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New January 6 E-Mails Revealed; Tornado Recovery Efforts. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired December 13, 2021 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So that's number one.

But, number two, there's a whole range of things, including the virus, including the virus, and the hospitals. I have gotten the report, but not the detail I need, about the hospitals along the path of this tornado.

But it's going to -- we're going to have to -- I'm sure I'm going to be asked to -- I'm going to be asking my team to set up sites for booster shots and a whole range of things that people still -- the worst part is, their life has to go on as if nothing happened, because they have still got to take care of those needs, their kid going to get in school, to whether or not they're going to be able to collect an unemployment check.

Are they going to be -- all those issues. But one of those issues will be public health as it relates to COVID.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

BIDEN: I will take this one question.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) share anything more about what your message to Senator Manchin about why you (OFF-MIKE)

BIDEN: No, look, I told you, when I speak to senators to try to -- or House members or to -- or governors or any other elected official to try to convince them that what I'm proposing makes sense, and it's not inconsistent with what they believe, I do that, and then I will discuss it afterwards, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

BIDEN: Thanks for your time. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Hello. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. You just heard their President Biden addressing the relief efforts in

Kentucky and seven other states following that deadly outbreak of severe tornadoes. And he just announced he will be visiting Kentucky on Wednesday to survey the damage there.

And, today, the scope of devastation is now emerging, the images, the story's just heartbreaking, a family clinging to a piece of plywood, as the storm ravaged their home, a man tossed around in his work van as the factory next to him gets leveled, Kentucky grandparents married for over 50 years holding each other in their terrifying final moments.

Search and recovery efforts have now entered their third day across parts of the South and central U.S. At least 100 our fear dead after that tornado supercell hit Friday night and just tore a path, more than 200 miles' long, in a matter of hours. Local authorities think this was the biggest tornado track in U.S. history.

And Kentucky got the worst of it. Governor Andy Beshear got emotional while providing an update on the death toll just a few hours ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): Our best count for confirmed deaths, the most accurate count we have as of this morning are 64 Kentuckians.

Just a few more facts about those we have we have lost; 18 are still unidentified. Of the ones that we know, the age -- the age range is 5 months to 86 years. And six are younger than 18.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Thousands of homes and businesses destroyed, entire towns in ruins.

But the devastation has not broken the spirit and resolve of the people in the storm zone. Communities are coming together, giving blood, collecting donations, more than $4 million in Kentucky alone, and working around the clock to start the long road to recovery.

I want to bring in my colleague John Berman. He's on the ground there and one of the hardest-hit towns, Mayfield, Kentucky.

And, John, what we can see in the photos and the videos just takes your breath away. I can only imagine what it's like there to see it firsthand. How would you describe it?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: I have to say, Ana, I think you're exactly right.

There's so many stories of loss, so many tales of tragedy. But, as we're here this afternoon, I have to tell you, what strikes me is the amount of hope and the determination.

Look, it's a construction zone right now. Mayfield has turned into a rebuilding zone. So almost any direction I look right now, there is a backhoe, there's a Bobcat, there are people with shovels and chain saws, just picking stuff up and moving it, trying to get the walls back up.

Oh, look at that convoy of trucks you can see there in the pictures there. There's so much material coming in to help repair and rebuild. And then there are truckloads of stuff being carted out, as people dig through this rubble.

It's really extraordinary to see. And I have to tell you, having covered my fair share of disasters, I have never seen a response this quick and this comprehensive, Ana.

[13:05:02]

CABRERA: Wow, I mean, to think about that, because there's just so much loss, so much rubble, I mean, so many splintered pieces of wood and sharp metal and all of that, so many lives changed.

I don't know where or even how these people began to move forward.

BERMAN: You know, it's really interesting the way you phrase that, because I was thinking the exact same thing.

You look around, and the scale of the devastation is so enormous. You don't know where to begin. But one of the things here is that people aren't waiting to figure out where to begin. They're just beginning. They're just diving in. They're going in, and they're picking up a piece of rubble. They're picking up a cinder block, and they're loading in on the back of a truck and getting out.

So many people here have their own tractors or machine in their house. And each one of them's out, and they're just beginning the process, and they're getting things done. There is so much need right now.

So, Daniel Carr is the co-owner of Carr's Steakhouse. The restaurant was destroyed by the tornado, but the workers were able to evacuate before the twister hit.

And Daniel joins me now.

