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Trucker Sentenced to 110 Years For Crash; Omicron Surge. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired December 27, 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)

JAMES COLGAN, ATTORNEY FOR ROGEL AGUILERA-MEDEROS: The law doesn't really distinguish between people like Mr. Mederos, who is not a danger to society and other people that are sentenced to life that are a danger to society.

And I think the law needs to make those kinds of exceptions and understand that there is a difference between Mr. Mederos and those other kinds of people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN HOST: Thanks to Lucy Kafanov for that reporting.

That's it for INSIDE POLITICS.

Jessica Dean picks up our coverage right now.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean in Washington, D.C., in for Ana Cabrera today.

The new year is now just five days away, but when it comes to COVID- 19, 2022 is shaping up to be deja vu all over again. New cases are soaring once again, up nearly 50 percent in the last week, this time fueled largely by the Omicron variant.

But while cases are up, hospitalizations have remained relatively lower than previous peaks, some good news there. Still, this new surge is causing major disruptions to daily life, thousands more flights canceled today, airlines seeing critical staffing shortages brought on by COVID.

And the surge is also impacting sports, several college football bowl games canceled, others now seeking replacement teams as the virus sweeps through the nation, the NHL, the NBA and the NFL all forced to postpone some games, and, this morning, President Joe Biden joining his pandemic response team's meeting with the National Governors Association.

While he says the U.S. has made great progress, Biden admits there are still some gaps in our response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And this is not like March of 2020, the beginning of the pandemic. We're prepared and we know what it takes to save lives, protect people and keep schools and businesses open.

We just have to stay focused and continue to work together. We went from no over-the-counter tests in January to 46 million in October, 100 million in November and almost 200 million in December. But it's not enough. It's clearly not enough.

If I had -- we had known, we would have gotten harder quicker if we could have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: We have correspondents and experts standing by to break this down.

Let's go first to CNN's Nadia Romero, who's live at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. It's one of the busiest in the world.

Nadia, thousands of flights have been canceled or delayed over the last few days over the Christmas holiday. It's caused a lot of disruptions for travelers. Where do things stand right now?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, you're really seeing a domino effect.

When you have this Omicron variants that spreading as quickly as it is in this country and around the world, you anticipate some challenges, and we definitely saw them over the past couple of days over this holiday weekend and today, more than 900 flights canceled just this morning. And that number keeps rising every time we check back.

We also see those challenges if your flight wasn't canceled or delayed, and you actually make it inside of the airport. Well, then you're going to encounter long lines at TSA security checkpoints because they're having staffing shortages. Let's say you want to get something to eat inside. Well, a lot of those shops are closed because they're having staffing issues due to Omicron and due to just not being able to find people who want to work.

I even spoke with the cleaning lady inside the airport. And she said, listen, we were offered double pay, double time to come in during the weekend, and people still didn't show up.

So this is being a big impact in almost every part of your travel journey. I did speak with one person who said he was going to make the trek to the U.S. He flew in from Taiwan earlier this week. And he spent some time here in Atlanta with his family. Now he's on his way to Tampa to go to the beach before he heads back to Taiwan.

And he explains some of the challenges he's faced trying to do all of this international travel and also keeping himself safe. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK GORDON, TRAVELER: Last year was a lot easier. I came here last year for Christmas as well. And it was a lot smoother than it is now with the restrictions, especially from Taiwan. There's a lot of traveling restrictions. So we had to make sure we got PCR-tested the day before, which was a hassle.

But once everything got completed, it's pretty much -- once you get to the airport and everything checks out, it's seamless, a lot more stricter in Taiwan, a lot more stricter. There's mask regulations, the PCR testing, so on and so forth. The U.S. is a lot more relaxed, but I think, with more people being vaccinated here, they can ease the restrictions more than Taiwan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: So, Jessica, you heard all the challenges and the differences between the different countries, a lot of people talking about what it took for them to be able to get on these flights to see their family and friends.

But they all told me they were going to do whatever they needed to do to see their family, because, for many people, it's been since before the pandemic, since Christmas of 2019 that they were able to see their family and friends -- Jessica.

[13:05:02]

DEAN: Right, years without seeing them.

All right, Nadia Romero for us in Atlanta, thanks so much.

And the rapid rise in cases remains a major concern.

CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here now to break down these numbers.

And, Elizabeth, the cases are rising, but we're not seeing the same steep jump in hospitalizations. Walk us through what we're seeing here.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What we're seeing here, Jessica, is a highly transmissible variant that, thank goodness, does not seem to cause severe disease in the same way that Delta or its predecessors did.

