Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Senate Braces For Trump's Second Impeachment Trial; Biden: "There Is No Need" For Trump To Still Get Intelligence Briefings Due To His Erratic Behavior; Democrats Signal They're Unlikely To Subpoena Trump To Testify; CDC: More Than 39 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Administered in U.S.; FOX Business Network Abruptly Cancels "Lou Dobbs Tonight"; How The NFL Is Ensuring Safe Conditions For Sunday's Super Bowl. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired February 06, 2021 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:34]
ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Hello again. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. Thanks for being with us.
Tonight, the Senate bracing for the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump. Arguments set to begin Tuesday as we also mark one month since the insurrection at the capitol the president is accused of inciting.
Ahead of the trial next week, we have breaking news involving one of the ten House Republicans who voted to impeach President Trump. The Wyoming Republican Party voting to censure the number three Republican in the House, Liz Cheney. More on that in just a moment.
Also, President Biden saying no to his predecessor receiving classified intelligence briefings, saying there's no value to Donald Trump having that vital information.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NORAH O'DONNELL, CBS NEWS ANCHOR: Should former President Trump still receive intelligence briefings?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think not.
O'DONNELL: Why not?
BIDEN: Because of his erratic behavior unrelated to the insurrection.
O'DONNELL: I mean, you've called him an existential threat. You've called him dangerous. You've called him reckless.
BIDEN: I have. And I believe it.
O'DONNELL: What's your worst fear if he continues to get these intelligence briefings?
BIDEN: I'd rather not speculate out loud. I just think that there's no need for him to have that intelligence briefing. What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all other than the fact he might slip and say something?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Let's get right to our White House correspondent Arlette Saenz.
Arlette, that is the president of the United States saying a former president essentially cannot be trusted with classified information. Just extraordinary.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Ana. It is not common to have a current president expressing that level of concern about a former president but that is exactly what President Biden did with those statements there. And White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki earlier today said the president in those comments was expressing his own concerns. But that, ultimately, he values the judgment of the intelligence community on whether to deliver these intelligence briefings to the former president. So, essentially suggesting there that it will be up to the intelligence community to determine whether they do that.
Now, so far, as far as we know, President Trump, former President Trump has not formally requested one of those briefings. So, it will be a matter that the intelligence community may need to assess down the road. And former President Trump will also be top of mind in Washington this week as that Senate impeachment trial is set to get under way, but President Biden so far has really skirted around answering whether he would have personally voted to convict the former president if he were in the Senate.
Take a listen to what he had to tell CBS News yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'DONNELL: Let's turn to the impeachment trial, President Trump's impeachment trial. If you were still a senator, would you vote to convict him?
BIDEN: Look, I ran like hell to defeat him, unfit to be president. I watched what everybody else watched what happened when that crew invaded the United States Congress? But I'm not in the Senate now. I'll let the Senate make that decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: Now, this is part of President Biden's strategy to keep the temperature cool on these issues relating to the president but he has said that he believes that Senate impeachment trial does need to move forward.
And, Ana, we are getting a little bit more of an explanation today as to why President Biden is spending his time here in Delaware this weekend. Just a short while ago, the president left the orthopedist office where he was getting a 10-week post injury X-ray after he fractured his foot back in November while playing with his dog, Major. His physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor said it was a previously scheduled
exam and his symptoms are improving. He's been undergoing physical therapy but that is just one of the reasons that the president is spending the weekend here in Delaware.
CABRERA: All right. Arlette Saenz in Wilmington, Delaware, thank you.
Breaking news now, the Wyoming Republican Party has formally censured GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney, part of the backlash for her vote to impeach former President Donald Trump.
I want to go straight to CNN's Suzanne Malveaux.
Suzanne, what are you learning?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It happened just moments ago, and, Ana, it was very strong language coming from the Wyoming GOP that the state party there, censuring Liz Cheney, and also calling for her resignation, demanding that funds be turned, that fundraising will not -- dollars will not come from the Wyoming GOP.
The reason why here they say and they laid out their case, very clearly, I mean, they said that she no longer represents the will, the value, or the stated preferences of Wyoming residents.
They said that, overwhelmingly, Wyoming residents voted for Donald Trump, that they support Donald Trump. They said that there was no evidence that he encouraged or caused the violence. They went on to say that they had evidence that the riots at the capitol had been caused by a radical left group Antifa and not what we saw in terms of QAnon and some of these other pro-Trump supporters.
