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Executive Order Draft Reveals Plans To Seize Voting Machines By Military; January 6 Committee Requests Testimony From Ivanka Trump; Rudy Giuliani Allegedly Oversaw Plot To Create Fake Electors; Interview With Michigan Secretary Of State Jocelyn Benson; West Virginia Reporter Speaks Out After Being Hit By Car On Live TV; NYPD Officer Killed, Another Critically Injured In Shooting. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired January 22, 2022 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:24]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

America's crisis of democracy could have snowballed in December of 2020 if former president Donald Trump had put his signature on this document. It's a draft of an executive order obtained by "Politico" that would have sent the U.S. Military out to seize voting machines giving American troops authority to hunt for evidence that Trump had really won, which of course he didn't. It's all a big lie.

It also directed the Justice Department to name a special counsel to oversee the effort and prosecute potential election-related crimes which Trump's own outgoing attorney general said were inconsequential as in not enough to overturn the election results. It's the blueprint for a coup laid out in three pages.

Now CNN has not been able to independently verify this draft, and it's not clear who wrote it, but it is believed to be part of a massive batch of documents, about 700 pages that are now in the hands of the January 6th House Select Committee.

Let's go now to CNN's senior legal analyst Elie Honig, a former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York.

Elie, you know, this is just bonkers stuff. If the former president had actually gone through with this executive order back in December of 2020, it would not have been remotely legal, right?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: No, Jim, N-0, no way. Absolutely not. Everything in this memo is wrong, it is dangerous, it is not remotely legal. Now if you look at this draft executive order it's actually dressed up with legal language, heretofores and things like that. There are citations to the Constitution and to laws. It is all bonk. And let me just sort of be specific on two things.

First of all, the military, the Department of Defense absolutely does not have the power constitutionally or otherwise to seize control of voting machines or voting apparatus. I actually doubt the military would have followed that order even if it had been given. And second of all appointment of special counsel in this situation as the executive order calls for would have been completely illegal. It would have violated the special counsel regulations.

So, Jim, I think the committee needs to get to the bottom of this and maybe prosecutors, too. Who drafted this memo? Who ordered that it be drafted and how far did it get? Because God forbid if this had been issued, it would have caused absolute chaos.

ACOSTA: Yes, no question about it, and the January 6th committee also wants Ivanka Trump to come in and voluntarily testify. In their letter to her, they say she was in the Oval Office on January 6th while Trump was pressuring then Vice President Mike Pence, General Keith Kellogg who was also there, he's an adviser to Pence at the time, was asked about Trump saying things to Pence like -- we put this on screen -- you don't have the courage to make a hard decision, Mike, it's not right.

You can do this. I'm counting on you to do this. If you don't do it, I picked the wrong man four years ago. He said Trump did use words like that and he also testified at the end of the call that Ivanka said Mike Pence is a good man. How critical is she as a witness and how surprising it is that General Kellogg was so helpful in this investigation? I find that to be very interesting.

HONIG: Yes, so the committee made clear in its letter to Ivanka Trump seeking her testimony they have good information from the inner sanctum here. From General Kellogg and from others. They gave very specific things that he testified to. They cite text.

Now as to Ivanka Trump, it's hard to think of a more central witness. She was by the president's side before the coup attempt, specifically she was there for the attempts to pressure Mike Pence, during those crucial hours she was the one who people were coming to and saying, please try to talk some sense into your father. It didn't work. And then afterwards, during the tried to sort of cover it up and tidy it up.

But there's this bizarre assumption around Ivanka Trump that she's sort of above it all. Why should she not have to testify? I mean, she's not being asked for information because she's the president's daughter. She's being asked for information because she was a senior adviser. She took that job. She took that West Wing office, and her spokesperson's response was very sort of blow offish, she doesn't feel like testifying.

I mean, too bad. You take that job. You have a responsibility to come forward and I think it's fair for the committee to ask, why not? Why is she not willing to do this?

