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Trump Acquitted In Historic Second Impeachment Trial; McConnell Makes Case For Convicting Trump After Voting To Acquit; U.S. Now Averaging Under 100,000 New Daily COVID-19 Cases; U.K. Imposing Hotel Quarantine For Travelers From Hot Spots; Trump Facing Multiple Criminal And Civil Investigations; Myanmar Military Threatens Arrests; Quake Rattles Japan; France Halts "Sweetheart Visa" For Unmarried Couples. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired February 14, 2021 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT): The yeas are 57, the nays are 43.
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Donald Trump acquitted once again. Now comes the fallout, the former president indicating he will target Republican senators who voted against him.
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SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it.
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): But even the Senate's lead Republican warns, Trump could face more legal troubles.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Live from CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, welcome to all of you watching in United States United States, Canada and around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber, this is CNN NEWSROOM.
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BRUNHUBER: Reaction to Donald Trump's acquittal in his second impeachment trial is coming in fast and, at times, furious. He was accused of inciting last month's deadly siege on the U.S. Capitol and a majority, 57 senators, voted against him.
But it wasn't enough to reach the required two-thirds majority. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blasted the Republicans for cowardice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: Oh, these cowardly senators, who couldn't face up to what the president did and what was at stake for our country, are now going to have a chance to give a little slap on the wrist.
We censure people for using stationery for the wrong purpose. We don't censure people for inciting insurrection that kills people in the Capitol.
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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. And senator McConnell just conceded that. That wasn't the issue.
And you've got to talk to the -- 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. That was the argument you just heard Mitch McConnell make.
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BRUNHUBER: Now the facts of the impeachment case were 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.
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BRUNHUBER: Now 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.
The final vote came after some debate over whether to call witnesses. CNN's Ryan Nobles has more on how everything played out on a dramatic and sometimes chaotic day in the U.S. Senate.
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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, 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.
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RASKIN: 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), SENATE 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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BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump responded quickly after the Senate vote. In a statement he thanked lawmakers, who he said, quote, "stood proudly for the Constitution." Boris Sanchez is in West Palm Beach, Florida, with more on 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.
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BRUNHUBER: California Democrat Eric Swalwell was one of nine House members who served on the prosecution team in the Senate trial. He tells CNN he can't explain why 43 Republicans didn't convict Donald Trump, even though many were bothered by his actions.
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REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA), MEMBER, INTELLIGENCE AND JUDICIARY COMMITTEES: We proved to 57 bipartisan senators and the court of public opinion Donald Trump guilty of the greatest crime ever against our Constitution.
And as someone who stood in that room and presented to those senators, the number of senators who said guilty today did not match the number of senators I watched over days, who were concerned and moved and bothered by what Donald Trump did.
I can't explain why they could not find the will to say guilty. But I think the American people forever know just who Donald Trump is and what he did not do when we needed him.
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BRUNHUBER: Let's bring in Amy Pope, an associate fellow at Chatham House in London.
Thanks so much for joining us. I want to start with the Republican seven, who voted to convict.
Did they show real courage or was their heroism mitigated by the fact that most either aren't running again or aren't up for reelection for many years here?
AMY POPE, ASSOCIATE FELLOW, CHATHAM HOUSE: I wouldn't say that their heroism is mitigated. They are still taking a risk and they are still certainly incurring the ire of Donald Trump and some of his supporters. We all know that that can be quite significant.
But really the question is why weren't there more?
Of course, the key issue for the senators was not whether or not there was sufficient evidence to convict Donald Trump here; it was what is the impact on their political career ultimately. And you saw really that they just couldn't bring themselves to risk the future of their own personal political future.
BRUNHUBER: Now let's turn to the Democrats; their decision in the end, after all that back and forth not to call witnesses, some are blasting them for, you know, having let Trump off the hook here. They're wondering what might have been if they had called Pence, McCarthy and so on.
Was that the right call?
POPE: It was always going to be a tension for the majority leader whether to use that time to go after Donald Trump and put on as much evidence as possible or to pivot away from the Donald Trump show and move toward the agenda of the new president.
