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Trump Acquitted in Historic Second Impeachment Trial; McConnell Makes Case for Convicting Trump after Voting to Acquit; Biden Says Democracy Must Always Be Defended; Lebanon Receives First Vaccine Shipment; Myanmar Military Threatens Arrests; California to Open More Vaccination Supersites; France Halts "Sweetheart Visa" for Unmarried Couples. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired February 14, 2021 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it.
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MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Despite those comments from Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, he and many other Republicans voted to acquit the former president, Donald Trump.
Hello. Welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes.
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HOLMES: Welcome, everyone.
Now that Donald Trump has been acquitted of inciting last month's deadly violence at the U.S. Capitol, some U.S. Republican leaders may wish they did not have to contend with the complicated and controversial legacy of the former president anymore.
But the political fallout from Trump's second impeachment trial and second acquittal could be long-lasting and far-reaching, especially for some of the seven Republican senators who voted with Democrats on Saturday to convict Donald Trump.
One of them, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, has already been censured by his state's Republican Party. So it is clear that Trump still has a strong grip on his base. It is also clear that Capitol Hill and the American people remain deeply divided about him.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says Trump's acquittal will be remembered as one of the most dishonorable acts in the nation's history. CNN's Ryan Nobles now with more on a dramatic day in the U.S. Senate. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For a second time, Donald Trump has escaped conviction by the U.S. Senate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is therefore ordered and adjudged that the said Donald J. Trump be and he is hereby acquitted of the charge in said article.
NOBLES (voice-over): The final vote capped off a dramatic and unpredictable day where House impeachment managers initially announced plans to call witnesses in the trial of the former president.
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD), LEAD IMPEACHMENT MANAGER: We would like the opportunity to subpoena Congresswoman Herrera regarding her communications with House minority leader Kevin McCarthy.
NOBLES (voice-over): Calling witnesses would have most likely sent the trial in a dramatically different direction, leading to a much longer affair.
After hours of negotiations, the two sides agreed to submit into the record a statement from Republican congresswoman Jamie Herrera Beutler, which detailed a phone call from Trump to House minority leader Kevin McCarthy on January 6th, where Trump told McCarthy the rioters cared more about election fraud than McCarthy.
Impeachment managers decided to call her as a witness following a CNN report on the call Friday.
RASKIN: The point is that no number of witnesses demonstrating that Donald Trump continued to incite the insurrectionists, even after the invasion of the Capitol, would convince them. They wouldn't be convinced.
NOBLES (voice-over): With witnesses off the table, the two sides presented their closing arguments. The prosecution arguing that the evidence made it clear the riot was incited by the former president.
RASKIN: He named the date, he named the time and he brought them here and now he must pay the price.
NOBLES (voice-over): And the Trump defense warning the constitutional questions of convicting a former president were impossible to ignore.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This has been perhaps the most unfair and flagrantly unconstitutional proceeding in the history of the United States Senate.
NOBLES (voice-over): When the votes were cast, seven Republicans joined Democrats and voted to convict Trump but fell short of the two- thirds majority necessary. Richard Burr of North Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana voted to convict, despite earlier voting the trial was unconstitutional.
After it was all over, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, who voted to acquit, hammered Trump's actions, saying he was responsible for the riot and even suggested he could be tried in a criminal court.
MCCONNELL: Didn't get away with anything yet. Yet. We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation. And former presidents are not immune from being accountable by either one.
NOBLES (voice-over): But majority leader Chuck Schumer argued the Republicans were using the constitutional argument as a copout. In his mind, the evidence was more than enough to convict.
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SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MAJORITY LEADER: Look at what Republicans have chosen to forgive. The former president tried to overturn the results of a legitimate election and provoked an assault on our own government.
NOBLES: While there's no doubt that Democrats are not happy with the outcome of this impeachment trial, there are many that are happy to see it in the rearview mirror and they are ready to get focused on some of the big agenda items for the new Biden administration.
The first thing up, that big COVID relief package currently making its way through the Congress -- Ryan Nobles, CNN, on Capitol Hill.
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HOLMES: Now the acquittal by the Senate does not mean that Donald Trump's legal woes are over. Far from it, in fact. He faces a number of impending threats and apparently Trump himself is concerned about that. CNN's Boris Sanchez reports from West Palm Beach.
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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump's legal team expressing relief over the acquittal of the former president, though sources indicate the legal team was surprised seven Republican senators voted to convict Trump, that number much higher than what they expected.