ACOSTA: Yes, Elie, I mean, when I was reporting at the Trump White House, you know, that was the thing that they impressed upon all of us. Ivanka Trump is a real White House official here, she's a real adviser to her father.

HONIG: Right. ACOSTA: And so on, not just the first daughter. You can't have it both

ways. And I also want to ask you about Rudy Giuliani because sources tell CNN that he oversaw this scheme to install fake electors in seven states that Trump lost. What kind of legal jeopardy could he be in in just this matter? I guess, we should narrow the question.

[16:05:00]

HONIG: Yes, it's hard to know where to begin with Rudy Giuliani. I think the least surprising news of the week was once we heard about this scheme, these fake elector certificates from seven different states, immediately I think it was obvious, while this has to have been centralized somehow. There's no way seven different states all came up with this same idea. Shocker, turns out the man in the middle of it all was Rudy Giuliani.

And for all of Rudy Giuliani's misconduct, for all of his abuses of power, this one to me stands out because you are not in a gray area when you are authoring or having other people author fake documents to submit to the United States government. I mean, in virtually any other context that's a crime. It's a crime to submit a fake document to the Social Security administration, to the IRS. You name it.

What is Rudy Giuliani doing here? He's overseeing the creation of fake documents to try to steal an election that gets submitted to the National Archives. So again, I think this is something the committee needs to focus on and potentially prosecutors as well.

ACOSTA: And you know, the Georgia -- the Fulton County Georgia district attorney has requested a special grand jury to gather evidence, compel witnesses to look at Trump's attempts to overturn the election results in that state and the New York attorney general's office says it has identified numerous, quote, "misleading statements and omissions" in the Trump Organization's financial statements.

Between those two investigations, what do you think about all this, Elie? Which investigation should Trump be more worried about, do you think?

HONIG: Well, I think it's much more likely that we see something out of the New York attorney general's office, but I think what that's likely to be is a civil complaint, a lawsuit seeking money damages. I think Letitia James, the attorney general, her statement this week made pretty clear to me that they do have evidence of fraud.

I don't know that it's enough for them to bring criminal charges, but I think civil complaints are very likely out of the New York attorney general. That said, that's money. Donald Trump has been sued, is being sueded many times before. We're not talking about the most serious consequence.

When you're thinking about that, you have to look to potential criminal charges. Where's DOJ? We still don't quite know where they are on the president, but we do know that the D.A. down in Georgia took a big step forward this week when she requested this special grand jury. Now she has subpoena power. I don't know why it took her a year to get subpoena power. As a prosecutor, you kind of want that right off the bat.

And now she has a dedicated grand jury to focus on this. So we don't know where this will go. But if there is a charge, obviously that I think is the only real consequence that Donald Trump ever may feel and may take to heart.

ACOSTA: All right, Elie Honig, thank you very much. Great to see you. Appreciate it.

HONIG: Thanks, Jim. All right.

ACOSTA: I want to bring in someone who is on the front line fending off Trump world conspiracies after the election, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

Thank you so much, Madam Secretary of State, for being with us. We appreciate it. I guess first, what is your reaction to this preliminary plan to seize election machines with the help of the military that was reported in "Politico"? I really just wanted to get your reaction to that. I mean, what would you have made if you had seen U.S. troops showing up in Michigan to seize voting machines?

JOCELYN BENSON (D), MICHIGAN SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, thank you for having me and for having this important conversation because we're really just seeing the tip of the iceberg for the numerous race in which the former president and his most ardent supporters tried to block the will of the people in 2020, and what you just talked about is one of them.

We had heard of this and many of the other things, this is really what I lived through for the two months following the November election as we worked to protect the results of our election against all of these attempts. And we have two things in Michigan. One, a very robust audit system, which we were in the process of and ultimately executed over 250 audits that affirmed the machine counts and the paper ballots were indeed an accurate reflection of the will of the people.

