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Trump Still Faces Legal Challenges After Senate Acquittal; Pelosi Announces 9/11-Type Investigation into Riot; Biden Hits Road to Sell COVID Plan on CNN Town Hall; Guinea Reports at Least Three Deaths and Seven Cases of Ebola; Elon Musk Asks Putin to Talk on Clubhouse; Florida Woman Wants an Apology from Star Quarterback. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired February 16, 2021 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Even though Donald Trump was acquitted in the Senate for inciting the Capitol riot, he could still face other charges related to the attack. The Washington, D.C., Attorney General's office is now investigating whether Trump's actions violated district law. Our CNN's Jessica Schneider reports, it's one of several legal challenges the former president is facing.
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JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The former president Trump is facing legal threats from around the country. And now that he's out of office and without the protections of the presidency, even his former ally, Mitch McConnell, seems to be sending signals to prosecutors that they should proceed.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office. Didn't get away with anything, yet.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): The vote to acquit Trump now shifts the spotlight to ongoing probes in Georgia, New York and Washington, D.C.
In Georgia, investigators have launched two separate inquiries. The Fulton County district attorney opened a criminal investigation into Trump's attempts to influence the 2020 election in Georgia.
FANI WILLIS, FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It's a very simple equation. We're going to look at the law and we're going to look at the facts. Should we find that anyone violated the law, then we're going to make a charging decision.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): And a source tells CNN, Georgia's secretary of state is investigating two of Trump's calls to state election officials, where the then president tried to pressure them to overturn the election results. The first call was from Trump to Georgia's secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger. DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Trump's senior adviser Jason Miller tells CNN there was nothing was improper about the call, continuing -- if Mr. Raffensperger didn't want to receive calls about the election, he shouldn't have run for secretary of state.
In New York, the Trump family business is under investigation by the Manhattan district attorney's office.
[04:35:00]
Prosecutors are scrutinizing the Trump Organization and whether its officials committed insurance or tax fraud. Right now, the DA's office is waiting for word from the Supreme Court about whether it can enforce a subpoena to get Trump's tax returns.
It's even possible that Trump could face criminal charges for inciting the violence that erupted in the Capitol, January 6th. Federal prosecutors have indicated that no one is being overlooked in their probes. And lawyers inside D.C.'s attorney general's office are investigating whether Trump's words and actions, violated a little used local law, making inciting violence illegal, punishable by up to six months in jail.
STEPHEN SPAULDING, SENIOR COUNSEL, COMMON CAUSE: There is a -- it is a crime to incite rebellion. And that is a statute that, I hope, investigators, federal investigators, the District of Columbia and others, will investigate to see whether, in fact, he meets that standard.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): But the former president still has a hold over the Republican Party, even with legal viability looming. And the senators who have stuck with him are speaking out against any repercussions.
CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Does Donald Trump bear any responsibility for the attack on the Capitol on January 6th?
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): No. In terms of the law, no, he bears responsibility of pushing narratives about the election that, I think, are not sound and not true. But this was politically protected speech.
SCHNEIDER: Trump is also facing two defamation lawsuits that were largely delayed while he was in office. One is from a former contestant on "The Apprentice," accusing him of sexual assault, another, from a former magazine columnist, accusing Trump of rape. Both women allege that Trump defamed them by saying their claims were lies.
Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: And earlier I spoke to CNN political analyst Sabrina Siddique and I asked her about the independent commission that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to set up to investigate last month's Capitol riot.
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SABRINA SIDDIQUI, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: But, perhaps, there will be an opportunity here through an investigation to shed more light, also on the role that the White House may have played, especially as legal proceedings continue into the former president, and as you point out, his business dealings which of course, are being led out of the state of New York. And will certainly cloud his political future, as well as just what comes of, you know, his future after leaving the White House in January.
CHURCH: Right, and while Donald Trump was acquitted by his own party in a political process that essentially, they let him off the hook. The private sector has not been so accommodating with Republican donors pulling out. One GOP donor, Fred Eshelman gave $2.5 million to investigate voter fraud which, he later realized, was just one big lie. Now, he wants his money back.
What might this reveal about the power of private sector GOP donors holding Trump accountable as opposed to self-serving Republican Senators?
SIDDIQUI: Well, I think what's really going to happen is that the Republican Party has to reckon with what its future looks like after the Trump presidency. And you have a number of Republican mega donors, as well as corporations, who have long given money to a GOP, who are now asking themselves, what cause is it that we are supporting?
And I think as you pointed out, it was really Republicans in the Senate, who voted to acquit former President Trump of charges that included incitement of the insurrection on Capitol Hill, but there are a lot of outside voices within the party, or who have help propel the party in the past, who want to see the GOP do away with Trumpism, so- called Trumpism, once and for all.