They went on to use the case saying that the reason why the Supreme Chief Justice John Roberts is not presiding over this is that he believes it's an illegitimate exercise. Well, John Roberts has not said that. But this is something that they are alleging now. And they essentially say that she has betrayed the voters there, and that is why that they brought forward the censure.
There were people in the room, however, Ana, who supported her, who defended her and said, look, you must let the voters decide, that she'll be primaried in just a couple of years. She will be weakened by this vote, by the censure vote, and that people are being premature about this, acting out of emotion. One person saying that Republicans have become censure crazy, that this is just not -- doesn't make any sense at all and part of the cancel culture.
Ana, she actually joins a growing group of people, a growing group of Republicans out of those 10 Republicans who voted to impeach President Trump, she now is number seven to face some sort of punishment, some censure, either on the state level or the local level of the GOP. We have also seen this with senators as well, Senator Ben Sasse, former Senator Jeff Flake and even the widow of the late John McCain, Cindy McCain, being censured as well.
We know that this is all part of the struggle, if you will, the identity of the Republican Party, whether or not people who criticize the former President Trump will be punished, will have some sort of retribution for this, and what will be the future of this party going forward? Can they tolerate this type of criticism? Cheney keeps her leadership position, overwhelmingly supported from the week before, but again, that question remains. Ana?
CABRERA: OK, so much for being the anti-cancel culture party, I guess. Suzanne Malveaux, thank you.
So, as we look ahead to next week's impeachment trial, I want to bring in former White House communications director under President Trump, Anthony Scaramucci.
Anthony, obviously, Trump's lawyers don't want him to testify. They quickly said no when he was asked to come before the trial here but I have to wonder, now that he doesn't have his Twitter account, or the cameras following him all the time, do you think he wants to come back to Washington and testify?
ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Well, I mean, you know, he's probably blustering to certain people that he wants to do that, but he can't do that. I mean, he's incapable of stringing ten sentences without three or four lies. And so, they're going --
CABRERA: But he also thinks he's his best messenger, right?
SCARAMUCCI: Yeah, but you have to understand, his lawyers are telling him the minute that you put your hand up into Congress and tell people that you're sworn to tell the truth, he gets in more trouble just by testifying. There's nobody in his orbit, Jay Sekulow or Pat Cipollone, anybody that's representing him now that thinks he's capable of doing that without perjuring himself.
So, yeah, I hear you. He's his own best messenger. I saw two of the letters, the crazy letters that he wrote this week that somehow ended up on social media. But listen, there's peacefulness and there's calmness without him. And I don't see him testifying.
He will likely be acquitted because we've got a bunch of cowards in the Republican Party but, you know, he -- you know, there's no reason for him to go up there and testify. It's just not a good legal strategy for him.
CABRERA: I do want to ask you more about all of this, given he doesn't have his, you know, most easily accessible way to communicate, that is, social media, and yet maintains this grip on the party and one of his most avid supporters, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene was stripped of her committee assignment because of her extremist views but response was a shrug it off. Here's what she tweeted.
I woke up early this morning, literally laughing thinking about what a bunch of morons the Democrats plus 11, she's referring to the 11 Republicans who voted with Democrats, are giving -- are for giving someone like me free time.
And she warned her Republican critics that Trump is still in control. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): I want to tell you, Republican voters, support him still. The party is his. It doesn't belong to anybody else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Anthony, you have been trying to take back the party but it doesn't appear to be working. Why?
[16:10:02]
SCARAMUCCI: Well, I mean, I actually think she's right. I think the party does belong to him. The party leaders certainly belong to him and, obviously, he's raised a lot of money through the election fraud ruse that's gotten some of his anchor person friends in trouble. And so, they're all afraid of him and that's why Kevin McCarthy went down to see him because he didn't like what the cabin was saying about him on the floor during the impeachment process and the aftermath of January 6th.
So I think she's right. So what's going to have to happen is a chunk of that party is going to break off like a big iceberg, if you will, and float away from that party and weaken and dilute that party. So we're in the process of working on that. I'm very optimistic about that.
I said to Anderson Cooper last week, I'm pessimistic for the Republican Party but I'm very optimistic for the American people because normal American people, normal Republicans know how crazy this is and how insane and fringe-like this is, and 10 or 15 years, Ana, it will be unbelievable embarrassment, worse than the original McCarthy crisis at the Republican Party had in 1950 to 1954. We had the new McCarthy crisis going on right now.
