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Decision On Whether To Convict Trump Could Come Today; Defense Team Goes On Offense Against Democrats; U.S. Capitol Police Officer To Receive Congressional Gold Medal; Flights To Victoria Suspended; Britons Try To Dispel COVID-19 Myths In Minority Communities; Anti- Junta Protesters In Myanmar March For Eighth Straight Day; CDC Updates Guidance On Reopening Schools. Aired 2-2:45a ET
Aired February 13, 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]
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): U.S. senators could reach a verdict in a matter of hours in Donald Trump's second impeachment trial. Plus,
Victoria's lockdown and how the decision affects the Australian Open.
And, thousands of protesters, back on the streets of Myanmar, demanding a return to democracy.
Hello, welcome everyone to CNN NEWSROOM. Appreciate your company, I am Michael Holmes.
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HOLMES: Welcome everyone.
Saturday could be decision day in the U.S. Senate where proceedings are wrapping up quickly, in Donald Trump's second impeachment trial. His defense team, coming out swinging on Friday, insisting that the former U.S. president did not incite last month's riot at the Capitol, instead, pointing the finger at Democrats. CNN's Jeff Zeleny with the details.
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MICHAEL VAN DER VEEN, FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP'S LEGAL COUNSEL: The article of impeachment now before the Senate is an unjust and blatantly unconstitutional act of political vengeance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A verdict in the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump is expected Saturday with his lawyers swiftly resting their case after arguing the deadly attack on the Capitol was neither Trump's fault nor responsibility.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN DER VEEN: No thinking person could seriously believe that the president's January 6th speech on The Ellipse was in any way an incitement to violence or insurrection.
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ZELENY (voice-over): The senators quickly moved to the next phase of the trial with Republicans and Democrats alike submitting written questions before rendering their judgment. The Senate clerk read this query from Republican senators Mitt Romney and Susan Collins.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When President Trump sent a disparaging tweet at 2:24 pm regarding Vice President Pence, was he aware that vice president had been removed from the Senate by the Secret Service for his safety?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY (voice-over): The House prosecutors said it was impossible to think the president was unaware, but defense attorney Michael van der Veen insisted otherwise.
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VAN DER VEEN: The answer is no. At no point was the president informed the vice president was in any danger.
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ZELENY (voice-over): Van der Veen dismissed the point beyond the question.
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VAN DER VEEN: It's not really relevant to the charges for the impeachment in this case.
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ZELENY (voice-over): After two days of dramatic testimony from House impeachment managers, including this security footage of Vice President Pence being rushed to safety, the Trump defense team sought to rewrite the narrative of that dark day in America. They sought to falsely equate the former president's own words.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY (voice-over): To routine political speeches of Democrats zeroing in on their use of the word fight. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To continue fighting, we each have an important role to play in fighting.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Never give up this fight.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): Me, I'm here to fight back.
VAN DER VEEN: This is not what-aboutism. I am showing you this to make the point that all political speech must be protected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY (voice-over): With 17 Republicans unlikely to join all Democrats in voting to convict, many of the questions read aloud on the Senate floor underscored the inflamed partisan tensions at the core of the impeachment.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are the prosecutors right when they claim that Trump was telling a big lie or in your judgment, did Trump actually win the election?
REP. STACEY PLASKETT (D-VI): As we all know, President Trump did lose the election by 7 million votes, 306 electoral votes. By the time of the January 6th attack, the courts, the Justice Department, all 50 states across the country had done, agreed that the votes were counted, the people had spoken and it was time for the peaceful transfer of power. He lost. He lost.
VAN DER VEEN: Who asked that?
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT): I did.
VAN DER VEEN: My judgment is irrelevant in this proceeding. It absolutely is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: Closing arguments, in this case, by both sides, will take place today in the Senate chambers, with the vote expected in the afternoon. Still, an uphill climb for Democrats to get 17 Republicans on their side to convict the president.
