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Day One of Trump's Second Impeachment Trial; Senate Rejects Argument that Trial is Unconstitutional; Trump Unhappy with Attorney's Performance; Impeachment Turns to Evidence and Trump's Words; France Extends State of Emergency until June; On the Front Lines with Portugal's Ambulance Workers; About 10 Percent of U.S. Has Been Vaccinated with More than 940 Virus Variant Cases Confirmed in U.S.; Bitcoin Moves Up after Tesla Boost. Aired 2-2:45a ET
Aired February 10, 2021 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: A portion of that 20-25 percent pull away from the GOP because they think it is tolerating colleagues --
(CROSSTALK)
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: -- trouble.
BROWNSTEIN: -- that is the result.
CUOMO: I got to jump. Ron Brownstein, thank you for bearing with me.
Thank all of you for being with me on this historic night. The news continues on CNN.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM. I am Rosemary Church. Ahead this hour:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD), LEAD IMPEACHMENT MANAGER: No trial, no facts. He wants you to decide that the Senate is powerless at that point. That can't be right.
CHURCH (voice-over): Following a gripping recount of the insurrection on Capitol Hill and hours of argument from both sides, the U.S. Senate votes to proceed with Donald Trump's impeachment trial.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (voice-over): Health experts warn it's just the calm before the storm, despite downward trends in COVID-19 cases. Parts of Europe are preparing for longer restrictions.
And later, Tesla's decision to invest in bitcoin could indicate the cryptocurrency is very close to becoming mainstream.
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CHURCH: Thanks for joining us.
House managers will begin presenting their evidence in the coming hours in Donald Trump's Senate impeachment trial. Democrats expect more video evidence will be introduced. They laid the groundwork on Tuesday with a chilling 13-minute video showing the attack on the U.S. Capitol, which they accused Trump of inciting.
Six Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in voting to reject Trump's legal team's argument that the trial is unconstitutional since Trump is no longer in office. CNN's Ryan Nobles has more now from Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On day one of the second impeachment trial of former president Trump, the Democratic House impeachment managers wasted no time getting to their most damning evidence.
PROTESTERS: USA. USA.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We outnumber you 1 million to one out here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take the building.
NOBLES (voice-over): The prosecutors unveiled a documentary-style video that meticulously constructed the timeline of events on January 6th.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: After this, we're going to walk down, and I'll be there with you, we're going to walk down, we're going to walk down to the Capitol.
NOBLES (voice-over): Editing together Trump's speech, his tweets and his video messages to supporters while they responded and attacked the Capitol.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: President Trump claims the election was stolen.
PROTESTERS: USA. USA.
SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R-OK): It's not about the good people of Arizona.
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT): Senate will stand in recess until the call to the chair.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Protesters are in the building.
LANKFORD: Thank you. NOBLES (voice-over): The video was designed to remind the Republican
jurors in particular of the riot they experienced a little more than a month ago, pinning the blame on the former president.
RASKIN: That's a high crime and misdemeanor. If that's not an impeachable offense, then there is no such thing.
NOBLES (voice-over): Today's debate was not over impeachment but instead the constitutional standing of the trial itself. Trump's legal team argues that, because he's no longer in office, he cannot be convicted.
BRUCE CASTOR, TRUMP DEFENSE LAWYER: The majority in the House of Representatives, does not want to face Donald Trump as their political rival in the future. That's the real reason we're here. That's why they have to get over the jurisdictional hurdle, which they can't get over.
But that's why they have to get over that, in order to get to the part of the Constitution that allows removal.
NOBLES (voice-over): But Democrats came prepared to offer evidence to the contrary. They used opinions from conservative constitutional experts, who have argued former officials already out of office can still be impeached.
REP. JOE NEGUSE (D-CO), HOUSE IMPEACHMENT MANAGER: Presidents cannot commit grave offenses in their final days and escape any congressional response. That's not how our Constitution works.
NOBLES (voice-over): Lead impeachment manager Jamie Raskin making that case on a personal level.