CABRERA: Republicans in your camp like Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming and also Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, they're facing backlash in their home states for going against the former president. Here's what Sasse said about facing a censure by his state's Republican Party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BEN SASSE (R-NE): You are welcome to censure me again but let's be clear why this is happening. It's because I still believe, as you used to, that politics isn't about the weird worship of one dude. The party could purge Trump skeptics but I'd like to convince that not only is that civic cancer for the nation, it's just terrible for our party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: So, he says politics isn't about the weird worship of one dude but do you feel like that's what GOP politics has become? SCARAMUCCI: Yeah, right now, it is. I think Senator Sasse is on the
right track. I applaud him for what he's doing now. Obviously, Senator Romney has been a stalwart on this sort of stuff.
And, listen, elections do matter. But you know what? It's worth losing an election over something like this.
This is -- President Trump is the most un-American president we've had in our history. He's a domestic terrorist. He's a seditionist. And people need to know that and we have to get out there and explain that to many as many people as possible, filtering out the misinformation and explaining direct facts to the American people.
And the good news is that the Senate trial next week will make that case for what he did, the organization behind that insurrection and we were moments away from seeing many of our public officials murdered, Democrats and Republicans. So, this is a bunch of nonsense. I applaud Senator Sasse, Representative Cheney, Senator Romney. Anybody that's speaking up if righteousness right now in the face of this nonsense and this scurrilous intimidation is somebody that I'm proud to stand by.
CABRERA: Would you want to run for office in this political climate?
SCARAMUCCI: Ana, I'm running for reelection in my marriage. I'm just trying to stay married and probably on a one day term. I mean, who knows, probably even have term limits. So, just take it one day at a time out here to Scaramucci house.
CABRERA: Copy that.
OK. Well, let me take to you then about another aspect you may know something about, which is Fox Business, abruptly cancelling Lou Dobbs. He, of course, is a loyal Trump supporter. He had the highest rated show on the network. Dobbs, along with Maria Bartiromo, and Jeanine Pirro, they were all named as part of a $2.7 billion lawsuit over the false claims about the integrity of the 2020 election.
And Trump actually came to Lou Dobbs' defense. He released a statement saying, quote, Lou Dobbs is and was great. Nobody loves America more than Lou. He had a large and loyal following that will be watching closely for his next move, and that following includes me.
As a former Fox Business contributor yourself, what was your reaction to this?
SCARAMUCCI: Well, listen, I'm saddened for Lou Dobbs. I always got on with him when I was at Fox, I like him as a person. But this litany of misinformation, I'm sure that was the precursor of the cancellation of the show.
And, you know, obviously, I like the other anchors there as well. I mean, this is not a personal thing. This is about dissemination of falsehoods and good companies that are doing accurate things that was a free and fair election, have to defend themselves in the face of that sort of defamation. So, you know, I don't wish ill will on anybody Ana --
(CROSSTALK)
CABRERA: So is this about accountability? Is this, you know, finally lies -- people telling lies, facing consequences?
SCARAMUCCI: I think it's about accountability. I think it's about the corporation protecting itself.
[16:15:01]
You know, if they're going to go through this trial, there's a lot of facts against what these people did. There will likely be a settlement, and I think it's a good set of facts for the corporation that one of their news anchors that was disseminating this information was let go, it's unclear if any more people will be let go.
But, you know, I'm hoping that they can move past it. You know, the Fox Business Channel, a lot of friends there and just would love them to return to facts and business. The political punditry is one thing, but political misinformation is unfair to America, it's unfair to the process, it's unfair to those two voting machine companies.
So, you know, Lou Dobbs basically was let go for those reasons, and it's a sad thing to watch.
CABRERA: Anthony Scaramucci, appreciate your perspective. Thanks for being with us.
SCARAMUCCI: Thanks. Good to be here.
CABRERA: With the former president's second impeachment trial just days away now, Democrats say they don't need Trump's testimony to make their case. We'll discuss with our legal expert after the break.
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:20:10]
CABRERA: Welcome back.
Sources tell CNN House Democrats now believe they have enough evidence to make their case in Trump's impeachment trial without the former president's testimony. Evidence that includes Trump's own words on tape and in tweets, leading up to and on the day of the insurrection and it plan to argue his refusal to testify underscores his guilt.