But we were also prepared in conversation with law enforcement to ensure the Constitution was followed, that our election clerks were protected, and that citizens also knew that we had already done a very public verification of our voting machines prior to the election to show their legitimacy, and we were, you know, again, prepared to protect our equipment and machines against what this really was, which was an attempt to seize control of election equipment to somehow undo the results of a valid, accurate presidential election.

ACOSTA: And you know, Secretary Benson, we now know happening around the same time was this plot to certify fake electors from seven states Trump lost including Michigan. You know, a former Trump campaign adviser recently admitted his involvement and shared more details. This was on MSNBC yesterday. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS EPSHTEYN, FORMER TRUMP 2020 CAMPAIGN ADVISER: Yes, I was part of the process to make sure there were alternate electors for when as we hoped the challenges to the seated electors would be heard. Everything that was done was done illegally by the Trump legal team, by according to the rules, and under the leadership of Rudy Giuliani.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: What was your awareness of all of this at the time, Secretary Benson, and what is your response to what you just heard there?

BENSON: Well, we know this was a nationally coordinated effort that hit Michigan and many other states to subvert the will and nullify the will of the people in our state.

[16:10:07]

And, you know, remember this time in December of 2020, Rudy Giuliani had just come to Michigan on December 2nd and testified before a, you know, sham legislative hearing throwing all of these false allegations at our elections process. There were also individuals who showed up outside our state capitol building the day the actually electors, the true electors met to certify and validate the electoral vote to send to Washington and the National Archives.

So this was a follow-up on all of those things, and our responsibility now is to, you know, connect the dots for the federal investigators, for the January 6th Committee, which is exactly how this has come out now. We sent this information to the committee. Our attorney general has given it to the Justice Department.

We'll be sending more information this week as CNN has published this recording of the co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party admitting that the former president's campaign asked her to recruit and carry out this fake elector scheme in our state.

So, again, there's two things for people to know is we're just at the forefront of seeing the depth of which people are willing to go to overturn election in our country, and we have to see all this, not just through the lens of there must be accountability, justice, and consequences but we must put protections in place to make sure if and when any of these attempts are tried again in the future and they will be, we've got to prepare for that, that we're ready for them and we're ready to defeat those efforts then as well as we did in 2020.

ACOSTA: And sounds like election fraud to you?

BENSON: Yes, that's the irony of all of this. That the heart of so many false allegations were meritless, calls for investigations of fraud that didn't exist. There was no evidence of widespread fraud in our elections. Yet this, this is election fraud. This an effort to lie to the government about the results of an election and an effort to subvert the will of the people and install someone who was not elected by the people of Michigan or through the electoral college, and therefore, you know, overturn our entire system of democracy.

And it was unsuccessful, and of course it led to the tragedy in our U.S. Capitol on January 6th, but we all need to look at this through the lens of if and when this happens again, this is tried again, how will we thwart it again knowing that at the same time those on the other side, those who led these efforts are also becoming even more sophisticated and honing their strategy as well to potentially try this again in the future.

ACOSTA: You know, and Secretary Benson, we're seeing all of these threats coming in to election workers stemming from Trump's big lie. They have not subsided to the point where the Justice Department in Washington has stepped in. CNN recently spoke to one Michigan election worker who said she feels like she has to carry a gun around. She felt the need to buy a gun because of these threats. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANICE WINFREY, DETROIT CITY CLERK: When somebody's looking at me come from my porch, when somebody knows my routine, when they know I have a dog and they don't live around here, that makes me think I need protection.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: What is the status of all of these threats in your state, and what is being done to make sure election workers like that lady there are protected, that they're safe?

BENSON: Well, the Detroit City clerk is someone who like me had actually people actually show up at her home in December of 2020 threatening her as they threatened myself, my son, my family, and so this was very real for us, and this is something we live with every day. And the threats are not just these violent threats, these hateful threats to us as people, as individuals, but they're also threats of criminalization.

