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Closing Arguments in Maxwell Trial; Closing Arguments in Potter Trial; Millions Travel as Covid Surges; Bill Manns is Interviewed about Covid in Michigan; Lawmakers Look if Trump Committed a Crime. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired December 20, 2021 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:32:12]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Right now court is back in session in the sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime confidant of Jeffrey Epstein. Attorneys will deliver closing arguments and the judge will give instructions to the jury. They are expected to begin deliberating today. Jurors will only have the next two days to deliberate before court closes Thursday for the Christmas holiday.

CNN's Kara Scannell, she's been following the case and has more.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN REPORTER: Jim, closing arguments get underway in the sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell. First up is the prosecution. They will try to tie together the testimony of the 24 witnesses that they called at the trial, four of them are accusers, women who say that they were sexually assaulted by Epstein when they were giving him massages. These women testified that Ghislaine Maxwell helped recruit them, helped arrange their travel and their massage appointments and, at times, participated in the alleged sexual assault.

Then Maxwell's attorneys will have a turn to address the jury. They say that she has been scapegoated, that the only reason why she is on trial is because Jeffrey Epstein isn't. He died by suicide while awaiting trial. They're also expected to attack the credibility of these accusers, saying that they were motivated by money and that their memory of these events that took place more than 20 years ago is faulty.

Maxwell faces six charges and as much as 70 years in prison if convicted of all counts.

Jim.

SCIUTTO: Kara Scannell, thanks so much. A very important trial.

Of course another trial we're following, closing arguments begin in the trial of former Police Officer Kim Potter. Potter, you'll remember, is charged with manslaughter after fatally shooting Daunte Wright during a traffic stop near Minneapolis in April. She's claimed she accidentally grabbed her gun instead of her Taser. CNN correspondent Adrienne Broaddus in Minneapolis this morning.

So, Adrienne, what do we expect today and in the coming days?

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, we expect closing arguments today, each side, the defense and the prosecution will make their final push, trying to persuade this jury to believe their side.

Let's start with the prosecution.

During the course of this eight-day trial, they really focused in on Potter's training. She became certified to use that Taser in 2002. And every year after, she was required to undergo additional training to become recertified.

By contrast, the defense is arguing that Daunte Wright's actions led to his own death. The defense also saying it was a mistake that Potter did not mean to grab her gun but was going to grab her Taser, especially noting the body camera video when we heard her yell, Taser, Taser, Taser. She talked about that moment on Friday. And she called that traffic stop chaotic.

[09:35:02]

And under cross-examination by the prosecution, she wept.

Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You didn't make sure any officers knew what you had just done, right?

KIM POTTER: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You didn't run down the street and try to save Daunte Wright's life, did you?

POTTER: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You were focused on what you had done, because you had just killed somebody.

POTTER: I'm sorry it happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROADDUS: And that initial stop was initiated because Daunte Wright allegedly had one of these hanging from his rear view mirror. It's a car freshener in the shape of a tree. In the state of Minnesota, it's illegal to have anything obstruct your view. Potter said had she been working alone that day, she never would have pulled Wright over.

Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And the origin of that stop raises policy questions as well.

Adrienne Broaddus, thanks so much.

Well, get vaccinated or get Covid. That is the warning from a Michigan hospital CEO sounding the alarm now that a fourth wave of coronavirus has hit the state. He's going to join me live. You're going to want to hear his account, that's coming up.

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[09:40:33]

SCIUTTO: A jump in new coronavirus infections has not stopped millions of Americans from heading to airports across the country. The TSA has now screened more than 2 million people every day since Thursday.

CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean joins us live from Reagan National Airport.

I mean, listen, the numbers are clear. People are keeping their holiday plans. It's understandable. Are you seeing any new measures in place at the airport to accommodate for the rise in infections?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: No big changes yet, Jim. But, remember, early in the pandemic, there weren't many changes very quickly to begin with. You know, so many people right now are having that go/no go discussion. What we're seeing is millions of people are still going regardless of these new infection rates. You know, the TSA screened 2.12 million people at airports across the country just yesterday. That is the fourth straight day that we've seen higher than 2 million people at airports nationwide. In fact, the number on Friday, the highest number we have seen since the Monday after Thanksgiving.

