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Georgia GOP Candidate Perdue Calls for New Election Police Unit; CIA: Small Subset of Havana Syndrome Cases Could Be An Attack; Woman Nominated to Head the Los Angeles Fire Department; Report: No Amount of Alcohol is Goof for Your Heart. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired January 20, 2022 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: So, if we don't learn from history, how are we going to avoid repeating some of the same mistakes? This is such a short-sided, ignorant, stupid, political, idiotic, unnecessary act by the Florida legislature and the government.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Speaking of learning from history, he cherry-picked one line from a Dr. Martin Luther King speech while trying to justify a law that would make it illegal for people to feel uncomfortable because of what their ancestors did. He should read books by Dr. King. Read more speeches, read more sermons, and see if he wants to pick things. Dr. King was quite comfortable with presenting the truth of history in this country as it relates to race. That's for the Florida governor.

But let's turn to Georgia where a candidate for governor, former Senator David Perdue now is following the lead of the governor there in Florida and wants his own election police force in Georgia. His campaign is centered around, essentially, the big lie in Georgia. He's trying to unseat the current governor in Georgia. Why is this happening now that you've got this competition between, I guess, Florida and Georgia on who could be the furthest on the right on these police forces?

NAVARRO: I don't know what an election police is. I don't know what they are supposed to do. I do know that there are many states that have passed measures that curtail the right to vote and make it harder. They are moving polling places. They are moving or eliminating drop-off boxes. They are curtailing early voting. They are making it harder to get an absentee ballot. They're making voting by mail much harder. They are gerrymandering and creating, drawing up partisan redistricting maps which is now, you know, something that's happening after the census.

All those measures and they're doing it without the extra set of eyes and review from the Department of Justice, which is what the John Lewis Voting Act was going to restore. So, when people question, will there be a fair election, will there be an even playing field. I think it's a legitimate question. Because these measures have passed and they are going to suppress the vote and make it harder for people to vote. I in Florida used to have to register to vote by mail once every eight

or ten years. Now it's every two years. People don't know that. That's going to affect how many people do that. And they are doing it very strategically with a purpose of getting less people to vote by mail. Because even though before, Republicans used to win the vote by mail, now Democrats do. And so, the Republicans in charge are trying to make those changes, you know.

If they're going to quote Martin Luther King, they should really remember the quote about the subverted hypocrisy of racism. And I would say to those that like to quote Martin Luther King, don't quote. Don't you dare quote if you don't defend the right to vote.

BLACKWELL: Ana Navarro always good to see you.

NAVARRO: Thank you.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Thanks, Ana

BLACKWELL: A new CIA analysis have some surprising findings about the mysterious, as is called, Havana syndrome. What the agency says is likely not sickening U.S. officials around the world. That's next.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: The CIA is casting doubt that the ministry affliction known as Havana's syndrome is the work of a foreign actor. Now, the assessment given to the president and Congress says is unlikely that the syndrome is part of a sustained worldwide campaign. But a senior agency official told CNN that the CIA has not ruled out that a small subset of cases, may be two dozen, they say, could be attacks.

The first reports of the symptoms were in Havana about five years ago and since then there have been roughly 1,000 reports from U.S. diplomats, and officers and other Americans abroad of unusual symptoms, headaches, even worse. Some even suffered traumatic brain injury.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC POLYMEROPOULOS, FORMER, U.S. INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: I mean, I woke up in the middle of the night with an incredible case of vertigo. Now, the room was spinning. I wanted to throw up. IV shot it but this is by far the most terrifying experience of my life. I've had a headache every day since that night in Moscow. It's never gone away, day and night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Joining me now is the attorney for the man you just heard from, Mark Zain. He's also representing more than a dozen others who suffered from Havana syndrome. Mark, good to see you. Let's start here with this. You say that this interim report from the CIA is disinformation. Why? MARK ZAIN, ATTORNEY REPRESENTING HAVANA SYNDROME VICTIMS: Yes, good to

be with you, Victor. Look, this is a very planned, coordinated response by the agency. One has to question why the agency, after only a few months of investigating something that actually has been going on for far more than just Havana. Where I represent half a dozen or ten or so folks from down in Nevada in 2016. This has been going on. We have reports back in the '90s of people that were impacted in various places around the world.

The agency knows it because most of them were their people. So why come out with an interim report basically saying that, well, we haven't been able to find anything that indicates some widespread attack among our people, but there is a bunch of cases -- this is being lost -- a dozen or so cases -- and actually, the number is higher, even according to their own info -- that possibly are some sort of foreign attack.

