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Iran's Next President; COVID-19 Delta Variant Becoming Dominant Strain; E.U. to Loosen Travel Restrictions for Summer; North Korean Leader "Fully Prepared for Confrontation" with U.S.; U.S. Investigators Release New Videos of Capitol Riots; U.S. Catholic Bishops Advance Communion Document Plan; Western U.S. Facing Worst Drought in 20 Years. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired June 19, 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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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Welcome, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes. We have just learned that preliminary results in the Iranian election with 90 percent of the vote counted, Ebrahim Raisi poised to be the winner.
Earlier the conservative chief justice was congratulated by his sole moderate opponent and president, Hassan Rouhani, whose term is ending. Also congratulated the president-elect before the official results were made public.
The last polling places closed well after midnight local time. Some of them have been open for 19 hours. That was much longer than planned and an effort to boost voter turnout.
Now besides dealing with domestic crises, Iran's next president will help decide whether the 2015 nuclear deal can be revived. It is a position Raisi is said to favor.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Trita Parsi is the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, also the author of "Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran and the Triumph of Diplomacy." He joins me from Fairfax, Virginia.
Good to see you. I'm curious, what does the leadership's decision to, basically, read the candidate list basically to push such a hardliner, someone literally under U.S. sanctions, what does it say about the direction that you think the leadership wants to go in terms of relations with the West?
TRITA PARSI, QUINCY INSTITUTE FOR RESPONSIBLE STATECRAFT: I think primarily this is not about the relationship with the West. It is about who controls Iran for the next decades. The hardliners are now in control of the judiciary through a rigged
election. They are in control of the parliament and now, as well, the presidency, putting them in a very favorable position to also determine who the next supreme leader of Iran will be.
The current supreme leader is 82 years old and is likely to pass in the next few years. So this election was crucial for them, precisely because it was about so much more than just the presidency.
But it raises many different questions.
Had other candidates been able to participate and run in these elections, would there have been a turnout that is significantly lower than it was in the previous elections?
Had Trump not imposed sanctions and walked away from the JCPOA and not decimated Iran's middle class, would the reformists and the centrists have been as weak as they are right now?
Leading them to essentially having to be forced to accept the fraud that took place in the elections in terms of the narrowness of the candidates.
HOLMES: You touched on this, a lot of Iranians had hope in the JCPOA, which, as you pointed out, Trump pulled out of. Biden wants back in; talks have been taking place.
How might Raisi's election impact those negotiations, given he will have his own views and, possibly, his own negotiating team?
PARSI: I think what is likely to happen is that a return will be signed before Raisi comes in and takes over as president; meaning, in the next 6 or so weeks that Rouhani is still president, during the transition, I think it will take place.
The impact that Raisi will have is not necessarily on the return to the JCPOA but whether aspects of it can be renegotiated and add on negotiations. It seems somewhat unlikely that Raisi will approach the JCPOA in such a way that he will be open to the proposals that the Biden administration will have in terms of, from the U.S. perspective, lengthening and strengthening the JCPOA.
That is where, I think, the biggest difference will be.
HOLMES: Given the exclusion of moderates and any real sort of choice for voters, big picture, how represented are Iranian voters in the nation's parliament versus those there to do the regime's bidding?
What is the state of, quote-unquote, "democracy," if you like and will of the people?
PARSI: This past election, as well as the past parliamentary election, is a very clear step away from greater representation.
The question will be, how will Raisi manage the country? Will he seek to unite people, mindful of the fact that he ultimately does not have the type of legitimacy that would have been the case, had there been a much more open and fair election than the one that took place?
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PARSI: It also seems that the hardliners are increasingly viewing their legitimacy, not based on representations but based on the results and the outcome of their governance; meaning that he really has to perform.
If he performs well, they will consider themselves legitimate. So we are seeing a significant walk-away from principles of democracy, not that Iran has ever been a full democracy but it did have aspects of democracy that gave hope that those aspects could be growing. We are now instead seeing them shrinking.
HOLMES: What do you think Raisi's position will be regarding Iran's influence in the region?
I mean, from Iraq, to Syria, to Lebanon and so on.
