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House Managers Geared Up with Their Case Against Trump; Donald Trump Furious with His Lawyers' Presentation; Trump Lawyers With Weak Defense; Protests Not Ending Soon in Myanmar; U.K. Impose Harsh Travel Restrictions; European Countries Still in Lockdown; House Managers to Begin Presenting Evidence; Donald Trump Unhappy with Attorney's Performance; 200 Plus People Charged in Connection to Capitol Riot; Alleged Capitol Rioter Asks Judge if He Can Visit Peru; Experts Conclude Outbreak Investigation in Wuhan, China; New Cases Down and Vaccinations Up in United States; Investigation to Kobe Bryant's Crashed Release; Bitcoin's Rocketing Rise; Stars Come Out to Support COVID Vaccines; Oldest French Nun Survives COVID-19. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired February 10, 2021 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, Donald Trump's impeachment trial will go on after the lead impeachment prosecutor illustrates a day of fury at the capitol. And the former president rages over his lawyer's opening argument.

Protesters in Myanmar are not letting, up with thousands on the streets for a fifth day despite previously being met with the violence.

And travelers to England could face 10 years in prison if they lie about where they have been. We will detail the country's tough new COVID restrictions.

Good to have you with us.

U.S. House impeachment managers will begin laying out their case in the coming hours as they try to convince senators to convict Donald Trump of inciting last month's capitol right. The historic second impeachment trial of the former president kicked off Tuesday, with Democrats acting as prosecutors showing disturbing footage of the insurrection on January 6th.

Six Republicans later joined all the Democrats to vote that the trial is constitutional, allowing it to proceed. House impeachment manager Jamie Raskin gave this emotional plea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): People died that day. Officers ended with head damage and brain damage. People's eyes were gouged. An officer had a heart attack. And officer lost three fingers that day. Two officers have taken their own lives. Senators, this cannot be our future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Meantime, former President Trump is said to be unhappy with the performance of his legal team, specifically attorney Bruce Castor, who at one point praised the work of House managers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE CASTOR JR., FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP'S LEGAL COUNSEL: There isn't a member in this room who has not used the term I represent the great state of, fill in the blank. But Nebraska, you are going to hear, is quite a judicial thinking place. We still know what records are, right? The thing you put the needle down on and play.

DAVID SCHOEN, FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP'S LEGAL COUNSEL: Longfellow wrote, sail forth into the sea, o ship. Through wind and wave, right onward steer. The moistened eyes, the trembling lip, are not the signs of doubt or fear.

CASTOR: Being quite frank with you, we changed what we were going to do on account that we thought that the House managers presentation was well done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Our Jeff Zeleny has more on the start of the trial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RASKIN: This cannot be the future of America. We cannot have presidents inciting and mobilizing mob violence against our government and our institutions.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Searing arguments steeped in history on the opening day of the Senate impeachment trial of former president, Donald Trump. Tonight, Senate jurors answering a single question, whether it's constitutional to put a former president on trial.

RASKIN: These powers must apply, even if the president commits his offenses in his final weeks in office. In fact, that's precisely when we need them the most, because that's when elections get attacked.

ZELENY: The lead impeachment manager, Jamie Raskin, a Maryland congressman, argued that it clearly was. All Senate Democrats and six Republicans agreed on a 56 to 44 vote advancing the proceedings to a full-blown trial. Several Republicans blasting the representation from Trump's legal team.

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): The House managers made a compelling, cogent case, and the president's team did not.

ZELENY: Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana who voted against the majority of his party, called it the disorganized, unconvincing case on constitutionality. The president's legal team opened with a rambling defense.

[03:04:56]

CASTOR: And you know, senators of the United States, they are not ordinary people. They are extraordinary people in the technical sense.

ZELENY: Raising eyebrows, even among some Trump allies, before a second lawyer stepped up and sharpen the argument.

SCHOEN: At the end of the day, this is not just about Donald Trump, or any individual. This is about our Constitution and abusing the impeachment power for political gain.

ZELENY: To make their case, House prosecutors opened with a video, zeroing in on the president's own words.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: If you don't fight like hell, you are not going to have a country anymore.

ZELENY: And reviving terrifying images from the deadly rampage on the capital one month ago.

JOE NEGUSE, HOUSE IMPEACHMENT MANAGER: What you experienced that day, what we experience that day, what our country experienced that day is the framer's worst nightmare come to life.