You see efforts to pass laws in some states to criminalize election duties to somehow intimidate election officials away from just simply doing their job. The police force that Governor DeSantis talks about in Florida is an example of that, the sort of fear and intimidation that someone's going to somehow become criminally culpable for simply doing their job of protecting democracy, and there's also harassment through the legal process that many local elected officials are struggling with.

And I'm grateful, you know, folks like Ben Ginsburg and David Becker and others have created a legal defense fund for local election clerks who need it to protect themselves against this legal harassment, and then finally the Justice Department has -- one thing that we didn't have on our side going through this in 2020, the FBI, the Justice Department has been very upfront and proactive about meeting with us at the state level, at the local level, to use all of their resources to help us defend against these attacks.

So we're doing we can but that culture of fear and that constant anxiety is still there and it's prevalent, and it is causing many as many have reported to walk away from the profession, which is a real detriment to democracy at a time like this.

ACOSTA: All right, well, thank you very much for talking with us, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

[16:15:03]

Appreciate everything that folks are going through in your state, all over our country trying to keep our elections safe and secure. Thanks very much for your time. We appreciate it.

BENSON: Of course. Thanks for having me.

ACOSTA: All right. CNN K-File investigation has uncovered video showing an organizer of the so-called "Stop the Steal" rally saying he would work with two extremist groups. Members from those groups were later charged in connection with the January 6th attack on the Capitol. "Stop the Steal" organizer Ali Alexander said he would reach out to the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers about providing security and housing for the rally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI ALEXANDER, ORGANIZER, "STOP THE STEAL" RALLY: I'm going to talk to the Proud Boys. I'm going to talk to the Oath Keepers. And I'm going to try to get patrols going.

I'll find you a room. My team will find you a room. I talked tonight to the Proud Boys to make sure that they were all covered.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: An attorney for Alexander denied that his client worked with the Proud Boys but acknowledged that Alexander did try to help them with housing. The attorney also said the Oath Keepers did provide security for several events. Alexander also claimed to have worked with members of Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDER: I have talked with Mo Brooks. We are talking personally. I've talked with the staff and I've talked with him. Who worked with Congressman Mo Brooks to whip up votes in the House? Congressman Paul Gosar, to whip up votes in the House? Congressman Andy Biggs to not only whip up votes in the House but also let me know who the soft senators were because he briefed them in the steering committee? Boom.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: None of the lawmakers contacted by CNN responded to repeated request for comment. Spokespersons for Congressmen Andy Biggs and Mo Brooks have previously denied planning rallies or coordinating with Alexander in any way. And other clips unearthed by our K-File unit Alexander uses heated rhetoric about the 2020 election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDER: If you believe what I believe, which is that our election was stolen, if you believe what I believe and that's that we'll never have another fair election again, then like it's time to burn the house, you know, before giving it to the enemy.

We're going to get the outcome we need. That outcome might lead to civil war. That will be sad. There's no circumstance that I think is legitimate that Joe Biden should enter the White House. I think the White House should burn down, you know, and I'm not saying -- I'm not telling anyone to, but I'm just saying I literally believe that a bolt of lightning should hit the White House and light it on fire before it's handed over.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Alexander's attorney said he was joking and exaggerating in those clips. Though it doesn't sound like it. Alexander has not been charged or implicated in any unlawful act and has denied working with anyone to attack the Capitol. He testified before the January 6th Committee in December and handed over thousands of text messages and communication records about his interactions with members of Congress and Trump's inner circle.

And be sure to tune in as I host "DEMOCRACY IN PERIL" where we will delve into the dangers and threats to democracy and voting. That's 9:00 p.m. Eastern all this week, coming up on CNN.

And coming up, "Mitch, please." Why that phrase was trending during a pivotal week on voting rights. Hold on for that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:22:30]

ACOSTA: There was a very consequential vote this week in the U.S. Senate. Republicans along with two Democrats, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, blocked the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. That bill would have updated the 1965 Voting Rights Act that was gutted by the Supreme Court and would have expanded election access across the country to counter some 33 new laws in 19 Republican-led states, laws that are designed a lot of voting experts say to suppress minority votes.