RASKIN: My youngest daughter, Tabatha, was there with me on Wednesday, January 6th. It was the day after we buried her brother, our son, Tommy, the saddest day of our lives. I told her how sorry I was and I promised her that it would not be like this again the next time she came back to the Capitol with me.
And you know what she said?
[02:05:00]
RASKIN: She said, "Dad, I don't want to come back to the Capitol."
Of all the terrible, brutal things I saw and I heard on that day and since then, that one hit me the hardest.
NOBLES: After the proceedings were over, a number of Republican senators said they were disappointed in the Trump team 's legal performance. Senator Mitt Romney, Senator Lisa Murkowski, even senator Ted Cruz said the Trump defense team did not do a very good job.
But there was one senator in particular that stood out, Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. When this was last brought before the United States Senate, Cassidy voted with his fellow Republicans, saying that the process was unconstitutional.
On Tuesday, he sided with Democrats, allowing the impeachment trial to move forward. There were six Republicans in total that crossed party lines. That may not be enough, though, for the former president to ultimately be convicted. Remember, it will take 17 Republicans voting with Democrats in order for that to happen -- Rosemary.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Thank you so much for that.
Joining me from Washington, CNN congressional correspondent Jessica Dean and, from West Palm Beach, Florida, White House correspondent Boris Sanchez.
Good to see you both.
Jessica, Democratic House managers presented compelling evidence in stark contrast to a rambling defense from Donald Trump's lawyers.
How was all that received?
And what's expected in the coming hours?
JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, you have to remember that these 100 senators, who are now going to serve as jurors, are also in the unique position of being eyewitnesses to what happened here on January 6th.
So for a lot of them, sitting down and actually watching this compilation of what was going on outside the Capitol and in the corridors of the Capitol when they were being whisked away are hiding really with -- impactful to even some who didn't side with the House impeachment managers, people who said this was unconstitutional to hold the impeachment trial but who did say that struck a nerve for them.
Expect to see more of that type of video. Expect to hear more of these types of arguments from the House impeachment managers as we really get down to business in the impeachment trial starting later today.
At noon, they will reconvene. And that's when the House impeachment managers will have a total of 16 hours to make their case. That can stretch out over the next two days if they choose to.
There is also the lingering question of will there be witnesses in this trial. The deal between majority leader Chuck Schumer and minority leader Mitch McConnell is that they left it open to the House impeachment managers to call for a vote and debate on witnesses if they choose to.
So if they decide they want to call witnesses, that's something the Senate can debate and then vote on, if they want to bring in witnesses. Of course, they had asked former president Trump to testify. He had denied doing that. He said he didn't plan on doing that. We also know the House impeachment managers plan to take his refusal
to testify and use that to underscore his guilt as being directly responsible for what happened here on January 6th, that deadly insurrection.
And Rosemary, again, taking so many things that are online, video that was shot by news organizations, there's so much evidence here that they can put together that they are hoping to build that case.
But as Ryan noted in his piece there, they need 17 Republican senators. That's something that's very unlikely at this point, even though they did get one additional senator, Senator Bill Cassidy, to side with Democrats from that original vote on the constitutionality of whether they can move forward -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: That's where it stands right now and we will see what happens.
Boris, let's go to you now.
What more are you learning about Donald Trump's reaction to his legal team stumbling through his defense Tuesday?
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, perhaps not surprisingly, we are told former president Trump was furious. Sources familiar with his reaction as he was watching the proceedings at his estate in Mar-a-lago indicate he was nearly yelling at his television when his attorney, Bruce Castor, was making his case.
It's easy to see why. Even allies of the president had indicated there were not very high expectations for this legal team that was essentially scrambled together a little over a week ago.
It's easily understandable why the president was so angry, partly because of a differing vision in how his defense should play out. You didn't see any arguments about electoral fraud or conspiracies or the falsehoods that Trump has peddled since he lost the 2020 election.
