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Trucker Sentenced to 110 Years For Crash; Insurrection Investigation; Omicron Surge. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired December 27, 2021 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Happy holidays everyone. I'm Alisyn Camerota. Victor is off today.

For the third day in a row, the COVID surge is creating holiday chaos. More than 2,600 flights have been canceled today, more than 1,000 of those in the U.S., mostly thanks to staff calling out sick as COVID cases soar from the Omicron variant. The U.S. is averaging more than 198,000 new infections a day. That's a level not seen since last January, during one of the worst peaks of the pandemic.

But hospitalizations are rising less quickly than the speed we saw with the Delta surge. Still, Omicron's fast spread is derailing more than just flights.

CNN's Tom Foreman is tracking the developments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With COVID cases soaring, more than 2,000 flights were grounded, nearly 3,000 delayed in the U.S. just today. That's on top of thousands over the weekend, and flight crews keep calling in sick even as holiday travelers keep coming.

RANI LALL, TRAVELER: we actually changed our flight to a nonstop flight just to -- in hopes of hopefully not having any cancellations.

FOREMAN: At sea, several cruise ships have been infected, in some cases being turned away from ports, in all, dampening the festivities.

ASHLEY PETERSON, CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER: And they weren't really enforcing masks, until a lot of people started getting COVID, and then they were kind of enforcing masks more. I don't think I will ever go on a cruise again, honestly, at this point.

FOREMAN: As the Omicron variant rages, testing lines are stretching out and tests running short in some places. New York City is enforcing a COVID vaccine mandate for private businesses.

DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: No one thinks that this is the holiday season we were hoping for. But contrast it to last year. It's so much better. FOREMAN: Also better, hospitalizations are not rising as quickly as

feared and health officials are reconsidering the 10-day recommended isolation for people who test positive.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: The idea about cutting down the period of quarantine for people who've been exposed and perhaps the period of isolation for people who have been infected is something that is under, I would say, serious consideration.

FOREMAN: Still, for now, the virus keeps hammering hospitals, patients and staffs alike.

DIANA RICHARDSON, TUFTS MEDICAL CENTER: We have as of this morning 115 staff members out ill with COVID who have tested positive.

FOREMAN: Even the holiday fun and games are getting shaky, with five college football bowl games canceled or scrambling to find new teams as COVID rips through locker rooms. Brand-new rules allow for the championship itself to be delayed or decided by forfeit if necessary, although nobody wants that.

ELI GOLD, RADIO VOICE, ALABAMA CRIME TIDE FOOTBALL: Everybody wants to play. So, the players are looking out for themselves. They really are.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: Health officials say this current surge could last another six to eight weeks. But they do give credit to the majority of Americans who have proceeded to get their vaccinations and are following up on that for helping blunt the impact.

And if you have any doubts about how much a vaccine mandate can have an impact, the mayor of New York says, since they said this private sector mandate would go into place, in just the last week, 179,000 people there have received their boosters -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK. Tom Foreman, thank you very much for the reporting.

So President Biden told governors he will help any way he can as the Omicron variant spreads. Today was the first time that he joined the weekly call between the White House COVID response team and state leaders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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.

My message to the governors is simple. If you need something, say something. And we're going to have your back in any way we can. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: CNN's Jeremy Diamond is traveling with the president in Delaware.

So, Jeremy, how does the president plan to help the states?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Alisyn, President Biden made very clear that the partnership between the federal government and these state governments is crucial in this next phase of the pandemic.

And that's why the president decided to hop on this call to meet with governors and ask them what exactly they need and also to hear from them about their experience in the states. We're told that the president and these governors discussed everything from the latest science on the Omicron variants to the distribution of treatments for the coronavirus and testing.

Testing seems to have been really the central issue being discussed between these governors and the president, and, on that front, the president acknowledging, after a weekend during which we saw long lines for Americans to get tested, empty shelves with those at-home test kits, Americans unable to acquire those, the president making clear that more work still needs to be done.

[14:05:13]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Seeing how tough it was for some folks to get a test this weekend shows that we have more work to do, and we're doing it.

Because of steps we have been taking to increase the number of authorized tests, we're now able to purchase 500 million at-home rapid tests to be sent to the American people for free when they request it.