And ultimately, I think the call was, they are not going to get the result that they want; Americans saw what happened, many, many in real time. They've made up their minds about what the impact of Donald Trump's presidency was and it was not worth the use of more Senate time to make that point.
BRUNHUBER: You mentioned the Donald Trump show.
Could there be another season?
Donald Trump's reaction, writing, in part, "Our historic patriotic and beautiful movement to make America great again has only just begun."
Democratic senator Ed Markey has an idea of what's next. Here he is. Listen to this.
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SEN. EDWARD MARKEY (D-MA): I think there are parties going on all over America tonight, white nationalists, racists, neo-Nazis. The Republicans have given Donald Trump a get out of jail free card for the last four years. And today he cashed it in.
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BRUNHUBER: And then he went on to say, at least now we know what we're going to be dealing with over the next four years, because he is definitely coming back.
So it certainly seems between acquittal, the censure by state Republican parties of anyone who spoke out against Trump, the embracing of Marjorie Taylor Greene, that the extreme will be the mainstream in the Republican Party for the foreseeable future.
So I wanted to ask you, with your background in the U.S. government countering violent extremism, you are the person to ask here, is that fair?
POPE: I think the issue is really encapsulated by Mitch McConnell's statement yesterday, where it was clear that he had come to a point where he could no longer support the president.
But he was making a call that ultimately it would harm his political party if they voted to convict.
But this goes to the heart of why this particular phenomenon is so dangerous. You have members of very, very senior positions within the U.S. Congress, who are effectively saying that this behavior is OK.
And the challenge for the Republican Party moving forward will be to draw a line and make clear that inciting people to violence, acting violently, certainly the siege on the Capitol, all of that is so far beyond the pale that it cannot be tolerated.
But to do so in a way that they can still assuage the concerns of their Republican base and that's a very, very hard line to walk. And you will see the Democrats, I think, pushing the Republicans to try to make that line brighter and push them away from some of their traditional base.
BRUNHUBER: Well, you know, on that, I mean, some are taking what McConnell was saying, in terms of perhaps an invitation for Democrats to pursue a criminal case against Donald Trump, as sort of a way that they can rid themselves of his influence.
But is that a Trojan horse, to kind of saddle the Biden administration with this and then, you know, fundraise on the back of the ensuing outrage from Republican voters?
POPE: It certainly suggests that he's not being completely candid with what he saw during the trial itself or what his responsibilities might be.
And it makes clear that the impeachment process is, first and foremost, a political process. Now the important piece of what he did say is that the prosecution of someone who is now a past president is a very real possibility here.
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POPE: And that should not be a political way forward. In fact, if the Justice Department works, as I think it will under President Biden, decisions about whether to prosecute will not be made within the White House.
They'll be made within the Justice Department, where they really need to be made. Likewise, in terms of any state prosecutions, those will not be governed by federal government politics.
And again, we will be looking, then, at what is the evidence and has the prosecution met its burden of proof, which was not really the case in an impeachment trial.
BRUNHUBER: All right. We will have to leave it there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Amy Pope.
POPE: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: 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. 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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BRUNHUBER: Now that Donald Trump's impeachment trial is over, even though he was acquitted, the Republicans who voted to convict him must now face Trump's angry supporters. That story still ahead.
Plus big concerns about a COVID quarantine measure set to launch Monday in the U.K. We will explain what the problems there are coming up. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Well, there's another glimmer of hope in America's battle against COVID-19. the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says more than 50 million vaccine doses have been administered, that's as of Saturday. And that's about 2 million more doses than the previous day as well.
A new forecast that estimates the number of Americans will lose their lives to the virus by June may be less than previously thought. The estimate has gone down from more than 630,000 to less than 615,000. The institute behind the forecast says the recent pickup in vaccinations has a lot to do with it.
Outside the U.S., Lebanon has just launched its COVID-19 vaccination campaign and, in the U.K., the country's biggest airport is expressing concerns about the government's new hotel quarantine policy right before it's set to take effect. CNN's Ben Wedeman is following the vaccine story from Beirut and Phil Black is covering the U.K. quarantine policy.