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ZELENY: But no question, with our new reporting showing the president's mindset on the afternoon of January 6th, there are even more questions now than when this impeachment trial started.
That still does not mean that there will be evidence to convict the president. Clearly, so much pressure on the senators who will be voting today -- Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now CNN has obtained new bombshell details about a phone call that took place during the riot between then president Trump and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy.
Republican lawmakers familiar with the call described it as a shouting match. One they say shows Trump had no intention of stopping the insurrection.
They say, after McCarthy told Trump the rioters were his supporters, Trump said, quote, "Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are."
To which a furious McCarthy replied, quote, "Who the F do you think you are talking to?"
CNN's Jamie Gangel confirmed those new details with multiple Republican sources. This as aides of the former vice president, Mike Pence, and other former White House officials, are still angry about Trump's actions or, more accurately, inaction, that day. CNN's Jim Acosta, reporting from West Palm Beach, Florida.
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JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We reported this earlier this week, that former president Trump, then president Trump at the time was, quote, "loving" the Capitol mob. He was loving watching the mob do what they were doing up on the Hill that day. That they were showing force, as one other advisor put it.
That is what the president, at the time, wanted to see. So it makes perfect sense with Jamie is saying. And what we're hearing from her sources is that the president, at the time, when he was on the phone with Kevin McCarthy, was not showing any kind of concern whatsoever estimate was being unleashed on the Hill that day.
We talked to a top White House official about some of this earlier today and this one former official said that it may have been beneficial to the entire process to have had hearings on this. To get to the bottom of what former president Trump, and top aides knew at that, time as things were progressing minute by minute.
You know, when Trump decided not to participate in any of this and not testify, there was a huge missed opportunity to get to some of the facts as to what he was doing that day.
But I talked to a couple of former top White House officials about this earlier today. They are still sick sickened, by what Trump was up to that day. His actions on that day, how he seemed to be delighting in what was going on that day.
One of the aspects that really sickened some of these former White House officials the most was the way Trump was behaving towards vice president Mike Pence. This is, perhaps, the most loyal official under president Trump during that entire administration.
He was, essentially, throwing him to the lions on Capitol Hill. In the words of one former top White House official I spoke with earlier today, Trump saw Pence as, essentially, the fall guy. Blaming Mike Pence for not overturning the election results. And it is still something that sickens people who worked for the former president.
Although, there is plenty of former officials who will believe until the end of time that Trump didn't do anything wrong that day. But we do have to be honest, that does not mean everyone who worked under president Trump. There are a lot of former officials who were disgusted by his actions that day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Former federal prosecutor, Michael Zeldin joining me now. He is also former special assistant to Robert Mueller.
It is good to see you again, Michael. Let's talk about this right now. For Democrats, this was an out of context, false equivalence, whataboutism defense. Saying the Democrats said the same things, even if none of those things led to a violent insurrection.
What was your take on what you heard?
MICHAEL ZELDIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: So I think that the prosecution proved its case, in its case in chief and I think the defense put on a super Scrabble (ph) defense. But I, think at the end of the day, the president will be acquitted. I think that the equivalence that the parties tried to show, the defense said, well, prosecutor, they do this, we do this, no harm, no foul.
I think that is how they are trying to present this and it may be a big enough hook for the Republicans. But really, it's not a very persuasive case if you're the American public listening in on what happened there.
HOLMES: It was interesting, because I was following your Twitter during the presentation and, at one point, you tweeted out -- and I will read this for people -- "Legal adage: when the law is on your side, pound the law. When the facts are on your side, pound the facts. When you have neither, pound the table. The Trump defense was merely a table pounding. It had no substantive merit."
Expand on that.
[02:10:00]
ZELDIN: The so the law they tried to interpose on this case, the First Amendment protecting speech, really, is not relevant. The First Amendment protects criminalization of speech and there's no criminal penalty on this case.