[02:10:00]
SANCHEZ: That's part of the reason he wound up with this legal team. He and the previous group of attorneys he had parted ways because they wouldn't argue that case. You didn't see any of that Tuesday.
You actually saw Bruce Castor come out and commend House Democrats for their presentation, conceding that the Trump defense team had to rearrange their strategy because House Democrats were so strong.
That's not something you would think Donald Trump, who puts forth this image of a powerful and non-apologetic leader, would appreciate. Further, we are told the president was upset in large part because this wasn't really a TV moment.
He didn't feel his legal team used visual aids or made a compelling case to push to viewers the case that he is innocent -- Rosemary. CHURCH: Yes, it was extraordinary for all the wrong reasons. Jessica
Dean in Washington, Boris Sanchez in West Palm Beach, Florida, thanks to both of you.
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CHURCH: Joining me now from Los Angeles is Jessica Levinson. She is a professor of law at the Loyola Law School, as well as host of the podcast "Passing Judgment."
Good to have you with us.
JESSICA LEVINSON, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: Good to be back.
CHURCH: Experts agree, day one of Donald Trump's second impeachment trial saw strong, compelling opening arguments from Democratic House managers but weak, disorganized arguments from Trump's legal team. Even Republicans agree on that point.
What was your legal assessment of each side?
LEVINSON: Absolutely that. I thought the House managers did a very clear, articulate, forceful and emotional job of laying out their case.
Let's remember that today was just an initial and a procedural day. For today, the question was, under the Constitution, can we even have an impeachment trial?
I thought president Trump's legal team did about the job you would expect of a legal team that misspells United States in their briefs, which is not much of a good job at all. I thought it was meandering. It didn't address the question, probably because they know it's a loser for them.
And the punchline is, it probably won't make a difference in terms of the outcome of this trial.
In terms of the lawyering, you would teach this as a study in stark contrast, one side very much on message, very clear, very organized; the other side, apparently looking like this was their practice round at best.
CHURCH: And of course, as you say, what will it matter in the end?
Because a badly presented case by Trump's defense team and yet only one additional Republican changed his mind and voted with Democrats at this time on the issue of constitutionality, making it six Republicans. That's a far cry from the 17 Republicans needed to vote with Democrats to convict Trump.
It doesn't matter that his legal team is bad, does it?
Because it looks like he'll get acquitted anyway.
LEVINSON: It doesn't matter in the sense of what will the outcome be. I would like to think -- and perhaps it's too pie in the sky -- but I would like to think it does matter for history. It does matter that, when we look back and read about this, we acknowledge that the president really did not have a defense, that he won because we were in a political forum, not a legal forum.
It matters when we look back and ask ourselves, if this had happened in a courtroom, would the outcome have been different. I think the outcome is likely yes.
As much as, no, it doesn't matter for the bottom line of will the president be convicted, it does matter if we look back, which I hope we will and study this as an aberration. I hope you and I are not talking about the next impeachment. This should be a very rare occurrence in American history.
We should only use this constitutional mechanism in the worst type of behavior. The founders talked about public offenses committed by public men. That's what we've seen with respect to the insurrection at the Capitol. I think we know the outcome. But it's important to hold our public officials to account for their actions.
CHURCH: And Jessica, Trump lawyers and supporters keep saying, if people think Trump is responsible, then just arrest him and hold him to account.
Could that happen if he gets acquitted in the Senate?
LEVINSON: Yes, you could absolutely have a criminal trial here. I suspect that if we do see a criminal trial with respect to the president, it's probably not on the issue of insurrection. I think there's other, more likely subjects, which in and of itself, is a strange sentence to utter.
But think about, since the Mueller investigation, where there were all those instances of potential obstruction of justice. Think about his personal attorney, Michael Cohen's, testimony which leads to serious questions of campaign finance violations.
[02:15:00]
LEVINSON: Then just recently, I think it was just a month ago, the calls the president had with the Georgia secretary of state, essentially saying could you go ahead and commit elections fraud?
