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Trump Invokes Race When Calling for Protests If He's Charged; New Hampshire Governor Sununu Says January 6 Rioters Must Be Held Accountable; Ahmaud Arbery's Family Express Anger at Plea Deal; Rams and Bengals to Face Off in Super Bowl. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired January 31, 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]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: One of the district attorney investigating Donald Trump is now seeking FBI protection from her office after the former president essentially called for people to take the streets if he ever faces charges in the multiple investigations into him or his businesses.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If these radical, vicious, racist prosecutors do anything wrong or illegal, I hope we are going to have in this country the biggest protest we have ever had in Washington, D.C., in New York, in Atlanta and elsewhere because our country and our elections are corrupt. They're corrupt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: At that same rally, Trump gave Americans a crystal-clear window into his priorities if he were president again. He said he would pardon January 6th insurrectionists. With us now CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash and CNN political analyst Natasha Alford. Great to see you both.

Dana, I thought that that speech was, it's being called very extremely dangerous by John Dean. I also thought it was very helpful. He spelled his out priorities. One of his top priorities would be to give these folks pardons. So, just to remind people, these are who Donald Trump sides with over the police. So, 140 police officers, many more were attacked but 140, at least, were injured by this mob. And this is what he's talking about would be one of his priorities.

And Dana, I know that you brought this up with -- this weekend on the show and even -- well, rational Republicans are appalled by this, as you heard from Governor Chris Sununu of New Hampshire. So, here is his response to you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. CHRIS SUNUNU (R-NH): Look, the fold that were part of the riots and assault on the U.S. Capitol have to be held accountable. There's a rule of law. I don't care whether you were part of the burning cities and Antifa in 2020. You are storming the capitol in 2021. Everybody needs to be held fairly accountable. For us that's part of leadership.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: This shouldn't be pardoned.

SUNUNU: Of course not. Oh, my goodness no.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: I mean, he couldn't have been more clear, Dana. And so, what are Republicans going to do now they know that's one of Donald Trump's top priorities?

BASH: They're not happy. You know, Governor Sununu is somebody who has been more willing than other Republican, particularly here in Washington, to be openly critical of the former president. His close friend and ally over the past few years, Lindsey Graham was also critical saying that -- suggesting that, actually promising that he would pardon anybody who was responsible for the unbelievable storming of the capitol, incredible violence, deadly violence, that he would pardon them. He said it was very inappropriate.

So, even the former president can cross a line and has crossed the line there. But the question is, to what end. To what end because even though he said that -- and you're right it is, I see what you're saying, Alisyn, when you say it's helpful because he is very explicit and he's putting it all out there.

[15:35:00]

And making it harder for the Republicans who support him because supporters are backing him. Harder for them to do so but doesn't mean that those Republicans would not jump to vote for him if and when, maybe we should say if he does run in 2024.

BLACKWELL: And Natasha, we also heard the former president call for the biggest demonstrations yet in Atlanta and D.C. and New York if there's anything that three prosecutors do that, he deems to be illegal or unfair. We've seen what this president can foment. We just watched some video of it. Liz Cheney, vice chair of the 01/06 committee says that he is using the language that caused the January 6th violence. What did you hear from former president's rally this weekend?

NATASHA ALFORD, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well Victor, I think it's very clear. The language is aggressive. It's targeted and what's interesting is you heard that part where he said racist. Right. Donald Trump is saying that the prosecutors are racist in an effort to really trigger his voters. He knows that that sort of language is going to elicit a sense of righteous indignation that somehow, they are being discriminated against. It's like the phrase that we're hearing, you know, again and again, reverse racism. Right. So, if he can trigger that righteous indignation then they are therefore justified in reacting however they want in response to this.

And finally, Willis has been very clear that she is unbiassed. She takes no pleasure in this investigation and she's just trying to get to justice. But Donald Trump knows that he can use these words of intimidation to create fear.

CAMEROTA: Dana, I know you had also some conversations about Supreme Court nominees this weekend, so tell us.

BASH: Well, one of the big reverberations of a comment from last week was actually Roger Wicker, the Senator from Mississippi who said that the idea of the president announcing that he is going to pick a black woman for the Supreme Court is akin to affirmative action and quotas. That is another thing that is putting his colleagues in a very uncomfortable position because not everybody agrees with him at all. That's something else that I talked to the New Hampshire Governor about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUNUNU: Look, I'm never for quotas. I think you just in the opportunity of bringing somebody to the U.S. Supreme Court, it's an amazing opportunity and there always has to be on merit.