Further, the president is not being tried for his speech on January the 6th, he's being tried for a months-long effort to undermine the certification of Biden's win. Further, they argue that there was no due process given to the
president, meaning, he was not given a meaningful chance to contest the charges. Of course, he was. He was asked, in fact, whether he even wants to come to the trial and testify. So, he did not come, he declined that offer.
All of the things they are asserting as legal defenses, really, are not legal defenses. What we have is a pounding of the table, making noise, pointing fingers, making accusations, doing this whataboutism, what about this, what about that, you did this, I did this and that's not really a defense. But it's noise in the system and that may be all that is necessary for Republicans.
HOLMES: To that point, you can fairly ask, if the Trump team even needed to make a good case, given the partisan nature of the jury. Regardless, speak to the importance of the protest and the impact of an acquittal on what a president is able to do and, maybe, get away with in his final days in office.
ZELDIN: Yes. So in some respects, the managers of the House are trying this case to the jury, the senators, to the American and international public who are watching this thing. But also, for history.
This case will be studied, so they want to make a complete record of what is going on and they want to put future presidents on notice that they, really, cannot do this. Even if they are acquitted, they will face the stigma of being impeached and no one really wants that scarlet letter on them.
But an acquittal, at the same time, may give some rogue president sometime, into the future, the notion that, if Trump got away with it, I can get away with it. There is no governor on my behavior, because of the Trump president and there we go.
HOLMES: If this wasn't what it is and that is a political, not a judicial process, but if it were a judicial process, with a truly impartial jury, you are a former prosecutor, would you think that the impeachment managers' case would win?
ZELDIN: Yes, I think it would. I think what they have established, pretty clearly, is that the president assembled a mob, he incited the mob and then he sent them off to do that which they did, which was to storm the Capitol, to present, prevent, the certification of the election. Their motto was stop the steal. Well, the steal, really, is the certification. So they were going there to stop the steal. The only way you can stop the steal is what they did, which is to interfere with the process.
So, I think the House managers prove that case and I don't think the defense ably defended it.
Michael, I think the biggest problem of the Trump defense team had was that once the insurrection began and the president knew what was going on, he did nothing to stop it. That sort of proves his state of mind, saying, essentially, I see what is going on, I like what is going on, it is what I asked them to do and I am not going to stop it. That, I think, is the most telling evidence against him and that was
not refuted in the impeachment trial, which is why I think they would win in a real criminal trial, were this a criminal trial.
HOLMES: Fascinating. Great analysis as always. Michael, good to see you.
ZELDIN: Thank you so much, good to see you, take care.
HOLMES: In a rare moment of unity, the U.S. Senate did unanimously vote on Friday to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Capitol Police officer, Eugene Goodman. Goodman, you will remember, was hailed as a national hero after this video emerged of him.
During the January 6th riot he is seen leading the violent mob away from the Senate chamber. That is when then vice president Mike Pence had been conducting the counting of the 2020 Electoral College vote.
During the impeachment trial, new security footage, of course, was introduced, showing Goodman, potentially, saving Republican senator Mitt Romney from the rioters. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said that Goodman deserves the highest honor the U.S. Congress can bestow.
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SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MAJORITY LEADER: In the weeks after the attack on January the 6th, the world learned about the incredible, incredible bravery, of Officer Goodman on that fateful day.
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SCHUMER: Officer Goodman is in the chamber tonight.
Officer Goodman, thank you.
HOLMES (voice-over): Goodman is the acting deputy Senate sergeant at arms these days. Congress could soon pass legislation honoring other officers who protected the Capitol during that riot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: We can take a quick break on the program and when we come back, more street protests in Myanmar, right now. In some places, the police have responded with violence. We talk about that.
Also, incoming flights suspended and a hard lockdown in place, Australia taking stringent action in the state of Victoria after a new outbreak of COVID. We will be right back.
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(MUSIC PLAYING) HOLMES: Coronavirus numbers in the U.K. seeming to be heading in the right direction. The number of new cases down dramatically over the last couple of months. Its virus reproduction number is now between 0.7 and 0.9. A value less than 1 is a big deal. It means that lockdown measures do appear to be paying off.