It's clear, a lot of people have a lot of confidence in traveling right now. There were long lines at airports across the country yesterday, from Austin, to Atlanta, to Boston. Dr. Anthony Fauci says it's important to weigh the risks right now if you're going to travel, especially considering how quickly this new variant spreads.

Here's what he said.

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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: Clearly, when you travel, there is always a risk of increased infection. That just goes with respiratory illnesses. But if people need to travel and want to travel for the obvious family reasons during this holiday season, if you're vaccinated and you're boosted, and you take care when you go into congregate settings like airports to make sure you continually wear your mask, you should be OK. But we are going to see breakthrough infections, Chuck, there's no doubt about that.

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MUNTEAN: AAA anticipates 109 million people in total will travel 50 miles or more between Thursday and January 3rd. The TSA just updated its forecast. It says a total of 30 million people will fly between today and January 3rd. The busiest day probably on Thursday, December 23rd, followed by that day after New Year's, January 3rd. We will see if there's any real dip in these numbers if these forecasts actually turn out to be true. You know, airlines did say that as infections ticked up, as the omicron variant reared its head, there was a bit of tapering off in ticket bookings. So we'll see if that comes to pass, Jim.

SCIUTTO: I know you'll be watching, Pete Muntean at Nation there, thanks very much.

Well, hospitals in Michigan are already struggling under a fourth wave of coronavirus infections. Delta, to be clear, still driving a majority of hospitalizations, but experts say that omicron is spreading faster, infecting more people.

So joining me now to get a sense of how this affects things on the ground, Bill Manns, he's president and CEO of Bronson Health Care in southwest Michigan.

Good to have you on.

I guess the first thing I want to get clear here, because this is so important to the messaging, right, as to what we all can do. You look at the cases coming in there, the severe cases that you're seeing, the ones that are requiring ICU and so on and hospitalization. Principally unvaccinated?

BILL MANNS, PRESIDENT AND CEO, BRONSON HEALTHCARE: Good morning. Thanks for having me.

To answer your question, yes, 70 to 75 percent of the Covid inpatients that we currently have are unvaccinated. About 90 percent of those patients in the ICU are unvaccinated. So getting vaccinated is incredibly important.

SCIUTTO: So if as the numbers seem to show to this point, that the surge we're seeing in this country is still largely driven by the delta variant, in other words, we have not been hit by the worst of omicron yet, even as it begins to show up in most states around the country, where you are, you're already overwhelmed today. What do you look like in two weeks, in four weeks' time?

MANNS: It's a great question, Jim. So, we are definitely concerned. Bronson has four hospitals and a skilled nursing facility. And currently all of our facilities are at or near capacity. And so as we think about what's going to happen a couple weeks after the holiday season, and we've got congregate gatherings, et cetera, we're very concerned. Our staff is already tired, beleaguered. We've got very compassionate health care heroes that have been giving it their all for the last 21 months.

[09:45:05]

So, we're concerned about this next wave. SCIUTTO: So, for many people, right, they don't see what you're

seeing, right? And the truth is that, for most people, they're not -- if they're vaccinated, they're not going to get hospitalized. They may get breakthrough infections, they may have some symptoms, but they're not going to end up in the hospital, they're not, thankfully, going -- going to die.

But where you are, first of all, you see folks getting overwhelmed. You do see people dying. And you also see other health conditions not being treated as a result, right? Can you explain to folks at home who are watching this what it looks like where you are?

MANNS: Yes. No, absolutely. So, currently as we have this influx of Covid positive inpatients. What it means is that they're crowding out other patients who want to have surgery, want to have procedures, because they can't get in. It means that our wait times are actually increased as we continue to care for patients with Covid. So, it's a really tough scenario.

SCIUTTO: So, let me ask you this. If the White House came knocking on your door and said, what do you need us to do to help you weather this, right, I mean because the big policy question now is, do we go back to a similar response that we had earlier in the pandemic when no one was vaccinated, right, or are more targeted responses, I mean, for instance, should we spend more time focusing on incidents of severe illness as opposed to just purely new infections? What would you ask for? What kind of help would you ask for from policy makers in the state and at the national level?