BASH: Is this a quota?

SUNUNU: I'll just say as a governor I don't see things as quotas like that. No, I mean, there's a number of limited individuals. You want folks with a diverse set of backgrounds, of course. So, in that sense, no, I wouldn't agree it's a quota.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And Alisyn and Victor, When it comes to Supreme Court nominations, we have seen over the past, I don't know, five, six years Senate Republicans, particularly the leadership, they're kind of impervious to genuine and understandable criticism of being hypocritical. But in this particular case there is a lot of fodder there because it was former President Trump who promised after RBG died -- Ruth Bader Ginsburg died that he would nominate a woman. He didn't say a black woman but he said a woman.

So, was that OK or was it OK for him when he was candidate, to not just say the kind of justice he would appoint, but also gave names, named names in order to court conservative. So, you know, there's so much hypocrisy. But this particular issue is probably just the beginning of the kind of fight that we're going to see because there will be a black woman who will be nominated and Democrats are steeling themselves for the fight. We're hoping that it goes very quickly.

BLACKWELL: Natasha your thoughts on what we heard from Senator Wicker. ALFORD: Alisyn and Victor, I listen to this and I say, why does

affirmative action stress people out so much. Right. When Roger Wicker, when Amy Coney Barrett was being nominated for the Supreme Court, it was all this praise. And he talked about how awe inspired he was, you know, for his granddaughters to look at her. And yet when you talk about a black woman having this seat, people somehow just can't wrap -- they can't get the minds around the idea that this woman would be qualified.

Even Lindsey Graham in praising Michelle Childs -- which is like this rare moment of sanity in politics were he just states, hey, you know what? She is objectively qualified. He says that affirmative action is picking someone who's not qualified in this is not that.

Affirmative action is about fair consideration. And as a matter of fact, a lot of non-black woman benefit from affirmative action.

[15:40:00]

So, there's something about this phrase that people misunderstand. Maybe it's willful, maybe it's not. But people have to understand for, you know, 115 Supreme Court justices have existed and the majority of them have been white men. For America to truly be represented having a single black woman is the bare minimum.

BLACKWELL: Natasha Alford, Dana Bash, thank you.

So, overnight federal prosecutors announced a plea deal with two men convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery. The attorney for Ahmaud Arbery's family believes the plea deal is unlawful and will fight to overturn it. We'll discuss that, next.

[15:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: The father and son convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors in their federal hate crimes case.

BLACKWELL: The judge is reviewing it now and Arbery's family is vowing to the fight it. Travis and Gregory McMichael were both convicted of murdering Arbery in their criminal trial at the state level and have been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

Civil rights attorney and CNN legal analyst Areva Martin joins us now. Areva, good to see you. So, the family made it clear, I remember during the state proceedings that they were not in support of a federal deal. How influential typically is that over prosecutors who are deciding if they will offer one?

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, clearly, this prosecutor, this prosecutorial team has been in contact with Ahmaud Arbery's family and based on what we're hearing from the family attorney, there were some expectations set. Expectations by the family that this plea deal would not be entered into it. When you look at the tweets from Lee Merit, it's very clear that he's

very upset that this deal was in fact entered into without the family's -- without the family being on board with it.

I think there's a missed opportunity here, Victor, for the Department of Justice. They made a commitment that under this Department of Justice they were going to vigorously pursue crimes based on hate where people take -- use violence solely because of race.

And in this case the issue of race wasn't brought up in substantial way in that state trial. But we know that there's evidence out there. We know that Rodney Bryant said that Travis McMichael used a racial slur. We know that there are Facebook posts involving racial slurs. We know that there was that confederate flag that was on the truck that was driven by the McMichaels.

So, I think it's really a missed opportunity for the Department of Justice to have entered into this plea deal and not allowed that racial animus evidence to be presented in a public trial.

CAMEROTA: And I mean, so why did they do that? Is it because the McMichaels are already serving life behind bars? And they're trying to save money, they're trying to save the resources. I mean why would they do this when the family says that they feel, quote, completely betrayed by this?

MARTIN: That's great question, Alisyn. And clearly, you know, I can't read the minds of those prosecutors, but typically these kinds of plead deals are entered into as a way of efficiently resolving cases. And as Victor said at top of the show, both of these defendants are already facing life in prison without the possibility of parole.