Meanwhile, South Africa is now talking with Chinese and Russian vaccine developers. That is after a study showed that the vaccine made by AstraZeneca seemed less effective against a highly contagious variant, first discovered, in that country.
As to the origins of the virus, the head of the World Health Organization said that all hypotheses are still open. They said a team investigated the early days of the pandemic are preparing a report. The summary could come out next week.
Now flights to the Australian state of Victoria have been suspended, as a 5, day hard lockdown, begins following a COVID outbreak linked to a quarantine hotel. Angus Watson, in Sydney, with a pretty dramatic move.
What is the latest?
ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: Michael, the latest is pretty good news here, for the Victorians. Just one new case of coronavirus detected on Friday, bringing that total to 14 in the cluster of community transmission which sparked this lockdown, this 5-day circuit breaker lockdown they are calling it, in Victoria.
All 14 of those cases are clustered around the holiday, in a hotel quarantine setting. Where travelers coming into Australia are forced to spend 14 days on arrival into the country.
As you mentioned, international flights into Melbourne, suspended, through Thursday. That is bad news for some 40,000 Australians overseas registered as wanting to come back but cannot do so at the moment, because of tight caps on the number of Australians allowed to return home and enter into the system.
As you said, this is all pretty dramatic.
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WATSON: Going into lockdown for 5, days just for 14 cases. Here is what Premier Daniel Andrews had to say about that today.
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DANIEL ANDREWS, VICTORIA PREMIER: I know many people will be hurting today. This is not the position that Victorians want to be in. But I cannot have a situation where in 2 weeks' time, we look back and we wish we had taken these decisions now. I've gotten the advice to do it, I've done it, it's based on science.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WATSON: Michael, these are the same lockdown measures that Victoria enacted in 2020 to get on top of hundreds of cases of coronavirus each day. Now just a couple per day but the strict measures of the Victorian government says need to happen right now.
HOLMES: The thing is, when you think about case numbers and a spread like the United States, you look at the lockdown from Victoria which, was basically, just over a dozen cases. As you say, one case today. Really, it shows how seriously Australia has been and how successful it has been, because of that.
Are Australians resigned to the restrictions?
Accepting of them given the result?
WATSON: Australians here have seen what is happening around the world, Michael. They have seen hospital systems in other countries that are overwhelmed. They know that lockdowns here work, that lockdowns have previously gotten us down to a position where we are regularly detecting no new cases of the community transmission and they know that if they're going to protect each other, a lockdown is one tool in the armory to do that.
It is, obviously, significant. Right now, we know that Melbourne is trying to host the Australian Open tennis tournament. It has had around 100,000 fans over the first 5 days. Now no more fans until Thursday.
A strange situation last night, Michael, fans were halfway through a match between Novak Djokovic and the American Taylor Fritz, when they were told it is time to go home if you want to make it back in time for the lockdown to come into force, Michael.
HOLMES: Yes, that was a pretty bizarre scene. We saw that video, it was extraordinary. But the measures do seem to be working. Angus Watson, thank you in Sydney.
The European Union, meanwhile, dealing with a shortage of coronavirus vaccine doses. Now the French health authority has come up with what could be an interesting solution. Cyril Vanier has that for us in Paris.
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CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The French health authority has updated his recommendation on COVID vaccines. They now say the patients who have COVID should only get one dose of the vaccine.
The logic is this. Whether or not they presented symptoms, those people have naturally developed some immunity to the virus. That, essentially, does the same job as the first vaccine dose. Therefore, they only require the second dose, the booster jab.
Hence, only one dose. The health authority has also detailed the timing of the single dose. They recommended it be administered between 3 and 6 months after infection. Ideally, as close as possible to the 6 month mark.