After the John Lewis Voting Rights Act was defeated, Sinema shook hands with Republican senators. Before the vote Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told reporters minority voters had nothing to fear with all of these new restrictions cropping up across the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What's your message for voters of color who are concerned that without the John Lewis Voting Rights Act they're not going to be able to vote in the midterm?

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Well, their concern is misplaced because if you look at the statistics, African-American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: Now McConnell has said since all of this that he misspoke there, but that did not convince the countless citizens on social media who started the hashtag #mitchplease and posted pictures with the message, "We are Americans." Perhaps many people remember what McConnell and other GOP leaders said back in 2006, not that long ago, when every Republican in the Senate voted to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act and it passed, at that time, 98-0.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCONNELL: One of my favorite sayings that many of us use from time to time is if it ain't broke don't fix it, and this is a good piece of legislation that has served an important purpose over many, many years. And this landmark piece of legislation will continue to make a difference, not only in the south but for all of America and for all of us, whether we're African-Americans or not.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I hope 25 years from now it can be said that there will be no need for the Voting Rights Act because things have changed for the better.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: It would be nice if there were no need for a voting rights act as 2006 Senator Lindsey Graham just said, but consider what's been taking place in these Republican statehouses. For starters, the new voting restrictions passed in those 19 GOP-led states have been predicated on the big lie that the election was rigged. It wasn't. We all know that now. And if you're still saying it was rigged, please get help.

Then there are the various provisions in the state laws that appear to target voters with color with provisions that limit mail drop boxes and offer less time to request an absentee ballot among other ways that make it harder to vote.

[16:25:07]

Georgia famously passed a law that threatens to punish people who hand out water and snacks to voters waiting in long lines. Ain't that a peach? Studies in recent years have shown that voting lines are longer in minority communities. In Texas, the state's Republican Party tweeted the quiet part out loud saying recently if you can wait in line for a COVID test, you can wait in line to rote.

Then there are the more recent developments in places like Florida where Governor Ron DeSantis is proposing an election police force.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: To ensure that elections are conducted in accordance with the rule of law, I propose an election integrity unit whose sole focus will be the enforcement of Florida's election laws. This will facilitate the faithful enforcement of election laws and will provide Floridians with the confidence that their vote will matter. (END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Which is wild because DeSantis was bragging right after the 2020 election that Florida was a model for the nation when it comes to running elections.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DESANTIS: People are actually looking at Florida and asking the question, why can't these states be more like Florida?

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Why can't these states be more like Florida, he asked. Well, Georgia Republican candidate for governor David Perdue wants to be more like DeSantis. The Trump-endorsed Perdue is now also proposing an election police force saying in a statement the purpose of this law enforcement unit is to give Georgians confidence that only legal votes will be counted, and that anyone who tries to interfere with our elections will be arrested and prosecuted.

But we have not gotten to the most egregious part yet and that's the ongoing efforts to place the most Trumpy election truther Republicans in key secretary of state positions across the country. Yes, the same positions that preside over our elections. We're talking about people like Mark Finchem, who was the Trump-backed GOP candidate for secretary of state in Arizona. Finchem, CNN has reported, has supported QAnon conspiracy theories.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK FINCHEM (R), CANDIDATE FOR ARIZONA SECRETARY OF STATE: I look forward to the day that we set aside an irredeemably flawed election. That's the election of 2020. With all the evidence we have, the Arizona election should be decertified by the -- with cause by the legislature.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Donald Trump who looks like he's running for president or pretending to run for president, honestly, what's the difference, sounds pretty interested in who will be counting the votes next time around.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to be a lot sharper the next time when it comes to counting the vote. There's a famous statement, sometimes the vote counter is more important than the candidate. And we can't let that ever, ever happen again. They have to get tougher and smarter.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: You know, if Ron DeSantis wants to put that election police force to good use, he might consider sending them over to Mar-a-Lago, you know, just ask a few questions about an attempted coup. Yes, Officer Ron, I'd like to report an insurrection, the one on January 6th.

