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Trump Acquitted in Historic Second Impeachment Trial; McConnell Makes Case for Convicting Trump after Voting to Acquit; U.K. Imposing Hotel Quarantine for Travelers from Hot Spots; Analysis: Trump Responsible for Capitol Violence; Biden Says Democracy Must Always Be Defended; Myanmar Military Threatens Arrests; Quake Rattles Japan. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired February 14, 2021 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hi, welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Robyn Curnow. Thanks for joining me.
Coming up, Donald Trump acquitted in his second impeachment trial.
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SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: President Trump is practically and morally responsible.
REP. STACEY PLASKETT (D-VI), HOUSE IMPEACHMENT MANAGER: I think that we proved that he is, in fact, an inciter in chief.
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CURNOW: Now comes the fallout. What the former president may plan for Republicans who voted against him, even though this could just be the start of his legal problems.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Robyn Curnow.
CURNOW: Reaction to Donald Trump being acquitted in his second impeachment trial is coming in fast and, at times, furious. You'll remember he was accused of inciting last month's deadly siege on the U.S. Capitol.
A majority, 57 senators, voted against him. But it wasn't enough to reach the required two-thirds majority.
U.S. President Joe Biden has weighed in saying, quote, "While the final vote did not lead to a conviction, the substance of the charge is not in dispute. Even those opposed to the conviction, like Senate minority leader Mitch 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."
Key House Democrats were less diplomatic, take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: But what we saw in that Senate today was a cowardly group of Republicans, who apparently have no conscience, because they were afraid to defend their job, respect the institution in which they serve.
PLASKETT: I think all of the impeachment managers as a team made the decision that we were presenting this case to 100 senators, as well as to the American people.
As you heard from Mitch McConnell's own speech, he said the House managers proved the facts. They proved the facts of the case. And he even pointed to the events leading up to that insurrection and the fact that we made that case.
They have looked for an excuse as to why to not to hold the president accountable. And for that they're going to have to answer. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: So that evidence was enough to persuade seven Republican senators to break ranks and vote to convict. Senators Bill Cassidy and Susan Collins explained why.
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SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): Rather than defend the constitutional transfer of power, he incited an insurrection with the purpose of preventing that transfer of power.
SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): Our Constitution and our country is more important than any one person. I voted to convict president Trump because he is guilty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: So acquittal may not be the end of the story for Donald Trump. Even Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell strongly suggested the former president could yet face criminal or civil charges. Now Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal put it this way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): I thought he should face prosecution for his obstruction of justice as, in effect, recommended by the Mueller report. We need accountability in the way we govern here.
Democracy had a very close call when those rioters assaulted our democracy simply to overthrow the election and retain power for Donald Trump, which was his goal.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CURNOW: The final vote came after some debate over whether to call witnesses. Ryan Nobles has more on how everything played out on a dramatic and sometimes chaotic day in the U.S. Senate -- Ryan.
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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.
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NOBLES (voice-over): 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.
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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CURNOW: Donald Trump responded quickly after that Senate vote. In a statement, he thanked lawyers, lawmakers, who he said, quote, "stood proudly for the Constitution."
Boris Sanchez is in West Palm Beach, Florida, with more on Mr. Trump's reaction to the trial.
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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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: As Boris mentioned there, how Trump may have his sights set on those Republican senators who voted against him. But some are more secure than others, at least for now. Let's take a look at this. Only Lisa Murkowski is up for re-election in 2022.
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CURNOW: Richard Burr and Pat Toomey don't plan to run again. Mitt Romney isn't up for re-election until 2024. Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins and Ben Sasse are set through to 2026.
Though he was acquitted, Mr. Trump still faces a mountain of legal challenges. Here's Kara Scannell with a closer look at that.
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KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With his second impeachment acquittal behind him, former president Donald Trump's attention is now turning to a growing list of legal problems. The most serious are the criminal investigations.
In Georgia, the Fulton County district attorney is investigating Trump's efforts to overturn the election, including the phone call, where Trump told Georgia's secretary of state to find the votes to swing the election in his favor.
In New York, the Manhattan district attorney's office is conducting a broad investigation and looking into whether any lenders were misled or any tax laws were broken.
The former president has also privately voiced concerns that he could be charged in connection with the insurrection. The Justice Department has already charged more than 200 people relating to the riot. While those investigations could threaten his freedom, Trump also
faces a number of investigations and lawsuits that could threaten him financially.
