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DHS Warns Potential Trucker Protest Could Affect Super Bowl; Russia Launches Military Drills In Belarus, Near Ukraine Border; White House Records Obtained By January 6 Committee Show No Record Of Calls To & From Trump During Capitol Siege. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired February 10, 2022 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:00:53]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: It's the top of the hour. Victor is off today.

The protests that started with Canadian truckers against vaccines are impacting regular people's lives today, after the convoy shut down part of a major international crossing known as the Ambassador Bridge. The bridge carries 25 percent of all trade between the U.S. and Canada, and the blockade is causing major disruptions on both sides of the border affecting everything from car parts to food to medicine.

Now Michigan's governor is calling on the Canadian government to step in. She said in a statement today, quote, the blockade is having an impact on Michigan families who are just trying to do their jobs, end quote. All of this as the Department of Homeland Security is warning similar protests could begin here in the U.S., and they may try to disrupt the Super Bowl.

CNN's Camila Bernal is at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

So, Camila, what are you hearing about what could happen?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We know there are these online forums calling for truckers to come here to Los Angeles to protest, and that's what's catching the attention of authorities and that's why you're seeing that bulletin from the Department of Homeland Security and, of course, we all know traffic in Los Angeles is already horrible. So, you add in the tourists and a possible convoy of truckers and that's a recipe for disaster. That's why there are some concerns.

That bulletin from DHS saying there is the potential for severely disrupting transportation, federal government, commercial that facilities because of the gridlock and possible counter-protests, you have to keep in mind even though they're not expecting violence here this could create a lot of tension because people are extremely passionate about the issue. You're going to see people for and against the vaccines and what is what is concerning here because the gridlock can be really bad especially on Super Bowl Sunday. Now we do know local authorities have been working with the federal

government for more than a year. They say they have things under control and we're expecting many, many law enforcement officers from all sorts of departments including from the Department of Homeland Security. But they say this is not over when the Super Bowl is over. They say that all of these truckers could head to Washington, D.C., and that would be to make it there in time for the State of the Union Address on March 1st. So that's the concern here.

But we did hear from the head of the American Trucking Association, and he says he opposes any sort of protest that creates all of these disruptions. Of course, everybody hoping things go on as planned when it comes to the Super Bowl. And we all know that this kind of event is, of course, a target for terrorism as well. But authorities saying they don't have any credible or any threats at the moment they're concerned about. Everyone hoping things run smoothly this weekend -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely. Camila, thank you for the update.

OK. Turning now to the crisis in Ukraine, the West is accusing Moscow of escalating tensions after a series of military exercises in Belarus just a short time ago. In response to these tensions, the U.S. is increasing its naval presence in the region, as President Biden prepares to talk strategy with European and NATO leaders tomorrow.

CNN's Oren Liebermann is at the Pentagon with the latest.

Oren, obviously, a lot of moving parts. A lot of tension. What are you hearing at this hour?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, let's look at this one piece at a time. First, Russian exercises with Belarus and the buildup of forces there. The NATO secretary-general says there are some 30,000 Russian troops in Belarus and that includes the array of forces from special operations forces, fighter jets, ground attack aircraft, as well as advanced anti-aircraft missiles.

The concern is if Russian President Vladimir Putin makes the decision to invade, this is one more part of Ukraine that's surrounded. There are already Russian forces near Ukraine's eastern border. There are Russian forces in occupied Crimea and now, there are Russian forces in Belarus in very large numbers conducting exercises that are supposed to go from now until February 20th.

[15:05:03]

They are not only right on Ukraine's border, they're also only about 50 miles from Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.

So, if Putin decides to go for an all out invasion, it is not a far distance from there to Kyiv.

Meanwhile, the U.S., we've already talked about U.S. forces going into Eastern Europe and some thousands of U.S. troops will be arriving in Poland, Germany and Romania over the course of the next couple of days, that's in addition to tens of thousands of U.S. troops who are already in Europe. And we've learned the Navy is sending four destroyers into the region, to the Atlantic and Mediterranean. That on top of the Truman strike group which includes a carrier right now under NATO command, that's already operating in the Mediterranean.

