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NYT: NY Governor Hochul to end Indoor Mask Mandate for Businesses Today; McConnell: What Happened on Jan 6 was a "Violent Insurrection"; Opponents Trying to Block Cawthorn from Ballot over Jan 6 Role Ambassador Bridge in Detroit is shut down to Canadian bound traffic; Ambassador Bridge in Detroit is Shut Down to Canadian Bound Traffic. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired February 09, 2022 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: For 20 year women it could add 10 years, for a 20 year old man, 13 years. And apparently it's never too late to start because for 60 year olds, 8 to 9 years and then for 80 year olds, three and a half years. The takeaway here I think, is you can wait until you're 60 to optimize your diet.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: Yes, I'm also going to get a burger for lunch. CNN's coverage continues right now.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Bianna Golodryga.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR. And I'm Jim Sciutto. We are following several major stories this morning. First, a national turning point on masks, two more states set to roll back indoor mass requirements today. This morning, the Governor of New York expected to make an announcement. Will it also though, include schools?

GOLODRYGA: Yes, this is a really big deal here. Plus a major review of the RNC from inside its own party. The Senate Minority Leader denouncing the censure of GOP lawmakers Kissinger and Cheney and calling January 6 exactly what it was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent a peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election.

(END VIDEO CLIP) GOLODRYGA: Much more on that in just a moment, but first, let's get to CNN Correspondent Brynn Gingras on this expected announcement about masks in New York. Brynn, what exactly do we know is changing?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK, so what we are expecting to see not just from New York, but also Illinois is this change, right? And all these different mandates that were put in place when this Omicron variant was just surging, cases were out of control, hospitalizations right, like we saw here in New York back in December.

We're essentially expecting the governor to announce at 11, that the mask mandate will no longer be in effect. So this is for those businesses, restaurants that said you need to wear a mask indoors or if that business may require proof of vaccination.

So that's what we're expecting to see go away. But again, we're starting to see all these states make this change right ahead of the CDC's recommendation was saying, hey, don't go there just yet.

But they're basically saying, you know what, we need to have a change. We need to start phasing into this new area of what is our new normal. As you guys mentioned, schools here in New York that might not be on the table, we're waiting to see what she announces.

But we are also seeing some changes with schools in neighboring states. We're seeing it in New Jersey, Connecticut; Delaware masks in schools, those mandates are going away for those states. They say the data is OK, the numbers are low, and we're going to see how this goes. It's a scary moment.

GOLODRYGA: Yes.

GINGRAS: You are just talking about gym for parents, right? Because we have those five to 11 year olds, those vaccination rates are not the greatest, they're still pretty low nationwide. And then of course, we have kids who are under five like mine, who can't get vaccinated just yet.

So a lot of change is coming. But it's a clear signal from the States. In absence of the CDC, you know, guidance saying we need to make a change. We need to figure out how we're going to move forward in this pandemic and start living in this pandemic.

SCIUTTO: And by the way red and blue states and with New York, particularly notable because right, this was the epicenter from the beginning, but also even in the most recent Omicron surge. Brynn Gingras, we're following it closely. Thanks very much.

Now to a split at the very top of the GOP, the top two Republican leaders in Congress, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in the Senate, of course and House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy.

They're publicly at odds over the Republican National Committee's recent resolution to formally censure GOP Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for serving on the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th insurrection. GOLODRYGA: Yes, McConnell reviewed that censure and its attempt to characterize January 6 as "legitimate political discourse".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCONNELL: And we're all we're here, we're here, we saw it happen. It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: CNN Capitol Hill Reporter Melanie Zanona is following this story. So Melanie, one thing has been constant. And that is McConnell's response to what happened on January 6, calling it an insurrection personally saying that he was offended by what the difference is, how other Republicans have responded. What are we hearing from McCarthy today?

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, there is a growing chorus of Republicans who have been criticizing the RNC. But Kevin McCarthy is not one of them. He really tried to dodge reporter's questions yesterday in the Capitol, our Manu Raju caught up with him.

And he essentially defended the RNC's use of the words legitimate political discourse, saying that was a reference to individuals who were nowhere near the Capitol on January 6, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): Everybody knows anybody who's broken and cause damage. That was not called for those people. We've said from the very beginning, should be in jail. What they were talking about are the six RNC members who January six has subpoenaed, who weren't even here who were in Florida that day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you've supported that resolution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZANONA: Now, we should point out those individuals that McCarthy was referencing where people who were involved in the fake electors plot. But nonetheless, this is a stark split from Mitch McConnell, who delivered a forceful and purposeful rebuke of the RNC.