Let's take a look at these graphs. If you look at this one, on the left-hand side are cases from a month ago. That dot on the right-hand side, that's now. In the course of a month we have gone from 75,000 new cases a day in the U.S. to about 200,000 cases a day. That's a huge jump in just one month.

Now let's take a look at hospitalizations. You will see that that number is going up, but much more gradually. It's not the same surge that we have seen in cases. But there is a fear that we are going to see hospitalizations rise more sharply soon.

Our colleague Kaitlan Collins spoke earlier today with Dr. Anthony Fauci.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: Well, I do hope that we do have the net effect is a diminution in the degree of severity.

But the sheer volume of cases that we're seeing now -- yesterday, we had 214,000 cases -- even with a diminution in severity, we still could have a surge on hospitals, particularly among the unvaccinated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: And speaking of the unvaccinated, this graphic, Jessica, is like a punch in the gut. Take a look at this.

When you look from a month ago, vaccinations have gone down. Indeed, the number of people getting first shots has gone down from about 425,000 a day to 170,000 a day. That is a huge decline.

Now, to talk a little bit about what Dr. Fauci just said, what he means is, when you get a huge number of cases, which we have all -- we're already seeing, and it's going to get bigger, even if a small percentage end up in the hospital, a small percentage of a big number can still be a very big number and put a real strain on our hospitals -- Jessica.

DEAN: Yes, no question about that. Elizabeth Cohen for us, thanks so much.

And let's talk more about all of this.

Joining me now is CNN medical analyst and former Baltimore health commissioner Dr. Leana Wen.

Dr. Wen, it's always wonderful to have you on and help sort through all this new information we're getting.

We just talked through some of the new numbers. We know the Omicron variant is fueling the rise in cases. To you, how is this particular moment in the pandemic different than where we have been before?

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, we have a lot more tools at our disposal compared to before.

And one of the great things that's emerged in the last several months is for us to see how much science has really delivered. We actually have all the science that it takes to end the pandemic. We have oral treatments available, even though they're not scaled up yet. We have testing available, even though that's not scaled up yet.

And we also have vaccines that are widely available and free, even though there are people who have, unfortunately, not taken them. So, I think the key at this point is that the science is there. But we now need to convince people to get vaccinated, and we have to do our best, with the federal government leading the way, to scale up treatments and tests, because that's what's going to get us through this time.

DEAN: Right. And we heard from President Biden earlier today that they are doing that with the testing. They're ramping it up.

We also have New Year's Eve coming right around the corner. So many people plan to get together. It's always a big time for celebration, of course. This morning, Dr. Fauci said he'd stay away from larger events. I think he was talking 50, 70, dozens of people. Do you agree with that assessment at this point?

WEN: I have a more nuanced assessment. And I think it really depends on the medical circumstances in your household and for people who are close to you.

So, if you are immunocompromised or live at home with somebody who has immunocompromised or unvaccinated young children, I would definitely advise to stay away from large events or any events where there are people around you of unknown vaccination status.

Omicron is everywhere. And if you're attending an event, you have to assume that people around you are carrying Omicron and may not know it. And so, if you're immunocompromised, if you're particularly medically vulnerable, stay away from those events.

On the other hand, if you're generally healthy, fully vaccinated and boosted and everybody in your household is the same, you could make a decision that I think is reasonable to still go ahead with your New Year's Eve plans. And then, before you go visit a elderly relative in a nursing home or somebody else was medically vulnerable, then you quarantine and get tested before seeing that person.

And, of course, if you're unvaccinated, definitely do not go out and mingle because you could be a risk to other people. At this point of the pandemic, our assessment, our guidance to people has to be nuanced and it has to meet people where they are in terms of their own individual medical circumstances.

[13:10:05]

DEAN: Right, and really doing that risk assessment, based on your individual circumstances, it sounds like.

Dr. Fauci also saying today the administration is seriously considering shortening the isolation period for essential workers who test positive. And we have seen them recently do this with health care workers. How do you feel about that? Where do you think the right answer is?

WEN: I think it's really important that we shorten the isolation period, for a couple of reasons.

One is that we are facing a potential -- if police officers, firefighters, EMS, if our food service workers, if they all are out because of isolation or quarantine, we have a big issue on our hands when it comes to our work force. And so shortening the isolation period will help to preserve our core infrastructure, as it is helping to do with our health care infrastructure.

But the other reason is, there are a lot of people who are just now not getting tested because they don't want to be out for 10 days. Omicron is so omnipresent that so many people are testing positive. And so we need to really incentivize people to get tested, rather than giving them this powerful disincentive, which is 10 days.