PARSI: I don't foresee a significant change there. I think the larger change will be when it comes to the broader engagement with the West or a broader perspective looking toward China.
I think that a Raisi presidency is likely going to really double down on the idea that Iran should resolve its economic problems through resistance economy, meaning less dependence and integration with the global economy, at least, a global economy as it is, dominated by the West, and looking more toward China.
So this could be a significant geostrategic shift in the reorientation of Iran on a global scale but not necessarily on a regional one.
HOLMES: Really quick, we're almost out of time, you mentioned the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration and the impact of those on life for ordinary Iranians. You talk about of perhaps Raisi wanting a more self-reliant economy.
What is life like for ordinary Iranians?
PARSI: Life, in the last couple of years, have been absolutely devastating for ordinary Iranians. The sanctions imposed by the Trump administration led to the additional 10 million Iranians walking into poverty. You have the middle class of Iran that constituted 45 percent of the population, shrinking to roughly 30 percent of the population.
It has been extremely tough and that is part of the reason why there has been such a disillusionment with not only the reformists and the centrists but the very idea that their promise, that engagement with the West would bring about a better economic situation.
Those are promises that don't seem to carry a lot of weight any longer as a result of Trump walking out of the JCPOA. HOLMES: Yes, yes. Great analysis, as always. Trita Parsi, appreciate
it, thank you.
PARSI: Thank you for having me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now here in the United States, there is reason for celebration but also concern. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 300 million doses of COVID vaccine have been given across the country.
But health officials are worried about the spread of the Delta COVID variant. On Friday, the World Health Organization's chief scientist explained why it was important to monitor how vaccines perform against it.
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DR. SOUMYA SWAMINATHAN, WHO CHIEF SCIENTIST: The Delta variant is well on its way to becoming the dominant variant globally because of its significantly increased transmissibility. This is something we are watching very carefully and documenting.
And we now have a special expert group that has been set up to exactly track the performance of vaccines and their effectiveness when used at the population level in relation to the variants.
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HOLMES: And U.S. health experts are stressing the need for vaccinations as that Delta variant spreads across the U.S. CNN's Nick Watt has more for us from Los Angeles.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're heading into, God willing, the summer of joy, a summer of freedom.
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): But will the Delta variant, which recently ravaged India, become the dominant strain here in the U.S.?
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: I anticipate that will be the predominant variant in the months ahead.
WATT: Over in Britain, this more contagious variant now accounts for 99 percent of new cases.
What does that actually look like?
Well, case counts there are rising but death rates are not. The increase is primarily in younger age groups, says a British health official, a large proportion of which were unvaccinated.
QUESTION: Could the Delta variant force us back into lockdown? BIDEN: I don't think so because so many people have already been vaccinated.
WATT (voice-over): In the U.S., 65 percent of adults have now had at least one shot. The vice president is touring the country, encouraging more.
KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: It's an extension of love thy neighbor.
WATT (voice-over): Meantime, Michigan opens up Tuesday, Ohio's COVID- 19 emergency declaration ended today.
GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): We have basically lifted almost all of the orders.
WATT (voice-over): The president's goal is this: 70 percent of adults with at least one shot by July 4th.
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WATT (voice-over): Will we make it?
Federal officials still won't give a straight answer.
WALENSKY: We're doing everything we can.
WATT: The data suggests the country will not meet that ambitious Independence Day mark, but:
BIDEN: We've gotten 300 million shots in the arms of Americans in 150 days, months ahead of what most anyone felt was possible.
WATT (on camera): Here in California, when you get the vaccine, you get this little card as proof. I'm surprised I haven't lost mine already.
Today the state made it easier. There's a new website, myvaccinerecord. You can just type in all your details and it will store a digital proof of vaccination for you online. Now this is key: it is voluntary, not mandatory -- Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
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HOLMES: Now as you just heard in Nick's report there, 99 percent of new cases in the U.K. are from the Delta variant. That's according to the latest data from Public Health England.
But there is some good news. New data suggests that both the AstraZeneca and the Pfizer BioNTech vaccines are about 75 percent effective in preventing hospitalization from the Delta variant with one dose and 94 percent effective after two.
