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Biden Holding Critical Call Today With Putin Over Ukraine Crisis; Interview With Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA); Canadian Police Begin Clearing Protesters Blocking Bridge To U.S.; Interview With Mayor Byron Brown; Autopsy: Bob Saget Died From Blunt Head Trauma; Countdown To Super Bowl: Rams vs. Bengals. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired February 12, 2022 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:33]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

A critical meeting is taking place today between President Biden and Russian president Vladimir Putin to discuss the escalating crisis in Ukraine. The two leaders' phone call comes hours after Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron talked by phone for more than an hour and a half.

Also today, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with his Russian counterpart urging him to stick to the path of diplomacy. Satellite photos show Russia continues its troop buildup and now surrounds Ukraine on three sides.

Today, the U.S. is ordering all nonemergency personnel out of the embassy in Kyiv and removing about 160 U.S. soldiers who had been in Ukraine on a training mission. As Ukraine's president is urging calm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We have a lot of information because we are on this border. It's our borders. It's our territory.

YOU KNOW, I have to speak with our people like -- you know, like a president and say people the truth and the truth that we have different information. And now the best friend for enemies that is panic in our country. And all this information, it helps only for panic. It doesn't help us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's team of reporters covering this from around the world. Sam Kiley is in Kharkiv Ukraine, Nic Robertson in Moscow, Jasmine Wright at the White House, and Kylie Atwood at the State Department for us this morning.

Sam, let me go to you first. We heard the Ukrainian president there telling everyone to stay calm. Is that the pervasive feeling inside Ukraine? Are citizens feeling calm?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I have to say that most Ukrainians have been showing a remarkable level of calm. They have been signing up in relatively small numbers to home guard and reserve units. The Ukrainians claiming they can mobilize over a hundred thousand people in addition to their 200,000 plus in their regular army. So a very different army than the Russian-backed separatists faced in 2014.

President Zelensky was speaking there about the dangers of panic down in the south of the country at a military exercise where a possible route in for the Russians and where I'm standing is another route into the north.

It's only 30 miles between here and the Russian border where over the last week or so Russians have been building up very substantial force of armor and surface missiles and lately reports of long-range artillery being brought up close to the front here, or rather to the border here which the danger is could turn into an active front because this is a city of 1.5 million people, a Russian-speaking majority, some 75 percent at least of people here in Kharkiv speak Russian as a mother tongue.

Although nobody I'm spoken to here supports Vladimir Putin's separatist efforts in the east of the country or indeed any proposal to invade and try to turn this country away from its membership -- it's hoped membership of the European Union and above all of NATO.

But that said, there are efforts being made in Kyiv, the capital to instruct people about evacuations and there will be emergency power sources. Here in Kharkiv, arguably closer to danger, there hasn't been that sense of concern perhaps because as the president here is insisting panic serves only to reinforce the power of the Russians just across the border there.

WHITFIELD: And Nic, in Moscow what are we hearing from the Kremlin about what the Kremlin feels about the call today, what they want us to know about the call and the overall message coming from Blinken, the Secretary of State for the U.S. saying that he wants to stay on the path of diplomacy?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, I think there are two big takeaways here. Secretary of State Antony Blinken laid this out with the Russian foreign minister and Emmanuel Macron raised this to President Putin. They're both saying, look if you want to go to the track of diplomacy, you've got to de-escalate your forces and show that you're actually committed, that you really mean it.

[11:04:52]

ROBERTSON: You know, Russia's position has been, you know, it will accept, you know, the meeting earlier in the week with President Macron, they'll accept conversations about diplomacy. They won't set out their hard and fast positions repeatedly.

But what they seem to be doing is sort of engaging in a level of engagement about diplomacy, but not doing it on the battlefield. And that's what the message has Been very clearly from the French and Secretary of State Antony Blinken today. So de-escalate your forces, show that you're ready to talk, and we'll talk. That's the way to do it.