So perhaps to avoid a lengthy trial, the resources associated with the lengthy trial, the Department of Justice thought that this was the way to go. But again, when you look at the evidence in this case, that seems to be so strong in favor of the prosecution's case in terms of proving that the murder of Ahmaud Arbery was motivated by race. Again, is really disappointing, and I can see why the family is expressing the rage and anger that they are over the decision.

BLACKWELL: The family says that they want to fight this. They vow to fight it. What are their options? What can they do?

MARTIN: Well, we know they were supposed to be in court today to oppose the plea deal to make statements before the court. They have an opportunity to do that under federal statute to give input in terms of the plea deal. They may actually, you know, contact Merrick Garland to complain about these prosecutors that are handling this case. At the end of the day though this is going to be a decision made by this judge. The judge has the discretion to accept the plea deal as submitted to him by the prosecutorial team or to reject it.

So, I think the public pressure that they are bringing to bear, I think, you know, statements they are going to make in court if they haven't done so, and perhaps appealing all the way to the top of the Department of Justice or what we should expect to see as they try to fight this.

CAMEROTA: Areva Martin, great to see you. Thank you.

MARTIN: Thanks, Alisyn, thanks, Victor.

BLACKWELL: So, the U.S. and Russia facing off today at the United Nation Security Council. We'll have an update on this important meeting. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:50:00]

CAMEROTA: OK, we have some breaking news right now. This is in the story that we just brought you moments ago. A judge has just rejected that plea agreement in the Travis McMichael hate crime charge. Travis and Gregory McMichael were both convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery in that criminal trial.

BLACKWELL: And they've been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Arbery's family had vowed to fight that plea deal. Again, this is in the Travis McMichael deal. We'll see what the next steps are for those two defendants on the federal level.

CAMEROTA: OK, on a much lighter note. Sports fans, listen up. The Super Bowl, which is apparently a big football game.

BLACKWELL: Oh, yes. When is it played?

CAMEROTA: It's going to be played sometime very soon.

BLACKWELL: OK, all right.

CAMEROTA: I hear it is coming up. Let me tell you all about it. The Cincinnati Bengals are set to play the Los Angeles Rams. I love that Bengals song. Is it manic Monday?

BLACKWELL: The Bengals song? Is that -- OK, go ahead.

CAMEROTA: OK, so anyway, they're going to play each other. Because on Sunday, the Bengals stunned the crowd by beating the Kansas City Chiefs. Now, my husband grew up in Kansas City so this was a devastating loss in my house.

BLACKWELL: Rough evening, yes.

CAMEROTA: Yes, very sad.

BLACKWELL: A little moping.

CAMEROTA: And then the Rams defeated the San Francisco 49ers in a second half comeback.

BLACKWELL: So, the Super Bowl will be at Rams SoFi Stadium where Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar will be the halftime show classic. And if you're trying to get tickets, they are many thousands of dollars.

CAMEROTA: OK, this Super Bowl halftime show looks fantastic. So, you don't even tune in for the halftime show you're telling me?

BLACKWELL: It's been a long time since I've watched the Super Bowl. Because they play the great commercials before, like a week before. And then I can watch football if I'm there in the stadium.

CAMEROTA: That's all.

BLACKWELL: Like if I'm in person, I can get into it. Watching on television, it loses something.

CAMEROTA: That's interesting. I can watch if there are nachos. And with the Super Bowl, there are.

BLACKWELL: All right. Well, we can watch most things with nachos.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely, absolutely.

[15:55:00]

BLACKWELL: Nothing didn't go with nachos.

CAMEROTA: Right but I mean I'll make an exception for sports if there's nachos and chili.

BLACKWELL: OK.

CAMEROTA: Yes. OK, so -- oh, OK, I'm sorry you've been out of sorts all show. What's the problem?

BLACKWELL: I have been. Because you know we try to make sure we don't clash with our wardrobe. I picked this tie. I showed to it Alisyn. She said oh, please, let me wear a dress in the same color. And I hate that.

CAMEROTA: I didn't lie.

BLACKWELL: All day I've been like bent out of shape because of that.

CAMEROTA: Victor, it's just -- look, you can't even see it in the wide shot.

BLACKWELL: But I know it is there.

CAMEROTA: No, no, but the viewers don't. It's just a subliminal hit of like, God, they look good today! That's what people are feeling right now.

BLACKWELL: I feel like it makes us look like the king and queen of the junior prom when we're so coordinated, a bit much.

CAMEROTA: I like it.

BLACKWELL: All right. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts after a quick break.

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