So it is absolutely true that, even if you are acquitted in the Senate, you could still be tried in a federal courtroom. But I think there are far likely areas of legal exposure for this former president.
CHURCH: Jessica Levinson, good to talk with you.
LEVINSON: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING) CHURCH: Protesters in Myanmar remain defiant despite the real threat of violence against them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH (voice-over): Thousands are back out on the street, protesting last week's military coup. A source tells CNN that a woman shot during the protests in the capital is in critical condition with a bullet lodged in her head. State media is reporting four police officers were injured and protesters were hurt when water cannon were used. CNN's Paula Hancocks is following the latest development. She is joining us now from Seoul.
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CHURCH: Paula, what is the latest on these protests?
Is there any update on the woman who was shot?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, we have seen an escalation over the past 24 hours in the level of force the police are using against protesters. Despite that we are still seeing for the fifth day in a row thousands of protesters on the street calling for the military coup to end, for the military government to step down.
We do know that there were some injuries as you mentioned. We have reports of a man, in the capital, suffering a gunshot wound to the chest. And in that same protest, we believe, there was one woman, who suffered a gunshot wound to the head. We do have video of the moments just before and also after this reportedly happened.
Some protesters are trying to take cover from the water cannon being used. You then see a woman suddenly fall to the ground. According to a source who is familiar with the condition of the patients, they say that she is in critical condition at this point, there is a bullet lodged in her head.
Certainly there is a concern that we haven't had any comment at this time from the police or the military. But it has been widely condemned across the board. We have heard from the U.N. secretary general spokesperson, condemning what they call this excessive use of force.
We are hearing from human rights groups around the world, asking for this excessive use of force to be immediately ended.
We are still seeing thousands of protesters coming out, onto the streets. The spokesperson for the National League of Democracy, which up until a 1.5 weeks ago, was the ruling party of the democratically elected government in Myanmar, they have been thanking people coming out onto the streets and calling for members of the military and the police to join the protesters against what they say is the actions of just a few leaders -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: Paula Hancocks, joining us from Seoul.
Despite new COVID cases falling around the world, fear of more transmissible variants forcing some European countries to tighten restrictions. We will have the details when we come back.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.
The latest now on the COVID crisis in Europe. Spain has topped 3 million confirmed cases just as health officials warned intensive care units are nearing capacity.
England is tightening border restrictions to curb the spread of COVID variants. Any passengers entering the U.K. caught lying on their arrival forms could face up to 10 years in prison.
German leaders are expected to meet soon to discuss possibly easing lockdown measures. Chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly wants to keep restrictions in place until at least March.
France is extending its health emergency until June. It comes as the nation's death toll tops 80,000. Melissa Bell is following the latest developments from Paris. She joins us now live.
Good to see you. Each European country is trying to do its part to deal with the spread of this virus.
What is the latest from the continent on the restrictions?
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A mixed picture across the European Union. We are seeing a new lockdown put in place in Athens, where the figures have been worsening. Equally as you mentioned, you are seeing other European countries. And this tends to be the trend, especially for those who introduced third lockdowns early on.
For instance, Germany has -- is going to see how they're going to lift the restrictions. German media at that meeting between Angela Merkel and the premiers of Germany's federal state, there will be a easing of the restrictions that they're going to be considering.
They are suggesting that the priority is going to be that, when it can happen, it will begin with the opening of schools. That is the government's priority.
In France an extension of the lockdown of the state of emergency which allows the government to introduce lockdowns and yet the French health minister said that they still hoped that a third partial lockdown could be avoided in France. The figures had been plateauing at 20,000 new cases. That has now fallen to 18,000.
So figures heading in the right direction and as elsewhere in Europe, fear of the spread of new variants. Here in France that variant first identified in the United Kingdom that is more contagious than the one that we have been dealing with before is seeing a steady progression in France.
In January it was 30 percent of the new infections, by the end of January, 40 percent. One study suggests that it could now be 37 percent. It gives you an idea of how fast it is spreading. Of course if that variant does takes over, we are hearing from the scientific community, that, of course, would change that progression I was talking about in so many European countries that is leading to lifting or at least an easing of so many of the restrictions.