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CHURCH (on camera): And that was CNN political analyst Sabrina Siddiqui.
U.S. President Joe Biden heads back to the swing state of Wisconsin in the coming day. He will take questions during our CNN town hall from voters anxious about the pandemic, their jobs and the future of their divided country. CNN's Jeff Zeleny shows us what's weighing on their minds.
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CAROLINE QUINLAN, WISCONSIN VOTER: Yeah, I'm giving it another shot.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Caroline Quinlan didn't vote for Joe Biden but she's pulling for his success. QUINLAN: I think he's just a very nice man. I think he's very good.
One of the last politicians I think can go across the aisle and meet with people. And I think that's something it's a big plus.
ZELENY (voice-over): When we first met Quinlan in the heat of the campaign last fall, she was torn.
QUINLAN: I get it why people don't like Trump. But at the same time, he has done a few things that I thought were important.
ZELENY (voice-over): But said she ultimately decided Trump would do a better job fixing the economy.
QUINLAN: I voted for Trump.
ZELENY (voice-over): In the end, Biden won Wisconsin by less than 1 point and the city of Cedarburg by only 19 votes, turning the reliably Republican suburb of Milwaukee blue for the first time in a quarter of century.
[04:40:00]
With most signs of the election long gone, it's a new season and many voters here say a fresh start from the acrimony of the Trump era.
NATASHA LOOS, OWNER, CEDARBURG TOY CO.: Just the tone down of the rhetoric, not having to be glued to the TV or social media to find out the latest is going on has been very refreshing.
LOOS: You're welcome, hon.
ZELENY (voice-over): Natasha Loos is a small business owner who supported Biden but senses a new era of calm.
ZELENY: So, you can really tell that there is more civilly now than there was last year?
LOOS: Yes, without a doubt, Jeff. I feel like that has started to come back. Even just as it pertains to masks. As a business owner, I come to work everybody wanting to share joy and happiness.
ZELENY: You sell toys.
LOOS: I sell toys. And I was not interested in being a part of any kind of political anything in my store. That's just one thing we don't try to do here.
ZELENY (voice-over): The headwinds facing the administration on coronavirus come into sharper view at a nearby vaccination center.
PAUL FARROW, WAUKESHA COUNTY EXECUTIVE: Our goal is to provide a thousand vaccines a day seven days a week. The only limitation we currently have is getting vaccine.
ZELENY (voice-over): Paul Farrow is the Waukesha County executive, who said he received only 900 doses this week instead of 7,000. Farrow voted for Trump but praised Biden's pledge to restore unity.
FARROW: For me, it's compromise. And by that, I mean it's working together to come up with a solution.
ZELENY (voice-over): Yet compromise also comes with complications for Biden.
Angela Lang and her group Black Leaders Organizing for Communities helped push Biden over the finish line as black voters did across the country.
ANGELA LANG, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BLACK LEADERS ORGANIZING FOR COMMUNITIES: We elect people knowing that they're not going to perfect. And that means that we have to hold them accountable.
ZELENY (voice-over): She said she is patiently waiting for Biden to take steps to combat systemic racism, achieve criminal justice reform and broader equity.
LANG: I always get kind of skeptical and a little nervous when people say that they want to unite everyone and bring everyone together. I think sometimes that means watering down progressive policies for the sake of unity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations, Mr. President.
ZELENY (voice-over): And for Biden, that is the challenge. Trying to be a successful leader in the eyes of Lang, Quinlan and all others who hunger for change.
QUINLAN: He is the president, so it's like let him do his job. And then we can decide in four years if we want him or somebody else.
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CHURCH: Well, coming up, Africa isn't just battling COVID. Parts of the continent are facing a new Ebola outbreak as well. The latest details to come here on CNN NEWSROOM.
[04:45:00]
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well the world focused on COVID-19 health workers are scrambling to contain a new Ebola outbreak in Guinea. The West African nation has confirmed at least 7 cases of the virus and 3 deaths. Guinea was hit hard by the world's largest Ebola outbreak ever. It ended almost five years ago.
And for the latest, CNN's David McKenzie joins us live from Johannesburg. So David, what is the latest on this Ebola outbreak and how equipped are health workers there to deal with this in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, I don't think necessarily the COVID pandemic will have much of an impact on this Ebola fight. But they have had more experience because of that terrible outbreak in 2014 through 2016 where more than 11,000 people were killed.
Why this is particularly troubling, Rosemary, is that the outbreak is confirmed to an area in southeastern Guinea on the border of Liberia and Ivory Coast. And it was a similar scenario that played out in 2014 where people moved back and forth through those borders very regularly.