[15:40:05]

So, the real story gets lost in this bigger PR campaign that there's nothing there to see. And it's a problem of their own doing because there was the CIA that actually sent out notices to all of its people around the world and said, if you're suffering any type of similar symptom, please report it. And then they medevacked all those people back home. So, they're actually a victim of their own success, but it undermines the credibility of the true people who actually have suffered attacks.

BLACKWELL: Mark, let me ask you this, because you say this is planned and coordinated. It sounds like you are suggesting here that the CIA is involved in some conspiracy to cover this up. Am I misreading that?

ZAIN: No, I don't think that's a misreading. You know, they did this uncoordinated with their own sister agencies.

BLACKWELL: The question is why would they do that, Mark?

ZAIN: Because they don't want it known of the evidence of whatever number that there is an issue with some -- one or more foreign governments that have been perpetrating whatever this is. And I don't weigh in on what it is. We have theories.

The National Academy of Sciences have said they think it's some sort of directed energy weapon. There is widespread information that dates back into the '60s where we know the Russians were using microwaves against our people. There were hearings in the late '70s in the Senate, our Senate, that the Russians were bombarding our embassy with microwaves and we weren't sure what kind of long-term impact.

BLACKWELL: Mark let me ask you this, because you know there are some people are going to hear this. And you're talking about things that go back to the 90s, the 60s. There are going to be people who -- and I know you won't be offended by this -- hear tin foil hat talk. How do you convince them what you're describing here, the CIA is involved in some conspiracy, it goes back decades, the government is covering it up, that there is something here that needs to be exposed? What's your next step in doing that?

ZAIN: Well, we filed another FOIA lawsuit -- freedom of information act lawsuit today for NSA intelligence that it admitted to me in writing exists from 2012 about an adversary that was using a microwave weapon -- this was an NSA document -- that was used to maim or kill a victim overtime, in their home, in their residence overseas without any evidence. That was an NSA document.

I'm not talking tinfoil hat. I get contacted by people all the time about this that are not federal government that think the FedEx guy was impacting them. And clearly, something is impacting them, but I don't think it's foreign government attacks. I'm talking about technology that has been used, not necessarily to attack, could be for some surveillance. That's one of the theories. But it's having a negative health impact on our people.

BLACKWELL: Well, we have this from -- let me read this from the senior CIA official.

ZAIN: Sure.

BLACKWELL: I just want to read the quote.

This finding does not -- it does not call into question the fact that our officers are reporting real experiences and are suffering real symptoms, nor does it explain every report.

Mark Zain, I got to wrap it there on time, but I thank you so much. I know you're representing more than a dozen of the people who claimed they have been impacted by Havana syndrome. Thank you, Mark.

ZAIN: Thank you, Victor.

CAMEROTA: Well, Victor, it is a new era in a male line of work. The mayor of Los Angeles just nominating the first woman ever to leave the cities fire department and she joins us next.

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CAMEROTA: A first for Los Angeles. Mayor Eric Garcetti has nominated a woman to lead the city's department.

Kristin Crowley is a 22-year veteran of the department and currently the Acting Chief Deputy and she joins me now. Chief, great to see you.

DEPUTY CHIEF KRISTIN CROWLEY, NOMINEE FOR LOS ANGELES FIRE CHIEF: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: If the city council approves this nomination, as I think is expected, what would that mean for you? What would it mean for the department?

CROWLEY: Well, to me it's obviously very important step in my own personal development. But more importantly it's a just huge step forward for the Los Angeles City Fire Department. And even bigger than that it's a big step forward in really challenging the status quo in regard to the leaders that we've had historically in the fire service. So, it's a big historical event.

CAMEROTA: It really would be. And it also sounds like you would have your work cut out for you. And I was just reading this L.A. Editorial Board commentary.

And they say: A long-a waited survey of the fire department's workplace culture found that more than half of female employees and 40 percent of Black and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders said bullying and harassment are problems within the department. Among all L.A. Fire Department fire fighters, 70 percent lacked trust in their leaders.

[15:50:00]

So, do you see the serious issues already there?

CROWLEY: Well, I think it's really an advantage to already have that assessment complete and to listen and to truly hear what our members are feeling. And so that's big step forward for us as well.

So, I'm going to utilize that as our road map to better understand how we can strategically create that path forward. The work environment issue is going to be and should be our number one and my number one priority, to ensure that our members come to work that they feel safe. They feel heard and they feel accepted for, you know, the skill set and the value that they bring to this organization.