On the other part, and I sort of alluded to it there, what we heard from the Kremlin, the readout from President Putin's conversation with President Macron, you know, still want those long-term legally binding guarantees that Ukraine can't join NATO, NATO will roll back its borders, expressing disappoint that the United States and NATO haven't responded to Russia's demands.

Well, actually, they have, using, you know, the narrative that Russia is preparing to invade, turning that around and saying, no, that's propaganda against us. The Ukrainians will use it to start something, you know, start a fight themselves in the country.

So the point here being, as -- that nothing has really changed and what's being said in even these lengthy phone conversation and that really gives, you know, the impression that diplomacy isn't moving forward.

If it is, we're just not hearing about it. And the threshold for Russia to get into meaningful diplomacy, they're not trying to cross that threshold which is de-escalate.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jasmine, from the White House, we've been hearing the messages coming from the president this week that the invasion -- an invasion could come at any time. But how does that mix, you know, with this simultaneous message coming from the State Department of diplomacy.

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well look, the tone has been shifting over the last 24 hours here at the White House, really as we've gotten these dire warnings from administration officials about the security situation in Ukraine. And so that messaging comes ahead of the president's call today, that is expected to be happening -- it was expected to start really at the top of this hour.

Now we are still waiting for confirmation from the White House of that, that call has begun. But I can give you a few details about it as we are really waiting to hear from them.

First, it came from a Kremlin spokesperson who said that it was the White House that initiated this really high-stakes call taking place on a Saturday. In an unusual amount of detail from a White House official, they told CNN that the Kremlin first suggested that this call happen on Monday and that the White House actually countered and wanted it to happen today as the president is at Camp David, that presidential retreat, really Fred, laying down just how significant and how severe this issue is and how serious that the White House is taking it.

And now this is going to be the president and President Putin's third call since December. We know that they spoke late last year. And in terms of message, when we talk about that tone shift, when we talk about these warnings growing more and more dire.

We know as Sam and Nic just spoke about that the message from Antony Blinken, Secretary of State, to his Russian counterpart today was urging diplomacy. So I think it is fair to say that that could potentially be a message that President Biden delivers to Putin.

But again, we are waiting now for confirmation from the White House to see when this call does start, if it did start on time, really in these high-stakes moments, one of -- or if the most critical call for the president during his presidency, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jasmine, thank you.

And Kylie, at the State Department. What are people saying inside the State Department, particularly just to underscore Nic's message there, that Russia is showing no signs of de-escalation?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well they're preparing for the worst, right. You -- we learned from the State Department that they are drawing down most of the diplomats, pulling them out of Ukraine. And a senior State Department official very bluntly said that's because they have to prepare for the worst-case scenario, which would be, of course, a Russian invasion into Ukraine and, of course, the possibility of Russian attacks on the capital city on Kyiv, where that embassy is located.

Now there are a small number of diplomats that are staying at the embassy. A small number are going to a city on the western side of Ukraine. But the State Department is being very clear here. They are saying that Russian military is very capable and they don't want to be in a position where those diplomats are in harm's way.

Now, they're also reiterating today that it is past time for Americans in Ukraine to leave the country and saying that they have been in touch with thousands of Americans in the country over just the last few days. Some of them are leaving. Some of them have already left. And there are some, however, who are still saying that they want to stay in the country.

[11:09:52]

ATWOOD: Now, the State Department respects their decision, but is urging them to reconsider that because of the situation, because they say if there's a war zone that breaks out, it is incredibly challenging for the United States to provide assistance to those Americans who are still there. And they're saying, they're not going to be carrying out a military evacuation for those American citizens on the ground, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right.

Kylie Atwood, Sam Kiley, Nic Robertson, Jasmine Wright -- thanks to all of you. We'll check back with you.

All right. Joining us right now, Congressman John Garamendi. He's a Democrat from California and senior member of the House Armed Services Committee. So good to see you, Congressman.

So how would you describe the tone President Biden is now taking and what does that indicate to you?

REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D-CA): I think he's taking exactly the right tone. Being very straightforward, very tough, very clear and very determined. And making it absolutely clear that if there is an invasion of any kind, in any way, in any place in Ukraine, Russia is going to pay an enormous price.