Not only do they say the RNC had no right to single out members who disagree with the party, but he also called January 6 a violent insurrection which believe it or not is a word that many Republicans have been reluctant to use.

So all of this is really a reminder of how McCarthy and McConnell have made very different calculations about Trump in the party.

[09:05:00]

ZANONA: For McCarthy, he's betting that he needs Trump to become speaker to win the midterms that January 6 is not going to matter in the midterms. But McConnell is looking more at the long term health of his party and the country, frankly.

And so this is just another example of how January 6 continues to divide the GOP, even at the highest levels. Jim--

SCIUTTO: And McConnell also calculates that some of these pro Trump candidates might make them less likely to retake the Senate, so political calculations as well, Melanie Zanona on the hill. For more on this let's speak now to CNN Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny in Washington Post political Investigations and Enterprise Reporter Toluse Olorunnipa.

Good to have you both on. Jeff Zeleny, so you have this public McConnell McCarthy disagreement, which has really continued, you know, for a number of months now, but you also are seeing some Republican lawmakers.

Not a huge number, but a greater number that we might have seen in the past publicly challenge. Trump, for instance, on January 6, Kevin Cramer, Mike Rounds, you know, for these claims, that kind of thing.

When you speak to folks on the Hill, do they describe a shift in any way, a greater willingness to publicly challenge that narrative?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Jim, I think it depends what the question is, and this is a pretty easy question to challenge those three words legitimate, political, discourse, which I'm told really came to be throughout a long editing process of the censure.

You'll remember, initially, the censure was intended to be far stronger; it was designed to expel the Congressman Liz Cheney and Congressman Adam Kinzinger, from the conference.

So in the attempt to water this down, they actually made it more complicated with those three words legitimate, political, discourse. But the point here is this is very easy for Senate Republicans to call this out. This is very easy to say, look, this was not legitimate political discourse, because those senators were there.

So really across the spectrum from Lindsey Graham, to some, some other moderates, and even Thom Tillis from North Carolina yesterday said it was a riot. It was not legitimate political discourse.

So Senator McConnell here is largely just joining his fellow Senate Republicans here, it would have been extraordinary for him to see anything different, quite frankly. Now, the question is, there is a split between the Senate and the House, but they each have different jobs do.

Kevin McCarthy is doing what he has done for the last year. And it's to try and be as close to the former President as he can be, we'll see how that works out for him.

But there's no doubt that those three words legitimate political discourse will be in ads in congressional races in suburbs, particularly later this year for the midterm. So this is going to be something that is going to continue to echo and resonate.

GOLODRYGA: And Toluse, on that point, is this tension within the Republican Party focus specifically on the midterms and the direction that some Republicans want to take the narrative and that is focusing more on the Biden Administration and the economy as opposed to what has happened in the past in 2020 and the election that what President Trump continues to want to focus on?

TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, that's such a good point. 2020 was more than a year ago; it was, by the time we get to the midterms, it will be two years in the past.

And it's Democrats that actually want to be talking about not only what happened in November, and the former presidents whipping up of his supporters, to attack the Capitol on January 6, that's why they have this select committee to get to the bottom of this.

And I know a number of Democrats want to be able to use some of the findings to bring this issue up. In the midterms as we get closer to the midterms and talk about how, you know, Republicans are the party who, you know, essentially say it says that attacking the Capitol is legitimate political discourse.

Republicans want to be talking about other things. They want to be talking about the Biden Administration. They want to be talking about things that have more political force with voters. Right now, a lot of voters want to move on, they want to move towards things that are actually impacting their lives.

The 2020 election happened a long time ago. So it is something that Republicans want to be talking, Republicans do not want to be talking about. Democrats want to be talking about it. And the former President is making it easier for the press to keep this in the news.

SCIUTTO: Jeff, to play devil's advocate here for a moment, is it possible this is an inside the beltway split more than anything else because when you do look at national polling here, Republicans remain by large majorities, perhaps not as big as a year ago, but still by large majorities behind President Trump former President Trump?

ZELENY: Well, the conversation certainly is inside the beltway. But if you look at this, at the center that was voted on by Republican officials from across the country, each state has two representatives to the Republican National Committee.

So there is a split out there that exists no question about it. But what Senator McConnell is doing, he believes there are enough Republicans enough, you know, Chamber of Commerce, Republicans for lack of a better expression here who really want to believe in the Republican principles.

They are you know upset at inflation, they certainly are not supportive of the Biden Administration's policies. So he is trying to reach out to those Republicans. So it is a very real split in the party.

