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State of Emergency Declared in Ottawa Over Vaccine Protests; Team USA Still without a Gold Medal on Day 3 of the Beijing Winter Olympics; Positive COVID-19 Test Leaves Bobsledder Stuck at Home; New Military Aid Shipment Arrives in Ukraine; White House Told Lawmakers 50,000 Civilian Casualties Possible in Russian Attack; Trump's Relentless Document Destruction Habits; Doctor Sparks Conversation on Chronic Illness During COVID; Queen Elizabeth II Marks Platinum Jubilee on the British Throne. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired February 06, 2022 - 20:00   ET

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

[20:00:21]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST (voice-over): Tonight Ukraine on high alert as new satellite images show the continued Russian military buildup near its border stoking fears that an invasion could be imminent.

JAKE SULLIVAN, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: There is a very distinct possibility that Vladimir Putin will order an attack on Ukraine. It could happen as soon as tomorrow or it could take some weeks yet.

BROWN: The U.S. taking no chances, sending 3,000 troops to support NATO efforts. Lawmakers who attended a classified briefing about the Russian threat equally concerned.

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R-TX): The noose is being prepared. It's around Ukraine right now as we speak.

BROWN: Also, former Vice President Mike Pence calling out his former boss' big lie.

MIKE PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: President Trump is wrong.

BROWN: Now Pence's former top aide agreed.

MARC SHORT, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO VICE PRESIDENT PENCE: There's nothing in the 12th Amendment or Electoral Count Act that would afford a vice president that authority.

BROWN: While the events of January continue to split the GOP.

SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R-WY): I think Mike Pence did his constitutional duty that day.

BROWN: And a new day dawns at the Winter Games as U.S. skiing superstar Mikaela Shiffrin goes for gold.

And Queen Elizabeth's message as she celebrates an incredible 70 years on the throne.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: I'm Pamela Brown in Washington. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM on this Sunday night.

And new tonight, a state of emergency in Canada's national capital. The mayor of Ottawa saying his city is now in serious danger and under threat by the ongoing public demonstrations mainly by people furious with Canada's COVID vaccine mandate. It is the second straight weekend of angry protests in Ottawa and other major cities. And some of the most vocal are truckers, demanding the government lift pandemic lockdowns.

CNN's Paula Newton is in Ottawa. And Paula, you're now in a city under a state of emergency. What does that mean for the people who live there?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, look, a lot of people in the city will agree that with relief, Pam. It certainly means kind of the same it means in the United States, right. It is a sense that the city, the municipality can do what it needs to do to try and end this stalemate. You know, officials have been so blunt here, Pam, saying that things are out of control, that this has now turned into an occupation.

And I want you to listen now to the police chief here who has been categorical for days, suggesting perhaps that even the military needed to be brought in. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF PETER SLOLY, OTTAWA POLICE: The oath of office that I and my officers swore were never intended to deal with a city under siege, a threat to our democracy, a nationwide insurrection driven by madness. There is no concrete plan for such a scenario as you described.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: A nationwide insurrection driven by madness. I mean, Pam, look, this has been phenomenon right across the country. I do want to point out most of the protests have been peaceful. And in fact, today it was quieter than it had been on Saturday.

I want you to take a look at this map now and see how far these protests have stretched. Today, we saw major protests really only in three locations, including where I am in Ottawa. I do want to point out, though, that in Coutts, Alberta, that is a key border crossing especially for commercial traffic between the I-15 and Montana and Alberta, they've been dealing with that now for more than a week. And that also shows no sign of ending.

What's happening here, Pam, is that political leaders and police forces right across the country are trying to figure out what will actually end this. And you said it at the top, right, these are people, a very vocal minority I will add, that want to see an end to all mandates, masks, vaccine and otherwise, and want everything to end. They want everything to return to how it was.