And I can assure you Congress is prepared to provide the president with the necessary authorization for extraordinary sanctions.

WHITFIELD: And what is that enormous price? Because it doesn't appear by the behavior of Putin and the buildup of troops that he's at all worried about any potential consequences?

GARAMENDI: Well, he's playing a very strong hand. There's no doubt about it. When you have 130,000 troops and all of those armaments and missiles and all of the other parts and pieces of the war plan, he has a strong hand.

But then there is tomorrow. Should there be an invasion, Russia will endure for years a very serious economic and personal challenge to the hierarchy to the plutocrats in Russia. And so that's what Putin is going to have to weigh in this phone call.

And I'm absolutely certain that the president is not going to give an inch. He's not going to give away NATO. He's not going to give away Ukraine. He's not going to let Russia dictate what's going to happen in Europe.

On the other hand, if Russia wants to have a good, solid future in the European community, then they're going to have to back away from this threat of war or from war itself.

WHITFIELD: So the U.S. has sent indications that an attack could happen involving Russia even during the winter games. Putin was at the opening ceremonies. Do you see in any way that China's Xi Jinping can be at all influential in helping to convey the message of diplomacy to Putin?

GARAMENDI: I don't think so. I don't think China is about to do anything to help anybody but China. Will it be helpful to Russia? Perhaps they cut some sort of a deal. We don't know that.

But what we do know is that this is an extremely important hour, this next 60 minutes is going to be really the make it or break it period for war in Europe. We don't -- the real fear is that is it just a war in Ukraine or could it spiral beyond that.

What Putin has said in the past, in the Crimea situation, was that he was willing to put his nuclear forces on alert. Let's keep in mind the United States has no intention and has explicitly said we will not involve ourselves in a Ukrainian war. However, we will provide Ukraine with everything they need to defend themselves from economic aid to military supplies.

WHITFIELD: So you said in the next 60 minutes it's critical. So what can be said in a phone call with Putin that hasn't already been said that would be more influential than what has already happened and not happened?

GARAMENDI: Well, the president is going to look across that phone line at Putin and he's going to say, we mean what we said. We're not going to back NATO out of eastern Europe. We're not going to give away the potential for other countries that want to join with the agreement of the NATO countries, want to join NATO. We're not going to do that.

But also we have no intention, the United States has no intention of threatening Russia. However, if Russia invades, there will be serious consequences. The Congress of the United States both in the House and the Senate has legislation prepared ready to move out of committee that are the super sanctions -- sanctions that have never been put in place in any country in the past, but will be put in place should Russia invade.

[11:14:56]

GARAMENDI: And those sanctions cover virtually everything about the Russian economy and perhaps even more important about the Russian hierarchy. Putin himself, his assets around the world which are probably in the billions and hidden away, as well as the other oligarchs in Russia, they're going to be finding themselves in a very, very difficult situation.

And the Russian economy is essentially isolated. No longer able to get into the international financing systems, Russian bonds, Russian activities -- all of them literally shut down. Putin is going to have to weigh that. He may calculate that he can have a military victory, but he's going to have to calculate and I'm absolutely certain that Biden and his administration has put this down clearly and it will be repeated, "Invade and you will have your country seriously harmed."

WHITFIELD: So I wonder if it's your belief that even Putin underestimated this plan. That now he has this incredible buildup around Ukraine, crossing the border, I mean he's facing potential war crimes for trying to violently take over his neighboring country, but he's at this point now where he really doesn't know how to save face on the world stage. How do you retreat without looking weak?

GARAMENDI: Well, Putin has actually done a big favor for NATO. The previous president spent four years demeaning and trying to disrupt and in many ways destroy the NATO alliance. Putin has managed to pull NATO back together. So he's facing a dilemma now. He has a very unified NATO as well as a unified European Union and the United States engaged.