Notably, we are hearing from sources close to the former president who say that he is now concerned about potentially facing criminal charges. And this comes on the heels of Mitch McConnell, during his speech, saying that the criminal justice system may ultimately look at Donald Trump's role in the insurrection on January 6th.
And it's not just McConnell. Federal investigators have laid out to CNN that they are looking at anyone and everyone who was involved in the violence we saw on Capitol Hill that day, including Donald Trump.
In the meantime though, publicly, Trump expressing relief as well. He apparently is pleased with the acquittal, though he does foreshadow some upcoming political work.
In a statement, Trump writing, in part, quote, "Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to make America great again has only just begun. In the months ahead, I have much to share with you and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people."
We anticipate that, in that statement, part of what Trump is alluding to and what he wants to share with his supporters is an effort to oust the Republicans that Trump feels betrayed him.
He is preparing to campaign against them, to potentially fundraise against them and get them out of office. Of course, there's always the specter that Trump may run again in 2024 -- Boris Sanchez, CNN, in West Palm Beach, Florida.
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HOLMES: It is worth taking a closer look at those seven Republicans who voted to convict the former president. Let's go through them for you now. They're senators Richard Burr, Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, Pat Toomey and Ben Sasse.
Obviously a brave move but it is worth noting something here. Only Murkowski is up for reelection in 2022. Burr and Toomey don't even plan to run again after this term. They are retiring. Romney is not up for reelection until 2024, while Cassidy, Collins and Sasse are all set through 2026.
Let's get more perspective on this. Ron Brownstein is CNN's senior political analyst and the senior editor for "The Atlantic."
Ron, I want to start with one of your tweets on Saturday. You said this.
"Trump incites, ignites and revels in a riot by right-wing white nationalists. He then intimidates vast majority of GOP into defending him. They then intimidate congressional Democrats into truncating the trial. No consequences means extremists are emboldened."
Explain more about that impact of acquittal for political reasons.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: If you look at the way this trial was unfolding, particularly 43 of the 50 Republican voting to say there should be no consequences for Trump, for his actions, in which he ignited, incited and (INAUDIBLE) the mob at the Capitol.
And then as we saw, in revelations by Deputy Rangel and others, ignored the request, laughed at the request by Kevin McCarthy, when he called him to call off the mob or to send more law enforcement help.
If you look all of that, Michael, it follows also the decision by House Republicans just a few weeks ago not to sanction Marjorie Taylor Greene and, in fact, welcome her into their caucus.
And I think both of these send a very clear signal, that then mainstream Republicans are concluding that the extremist part of their coalition is simply too big at this point to confront or excommunicate.
And I talked to experts in extremism, who believe very clearly.
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BROWNSTEIN: The fact that the vast majority of Republicans stood with Trump is going to normalize the kind of inflammatory rhetoric and use of political threats that both he and Marjorie Taylor Greene symbolize.
HOLMES: I want to ask you about Mitch McConnell too, voting not guilty but him getting up and blaming Trump anyway, saying he was practically and morally responsible. Let's call it the loophole strategy.
He obviously wants Trump's hold gone from the party but didn't vote to actually make that happen.
Where does that leave McConnell?
BROWNSTEIN: Let's walk through what Mitch McConnell did. Mitch McConnell delayed the trial, specifically refused to begin the trial until Donald Trump left office and then got up and said today the only reason he's not convicting him is because the trial did not begin until Donald Trump left office, which was Mitch McConnell's doing.
McConnell, I thought today, was desperately searching for someone, anyone to do what he lacked the courage to do, a civil suit, a criminal investigation, any kind of other legal activity that would accept the responsibility that he shirked, to take a clear stand against Trump.
And he truly believes, I think, that Trump was responsible for the mob on the Capitol. And that really encapsulates the challenge that more mainstream Republicans faced throughout the Trump presidency.
I mean, they want the advantages of, you know, the energy that he inspires among his base. They don't want the downside of all the things that he does that alienate traditionally center right, white collar, voters but they have lacked the courage to stand up to him.
And at this point, it may be too late to reverse the inroads, the beachhead extremists are making in the party, especially after these back to back decisions on Taylor Greene and Trump in the last couple of weeks.
HOLMES: It is interesting. We're already seeing state-level blowback for GOP senators who voted to impeach. And that fear of MAGA nation and Trump clearly behind a lot of not guilty votes.