The reason being, COVID infections, according to the statement, provide some immunity for 3 to 6 months. So the vaccine should be fully admired before immunity disappears. That follows recent studies that found a similar immune response with those who had 2 doses of the vaccine and those who had COVID, followed by one dose.
The government, typically, follows recommendations by the health authority although we will have to wait for an official word on this one. If this guideline is followed, it could help France's slow vaccination effort by freeing up half of the doses that would, otherwise, have been used on recently infected patients -- Cyril Vanier, CNN, Paris.
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HOLMES: The United Kingdom has the worst coronavirus outbreak in Europe right now. Yet, there is still a startling amount of vaccine hesitancy in the country. That is especially true among minority communities. Faith leaders, reaching out to ease some of their fears. Salma Abdelaziz shows us how.
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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): A rare gathering under lockdown. Friday prayers at the Makkah Mosque. Today's sermon is a fact check for the faithful.
ASIM: There are people who have understandable questions, understandable concerns about the vaccine.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): People of color across Britain were hit much harder by COVID-19, pushing communities like this to turn to each other for answers.
ASIM: This vaccine is absolutely halal, the vaccine that has been used in the U.K., they are permissible in Islam.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): More than 100 mosques are taking part in this nationwide effort led by Muslims for Muslims to tackle vaccine myths and conspiracy theories.
[02:25:00]
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): After prayer, he tells us the message, which was delivered in 3 languages, is just as important as the messenger.
ASIM: As imam, I have had to mediate on a number of occasions where the elderly generation wanted to have the vaccine but some of their children were saying or don't have the vaccine. I do not want one more life being lost just based on misinformation.
ABDELAZIZ: How do you convince people?
Is it a religious argument?
Is it scientific?
ASIM: We have a panel of experts who are microbiology experts, as well as doctors and scholars of Islam. We present a different argument depending on who the audience is.
ABDELAZIZ: This doesn't impact the Muslim community alone. Government studies show Black and minority ethnic groups across this country have higher vaccine hesitancy and lower trust in public institutions. It's a potent combination and it could cost lives.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): That's why members of London's Hindu community chose home turf. The temple school is now a public vaccination center. The woman behind the idea is temple devotee and health care professional Hasmita Patel.
HASMITA PATEL, HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL AND TEMPLE DEVOTEE: I am proud of this clinic. When I come in, I can view the temple and feel satisfied that I'm in my community, I'm serving the community.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Officials in this diverse community of Brent admit they failed to engage effectively with minorities at the start of the pandemic. Patel says these systemic inequalities cost lives.
PATEL: When somebody is concerned, it's important that you speak to them in their own language, because that's their comfort zone, That's what they understand, especially in older populations.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): We follow one temple member as he gets his shot. His first language is Gujarati but his joy is clear.
ABDELAZIZ: How do you feel?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very happy.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): When public leadership failed these communities, they mobilized and organized to fight for their own -- Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: A good story.
Thousands of people are marching in defiance of Myanmar's military leaders. Coming up, we bring you the latest on their fight for democracy, along with Will Ripley, after the break.
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HOLMES: Welcome back to our viewers, all around the world, I am Michael Holmes, you are watching CNN NEWSROOM.
[02:30:00] HOLMES: Now thousands of people, out protesting in Myanmar again. This is the 8th straight day of anti-coup demonstrations. We've been seeing increased violence in the last few days. Police firing rubber bullets and also, live ammunition.
Reuters, reporting that several protesters were wounded by gunshots on Friday. One woman, who was shot in the head on Tuesday, still in hospital. Will Ripley is following all of this for us from Hong Kong.
A week on since the protests kicked off, what do you know about what's happening today, Will?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Today is expected to be a busy day, Michael. It is a national holiday in Myanmar. It is the birthday of the military leader, who is the father of the civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under military detention and believed to be house arrest, since this coup.
The protest, as you mentioned, kicked off in force about a week ago. We are seeing hundreds of thousands of people out across the country. Not necessarily assembled, in one large group, because that would make them more vulnerable to the police and military, who are trying to get everyone to obey, to be quiet, to go back inside.