So can he find face and back away? Well, he could say, we've had a marvelous exercise. Our military has proved to the entire world that we're the awesome military and he can pound his chest and say terrific, we're a great military. And we're going to go back and should we ever need it, it's prepared. And he can also say to the Russian people that, hey look, I showed you how strong we are and we're going to always be prepared. Fine. No problem with that. Step across that border and he's going to find himself and his country in very serious trouble.

WHITFIELD: All right. Congressman John Garamendi, always good to see you. Thank you so much.

GARAMENDI: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, Canadian police are moving protestors that are blocking a key border bridge as more demonstrations spill into the U.S. I'll talk with the mayor of Buffalo, New York straight ahead.

Plus details from the autopsy of Bob Saget raising questions about the head trauma that he suffered before he died.

[11:17:50]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

Happening right now, police in Windsor, Canada have begun an operation to clear protesters who have been blocking access to a key U.S. border bridge.

The so-called "Freedom Convoy" began with truck drivers against vaccine mandates in both Canada and the U.S. But those protests have now ballooned to take issue with several COVID-19 health restrictions.

Blockages along the border are stressing supply chains, causing losses of millions of dollars and now those protestors spilling into the U.S.

Joining us right now is the mayor of Buffalo, New York Byron Brown. Mr. Mayor, so good to see you.

I mean Trucker convoys are expected to stage protests in your city today. How are you preparing?

MAYOR BYRON BROWN (D), BUFFALO, NEW YORK: Federal, state and local police agencies and others have been meeting. We are prepared for the trucker convoy. It's not expected to get here to Buffalo until noon. It will stage in Tonawanda, New York first and then travel to Buffalo.

And our main priority here in the city of Buffalo is health and safety of our residents and visitors to the city.

WHITFIELD: So what do you envision? I mean we've seen the pictures of what's been taking place in Ottawa, but do you envision this protest is going to have the similar makings, once they make their way, you say in Tonawanda and then on it's way to Buffalo. What do you envision?

BROWN: We don't envision at this point what we're seeing in Canada. There are dozens of trucks that have arrived that are on their way to this community. So we think it will be dozens, not hundreds or thousands. So we don't envision what we've been seeing in Canada happening here in Buffalo.

WHITFIELD: So when you say, you know, this is a health matter and you're taking precautions or, you know, spreading the word to your residents, your constituents, what do you mean? I mean what do you say to them about how they remain safe or, you know, what they do when they see or are engaged in any way with a convoy? What is the message?

BROWN: Our hope is for roads not to be blocked. We want to have our roads open. We want emergency vehicles to be able to get into our neighborhoods if necessary. The job of the federal and state government will be to keep roadways open and commerce moving.

BROWN: I've spoken to the governor of the state of New York, Governor Kathy Hochul. The governor certainly is very involved with this.

[11:24:49]

BROWN: So we do have a good plan in Buffalo, New York. We're ready for these trucks, but our goal is to keep our roadways open and to make sure that residents and visitors are safe and healthy.

We don't want to have neighborhoods blocked. We don't want it to be impossible for emergency vehicles to get in and out of communities if necessary.

WHITFIELD: So you've consulted with a number of people, you know, all the way up to the New York governor. And we're continuing to look at the pictures right now of what has transpired in Canada.

But have you also reached out to or been in contact with any Canadian authorities in order to prepare yourself for potentially a mirror image of what we see in Canada to potentially happen there in New York.

BROWN: I haven't spoken to any Canadian authorities. We do have a close relationship between our community here in Buffalo and Canada. A lot of travel back and forth from Canada, from Ontario, to Buffalo, New York, other border communities.

We don't anticipate happening here in Buffalo what we're seeing in Canada at all. The issues are different and while people want to make their statement, we hope that they will make their statement, do it responsibly, and then move on.

WHITFIELD: Buffalo, New York Mayor Byron Brown, thank you so much. All the best to you and your city.

BROWN: Thank you. Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: All right.

All right. Coming up, Bob Saget's autopsy is raising questions about the beloved actor's sudden death. We have details next.

[11:26:37]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. New questions about Bob Saget's death after an autopsy revealed the actor and comedian died of blunt head trauma. The medical examiner says Saget likely fell when no one was looking and hit the back of his head, causing a brain bleed.