If those new variants are found to be spreading fast, that could, of course, change and we know that it isn't just the variant first identified in the United Kingdom, that is causing concern but also the South African one, with Austria now seeing that a new one in the Tyrol region, where 165 confirmed cases of the South African variant have been found, anyone leaving that state will now have to provide a negative PCR test.
So that is what is worrying many European leaders even at they look at lifting their restrictions.
CHURCH: Understandably so. Melissa Bell, bringing us the latest from Paris. Many thanks.
Now to Europe's worst COVID hot spot in Portugal, a nationwide lockdown has reduced the number of new infections after a dramatic post-Christmas surge. There are reports that the lockdown will be extended into March.
But Portugal moving average of daily deaths is still higher than many other countries. Hospitals and ambulance workers are overwhelmed. CNN Isa Soares reports on their struggles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the battle against the coronavirus, there is no time to lose. The paramedics in the front lines of Lisbon, Portugal, know this all too well. They are rushing to help this 58-year-old woman, who is very anxious and worried she may have COVID-19.
"I have sharp pains in my chest and, when I cough, it gets worse," she says.
As she leaves her house not knowing when she will come back, she says goodbye to her mother.
[02:25:00]
SOARES (voice-over): She has been taken to one of Lisbon's overwhelmed hospitals. The country is seeing a devastating year with one of the worst infection rates on the planet, more than half of Portugal's total COVID-19 death toll was reported in 2021. But this ambulance troop, there is little time for reflection.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When we begin our shift, we are already expecting that a large majority of incidents will be COVID-19 or suspected COVID-19 cases.
SOARES (voice-over): They must clean and disinfect before the sirens sound out again.
It is a job of heightened emotions, only made more difficult now by the constraints of COVID-19.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It is very hard to work in these conditions. We struggle to see, we struggle to examine. The work itself, it takes longer and then patients can be very critical. So it is a constricting situation for us.
SOARES (voice-over): As the long and arduous shift goes on, it doesn't get easier for them. They must now transport this COVID-19 patient, already on a ventilator, to another hospital in Lisbon to free up much needed ICU beds in this part of town.
It is a journey that is lonely and delicate, with only the paramedic's hand providing human warmth.
They will now be in the care of this team of 26 German Army medical personnel, who arrived in Lisbon last week to help ease the pressure on the local health care system.
DR. JENS-PETER EVER, GERMAN ARMED FORCES MEDICAL SERVICE: The main goal is easy to describe, saving lives. Every life counts.
SOARES (voice-over): While daily infections and deaths from COVID-19 have dropped over the last week, medical teams are still being stretched. This team has now been sent out to help the elderly woman who is struggling to breathe. Unable to speak, the medics try to ease her fears.
"We are going to look after you. We will take you to the hospital to see what is wrong," said the nurse. But they, too, are worried. She may have contracted COVID-19 from a family member. Unsurprisingly, it is all taking a toll.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There is a lot of pressure. We get insomnia, some want to sleep more but they can't. They start thinking about things. But, well, we have to be here.
SOARES (voice-over): And in spite of it all, they will return tomorrow and start afresh in their fight against COVID-19 -- Isa Soares, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: We will be back in just a moment.
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[02:30:00]
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CHURCH: The World Health Organization says new COVID cases around the world fell by 17 percent last week compared to the week prior. Most infections came from the United States. But the country's outbreak appears to be easing.
The worst hit state, California, added 8,200 cases on Tuesday. That's the lowest tally in nearly 3 months. Still, the death toll there remains high, quickly approaching 45,000, almost as many as New York, which has the most in the U.S.
The country has now confirmed more than 900 cases of the more contagious virus strains, sparking fears of another infection surge. But the good news, roughly 10 percent of the population has received at least one vaccine dose. The White House says more are on the way.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Dr. Jorge Rodriguez is an internal medicine and viral specialist and he is with us now from Los Angeles.