Presidents can't inflame insurrection in their final weeks, and then walk away like nothing happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): And that was Jeff Zeleny reporting. Now let's get more on Donald Trump's reaction and what we can expect to see on Capitol Hill today. For that, I'm joined by Jessica Dean in Washington and Boris Sanchez in West Palm Beach, Florida. Good to see you both again.

So, Jessica, Democrats presented compelling evidence and start contrast to a disorganized defense from Donald Trump's lawyers. How is all this received and what's expected in the coming hours?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, it was certainly a very emotional thing to watch all those images, even for senators who voted against the constitutionality of this impeachment trial. They certainly did remember.

Remember, all these 100 senators were also in the unique position of both being a juror and witness to what happened here on January 6th. So, they were certainly even, you know, were able to identify that. And we got new information. You heard in Jeff Zeleny's piece there

from the House impeachment manager, Jamie Raskin, talking about the brain damage, the injuries, the officer who lost three fingers that day, two officers who have since taken their lives, just the extensive damage that that insurrection left behind in its wake.

So, we turn to today, when we see the real action in the actual impeachment case, because yesterday remember was all about the constitutionality. They have ruled on that, they are moving ahead. That means now that the House impeachment managers will have a total of 16 hours to go over their case and present their case to the Senate, just like the Trump defense team will have 16 hours on their side.

But first, we will hear from these House impeachment managers. We do expect to see more video like this. We do expect them to continue to draw out what happened, connecting the dots from that speech that former President Trump made earlier on January 6th, to exactly what happened here at the capitol.

And something to keep your eye on, Rosemary, as we move ahead is still the question of witnesses. That's still an outstanding question. Will House impeachment managers call any witnesses? The organizing agreement between Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer allows for them, allows for the Senate to debate and also vote on that option, should House impeachment managers ask for it.

So that remains an option. We certainly know that they did ask former President Trump to come here and testify in person, something he said he was not willing to do, but we know that they are going to use his refusal to come here and testify to underscore his guilt in all of this. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes. And we shall all be watching that. Thanks for that, Jessica. Boris, to you now. Donald Trump was apparently furious as he watched his defense team. What more are we learning about that?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary. According to several people familiar with President Trump's -- former President Trump's response to the proceedings yesterday, he was nearly yelling at his television when his attorneys were presenting his case. He was very angry at Bruce Castor, whose meandering performance led to him ultimately commending House Democrats for their performance and acknowledging that the Trump defense team had to sort of rearranged their strategy because the Democrats exceeded expectations, not something that Trump enjoyed hearing.

Expectations for the president's -- former president's legal team were not high, considering that they were scramble together just over a week ago after the president's -- former president's previous legal team essentially walked out on him because he was intending to argue that there was fraud during the 2020 election, the baseless conspiracy theories that he's continued peddling since losing to Joe Biden.

[03:09:57] Former President Trump was eager to get that stuff on the record. His attorneys didn't go there yesterday, another reason that Trump was angry. And further, we are hearing that Trump wanting a made-for-TV moment didn't get that and was upset that his attorneys didn't use visual aids, that they did not make a compelling argument as they rambled at different points and didn't land the emotional television moments that he wanted.

Obviously, a person obsessed with optics. They missed the mark. The former president not happy at his estate in Mar-a-Lago.

CHURCH: We'll see if they improve their performance in this coming -- in the coming hours of course. Jessica Dean and Boris Sanchez, thank you both for joining us.

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, PROFESSOR, LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY: Good to be back.

CHURCH: So, 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 that the House managers did a very clear, articulate, forceful and emotional job of laying out their case. And let's remember that today was just an initial and procedural day. For today, the question was under the Constitution, can we even have an impeachment trial.

And I thought that President Trump's legal team did about the job that 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. I though it didn't address the question, probably because they know that it's a loser for them.

And of course, you know, the punchline is that it probably won't make a difference in terms of the outcome of this trial. But 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, you know, looking like this was their practice round, at best.

CHURCH: Yes. 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 the Democrats at this time on the issue of constitutionality, making it six Republicans.

And that is a far cry from the 17 Republicans needed to vote with Democrats to convict Trump. But it doesn't matter that his legal team is bad, does it? Because it looks like he'll get acquitted anyway. LEVINSON: Yes. It doesn't matter in the sense of what will the

outcome be. I would like to think and perhaps this is too pie in the sky, but I would like to think that it does matter for history. It does matter that when we look back and we read about this, we acknowledge that the president really did not have a defense, that he won because we were in a political form, not a legal form.

That it matters when we look back and ask ourselves, if this had happened in a courtroom, would the outcome have been different. And I think the answer is likely yes. So 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 that 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.