And just so people know, the restaurant is a block away, right?

DANIEL CARR, CO-OWNER, CARR'S STEAKHOUSE: Yes. Yes, well, maybe 100 yards, 200 yards.

BERMAN: So behind this pile here.

CARR: Yes.

BERMAN: So you went out -- Friday, the tornado hits late evening. What time do you go home?

CARR: I go home about 8:30, 8:45.

And, like I said, the news was on. Weather was getting worse and worse, and then came to the realization that a tornado was going to strike Mayfield. So that gave me about 30 minutes to call and say, you guys need to get out.

BERMAN: So you call. And your brother who is still there...

CARR: My brother is still managing, yes.

BERMAN: Everyone got out?

CARR: Everyone got out with maybe less than 10 minutes before it struck.

BERMAN: That's good. And everyone got home safely, your staff.

CARR: Yes. And that's what we can still hold to.

BERMAN: The restaurant. What's the status of the restaurant right now?

CARR: It's just like this building right here. I mean, flattened.

I mean, that was just the building. I mean, we -- our restaurant was our people. And it's our community. It's our family. That's who we are. It's our spirit. And that's what we're focused on right now, is helping our people.

BERMAN: So, you -- the steakhouse is 12 years old. But before that, across the street, there was another place.

CARR: My family has had Carr's Barn in the community for over 50 years -- since the '50s, so over almost 70 years.

BERMAN: So you have been feeding people here for...

CARR: We're a big part of the community, yes.

BERMAN: For decades and decades and decades.

CARR: Absolutely.

BERMAN: What's it been like for you to see all this?

CARR: It's hard.

I mean, I grew up -- there's a lot older people than me in the community that are really -- are going to miss everything that's going come down, because it'll be hard to rebuild.

But, I mean, it's hard to see. But, I mean, what is good to see is, like you said, the people coming together just on a whim and helping each other rebuild, helping each other pull ourselves back up.

BERMAN: What's your plan for the steakhouse?

CARR: Like you said, immediate future, we're going to worry about our people and our community. We're going to spend every moment of every day that we're awake trying to help people that are suffering, that are damaged. There's over 1,000 people that don't have homes right now. And there's thousands people without power and heat. So that's what we're going to focus on in the immediate future. When we can get into a kitchen, we're going to start cooking again. We're going to start feeding the community, the first responders, the people that are displaced.

We're going to do everything we can.

BERMAN: You're going to find the kitchen to get into and start cooking the minute you can.

CARR: That's right. That's right.

BERMAN: Whether or not it's one of your buildings or not.

I just -- you were telling me that the day after -- so, Friday, it hits. On Saturday, there were people in there with machines moving stuff?

CARR: I mean, we were in there yesterday moving heavy stuff. But we got in there in the rubble ourselves, just trying to find a few key things we needed.

But, I mean, people were all around already, yes. On Saturday, there was all kinds of equipment already here.

BERMAN: Who? I mean, what people?

CARR: I mean, farmers. Like I said, farmers, carpenters, anyone that had a shovel, that had a -- one of my good friends, he was in the candle factory just going through rubble just trying to pull people out.

I mean, it's horrific. But, I mean, it's great to see our community come together in this really dark time.

BERMAN: We have heard from the president. We have heard from the governor. We have heard from federal, state and local officials, all saying, let us know what you need.

What do you need, do you think?

CARR: I mean, I -- like I said, I have talked to my just -- I have 30 employees, and I have talked to them. And a number of them lost their homes, lost their vehicles, lost their Christmas presents, what -- all kinds of stuff.

They don't have shirts on their backs right now. Storage buildings just gone. So, I mean, I know, if those 30 people have things, then there's thousands of people in the same boat as them that don't have a home right now. So, I mean, we do need basic things, water, food, supplies.

There's places set up all over town that are feeding people, but, I mean, there's just so much need right now.

BERMAN: Listen, we know you're going to get back on your feet. We know you're going to open up.

And I look forward to coming back and having a steak in at Carr's Steakhouse when you're serving again.

CARR: Absolutely.

BERMAN: Be well.

CARR: Thank you so much.

BERMAN: Let us know if there's anything we can do, OK?

CARR: Thank you so much.

BERMAN: So, at least six people were killed when an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, collapsed after taking a direct hit from a tornado.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is live at the scene.