The New York attorney general has a civil investigation into the Trump Organization's finances and the D.C. attorney general has sued the Trump Organization, alleging it misused funds raised for his inauguration.
The former president also faces two defamation lawsuits for denying claims by two women who say he sexually assaulted them. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in all these investigations and cases.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Joining me now from Los Angeles, political analyst Michael Genovese, author of "How Trump Governs."
Michael, thank you very much for joining us.
My first question to you after this week, after Saturday, was Mr. Trump vindicated?
Who are the winners here?
MICHAEL GENOVESE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Vindicated, no. This is his second impeachment. He clearly is diminished and disgraced. And while he wasn't convicted, in both cases of impeachment, a majority of senators voted for impeachment -- did not pass the very high two- thirds bar.
So his brand is toxic. He will have ongoing legal problems, financial problems and political problems going forward. So if anything, Donald Trump is in a terrible position going from here forward.
CURNOW: Why then, if his brand is toxic, why did many Republicans vote to give him political cover?
They clearly see him as somebody who still needs -- who is still important in their political future, particularly with the midterms coming up. They made a calculated political decision that he wasn't toxic enough to impeach.
GENOVESE: That's right, Robyn. He's still the guy in the Republican Party. And I think, to answer the question why, you have to go back to Niccolo Machiavelli and his great book, "The Prince."
He asked the question of the prince, is it better for the prince to be loved or feared? The answer Machiavelli gave is feared. And Donald Trump is feared. He controls a huge chunk of the Republican base. Without Donald Trump's blessing, it's going to be very hard for any major figure in the party to move very far ahead.
So Donald Trump still has clout. And in 2024, right around the corner, and the question is, will Donald Trump be their rival? Will he be their banker?
Will he be their kingmaker?
Will he be an albatross around their necks?
It could be any of those things but clearly he's still managing the Republican Party and there's a huge chunk of Republicans who still think very, very highly of him.
CURNOW: What then do you make of the political bravery, the political courage, shown by some Republicans, who went against the grain here?
GENOVESE: There were seven Republicans who voted to convict. A couple of them are not going to run for re-election. Others seem to have a fairly solid place in their state.
But I think the real measure of what went on was Mitch McConnell, the minority leader in the Senate. Mitch McConnell, after the vote, gave a magnificent speech, condemning everything Donald Trump had done, laying it all on his shoulders. It was powerful, it was real, it was right to the point.
And then he said, of course, I voted against convicting because. It was because of a triviality. Donald Trump still pulls the strings and they're in his pockets.
CURNOW: Nancy Pelosi didn't think much of that. She called Mitch McConnell pathetic. Many Democrats will say that was a pretty hypocritical moment from him.
What do you say to that?
GENOVESE: It's hard to walk upright when you have no backbone.
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GENOVESE: And Donald Trump has brought that out in a lot of Republicans. And I say that with no great glee, to say so many Republicans are so spineless. But they're scared to death of Donald Trump. They have reason to be scared. He still has a lot of power within the base of the party.
CURNOW: Let's talk about some of the breakout stars, in particular, the House managers. There were some folks who, at the beginning of the week, not many people in America or the world had heard of. By today they certainly have solidified quite a reputation for themselves, quite a formidable reputation.
Who do you think really impressed?
GENOVESE: Raskin, the head manager, was unbelievably clear, to the point. And he humanized his commentary by making analogies and references that people, everyday people, would understand.
You can get easily mired in the complexity of the convoluted law that some of them were talking about. He brought it right home with analogies that people would understand about, when someone sets a fire, blah, blah, blah.
Raskin probably was the star of the show. But there were so many Democrats who did well.
Compare this to the first impeachment, where they had bigger names, the Democrats, as House managers but didn't do quite as good a job. These Democrats proved beyond a doubt their case, as Mitch McConnell admitted. And so I think they comported themselves very well.
It was a pyrrhic victory, if anything, because they had two chances to convict Donald Trump and couldn't make the case, either. A very high bar, as it should be. But we must never lose sight of the fact that people died.
As Mitch McConnell said, as Liz Cheney, number three in the House, said, Donald Trump called them to Washington, he gave them instructions, they followed his instructions. People died.
CURNOW: Michael Genovese, always good to speak to you to get your political expertise, thanks so much.