Now a study by Imperial College London found that young people are causing, quote, "exponential growth" in COVID infections in England. But with some exceptions, the U.K. has not made vaccines available to those under 18. As our Phil Black explains for us now, the ethical factors involved are complex and the stakes are high.
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PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sixteen-year-old Thomas Crone is one of the very few school-aged children in the U.K. to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. It is only because he must cook, clean and care for his often sick family.
Mom Claire --
CLAIRE HASTIE, THOMAS' MOM: Anywhere more than a few minutes I would need this.
BLACKWELL (voice-over): -- and her 12-year-old twin sons are still suffering a wide range of long COVID symptoms more than a year after first falling ill.
JAMES CRONE, THOMAS' BROTHER: Not necessarily although I'm the one that restricts me but it's just so not nice to live with.
HASTIE: We know that children can be severely affected.
BLACK (voice-over): Government statistics show that 30,000 children aged 16 and under have reported experiencing long COVID in the U.K.
But Britain has yet to make vaccines widely available to adolescents, even as the highly contagious Delta variant surges through the country with growing evidence it is moving quickly through children and young people. British experts are still urging caution.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would be reticent to suggest that (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE), Rebecca (ph).
BLACK (voice-over): Their concerns are centered on the ethical calculation of benefit versus risk. Statistically, very few children suffer severe illness from COVID-19. While the vaccine is new and its side effects, though rare, are still being studied.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Until we have those final bits of evidence and data, I think it is reasonable to wait to vaccinate our adolescents.
BLACK (voice-over): It's a very different approach compared to the U.S., where over 5 million children under 18 are already fully vaccinated and U.S. President Joe Biden is using Britain's experience with the Delta variant to drive that number even higher, pointing out in a tweet, "It's spreading rapidly among young people in the U.K. If you are young and haven't gotten your shot yet, it really is time."
DR. ALISON MESSINA, JOHNS HOPKINS ALL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: The more children that are vaccinated, the more they add to that pool of immune people and thus they make the herd, as it will, bigger.
BLACK (voice-over): France, Germany, Israel are all pursuing a similar strategy. But experts in the U.K. are hoping the virus can be blasted (ph) by immunity in the adult population alone. Around 80 percent have had at least one dose so far.
BLACK: You are hopeful that it won't be necessary to vaccinate children?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am optimistic. Yes. But I don't think that we would wait forever. I think that we just want to make sure we are doing the right thing. We're doing what is safe and in the best interest of our children and young people.
BLACK: Claire Hastie says she just hopes other children will somehow be protected quickly so they never know the suffering and uncertainty experienced by her sons.
HASTIE: I don't really know what to do to help him. It's really heartbreaking.
BLACK: The U.K. medicines regulator has approved the use of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for children aged 12 to 15. Now an independent panel of experts will advise the government on whether to hold off or proceed with the rollout.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has expressed a very strong view on this issue. It says no country should be thinking about vaccinating children right now, because there are so many older, more vulnerable people in countries around the world, who more desperately need those doses -- Phil Black, CNN, London.
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HOLMES: It has been more than a year since U.S. travelers could visit Europe but that looks set to change perhaps by this summer. The European Union's governing body has just recommended that travel restrictions on 14 countries should be eased.
The United States is on the list but the U.K. noticeably is not. The E.U. says restrictions should be lifted gradually and subject to each of the countries' easing their own travel rules on E.U. citizens.
Olympic athletes from Uganda are set to arrive in Tokyo in the next few hours. They're coming as Olympic organizers debate whether to let fans watch games in the venues or keep them out altogether.
They haven't decided yet but, so far, they are emphasizing the importance of keeping people away from each other as much as possible. Here's what else they're saying.
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SELINA WANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Selina Wang in Tokyo. Japan's top COVID-19 adviser said it would be, quote, "desirable" to host the Olympics without any spectators.
But the question is are Olympic advisers going to take that advice? The government had said earlier that it would allow up to 10,000 people at large-scale venues, where no state of emergency is in place. But medical experts are concerned that the Olympics will lead to a major rebound of cases in Japan.