What evidence is there that, with Trump not on the ballot, he has sway with the broader electorate that those congressional Republicans fear?
His popularity has tanked even further. Some Republicans are leading the party. He's a sullied brand.
What are they afraid of?
BROWNSTEIN: It's an excellent question. We don't know his ability to turn out his own voters when he's not on the ballot. What they are looking at is polling, showing not only three-quarters of Republican still support Trump, they believe his lies, that the election was stolen.
Another poll by the conservative American Enterprise Institute this week showing a majority, 55 percent of Republicans, agree the American way of life is disappearing so fast that we may have to use force to save it.
They are worried about kind of this, his hold on what they see as the critical votes they need in the party. But by refusing to stand up to him and by allowing this to go past, as we talked about before, they really let go the best chance they've had to get out from under his thumb.
HOLMES: For Trump, what does acquittal in essence and he will frame it this way, a win for him, what will that mean for his future politically and in terms of that influence, his hold over the Republican Party?
BROWNSTEIN: I think they have voted in a way that maximizes his leverage in the party. From November on, they allowed him to spread this lie among the party base that the only reason he's not taking the oath the office is not because he lost, it's not because he led the party in a direction that could not command a national majority.
It's because it was stolen and that does increase Trump's leverage. What we are seeing is, in state after state, from Georgia to Arizona to Pennsylvania and Michigan, the state level Republicans are using his lies about the election to justify an entire new wave of voter suppression measures.
So in many ways, we are seeing the party pick up and run with the falsehood. It's hard to then turn around and blame him for advancing it when you are using it to justify a new R&D of attempts that make it harder to vote, particularly for minority voters.
HOLMES: Great points as always. Rob Brownstein, always a pleasure to see you.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
HOLMES: Now President Biden kept pretty quiet during the impeachment trial but he has now responded to the acquittal. CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz has that.
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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In his first comments since the impeachment trial wrapped up, President Biden said that, even though the Senate did not vote to convict former president Trump, the substance of the charges were not in dispute.
The president noted that there were a record number, seven Republicans, voting to convict the former president of their own party.
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SAENZ: And the president went on to say, "While the final vote did not lead to a conviction, the substance of the charge is not in dispute. Even though those opposed to the conviction, like Senate minority leader McConnell, believe Donald Trump was guilty of a disgraceful dereliction of duty and practically and morally responsible for provoking the violence unleashed on the Capitol."
The president went on to talk about that insurrection on January 6th, saying, "This sad chapter in our history has reminded us that democracy is fragile but it must always be defended, that we must ever be vigilant, that violence and extremism has no place in America and that each of us has a duty and responsibility as Americans and especially as leaders to defend the truth and to defeat the lies.
"That is how we end this uncivil war and heal the very soul of our nation."
He added, "That is the task ahead and it's a task we must undertake together as the United States of America."
Throughout the Senate impeachment trial, the president has been very careful in how he has commented. He's never directly weighed in on whether he believes the Senate needed to convict former president Trump.
But he did say that the Senate impeachment trial was critical to proceed after the House had voted for that impeachment. The president had also indicated he was anxious to see how Republicans would vote on this and suggested he thought that some minds may be swayed by that video that has been shown by the impeachment managers.
Now that the Senate impeachment trial is behind him, the Biden White House is laser focused on the tasks ahead, one of those being getting his COVID relief package passed, as well as getting his nominees confirmed in the Senate, as they are trying to look to the work of the Biden agenda now that the trial is over -- Arlette Saenz, CNN, the White House.
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HOLMES: We will take a quick break. When we come back, more on the historic day in Washington.
How will Republicans respond?
Is Trump's place in the party weaker or stronger?
We will hear from a party strategist.
Also the latest on the pandemic, with even some reasons to be optimistic in the U.S. and elsewhere. We will be right back.
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HOLMES: We are seeing some encouraging signs when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control said Saturday that more than 50 million vaccine doses have been administered so far. That's actually about 2 million more doses compared to the previous day.
And a new forecast estimates that the number of Americans who will lose their lives to the virus by June may be less than previously thought. Now the estimate has gone down, from more than 630,000 to less than 615,000. Some good news, though still a terribly high number.
The institute behind that forecast said the recent pickup in vaccinations has a lot to do with it. And here is another positive trend. The average number of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S., cases, that is, dropping dramatically. CNN's Natasha Chen reports.