CNN's Brian Todd has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a date?

BOB SAGET, ACTOR: It's a date.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The latest ruling on the death of actor and Bob Saget sheds new light on his injuries but also raises more questions. Saget died alone in his hotel room in Orlando last month. The Orange County, Florida medical examiner's office releasing an autopsy report saying the 65-year-old died from blunt head trauma, that it's likely Saget quote, "suffered an unwitnessed fall backwards and struck the posterior aspect of his head and that the manner of his death was an accident."

No information has been forthcoming on how Saget might have hit his head, but the sheriff of Orange County has a theory.

SHERIFF JOHN MINA, ORANGE COUNTY, FLORIDA: There's speculation he may have slipped in the bathroom, but again, there was no visible signs of trauma to the back of the head, to the naked eye, until it was revealed in the autopsy.

So, in other words, we do not believe that he was struck with anything. We believe this was an accidental death, probably most likely caused by some type of fall, hitting a flat surface.

TODD: Saget's family released a statement saying they believe authorities have concluded that Saget quote, "hit the back of his head on something, thought nothing of it, and went to sleep.

But neurosurgeon Daniel Barrow says based just on his reading of the autopsy that he doesn't believe Saget would have been conscious immediately after the fall and --

DR. DANIEL BARROW, NEUROSURGEON: This suggests that there was a level of injury to the brain that was far more than just a simple ground- level fall, as one might expect in a typical hotel room.

TODD: Barrow says he bases that on the fact that the autopsy says Saget had injuries to his eye sockets and to the side of his head as well as to the back of his said.

He says if someone came into his emergency with those injuries --

BARROW: I would be concerned that they were involved in a motor vehicle accident, a fall down a flight of stairs, a fall from a large height, an assault.

TODD: But Barrow and other experts say it is still possible to suffer a head injury which the victim thinks is minor at first but then gets gradually worse.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You have a significant blow, you may develop some -- at the time what is sort of slow bleeding, not significant bleeding right away, but the blood starts to accumulate over time.

TODD: The autopsy says Saget's heart had 95 percent blockage on one side, that he had anti-anxiety medication and anti-depressants in his system, and that he tested positive for COVID.

The experts we spoke to say none of that would have likely figured in his death. They say If you suffer a significant blow to the head, these symptoms should prompt you to seek medical attention.

DR. GUPTA: If you have a headache and the headache is worsening, if you're developing confusion, if you have nausea and vomiting, if you're slurring your speech --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Extraordinary. Brian Todd, thank you so much.

All right. Joining me now to discuss, Dr. Neha Raukar. She is an emergency medicine physician and concussion specialist at the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Rocker, good to see you.

So I mean, we're all learning so much, especially after the autopsy. What sticks out to you? I mean what are some of the messages that we all can now relate to, understand, apply to our own lives after learning these details?

DR. NEHA RAUKAR, EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN, MAYO CLINIC: I think a couple of points -- a couple of good points have been brought up. I don't think this was a simple head injury. You know we bang our heads a couple of times a day, we have no residual symptoms, we can sort of wave these off.

[11:34:53]

DR. RAUKAR: But if people have residual symptoms, this is when things need to get evaluated. You need to go to the emergency department and get looked at and maybe even get some imaging to see if you have a skull fracture or if you have some bleeding.

And if you're not -- if you're tired or if you're maybe on some medications, for example, blood thinners, this can increase your risk for bleeding into your brain after hitting your head.

WHITFIELD: And, you know, I can't help but think of also the Natasha Richardson case where, you know, she hit her head skiing. She wasn't wearing a helmet, hit the back of her head. She felt like she was ok. She would go lay down and that's one of the things you don't do. And then in his case, perhaps he too just felt ok. He hit his head,

you know, and laid down, went to sleep. Sometimes you don't really even know so that you can request that head MRI.

What do people need to be asking themselves when they do hit their head and kind of want to shake it off as, you know, I feel like I'm ok?