Olympic organizers have acknowledged that the Delta variant poses a major risk, announcing additional restrictions for athletes coming from India. Among other measures, they'll be required to be tested daily and quarantined for seven days before arriving in Japan.
And for spectators that can come to the Olympics, it won't be the usual festivities and celebrations. They're asked to socially distance, with no partying or drinking in the streets.
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HOLMES: Selina Wang there.
Now New Zealand is stepping up its COVID vaccine program and the prime minister Jacinda Ardern hopes to set an example. She received her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Friday. New Zealand has been largely successful at containing the spread of the virus. But the government has faced criticism over a slow vaccine rollout.
And the number of new coronavirus infections in Brazil just spiked again. The country reporting nearly 99,000 new cases on Friday, its second highest daily increase since March. Brazil has now confirmed more than 17.8 million cases, the third highest in the world.
And the numbers out of Africa just as troublesome. Cases in many areas are now back on the rise and one WHO official calls it, quote, "very, very concerning." He also says positive cases aren't always detected and more contagious variants are putting the continent at risk.
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DR. MICHAEL RYAN, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: The brutal reality is that in an era of multiple variants, with increased transmissibility, potentially increased impact, we have left vast swaths of the population and the vulnerable population in Africa unprotected by vaccines in context where health systems are already weak.
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HOLMES: Now Mexico will be without fans for its first two home matches in the World Cup qualifiers later this year.
It comes after fans used homophobic chants during Mexico's home games against the U.S. and Dominican Republic back in March. FIFA also fined the team about $65,000. If the unruly behavior continues, Mexico could face further penalties.
Is North Korea's dictator spoiling for a fight with President Biden or is he just clamoring for more attention?
Ahead, we'll explain what Kim Jong-un is now saying. We'll be right back.
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HOLMES: Welcome back.
Kim Jong-un reportedly has taken the measure of the new Biden administration and now views confrontation with the U.S. as a real possibility. CNN's Brian Todd with details.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): North Korea's 37-year-old dictator lays down his mark with the new American president, perhaps in an effort to draw Joe Biden's attention away from Vladimir Putin.
Following the president's week on the world stage, Kim Jong-un declares North Korea could should be prepared for both dialogue and confrontation with the U.S., adding it should be fully prepared for confrontation.
This comes after months of Kim making implied threats against the U.S. and what Kim called America's hostile policy on North Korea. One analyst says this could be a classic move by Kim to not only draw Joe Biden's attention to him but also to leverage his nuclear arsenal and try to extract concessions from the White House.
BRUCE KLINGNER, FORMER CIA DEPUTY CHIEF FOR KOREA: It's a long, long list of things they want, not only the end of military exercises in South Korea but the end of the U.S. South Korean alliance which withdraw all U.S. troops, abandonment of all international U.S. sanctions.
TODD (voice-over): So far, the Biden team has said it wants to build on agreements that Kim and made with former president Donald Trump to draw down North Korea's nuclear weapons program. During that period, Trump and Kim were known for their chummy relationship, exchanging gushing letters that Trump was quick to brag about.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And then we fell in love.
TODD (voice-over): But Kim's agreements with Trump were vague and President Biden has indicated he is taking a much harder line on potentially sitting down with Kim.
But analysts say, since those talks with Trump and even during the pandemic, Kim has been building his weapons program. North Korea has tested short-range missiles in recent months. It has not tested long range missiles recently. But at an October parade in Pyongyang, the regime displayed what experts say is a new, imposing intercontinental ballistic missile, capable of reaching the U.S. And analysts say the dictator is likely to test-fire that weapon.
BALBINA HWANG, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Eventually, he will have to test if he wants to advance further the program itself. On the other hand, Kim Jong-un fully understands that to test long range missiles is essentially a big red line that the Biden administration may not take very well.
TODD (voice-over): This comes as intelligence analyst from Seoul to Washington are keeping close watch on Kim's appearance, specifically his weight.
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TODD (voice-over): Side-by-side video comparisons indicate Kim appears much thinner now than he was last year.
Last fall, South Korean intelligence officials told lawmakers they believe Kim's weight had ballooned to over 300 pounds in 2020. But photos of his $12,000 wristwatch show, in the most recent picture on the right, it is now fastened on a tighter notch than in previous sightings.