This is all a sign to Putin, warning him, first, against conducting an operation and invading Ukraine but also a message of unity and the European Union, as well America's allies and a show of deterrence across from Putin.

What signs is the U.S. looking for that would indicate a Russian invasion is imminent, is a difficult question, because there's no one single answer that is sort of trip wire that indicates Russia is about to invade. But warning signs could include an increase in Russian cyber attacks against Ukraine. We've already seen some cyber attacks against Ukraine. This would be on another level, information warfare from Russian state-run media outlets, repositioning of tanks and artillery and a firing range. All of these could be signs that an invasion is coming, that Putin has made that decision.

But again, Alisyn, it's simply not definitive, which is part of what has U.S. and allies so concerned.

TAPPER: OK. Oren Liebermann, thank you very much for the update and the reporting.

All right. Now to this, new revelations about the Trump administration's record keeping or their flushing away of norms. The committee investigating January 6 wants White House call records from that day. But sources tell CNN the logs shows zero calls to and from the former president as the attack unfolded, though it is widely reported that Trump did speak with a few lawmakers during the attack.

And then, of course, there's the story of documents that were flushed down the toilet.

Joining me now to talk about all this is Harry Litman. He's a former deputy assistant general. Also with us, CNN chief political analyst Gloria Borger.

Harry, how can there be no call logs of the phone calls that day? We already know people were trying to call the president and say do something, there's a horrible attack at the Capitol. You need to get in front of a camera. We already know this.

So where are the call logs?

HARRY LITMAN, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Yeah. I mean, it's inconceivable he wasn't on the phone all the time. It's probably on his personal cell phone. They need to log it anyway. How could it be? Oh, my Lord, maybe, just as the piece with the destroyed records, there was some order given not to keep logs.

We know he's been very secretive around these meetings. He referred to the residence to keep -- and had a close hold on who attended, so the most obvious explanation, don't know it yet, is that he kept them from being prepared.

CAMEROTA: Gloria, you'll remember Donald Trump when he was running for president was so outraged that anybody would ever use personal email like Hillary Clinton and what were they hiding? If you used something that wasn't disclosed, what on earth were you trying to hide?

Let me play that for people who have forgotten.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People who have nothing to hide don't smash phones with hammers. They don't. People who have nothing to hide don't bleach -- nobody has ever heard of it -- don't bleach their emails or destroy evidence to keep it from being publicly archived as required under federal law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: And people who have nothing to hide don't flush documents down the toilet. I think that's another life rule number one. As you know, Maggie Haberman of "The New York Times" has new reporting in her book, I'll just read you a portion of it.

I learned the staff in the White House residence would periodically find the toilet clogged. The engineer would have to come and fix it. And what the engineer would find would be wads of clumped up wet printed paper meaning it was not toilet paper. This was either notes or some other piece of paper that they believe he had thrown down the toilet.

I mean, I don't even know where to begin, Gloria. It's taking all of my strength not to make some like scatological joke right now, but I will attempt to be above that. So, what are your thoughts?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Let's just think of the context here. This is a president who is always very paranoid, about he knew if he was making calls from the Oval Office there were people listening in as he discovered belatedly probably during a phone call with Zelensky of Ukraine and he wanted to have private conversations.

So I've been told by people who work in the White House the president just didn't like to have conversations with people he knew would disagree with him. And that day, there were people calling other people's cell phones, as we know, who were trying to get through to the president, including his own son, Donald Trump Jr., who had to then text Mark Meadows and say, would you tell my father this, would you tell my father that.

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I think that Donald Trump was not eager to get on the phone with anyone. I mean, who knows if anything was destroyed or not destroyed. But the explanation that's been given to me in my reporting by people who worked there was he didn't want to get on the phone with anybody and it was his -- you know, the way he usually handled it if somebody called, say, Mark Meadows or something and wanted to talk to the president, maybe the president would pick up that phone.