MANNS: Great question. So, three things. So, one, I think the CDC guidelines are solid, right? We need to continue to follow the guidelines, wear your mask indoors. I don't like these things as much as anyone else, but it's the right thing to do.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MANNS: Get vaccinated. I mean we see that those who are vaccinated, those who received their booster aren't coming into the hospital at the same rates.

I think the third thing, and this really is a message that I want us to get across the nation. This current pandemic is a pandemic of kindness. I think we've forgotten that we're all connected regardless of race, color, creed, religion, political affiliation, we are all connected. And so I think that message is critical. Our health care heroes, it feels like they've been forgotten. I'm humbled to run a health system and to watch these men and women who have worked tirelessly for the last 21 months often pulling extra shifts without a break.

As many are going home and they are celebrating for the holidays, our health care heroes will be in our facilities caring for patients. And so I think they need a break. And so the Department of Defense really helping to give us a break, but we've all got to continue to follow the guidelines and everyone needs to be vaccinated.

SCIUTTO: Well, that's a message there, too, right, that you need help from the military to respond to this. It shows it's no small thing.

Bill Manns, best of luck to you and all the folks who are working with you.

MANNS: Great. Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Still ahead this hour, thousands of key texts and communications are now in the hands of House investigators as lawmakers look into the January 6th insurrection, who was involved. What all those messages reveal, coming up.

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[09:52:43]

SCIUTTO: Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger says that the January 6th committee is now investigating whether former President Trump committed a crime with his involvement in the deadly January 6th riot. This comes as the leader of the Stop the Steal Rally, as it was called, handled over thousands of text messages and other communication records to the select committee. They include his interactions with members of Congress and Trump's inner circle in the days leading up to the riot.

CNN's senior legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid joins us now.

Paula, so the committee zeroing in on the president. I know Liz Cheney has raised the possibility of obstruction charges based on the president's inaction on that day. Do we believe that's the limit of the specific charges they may be looking into for him?

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: That is the one specific charge, obstructing an official proceeding that the vice chairwoman. Liz Cheney, has referenced, suggesting that is what they're focused on. But I don't want to get too far ahead of what Rep. Kinzinger told our colleague Jake Tapper.

So let's take a listen to exactly what he said when he was pressed on this question of whether the committee truly believes that Trump committed a crime.

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REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): I don't want to go there yet to say, do I believe he has. I think that's, obviously, a pretty big thing to say. I -- we want to know, though. And I think we'll, by the end of our investigation, and by the time our report is out, have a pretty good idea. We'll be able to, you know, have out on the public record anything the Justice Department needs maybe in pursuit of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: Because, of course, this committee cannot file criminal charges. They would have to hand over any evidence of potential criminal conduct to the Justice Department and it would ultimately be up to the attorney general, Merrick Garland, whether to pursue charges. But if they were to bring a criminal case against Trump, they have to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. And, historically, Trump does not email, he does not text. His closest associates are often reluctant to testify or work against him. So if this is something that hypothetically the Justice Department wanted to pursue, it could be an uphill climb.

But Kinzinger has also pointed out the fact that the committee is not just focused on January 6th. They're focused on the days and weeks leading up to January 6th. And they have received thousands of text messages and communications from Allie Alexander (ph), the organizers of the Stop the Steal Rally.

[09:55:00]

And among these communications are messages from lawmakers and members of Trump's inner circle.

And Alexander is such a key witness for the committee as it looks into the days and weeks leading up to January 6th because he can potentially help them understand how is this rally organized? How was it funded and how did it erupt in violence?

Now, the investigation continues. And, Jim, we could see more witnesses this week.

SCIUTTO: Yes, how was it organized? Who helped?

Paula Reid, thanks very much.

Just moments ago, President Biden arrived back at the White House. He is meeting this morning with his Covid-19 team of advisers as concerns grow about the omicron variant. Details on how he's planning to respond, the message he's preparing to send tomorrow, those are coming up.

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SCIUTTO: A very good Monday morning to you.

Right now, some new Covid precautions back in place in some cities as the country sees a major spike in new infections.