DR. RAUKAR: Right. So the thing to watch out for are symptoms, right. So if you have a headache that just won't go away in a reasonable amount of time, if you have a seizure, if you start vomiting or you feel nauseous. If you have -- if you can feel like a depression in your skull, or if you just have some focal deficit, my arm doesn't move very well, or oh, I'm feeling very nauseous or very tired. These are reasons to go into the emergency department and get looked at.

WHITFIELD: The autopsy report also said he had some fractures in his eye sockets. Does that indicate to you that there may have been more of a ricochet kind of hit, like he hit his head once in the back and then again in the front? Or -- I mean what do you read from that kind of information?

DR. RAUKAR: Yes, I think that's a good hypothesis. It's hard to speculate, right? But the back of the skull is pretty thick as is the front of the skull. But the bones around the eye are pretty thin and the bones on the side of your head are pretty thin.

So it sounds like maybe he fell, hit his head and maybe had some sort of twisting or turning or maybe hit the front of his head as well. It's just hard to know or to hypothesize how this could have happened.

WHITFIELD: Yes. It has everybody rethinking when they just, you know, hit their head thinking it's gentle, it's no big deal. You have to pay attention to it no matter what all the time.

Dr. Neha Raukar, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

DR. RAUKAR: Thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: All right. As the fight over the former president's records heats up, a stunning revelation from a new book, Donald Trump's White House staff say they found documents periodically flushed down the toilet. Details on that straight ahead.

[11:37:41]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: As investigations into the final days of the Trump administration proceed, the former president is under new scrutiny. This time it's over how he handled documents during his time in the White House.

A new reporting reveals Trump often ripped up pages or even flushed them down the toilet when he was done reading them. Other classified documents ended up at Trump's Florida residence Mar-A-Lago. CNN's Pamela Brown has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: White House aides began the process of collecting documents that needed to be turned over to the National Archives soon after Trump lost the November election. But while Trump was trying to figure out how to remain in power, the once standard process seems to have gone awry. Multiple sources tell CNN it was chaotic with no one ensuring protocols were followed at the end.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They rigged an election. They rigged it like they've never rigged an election before.

BROWN: It wasn't until May of last year that the Archives noticed several items were missing from their catalog of Trump White House records. Significant items like letters he exchanged with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, and the infamous (INAUDIBLE) altered map of Hurricane Dorian.

Long-time National Archives lawyer Gary Stern first reached out to a former Trump White House Counsel attorney hoping to locate the missing items and initiate their swift transfer, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

Sources say Stern, frustrated by the pace of the turnover, sought the intervention of another Trump attorney in October. Also last fall, a top official in Trump's orbit was concerned that classified documents have been brought to Mar-A-Lago and warned people not to touch the boxes out of fear that sensitive material could be exposed to those without the proper clearance.

The situation becoming so tense that sources tell CNN the archives warned Trump's team it planned to notify Congress and the Justice Department if this wasn't resolved quickly.

Trump says something different. Claiming the boxes taken to Mar-A-Lago contain letters, records, newspapers, magazines and various articles that are to be featured in his presidential library someday. The papers were given easily and without conflict and on a very friendly basis, he said.

The Archives has since asked Justice Department officials to investigate Trump's handling of White House records, including whether he violated the Presidential Records Act.

Separately, the House Oversight Committee is launching an investigation. Critics crying hypocrisy especially since Trump attacked Hillary Clinton over her handling of emails.

[11:44:50]

TRUMP: 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's ever heard of it -- don't bleach their emails or destroy evidence to keep it from being publicly archived as required under federal law.

BROWN: The Mar-A-Lago documents only the latest revelation about recordkeeping. CNN has reported Trump repeatedly ripped up documents and --

MAGGIE HABEWEMAN, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Staff in the White House residence where the president lived, you know, were discovering that the toilets were clogged and when engineers went in to go see what was happening, there were, you know, clumped-up wads of paper, you know, apparently notes or documents.

BROWN: former White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster told CNN that when he was in the White House, his staff had a full proof system for their own recordkeeping.