So it's complicated, but he was so glued to what was going on on his television set that day and he knew that there was a lot of disapproval around him, that there's just a chance he didn't want to hear it because he was enjoying it so much.

CAMEROTA: Harry, is flushing documents down the toilet a crime? But, before you answer that, let me just also say that Donald Trump denies that this happened. But what we do know was true is that he did take 15 boxes of important historical presidential documents to Mar-a-Lago. We know that because they had to go be retrieved by the national archives and that point is not disputed.

So, absconding with important historical documents that belong to the White House and the American people, surely that's a crime of some kind, but you tell me.

LITMAN: Yeah, but nothing like the flushing down the toilet. Jokes aside, why do you flush things down the toilet? That's how you get rid of contraband.

And from a prosecutor's point of view, Alisyn, this is an easy and terrific case. You don't need Mark Meadows to turn. You have 12 witnesses on the committee who says he was doing this regularly and routinely.

You know, another Trump toilet incident on three. Bring in the rubber gloves. And you have documents returned that were like pieces of confetti that they had to tape up. You had people telling him, you know, you can't do this.

There's a high intent -- to answer your question, it is a crime. Not the Presidential Records Act, is sort of an honor system, so that means nothing to Trump.

But there's a separate provision from the 19th century, 18 USC 2071, that makes it a crime to do it willfully. Willfully means he wants to destroy the documents -- of course, he does. And you have all kinds of witnesses to that effect. Toilet or no toilet you have him tearing things up, people having to tape it back together.

Is it a crime? Yes, it's an easily provable crime moreover.

CAMEROTA: OK. But then why is there a question, Harry, quickly, about why -- whether the Department of Justice will move forward with this?

LITMAN: Well, look, we don't know. But one thing to say, it feels a little technical and picayune, on the one hand. On the other, though, I think it encapsulate the worst two elements of the Trump presidency which is thinking these records which belong to the people are his own. And the whole presidency is his own and wanting to obstruct everything.

So, even though it feels like papers, give me a break, it is, I think, a righteous case. We'll see what they do it. This is just beginning to pour out all the evidence of this. BORGER: So are you saying you don't have to know exactly what he was

flushing down the toilet? That that doesn't matter? That just the fact that he did it is enough?

LITMAN: As long as they are public records, Gloria, and we know almost anything is a public record, a file or whatever, and we have him -- toilet aside -- tearing things in half, repeatedly, in front of people, et cetera. No doubt they were public records.

So, in that sense, the short answer to your question is, yes. We don't -- we don't have to know exactly. We know they were public records and we know his purpose in doing it was to destroy them. It wasn't like a fit of pique or just a habit.

CAMEROTA: Right, and what are you trying to hide? It comes back to that question.

Harry Litman, Gloria Borger, thank you both very much.

BORGER: Sure.

LITMAN: Thank you. Thanks, Gloria.

CAMEROTA: OK. So, inflation just hit a near 40-year high. When will there be a reprieve for your wallet, and what action will the Fed take, next?

And also this, Bob Saget's family reveals surprising details about how the beloved actor died. We have their warning ahead.

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CAMEROTA: At least seven states are ending mask mandates in schools over the next several weeks. Two of these states, Connecticut and Massachusetts, will lift masks at the end of this month. Just today, Maryland's government asked the state board of ed to approve lifting school mask restrictions there and Nevada's governor just ended his state's mask mandate, quote, effective immediately.

But the CDC says it's still too soon. So, what do teachers and doctors think?

Let's discuss it. Randi Weingarten is the president of the American Federation of Teachers, and Dr. Ali Khan is the dean of the college of public health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Great to see both of you.

Randi, Massachusetts and Connecticut and Nevada all lifting masks for students and in schools. One, Nevada is today. The other two at the end of the month. How do you feel about that? How teachers feel?

RANDI WEINGARTEN, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS: You could see why teachers and parents and others would be confused about how, you know, the CDC is saying one thing, you know, and now, you have a whole second set of governors saying a whole different thing. So, what we did is three months ago in November, since we support off ramps for masking, we know that masks impede learning.

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And we -- but we also know masks were there for the safety of, you know, our kids, our communities and ourselves.