And I have to tell you, Pam, the hospitals here or health care workers are exhausted. Our hospitals, the hospitals here in this country, in this city, still filled as are the ICUs. And so residents here really feel as if these protests have hijacked their city, and in some instances, a lot of the areas where people in Canada are getting critical care in those cities -- Pam.

BROWN: And what can you tell us about the politicians now getting involved?

NEWTON: Yes, the issue here, right, is that the politicians from the United States seem to be getting involved. This has been extraordinary, just how many people across the United States continue to support the rally here. I myself have seen many American flags and certainly lots of Trump flags, as well.

[20:05:03]

The former president himself did call out at least a couple of times his support for the truckers. But I want you to look at Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, as well. He is complaining in this tweet right here saying that in fact GoFundMe commandeered $9 million in funds that were allocated to and donated to this protest to try and support and maintain the truckers in their occupation.

Pam, well, Ron DeSantis seems to be going on the side of the protesters. So many people now in this country and the United States are saying look, GoFundMe and others have proof that this money, whether it's coming from Canada, the United States or elsewhere, is going to actually right now continue to fuel an unlawful protest. And so it was extraordinary to see this comment. GoFundMe, for its part, I've been in contact with them this week. They say that fund has now been shut down.

But, Pam, I have to tell you, just looking here on the streets, these protesters do seem like they've dug in, right? They've got encampments. They have food. They even have saunas. And while the atmosphere may still be jovial right now many residents in the downtown corridor that remains essentially shut off say they just can't continue like this. Stores are closed, other businesses are closed, people can't get to health appointments.

It is really going to be up to the political leaders along with the help of police enforcement to really try and find the mediation point. And there doesn't seem to be one in sight right now.

BROWN: All right, Paula Newton, thank you so much for bringing us the latest there in Canada.

And we want to turn now to the Winter Olympic Games. We are just moments away from the beginning of the third day of Olympic competition. Team USA is still chasing its first gold medal.

CNN correspondent David Culver is here with me now from Beijing. Hi, David. So what are today's biggest events? DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Pamela. Good morning from

Beijing. Some of the big events to look ahead to in the coming hours include snowboarding, biathlon and curling, which is where we start this morning. Beijing time, that is. The final pool matches in mixed doubles curling taking place in the next hour or so. That's going to include Team USA going up against Team GB.

Then midday here, eyes are going to shift to the mountains. That's for the men's slope style final. You can expect to see three members of Team USA competing in that event. And later this evening, you've got a mix of cross-country skiing and shooting. The women's 15-K biathlon kicks off. In the meantime, high winds in the mountain venues have some of the much-anticipated alpine skiing events that were supposed to take place this morning postponed.

All right. Let's show you where things stand right now with medals going into this week as you mentioned the third day. We'll start with the leader, Norway, which has won the most Olympic medals in the history of winter games. They're on top here in Beijing with two gold medals. Its Scandinavian neighbor Sweden coming in second. And at third there, you have the Russians, the athletes competing under the ROC.

Now you'll see China and the USA, Team USA listed, they are not fourth and fifth, they are ninth and 13th respectively. As you mentioned Team USA still has not yet won a gold medal. But plenty of time here, Pamela. And competitions are still ahead, beginning really in just the next few minutes now for this day three.

BROWN: Yes. All right. Thanks so much, David Culver. They're still chasing that gold. Appreciate it.

And on that note, imagine training for years, competing against other elite athletes, and then actually making an Olympic team. Having these dreams that you're going to win gold in the Olympics, only to find yourself grounded because of COVID.

On January 26th, first-time Olympic bobsledder Josh Williamson posted about testing positive and not being able to fly to Beijing with his teammates because of his positive COVID test, writing, "Isn't it ironic that after four years of hard work all there is to do is sit, rest, recover and have faith. Things I struggle to do the most."

Josh Williamson joins me now from Los Angeles.

Hi, Josh. Wow.

JOSH WILLIAMSON, TEAM USA OLYMPIC BOBSLEDDER: How are you doing?

