinated are white compared to 11.5 percent Latino and just 5.4 percent black. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're not giving me the option. You're trying to
dump it on me.
YOUNG: Misinformation isn't the only issue. History is also a major factor for some including these black health care workers who are still on the fence about getting the vaccine.
JAMECKA BRITTON, HEALTH CARE WORKER: The hesitancy with the African- American community goes back to the willing malpractice on African- Americans, i.e., the Tuskegee experiments.
YOUNG: The awful decades' long study where black men with syphilis weren't informed or treated now playing a role in the uphill battle health officials face in trying to convince an already skeptical community to get the COVID vaccine.
DR. PAXTON: Let's face it. That's a crime against humanity, what happened then. But that happened ages ago and because of it, it completely changed the landscape for research.
YOUNG (on camera): Health officials say they're going to have to look at this differently. They're going to have to start putting billboards up, using social media and maybe actually going to some of the barbershops like the ones we featured to have a one-on-one conversation using health care professionals to go one-on-one with folks so they know this vaccine is safe.
Ryan Young, CNN -- Atlanta, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Last year Russia claimed a world first. The first to distribute a coronavirus vaccine. The only problem was the rollout was done absent key data from human trials.
Now the numbers are in, and what do you know, late stage trials found the vaccine to be not only safe but highly effective as well. We've got details from CNN's Jacqueline Howard.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Here's what we know about Russia's Sputnik V vaccine. Some interim trial results were just published in the journal "The Lancet". And these early findings suggest that the vaccine has an efficacy of 91.6 percent. It appears safe and effective.
And according to Russian Direct Investment Fund which funded the vaccine production and sells it globally, for storage the vaccine needs to be refrigerated and cost $10 per dose. It's given as two doses.
Now keep in mind, these early trial results are publishing after Russia was criticized for announcing last year that it had approved the vaccine for public use. That announcement was controversial because crucial phase 3 trials were not even completed yet. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Jacqueline, thank you.
Well, coming up next here on CNN NEWSROOM, he not only promised tomorrow would be a good day but he did his best to make sure that it was, raising millions of dollars to fight COVID-19 but now the virus has claimed his life.
We'll look back at Captain Sir Tom Moore and how he became a global hero.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: The world learned a lot from Captain Sir Tom Moore, the World War II veteran, 100 years old. He showed us little gestures can grow and make a huge difference. He taught us the power of optimism during dark days. And now he himself has died of the coronavirus.
CNN's Isa Soares has more now on how he became a beacon of hope in United Kingdom and around the world.
[01:54:51]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Step by step, Captain Tom Moore walked his way into the hearts of Britons. While the U.K. grappled with the early throes of COVID-19, this retired army officer just wanted to help a buckling National Health Service.
His aim was to walk a hundred lengths (ph) of his 25-meter garden before his centenary. He'd have been happy to raise a thousand pounds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for doing this for us.
CAPT. TOM MOORE: When they go up to me, it turns out (INAUDIBLE) look at that, I never ever for a minute did I anticipate the source of money now that is coming and (INAUDIBLE) that I was the trigger of it to begin with.
Now, there's the National Health Service (ph) who are doing such a magnificent job for us all.
SOARES: He became the poster boy for helping save the NHS. And at a time where Brits were closed away, their wallets opened for Captain Tom. He raised almost $40 million U.S.
MOORE: I think I'm just so pleased and delighted with what we're getting. And what more can you ask?
SOARES: His humility would never have expected what happened next. As he began his 100th year, Captain Tom became the darling of the nation. He was knighted by the Queen at her first official engagement during lockdown.
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We wish you a very happy 100th birthday.
SOARES: Prime Minister Boris Johnson sent a congratulatory message.
His old regiment bestowed an honorary title on him of Colonel --
(INAUDIBLE)
SOARES: -- and received a flyover of two Second World War aircraft, a Spitfire and a Hurricane coming at a time when blitz-style (ph) mentality was being urged on the country.
But if gongs (ph) and phone calls were not enough for Captain Tom, perhaps the cover of British GQ magazine instead.
But as priceless as Captain Tom became, the coronavirus raged unabated. On January the 31st, his daughter said that Captain Tom had been admitted to hospital with pneumonia and COVID-19. Surrounded by his family, Captain Tom became another victim of this unrelenting pandemic.
A lover of cricket, Captain Tom played one of the greatest innings of the pandemic to end on a memorable and worthy century.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Thanks to Isa Soares for that report.
And thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM.
But I will be back at the top of the hour with another hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Please stay with us.
I'm John Vause. Back in a moment.
[01:57:39]
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