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NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. is now averaging under 100,000 new coronavirus cases per day. The seven-day moving average hasn't dropped this low since Election Day. And more than 48 million doses of the vaccine have been administered.
But the daily death count is still bleak. In the meantime, new details surrounding a report out of New York could spell trouble for Governor Cuomo. The state's attorney general said, in late January, New York's Department of Health undercounted the deaths in nursing homes by about 50 percent.
On a call with lawmakers, the governor's top aide says the administration delayed the release of data on COVID-19 deaths of long- term care facility residents because of concerns about a potential federal investigation; 14 state senators are calling for Governor Andrew Cuomo's emergency powers to be repealed.
ROSEMARY MORRISSEY, DAUGHTER OF COVID-19 VICTIMS: And here is a picture of my mom and dad.
CHEN (voice-over): And people like Rosemary Morrissey (ph), who lost a parent in a nursing home to COVID-19, are angry.
MORRISSEY: I think we have been lied to since day one. And it is very upsetting because a lot of us have lost our loved ones and we can't even have confidence in our government to be telling us the truth.
CHEN (voice-over): Meanwhile, the federal government is now telling school districts how to reopen safely. The CDC's guidance includes color coding the level of transmission in the community, suggesting that, in high or red transmission areas, middle and high school students learn virtually and elementary students have a hybrid model or reduced in-person attendance. But according to CNN analysis of federal data, about 99 percent of
children in the U.S. live in a county that would be considered a red zone. The president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers said they're encouraged by the CDC guidelines because it recognizes the need for a multi-layered approach.
The CDC says safe in-person learning can happen with extensive safety protocols, such as learning pods, along with quarantining and contact tracing. But the guidance does not require all teachers to be vaccinated.
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: Really, what we're trying to do is make sure that there is limited to no transmission in the schools and we believe, with the strategies that we have -- we have put forward, that there will be limited to no transmission in the schools if they are followed. CHEN (voice-over): Natasha Chen, CNN, Atlanta.
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HOLMES: And this just coming in to us here at CNN. New Zealand's prime minister just announced a three-day lockdown in the most populous city, Auckland. On Saturday a, family of three from a South Auckland household were reported having contracted coronavirus.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is asking all residents to stay home unless they need to go out for something essential. Students being asked not to go to school. New Zealand has been largely successful in containing the virus since the pandemic began.
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HOLMES: Now Lebanon has received its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines. The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine arrived Saturday evening. The vaccination campaign beginning Sunday. And our senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is right there on the spot in Beirut.
Obviously good news; these vaccines have arrived. But given the nature and politics of society in Lebanon, how to make sure it is all, you know, equitable in distribution.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we did hear from the vice president of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa, who tweeted there should be, in the process of this campaign of vaccinations here in Lebanon, that there should be what is called, he said, nowesta (ph), meaning connections here in Lebanon.
We did hear the caretaker Lebanese health minister, last night say when the vaccines arrived that the vaccines would be administered on the basis of priority and need, not in terms of sectarian background or anything like that.
So certainly the World Bank, which is financing these vaccines, is keen to make sure that it goes ahead smoothly. Now we are right now at the university hospital which is the main hospital treating COVID patients, where the first vaccine will be administered shortly to the caretaker prime minister of Lebanon, Hassan Diab.
After that, 90 of the staff of the hospital will be vaccinated. This will be the first vaccinations in Lebanon, keeping in mind, of course, that the -- we're well more than two months late after the first vaccine was administered in the U.K. on the 8th of December.
And, Michael, right here is Hamad Hassan, the caretaker health minister, who is going in right now to watch this process take place -- Michael.
HOLMES: That's good timing there. Generally speaking, I mean you live there and work there.
How do the Lebanese people feel their government has handled the virus overall?
WEDEMAN: Well, you know, you can barely call what we have here a government, given that this is a caretaker government. The government itself resigned back in August after that horrific port blast here in Beirut.
Nonetheless, initially, you know, the first case here was recorded on the 21st of February and, for several months, it did seem that Lebanon was handling the pandemic relatively well.
However, there have been a series of catastrophes and missteps that have really sent the numbers skyrocketing. First, there was that 4th of August Beirut port blast, in which everybody sort of threw caution to the wind, given the scale of destruction and death that happened as a result of that blast.
And then what happened over Christmas was that the government, under pressure from sort of the entertainment industry here, agreed to reopen bars, restaurants, discos and night clubs.