So what I did was in November pre-omicron, I asked the CDC, Dr. Walensky and Dr. Cardona, could you actually give us and investigate and figure out a science-based metric or an off ramp for masking?

CAMEROTA: And did you get that?

WEINGARTEN: No, never. And the dilemma is now that, you know, that today, for example -- I have two op-eds on my desk. One that says we must unmask now. Masks don't work and the other that says, don't do it right now.

So, that's why teachers and many parents are just saying to scientists and government officials, let this decision be informed by science and safety, not by politics. And I think I'm just going to lift up the one governor who I think is doing it absolutely the right way was Governor Hochul in New York. She lifted the adult mask mandate effective immediately, like the Nevada governor did.

But she said when it comes to, you know, students in schools and other congregate settings and transportation, she listed the four or five different things that they're looking at so we all know it with a goal towards doing -- that lifting this mandate by the end of February, the beginning of march.

So, the last thing I will say is this, this is good news. I mean, I know it's confusing right now, but the good news is that omicron is really going down, and the good news is we have enough people vaccinated and enough people boosted that you can see a path to normalcy. And I don't want the lead to be kind of hidden in the midst of this confusion.

CAMEROTA: Yeah. I hear you. I think that's a great point. I think people are starting to exhale, totally, and I think we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

In the meantime, Dr. Kahn, do you think it's too soon? And what metric would you use?

DR. ALI KHAN, DEAN, COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH, UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER: Thank you, Alisyn. It's not too soon. It just depends where you are. We need to admit it's not a national outbreak. It's a local and state outbreak. Locally, if you have no outbreaks in school, absenteeism isn't a problem for teachers and bus drivers and kids, hospitals are not under threat, then it's very appropriate at a local level to make that decision based on a couple of these metrics.

CAMEROTA: Yeah, but, Dr. Khan, I want to show you a couple of metrics, because there haven't been outbreaks in schools for the most part. I think it's safe to say schools have been safe.

And then when you look at what's happening in Nevada, I'll pull up that map, cases have plummeted since just a few weeks ago. You see that exact same graph in Massachusetts. You see the exact same pattern in Connecticut.

So should we be looking at cases? Should we be looking at hospitalizations? Should we be looking at transmission level? I mean, what is the metric that schools should be using regardless of where you are in the country?

KHAN: Correct. So, schools have been safe because of masks. Let's be very clear about that. Masks work -- in addition obviously to vaccinating teachers and students and staff and social distancing and ventilation. So that's why schools have been safe and we need to continue and maintain them being safe.

Cases are no longer a good measure of what's going on in the community anymore. Too much testing is done outside of a health care setting and within home settings. So, the better metrics are, and, again, why there's not necessarily one answer but how you need to look at what's going on in your community.

You know, I know many communities where kids don't go to school because there are too many teachers out and they can't get enough substitutes. You know, places they can't get the bus drivers to get the kids to school, you know?

So, you have to look at absenteeism, at what's going on in the health care system, at what's going on in the community. Once again, we want adults to be responsible, 20 percent of adults have not yet been vaccinated. We want adults to be responsible, to drive down disease in their communities so kids can go back to school without masks.

CAMEROTA: Yeah. Guys, we're out of time, but, Dr. Khan, last, I mean, if masks go away, what are you going to do with your treasure-trove of masks, the collection you have shown us?

KHAN: I'm going to remind -- I still need to remind people to get boosted.

CAMEROTA: I knew -- I knew you would have a surprise for us and you always deliver.

Randi Weingarten, Dr. Ali Khan, thank you both very much. Great to talk to you.

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WEINGARTEN: Thank you.

KHAN: Always a pleasure, thank you.

CAMEROTA: OK. A key measure reveals inflation has leaped to a high not seen in nearly 40 years. What this means for you and what's going to happen next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: No doubt you've been hit with sticker shock at the grocery check-out, at the gas pump, if you've tried to buy a piece of furniture lately. Almost everything cost as lot more.

And today, we got some numbers that put that in stark relief.