They've instituted a nationwide curfew. But people are going out in defiance and organizing in groups. Student groups, civic groups, trade unions, going out, with hundreds of groups, 1,000 or 2,000 people each, across the country, right now, letting the military and the government, know that they are angry, that their election back in November, where the National League for Democracy won an overwhelming majority.
And the military proxy party suffered a defeat. The military alleges election fraud, unfounded claims according to election watchers in and outside of Myanmar. Now these protesters say they will not stop and they will continue to send that message.
But that young woman, 19, 20 years old, has become a real figurehead for the movement. You can see her face on many of the posters, as protesters are out. She is, at this moment, clinging to life. There are reports she is on life support with little chance of recovery.
She has become a symbol of the people, of young people and old people, across Myanmar, who are standing up to condemn this coup.
HOLMES: I wanted to ask you as well, you mentioned Aung San Suu Kyi.
What do we know about the status of her?
Where she is at?
How she's being treated?
Yes, as you mentioned, there is a great deal of support for her on the street. RIPLEY: Absolutely. It is hard to show in pictures how overwhelmingly
popular Aung San Suu Kyi is in Myanmar. Even though there has been widespread international criticism of her going to the United Nations to defend the military that now holds her prisoner against charges of genocide towards the Uyghur Muslims, that position, where the overwhelming Buddhist population is against the Uyghurs, that has, perhaps, made her more popular than ever before.
Her country won a massive landslide in November. She is, truly, the main symbol, the main reason why these people are going out on the streets, particularly today, the birthday of her father.
She, to them, is a symbol of someone who is fighting for the people of Myanmar against a military, that, for 50 years, brutally cracked down on political dissent, did not allow people to do what they are now doing in defiance of the military anyway.
Michael, we expect the crowds to grow and the calls for Aung San Suu Kyi to be released in the coming hours, as day turns to night and people go out, once again, in defiance of the 8 pm curfew.
HOLMES: Will, I appreciate you covering this for us, from Hong Kong. Will Ripley.
Now the U.S. President Joe Biden, saying that he doesn't plan to ask any senators how they will vote in Donald Trump's impeachment trial. A decision on whether the former president incited last month's violence at the Capitol is expected Saturday.
Phil Mattingly, with more on Mr. Biden's view of the proceedings as well as of the views of the White House.
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JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This week, he watched new videos, they all, did. That was a reminder of how shocking that assault on our democracy was.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Biden is keeping an eye on the Senate impeachment trial.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm just anxious to need whether -- what my Republican friends do, will they stand up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This place shows they have no antibodies.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): But, tonight, a major development on the administration's efforts to contain coronavirus. The CDC, providing a long-awaited, updated guidance, to an issue that has bedeviled the administration for weeks, the reopening of schools.
Biden, attempting to deliver on this campaign promise, amid public outcry from frustrated and struggling, parents.
BIDEN: We will also do everything we can to keep our educators and students safe, to safely reopen a majority of our K through 8 schools by the end of the first 100 days.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): The CDC, saying vaccinations for teachers are not a prerequisite for reopening.
[02:35:00]
MATTINGLY (voice-over): For recommending mitigation strategies, such as masks, physically distancing, washing hands, improved ventilation and contact tracing for schools. All as the White House pledged independence for the agency.
PSAKI: I can assure you, the White House is not directing the CDC on how they are to determine their guidelines. We did not give approval for their guidelines. We will also be guided by science, we will be guided by our medical experts, we will be guided by the guidelines of the CDC.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Biden continued his week, primarily, focused not on his predecessor's trial but instead, on managing the pandemic, zeroing in on bipartisan state and local officials, as he seeks broad support for his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan.
BIDEN: The American rescue plan has all of the pieces. The most important piece, in my view, is making sure we give them enough capacity to deal with the virus in our states.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Biden meeting today with governors and mayors in the Oval Office.