And that really started what was a spiraling increase in the number of COVID cases so that, as of yesterday, there were 336,992 recorded COVID cases in Lebanon, which doesn't seem like a large number compared to the United States, for instance.
But keep in mind the population here is just around somewhere between 6 million and 7 million people. So that's a huge number. At this point, people are fairly unhappy with how the government has handled this pandemic -- Michael.
HOLMES: All right. There on the spot for us, Ben Wedeman in Beirut. Appreciate that.
Now coming up on the program, more on the Trump impeachment trial. We will -- will seven prove to be an unlucky number after some Republicans broke from the party to vote against Donald Trump?
We will be right back.
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REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD), LEAD IMPEACHMENT MANAGER: I think, in the eyes of the entire world and the country, we overwhelmingly proved the facts of the case.
You got to talk to, you know, the 43 senators, who are basically saying no amount of facts would have made any difference to them because they didn't think that the president was subject to the jurisdiction of the Senate.
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HOLMES: Impassioned reaction from the top Democratic impeachment manager there after former president Donald Trump was acquitted of inciting last month's deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. Let's bring you up to speed on that story now.
The final tally in the Senate on Saturday was 57 to 43 in favor of convicting president Donald Trump, a majority. But still they needed a super majority, two-thirds. They were 10 votes short.
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LEAHY: It is therefore ordered and adjudged that the said Donald John Trump be and is hereby acquitted of the charge in said article.
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HOLMES: Now seven Republicans crossed party lines to vote guilty with Democrats. That is a significant increase from Trump's first impeachment trial, when Mitt Romney was the only Republican who break ranks.
Analysts say another difference this time is that GOP senators were not rushing in to defend president Trump. Many criticized his behavior during the Capitol incursion in pretty strong language sometimes and claiming they just didn't believe they had the constitutional authority to convict. Democrats were unconvinced and unimpressed.
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SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MAJORITY LEADER: This trial wasn't about choosing country over party, even not that. This was about choosing country over Donald Trump. And 43 Republican members chose Trump. They chose Trump.
MCCONNELL: Former president Trump's actions preceded the riot for a disgraceful, disgraceful dereliction of duty. We have no power to convict and disqualify a former office holder, who
is now a private citizen.
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HOLMES: President Biden has responded to the verdict, saying this, quote, "This sad chapter in our history has reminded us that democracy is fragile, that it must always be defended, that we must be ever vigilant, that violence and extremism has no place in America and that each of us has a duty and responsibility as Americans and especially as leaders to defend the truth and to defeat the lies."
Republican strategist Pete Seat joins me now. He's also the former White House deputy assistant press secretary under George W. Bush.
Thanks for being with us, Pete.
What, in your view, is the damage done to this party with this acquittal, which is basically a refusal to do something about the president's role in the insurrection, to hold them accountable?
What damage does that do?
PETE SEAT, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: It's a foregone conclusion that former president Trump was going to be acquitted. And I would point to something David Gergen said on this network earlier in the day and that is, the vote in the Senate mirrors almost exactly the polling we were seeing.
Americans were split in almost the exact same percentages as that Senate vote. What was surprising to me was a couple of the senators voting to convict, like Richard Burr from North Carolina and Senator Cassidy from Louisiana. But other than that, it went precisely as expected.
HOLMES: I think out of all of those brave senators, only one of them is running for reelection in 2022, so it was not that brave. They are not up against voters anytime soon and incurring the wrath of the president.
To that point, though, why the fear among senators to go against Donald Trump?
He lost the House, he lost the Senate, he lost the White House, his popularity has gone down since leaving office. A lot of Republicans are leaving the party.
Why is there the fealty to him?
SEAT: There is two ways to answer this question. One is you've got the constitutionality of the proceedings that took place; 45 United States senators and scores of legal experts did not believe this process was constitutional. Secondly, you have constituents -- and a lot of these senators, I
can't speak to their motives, on how they voted, but you look at their residencies and the states they come from and they have constituents who have stood by former president Trump through thick and thin.
Many of these senators said that his refusal to concede the election and his comments made on January 6th were unbecoming of a sitting United States president. But they saw this as an unconstitutional exercise and they voted accordingly.
HOLMES: The Senate held the vote on that and it was decided it was constitutional, which kind of weakens that argument.
In terms of standing by the president, he's not the president anymore.
What are the risks to the party going forward, maintaining that fealty to one man, especially now that he's out of office?
Isn't that a pretty extraordinary, eggs in one basket situation for the party?