But all of this is why the various investigations into Trump's actions leading up to and during the January 6th attack on the Capitol are so monumentally important right now. The January 6th Committee's probe is moving closer to Trump focusing on the big names in his inner circle, people like his daughter Ivanka Trump who received a letter from the committee asking for information about her father's actions in the days leading up to and on January 6th.

And there's Rudy Giuliani, apparently he did more than hold a news conference at the Four Seasons Total Landscaping Company. CNN reports Giuliani was leading the effort to have bogus electors send in fake certificates to the National Archives falsely claiming Trump won seven battleground states. Giuliani seems to have some free time on his hands these days as he appears to be selling autographed 9/11 T-shirts for $911. Rudy never forgets how to make a buck.

Some on the far-right apparently want you to forget the sacrifices made by John Lewis and other icons of the Civil Rights Movement during their epic struggle for equal access to the ballot box back in the 1960s. States like Florida are attempting to limit discussions of race in public schools, barring instruction that makes students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race, color, sex, or national origin.

Are they allowed to teach kids about what happened to John Lewis, or might that hurt their feelings? Well, this is what happened to John Lewis on March 7th, 1965 when he and other civil rights leaders marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama. They were beaten by police simply because they believed in something as simple as equal access to the voting booth.

[16:30:00]

Lewis suffered a cracked skull on that day, which became known as Bloody Sunday.

Lewis spoke about the struggle during his address to the Democratic convention in 2012.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN LEWIS, (D), FORMER CONGRESSMAN: Not too long ago, people stood in unmovable lines. They had to pass a so-called literacy test. Pay a poll tax.

On one occasion, a man was asked to tap the number in a bar of soap. On another occasion, one was asked to count the jellybeans in a jar, all to keep them from casting their ballot.

I've seen this before. I lived this before. Too many people struggled, suffered, and died to make it possible for every American to exercise their right to vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: John Lewis used to talk about the virtues of "good trouble." Something tells me the politicians standing in the way of voting rights are about to get a lesson in what that's all about.

Perhaps these efforts to stop the vote will backfire and actually motivate people to stand in long lines to cast their ballots. Cops or no cops.

Make sure to pack plenty of snacks and water. They're going to need it.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:35:44]

ACOSTA: A shocking moment on live TV when a reporter in West Virginia was hit by a car. It's a moment you have to see to believe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM IRR, ANCHOR, WSAZ: And now we're starting to experience, unfortunately, in freeze/thaw, we see this, water main breaks.

TORI YORGEY, REPORTER, WSAZ: I just got hit by a car. But I'm OK.

I'm OK, Tim. We're all good.

IRR: Are you OK? I'm sorry.

YORGEY: I'm OK. Yes, you know that's live TV for you. It's all good. I actually got hit by a car in college, too, just like that.

IRR: Wow.

YORGEY: I am so glad I'm OK. You're OK. You're OK. We're all good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Reporter Tory Yorgey later said she went to the hospital just to get checked out and was OK, just sore.

The anchor there, Tim Irr, he couldn't really see what was happening, just audio in his earpiece and total confusion. He also said he was very grateful that she's OK.

And Tory Yorgey joins me now.

You lived to tell the tale.

YORGEY: Hello.

ACOSTA: It's good to see you.

YORGEY: Thank you for having me.

ACOSTA: Yes, it's great to see you all in one piece.

Tell us how you're doing.

YORGEY: I appreciate it.

I'm doing well. I did go get checked out. My boss drove me to the hospital. Nothing broken.

I'm actually feeling even better today than I was yesterday as far as soreness goes. It's all good. Everything is going well. I appreciate you asking.