Again, 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 is important to hold our public officials to account for their actions.

CHURCH: Yes. 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 -- you could absolutely have a criminal trial here. Now I suspect that if we do see a criminal trial with respect to the president, it's probably not on this issue of insurrection. I think there are 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 obstruction of justice. Think about his personal attorney, Michael Cohen's testimony which leads to serious questions of campaign finance violations. Think just recently, I think it was just a month ago, of 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.

[03:15:02]

LEVINSON: Thank you.

CHURCH: A campaign of civil disobedience is growing across Myanmar. Today, thousands of people defying a ban on gatherings to keep a protest against last week's military coup. In Yangon, people carry the party flags of ousted leader Aung San Suu

Kyi. In the capital, hundreds of government workers join the movement and marched in the streets. The country is seeing its fifth consecutive day of mass demonstrations.

So far, today it has been calmer than Tuesday when police use water cannon and several protesters were injured by gunfire.

My next guest is a journalist in Myanmar, and for security reasons we are not identifying her by name, the journalist joins me now by phone. Thank you so much for talking with us.

UNKNOWN: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: Can you tell us what you are able to reveal about what is happening on the streets during these protests?

UNKNOWN: Sure. As you said we are now in our sixth consecutive day of protest. And each day has been a little bit different, really depending on what the situation in terms of police and military response have been, but also according to the changing mood of the protesters.

And so, we've had some very angry and quite aggressive days of protest where people were marching in the streets, we also have more relaxed days as we've seen today. This morning there were a number of young women who were out protesting in ball gowns as a way to show that not only are they, you know, not cowering in fear, but the fact that we are under martial law, but that, you know, they are celebrating and they are embracing their freedom that they have as people who believe in democracy.

CHURCH: How far do you think the military and police will go, in terms of allowing protesters to get out of the streets, with the ban in place and people defying that?

UNKNOWN: Yes, I mean, you know, it's always difficult to predict the future. But if we look at the past, you know, the military has resorted to very extreme violence including indiscriminately shooting civilians in the street.

But at the same time, times have changed, the last time that there were sort of, massive street protests, you know, people were beaten to death. But the escalation happened extremely rapidly and it sort of escalated from fairly people protesting to sort of killing.

Whereas, now what we are seeing is more of a slower escalation, at least in the newer context where, you know, we had water canisters and then rubber bullets. And then yesterday, we saw at least one live bullet being shot.

CHURCH: Right. And of course, do you think that this indicates that the military is sitting back to a certain extent and letting this play out, aware of course, that the whole world is watching this?

UNKNOWN: It's possible. I mean, I will say that right now, the people that the protesters are encountering are largely police and not necessarily the military. Although of course, they're all -- they all answer to the same chain of command. And so, you know, the level of violence we are seeing right now from between protesters and police and mob directly from the military to the public.

CHURCH: Have you learned anything more about the situation for Aung San Suu Kyi and other officials who were detained and arrested?

UNKNOWN: Some people have been released. Some are under house arrest. In terms of Aung San Suu Kyi, her situation is a little bit less clear. Although on Friday night there were massive street celebrations because people have seen on TV, which is now and all TV in Myanmar is government owned, and so, you know, it's most likely someone from the military decided that they wanted this information to be out that she has been released.

And so, you know, it's very difficult, on the ground to figure out whether this information what is simply sort of rumor that people are spreading because they think it's true, whether it's deliberate, essentially a psychological warfare.

CHURCH: And how --

UNKNOWN: But for now -- sorry.

CHURCH: Please go on.

UNKNOWN: But for now, what everyone knows, or at least for now what seems to be the case is that everyone is detained but being treated fair enough.

[03:20:03]

CHURCH: I thank you so much for talking with us. Just reminding our viewers the reason why we're not identifying you is for security reasons, for your safety. Thank you again for sharing with us what is happening on the grounds there in Myanmar. I appreciate it.

And still to come, there is no end in sight to lockdown in some European countries. France has extended its restrictions as it hits a sad milestone in the COVID-19 fight.

And England is getting tough on travel. If you lie about where you've been, you could face a hefty prison sentence. We'll have the details for you on the other side of the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH (on camera): Welcome back, everyone.

Well, vaccines are offering hope as COVID variants drive fears and new regulations in parts of Europe. France is extending its restriction just as it passes 80,000 virus deaths. And Portugal may soon follow suit. Reuters reports the Portuguese health minister wants her country's lockdown extended. Restrictions there are set to end on Sunday but the hospitals are struggling. And the U.K. is worried about variants from abroad. England is

tightening its travel restrictions, threatening a 10-year prison sentence for passengers who lie on official travel forms.