Thank, you Doctor, for talking with us and for all that you do.
DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, INTERNAL MEDICINE AND VIRAL SPECIALIST: Thank you, Rosemary. My pleasure.
CHURCH: One in 10 Americans has received at least one of the shots for the vaccine. We'll need to move faster if we want to stay ahead of the variants that threaten to reduce the efficacy of these vaccines.
How do we do that and are you confident that it can be done?
RODRIGUEZ: Am I confident?
I am hopeful. Let's put it that way. I think if we put our mind and our shoulders to the grindstone, or the nose to the grindstone, we could definitely do it. Since the Biden administration took over, the amount of vaccinations have increased by 28 percent in just a matter of weeks.
So, yes, I am hopeful. Next week, they are going to increase by about another 5 percent and be delivering 1 million doses directly to the poorest, most underserved and needed communities. So the vaccines will definitely help in fighting the tide of these variants.
But let's remember, again, the wearing of the mask will almost work just as well. We cannot forget that.
CHURCH: And I want to get to that, but cases and hospitalizations are trending down but some experts are calling it the calm before the storm with variants threatening those downward trends.
We've just seen all those Super Bowl parties being held across the country, many revelers not wearing masks and all this as some states are opening up too soon.
How worried are you about where all this is going?
RODRIGUEZ: I'm very concerned because it's almost like we are standing at the shore and the water seems calm and it's receded and 100 yards away is a tsunami. There is potential for doubling the number of cases that happened a month ago, not only in California but also Florida. They have probably the two greatest -- the states with the two greatest number of variants.
So this no time to let our guard down and unfortunately that's what's happening with many states opening up.
To me, the festivities at the Super Bowl party were not just disheartening, they were almost disgusting, to be quite honest. We just keep forgetting that, unless we change radically, this is going to go on for years, for years.
Some of those pictures we all saw I think were horrified, many of us. And, Doctor, as you point out, it gets back to the need for everyone to wear a mask, not just one but two now is what we are told to do.
But we saw a whole lot of people refusing to even wear a mask, not only on day-to-day life, we saw there in Tampa after the Super Bowl.
How do you hammer that message home?
Because so many people, it's just not landing with them, is it?
RODRIGUEZ: No, it isn't landing. And I think we all have to do our part and try to help, teach people, maybe even shame them, because this is a matter of life and death. Unfortunately, the people who don't wear masks, at the end of the day, do not have the courage of their convictions.
If they get sick, they will be going to hospitals. They will be accessing medical care. What people need to realize and what family members or friends have to tell those people that don't want to wear masks is that they are a huge part of the problem.
It is the people who get infected, whether they get sick or not, the people that get infected are the ones whose virus within them breed mutations. That just prolongs this epidemic. So they are a huge cause of why we are not getting better quicker.
CHURCH: Right.
What about some form of public message?
People, there's a lot of people don't wear masks, who get their news from TikTok or Instagram.
[02:35:00]
CHURCH: Perhaps using that as a vehicle to get the message across.
RODRIGUEZ: I think that's a great idea. I think that nothing causes you to want to do something better than making it cool to do that. Therefore, we all need people that we look up to the people to be the ones to set the trend, not just Joe Biden. Seriously, not me, not just a 70-year-old or 60-year-old physician or politician.
You may need a cool rapper. You may need a dancer, an actor. You need someone that people respect and want to emulate setting the trend.
CHURCH: They need to get some of those influencers on board helping out with this message. Dr. Jorge Rodriguez in Los Angeles, thank you for joining, us and thank you for all that you do.
RODRIGUEZ: You're welcome. Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Experts led by the World Health Organization have concluded their 4-week mission to Wuhan, China, where they investigated the origins of the pandemic.
They announced their preliminary findings on Tuesday, which appeared to support some of China's claims, notably dismissing a theory that the virus originated from a lab in Wuhan. They suggest it may have been transmitted from animals or frozen food and that the first infections linked to a Wuhan market probably happened in November or December of 2019.