Trump's team is calling the request for his testimony a publicity stunt and in their response to the charge of inciting insurrection, they write this. It is denied that the phrase if you don't fight like hell, you're in the going to have a country anymore had anything to do with the action at the capitol.
A reminder, here's what Trump supporters chanted just before the riot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: Fight for Trump! Fight for Trump! Fight for Trump! Fight for Trump!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: I want to bring in, CNN legal analyst, Carrie Cordero. She is a former counsel for the U.S. assistant attorney general and senior fellow at Center for New American Security.
Carrie, since Trump won't testify voluntarily, should the Senate subpoena him or is the video evidence enough?
CARRIE CORDERO, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think the video evidence and the timeline that they're going to put together is enough, and I don't think they have time, really, to subpoena him and then fight if he -- in court if he was going to try to challenge that subpoena which he probably would do.
So, the trial is supposed to start on Tuesday. They really don't have time to go through the litigation process and at this point, they can say, look, we've offered him a chance to be heard. If he wants it, he's declined it, and now, we're going to move forward.
CABRERA: And just for our viewers' knowledge, it could take years, right, for litigation to play out. Like, we're talking a long drawn out process if they go the subpoena route.
CORDERO: Well, there's an argument they could request expedited but you're still a matter of days, weeks, possibly months. So there's just simply not time for them to be able to do it.
And frankly, we know that Donald Trump based on his history would lie anyway. And so they're really actually, from my perspective, could be more damaged by had he agreed to testify. Number one, he would lie, number two, he would continue the big lie.
So there's nothing to indicate based on his behavior even since the election, since the inauguration of President Biden, that he would change from continuing to say that the election was invalid and that he was unfairly denied a second term. And that really actually could be quite I think harmful for the country to continue to hear that big lie.
CABRERA: What about other witnesses? Because our latest reporting is that the impeachment managers are so contemplating whether to call other witnesses since every member of Congress is essentially a witness, what would you do?
CORDERO: I think there could be value in hearing from other members of Congress, particularly, maybe if they were Republican members of Congress who were willing to testify regarding the threat that pertains to them, the threat that pertained to their staff. There are certain members of Congress who did vote for impeachment
even on the Republican side and if the Democratic managers are really trying to convince Republican senators to vote for conviction, then perhaps some testimony from Republican members or staff would be helpful.
Important testimony would be if there were individuals close to President Trump who would confirm his involvement in the planning of the January 6th event itself.
Obviously, he participated in it, but if there were testimony regarding his planning but again, given the timing, it seems very unlikely they'd be able to secure that kind of testimony.
CABRERA: So, let's talk about Trump's defense, signaled part of his defense would be free speech or protected speech. Let's review what Trump said on January 6th shortly before the riot began.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong. I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.
We fight like hell and if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Now, Trump's lawyers write this and I quote, the 45th president exercised his First Amendment right under the Constitution to express his belief that the election results were suspect. Insufficient evidence exists upon which a reasonable jurist could conclude that the 45th president's statements were accurate or not and he therefore denies they were false.
There's zero evidence supporting Trump's belief that the election results are suspect, Carrie.
[16:25:00]
What am I -- what am I missing here? Can you explain their free speech defense?
CORDERO: Well, I don't -- I think they are not going to, I don't think they have a strong case that this is a free speech defense, particularly when you look, for example, at the last statement that you played. That you better, what he said, you better fight like hell or you're not going to have a country anymore.
And if the impeachment managers can side by side that statement with the videos that exist of the individuals who participated in the event itself where they said, this is 1776. You know, we're here to prevent the election. Joe Biden is not going to be president. There's all sorts of video testimony that's along those lines, videos that were taken of individuals who participated in January 6th.
And so, when you take his words and then you take what those people who were actually there said on the day, there's a very strong case to be made from my perspective that this goes beyond First Amendment protected activity and that he did incite their behavior.
CABRERA: Carrie Cordero, appreciate your expertise, thank you.
CORDERO: Thanks, Ana.
CABRERA: Former president Trump faces a Democrat controlled Senate in his unprecedented second impeachment trial. Join CNN for a special live coverage all day starting Tuesday.