Melissa Bell is live in Paris this hour, and Salma Abdelaziz is in London. They both join us now. Salma, I want to start with you. And those stricter border measures, what is the latest on that?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER: Really tough rules coming into place here. The U.K. health secretary saying the authorities want to come down hard on any international travelers that break coronavirus border restrictions. They are really trying to crack down on the possibility of any variance entering this country.

So, the U.K. health secretary introducing basically a three-part system. First you are going to see hotel quarantines going into place for anyone arriving from 33 red list countries. They will have to pay, of course, for that hotel, quarantine 10 days there. The second part of this is that there's going to be more testing for all international travelers.

You already had to show a negative test before arriving in the U.K. You now have to take two more tests on the day two and day eight of your quarantine in this country, and finally, stricter enforcement, tougher enforcement. Take a listen to what the health secretary said on that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT HANCOCK, BRITISH HEALTH SECRETARY: We are also coming down hard on people who provide false information on the passenger locator form. Anyone who lives on the passenger locator form and tries to conceal that they have been in a country on the red list, in the 10 days before arrival here will face a prison sentence of up to 10 years. These measures will be put in place into law this week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[03:24:58]

ABDELAZIZ (on camera): And again, Rosemary, that is because this country is doing everything it can to keep these variants out of the U.K. And this comes on the back of the news that we had just over the weekend that with the South Africa variant, the Oxford University vaccine has minimal efficacy.

So, of course, there is concerns about the gains that the authorities have made. You already have millions of people in this country who have gotten the vaccine. The gains that they've made they have to protect those, they have to protect those who have already gotten that first dose of the vaccine from any of these variants, Rosemary, that could really turn things around.

CHURCH: Absolutely, they are doing what they need to do there. Salma, I appreciate it. And Melissa, what's the latest on restrictions and concerns about variance across Europe? MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. What you

mentioned earlier, Rosemary, is that we are seeing this extension of the state of emergency that has been in place in France until the first of June. Essentially, that is what allows the French government to introduce lockdowns when it needs them.

For the time being, it is saying that the curfew system that it has in place should continue to be good enough. And they believe for the time being, this with the health minister says, that they can avoid the third lockdown. They've been trying so hard to avoid. We are seeing a stabilization of figures they had been just above 20,000 new cases a day, they've come down last night to 18,000, so a step in the right direction.

Similarly, in Germany where that partial lockdown was introduced, just a few weeks ago, the state premiers will meet with Angela Merkel today to consider whether or not some of those fairly tight restrictions should now be lifted or on the contrary, whether the lockdown that comes that last until Sunday should in fact be extended.

We understand the German chancellor is in favor of an extension, as Salma was just saying, to try and protect those gains they've made so far, that stabilization of figures that we've seen in Germany these last few weeks.

Elsewhere, difficult news also in Athens, a strict lockdown has been introduced there for the next few weeks. And more broadly, I think, Rosemary, you're right. What authorities are worried about even as they secure these slight gains in terms of their fight against COVID, at least a stabilization in many countries, is what the new variance will mean.

So, some studies here in the greater Paris region suggesting that the variant first identified in the United Kingdom could be representing nearly 40 percent of new infections in the great Paris region. And of course, we've seen that situation down in the south of Austria where people in the state of Tyrol have essentially been urged to avoid any nonessential travel and have to provide now a negative PCR test if they are to leave their state. This after 165 cases of the South African variant were identified in what is a popular skiing region.

So, it is the progression of those two 2 different variants across the E.U. that is now threatening those important gains that had been made over these last few weeks, again, at the cost of some pretty substantial restrictions.

CHURCH: Yes, certainly a race against time. Melissa Bell bringing us the latest live from Paris. Many thanks.

An international team of scientists working in Wuhan, China announced how and where they think COVID-19 got its start. We will tell you what they found and what they say they still don't know.

And federal investigators are done looking into the helicopter crash that killed basketball legend Kobe Bryant. How they say the incident could have been prevented. That's later this hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): The U.S. Senate will reconvene in the coming hours for day two of Donald Trump's latest impeachment trial. House managers are set to begin presenting their evidence that the former president incited the Capitol insurrection last month, which left five people dead.