And we're going to continue to use the Defense Production Act to produce as many tests as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And so what you hear there from the president is an acknowledgement of the fact that they simply have fallen short on this front of testing. That was something that Dr. Anthony Fauci said earlier today on CNN as well, acknowledging that demand has simply outstripped the ability to manufacture enough tests, both because of this holiday surge, but, also, of course, because of this surge of coronavirus cases driven by the Omicron variant.

The president making very clear that this is not enough. He said it's clearly not enough. And once again, he said that if the federal government had known and if it had had the capacity to manufacture more tests ahead of time, it would have done that. Instead, we're now left waiting for those 500 million tests, which are going to be shipped to Americans who request them. But that, of course, does not begin until sometime next month. The

president last week said in an interview that he wishes he had thought of that a couple months sooner. But, clearly, that is now the focus, to try and manufacture those tests as quickly as possible, distribute them, and then work with these governors in partnership to get them to Americans.

CAMEROTA: OK, Jeremy Diamond, thank you.

Joining us now is Dr. Ofer Levy, who is the director of the Precision Vaccines Program at Boston Children's Hospital.

Dr. Levy, thanks so much for being here.

So I think one of the things that just came out of that call that Jeremy was reporting on is that we're hearing some leaders like Dr. Fauci -- and I think the governor of Nebraska agrees -- say that we should start to measure COVID not in number of cases, which are very high right now, but in number of hospitalizations, which is lower than past peaks.

So do you agree that hospitalizations are a better metric, more relevant right now for Omicron?

DR. OFER LEVY, FDA VACCINES ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Thank you for that, Alisyn.

Certainly, hospitalizations are a very, very important metric, and one that should be emphasized. So I definitely agree with Dr. Fauci on that.

But the number of infections is not irrelevant. That will continue to be a metric as well. But in terms of impact on society, certainly, hospitalizations are an important metric.

CAMEROTA: I mean, part of the reason I think that it's time maybe to change this is that a lot of people are asymptomatic, and are not at risk of dying, not at risk of being hospitalized.

So, in some ways, the number of cases is more alarming than what's actually happening. Do you agree with that?

LEVY: Well, that's a perspective on it.

We do have to bear in mind, however, that for the average healthy person, coronavirus and particularly Omicron might not pose a very serious threat to that individual's long term health. However, as you know, they could spread it to somebody who is in a higher risk group, who's older or is immunocompromised, perhaps has cancer, is on chemotherapy, or has other comorbidities.

So, because -- this is the whole nature of infectious diseases, that it's not just ourselves, but those around us that we affect.

CAMEROTA: I want to ask you about children. So you're at Boston Children's Hospital. What are you seeing in terms

of the number of kids who are there right now? And are they getting hit harder with this current wave, be it Delta or Omicron, than we have seen in the past for kids?

LEVY: Well, thank you for that.

In general, the impression is that Omicron is not causing as severe disease as the Delta did. A lot of that is based on adult data, South Africa, United Kingdom, and now of course, our own data in the United States. And those studies are ongoing, but it seems like there's a consistent message of lower severity.

In terms of transmissibility, it's very high, including to children. I have a colleague who was on service last night at Boston Children's Hospital emergency department and saw multiple children with Omicron. Well, they don't know Omicron, for sure, but with coronavirus, possibly or even likely Omicron, although most of the cases are not very severe.

The information is still coming in. This is an active and fluid situation. I'm going to go on service infectious disease consultant, in the next couple of days at Boston Children's. And I will be rounding in the hospital, so I will know more.

CAMEROTA: OK, we will circle back with you to ask you about what you're seeing in the hospital at that time.

But in the meantime, I want to ask you about what isolation and quarantine should look like right now, because the governor of New York is suggesting that, for essential workers -- and those include health care workers, including pharmacists, those include sanitation workers, those in front-line positions at grocery stores, people who work in restaurants, I mean, all of the people that we rely on, on a daily basis -- that, for those folks, they should only isolate for five days after testing positive.

[14:10:15]

So, number one, does that make sense to you? And, number two, then why should the rest of us be isolating for 10 days for -- I mean, for those of us who come into contact with even fewer people, is it time to rethink the 10-day isolation?

LEVY: Well, yes, that's a very important question.