Up next, a newly released survey finds many black adults in the U.S. remain hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine and this news comes as other data shows people of color are not getting their fair share of the vaccinations, even after all the warnings, why is this still happening?
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:31:08]
CABRERA: The number of Americans getting their COVID vaccination is now higher than the number of Americans contracting the virus.
In fact, COVID vaccine doses administered this week outnumbered new cases 10 to one here in the U.S.
CNN's Natasha Chen is at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz stadium, a mass vaccination site, and joins us -- Natasha?
NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ana, Mercedes-Benz Stadium has been hosting vaccination events here since early January.
Today's event is targeted specifically for employees of local school systems and the public transit system here, who fall into eligible categories. They're over 65 or work as health care workers or first responders in a school or transportation setting.
Mercedes-Benz is one of seven NFL stadiums currently operating as the vaccination site with more about to come online now, especially now that NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, has written a letter to President Biden offering all 32 team stadiums for this purpose.
Even with more vaccines becoming available to people, there's still some pockets of the community are hesitant to get a shot.
I talked to the Fulton County school chief human resources officer about making that effort to talk to school employees who might be hesitant. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RON WADE, CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER, FULTON COUNTY SCHOOLS: I think our objective and our goal is to continue to try to educate and inform. But we're not able to convince certain people. It's just not the moment for them to do that.
That's why we're going to have to also maintain those other efforts to make sure there are schools and safe: masking, social distancing, washing hands. Those things will not go away.
We'll keep encouraging that, even after we've been able to vaccinate a certain percentage of our employees.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHEN: Around the metro Atlanta area, public health officials tell me that the people getting vaccinated don't necessary reflect the demographics of the larger community.
So they're making efforts to reach those underserved or minority populations, including here in Fulton County where, starting next week, they'll offer transportation from some senior homes to vaccination sites.
Ana, back to you.
CABRERA: Natasha Chen, thank you for your reporting.
A new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds black and Hispanic people in the U.S. continue to receive a disproportionately low share of COVID-19 vaccinations compared to their share of COVID-19 cases and deaths and to their share of the total population.
With us now is former Baltimore health commissioner and CNN medical analyst, Dr. Leana Wen.
Dr. Wen, you and others have been warning about this. It seems like there was a lot of awareness of this being a potential problem early on. Why is it still happening?
DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: One, we have specific intention on equity. We know what will happen. Those who have already faced the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 are going to left further behind.
I know that vaccine hesitancy is a component but I think that hesitancy is so often used as an excuse when the problem of this disproportionate vaccine availability is actually about access.
And so having data is important. But the next step is that we have to then address the bottlenecks and the barriers.
For example, setting up vaccination sites in communities that are the hardest hit, communities of color, low-income areas. And making sure that the appointment slots are prioritized for people who live in the communities, too.
We need all of these efforts together. And otherwise, those already facing the greatest burden when it comes to COVID-19 are going to be facing even bigger barriers when it comes to access.
CABRERA: And 24 states, plus Washington, D.C., are now allowing all or some teachers and staff to get the vaccine. And that means half of the country is not. Teachers are not having access at this point.
Given the big push, though, to reopen schools, should all teachers and school staff be prioritized in getting vaccinated right now?
[16:35:05]
WEN: The short answer is yes. If we, as a society, think that children should be prioritized and that in-person schooling is so critical as it is, then the least we could do is protect teachers and school staff.
Because they should not be forced to bear the burden of societal failures. We, as a society, should have been cutting the transmission rate. Because we didn't do that, now we should be helping our teachers and staff as much as we can.
I hope the CDC next week will come out with much clearer guidance and specifically looking out at every level of community transmission.
What are the mitigation measures that need to be in place? And if certain measures are not in place, then being explicit about saying that vaccination for teachers must be a prerequisite for reopening.
CABRERA: And of course, you mentioned that guidance is expected next week. So we'll all be watching for that.
I want to ask you about your op-ed in the "Washington Post" this week. You say, "Best case scenario, we turn COVID-19 into an illness like seasonal flu."
That's the best-case scenario?
WEN: Well, at this point, it's looking more and more like we're not going to be able to eradicate COVID-19. It's going to be with us.
But here's the thing. Because we have these extremely effective vaccines -- and in particular, there's one end point of the vaccine trials that we should really focus on, which is that the vaccine cuts the rate of hospitalizations.
Virtually, there were no one in the groups that received the vaccines, or one or a couple of people who ended up getting severely ill to the point that they needed to be hospitalized.