On Tuesday, six Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in rejecting an argument by Trump's lawyers that the trial is unconstitutional. Here is a look at how the Democrats are building their case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): The president of the United States is forbidden to commit high crimes and misdemeanors against the people at any point that he is an office. These powers must apply even if the president commits his offenses in his final weeks in office. In fact, that's precisely when we need them the most, because that's when elections get attacked.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We will stop the steal. We are going to walk down to the Capitol.

UNKNOWN: Take the Capitol.

UNKNOWN: Take the Capitol.

UNKNOWN: Take it.

RASKIN: You asked what a high crime and misdemeanor is under our constitution. That is a high crime and misdemeanor. If that's not an impeachable offense, then there is no such thing.

TRUMP: We fight. We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you are not going to have a country anymore.

RASKIN: People died that day. Officers ended up with head damage and brain damage. People's eyes were gouged. An officer had a heart attack. And officer lost three fingers that day. Two officers have taken their own lives.

CROWD: (CHANTING) Heave-ho. Heave-ho. Heave-ho.

RASKIN: This cannot be our future. This cannot be the future of America. We cannot have presidents inciting and mobilizing mob violence against our government and our institutions because they refused to accept the will of the people under the constitution of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH (on camera): Ryan Lizza is a CNN senior political analyst, as

well as the chief Washington correspondent for Politico, and he joins us now from Washington. Great to see you.

RYAN LIZZA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, ESQUIRE MAGAZINE (on camera): Good to see you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So six Republicans voted with the Democrats, Tuesday. Senator Bill Cassidy joined them this time after voting no in the first test vote on constitutionality. Because he said he believed the House managers did a much better job than Trump's legal team. How do the other Republicans justify a no vote on this issue and probably also on conviction with such weak arguments from Trump's legal team?

LIZZA: Yes. There was an overwhelming consensus that, as you point out, that the defense team did a sloppy, poorly argued job. And you know, Cassidy was somewhat honest and brave to sort of point to that and say, wait a second, I listened to two sides of this debate here. One team won, one team lost. I am voting with the winning team.

Most other Republicans obviously -- most other Republicans did not do that. So, it does raise the question of is there other any arguments that can be presented that would change any minds in this case. You know, it's like going into a trial where the jury is rigged so you really don't care what your defense team says.

But as your question come hinted at, it is a bit of a political dilemma for many Republicans who know that they are likely to vote against conviction. But they want to be able to see, and for the public to see, a defense of Donald Trump that is intellectually credible and that everyone agrees is legitimate.

[03:35:00]

CHURCH: What strategy do you expect from Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, when it's time to vote? Could he potentially use this compelling video evidence as an excuse to change his vote and influence others in convicting Trump? Because we all know he wants Trump out of the political picture just as much as the Democrats do, if not more so.

LIZZA: You know, that is a great question. He has now twice on these test votes on constitutionality voted on the side that says the trial itself is unconstitutional. That doesn't mean that if you take that vote you are out of it for good on conviction, right. You could essentially say, well, the Senate decided that this is a constitutional process and so now, you know, I listen to the evidence and I make up my mind. So, you could square that circle.

Will McConnell do that? You know, I think it is very likely no, because he just would not, as the leader of the Republicans in the Senate, it would be very unusual for him to be so at odds with the overwhelming majority of his conference.

CHURCH: So, Donald Trump was apparently furious as he watched his legal team fumble this. But will it matter in the end? Given this is not about the law. It's about politics. And Republicans are looking out for themselves and their future, and there is no indication right now, as you pointed out that the Democrats will get the required 17 Republican Senators they need to convict Trump. So, where does that leave this impeachment process? Is it just a political joke?

LIZZA: I think it's sort of is. You know, Joe Biden doesn't really want this process. He would rather focus on his agenda going through the Senate. A lot of Republicans, the majority of Republicans, no longer want this. And frankly, a lot of Democrats, a lot of Democrats in the House who realize this isn't going anywhere could probably, you know, be without this.

As you point, out Trump is always mad at someone, it seems. But the reporting was that he was furious at how poorly his two lawyers came across on TV. Maggie Haberman of The New York Times said it was, one source with Trump said it was an eight out of 10 in terms of his how angry he was. So, I wouldn't be shocked if he replaces these guys, right. You know, that's something in the realm of possibility for Donald Trump.

It may be too late. He may be stuck with them, but the larger point is the jury is rigged. So, it's not like he needs a super competent defense team, because he's already got the votes. The only question is are these guys so bad and the prosecution so strong that that could literally change the minds of -- you need 11 more Republicans if you keep the six you have. And Rosemary, most political observers believe there is just no chance that 11 Republicans are going to be added to vote to convict.