[09:10:00]

ZELENY: And we do get the sense that it's growing. And the afield to the former president is not as strong as it was. But that's what these midterm elections will certainly be a test of. So at this point, we don't know the answer to the question of how strong he remains in the party, but certainly much stronger than any former president that I can recall.

GOLODRYGA: Toluse, it's interesting to hear McConnell not only rebuked the RNC for saying it wasn't their job to center members of the party, but also to continue to respond to the question of whether or not he believes the committee, the January 6 committee is a legitimate committee.

And he says yes, and that he continues to say that he's interested to find out what they learn. Do you have any indication that he, in fact, may believe that more damning details and more information will come out? And thus he remained so steadfast in his approach to what happened on the sixth?

OLORUNNIPA: Yes, that's been a really interesting development in McConnell's history. He was not in favor of the January 6 committee when it first came out. But since it's been formed, since it's been finding different things, he has spoken out in favor of the committee and said, let's see what they find.

So I do think that, you know, having that sort of bipartisan approach, having his voice kind of supporting the committee is something that Democrats can use and say, you know, this is not a partisan witch hunt.

We have even the minority leader, the Republican leader in the Senate, essentially saying that we are doing the right thing. So it does seem like he's waiting to see if the committee can find more information about what happened.

More links between sort of who were the drivers of what happened on January 6, how high up it went, how much former President Trump were there's no love lost between the former president and the minority leader.

He may be one the Minority Leader maybe wanting to find out exactly what President Trump's role was in January 6, and that's something that he's looking into.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, McConnell and Trump have not spoken in months, right?

SCIUTTO: No.

GOLODRYGA: So no love lost there, indeed. Jeff Zeleny and Toluse Olorunnipa, thank you so much.

ZELENY: Sure.

GOLODRYGA: Well, the White House is now reaching out to potential Supreme Court candidates and says President Biden is on track to reveal his nominee by the end of this month.

SCIUTTO: Former Alabama Senator Doug Jones tap to guide potential nominee through her confirmation process started working at the White House yesterday. CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us now live from the White House.

And Jeremy, what strikes me; this wouldn't be the first time right? Is that it's not clear that everyone agrees on who among the Democrats that is who this nominee should be. So what do we know about the process and the timeline?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're right, Jim, a consensus candidate has not yet emerged as President Biden looks at a range of black women to potentially serve as the next Supreme Court justice.

We knew we do know though that there is a long list so far of qualified candidates with a few front runners, including Michelle Childs of South Carolina, Ketanji Brown Jackson, a federal judge here in Washington DC, as well as Leondra Kruger, California Supreme Court Justice.

Those are the top three candidates. And Michelle Childs is really the candidate that has faced the most scrutiny because of some opposition from some pro union progressive groups and the support from a powerful Democrat, the House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn.

But really beyond that, there hasn't been as much push and pull among the other candidates we'll see as this list gets whittled down and as this process gets further, whether or not that changes.

But we do know that the White House has begun reaching out to some of these candidates, President Biden himself is reviewing biographies and past Supreme Court, not past Supreme Court, but past cases that some of these judges have written as he goes through this process of reviewing these judges.

All of that beginning at the White House as Doug Jones has now started his work here. And again, meetings will soon be underway with the President's team and some of those candidates Jim and Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Jeremy Diamond, thank you.

DIAMOND: Thanks.

GOLODRYGA: Up next, the North Carolina Board of Electors says that it has the power to block Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn from running for reelection, but would they use it?

SCIUTTO: Plus a massive protest started by Canadian truckers over vaccine mandates there is now blocking a key border crossing with the U.S. and it's threatening the U.S. supply chain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not leaving without a fight. They can throw my truck and throw me in jail. But a few days in jail for fighting for our freedom are worth it to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: I asked the Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg about what is being done to find a resolution; you'll hear those comments shortly. Later, a New York couple accused of trying to launder more than 4 billion you heard that right, billion dollars in crypto currency. Just wait until you see the rap videos they were making on the side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:15:00]

SCIUTTO: The North Carolina State Board of Elections says it has the power to block Republican Congressman Madison Cawthorn from running for reelection because of his role in the January 6 insurrection.

This comes after Cawthorn filed a lawsuit trying to shut down a constitutional challenge to his candidacy brought by liberal activists.

GOLODRYGA: The group argues that Cawthorn's actions fall under the U.S. constitution's disqualification clause ratified after the Civil War to bar Confederate officials and those who supported insurrection from returning to office.

Those actions include his appearance of the January 6 rally at the ellipse where he rallied against and railed against, "Cowards in Congress" who plan to certify Joe Biden's win. Here's one of the lead attorneys challenging Cawthorn's candidacy this morning on CNN.