A Chinese health official claims there was no substantial spread of the virus in Wuhan before then and the market may not have been the first site of the outbreak.
It looks like bitcoin may be going mainstream. We will look at what's behind the cryptocurrency's latest surge and the prominent company that's now a major investor. Back in a moment.
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CHURCH: Welcome, back everyone.
The price of bitcoin got close to the $50,000 mark for the first time ever. It rose above 48,000 on Tuesday after Tesla revealed it had sunk $1.5 billion into the cryptocurrency. The electric carmaker is the most prominent company to back bitcoin.
But some warned this crypto rally is just a big bubble and will lead to a painful correction. John Defterios is tracking this live from Abu Dhabi.
Good to see you.
Where all is this going?
Big bubble or something more? JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Wild gyrations, Rosemary, were the norm prior to March 2020 and we had a sell-off at the start of the pandemic and then the sentiment shifted quickly. Let's look at the chart. We were trading below $5,000 per bitcoin.
[02:40:00]
DEFTERIOS: And it rocketed up ever since, all the way up to nearly 50,000, as you spoke about in the lead-in. That's a cool return of about 1,150 percent, 300 percent return in 3 months, why many are talking about a bubble here.
The shift in sentiment has been -- because governments are printing so much money, take the U.S. for example, if Biden gets that near $2 trillion package and we are looking at $5 trillion over a year, those in this community believe that the cryptocurrency is safer than the U.S. dollar and other reserve currencies around the world.
It's built on a block chain technology, which cannot be broken. It doesn't have government backing. But that's the spirit of this community, it gets governments out of the way and that's a huge question going forward.
There is no doubt, having the backing of something of the scale of a Tesla, with Elon Musk setting inside $1.5 billion of the treasury reserves of the company into bitcoin, certainly gives it a lift. And it's not over with Tesla. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL SAYLOR, CEO, MICROSTRATEGY: I think this is a trend that will run for the next decade. This year, you are going to see many public companies do this. We saw Tesla. We saw Marathon. We saw Square. We saw MicroStrategy. I think you will see double, triple, quadruple that number come.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: And then you have a payment platform like PayPal, that can normalize the use of bitcoin here going forward.
Something that's not talked about, Rosemary, we have institutional fund managers that are now holding bitcoin for their investors, which you can have into 401(k). That's a radical shift from where we were 12 months ago at the start of the pandemic.
CHURCH: Just incredible.
What should we be watching in terms of major government moves?
DEFTERIOS: I would look at the number one and number 2 economies as good examples. The IRS now asks you to list on a line item if you've had any profits from cryptocurrency. That is a government creeping into this space to regulate it.
I remember interviewing Christine Lagarde when she was the managing director of the International Monetary Fund. She said there is no doubt central banks around the world have to figure out a platform to regulate this market.
But I would also watch China very carefully during the Lunar New Year. They printed a cryptocurrency and gave it out to residents of China to test it out. One would think, with the tensions we have between China and the United States right now, you could see China trying to develop a cryptocurrency that could eventually challenge the dollar to have wider trade with Chinese goods in the future.
It's the start of it. It's not there yet but it's not farfetched.
CHURCH: John Defterios, joining us live from Abu Dhabi, many thanks.
Here is a fun story. One attorney in Texas was ready to appear in a virtual court proceeding but his computer was not. Unable to fix his Zoom problem, he uttered a sentence that has probably never been heard in court before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you hear me, Judge?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can hear you. I think it's a filter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is, I don't know how to remove. It have my assistant here. She's trying to but I'm prepared to go forward with it. And that's -- I'm here live. That's not -- I'm not a cat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: He is not a cat.
The judge walked him through the process to get rid of the Zoom filter. He also posted a public service announcement on his Twitter feed, advising everyone to check their filter if a child has been using the computer.
Love that story. Thanks for joining us. I am Rosemary Church. "WORLD SPORT" is next and then I will be back in 15 minutes for more CNN NEWSROOM.