Polo, I understand that there is some news in terms of an investigation into what went on there. What can you tell us?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, we have actually learned that inspectors with the office of Occupational Safety and Health Administration have actually been here since Saturday, since the first day after that tornado basically practically zeroed in on that Amazon shipping center, destroying part of it and leading to the deaths of six people that were inside.

[13:10:16]

Now, a total of -- we have learned that a total of 46 people were actually inside that facility on Friday night when that storm basically tore through here. That investigating agency has been on the ground, as we said, since Saturday, assisting here.

And at this point, based on what that office is telling CNN, they will have six months to complete an investigation. And at the end of that, then they will determine if, in fact, there were any kind of safety violations that were violated.

But it won't be until then that they would potentially announce any of that. Now, we don't have indication as to whether or not there was anything that actually triggered this investigation, or if it was just routine.

Obviously, it's certainly a serious matter. Six people's lives were cut short in this facility. We have had -- we have heard from Amazon basically all weekend saying that, leading up to that storm, the moments before it struck, about 11 minutes before it hit, that they had received word of those tornado warnings and that they were -- their supervisors here on loudspeakers urging their staff to seek shelter in some established safe zones inside of that facility.

Amazon also saying that they are actively working with not only members of the community, but specifically those family members that have been directly affected by this event to make sure that they have all the assistance that they need.

So it'll be interesting to see exactly what federal investigators find out at the end of this. But, again, that's really the key headline here, that OSHA investigators, compliance officers are in fact on the ground, overseeing the efforts to clean up.

We do understand the search, rescue, the recovery, all of that wrapped up over the weekend. Right now, it's about actually clearing this out and then seeing if the facility itself could be reopened.

BERMAN: Polo Sandoval in Edwardsville, Illinois.

Polo, thank you so much.

It's important to ask these questions. Even as the cleanup is getting under way over this immense several-100-mile stretch of devastation, you do have to begin to ask these questions to make sure that these facilities and homes and everything are as safe as they can be going forward -- Ana.

CABRERA: John Berman, thank you. We will check back. Great reporting there.

We're also following some major developments in the January 6 investigation. The lawyer for Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows now making an urgent plea to the select committee, asking them to reconsider their plans to hold him in contempt of Congress. Why he says Meadows should be spared -- just ahead.

Plus, a surge in coronavirus cases sparking a return to masks and vaccine requirements in some major American cities, Philadelphia now implementing a vaccine mandate for indoor events. Details just ahead.

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[13:17:19]

CABRERA: Hours before the House select committee investigating January 6 votes to hold Mark Meadows in contempt, his lawyer makes a final push to try to prevent that from happening, asking the committee to reconsider, this as we learn more about what Donald Trump's former chief of staff already turned over to lawmakers, including a stunning e-mail from the day before the Capitol riot.

And in this e-mail, Meadows tells someone that the National Guard would -- quote -- "protect pro-Trump people on January 6."

Now, we don't know the full context of what he meant. But that message is part of a trove of documents Meadows has turned over to the House panel. That was before he stopped cooperating.

CNN's Whitney Wild is tracking this story.

Whitney, what more do we know about this Meadows e-mail and his lawyer's new letter about the contempt proceedings?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we know about the e-mail is that he actually supplied it to the committee.

And this is a key sticking point, Ana, because the committee has maintained that Meadows has provided this wealth of information. And all they want to do is ask him about documents he himself provided. And yet he won't sit in for a deposition.

He argues that this is an executive privilege case, that he should still have the executive privilege confidentiality here, and that because the former president is still claiming executive privilege, not formally to the committee, but at least to his aides, that, actually, Mark Meadows has no opportunity to testify because there's a risk that he would infringe on the former president's right to executive privilege, and so he can't sit down for a deposition.

And that's really what this seven-page letter from Meadows' counsel to the committee says. It lists out a long list of reasons why Meadows believes that he cannot testify. Again, that executive privilege question, they believe, is still hanging in the balance. Further, they are really urging the committee not to follow through with this criminal contempt charge, because they maintain that Meadows is a good-faith actor.

He simply doesn't feel he can offer this information, and so it's totally inappropriate for the committee to go after him criminally, when he's just trying to do the right thing. The committee again has always maintained that they just want to ask questions about information Meadows is already supplied.

They say they have given him plenty of time to provide a deposition. They have gone back and forth with them -- with him and his counsel enough over the last month, and so now they have no choice but to refer him for a criminal contempt charge, Ana, but certainly something to watch.