[09:20:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON FIEN, CO-LEAD COUNSEL ON CHALLENGE AGAINST REP. CAWTHORN: His role in helping to fix facilitate the January 6 insurrection triggered an essential provision that the Republican Congress added to the U.S. Constitution after the Civil War.

And that provision says that anyone who broke their oath to support the Constitution, and then aided an insurrection cannot be trusted with future public office because they pose a danger to the entire country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: And joining us now to discuss is former federal prosecutor Jennifer Rodgers. Good morning, Jennifer. So help us break this down. I want to put up the language from the 14th Amendment, Section 3; I'm not going to read through it all.

But our viewers can take a look at it as I bring you into to address this, because this is a novel approach here is the North Carolina election boards right when it says it has the power to bar Cawthorn from running over his participation his role in January 6?

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well Bianna certainly on the face of it, they are. It is the election board that determines the qualifications of candidates. There's an age qualification residency, and this one that you not have aide an insurrection if you want to run for office.

The issue, though, is and we're not there yet, because as they allege in their response to the lawsuit filed, it's not ripe yet, because these districts are still being redrawn, but assuming ultimately that there is a challenge to what they do.

And of course, we don't also know what they're going to do yet. It hasn't ever been litigated. You know, this is a qualification that was put into the constitution. A long, long time ago, we haven't had an insurrection.

So we haven't had anyone tried to run after aiding and insurrection. So there are a lot of steps to get to a place where we're in a position to see whether this stands up. But when it's considered, we don't really know what the answer will be.

SCIUTTO: So here's a legal question here, the language here bars, folks from running, who engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same or giving aid or comfort to the enemies, they're up. So it becomes a legal question.

You know, it's sort of back to this incitement thing, which has come up in terms of the President's comments, right, what legally qualifies as aid and comfort? Would it be making supportive statements, you know, on January 6, rallying the crowd to go to the Capitol? I mean, in a court of law, what would you have to prove to meet that standard?

RODGERS: Well, that's going to be the big question, assuming that this all ultimately goes before in the first instance, the board of elections. They're going to have to consider what Madison Cawthorn did, and then whether that qualifies as aid and comfort.

You know, it could be things like what we know he did, which is giving a speech that tries to rally people, rile them up, send them to the Capitol, or they could determine that that's insufficient.

And he had would have to be involved in a more meaningful way, such as, for example, actually helping some of the groups who provided weapons and support and intended to commit violence. So what they ultimately do, we don't know. And then of course, if they do disqualify him, unquestionably, there will be a legal challenge to that. And there will be a court reviewing what the Board did.

GOLODRYGA: So there a lot of legal challenges here that would be very convoluted and take up a lot of time. I guess, just last question here, bigger picture. If you go beyond just North Carolina, I mean, could this in theory apply to former President Trump, if he in fact does run again for President?

RODGERS: Well, the plaintiffs here have made no secret of the fact that this is a test case for them, and that they, if they are successful here intend to go wider with this. You know, the problem is the laws aren't the same everywhere.

So in North Carolina, there's a particular procedure, and there's this burden shifting that happens that requires Cawthorn to actually prove, assuming the plaintiffs meet their initial standard that he didn't do this.

So the laws are different in each state in terms of what qualifies someone for Office. So while they do intend to go broader with it, it's unclear where they will go next, what the standards are, whether it would be as easy for them to go, to do it for other people as it is for Cawthorn potentially.

SCIUTTO: You know, you could argue this has been litigated once in the former president second impeachment.

GOLODRYGA: Exactly.

SCIUTTO: I mean, that was the question had he been convicted would have been barred.

GOLODRYGA: Would have been completely different, right.

SCIUTTO: They can get the votes.

GOLODRYGA: Jennifer Rodgers, thank you for breaking it down your legal expertise. We appreciate it.

RODGERS: Thanks.

GOLODRYGA: And we are just moments away from the opening bell on Wall Street where U.S. futures are up this morning. Tuesday - rallied, thanks to a big boost from banks. And peloton is also on the rebound this morning after the company announced plans to restructure.

Later today Disney Mattel and Uber will release their earnings reports. Lyft stock tumbled after the company announced that it had fewer active riders last quarter.

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[09:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Canadian trucker protests over COVID mandates are blocking the busiest international crossing into North America. Michigan - DOJ tweeting this morning the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit is shut down to Canadian bound traffic.

SCIUTTO: The closure threatening even bigger backups to a supply chain that's already been disrupted by the pandemics. CNN's Miguel Marquez joins us now live from Detroit.