Why is Kim's weight such a priority for intelligence agencies?
KLINGNER: Because we know so little about the North Korean leadership and their intentions. We don't know who would succeed him if he were to die suddenly.
TODD: If Kim Jong-un were to die suddenly, most analysts say his younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, believed to be about 33 years old, would take power. Her stature and responsibilities have increased in recent years.
Could she survive?
As one analyst points out, each time there's been a succession with the Kim dynasty, North Korea watchers have predicted it would fail. And more than 70 years in, the Kim family still reigns. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
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HOLMES: A U.S. Defense Department official says the Pentagon will withdraw some of its missile defense systems and personnel from the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia.
The withdrawal mostly affects air defense systems and it comes during a larger drawdown of the U.S. military in the region. The Biden administration wants to refocus from the Middle East to threats from Russia and China.
I'm Michael Holmes. If you're an international viewer, "AFRICAN VOICES CHANGEMAKERS" coming up next. If you're here in the U.S., I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM after the break.
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HOLMES: Welcome back.
Now 90 percent of votes have been counted in Iran's presidential election and conservative chief justice Ebrahim Raisi is projected to become the next president. Now earlier, the current president, Hassan Rouhani, whose term is ending, congratulated the president-elect before the official results were made public.
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HASSAN ROUHANI, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I congratulate the people on their choice. Because it has not yet been officially announced, according to the law, my official congratulations will come later. But we know who got enough votes in this election and who's elected today by the people.
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HOLMES: And CNN's Fred Pleitgen has been covering the election from the Iranian capital, Tehran. He joins me now.
Good to see you, Fred. No surprise in the result, given the field was handpicked by the country's leadership.
But what now in terms of Raisi's role and his positions on issues?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he certainly, Michael, is in a very strong position now as he's set to take power in Iran because one of the things we could see from this election result is Ebrahim Raisi didn't only win the presidential election but he certainly won by a landslide; 17.8 million votes so far of the -- I think it was 28.6 million that have been cast.
That's about 62 percent of the vote. This is about 90 percent of the vote counted. That's why the election commission is saying there's not going to be any sort of runoff that's going to be necessary.
And so far that projects to be a voter turnout of about 48.5 percent. Of course they haven't counted all the votes yet. They're saying it's about 90 percent, so that could be more. That's not a very high turnout.
However, looking at that result, I think what we can say so far is it really seems as though the conservatives have come out and voted but the moderates have not. They simply apparently didn't show up at the polling stations. The main moderate candidate, Abdolnasser Hemmati, who many were saying
could be a dark horse in this race, he only got about 2.4 million votes. Really not very much. So it certainly seemed as though a lot of the moderates didn't come out and vote but most of the conservatives did.
It does make Ebrahim Raisi, gives him a very strong mandate because obviously he won by that margin of percentage. And it certainly is set to move Iran in a more conservative direction than it has been so far with eight years of the policies of Hassan Rouhani.
Internationally, of course, it's going to be very interesting to see what happens next because there's going to be a whole new foreign policy team coming in. In the past eight years, of course, you have the Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif, who's known in many Western capitals and in the United States and also very importantly very well known to the Biden administration as well because, of course, he was so pivotal in getting the Iran nuclear agreement on track.
A lot is going to change but some of the fundamentals are not going to change also, Michael. I had the chance yesterday to speak with the head of Iran's national supreme security council -- supreme national security council, Ali Shamkani (ph).
And he told me, as far as, for instance, the efforts to try to get the Iran nuclear deal back on track, the nuclear agreement back on track, that is going to remain because that is something that the supreme leader has said he wants to happen.
So even with a new administration, Iran is still looking to get back into full compliance with the deal and, of course, looking to get the U.S. back into that deal -- Michael.
HOLMES: Fred, you've been to Iran many times. I mean you mentioned there the moderate voters didn't turn out, perhaps because they saw the writing on the wall in terms of how restricted the field was.
How would you describe enthusiasm or otherwise among Iranians for this election, especially given, you know, the result was pretty predetermined in many ways?