A lot of people can't afford to be out of work or not see their family for 10 days. And so if we're able to shorten it to, let's say, five days with a negative test, that would help increase compliance. And in the long run, I think it would help us to rein in COVID even more.

DEAN: Yes, to shorten it to five days.

All right, we will see what they do.

Dr. Leana Wen, it's always great to have you on. Thanks so much for taking the time.

The case that has sparked a massive outcry and allegations of unfair punishment is in the spotlight again today. Will a judge reconsider a 110-year prison sentence for a truck driver convicted in a crash that killed four people? A hearing on that is under way right now.

Plus, a spokesman for former President Trump is now suing in an effort to stop the January 6 Select Committee from getting his bank records. What are investigators looking for?

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[13:16:25]

DEAN: A hearing is under way right now in the case of a truck driver sentenced to 110 years in prison for a 2019 interstate crash that killed four people in Colorado.

The severity of the sentence has gained national attention, sparking calls for review. Millions have signed a petition, and even the district attorney is asking the court to consider a lighter sentence. The driver told police he was going 85 miles per hour when his brakes failed and he crashed, causing that deadly 28-car pileup.

CNN's Lucy Kafanov is following developments for us this afternoon.

Lucy, what's the latest?

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, I'm actually monitoring the hearing on my laptop right now. This is a virtual status hearing, a scheduling hearing. So we're not actually expecting a ruling in this case.

But we are likely to get new dates for the court to reconvene to hear out this matter. The broader issue here is a plan brought by the district attorney that could get Rogel Aguilera-Mederos 90 years off of his sentence. She is not -- the district attorney is not looking to overturn the conviction, but rather asking the court to reconsider that lengthy 110-year prison sentence, potentially reducing it down to just 20 or 30 years.

Now, she said in a statement that Mederos made multiple active choices that resulted in the death of four people and serious injuries to others, adding that the shorter sentence reflects what she described as an appropriate outcome for that conduct.

And, of course, at issue here are these Colorado mandatory minimum sentencing laws that basically require each count to be served consecutively, rather than concurrently, which is how those 27 counts that he was charged with turned into more than a century in prison for the now 26-year-old driver, a sentence that's twice as long as some murder convicts of a state.

His attorney calling for legal reforms on CNN earlier today. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLGAN: The law doesn't really distinguish between people like Mr. Mederos, who is not a danger to society and other people that are sentenced to life that are a danger to society.

And I think the law needs to make those kinds of exceptions and understand that there is a difference between Mr. Mederos and those other kinds of people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAFANOV: And I'm still monitoring this here on my laptop. It looks like they're still deliberating.

We do expect the district attorney to issue a short sentence -- pardon me -- a short statement after this procedural hearing is over -- Jessica.

DEAN: We will keep an eye out for that. Lucy Kavanaugh, thanks for the update. We sure do appreciate it.

And let's talk more about this case.

Bob Bianchi is a criminal defense attorney and a former head prosecutor in New Jersey. Shan Wu is a defense attorney and former federal prosecutor. It's wonderful to see both of you.

Shan, let's start with you. How where is it to see a case where both the judge and the DA are out here saying we want a lighter sentence?

SHAN WU, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: It's pretty rare. And I think Bob will agree with this. I really think this is on the prosecutor originally.

I mean, it's not like they were surprised by the mandatory minimum sentences. And they could have considered what kind of charges to bring. So it is rare for them to be in agreement about this.

But this is because of the huge public outcry over the obvious gross, severe disparity of the sentence. And, really, I think the judge could have done something If the judge had simply chose not to follow that, yes, technically, that's an illegal sentence, but who's going to appeal it, in this case? The defendants not.

It'd be up to the prosecution to appeal it. And they are feeling the heat right now.

DEAN: And, Bob Bianchi, I want to make sure I say that right. Thanks to you for joining us too.

The judge -- Shan was just talking about this -- the judge bound by these minimum sentencing guidelines, and I know that you have very strong feelings about these minimum sentencing guidelines. Does this case expose some of the flaws in that system?

[13:20:03]

ROBERT BIANCHI, FORMER PROSECUTOR: It absolutely does.

And I'm so glad I have an opportunity to be here. Thank you, Jessica, for this.

As a former head county prosecutor, it may sound counterintuitive. Most of us -- there were only 21 of us in the entire state. We were appointed by the governor. So it wasn't an elected DA system. So we didn't have to worry about that court of public opinion.