SEAT: We need to be careful not to fall into the trap of the cult of personality. Democrats have had their problems with cult of personality in the past. We are in the midst of one right now nationally, at the federal level.
Republicans are struggling with that. I think, moving forward, we have to recognize that Donald Trump was successful in 2016, he was successful in getting a Republican majority in the Senate in 2018 but he was unsuccessful in 2020.
And that's largely because people were turned off by his personality and some of his antics, particularly on social media. But Republicans on the ballot still did better than expected, better than the prognosticators predicted.
Voters were able to separate Republican policies, traditional Republican policies, from a personality they did not like.
Having said that, moving forward, we still need to couple that passion and energy that trump supporters brought to the party with the traditional policies working in state capitals across this country to advance the conservative movement forward.
HOLMES: To the point you just made with the election, Republicans did do well down ballot. The president did not, which brings me back to this point again of why do they seem so afraid of him?
He lost and there is that hardcore base but it's not a big enough base to win an election, as we have seen.
So why stick with him at all?
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HOLMES: Why not take this opportunity to move past the Trump party? SEAT: You know, politics is interesting. We have a very perverse incentive structure in how we incentivize behavior in the part of political officials. Criminals get more strikes than politicians it seems. Criminals get three strikes before they are out, politicians get a single strike before they are out.
But when some of these Republican senators support Donald Trump, they hear cheers from their constituents. They are incentivized by that support and that positive outcry that they are getting.
But to your point, we do need to move away from that cult of personality. I think we would be best served if former president Trump took a back seat. He should still be involved behind the scenes. President Bush is still involved behind the scenes, his father before he passed away was still involved behind the scenes.
But having Donald Trump front and center will not help a party that needs to turn to page not just for one presidency to the next candidacies to come, in 2024 but turn the page generationally and start reaching out to younger Americans to ensure the party can thrive for years to come.
HOLMES: Pete Seat, thanks so much. Really appreciate your time.
SEAT: Thank you.
HOLMES: Now when we come back, Myanmar's military leaders are making it easier for themselves to crack down on protesters. We will tell you how when we come back.
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HOLMES: Tens of thousands of protesters marching in Myanmar for the ninth straight day. Military leaders are losing their patience for the acts of civil disobedience and they're now suspending laws that require court orders to detain people for longer than 24 hours and making it easier for themselves to search private property without a warrant.
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HOLMES: Ivan Watson tracking all of this live for us from Hong Kong.
I mean some extraordinary measures to clamp down even further on the people.
I'm wondering whether the Burmese people have heard much directly from the military, those who actually carried out the coup?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the military has been issuing warnings and admonishing the public, telling people, for instance, who have been striking from work, doctors, for example, to please go back to work and issuing these statements on military-owned and military-backed TV, state television, while some of the independent TV channels are still being barred from broadcasting.
Interestingly, issuing some of these statements to the public on Facebook, which the military junta has banned, as well as Instagram and Twitter, which seems to be a bit of a contradiction.
And it has been issuing decrees -- now, recall that, during the military coup on February 1st, that the military announced that there would be a year of emergency rule.
So presumably that's the justification for its recent announcement, that it will be suspending laws that prohibit the security forces from entering people's homes, for example, to search them or detaining people for maximum of 24 hours.
So it is giving itself more authority to crack down on people, as this street protest movement continues to gain steam.
Nine straight days of protests during the day in cities and towns across Myanmar, the banging of pots and pans at night as well, calls for boycotts of goods produced by companies that are owned by the military, which has an enormous presence in Myanmar's economy.
And just this ongoing test of wills that is taking place. The authorities have been arresting hundreds of people, largely at night. And now we're hearing reports, Michael, that neighborhoods are organizing night patrols to protect their neighborhoods at night from these types of arrests -- Michael.
HOLMES: Worrying developments. Ivan Watson, following these events for us in Hong Kong, thanks, Ivan.
Now France's sweetheart visa seemed fitting for a country with such a reputation for romance, helping couples slip through travel restrictions. But this Valentine's Day won't turn out the way many had hoped. We will explain when we come back.
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HOLMES: Even though the number of new COVID cases in the U.S. is heading downward, there are, of course, plenty of challenges left. California expanding the list of those who qualify for a coronavirus shot while facing a vaccine shortage as CNN's Paul Vercammen explains.