ACOSTA: And take us through exactly what happened and what was going through your mind when you were suddenly on the ground.

I suppose it was one of those things, you kept broadcasting, which, you know, as somebody who used to be in local news, a tip of the hat to you, you been believable job there maintaining your composure and keeping the live shot going.

But I had to think, you know, after the live shot was over that, you know, you were not feeling very well.

YORGEY: Thank you. Yes, after the live shot was over, I think that's when everything did kind of hit me, no pun intended.

But during it, you know, I was assigned to do a weather live shot, and I had heard about a water main break in a town over from Charleston, Dunbar, West Virginia.

And so I figured, well, that's a good element for my story to give people a visual since nothing was really happening. There was some light rain, no ice, no snow. So nothing to get the viewers to see, that was coming later on in the evening.

I figured I would go there. And I parked in the apartment complex right on the Hill and I just set up and then as I was getting ready to talk, she came and hit me in the side and I did kind of blank out.

But I don't know, you know, I think I just was kind of shocked and I did at one point think I was getting kind of run over, going under her tire.

In the end, it was fine, and I knew instantly I was OK. So when the shock and adrenaline kind of came over me, I was kind of in that split second, let me get up and tell everyone I'm good, I'm OK.

ACOSTA: A lot of people don't understand, in local markets, you know, reporters like yourself, you were doing a public service. You're out there, you know, doing a live shot on the side of the road.

Which, by the way, a lot of, you know, veterans in the business like myself, I just get so worried sick when I see folks like yourself standing live on the side of the road. I hope to god everything is being done to make sure you're being

totally safe. And I know the local reporters are obviously wise enough to do that.

But you were there to report on the weather, or the traffic conditions, things that are happening in local communities.

Talk about that, why is it so important to go out there and do that kind of reporting that you do that found yourself in the situation you were in the other day?

YORGEY: Absolutely. I go out there so you don't have to. I go out there to alert you as to what's going on.

At that moment, nothing was going on with the weather. I figured I could kind of just talk about the water main break since that most likely happened due to the temperatures shifting a bit.

That's just something we kind of see with colder temps. I think it's important for us to get out there.

I do hope that people kind of take away that thousands of journalists are out there doing everything, one man band, one woman banding it.

[16:40:07]

We're kind of just reporting, writing, editing, shooting video all on our own.

And I am grateful that I had that opportunity because it's really helped me become a better journalist, I believe.

And in that moment, I had a lot of emergency lights behind me. My news vehicle was parked about 10 feet in front of me.

And I wasn't on the road. I was next to the road. But I was in an apartment complex entrance/exit area right at the bottom of this pretty steep hill. It is West Virginia.

But at that point, I felt really safe. My boss always preached to me, if you don't feel safe, don't do it. Had I felt in any type of danger, I would have left.

I'm glad people are talking about safety and having that conversation. I think it needs to be had.

But for me personally, I did not feel unsafe in that situation.

ACOSTA: You thought this was more of a freak accident than, you know, local reporters putting themselves in an unsafe situation unnecessarily.

YORGEY: Exactly.

ACOSTA: And I have to think that you heard from people all over the place, friends you haven't heard from in a long time, regulars, and so on.

What's that experience been like?

YORGEY: It's been really crazy. Especially, it was my last day yesterday. I'm going to start a new job at WTAE in Pittsburgh next week.

So I'm trying --

ACOSTA: Congratulations.

YORGEY: Thank you. I'm trying to kind of keep my life moving in the sense of literally packing up my life and moving.

So it's been kind of a lot and a little overwhelming. But I really appreciate all the kind words. People are really, really very sweet.

And I definitely want to make sure I do say, too, my anchor obviously couldn't see what happened in that shot. His eyes were on the camera.

His confusion came that he didn't see me in the frame, you know, after it had happened. He was kind of, OK, you got hit by a car? OK, but you're up, so where did the car hit you?