CHURCH: Certainly it looks that way right now. Ryan Lizza, many thanks. As always.

LIZZA: Thanks to you, Rosemary.

CHURCH (on camera): As Donald Trump's impeachment trial enters a second day, the list of those charged in connection with the Capitol riot keeps growing. And some of the suspects are blaming the former president as part of their legal strategy.

CNN's Jessica Schneider reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They stormed the Capitol while chanting Trump's name. As House impeachment managers are using the mobs words to prosecute their case against the former president.

UNKNOWN: You are outnumbered. We are f-ing millions of us out there and we are listening to Trump.

UNKNOWN: This way. This way.

SCHNEIDER: An increasing number of defendants coming through court this week are resting their defense on Trump, blaming him for the violence. UNKNOWN: The president abandoned his people. It's frustrating that my

client is locked up in a federal detention center in the middle of America while Donald Trump is down in Florida doing whatever he wants to, trying to pass the buck and passed the blame.

My clients never went to Washington intending to do any harm. He never intended to end up in the Capitol. But it was the directives from the person that he went there to see.

TRUMP: We fight. We fight like hell.

SCHNEIDER: The attorney for Patrick McCaw he, who is accused of pushing a police officer into a Capitol doorway where he was crushed, said McCaw, he in no way planned his part in the attack and was instead inspired by Trump's words that day.

TRUMP: If you don't fight like hell, you are not going to have a country anymore.

SCHNEIDER: In a court filing, McCaw, his lawyer referred to Trump as an unindicted coconspirator. The defendant somewhat of a de facto unindicted co-conspirator in this case.

[03:40:03]

Former President Trump was impeached for a second time precisely because it was alleged that he incited otherwise peaceful protesters such as the defendant to create violence of the Capitol. The president's impeachment attorneys are arguing his words were not meant to be taken literally.

TRUMP: Walk down Pennsylvania Avenue. I love Pennsylvania Avenue. And we are going to the Capitol.

SCHNEIDER: But another man charged, Matthew Miller, told a federal judge he was merely following the directions of Trump to march towards Congress. Miller is accused of discharging a fire extinguisher toward police during the insurrection.

As the defendants shift the blame to Trump, new revelations in court that a member of the Oath Keepers, Thomas Caldwell, who is at the Capitol, is now claiming he once worked for the FBI from 2009 to 2010, and asserts he even held a top secret security level clearance for decades. The FBI is not commenting, but the Department of Justice is expecting to respond in court later this week.

And another accused Capitol rioter is now asking a federal judge for permission to travel out of the country. 25-year-old Troy Williams says he is scheduled to get married in Peru later this month. He's asking the judge for permission to travel there for two weeks.

Of course, it was just last week that a judge granted permission to another accused Capitol rioter to go to Mexico for a preplanned work retreat. That decision has drawn criticism, but it is important to note that these rioters are only accused of low-level crimes. They have been released after they were detained. So, it's not completely out of the norm. Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH (on camera): An international team of scientists led by the World Health Organization has released its initial findings on how COVID-19 got its start. The researchers suggests the virus 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. And they say it is very unlikely the virus originated in a lab.

CNN's Steven Jiang joins us now from Beijing. Good to see you, Steven. So, it has to reset, we have not learned very much from the WHO investigation into COVID-19's origins. What is the latest on that and when might we learn more?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN PRODUCER (on camera): Well, Rosemary, you know, what this WHO experts at that press conference in Wuhan on Tuesday, sounded very close to the Chinese government a narrative. Now, they said they looked into four hypotheses very carefully in terms of the origins of the virus, a direct jump from animals into humans. Which they said there is insufficient evidence at this point to support that, including from bats, or an intermediary animal host.

They have no definitive answer yet. And then the lab theory, lab leak theory, you mentioned, promoted by senior Trump officials in the past without providing much concrete evidence, and these WHO experts have now dismissed that after holding an open and a thorough discussion with staff at several institutions in the city.

And the fourth possibility is transmission through the food chain. And here is what one member of the team said to CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER DASZAK PHD, DISEASE ECOLOGIST, PRESIDENT, ECOHEALTH ALLIANCE: From what we see when we visit their market it is a place that a lot of frozen products. Not just the typical things we would buy at the supermarket, but also frozen animal products from animal farms in Southeast Asia and inside China.