CAMEROTA: And what about you, Chief? I mean it couldn't have been easy to be in the fire department for 22 years. I mean have you been subjected to fill in the blank, bullying or sexism or harassment?

CROWLEY: Sure. I think, you know, the fire service isn't that different than a lot of other agencies. I think because it is unique environment where we live together, eat together, run calls together for 24 hours. That makes us unique.

In my own 22 years on the L.A. City Fire Department, I've had a handful of issues but how I dealt with them was at a low level, I had a very candid conversation with the individual where they stepped out of line or were inappropriate. So, I had that skill set. I want to make sure I pass that skill set on to everybody.

But more importantly it's just taking a proactive approach and drawing a line in the sand with regard to how we're going to treat one another in the work environment. Obviously, provide the training but more importantly just to intertwine, how we're going to treat one another in the fire station.

CAMEROTA: And so, what would you do? I mean what would be your first move if you get this position?

CROWLEY: The first move for me is just to get out there and talk to our members. I'm going to utilize like I said that assessment that we have as a road map. But it is important that our members see me out there, that I can connect with them, bring my command staff along, and really set a path forward. A path that we can sustain so that it's just not here and now, that we can actually address any issues for a long-term strategy. So, that moving forward this organization and the members will understand what that line is in the sand and make sure that we have an accountability piece but training is an essential piece as well.

And just ensuring that our supervisors understand how we can help our members through this and counsel, discipline if needed, but it starts with me at the top.

CAMEROTA: Well, it sounds like it's overdue for an overhaul. So, we'll be watching what happens next. Deputy Chief Kristen Crowley, thanks so much for your time.

CROWLEY: Thank you for having me.

BLACKWELL: are you also microphone off what all yeah Well, if you're anything like me and you're planning to have a margarita in about 45 minutes --

CAMEROTA: Hmm, good to know.

BLACKWELL: -- the World Health Federation says no amount of alcohol is good for your heart.

CAMEROTA: I don't believe that.

BLACKWELL: Yes, I don't want to. We'll explain why and what happened to all those red wine health benefits?

CAMEROTA: That's what I want to know.

BLACKWELL: Coming up next.

CAMEROTA: Definitely.

[15:55:00]

BLACKWELL: There's a new recommendation from a global heart organization that no amount of alcohol is good for your heart health. The American Heart Association has said that moderation is key when it comes to drinking but this new assessment suggests maybe cut it all out.

CAMEROTA: CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now. Time-out, Elizabeth. Time-out. Because I have been putting a lot of stock in those previous studies that found that red wine is good for your heart health. Doesn't it lower bad cholesterol or has resveratrol or something like that, has that all been debunked?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh Alisyn, I just feel terrible sitting here and talking to you today. And I want to fully tell you that I feel like I am the least popular person on CNN today.

BLACKWELL: Might be.

COHEN: Unfortunately, all those studies that got so much -- might be -- all of those studies that got so much attention in the '90s and the 2000s, they weren't necessarily debunked but more studies came out that said, eh, it's not clear because these studies, they're very hard to do.

You look at populations that, you know, they maybe drink a glass of wine a day. They maybe have better heart health. Well, maybe there were other things about them that were healthier, too. It is really, really hard to say.

But let me sort of tell you what this report said and then give you kind of a bottom-line here.

So, this report said that drinking is associated with a whole bunch of health problems including coronary disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and some types of cancer. They say when you look worldwide, 2019 there were 2.4 million deaths attributed to alcohol not just because of heart problems but because of many of those other things that I named.

Now what the American Heart Association says is, look. Don't think because you think it is going to make you healthy. Because maybe, maybe, maybe red wine is associated with heart health but you could also eat blue berries and get the same flavonoids and other kinds of things.

So, you know, a glass of wine, a bowl of blue berries. Like you don't need to have the wine. But if you are going to drink, they said drink moderately.

So, let's look at what moderate drinking is according to the American Heart Association. That is one to two drinks for men, one for women per day. A drink is 12 ounces of beer or five ounces of wine.

A toast to all of you. Sorry to brink you this news.

BLACKWELL: One or two a day. I can live with that.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BLACKWELL: I feel like I'm good with that.

CAMEROTA: Me too. Everything -- look, I'm a big believer. Everything in moderation including moderation.

BLACKWELL: I knew I liked you, Alisyn Camerota.

CAMEROTA: That's awesome. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you for all of that.

COHEN: Thanks.

CAMEROTA: Oh, and "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.