That's really important, because if people get the vaccine and were able to convert the fear of COVID from a deadly disease to something that gives you fevers and body aches, we can then reopen schools and bring our economy back. People can then be with their families again.
So it still may be something we end up living with that we want to prevent, that we still do testing for, that we get maybe regular annual shots for, but we can bring an end to this pandemic by hopefully turning COVID into something between the common cold and the seasonal flu.
CABRERA: So you do think we might need a new COVID shot every year?
WEN: With the variants and the fact the RNA virus just mutates so quickly, it does seem likely we're going to need booster shots. How often that's going to be, how long it lasts, we still don't know.
But I think it's looking more and more likely we'll need regular shots of some kind.
CABRERA: We are hearing from some people that received the vaccine that the reactions or side effects to the second dose seem to be stronger than to the first. Can you explain why that may be?
WEN: The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are made as a two-dose vaccine. First you get the booster shot. We're supposed to get the primer shot. And then you get the booster.
So the primer prepares your body. And the second time, you already have the antibodies beginning to develop. And so when you're exposed to this again, your body is now reacting to it.
I want people to know that this is normal and expected and good.
So when you get that sore arm, when you get fever, fatigue with the first or especially the second shot, know that shows your body's immune system is kicking in. It's revving up as it should be.
And next time, if you're exposed to coronavirus, your body will know how to fight COVID-19.
CABRERA: And so we be saying bring it on. Those stronger side effects are a good thing. Be ready for that next battle.
Dr. Leana Wen, always appreciate you. Thank you.
WEN: Thank you, Ana.
CABRERA: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:42:37]
CABRERA: It's a lesson we teach our kids: Lying has consequences. If this year has taught us anything, it's also dangerous.
Three days before Trump's second impeachment trial is set to begin, a new CNN special report, "FOR THE RECORD, THE TRUTH BEHIND TRUMP'S BIG ELECTION LIE" explores the disinformation campaign led by the former president.
Here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Even before the election, White House officials said results should be known on election night despite no legal basis for that.
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: What we want election night to look like is a system that's fair, a situation where we know who the president of the United States is on election night. That's how the system is supposed to work.
BROWN: Questions were also raised whether Trump would commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he lost.
MCENANY: The president will accept the results of a free and fair election.
BROWN: But what constitutes a fair and free election and who gets to decide that?
BEN GINSBERG, REPUBLICAN ELECTION LAWYER: The ultimate decision that an election is free and fair comes in the certification of the vote totals by the state, which is what you saw this year on December 14th.
BROWN: A source tells CNN, right after that December 14th vote, pressure began to build on Vice President Pence to stop Biden's victory.
And conspiracy theories tested the foundation of democracy like never before.
GABRIEL STERLING, GEORGIA ELECTION OFFICIAL: It's Loony Tunes crazy town, man bites dog. I can't even equate every kind of cliche I can come up with to say how crazy they all are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: CNN anchor, Pamela Brown, is joining us now. She's also the host of tonight's special report.
Pam, you have been digging into many of the allegations surrounding the election. What did you find?
BROWN: We started this project because we just thought there's still millions of people in the U.S. who really believe that this election was stolen.
So we thought it was important to put all the pieces of the puzzle together and really examine them.
And what we found is that, no, there is no proof, any proof whatsoever that the election was stolen, that Joe Biden is not the legitimate president.
We found that there were very small, isolated incidents of fraud in different parts of the country, which happens every election.
But again, nowhere near anything that could have tipped the scales and somehow swayed the vote in such a big way to overcome Joe Biden's more than seven million vote victory.
[16:45:05]
But what we really looked at, too, is how Trump laid the groundwork for declaring the election was rigged over the course of many years. And how this 2020 election was unprecedented because of COVID and this fight over mail-in ballots.
And we look at how the White House and how Trump, in particular, at the time, weaponized that to help make his case and really spread this lie that ultimately led to the insurrection on the capitol building on January 6th -- Ana?
CABRERA: He had, of course, his supporters and conservative and right- wing media who were backing him up and helping to disseminate this lie.
Longtime FOX Business host, Lou Dobbs, was one of them. He was canned by the network last night.
He was named in a $2.7 billion lawsuit filed by voting technology company, Smartmatic, this week alleging he and other FOX hosts defamed their company while perpetuating Trump's lie about election fraud.