Let's start with you, Phil, in London. Worrying reviews from London's Heathrow Airport, saying the quarantine policy isn't ready for opening night.
Why is that?
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're right, Kim. Heathrow is a major partner in making this policy a reality. And now in a statement the weekend before it's supposed to come into effect, Heathrow says there are significant gaps in the plan and it has called on the government to ensure that there are protocols in place at every stage to ensure that passengers are transferred from planes to hotels safely.
It implies that there are points and issues that haven't been covered yet, haven't been dealt with on the very eve that this is happening. And this is a policy that has already had a pretty bumpy road towards implementation.
It has been heavily criticized for being too late, too slow, not strict enough, not learning the lessons of the Australia model. Just toward the end of the week, Thursday, Friday, the website the passengers are supposed to use to book their quarantine stay, that crashed for more than 24 hours.
The government says that it is working to fix issues with hotels, with the airports, that safety is a concern. But there is every sense that this is a last-minute scramble to get this ready just before it kicks in, in around 24 hours' time. Now it is necessary because of the fear that a variant could be
imported via travelers that could undermine the heavy lifting that has been done here through tough lockdown restrictions and through the rollout of the vaccine.
On the vaccine, there is some positive news, at least, with the government expected within the next 24 hours to announce that it has met its first key vaccine target. And that is offering the first dose to the 15 most -- 15 million most vulnerable people across the U.K., including everyone aged over 70 -- Kim.
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BRUNHUBER: All right, at least some good news there. Thanks so much for that.
So Ben, let's go to you now. The vaccination campaign starting now in Lebanon.
What's the latest?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly there's a sense of relief that this vaccination campaign has finally begun, keeping in mind that the first vaccine in the world was in the U.K. on the 8th of December.
Here we are, the 14th of February, Lebanon gets its first vaccinations. We are at the university hospital which is the premier hospital when dealing with COVID. We had a chance to speak with a doctor, who is the head of this hospital. And they've been struggling for quite some time.
And he said it was a great sense of relief that they felt when they finally started these vaccinations. Now what was interesting is that we were told this morning that the first person to be vaccinated would be caretaker prime minister Hassan Diab.
But I had a chance to speak with the prime minister when he was leaving. And he said, no, I didn't take the vaccination because it's not my turn yet, stressing that it's those who desperately need the vaccination who should get it first.
Now what's interesting is that the vice president of the World Bank for Middle East and North Africa -- and that's the institution that is financing Lebanon's vaccination campaign -- tweeted yesterday that, in giving the vaccine to people here in Lebanon, nobody should use any wasta (ph). That in Arabic is the word for connections.
Unfortunately Lebanon is a country where the rich and the powerful tend to jump the queue on everything. So the stress is very much on getting the vaccine to those who need it most, not those who have the money and the power to jump the queue -- Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Absolutely. All right. Thanks so much Ben Wedeman in Beirut and Phil Black in London. New Zealand's prime minister has announced a three-day lockdown in its
most populous city. Auckland. The move comes after three members of one household were confirmed to have coronavirus on Sunday.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is asking all residents to stay home except for essential outings and students shouldn't go to school. New Zealand has been largely successful in containing the virus since the pandemic began.
Still ahead, the perils of voting your conscience in a time of deep partisan divide. For one U.S. Republican senator, voting to convict Donald Trump for inciting a deadly riot brought him swift retribution at home. We will bring that story to you when we come back. Stay with us.
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MCCONNELL: President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it. A mob was assaulting the Capitol in his name. These criminals were carrying his banners. Hanging his flags. And screaming their loyalty to him. It was obvious. But only president Trump could end this. He was the only one who could.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MAJORITY LEADER: My fellow Americans, remember that day, January 6th, forever, the final terrible legacy of the 45th President of the United States and, undoubtedly, our worst. Let it live on in infamy, a stain on Donald John Trump, that can never, never be washed away.
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BRUNHUBER: 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 president's second impeachment trial will probably last a long time.
And that's especially true for Trump's party. Seven Republican senators voted with Democrats to convict. More than 200 people have been charged so far in the January 6th insurrection and Trump's acquittal in the Senate doesn't mean he is in the clear because he could face criminal or civil charges in connection with that day's events.