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: For the record, he was being a good guy. He's a good guy.

YORGEY: He really is. He's a great guy. He's like a dad to me. He has checked on me. We talked this morning. He was checking on me.

He's a phenomenal person and I definitely want people to know that and take that away from this too.

ACOSTA: Tory Yorgey, good luck to you.

On your way to Pittsburgh as we speak.

YORGEY: Thank you. Yes.

ACOSTA: I remember those days moving market-to-market. I started off in Knoxville, Tennessee, and went to Dallas and Chicago.

I know what you're going through right now. I used to have moving boxes with moving stickers on them on top of moving stickers from all the different moves I did.

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: Exactly.

Well, hats off to you, Tory. Great job.

YORGEY: Thank you.

(CROSSTALK) ACOSTA: Thank you so much.

ACOSTA: YORGEY: Thank you so much. Thanks for having me. Thank you.

ACOSTA: All right, good luck, Tory. Thanks so much.

Coming up, we'll be switching to the situation that's unfolding right now in New York City. New York City police officer killed, another clinging to life after a shooting. It's part of a string of attacks on police this month. We'll get a live report, next.

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[16:47:55]

ACOSTA: A New York City police officer has lost his life, another is fighting for his after being shot in the line of duty last night responding to a domestic disturbance call in Harlem.

Officers Jason Rivera, there on your left, was just 22 years old. His colleague, Wilbert Morrow, remains in the hospital right now.

President Biden tweeted today, "Jill and I are saddened to hear two NYPD officers were shot last night, one fatally. We're keeping them and their families in our prayers"

Joining us is CNN law enforcement reporter, Mark Morales.

Mark, five officers shot in New York City this month alone. I know the mayor was talking about this earlier today.

Do we know what's behind all of this?

MARK MORALES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTER: Well, that's the central point that we're arriving to right now.

This is the aftermath of this very violent week that we've seen, especially with these -- with both of these officers who were shot last night, one who was killed.

Right now, it's about two things, investigators trying to figure out how the weapon got into the gunman's hands and finding a way to curtail the violence.

On the investigation front, officials from the ATF are traveling. They're doing their work.

They're trying to figure out where this gun was sold, where it was purchased. How it found its way into the gunman, who was identified as Lashawn McNeil, how it arrived in his hands.

Now, meanwhile, today, Eric Adams is back out onto the street. He's talking to community organizers. He's trying to figure out to get to the bottom of the violence.

Now, as we've seen, it's five officers that have been shot so far since the start of the year.

And we have Officer Jason Morrow, who was killed -- sorry, Officer Jason Rivera, who was killed, and Officer Wilbert Morrow, who is fighting for his life currently.

That's where we stand at the moment.

ACOSTA: And, Mark, these shootings are just the latest in a series of crimes across the city, pressure is already mounting on this new mayor to restore public safety.

What more can you tell us about that?

MORALES: Right. Well, the mayor's going to release his plan for what he's calling the blueprint for safety. That's going to be released within the coming days.

[16:50:04]

He's getting together with the NYPD officials, with all of law enforcement, and they're trying to put together a comprehensive plan to tackle this violence.

ACOSTA: Mark Morales, thank you very much.

We'll be right back.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very remarkable, 20th Century FOX gave Marilyn the deal she wanted and the control she desired.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They ended up giving in because they knew that if they allowed her to do the roles that she wanted to do, that she would occasionally do roles for them and they could keep getting those profits.

(CHEERING)

[16:55:10]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The magnitude of Marilyn's victory is huge. She gets to return to Hollywood in a really triumphant way.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Tell me, Marilyn, is it true that you submitted a list of directors you would work with?

We only know the rumors we're hearing, you know?

MARILYN MONROE, FORMER ACTRESS: I would rather say that I have director approval and that is true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Be sure to tune in. "REFRAMED: MARILYN MONROE" airs tomorrow night at 9:00, right here on CNN.

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