H.R. MCMASTER, FORMER WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The staff is running it well. Everything that goes in to the Oval Office is logged in, everything the president sees should be logged in. I can't speak about what happened after I left.

BROWN: The Justice Department has not said whether it is investigating this. A spokesperson for Donald Trump did not return CNN's request for a comment. Donald Trump, though, has denied the toilet flushing episodes.

Now, I do want to note, I spoke to a source familiar with all of this who said this has not been resolved fully and the National Archives alluded to that in a recent statement when it said that Trump representatives are still tracking down documents to turn over.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Pamela Brown, thank you so much for that.

All right. Still ahead, the countdown is on for Super Bowl Sunday. We'll go live to Sofi Stadium with everything you need to know ahead of the big game.

[11:46:34]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Perhaps another reason to join the Wordle craze, it just might save your life. Well, that was the case for 80-year-old Denise Holt who was being held hostage in her Illinois home. She told CNN affiliate WDDM what led her daughter to call police. Take a listen.

I'm sorry you're not hearing that explanation because nor am I. So we're going to have to tell you the story again later because for now all I know is that Holt went on to say that the naked man broke into her home, dragged her through the house, disconnected phone lines and eventually barricaded her in a bathroom where she stayed for about 17 hours.

Police believe the man took his clothes off during a mental health crisis before entering the home. He was charged with multiple felonies and home invasion with a dangerous weapon.

All right. The countdown is on. Just over 30 hours until Super Bowl kickoff. And this year, the big game is shaping up to be one of the biggest ever.

The Cincinnati Bengals are set to take on the Los Angeles Rams in L.A. It's the first time the Super Bowl has been in southern California in nearly three decades. And the NFL went all out.

Andy Scholes is in the middle of all of it at Sofi Stadium in the middle of the parking lot as well.

All right. So things are really heating up literally, right?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka.

Another beautiful day here in Los Angeles. The high for today and tomorrow is 85 degrees. And if that holds, it would break the record for a Super Bowl, which was also set here in Los Angeles back in 1973.

Now, both teams holding their last major workout of the week yesterday. Much of the talk leading up to this game had been about the two quarterbacks, Joe Burrow and Matthew Stafford.

Burrow's the first quarterback, picked first overall, to make it to a Super Bowl in just his second season. Stafford, meanwhile, took a much different path after being picked first. He spent 12 seasons with the Lions and suffered through a lot of losing there in Detroit.

Stafford says he's well aware that a win tomorrow would change his entire narrative.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW STAFFORD, NFL PLAYER, LOS ANGELES RAMS: I do understand, you know, it's a big game. And guys that win Super Bowls are thought of in a certain way, whether it's my position or any other position. That's not lost on me.

But at the same time, I'm just enjoying this opportunity so much and, you know, we'll figure that out when I'm done playing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. We'll see if he gets it done tomorrow. And be sure to tune in today at 2:30 Eastern for kickoff in Los Angeles, a "CNN BLEACHER REPORT SPECIAL". We're going to talk with Peyton Manning, Troy Aikman and more to get you ready for the big game.

And you know, even though Matthew Stafford is no longer playing in Detroit, check this out, local stores are selling Detroit Rams shirts to show their support for Stafford.

Fredricka, I guess this is how the fans in Detroit feel like they can get as close as they can get to a Super Bowl because we all know the Lions have not been very close in a very long time. Never been to the big game.

WHITFIELD: That's pretty amazing. That's some serious love.

SCHOLES: So this is how they do it. This is how they're feeling to be a part of the game.

WHITFIELD: That's so exciting. I've never seen a former city of any player who's willing to, like, mix the mascot and the city name. I mean that's a first. That's pretty amazing. Kudos to him.

All right. Andy Scholes, of course we're going to be watching later on today as well. Thank you so much.

[11:54:48]

All right. Right now, President Biden is speaking on the phone with Russian president Vladimir Putin in an attempt to avert any kind of invasion of Ukraine. We'll bring you the latest next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:59:53]

WHITFIELD: All right. Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

A critical call taking place right now between President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the escalating crisis in Ukraine.