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PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The major development in California is expanding the vaccine list. On March 15, people with serious health conditions will be added to the list. That would include someone, for example, who's been an organ transit recipient or have severe heart issues or pregnant women, who will be added to that list on March 15th.
But what do you do when the vaccine distribution has been so scattershot?
Look at Dodger Stadium this weekend. This is a major vaccine site in Los Angeles. It is shut down. They don't expect to get up and running until Tuesday or Wednesday. And this is all because of this vaccine shortage that the mayor Garcetti has called uneven and unacceptable.
There is a glimmer of hope: Cal State Los Angeles. This is one of President Joe Biden's 100 new federal supersites they expect to open here on Tuesday.
This is a joint effort between FEMA and California Department of Emergency Services as well as the U.S. Army. They expect to vaccinate some 6,000 people a day. That is seven days a week and members of the Army are so happy that they're able to help fellow Americans.
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SGT. RYAN CATES, U.S. ARMY: We're just proud and happy to be able to support this hugely incredible, this hugely important mission. The DOD does not get to do a lot of direct support missions to help Americans on a regular basis. So we're just really proud to be here.
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VERCAMMEN: This vaccine site is in hardhit east Los Angeles. This Latino community has been ravaged by COVID, so this will be both a drive-through site as well as a walk-up site.
It's extremely close to an important metro hub as well as a bus station hub, so they think that many people who could not drive to the site will be able to walk up and get their important COVID-19 vaccination shots -- reporting from Los Angeles, I'm Paul Vercammen. Now back to you.
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HOLMES: Some countries have been offering so-called sweetheart visas, waivers that let binational couples escape coronavirus travel restrictions. France was one of those countries until it decided to put it on hold. Cyril Vanier is in Paris.
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CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Strolling through Paris hand in hand. To make this dream come true, Beatrice and Jackson had to move mountains.
Rewind just a few hours. Paris International Airport. Beatrice staring at the arrivals board. She's a pharmacist in France. He's an opera singer in Philadelphia, a very much in love but unmarried binational couple. When Europe and the U.S. closed their borders almost a year ago, they
were stuck continents apart until the French government agreed that, in the words of one activist group, "love is not tourism," creating a special laissez-passer, AKA a sweetheart visa.
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ROBERT PROSKY, ACTOR, "BRONTE'S LAWYER": They're going to want to know the color of each other's toothbrush.
[02:55:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does he like to eat, I don't know, does he snore?
GERARD DEPARDIEU, ACTOR, "GEORGES": Height, 5'7"
ANDIE MACDOWELL, ACTOR, "BRONTE": 5'8".
"GEORGES": Eyes?
"BRONTE": Brown.
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VANIER (voice-over): Like Gerard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell in "Green Card," Beatrice and Jackson had to prove their love.
JACKSON WILLIAMS, SWEETHEART VISA RECIPIENT: The history of our relationship, from when we met to now and everything we've done in between.
BEATRICE VAYLEUX, SWEETHEART VISA RECIPIENT: It's a selfie; one page further --
VANIER (voice-over): Letters, pictures, passport stamps, until Jackson was granted a travel exemption.
VAYLEUX: Love is powerful (ph).
VANIER: But love isn't always powerful enough. France has now suspended the laissez-passer that brought Beatrice and Jackson together because of deteriorating COVID numbers. And the pandemic is keeping plenty of binational couples separated.
Their plans for marriage or family put on hold indefinitely.
Shems and Aisha, another Franco-American couple, haven't seen each other for over six months.
AISHA CLARK, SEPARATED FIANCEE: There is no going out with your partner. There is no coming home to somebody. Like I'm just alone. Like the epitome of loneliness.
VANIER: You can't be there for her?
SHEMS ZEGGAI, SEPARATED FIANCEE: No. That's killing me.
VANIER (voice-over): Well before the pandemic, they applied for a fiancee visa to the United States. But COVID-19 slowed everything down and because, they're not married yet, Shems isn't exempt from U.S. coronavirus travel restrictions.
ZEGGAI: The way there is no law, a law which accommodate (ph). Journalists can come, like sport players can come.
Why me, I cannot come to see my fiancee?
What is more essential than that?
VANIER (voice-over): They're confident they will eventually be together again.
But when?
And around the world, how many other long distance couples might throw in the towel under the strain of the pandemic? -- Cyril Vanier, CNN, Paris.
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HOLMES: I'm Michael Holmes. Thanks for spending part of your day with me. Robyn Curnow will be with you after a short break.