Let's take a closer look at those seven Republicans who voted to convict the former president. They are Senators Richard Burr, Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, Pat Toomey and Ben Sasse. Noteworthy here, only Murkowski is up for reelection in 2022. Burr and
Toomey don't plan to run again after this term. Romney isn't up for reelection until 2024, while Cassidy, Collins and Sasse are set through 2026.
Cassidy immediately met the wrath of his state's Republican Party, which moved to censure him. Louisiana state senators summed up their frustration.
"There are a lot of Louisianans that are upset, disappointed we elected Senator Cassidy back in November and we overwhelmingly sent him back to D.C., along with president Trump."
Lanhee Chen, a former public policy director for Mitt Romney, joins me now from Mountain View, California.
Thank you so much for being here. So you currently informally advise a number of Senate Republicans on policy issues. So you obviously know some of these senators very well.
What's your reaction to the vote?
LANHEE CHEN, DAVID AND DIANE STEFFY FELLOW IN AMERICAN PUBLIC POLICY STUDIES, HOOVER INSTITUTION: Well, it wasn't a surprising outcome. I think obviously we knew for some time that former president Trump was going to be acquitted. I think the question was how many Republican senators would come over and vote to convict the former president.
And, you know, indeed, I think seven is right about where I thought we would end up. The mix of people may have been in a little bit of mystery until it actually happened. But in terms of the senators we saw come out today here in the U.S., to vote to convict the president of the United States, the senators who did so by and large were senators who we expected would do so, some of whom are retiring from the Senate, leaving the body.
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CHEN: I think that certainly helped their decision and others who are generally regarded to be either more skeptical of former president Trump or have had an outright sort of difficult relationship with him. So the result we saw today is, roughly, I think, what most analysts here in the U.S. thought we would see.
BRUNHUBER: The surprise of the night perhaps was Mitch McConnell, such a full-throated condemnation of Donald Trump. But then, you know, he acquitted him.
So what do you think the strategy behind that was?
CHEN: Well, Kim, I think leader McConnell made clear from the outset that he thought this trial, this effort to try and convict the former president, was unconstitutional. So he had to stick to that point of view.
On the other hand, he's also made clear he's no fan of Donald Trump anymore. He is not somebody who believes that Donald Trump should have a continuing and enduring influence on the Republican Party. His remarks made that very clear.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, but he could have, you know, sent that signal directly by, you know, marshaling the votes. And he could have voted himself to convict. Nothing would have achieved that more directly.
So why wouldn't he take that last step?
CHEN: Well, perhaps. I think it is the case also, though, that he had to bear in mind, first of all, that many of the senators in the Republican conference come from states where Trump remains popular.
And I think he wanted to make sure he didn't put them in a difficult political position but also because I think he, frankly, wanted to be able to express both consistency with his belief that the trial was not constitutional but also express, in a very strong way, which, by the way, a number of the House managers I think applauded him after the fact for basically saying, look, Trump had a central role here.
That cannot be forgotten and, as a result, the Republican Party has to move forward in a different direction.
BRUNHUBER: Let's talk about the future of the Republican Party. You know, some Republicans promised that Donald Trump would learn lessons after the first impeachment. Clearly that was perhaps woefully naive there.
But you know, the only lesson that he is going to learn now from the second impeachment is that he's still firmly in control of the party. You know, Republicans had such a clear-cut chance to cut themselves free of Trump.
Instead, they've kind of tied themselves more tightly to him. You've been a vocal advocate, I guess, that the party has to move away from him.
So what now?
CHEN: Well, the party does have to move away from him. I think that there is no question about that. If the party is going to be successful and, indeed, in the past, if you look at when the conservative movement has been successful, I argue it's been a movement and a party focused on ideas.
What is it going to do when it's in power?
What are the policies it wants to move forward?
I don't think, frankly, that tying the party or any element of the party to Donald Trump is going to be a successful strategy going forward, whether electorally, more broadly, or, frankly, from an ideas perspective. So I do think it's for the party to do that.