And I will note that this letter is different. We saw a very similar play from Jeffrey Clark's counsel. And in the end, Jeffrey Clark's counsel said, OK, wait a second, pump the brakes on the criminal contempt charge. We will sit for an interview. We will very likely plead the Fifth.

That is not the case in this letter. It does not suggest that Meadows will ever sit for a deposition.

[13:20:00]

CABRERA: And so we anticipate now a vote on contempt by the committee as soon as tonight.

Whitney Wild, thank you for your update.

Let's bring in CNN legal analyst Carrie Cordero.

And, Carrie, first, let's just talk about the contents of this e-mail from Mark Meadows in the lead-up to January 6, saying the National Guard would be present to protect pro-Trump people on that day.

What does this tell you? How significant is this?

CARRIE CORDERO, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it's obviously a very serious allegation that seems to come up in that e-mail.

Now, I haven't seen it reported who it's from, and the other details surrounding it and the context for it, but that -- this is precisely the type of thing that the committee would want to question Mark Meadows about.

What was the context of that? Were there serious discussions going on within the executive branch between the White House and the Defense Department and National Guard units about protecting pro-Trump supporters on that day or rioters on that day?

So, it's obviously an area that he has already communicated that content of the e-mail to the committee. And so they want to ask him about it. And it goes to the heart of their investigation.

CABRERA: And it's their argument for why executive privilege doesn't apply to everything that they may want to ask Mark Meadows, when he's providing some information and they want to get clarity around what he's provided.

I would assume that that is not covered by executive privilege. But his counsel is arguing, he's turned over 6,000-plus documents. And now he's just asking for you to hold on, pump the brakes, while these executive privilege claims get worked out.

What do you make of the new, I guess, request by the attorney for them not to move forward with contempt proceedings. Should they?

CORDERO: Well, I think the committee has a credible basis, and they have laid out in the report a basis on which to make the referral and then have the House vote.

And that's -- their argument hinges on whether or not Mark Meadows is acting in good faith. His lawyer will argue that he is, but there is a strong argument on behalf of the committee that he's not, because he has already provided a wealth of documents, and now they want to ask him about it.

So to the extent that he thought that there was some claim of privilege, that is contradicted by his actually providing these documents. In addition, although it was in a separate matter, there was a recent D.C. circuit case that supports President Biden's assertion over privilege in this matters related to the January 6 Committee.

In other words, President Biden holds the privilege. He has said that he's not asserting it with respect to the January 6 commission. So Mark Meadows really doesn't have a basis to make that claim. The courts have already said in other contexts that the current president's authority is what governs in this case, not the former president's advice that he's giving to his former staffers. CABRERA: So, assuming these criminal contempt proceedings do move

forward, and the House ultimately votes to then refer it to the Justice Department, is it clear to you whether the DOJ will indict?

CORDERO: I don't think it's 100 percent clear, Ana, because I don't think this is quite as straightforward as the Bannon case.

In Bannon, he simply did not cooperate. And he made it clear that he was never going to. Mark Meadows is in a different situation. He has provided thousands of pages of documents already to the committee. He is engaging with the committee through his counsel.

Now, he should, in my opinion, sit down with the committee and answer questions about certain documents that he's already provided. And his argument is weaker because he also has published a book where he describes conversations. I haven't read the book, but according to reports that I have read, the book -- and in the committee's report, it says that, in his book, he describes conversations with President -- former President Trump.

So, in that sense, the committee has some good arguments, but it is not quite as straightforward. And I think DOJ will probably take a longer time and have a more nuanced analysis in this situation.

CABRERA: Yes, it took a few weeks for them to indict Bannon on criminal contempt charges. We will see what happens moving forward.

Carrie Cordero, thank you so much.

CORDERO: Thanks.

CABRERA: She survived the deadly storm, but the business she and her husband literally built from the ground up did not.

We're back in hard-hit Kentucky next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:29:40]

BERMAN: Welcome back. I'm John Berman in Mayfield, Kentucky.

So, Korey Toon's dream of owning her own beauty salon, it came true. Then a tornado destroyed her salon and her dream.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Just tell me where we're standing.

KOREY TOON, BEAUTY SALON OWNER: This is the beauty shop. My husband built it for me about a year-and-a-half ago.

So...

O'BRIEN: It's been open for one year?

TOON: Yes. It was a year in June, so a little over a year.

BERMAN: And you said your husband built it for you. It was something you always wanted to do?