BROWN: I cannot imagine somewhat it is like to be in your shoes right now. First of all, how are you feeling? Have you recovered?

WILLIAMSON: Yes, I'm doing well. I had very mild symptoms when everything kind of happened. So I really wasn't -- you know, the concern wasn't as much about, you know, me getting hit too hard, it was really just about me getting over there, you know, being able to compete. But so far I've had some negative tests and I'm really hopeful to get over soon.

BROWN: Well, that's important to note because of Beijing's strict COVID rules. You have to have two back-to-back negative tests before you're allowed into the bubble. So what does that mean? You said you've had some negative tests. Does that mean you're able to go and compete now?

WILLIAMSON: So essentially, about four days out, we start staging with requiring, you know, just from the U.S. Olympic Paralympic Committee side. Needing some negative tests just so they feel good about sending you. They don't want to send anybody in isolation if they can help it.

[20:10:02]

And then now moving forward, I'm testing daily to clear tests that I have to submit to China to make sure that I'm allowed, you know, entry. And then the next big thing is hoping to be on a flight on Tuesday. And once we get in, you've got to clear a test on the ground. And then you'll be tested every day.

So it's (INAUDIBLE), pretty strict rules, but they're just trying to keep everyone safe and the goal is to just keep clearing tests. And, you know, I've had some negatives now for a few days. So I'm pretty hopeful that I can continue that. You know, barring some crazy circumstances.

BROWN: What is that like to test positive first and foremost after all these years of training and dreaming, and then getting that first negative, like giving you the hope like OK, well, maybe I can make it?

WILLIAMSON: I mean, that first positive wasn't easy. You know, I don't -- I had a lot of learning from this experience. I think there's a lot to learn here, and you know, being able to be alone and think a little bit has helped a lot. But, you know, at first, it's just a hard pill to swallow. You know, like I said in my post, it's just -- you work hard for four, five years, and it's just one of those things. Something that kind of got out of your control.

It can step in. It's similar to an injury. You know, that's no different than anything a lot of athletes face but this has just been a unique, you know, listen, I've been in unique two Olympics. And you know, that's just kind of part of this. But with that first negative, there was a lot of relief. I mean, I was doing everything I can to get a negative, you know, being out in the sun a little bit, you know, drinking a ton of water.

Anything I can do, anything -- I mean, team doctors were telling, I was trying everything under the sun. And when I got that, it was just an antigen test, it was my first one but it told me I was going in the right direction. So it wasn't super reliable but I was excited and then after that, you know, starting to clear some PCR tests really got my hopes up. So now I'm here staging in L.A. and hopefully get on a plane in a few days.

BROWN: That's important because I've heard stories of people testing positive on PCR for like months. So the fact that you cleared both the antigen and the PCR, that's a big deal.

So let's talk about the schedule. The Olympic two-man bobsled event isn't until February 14th and 15th. The four-man event is the 19th and 20th. You are planning to leave for Beijing on February 8th. Do you think that that will give you enough time to acclimate before you compete?

WILLIAMSON: I hope so. We haven't named our two-man racing team yet. I'm in contention for that. And, you know, the longer I'm here, the harder that is for my coaches to make that decision for me. You know, because just like you said, once you get over there, the last thing I want to do is get off a plane and the next, you know, get right on the track and potentially hurt myself.

There's a lot that goes into, you know, flying that far across the world and still competing at that level. Then that's, you know, our biggest concern right now. For me I had to take some time off training while I had COVID. The last thing I needed to do was tank my immune system by training hard when I needed my body to recover. So that was really hard to do, watching all my competition at the Olympics and have training and have to sit on my couch for a little bit and kind of recover.

But it was also good for me, helped me clear negatives faster, and now I have gotten back into training which makes me feel a little better. And, you know, we'll see if I get to do two-man racing. And if not, just race in the four-man, but at the end of the day, just the opportunity to compete is all I can ask for now. You know, I've missed some opportunities like opening ceremony and a lot of the stuff that you really look forward to.