So it's very important to get in there quickly to contact trace anyone who was in touch with the nurse who died of Ebola and who several people during her funeral contracted and later died. It's likely that she wasn't the index case of this, the first case of this particular outbreak. So they'll have to try and trace very quickly those contacts.
The good news is they are more experienced to deal with Ebola, as I mentioned. But also because there is an experimental vaccine that is being rapidly deployed to this region to vaccinate all of those people who are confirmed contacts of these confirmed cases. That should hopefully have an impact in stamping it out before it expands beyond the people in that region of Guinea.
But the W.H.O. is extremely concerned about this outbreak because of what I mentioned. Separate resurgence of Ebola in a different outbreak of some 6,000 kilometers away in the Easter DRC, is an example of how they quickly get vaccines in and try and stamp out this outbreak before it expands further -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: Very important indeed. David McKenzie bringing us the latest there from Johannesburg.
And just ahead here on CNN, why one woman says star football quarterback Tom Brady owes her and her family an apology.
[04:50:00]
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CHURCH: Tesla founder Elon Musk wants to have a chat with Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Saturday he tweeted at the official Kremlin account, would you like to join me for a conversation on Clubhouse? A second tweet in Russian said it would be a great honor to talk to you. Musk made his debut on Clubhouse, an invitation only audio app last month. The Kremlin calls the proposal interesting and wants to hear more.
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DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESMAN (through translator): You know that President Putin personally does not use social media. He does not post anything there, so this is a very interesting proposal, but we need to understand better what it means, what exactly is being proposed.
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CHURCH: CNN business reporter Paul La Monica says Musk's request to talk with Putin could be about any number of issues.
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PAUL R. LA MONICA, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: What exactly does Elon musk want from a conversation with Vladimir Putin? Is it to discuss the thorny issue of a, you know, allegations that a Russian hacker was trying to infiltrate Tesla? They could something that he could talk about with Putin. Although that wouldn't be the most friendly of topics obviously.
They could talk about space exploration. There's concerns also that Russia doesn't want SpaceX to have its internet satellite service given to or provided to Russian consumers. So there are a lot of, you know, business-type conversations that Putin and Musk could have. But who knows? I mean, maybe they'll talk about rap music. They'll talk about cryptocurrencies. I don't think anything is beyond, you know, Elon Musk's grasp and interest right now.
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CHURCH: We'll see what happens.
Well a Florida woman wants an apology from quarterback Tom Brady for tossing the Lombardi trophy after his team's Super Bowl win but as CNN's Jeanne Moos reports, most fans are backing Brady.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is one completion --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh!
MOOS (voice-over): That wouldn't be complete without someone wanting an apology from Tom Brady for chucking the Lombardi trophy from boat to boat. And now --
LORRAINE GROHS, DAUGHTER OF SILVERSMITH WHO HELPED CREATE LOMBARDI TROPHY: It just really upset me that this trophy was disgraced and disrespected.
MOOS (voice-over): Lorraine Grohs, the daughter of the master silversmith at Tiffany who helped create the trophy saying --
GROHS: I personally would like an apology, not just to me and my family and the other silversmiths, but to the fans.
MOOS (voice-over): But most fans seem unapologetic on Brady's behalf. It's a silver football on a stick. Calm down.
[04:55:00]
You act like it was a live baby or something. Even the general manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quoted the comedy classic stripes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any of you guys call me Francis and I'll kill you. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lighten up, Francis.
MOOS (voice-over): Fans taunted sorry. Not sorry. The apology request --
GROHS: I didn't sleep for the past two nights because of this. I was that upset because I know the passion that goes into this trophy.
MOOS (voice-over): But some said the water toss was nothing compared to how the Stanley Cup gets treated. Players drink beer from it. Even eat a whole box of cinnamon toast crunch cereal out of it. The New England Patriots tweeted --
And Gronk, be careful with that trophy ...
The former Patriot caught two touchdown passes in the Super Bowl. But the last Lombardi trophy won as Patriot, he used as a bat and left a dent in the trophy.
SNL put a dent in Tom Brady's image with a skit with featuring what they called drunk Tom Brady.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, she's a little banged up but she still works.
MOOS (voice-over): But even Brady's 8-year-old daughter knew this wasn't a great idea. Listen to her yell, dad, no!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No!
MOOS (voice-over): At least Brady didn't go deep as in underwater.
Jeanne Moos, CNN. New York.
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CHURCH: We are getting this breaking news in from North Carolina. Three people have died as a result of a tornado that hit there. We also understand there are 10 injuries. Several homes were destroyed, and several others were severely damaged. We will continue to follow this story.
I'm Rosemary Church. "EARLY START" is up next. You're watching CNN.
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