BIDEN: What I really want to know about is what should that -- the recovery plan, should we have more or less of anything in it, what do they think they need most, how to proceed. Because as I said before, you know, governors and mayors, that is a real job.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): A key bipartisan constituency on the plan but Arkansas GOP governor, Asa Hutchinson, not on board entirely.
GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON (R-AR): I agree with the urgency of it. But the urgency cannot be accomplished just as quickly with compromise. I think it sets a poor precedent for the future to ram that through on a partisan vote.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): That position, echoed by Republicans on Capitol Hill, who, also, continue to object to its size and scale.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will continue to oppose these measures.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): But throughout this week, Democrats have pushed forward on pieces of that proposal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's get this done and help.
With the House, likely to vote to pass it in just two weeks. All as the White House continues to press to expand vaccine supply. Biden securing an additional 200 million doses from Pfizer, Moderna, a crucial milestone. BIDEN: Within 3 weeks, around the clock work with so many people,
people standing behind me and in front of me, we have now purchased enough vaccine supply to vaccinate all Americans. Now we are working to get those vaccines into the arms of millions of people.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): One made more significant by what Biden says his administration, inherited, from his predecessor.
BIDEN: Figure that we thought was available, in terms of everything, the vaccine and the vaccinators, was not the case. So I thank them for the work that they did in our cities and our states, in order to respond to the crisis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: That was CNN's Phil Mattingly, reporting there from the White House.
In just a few hours, Italy will swear in Mario Draghi as its new prime minister. The former head of the European Central Bank has picked a cabinet from across Italy's political spectrum. It's a move designed to create a sense of unity after disagreement between parties on practically every topic.
Some key ministers, expecting to remain in place, such as the health and foreign ministers.
Now when we come back on the program. Reading the Red Planet. The probes on a mission to uncover the secrets of Mars. We will be right back.
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HOLMES: Finally, a look at the hottest destination in the space race right now. Mars. Space programs, all around the world, are sending probes to test the atmosphere and search for any signs of life once existing there.
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HOLMES (voice-over): On the lonely Red Planet, a new era of exploration opens as three visitors from Earth arrive this month. First, the Emirati probe, named Hope. Making history for the UAE.
Applause and celebration, Tuesday, once Hope broke into orbit around Mars. Landmarks in Dubai, lit proudly, as the UAE became the first Arab nation to reach the Red Planet.
SARAH AL AMIN, UAE SPACE AGENCY: Right now, we have the very first weather satellite of Mars around orbit. It will give us a better understanding of climate change on Mars and also, the role that climate plays in atmospheric loss. This is a first for the world and first for scientists around the world.
HOLMES (voice-over): One day later, China's spacecraft followed suit but with a more ambitious mission ahead.
Cheers from the control room Wednesday as the probe slipped into Martian orbit. The Tianwen-1, meaning quest for heavenly truth, is now one step closer to its next goal. Landing a rover on the surface, as early as May.
It aims to gather key data on geology, magnetic fields and the environment. If China's probe survives the perilous descent, it would not be alone.
NASA video, previews the treacherous landing planned on Thursday for its U.S. probe. Soon, to be the third to reach the Red Planet in 10 days. America's Perseverance mission intends to plant the fifth U.S. rover on Mars to collect samples that eventually return to Earth. Search for signs of ancient life and pave the way for new life to arrive.
THOMAS ZURBUCHEN, NASA SCIENCE ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR: We will also learn how to build these capabilities that actually bring humans to Mars. We are opening up the spectrum on Mars exploration to a level where no other decade, really, has in the past.
HOLMES (voice-over): The American, Emirati and Chinese probes, all launched from Earth in July. They descend on the Red Planet after more than 480 million kilometers through space, 3 different missions unfolding in an unprecedented exploration of Mars.
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HOLMES: I am Michael Holmes, appreciate you spending part of your day with me. I will be back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. Meanwhile, "MARKETPLACE AFRICA," up next.