And that's hard. You know, I really look forward to those things. But at the same time, it's kind of re-centered me in the fact that Olympics are about competing at a high level against the best in the world. And my goal is to go and compete. If that's all I get to do, that's OK with me.

BROWN: Yes. Well, listen, we're all going to be rooting for you, that's for sure, after what you have been through. I want to ask you this before I let you go in response to a question about whether the U.S. could reassure its athletes that their freedom of speech will be protected in China. The U.N. ambassador to the United Nations this morning told CNN that, quote, "We will be there to protect them." Is your safety in China once you're cleared to go, something that you worry about?

WILLIAMSON: Absolutely not. We really have some incredible staff. I mean, that's, again, the silver lining to the process that I've bene through recently, it's been a really hard thing to go through, but I have so many incredible staff there at the State Department, in the U.S. Olympic, Paralympic Committee, through my Federation with USA Bobsled and Skeleton that have made the hard process as easy as I can.

And that's the same thing on the ground when we get there, you know. We're in a closed loop system. So there really isn't a ton of freedom to go out and do a lot of but that's, you know, that's also in our favor. Because with competition, there's only so much you want to do. You want to stay up your feed. You don't want to get, you know, too involved running around and that's something that with all the staff on the ground, they're doing a pretty incredible job keeping me safe.

They're in China getting in touch with me daily. Keeping me updated on testing on top of the athletes on the ground over there. They have a lot to do and they're pretty busy, our staff, they're pretty incredibly and they're the ones who really make all this go, all the volunteers and the staff of the Olympics are the only reason this happens and the only reason when you see an athlete get up to compete, there's so many people that made that happen, that are behind the scenes. And those are the people that are really the kind of heroes of those games.

BROWN: All right. Josh Williamson, thank you. And best of luck to you.

WILLIAMSON: Thank you so much for having me.

BROWN: Well, up next on this Sunday, Biden officials laying out the harsh reality of the painful human cost if Vladamir Putin invades Ukraine.

[20:15:07]

Also ahead, Josh Dawsey from "The Washington Post" revealing the unprecedent document destruction inside the Trump White House. We're talking hundreds of pieces of paper ripped, shredded, even burned.

And then Queen Elizabeth becomes the first British monarch to celebrate 70 years on the throne.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: New tonight, the U.S. ramping up support for NATO allies in Eastern Europe amid fears that Russia's military buildup is reaching a critical point. Two U.S. officials now telling CNN that Russian resources positioned on Ukraine's border make up about 70 percent of the troops and weapons needed for a full-scale invasion. And new satellite images appear to show that Russia's military has advanced deployments at several locations in Belarus.

[20:20:04]

That seems to back up local reports that Russian troops are within 20 miles of Ukraine. And late this morning, the U.S. embassy in Kyiv announced its eighth delivery of security assistance to Ukraine, calling it 80 plus tons of solidarity. And Washington promises there is more to come.

Remarkably, Ukraine itself continues to down play the threat. But regardless, this morning more U.S. troops arrived in Eastern Europe. More than half are coming from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. That's where you find CNN's Isabel Rosales. ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, I am inside of the

reception area, about 100 yards away from those large C-17 military aircraft that are going to take them overseas. So right behind me, these soldiers that you're looking at right now, they are waiting to be deployed. And it can be a waiting game for them. Hours spent maybe napping, packing, reading, some playing cards.

But when it's go time, there's just focus. In total, 2,000 soldiers will deploy from Fort Bragg. 300 of them from the 18th Airborne are already in Germany. But they're still working on deploying the 82nd Airborne. All together 1700 soldiers from that division will go to Poland. And inside of those large military planes are not only soldiers but also equipment and Humvees.