And there is a really striking piece of evidence that was mentioned today in the press conference that in those products were included wildlife meat and carcasses from animals that we know are susceptible to coronaviruses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIANG (on camera): So he touched two very interesting points. One is that the virus may have emerged outside of China and then entered Wuhan through a frozen food. Now these of course claims heavily promoted by the Chinese government and state media here. So, they must feel vindicated by these findings and assessment by the WHO, which also said they were going to use the Wuhan investigation as a basis to further their studies and other parts of the world. Again, something increasingly demanded by the Beijing leadership,

especially pointing a finger at the United States. Now, the U.S. government for tis part, Rosemary, has said they are going to review this WHO report from Wuhan independently through their own verification process before reaching their conclusions. Rosemary?

CHURCH (on camera): Alright. Steven Jiang joining us live from Beijing. Many thanks.

Well, U.S. COVID-19 numbers are trending in the right direction. New cases are down and vaccines are up. CDC data shows that about one in 10 Americans has now received at least one dose of vaccine. But as Nick Watt reports, health experts are still warning people not to let down their guard.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKNOWN: This is the calm before the storm.

[03:45:00]

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The average daily case count just plummeted nearly 25 percent in one week, but faster spreading variants could reverse that progress.

DR. PETER HOTEZ, VACCINE RESEARCHER, DEAN OF THE NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AT BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: We're looking at potentially a very difficult April and May, maybe as soon as March. And that is going to be a tough time, because the vaccines are not going to be here in large quantities.

WATT: Here in Los Angeles County, there are no first dose appointments available.

BARBARA FERRER, DIRECTOR OF THE L.A. COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT: The scheduling of an appointment right now is challenging. Because of the limited supply of vaccines that we are receiving on a weekly basis. For the rest of this week's, and all of the County sides, all were able to offer were second dose appointments.

WATT: The federal government just again up the doses it will distribute every week, this time from 10.5 to 11 million.

JEFFREY ZIENTS, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: It is the manufacturers that are doing a good job and the president and the team doing all we can to support that manufacturing process.

WATT: In an effort at equity, they will also start shipping a million doses direct to community health centers across the country.

MARCELLA NUNEZ-SMITH, CHAIRWOMAN, COVID-19 HEALTH EQUITY TASK FORCE: Two-thirds of their patients live below the level of poverty line. And 60 percent of patients in community health centers identified as racial minorities.

WATT: The average number of vaccine doses in arms every day is going up.

HOTEZ: We're about 1.5 million immunization per day, we should be at around 3 million to four million to really halt this virus.

WATT: Still restrictions are rolling back many places. Iowa just lifted its mask mandate.

UNKNOWN: I know people are sick and tired of the coronavirus. They are sick and tired of having to wear a masks, of having to socially distance, but the virus is not sick and tired of us. The virus is not done with us.

WATT: Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH (on camera): And the disease and the vaccines are likely to be with us for a long time. That message coming now from the CEO of Johnson and Johnson. He says that people will probably need an annual shot for years to come because of expected mutations of COVID-19.

Russia has long been suspected of under reporting its COVID-19 death toll. Now (inaudible) from Russia's own statistics agency shows the number of deaths is much greater than previously reported. The new figures indicate a least 162,000 Russians died from the virus last year. That is almost three times greater than Russia initially reported.

And it would rank Russia as having the world's third greatest number of COVID deaths in 2020. The U.S. was number one.

Well, the value of bitcoin rocketing close to $50,000. Thanks in large part to Elon Musk. How high can it go? And will it suddenly come tumbling down? We will explore the cryptocurrencies dramatic rise.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:50:00]

CHURCH (on camera): U.S. Federal investigators have closed the case of the fatal helicopter crash that took the life of basketball icon Kobe Bryant and eight others. They say it was entirely preventable. Officials are asking for more changes to helicopter safety after the pilot of Bryant's flight disregarded training, possibly because of pressure from having a high-profile client.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT SUMWALT, CHAIRMAN, U.S. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: I think it is important to point out that this pilot did make mistakes, but that does not mean that he was necessarily trying to be malicious. I don't certainly don't think he was out trying to kill himself and kill his passengers but apparently it was an issue of judgment decision-making that led to this tragic situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH (on camera): Notably on board was Bryant's daughter Gianna,

along with some of her teammates and their family who were headed to a youth basketball game. Their deaths has been ruled accidental.

Well, turning now to business news and the soaring value of bitcoin. The cryptocurrency surged pass $48,000 on Tuesday by far a record high. It has settled down a bit since then but it is still up 30 percent this month. Experts say most of this is because of Elon Musk, his electric automaker Tesla announced this week that it bought one and a half billion dollars in bitcoin.