But we used to lament, enough with the mandatory sentencing. You're taking away from us as prosecutors, and, moreover, taking away from the judges the ability to be able to sentence within the rule of reason like a case like this.

And every day, it seemed to me that a politician would catch on to a case that was really dramatic and didn't represent what goes on mostly in the community, and they want to pass another mandatory minimum law. And it would ensnare people like this particular defendant who don't deserve to be in jail for that period of time.

And I used to use the expression all we're doing is stacking people like cordwood in state prison because these politicians, feckless politicians, refused to this -- to remove themselves from this banner of tough on crime, and rather have sentencing options where judges and prosecutors aren't hamstrung and constrained to give more reasonable sentences.

So this case is clearly exposing how good people can get caught up in the system. And I have listened to Democrat politicians, and I have gone to Republican politicians and begged them to stop and back off these mandatory minimum, and each one is an equal opportunity offender, worried about the court of public opinion, as opposed to justice.

DEAN: And, Shan, how important was or is the role of prosecutorial discretion in this particular case?

I mean, the DA brings these charges knowing it could lead to the sentence because that is the mandatory minimum. How much leeway do they have? And how important is that in a case like this?

WU: Prosecutors have enormous leeway with discretion. It's really unfettered. And we see that all across the country each day, where you see unfair results with that, when they have chosen to bring cases.

For example, historically, racial violence has gone punished. They haven't brought police shooting murder cases. So they have a huge amount of discretion. So that's why I'm kind of putting it on the prosecutors here, which is, if they knew that, with the mandatory minimum laws, this could result in a sentence of over a century, they should have weighed that in considering what kind of plea bargain perhaps to offer or what kind of charges to bring.

So it's not as though they're being blindsided by this. And their discretion, it really is unfettered.

DEAN: Yes, that's interesting insight into that.

And millions of people have signed an online petition asking the Colorado governor to reduce this sentence or even grant clemency here. I want to listen to what one of the brothers of the victim said about that last week. We will listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DUANE BAILEY, BROTHER OF VICTIM: He should stay out of it, honestly, until the court proceeding has been done.

We were told the day of sentencing that -- there was a review in progress, and it would be done through the court system, and the sentence would be considered and more than likely reduced.

And for the governor to get involved before that process is done, I think, would be inappropriate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Bob, do you agree with Duane Bailey, the brother there? Should the governor be getting involved here or stay out of it?

BIANCHI: I think the government should stay out of it until the court ultimately comes down to what his sentencing is, because the governor needs to know what clemency they're giving him, and for what specifically, or what reduction they're looking for.

And bringing up this point here about prosecutorial discretion is really important, because it is true. The prosecutors call the shots. I was there. These cases are really difficult. When you have a person that's engaged in an accident only that's not a career criminal, doesn't represent a continuing danger to the community, as a prosecutor, because of that broad power you have, if you wanted to, you could have found a way to wiggle this down to what you thought was a more appropriate sentence.

So, it kind of sickens me a little bit, having been the top guy in that job, that it's only when a petition of plus-millions of people send something in. I would never cater to that. If I felt it was a just result, I'd stand up against that couple-of-million-people petition.

We should not be here in the court of public opinion deciding which sentences people get or don't get. It should be done on facts, laws and justice. It's really disgraceful all the way around.

DEAN: All right, Bob Bianchi and Shan Wu, thanks to both of you. We sure do appreciate it.

BIANCHI: Thank you.

WU: Good to see you.

DEAN: And right now we, are monitoring potential verdicts in two high-profile trials that are ongoing.

In New York, jurors are deliberating in the sex trafficking case of Ghislaine Maxwell. The close companion of Jeffrey Epstein is charged with six federal counts, including sex trafficking of a minor.

The jury in that case heard from more than 30 witnesses, including four women who say they were sexually abused by Epstein when they were under 18 and that Maxwell facilitated and sometimes participated in that abuse. Maxwell denies the charges, but faces up to 70 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

[13:25:00]

And, in California, deliberations in the Elizabeth Holmes fraud trial continue. The former Silicon Valley executive is accused of defrauding investors, doctors and patients by claiming to have revolutionary blood testing technology that never came to fruition.

More than 30 witnesses testified in that trial, including Holmes herself. She claims she always believed in the technology, while acknowledging some mistakes and bad judgment. She faces up to 20 years in prison.

We will keep an eye on both of these trials and, of course, bring you any updates as soon as we get them.

Still to come this afternoon: what a new lawsuit against the January 6 Committee tells us about where the committee is focusing its investigation.

That's next.

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