I'm also learning that these soldier will conduct military drills with their Polish counterparts. That's according to a spokesman of the 82nd Airborne who calls that routine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. SCOTT SHEPARD, 82ND AIRBORNE DIVISION: A little bit of nerves, a little bit of excitement. Just everybody is just ready to get to it, honestly. Like this is what you train for, this is what you're excited to do. You know when you come to the 82 and, you can be anywhere at any moment so very excited.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And those soldiers are in Europe without a specific timeline of when they will be able to go back home. The Pentagon does call this a temporary mission -- Pamela.

BROWN: Isabel Rosales, thank you.

And let's continue this conversation with CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger. David is also a correspondent for "The New York Times," and author of the book "The Perfect Weapon."

Hi, David. So let's talk about today's "New York Times" article where you wrote, the Biden administration has told lawmakers that a large- scale Russian invasion could cause as many as 50,000 civilian casualties. If you would, walk us through your reporting.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Sure. So the administration did a briefing for Congress about three days ago. It was on Thursday afternoon with Secretary Austin, the Defense secretary, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, Secretary of State Tony Blinken, Avril Haines, the director of National Intelligence. So it's pretty high-powered crew.

And they went there to go through the range of options that Putin faces. And the reality is, and he's now put so much force into the region, about 130,000 troops, a growing arsenal of missiles, of course tanks and so forth, and he has many different options. And they range from trying to stage a coup, doing a significant cyberattack, which could be pretty devastating if the power grid and communications, to doing an invasion of just the eastern Russian-speaking portion of the country, where he will run into less opposition, probably very little insurgency.

And then the bigger option, which is trying to take the whole place, including Kyiv. And what's interesting is, there seems to be a lot more American officials now, Pamela, who think that last option is more realistic than they did just two weeks ago.

BROWN: That's really interesting and important context and perspective that you're sharing through your reporting. You also warned that invasion could trigger a refugee crisis in Europe. Tell us about that.

SANGER: Well, obviously, if the Russians come in, particularly to the western side of Ukraine, there's likely to be a big refugee flow as people try to get out of the way. Most of that would probably go to Poland, just because there's a significant Ukrainian population there, and people could try to find friends or family.

We don't know exactly how big that would look like. Sometimes these predictions are wrong. You may recall that there was similar warnings about Iraq before the United States invaded in 2003. And that didn't happen. But it has happened before in other parts of Europe.

BROWN: And I want to ask you because there is this important meeting tomorrow. President Biden will welcome Germany's new chancellor. Just tell us about how high stakes that meeting is.

[20:25:03]

SANGER: You know, there are two interesting meetings tomorrow. We have the new German chancellor coming to Washington for the first time. He's been pretty much missing in action in a lot of this discussion of the conflict. He has been quite concerned about what happens if Russia retaliates or counter retaliates from sanctions by turning off the gas to Germany. And while the U.S. has said that would be the end of the Nord Stream 2 project, a project that will bring gas directly from Russia straight to Germany, going around Ukraine.

He hasn't said very much at all. He suggested it might have to be reconsidered, but he's not talking about it much. The more interesting meeting may be that President Macron of France is going to Moscow to talk to Putin. And President Biden called him a few hours ago. We don't know very much about what took place in that phone call. But if Biden was going to begin to try to make some additional offers, some new ideas, I wouldn't be shocked if Macron was the intermediary for that.

BROWN: Yes, the readout that I read of that phone call was pretty vague and using sort of generic language. So I think we're all curious about this meeting with Macron and Putin.

David Sanger, thank you so much.

SANGER: Thank you. Great to be with you, Pamela.

BROWN: Well, former President Trump notorious for shredding norms, and apparently White House documents, too. What we have learned about his, quote, "relentless ripping habit," despite presidential rules against it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:31:15]

BROWN: The Coast Guard rescued 18 people from an ice flow on Lake Erie today. The ice separated from land while the group was snowmobiling. A Good Samaritan with an airboat helped with the rescue effort. These pictures shared with CNN by Dustin Shaffer. The Coast Guard warned in a news release that there is no such thing as safe ice and that Great Lakes ice is, quote, "unpredictable." Luckily, none of the people who were rescued needed medical attention. Wow.