And CNN's John Defterios is tracking all of this. He joins us live from Abu Dhabi. Good to see you again, John. So, bitcoin has jumped nearly 25 percent this week. What are we looking at in terms of annual gain and how significant was Elon's move this week?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR (on camera): Well, it does give it a stamp of approval with Elon Musk involve here now. The corporate level if you will, putting treasury money at play. But Rosemary, it is amazing, at the start of the pandemic, a year ago, bitcoin was considered too risky to hold, right. And that shifted rapidly going just a month in.

Let's go back to March 2020 and look at the skyrocketing price of the bitcoin, going from less the 5,000 as you suggested lead in there to nearly 50,000, right. So that is 110 and 50 percent for the year. 300 percent in the last three months alone and even Elon Musk's move boosted up by 20 percent.

Now it looks like a bubble but those that are in this community, of crypto traders say, if you look at the U.S. government printing $5 trillions alone because of the pandemic. In terms of government stimulus.

This is more secure than the Federal Reserve board backing the dollar. Now there is a lot of criticism of that but they say that it is built on the block chain platform for those who have worked in it explains to me in the last week or so, that you cannot unlock the block chain, it is very, very secure.

This is (inaudible) the core of this group is basically anti- government. We have to see what happens in terms of regulation. But having Tesla and other corporations jump in, clearly takes us to a new stage here in the process of the cryptocurrency. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SAYLOR, CEO, MICROSTRATEGYI think that this is a trend that is going to run for the next decade, and this year you are going to see many public companies do this. We saw tesla, we saw marathon, we saw square, we saw micro strategy, I think you will see double triple, quadruple that number come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEFTERIOS (on camera): So look to the next stage here, Rosemary, what happens at the government level? We see that Beijing the Chinese government is testing its own cryptocurrency, we have to keep in mind that it has $3 trillion of foreign exchange assets, and perhaps with these tensions with the United States, to challenge the U.S. dollar. Does the U.S. work with other develop economies and the OECD to get it regulated that has been a discussion for the few years?

But how do you do that on a global level? We know the IRS the revenue service is looking to tax it as a line item now. All returns for citizens to say, if you have profits from the cryptocurrency, you have to report them now. That is the early stages of this, Rosemary. But you can see the narrative changing, really quickly.

CHURCH (on camera): Absolutely, John Defterios bringing us the latest from Abu Dhabi, many thanks.

Alright. So, you might recognize these famous faces in the latest and from the U.K.'s National Health Service.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: What was that, Elton?

ELTON JOHN, SINGER COMPOSER: That was me acting.

UNKNOWN: OK. Let's cut that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): We will show you how the government is banking on star power to convince more people to get vaccinated.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:55:00]

CHURCH (on camera): Welcome back everyone. Europe's oldest person has two things to celebrate this week. Surviving COVID-19 and turning 117 years old. Meet Sister Andre, formerly known as Lucille Randon before she joined a Catholic order back in 1944.

She tested positive for the virus last month at her retirement home in Southern France, she was isolated from others there and showed no symptoms. Sister Andre's says, she was never scared to die but misses her family who have already passed on. She is the second oldest person in the world. Happy birthday.

And the U.K. has enlisted superstar musician Elton John and actor Michael Caine to help build public trust in COVID-19 vaccine. Both celebrities already have been vaccinated. The two performers filmed adverts for the National Health Service as it prepares to widen its vaccine rollout to younger adults. And here is a look at their auditions for the role.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN: My name is Elton John. UNKNOWN: Let's go for your Michael Caine impression. Let's see what

it's like.

JOHN: My name is Elton John.

UNKNOWN: Beautiful, cut that.

JOHN: The more people in society that get vaccinated, the more chance there is of eradicating the national COVID pandemic. It is really important to know that the vaccines have all been through and met the necessary safety and quality standards.

UNKNOWN: So this is a bit where you are going to have the vaccine now, Elton, So, just kind of pretend that you are having the vaccine from a nurse.

What was that Elton?

JOHN: That was me acting.

UNKNOWN: OK. Let's cut that.

JOHN: And as you can see, I am still standing. Yes, yes, yes.

UNKNOWN: Thank you.

MICAHEL Caine, ACTOR: Hello, my name is Michael Caine. I have just had a vaccine for COVID, it did not hurt. Not many people know that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH (on camera): Two great vaccine ambassadors there. And thanks so much for watching. I'm Rosemary Church. Stay with CNN. Early Start is up next.

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