Is legal action like this perhaps the answer to stopping the spread of disinformation?
BROWN: Perhaps. I mean, this is a huge deal that Lou Dobbs lost the highest-rated show on FOX Business. Essentially, it appears to be connected to the fact that he was pushing this election lie and was part of this defamation lawsuit from Smartmatic.
So you are seeing the fallout from these election technology companies suing for billions of dollars to other Trump allies as well for defamation.
But there's still the question of, what do you do about social media. Because what I found in working on this project was so many of these election lies started off small, at the local level, and then spread wildly on social media.
Even something that really would happen in real life would be taken and a bad label would be put on it as though something nefarious was happening.
You'll remember, in Georgia, when they said, oh, there's these ballots in a suitcase. This was actually something that happened. It wasn't a suitcase.
But because of the way it was portrayed on social media, people tried to make it sound like there was something nefarious going on, which fed into the idea that the election was rigged, that Trump had been perpetuating.
There's still this open question of how much these legal suits will crack down on disinformation and the election in the future. This is going to have long-term consequences, Ana. You have the
midterms. You have policy debates with Joe Biden. You have the future of democracy.
And it really raises the question just how this big election lie, the fact that it has permeated so many minds, how it's going to impact the future of this country.
CABRERA: So what we can do, our power is to keep putting the facts forward for everybody to hopefully learn. And that's what you do tonight.
Pamela Brown, thank you for joining us.
BROWN: Thank you.
CABRERA: Please watch her special reporter, "FOR THE RECORD, THE TRUTH BEHIND TRUMP'S BIG ELECTION LIE." That's in the 7:00 hour. Starts at 7:30, I believe.
It is Super Bowl weekend amid a global pandemic. Super Bowl LV will be unlike any other. Except, of course, for this man, Tom Brady, who is playing in his tenth Super Bowl game.
Up next, we'll head to Tampa and take you inside what the league is doing to help keep people safe.
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:53:05]
CABRERA: The countdown is on for Sunday's Super Bowl. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on the Kansas City Chiefs. But this year's Super Bowl will look very different from years past due to the COVID pandemic.
CNN's Randi Kaye with more on how the NFL is aiming to ensure safe conditions for Sunday's game.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The only thing normal about Super Bowl LV will be the football played on the field.
Instead of 65,000 fans filling Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, just 25,000 will be there. That includes 7500 vaccinated health care workers who were surprised with free tickets.
ROB GRONKOWSKI, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS TIGHT END: This is champion Rob Gronkowski. We want you there inside Raymond James Stadium cheering us on.
KAYE: Fans at the stadium will be given PPE kits, which include KN-95 masks, hand sanitizer and wipes. ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: We want our fans to be safe. They
need to be smart. They need to wear their PPE. They need to be gathering in small groups.
KAYE (on camera): Because of the need to social distance, a lot of the usual Super Bowl events will look very different this year.
NFL pregame tail-gate party limited to just those 7,500 vaccinated health care workers. The Taste of the NFL has gone virtual.
And here at the always popular Super Bowl experience, you have to make a reservation.
(voice-over): Autograph signings here are virtual and so is the chance to race your favorite player.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to make sure people great memories that will last a lifetime but they happen in a really healthy and safe fashion.
(CHEERING)
KAYE: Tampa fans are thrilled to have the big game in their backyard.
ROB HIGGINS, NFL HOST COMMITTEE: We all need it. This is what's keeping us distracted from other problems. And it being in our hometown, you can't beat that.
KAYE: The city of Tampa is giving out more than 150,000 masks free of charge. They're mandated in Tampa's event zones and entertainment districts.
(on camera): How do you feel about being here with all that's going on in the pandemic? You have your son here with you.
[16:55:03]
DALLAS NASH, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS FAN: Everything has been spectacular, safety precautions, social distancing. It's awesome.
KAYE (voice-over): Officials are discouraging big Super Bowl watch parties. Skip the bars too, they say, and stay home.
(on camera): Where are you guys going to watch the game?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CABRERA: That was Randi Kaye reporting.
These are now live pictures. You can see the Kansas City Chiefs arriving in Florida moments ago as they prepare for tomorrow night's big game.
Still ahead in the NEWSROOM, we are learning more about what to expect next week at the Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump. One of the Senators, who will be part of this, joins us next, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