Ripped, shredded and burned. Bombshell revelations tonight from "The Washington Post" taking us inside the Trump administration's, quote, "relentless document destruction habits." Co-author Josh Dawsey is with us now.

Hi, Josh. Thanks for having dinner early for us tonight.

JOSH DAWSEY, POLITICAL INVESTIGATIONS REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Hi, Pam. How are you?

BROWN: We appreciate it.

DAWSEY: Of course.

BROWN: Listen, the National Archives told you that Trump's document destruction was unprecedented. How so?

DAWSEY: For four years, President Trump ripped both documents mundane and more secretive, all sorts of documents, letters, correspondents, memos, formal government documents, personal letters, and it led to a coterie of folks coming in and putting these documents back together. And when documents came to the National Archives that were later transmitted to the January 6th Committee, at least some of them, they found many of them were put together with tape.

Some of them they said were not put together at all. They were still destroyed. But many of them were put together with tape, hundreds of documents where you had presidential memorandum and many other things that had been clearly ripped right down the middle, sometimes in two or three pieces, but usually in one piece that went to the Archives. And they said they had never (INAUDIBLE) documents (INAUDIBLE) like that.

BROWN: Right. So tell us a little bit more about this because presumably you don't know what you don't have, right? But were there any documents that were shredded that the January 6th Committee specifically wanted and it either wasn't in the pile or it was just too hard to piece together because of how it was shredded?

DAWSEY: Well, some of the January 6th documents that went to the committee have been clearly ripped and Scotch-taped back together. In other cases, there are sources tell us that particular documents, including some related to the exhaustive campaign to pressure Mike Pence to overturn the election were actually not turned over, at least by some of our sources, because they said they had been ripped and shredded and in some cases burned.

One of the things that we went over is the story, Pam, was that there were lots of burn bags in the White House that are usually used for classified documents or sensitive documents. And in this case, one of the Trump advisers used the burn bags for all sorts of documents that were not classified or sensitive. But some of them were. And in some ways we don't know what they're not going to see because we know in a lot of places they were burned or shredded or did things with documents that did not adhere to the Presidential Records Act.

BROWN: And did you get any sense from talking to sources about whether this was done intentionally, for nefarious purposes, to hide something? Was it just a matter of habit? We know the president has had a long history of doing this. Michael Cohen, his former lawyer, talked about that. Do you have any sense?

DAWSEY: So that's a complicated question to answer. A lot of our sources said that he ripped documents that were both mundane and less than mundane. But there didn't seem to be any particular practice or pattern of what he ripped in half. We have a couple of sources tell us that they him ripped documents that he put in his shirt pocket or that he never returned, which made them think they could be something sensitive.

[20:35:00]

But the totality of our sourcing indicated that there was no, you know, specific reason that he would rip any sort of document. But he would rip all sorts of documents. He would put them in the waste bin of the Oval Office, of his dining room of the residence, on Air Force One, and there would all sorts of things for people to assemble back together.

BROWN: Two former White House records management analysts demonstrated to CNN back in 2018 what it's like to try to piece these documents back together. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REGINALD YOUNG JR, FORMER WHITE HOUSE RECORDS MANAGEMENT ANALYST: Different sizes.

SOLOMON LARTEY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE RECORDS MANAGEMENT ANALYST: Tiny pieces. Medium sized.

ALIYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK. And then what would you both set about doing? Demonstrate it for us.

YOUNG: All right. Like a puzzle.

LARTEY: We have to lay it out on the table.

YOUNG: Lay it out on the table.

LARTEY: Put it on the desk. You pour the contents on a desk and we literally had to spend hours per day piecing together the puzzle.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Wow. Was there any attempt whatsoever in the Trump White House to adhere to the Presidential Records Act by the former president. As you detail many of his staffers would scramble when he would rip something up and try to piece it together.