I think what you're seeing is, because this has become a chronic situation that is spanning more than a year, public health officials are trying to consider what is the right balance of caution vs. impact on society? And certainly scrutinizing the length of these quarantines or isolation is appropriate, as long as it's science-driven.

They are appropriately starting with essential workers, like health care workers and other workers that keep our economy going. If we're too strict, we can wind up creating rules that are harmful to the operation of hospitals, clinics, and our economy. And if we're too loose, we're going to have excess deaths. So it's a

tough balance. But that is the task for public health. And I'm happy to hear those conversations going on. And I think it's good that that's being seriously considered. And it's got to be looked at case by case. It's got to be data-driven.

CAMEROTA: But do you think that there will come a time soon where all of us don't have to be subjected to a 10-day isolation?

LEVY: That may be possible. I don't want to prejudge the outcome of those deliberations. I think they're going to start with the essential workers, the health care workers and the others that are so critical for our supply chain that affect our entire economy. And keeping our economy open is critical.

And then beyond that, I think they will look at other -- the rest of the population as well at that point.

CAMEROTA: OK, so we're just a few days from the end of the year. What do you think 2022 will look like in terms of coronavirus? What's your prediction?

LEVY: Yes, so my prediction is that this is behaving like a typical respiratory virus that's worse in the winter and less common in the summer, and that it's becoming endemic.

In other words, it's just part of our background, and it comes and goes, like influenza, right? You don't see much influenza in the summer. You see more of it in the winter, that kind of thing, so that I predict -- and, of course, this is not 100 percent certain, but I think it's likely -- that we will see this wave come and go and that the spring and summer will look a lot better than right now looks to us, there will be fewer cases.

And then again, next fall and winter, we will see a spike of viral illnesses, coronaviruses, influenza and others, but that it'll be more like an endemic cycle. And then we will be in a better position because, as more and more people get immunized and boosted, and as more antivirals become available, and other interventions to prevent and treat this virus, it'll be a better winter.

Just like this winter, with all its challenges, is still better than the winter before, I believe that next winter will be better than this one.

CAMEROTA: Well, that's a welcome prediction.

Dr. Ofer Levy, thank you for your time.

LEVY: Thank you, Alisyn. Always a pleasure.

CAMEROTA: Well, another member of Donald Trump's inner circle is trying to delay the January 6 Committee's investigation. Up next, we're going to take a closer look at the full-on battle over the truth. Plus: Prosecutors in Colorado will formally ask the judge to reduce a

truck driver's prison sentence for a deadly crash. We have a live update for you.

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[14:18:07]

CAMEROTA: New signs the January 6 Committee is trying to follow the money. The committee wants to see the bank records of former President Trump's current spokesman, Taylor Budowich, which who is now suing the committee to try to stop that.

CNN congressional correspondent Ryan Nobles joins us now.

Ryan, give us the latest.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

Alisyn, I don't think there's any doubt that the committee's investigation is at a critical stage. They have issued many subpoenas. They have interviewed close to 300 witnesses. They have collected thousands and thousands of documents.

But they have reached somewhat of an impasse with some of these figures that are closely aligned and directly connected with the former President Donald Trump. And the strategy you see being played out by many of these in the Trump orbit is to basically sue their way of providing any information.

You see this with the lawsuit filed by Budowich, who has made it, revealed that the committee is interested in his bank records. You have seen it with folks like Mark Meadows, who is suing the committee despite the fact that he is being held in criminal contempt of Congress.

There are several others of these targets, these subpoena targets who the committee is looking for information or phone records that have filed lawsuits to prevent the committee from getting them.

Now, the committee has had quite a bit of success in the courtroom. They have won multiple cases regarding the access to this information. But there are still many that are playing out in the courts. And even if they're right on the law, which the committee believes that they are, there's a time clock here that they're working up against.

Many people, including those on the committee, believe that they really need to have their work wrapped up ahead of the 2022 midterms, because if Republicans are successful in taking back the House of Representatives, it's very likely that they will shut down this investigation or change the scope of it dramatically.

So that's the real issue that they're going to have to work through here as we start this new year. Alisyn, they remain confident that they are getting enough information to draw conclusions about what went wrong here and offer up solutions to prevent it from ever happening again.

[14:20:11]

CAMEROTA: OK, Ryan Nobles, thank you for that wrap-up.