PLEITGEN: Well, you know, I was here in 2017, when we had the election then. And there seemed to be a lot more enthusiasm at the polling stations than this time. But I think one of the things -- or some of the things we have to factor into that was the 2017 election was a very hotly, closely contested election.
We had Hassan Rouhani, who had just come off the big success of seeing through the Iran nuclear agreement. However, you do obviously have a very big conservative force in this country as well.
And that really made for a big, very strong race in the 2017 election. You really didn't have very much in the way of a moderate candidate that would have excited the electorate here in this country in this election; partially, of course, apparently, due to some of the disqualifications that were even criticized by Iran's supreme leader, who said, in some cases, they didn't seem to be justified.
But I think one thing that we also have to factor in, Michael, is that there are a lot of people in this country, you know, centrist people --
[03:35:00]
PLEITGEN: -- who are quite disappointed with the past couple of years of the Rouhani administration, who do feel that Rouhani didn't see through a lot of the promises that he'd made.
Of course all of them understand the backdrop of the crushing U.S. sanctions and the maximum pressure campaign put in place by the Trump administration. But I think there is also a good deal of disappointment in the Rouhani administration. And, as we can see, very little mobilization on the part of the moderate voters.
HOLMES: Good to have you there on the spot again, Fred. Appreciate it. Fred Pleitgen there in Tehran live for us.
Now the former U.S. vice president Mike Pence was heckled on Friday as he spoke to what you would think would have been a very friendly crowd. He was addressing a religious conference in Florida when he was shouted down and repeatedly called a traitor.
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MIKE PENCE (R), FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I want to thank my friend Ralph Reed (ph) for those overly generous words.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Traitor.
PENCE: I'm deeply humbled by them. Ralph Reed (ph) knows me well enough to know the introduction I prefer is a little bit shorter. I'm a Christian, a conservative and a Republican in that order. And I am honored to stand before you today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Pence has been criticized, of course, by former president Donald Trump, since Pence provided over the joint session of Congress that certified election results on January 6th.
Now some of the pro-Trump rioters who stormed the Capitol that day even threatened to hang Pence. Despite all of that, Pence has still showered his former boss with praise in Friday's speech. Pence is rumored to be considering a future presidential bid.
Many Republicans have been trying to whitewash what happened at the Capitol on January 6th. Never mind that hundreds of suspected rioters have been arrested and face prosecutions and jail and that many of them can be seen doing what they did on video and social media posts.
Well, now the U.S. Justice Department is releasing more footage of the riots after CNN and other media organizations went to court to seek access to it. A word of warning: the videos are graphic. There is profanity. Paula Reid reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, newly released footage showing an up-close look at what officers protecting the Capitol went through during the January 6th attack.
These new videos, revealed after CNN and other media outlets sued for them in court, showing Scott Fairlamb, a gym owner from New Jersey, taunting, then shoving an officer and punching him in the face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, stay away from us. Fuck them.
REID (voice-over): Another video taken from an officer's body cam showing Thomas Webster, a former Marine and retired NYPD officer, seen here wearing a red coat, threatening police with a flagpole before tackling one officer to the ground. Both men have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA), CHAIR, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: It's a rude awakening for everyone. But hopefully it will also help people see the lies of the former president.
REP. MADELEINE DEAN (D-PA): It's shameful. But sadly, there's an awful number of my Republican colleagues who seemed to not feel shame.
REID (voice-over): But the videos come as some Republican members of Congress are attempting to rewrite history, downplaying the events of that day and latching on to baseless conspiracy theories.
REP. LOUIE GOHMERT, (R-TX): DOJ, FBI or any of the intel community, what kind of role were they playing?
REID (voice-over): The latest lie that the people behind the insurrection were not Trump supporters but the FBI, the claim stemming from references to unindicted co-conspirators.
A right-wing website claims without any evidence that the phrase is a reference to FBI informants or undercover agents infiltrating pro- Trump groups.
But legal experts say the term is not used to describe FBI agents and instead refers to people who participated in the conspiracy but haven't been charged. In one example, touted by FOX News, the unnamed co-conspirator was likely the defendant's wife according to court filings. Fox News host Tucker Carlson doubling down on the theory just last night.
TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: But we won't shut up and we shouldn't. It could not be more obvious at this point that the government is in fact hiding something probably quite a few things.
REID (voice-over): With Representatives Matt Gaetz, who is under investigation by the FBI, and Marjorie Taylor Greene, tweeting that theory. But some Republicans are pushing back, Representative Peter Meijer tweeting, "Not FBI. Can't believe I have to say that. It was what it was, a violent attempt to stop the constitutional transfer of power."
[03:40:00]
REID (voice-over): And Representative Adam Kinzinger renewing calls for a January 6th commission.
REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): Tell your constituents the truth. Tell the American people the truth. Let's get to the bottom of the truth. And then we can move on.
REID: CNN and other media outlets have spent months fighting to get access to those video clips you just saw. Those clips have been used as evidence in dozens of cases against the rioters but they were not available publicly.
Now media outlets continue to fight for access to additional clips to help show exactly what happened on that day -- Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: A quick break now. When we come back, bishops in the U.S. going forward with a proposal that could restrict communion for Catholic President Biden. What he's saying about it when we come back.
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HOLMES: The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is moving forward with a plan that could potentially deny communion to public figures who support abortion rights, including President Biden.
The bishops voted to draft a document on the eucharist, which is what Catholics receive during communion at mass. The measure is controversial and even the Vatican is reportedly against it. The president was asked about it. Here's what he said.
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QUESTION: Are you concerned about the rift in the Catholic Church?
And how do you feel personally about that?
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That is a private matter and I don't think that's going to happen. Thank you.
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HOLMES: CNN's senior Vatican analyst John Allen standing by in Rome.
Good to see you, my friend. Of course when this all came out, minds turned to the very religious Joe Biden, who supports abortion rights for women. What do you think is behind this move by the bishops?
JOHN ALLEN, CNN SR. VATICAN ANALYST: Hey, there, Michael. Well, you know, this is the Catholic Church and you can rarely take everything at face value.
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ALLEN: In this case, I think there's some overinterpretation going on about the significance of this vote.
Let's remember what the bishops were actually asked to vote on. It wasn't whether Joe Biden should get communion. It was whether they should draft a document on the eucharist. That's the sacrament where Catholics receive the physical body and blood of Jesus Christ.
The thing is, recent polls suggest that a strong share of U.S. Catholics, according to one poll, it's two-thirds don't actually believe that. They think it's just a symbol or something. Many bishops are concerned about that.
Now this document will also contain a section on kind of the rules for receiving communion, which could have implications for Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and others. But the thing of it is, we don't know what they're going to say because we haven't seen a draft yet.
So I think what actually this vote is a measure of is the bishops' concern with the eucharist.
As far as the Vatican goes, you are quite right. The Vatican, Pope Francis and his team have made it clear they don't want to see the eucharist weaponized; that is, they don't want to see it used to score political points.
Ahead of this vote, the Vatican sent a letter to U.S. bishops, warning them not to do anything that would damage the unity of the U.S. church. Presumably all that will be taken into consideration as this document is drafted over the next several months.
HOLMES: So what is the process and what would you think the pope's position on something like this would be?
ALLEN: Well, it never pays to be overly dogmatic about Pope Francis' position. He's an Argentine Peronist, remember, so he loves to keep us guessing. But in general, I think he has made it clear that he is against communion bans against specific politicians. He believes that ends up looking political and partisan and isn't a good idea.
On the other hand, presumably, he would be supportive of the bishops' efforts to revive faith in the real presence of the eucharist. And I would imagine that most U.S. bishops will be anxious to try to thread that needle; that is, between being pastoral without being explicitly political -- Michael.
HOLMES: All right, always good analysis from John Allen. Thank you there, my friend. Appreciate it. And we'll take a quick break. When we come back here on CNN NEWSROOM,
scorched earth in the western U.S. Why the U.N. says droughts could become the next pandemic. We'll be right back.
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HOLMES: More than 25 percent of the western United States is facing severe drought, the worst in 20 years. Now experts say it's due to climate change causing extremely high temperatures and, of course, correspondingly low amounts of rain and snowfall. Stephanie Elam now with the story of how one rancher is trying to cope.