DAWSEY: Well, a lot of credit should go to Annie Karni from "Politico," not the "New York Times" in 2018 for breaking that original story that showed us that. But after that story and even before that story, there were various admonitions to the former president from Reince Priebus, from John Kelly, from Stefan Passantino, his lawyer, from Don McGahn, another of his lawyer, that this practice needs to stop and that there should not be document destruction in a widespread fashion in the White House and those warnings or concerns really did not go anywhere.

The White House basically decided that because he was not going to stop, doing what he was doing, that all they could do on the back end was try to put them back together. So you had this really extensive effort that included the Staff Secretary's Office, the Office of Records Management, various aides who instead of convincing him, hey, Mr. President, you need to stop ripping these documents up, would just go through and pick up -- look at piles at the end of the day and try to put them together.

After that story, there was lots of consternation in the White House of, you know, we need to change this, this is not necessarily a good thing to continue. But our sources indicated the former president never stopped ripping up documents in a pretty exhaustive fashion.

BROWN: Despite the Presidential Records Act. All right, Josh Dawsey, political investigations reporter at the "Washington Post," thanks for being on the show tonight, Josh.

DAWSEY: Thanks for having me. Good to see you, Pam.

BROWN: Thank you.

What is it like being in a high-risk group and watching the rest of the country say it's time to just move on from COVID? I'll speak to a Utah doctor whose tweet set off an important conversation about people like her who face a chronic illness and feel overlooked. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:42:41]

BROWN: A doctor in Utah sent a tweet that is getting national attention and sparking a conversation about why it's still important to take the COVID pandemic seriously. Dr. Sarah Bernstein wrote, "Hi, I'm Sarah, I'm 35 and a doctor. I also have a heart condition that puts me at an increased risk for serious complications from COVID." She went on to ask, "Does the face of chronic illness look different than you thought?

Well, her tweet has inspired hundreds of others with preexisting conditions to share their selfies. Each one serving as a reminder that, for many, the COVID threat is still very real.

Dr. Sarah Bernstein joins me now. Thanks for coming on. Tell us what inspired you to send this tweet in the first place.

DR. SARAH BERNSTEIN, HAS CHRONIC ILLNESS: Well, it was really difficult seeing the way the pandemic was directly impacting my patients and their families, and then having that be in direct conflict with what I was hearing on the news and the general feeling of people saying, you know, COVID's over, this is no big deal, it's really nothing more than a cold or a flu. And that really wasn't my experience.

So my instinct and desire was to be able to share their stories and their faces. But because of patient privacy issues, I'm not able to do that. So I chose to share my own.

BROWN: Wow. So tell us, you sent this tweet and then you put your phone away. You pick it back up and you're starting to see the attention. Describe how it felt when you realized it was receiving such a powerful response.

BERNSTEIN: A little bit overwhelming initially. But overall, it was really powerful for me to see the way so many people were opening up and sharing their personal stories and their photos and their experiences and really how many people were feeling really isolated and alone and sort of ignored by the pandemic. And the country's response to it. So I think a lot of good really came out of it in the way that people were able to connect and interact with people because of it.

And so as a physician, you know, seeing that happen one time I think is really inspiring to me and see it happen over and over and over was really quite amazing.

[20:45:09]

BROWN: So first of all, tell us what kind of doctor you are and what it has been like for you navigate thing pandemic with an underlying chronic illness?

BERNSTEIN: So I'm a neontologist. I work in the neonatal intensive care unit. And typically what that means is that I care for some of the smallest and sickest newborns, babies who are born extremely premature, babies who are born with heart conditions or require surgery soon after. And so that's typically my role and my job. And along with that, as a neontologist, my team and I attend all high-risk deliveries so moms who are at really increased risk for having complications from birth, from a variety of things.