With me now is Harry Litman. He's a former U.S. attorney and a legal affairs columnist for "The L.A. Times."

Harry, great to see you.

Can you just help me connect the dots about this strategy that the committee seems to be following right now, which is the follow-the- money strategy? So let's say they're able to figure out who paid for the buses to take people to that rally before the insurrection. How is that prosecutable?

HARRY LITMAN, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: Oh, well, in many ways.

Good to see you also, Alisyn.

So, this guy Budowich is charged with getting a $200,000 bounty from a source who didn't know it, funneling it through a 501(c)(4) and having a social media campaign, everybody, come January 6. So, for Congress' purposes, it really helps fill in the story. How could a ragtag operation or at least with ragtag folks actually be assembled and have the kind of big crowd and organization that it has?

So it's a big part of the story. And it could also be criminal. If the if the conduct on the 6th is criminal, this could also be part of either conspiracy or an aiding and abetting.

Now, from Budowich's standpoint in that of Meadows, it's always the same, the same play here. As soon as they go after third-party records, phone records or bank records, they run to the courts and say, stop it. But they have basically no real arguments to play. It's just that they can't do it through the purview of the committee. So they go to the courts and say the old tired no legislative purpose or First Amendment problem.

Those arguments are not going to fly, and they're probably going to be shot down in short order and become the law of the circuit. So it's absolutely right. There's a ticking time clock here. But this one, this overall strategy, I think, will be foiled in plenty of time.

CAMEROTA: OK.

LITMAN: And the committee will be able to get third-party information.

CAMEROTA: How about the strategy that President Trump is using about going to the Supreme Court?

LITMAN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: So he wants to stop the release of his speech notes, handwritten notes from Mark Meadows, activity logs all relating to January 6. Will the Supreme Court take that up?

LITMAN: OK, so point one is, to date, it has been super fast through the district court and court of appeals, and they're aware of it.

Point two is, the Congress also is aware of it and is urging the Supreme Court to take it up very quickly at its January 14 conference. Bottom-line odds, many people on the committee think they will take it, in which case game over as far as the committee goes if there's any change in the election.

I personally think the odds are better than others do that they will not take the case. They need four votes. I can get to three much easier than four. I think the Supreme Court will actually turn the case down.

CAMEROTA: OK, so do you agree with the committee, the select committee, that they will have their work wrapped up by the midterms? Or is -- are -- when you look at the timeline, does that seemed like an impossibility?

LITMAN: Not an impossibility. They're going to have to.

Look, they have had some 300 people behind the scenes. They have got a wealth of information. They just don't have some of the most important information. But they have got a very strong and broad cooperation going with a lot of really solid prosecutors. When it's time to wrap it up, they will.

It just may be that some of their points are not as definitive as they otherwise would be.

CAMEROTA: Harry Litman, great to see you. Thank you.

LITMAN: You too, Alisyn. And happy new year.

CAMEROTA: You too.

A Colorado district attorney is set to ask for a dramatic change in a truck driver's prison sentence. We have the new details for you next.

And, soon, the Los Angeles Police Department is set to release bodycam video from that tragic deadly shooting, a teenage girl apparently caught in the crossfire between officers and a suspect. We have more on that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:28:50]

CAMEROTA: The truck driver sentenced to 110 years in prison for a fatal crash in Colorado could be resentenced soon.

On January 13, the court will consider a sentence reduction for that driver. He was convicted in October for causing this fiery 28-car pile-up in 2019 that killed four people. His lengthy sentence was the legal minimum under Colorado's mandatory minimum law. CNN's Lucy Kafanov joins me now from Denver.

So, Lucy, if this is the state law, why are they reconsidering sentence?

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a very unusual case. The big issue they're grappling with at the moment, Alisyn, is this unprecedented nature of the case, in which it's the prosecution who initiated the request for a lower sentence, rather than the defense.

Now, the First Judicial district attorney, Alexis King, said that they are likely recommending a sentence range of 20 to 30 years -- this is based on the facts of the case, she said -- as well as conversations with the victims and their families.

She told reporters -- and I quote -- "This is an exceptional case and requires an exceptional process."

When the court reconvenes on January 13, this is going to be an in person hearing, but the judge said he does not want the defendant to testify. Both parties want to ensure that any re-sentencing decisions don't interfere with his right to appeal.

[14:30:00]