GENOVESE: Thank you, Robyn.
CURNOW: And we'll have much more on today's historic impeachment vote. Still ahead, the curious case of Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who voted to acquit but left no doubt he holds Trump responsible for the insurrection.
Plus the latest on the epidemic with even some reasons to be optimistic here in the U.S.
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REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD), LEAD IMPEACHMENT MANAGER: Trump stormed our House with the mob he incited and we defended our House. And he violated our Constitution and we defended the Constitution. And they tried to trash our democracy and we revived it and we protected it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: House impeachment managers defending their handling of Donald Trump's second impeachment trial after he was acquitted. A majority of senators voted to convict Trump for last month's deadly riot. But the final tally fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for conviction.
Still ahead this hour, a psychologist explains the mob mentality behind the Capitol siege.
We are seeing some encouraging signs when it comes to the coronavirus here in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Saturday that more than 50 million vaccine doses have been administered so far.
That's about 2 million more doses compared to the previous day. And there is another positive trend. The average number of new COVID cases in the U.S. is dropping dramatically, as 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Starting Monday, travelers to the U.K. from a so-called red list of countries will be required to quarantine at a hotel for 10 days.
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CURNOW: It's all part of a new effort to stop coronavirus variants from entering the U.K. from 33 countries considered high-risk. But officials at Heathrow say the U.K.'s government quarantine policy is not yet ready and they are expressing concerns.
Let's go to London. Phil Black is standing by with more on that.
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The implementation of this policy has been a little bumpy already. It has been much criticized for being too late, too slow, not strict enough, not having learned the lessons of the Australian system, which has been in place for the better part of the last year or so, not being concerned enough for the safety of passengers and staff.
Now you have this very pointed statement from the country's biggest airport, just days before the policy is due to come into force. Heathrow Airport says that there are significant gaps in the plan still, that it has not received the necessary assurances from government.
And it says the government must ensure that there are protocols in place at every stage to ensure that passengers are transported safely from planes to hotels. That implies that those protocols are not yet in place.
The government doesn't deny there are issues; it says it is working through them closely with airports and hotels. It says that safety is a priority. But at this late stage, with the plan due to come into force in about 24 hours' time, it does appear to be a scramble.
And why now?
As you touched on, they're doing this to try and safeguard the hard work that's been put in through lockdown, through rolling out the vaccine, the progress and the hope that's been created through those policies because there is a fear that a variant could be imported and undermine all of that hard work.
CURNOW: Phil Black, thanks very much for that live in London. In a few hours, New Zealand's most populous city, Auckland, will go on
a three-day lockdown. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made the announcement after a family of three in South Auckland tested positive for the coronavirus.
The lockdown will begin just before midnight and last through late Wednesday evening. Ardern is asking residents to only go out if necessary. She's also asking children be kept home from school. New Zealand has been largely successful in containing COVID since the start of the pandemic.
Still to come on CNN, Donald Trump's second impeachment trial is over.
But what does that mean?
Is he in the clear?
We'll ask that question. Some legal minds say perhaps not. The cases Trump could still be facing down the road.
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CURNOW: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Robyn Curnow. You are watching CNN. It's 30 minutes past the hour.
Donald Trump may have been acquitted of inciting the deadly violence at the U.S. Capitol last month but the political fallout from the former U.S. president's second impeachment trial will likely be long- lasting. That's especially true for Trump's party.
Seven Republican senators voted with Democrats to convict. One of them, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, has already been censured by his state's Republican Party. But the acquittal does not mean Mr. Trump is in the clear, even though Senate Republican Mitch McConnell voted not to convict.
He strongly suggested the U.S. justice system may have the final word.
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MCCONNELL: Fellow Americans beat and bloodied our own police. They stormed the Senate floor. They tried to hunt down the Speaker of the House. They built a gallows and chanted about murdering the vice president.
They did this because they'd been fed wild falsehoods by the most powerful man on Earth, because he was angry and lost an election. Former president Trump's actions preceded the riot, were a disgraceful, disgraceful dereliction of duty. President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in
office as an ordinary citizen. Unless the statute of limitations is run, still liable for everything he did while he's in office. Didn't get away with anything yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: More than 200 people have been charged so far in the January 6th insurrection. There is ample video evidence they believed they were doing Trump's bidding that day, take a listen.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump asked everybody to go home. He just said it, he just put out a tweet, it's a minute long. He asked everybody to go home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do you think so?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because we won the day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did we win?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sending a message to the senators and congressmen, by sending a message to Pence, that if they don't do as they -- as is their oath to do, if they don't uphold the Constitution, we will remove them from office one way or another.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: Catherine Sanderson is a professor and chair of psychology at Amherst College and joins me from Hadley, Massachusetts. She's also author of "Why We Act: Turning Bystanders into Moral Rebels."