I also think it's the case, though, that we ought to sit for a moment and recognize that this really was the most bipartisan vote to convict a president in an impeachment trial in history.
And that tells us that the seven Republicans who crossed over to vote with Democrats to convict the president sends a signal that the Republican Party is not firmly united behind Donald Trump anymore, that there is room for those who believe that the movement has to stand for something more than just Donald Trump.
So I think those, in my mind, those things are encouraging views, encouraging perspectives, as the party tries to craft its way forward.
BRUNHUBER: We will have to leave it there. Thank you so much for your time, Lanhee Chen. We really appreciate it.
CHEN: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: Although he was acquitted, Trump still faces a mountain of legal challenges and without the protections afforded to him in office. CNN's Kara Scannell takes a closer look.
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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.
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SCANNELL: 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.
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BRUNHUBER: Thanks to Kara Scannell for her work there.
Join us this week for a CNN town hall with U.S. President Joe Biden, moderated by Anderson Cooper, Tuesday night at 8:00 pm Eastern time, Wednesday morning in Europe and Asia.
We have much more ahead on CNN NEWSROOM. Nearly two weeks on and people in Myanmar are still resisting the military coup. Protests, signs and marches are all despite the military's efforts to tighten its control. We will have the latest next. Stay with us. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): We're watching mass protesters in Myanmar against the military coup for the ninth consecutive day. These pictures show demonstrations earlier in Yangon. This despite the army in the past 24 hours suspending several laws which put limits on detentions and searches. CNN's Ivan Watson joins me from Hong Kong.
More protests and worrying crackdowns on dissent.
What's the latest there?
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a test of wills we're seeing play out, Kim, between the military dictatorship, which overthrew a civilian democratically elected government on February 1st, declaring a year of emergency rule,, and these anti- protesters.
They are out on the street for the ninth straight days not only in Yangon but in others towns and cities around the country as well.
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WATSON: At some of the demonstrations today in Yangon, we're hearing calls for a boycott of goods produced by companies that are believed to be owned or linked to the military, which has an enormous presence in Myanmar's economy. Take a listen to what one of the protesters had to say to CNN.
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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: Now Kim, at night, typically, you can hear banging of pots and pans, another signs of disobedience.
And increasingly we're hearing from the opposition calls for some kind of neighborhood watch in some communities because, in part, many of the arrests that are taking place are happening under cover of darkness, when some of the hundreds of opposition leaders are believed to have been arrested.
And there are also concerns and rumors that some of the 23,000 people that the military amnestied from prisons on Friday could be tried to be used in some kind of sign of violence. Haven't seen any evidence of that.
But that is a memory that Burmese have from the dark days of the military coup in 1988, one of the strategies that was used by the dictatorship then, coming back to haunt people today.
On the military's part they have, as you mentioned, expanded authority to arrest and search people's homes. They have issued arrest warrants for seven people, who are allegedly leaders of the anti-coup protest movement.
And they are urging ordinary citizens to report to police stations any evidence they have on those seven individuals.
But also in a sign of difficulties that the military dictatorship is facing, the general, who declared himself leader of the government on February 1st, in a speech on Friday, he urged civil servants and public health care workers to please go back to work. They've been striking in protest -- Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Thanks so much. We will keep following that story. Appreciate it, Ivan Watson.
Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, an area in Japan devastated by a massive earthquake nearly 10 years ago has a terrifying moment of deja vu. We will explain when we come back. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Well, you are looking at terrifying images 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 Daiichi nuclear plant suffered meltdowns. More than 1,000 people were evacuated. Around 20,000 died or went missing in the quake and tsunami.
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BRUNHUBER: Winter storms stretching from coast to coast are impacting more than 100 million people in the U.S. and those storms have already been deadly.
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BRUNHUBER: Couples around the world are celebrating Valentine's Day today and they say love conquers all. But CNN's Cyril Vanier takes a look at the strain the pandemic is taking on long-distance relationships.
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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. 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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BRUNHUBER: I hope everybody out there has a happy Valentine's Day.
That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. For those of us here in the U.S. and Canada, "NEW DAY" is next. For international viewers, it's "Follow That Startup."