The pandemic has very much changed the way I think physicians in general, in a lot of fields practice medicine but in our field it's changed it in that prior to the pandemic, I had really only been to maybe two or three deliveries in the medical ICU. It's very uncommon typically for a mother of child bearing age to be really ill. And that drastically changed since the pandemic started.

Essentially every time I'm on call or called to a delivery room where a mom has COVID and as often very, very sick because of it. Frequently moms are intubated. They can be paralyzed. This creates a lot of complications with delivery for both mom and babies.

BROWN: Wow.

BERNSTEIN: So as a physician, it's changed things, yes, and it's been really heartbreaking, because we attend deliveries where both mom and the baby really are young and healthy and should be fine and it should be a really momentous, joyous occasion for this family. And unfortunately, there have been so many complications that sometimes it's been really devastating.

BROWN: I can't imagine. Well, Dr. Sarah Bernstein, I mean, we have to thank you on so many different levels for sharing your story and for all the work that you have been doing on the frontlines of this pandemic. I just can't imagine the toll it has taken for you now so many years in. Thank you.

BERNSTEIN: Thank you.

BROWN: Well, on this day seven decades ago, Queen Elizabeth's era on the British throne began. We head to London next for a look at how she's being celebrated as the U.K.'s longest serving monarch.

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BROWN: Queen Elizabeth II has used the milestone of her Platinum Jubilee to redefine the future of the British monarchy.

CNN's Max Foster has the story.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pam, Prince Charles led tributes for what he described as his mother's remarkable 70-year reign. He also said he was honored that Elizabeth used her jubilee message to say that she wanted Camilla one day to be known as Queen Consort when Charles becomes king. She is a divisive figure but this is seen as a reward for years of public service from Camilla and also an endorsement to the kind of monarchy that Charles is trying to create.

This is what some Brits said about the news.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think some people will be too happy with this decision. A lot -- so it's before my time but a lot of the people who grew up with Diana being the next queen effectively, they feel like she was wronged by the royal institution and her abuse and subsequent -- you know, what happened after the divorce and all of that, so I don't think a lot of people will be too happy that Camilla has got this role.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's great and everything, but I think the royal family is an establishment. It's the respect of the British people have for it might be lost just because there's been so much scandal surrounding Charles and Camilla's life, you know, with the death of Princess Diana, et cetera. So I think that they'll have to work harder to gain the British peoples' respect and work harder for their place as the royal family.

I think she'll be a good queen. She seems to, you know, she doesn't step out of place or anything like that. There's never any since Diana or since they got married, I don't think there's been like huge scandals surrounding her or anything like that, so I think she will do well but I think there'll always be that shadow of the past that overcast her reign with Charles and for Charles as well, but, yes, I think it will be OK but she's not going to be groundbreaking.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: We didn't see Elizabeth on what's called Accession Day because it doesn't just mark the beginning of her Queen's reign, it also marks the end of her father's reign and his death. So she spent it privately as she always does on her country estate at Sandringham. The time for celebration will come later, culminating in a four-day public holiday weekend here centered at Buckingham Palace in June -- Pam.

BROWN: Thanks. Well, this is just one of those moments that you need to see to believe. Take a look. This Maryland Northeast Police Corporal Annette Goodyear basically saving a middle school's student life.

[20:55:03]

Annette is thankfully said to be doing OK and so is the student. The mayor says they're already working on occasionally -- officially recognizing Annette for the heroism, and for the driver, four citations. Such a narrow escape.

And before we leave you tonight, going to extreme lengths at the Beijing Olympics to make sure you are getting a vodka Collins and not a vodka COVID, yes, that's right. Last week we have robot room service, this week, it's bartenders and servers in hazmat suits. Nothing says warm customer service quite like creaking plastic, muffled voices and the constant smell of disinfectant. Just another day in the life of the Beijing Olympics bubble.

Well, thank you for joining me this evening. See you again next weekend.

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