What is interesting, in times like this, it is tempting to blame this kind of violence on bad people. Mitch McConnell in many ways kind of did that.
But why would middle-aged, middle class Americans look to lynch the vice president, for example?
I want to get your take on the other side.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hang Mike Pence. Hang Mike Pence. Hang Mike Pence. Hang Mike Pence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CURNOW: They're saying hang Mike Pence.
What struck you about this mob and the makeup of it compared to other extremist groups? CATHERINE SANDERSON, AMHERST COLLEGE: As you noted, it's easy to make the assumption that bad people do bad things. But the reality is that perfectly good people can do bad things when they are in particular situations.
And the events in Washington on January 6th had all of the markings of what we know in psychology we know, lead people, especially in group settings, to behave really poorly.
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CURNOW: And what were those markings?
SANDERSON: One, we have a group setting. There is lots of evidence throughout history that many people in groups get sort of caught up in what we call a mob mentality. And they do and say things that they would never dream of doing if they're alone.
Another key factor is when people feel hidden in some ways, when they are wearing costumes, when they are wearing hoods, when they are wearing masks, when they are wearing clothing that leads them to feel connected to the group.
Many people in that mob scene were wearing clothes that indicated their support for the QAnon philosophy or for Trump in particular. And that all makes people feel like they are acting as part of a group instead of as individuals.
CURNOW: Some of the more shocking video that day was this, the mob beating a policeman.
How do groups of people who didn't know each other in that moment still behave as a mob?
SANDERSON: So people in the Capitol on January 6th believed that they were following orders from the President of the United States to do the right thing, to protect a fraudulent vote that was on the verge of being stolen.
They believed that they were actually on the side of right and, therefore, engaging in violence was justified. They came to believe that over months because of the words of president Trump.
CURNOW: Would the president and his legal defense team be correct in saying that, in that moment, he did not egg them on, that this was instinctive, this was a mob reaction in the moment?
That perhaps he doesn't have liability and that his words were free speech and that he did not say, go and beat a policeman?
SANDERSON: Well, I think there are two really important points there. I think, one, certainly he did not tell them directly, go and assault a police officer and so on. That certainly is true.
That being said, he created all of the momentum, even just hours before that day and, in fact, during the attack, he was not telling his followers, stop. He was saying, you're very special people, we love you. So that, in fact, was egging on the violence, it was perpetuating it.
And the other thing is that president Trump has a particularly profound role in that he's not just another person who's protected by free speech. He's the President of the United States, directing people to carry out his orders, as many of the people at the Capitol feel they were doing.
CURNOW: How likely is it that this could happen again?
Was this a once-off, aberration, or do you feel like the momentum that carried that set of people can easily be replicated in another moment, in another time, in the future?
SANDERSON: I wish it were as simple as one time. And I wish it were as simple as saying, well, you know, Twitter cut off his access to his followers. But, no, sadly, I believe the same circumstances have occurred in the past and could well occur again.
CURNOW: I think many Americans are trying to understand what happened in that moment. No matter what side of the political spectrum you are, certainly something that struck a chord, it was historic.
As you try and understand the impetus and these people as they took to the Capitol, there has been some research that, even though they were middle class and many of them had jobs, there was some research, I understand, that many of them might have had financial problems.
Why would that have sparked those violent moments?
SANDERSON: There's a large body of research in psychology that looks at the link between frustration and aggression. And the reality is that, in all different kinds of circumstances, people who are feeling frustrated about their life circumstance and feeling financial pressure, getting fired, bankruptcy, and so on, is exactly the kind trigger that can lead people to act out and behave aggressively and violently.
CURNOW: Thank you very much for joining us, really appreciate it, Catherine Sanderson, professor of psychology and expert on mob behavior, thank you very much.
SANDERSON: Thank you.
CURNOW: So President Biden kept pretty quiet during this impeachment trial but he has now responded to the acquittal. CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz has more on 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.