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STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Living in southern Utah, cattle rancher T.J. Atkin is used to dry conditions.
T. J. ATKIN, CATTLE RANCHER: I can't control Mother Nature.
ELAM (voice-over): But the current dryness is more punishing than anything he's ever seen.
ELAM: How long has it been since you've had any meaningful rain here?
ATKIN: In the last 15 months, combined, we're barely at three inches of precip in 15 months.
ELAM: And what would you normally see?
ATKIN: Our annual for 12 months is 9 inches.
ELAM (voice-over): For generations, his family has raised cattle on the same 210,000 acres in northwestern Arizona.
ATKIN: I've either got to haul water or I've got to -- I'll take them to town and feed them for the next three months.
ELAM (voice-over): Atkin drove us out to the rugged arid terrain of his ranch. With temperatures well above 100 degrees, there were just a few signs of life until some of his cows came into view. But just some because there's not enough water out here to sustain them all.
ATKIN: I've relocated 80 percent already. I've sold some of them.
ELAM: Atkin's water woes aren't his alone. Take a look at this U.S. drought monitor map. The darker the color, the worse the drought. Atkin's ranch lies deep within that crimson red.
ATKIN: We have about 200 reservoirs and every one of them is dry right now. ELAM: Like, dry.
ATKIN: Dry. Never -- we -- no --
ELAM: Nothing?
ATKIN: We don't have a drop in any one of them and we've never done that in 85 years. Never once.
ELAM (voice-over): Atkin's operation is in the Colorado River Basin, which is primarily fed by melting snowpack from the western Rocky Mountains. The river then winds down to the Gulf of California, supplying water to seven states along the way.
But the basin is now in its 22nd year of drought. This is clearly evident further down river at the end of the Nevada-Arizona border, where the river flows into Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the nation, which 25 million people depend on for water.
ELAM: Has it ever been this low before?
MIKE BERNARDO, LOWER COLORADO BASIN RIVER OPERATIONS MANAGER: It hasn't, not since filling in 1937. So we are anticipating the lower basin to be in the first-ever shortage condition in history.
ELAM (voice-over): In fact, Lake Mead is 143 feet below full capacity and has shed a mindboggling 5.5 trillion gallons of water in the last 20 years. Those low water levels mean power generation at the Hoover Dam is down 25 percent.
BERNARDO: No one can really tell with any certainty but we can all hope that the future will be wetter.
ELAM (voice-over): For his part, Atkin is hoping for a wet monsoon season this summer to replenish his dry ponds and keep his cattle business afloat.
ATKIN: We could catch more water in one week than we've caught in three years.
ELAM (voice-over): But if not, he predicts the entire country will be impacted by this unprecedented western drought.
ATKIN: It's such a large area. I mean it's almost half of the United States now. If this goes one more year, it will have a huge effect on everyone.
ELAM: Scientists say that climate change is part of the problem here, that these punishing temperatures are causing the drought.
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ELAM: And that the drought is then leading to more of these super high temperatures -- Stephanie Elam, CNN, in the Colorado River basin.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: And it's not just the Western U.S. that's drying out. A United Nations report has a stark warning for the world. Immediate action is required, it says, to counter the threat posed by water scarcity.
The report describes the huge scale of harm that drought can cause, from agricultural collapse to health and economic damage, even civil unrest. As one U.N. official said, "Drought is on the verge of becoming the next pandemic and there is no vaccine to cure it. Most of the world will be living with water stress in the next few years."
And, finally, would you pay more than $3 million for fake artwork?
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HOLMES (voice-over): Have a look at this painting known as the Hekking Mona Lisa, just sold at auction for a whopping $3.4 million, more than 10 times its appraised value. We don't know the buyer but here's the back story.
Frenchman Raymond Hekking bought this reproduction of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece in 1953 at a French antique shop. He spent years preaching that he owned the real thing and that the painting in the Louvre was a replica.
Christie's says this version was painted by an unknown artist in the early 17th century and that it is most definitely a fake.
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HOLMES: I'm Michael Holmes. Thanks for spending part of your day with me. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter, @HolmesCNN. The real social media guru, Kim Brunhuber, will be here with more CNN in just a moment.