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SAENZ: The president noted that there were a record number, seven Republicans, voting to convict the former president of their own party.
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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CURNOW: Join us this week for a CNN town hall with U.S. President Joe Biden, moderated by Anderson Cooper, that's Tuesday night, 8:00 pm Eastern time, Wednesday morning in Europe and Asia.
Coming up, Myanmar's military leaders are making it easier for themselves to crack down on protesters. We'll tell you how -- that's next.
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CURNOW: Tens of thousands of protesters are marching in Myanmar for the ninth straight day. Military leaders are losing patience for the acts of civil disobedience and now suspending laws that require court orders to detain people for longer than 24 hours, making it easier to search private property.
I want to talk about all of that with Ivan Watson, monitoring these protests and this growing clamp-down by the military dictatorship.
What can you tell us, Ivan?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's the ninth straight day of protests since this military coup basically jailed the democratically elected leaders of the country.
We are hearing from eyewitnesses of thousands of demonstrators right now outside the headquarters of the United Nations in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city.
Some of the calls today are for boycotts of goods produced by companies linked to the military, which holds enormous economic sway in Myanmar. Take a listen to what one protester said about that.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The civil disobedience movement is political pressure on the military and the boycotting of goods is to build business pressure. We believe we have to pressure the military on political, business and social fronts.
So we need political pressure, business pressure and social punishment against the military to defeat them and all three are connected with each other.
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WATSON: It's interesting to note, the white helmets have become kind of a symbol of some of the protesters, not because they're construction workers, we're told that's to provide protection if there are clashes with the police. Not hearing of a substantial police presence by the headquarters of the United Nations in Yangon right now.
The military has been clamping down. There are reports of arrests of hundreds of people in recent days, largely at night.
You've had a statement, a speech, from the new military dictator, the general who declared himself leader of the government after the coup, where he has been urging doctors, for example, to go back to work because there are significant numbers of medical workers who have been striking in protest, urging civil servants to go back to work as well and urging people not to gather in large groups and public places on the grounds of public health, that this could help spread COVID-19, which, of course, Myanmar is struggling with.
And that goes as the military has announced arrest warrants for seven of the purported leaders of the opposition protest movement right now and urged people to turn in these wanted individuals, to go to their nearest police station to turn these people in.
CURNOW: At some point, it's been difficult to get information and pictures and details out; other times, it isn't.
How is the military trying to articulate its message domestically and, also importantly, how are independent voices and journalists getting their message out?
WATSON: This is the battle of the narratives. After all, the military, it staged the coup because it didn't agree with the results of a popular election in November that its proxies largely got clobbered at the polls.
So to overturn the election results, it jailed, essentially, the winners of the election. And so independent television channels have basically been turned off since February 1st, the coup.
The state-run and military-backed TV channels and publications are still allowed to broadcast and publish. For example, a state-run newspaper a couple of days ago published an article without any mention of the anti-coup protests, instead arguing that there are large protests supporting the military right now.
Last weekend, the internet was turned off for about 48 hours. Now it's back on, though slower, people say. And the military has banned Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, though somewhat of a contradiction; the military continues to put out statements to the public on its own Facebook page.
CURNOW: All right. So that's certainly the battle for the narrative, also people taking to the streets. You'll continue to monitor that, bring us any more information if you have any, Ivan Watson live in, thank you.
Coming up on CNN, severe winter weather threatening much of the U.S.
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CURNOW: Why we could be looking at one of the worst ice storms in decades. That story next.
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CURNOW (voice-over): You're looking at terrifying images here from a Japanese hotel as a powerful earthquake strikes. The 7.1 magnitude quake hit Saturday off the coast of Fukushima prefecture. Japan says it's an aftershock of the deadly 9.0 earthquake that devastated the country nearly 10 years ago.
We are just weeks away from that March anniversary. The massive quake triggered a tsunami and led to a nuclear disaster. Three reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant suffered meltdowns. Over 100,000 people were evacuated, around 20,000 people died or went missing in the quake and the tsunami.
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CURNOW: Winter storms stretching from coast to coast in the U.S. are impacting more than 100 million people here in America and they're already proving deadly.
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CURNOW: That wraps this hour of CNN. Thanks to you all for watching. I'm Robyn Curnow. The news continues with Kim Brunhuber after this short break.
