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Ukrainian President Zelensky Warns Against Panic; U.S. Troops Deploy To Eastern Europe Amid Tense Russia-Ukraine Standoff; Chaos In Trump White House Document Preservation; How Trump Keeps Flushing Democracy Down The Tubes; Lingering Questions About Bob Saget's Death After Autopsy; Just 24 Hours To Super Bowl LVI, Rams v. Bengals; Peyton Manning Breaks Down The Big Game. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired February 12, 2022 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:55]
JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington, and we start with breaking news on the effort to avoid a global crisis as U.S. officials warn Russia could invade Ukraine at any moment.
A critical phone call today between President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to address Russia's main security concerns according to a Russian presidential aide. We should caution, that's according to the Kremlin. Biden warned of severe consequences for any misstep but a senior administration official tells CNN Russia may attack regardless. And here's how you know that U.S. officials are getting more concerned.
The U.S. Secretary of Defense has pulled some U.S. forces out of Ukraine, moving them elsewhere in Europe. The State Department has ordered all nonemergency staff to leave the U.S. embassy in Kyiv and they have warned Americans in Ukraine that the time to get out is not now, it is past time. No one is coming to your rescue once the conflict is underway. That according to American officials.
But inside Ukraine, the messaging is different. Ukrainian officials are urging citizens to remain calm in the face of this. They are surrounded, though, look at this. They are surrounded by Russia on three sides. An attack, according to the White House, would likely begin with aerial bombings, missile attacks and a rapid assault on Kyiv, which could fall, American officials say, within 48 hours.
CNN's Alex Marquardt is on the ground in Ukraine.
Alex, let's talk about what is the mood among Ukrainian citizens right now. I know for days we've been hearing a lot less concern that what you hear over here in the United States. I wonder if that's changing?
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, we really are still seeing that gap between the dire warnings that we've heard from Washington and really the reaction on the ground. The people of Ukraine are not acting like a population that believes that it is about to be invaded. There is a lot more calm compared to those warnings that we have heard
not just in the course of the past 24 hours, but really over the course of the past couple of weeks from Washington and the rest of the NATO countries. You know, we've been speaking with people here. When I bring it up, they say that it's not something they necessarily think about. It's not something that they're worried about.
Jim, you have to remember that ever since Ukraine was invaded in 2014 by Russia when they annexed Crimea, and we've seen these Russia-backed separatists on the eastern side of Ukraine fighting with Ukrainian forces, that this is something that they have been facing for eight years. And that's why Ukraine, not just, you know, Ukrainians but Ukrainian officials took so much issue with the U.S. using that word, imminent. That an invasion was imminent.
They said that it's been imminent for eight years. So you're absolutely right, Jim. We are not only seeing not any real panic from people in the street, but we are also seeing this message of calm coming from President Zelensky and, you know, and his ministers and other officials. They're saying that, you know, for now, we do understand that there is a significant threat, that things are very much uncertain, but at the same time, we don't want chaos. We don't want panic.
Here's a little bit of what President Zelensky had to say earlier today as he went to visit Ukrainian military exercises in the south of the country. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINE: We have a lot of information because we are on these borders. It's our borders. It's our territory. You know, I have to speak with our people, like, you know, like president and say people truths and the truths that we have different information, and now the best friend for enemies, that is panic in our country. And all this information that helps only for panic. It doesn't help us.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUARDT: So, Jim, it is perfectly understandable that a president of a country wants to keep his country calm and his people calm. At the same time, you are hearing a little bit of skepticism there from Zelensky about the intelligence about what may happen.
[16:05:03]
He says that he still needs to analyze all of the information and that, you know, if anybody has any intelligence to show him that this invasion is a 100 percent certainty, that he is certainly all ears.
Jim, at the same time, we are hearing from the Defense minister of Ukraine who put out a rousing statement saying, this is not the Ukraine of 2014. If there is an invasion, they will fight -- Jim.
ACOSTA: All right. And that of course is a warning to Putin as well. Alex Marquardt, thank you very much for that report.
The U.S. has already moved thousands of troops to Romania, Poland, and Germany to reenforce NATO allies as Russian forces surround Ukraine.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen spoke to some of those troops in Romania and filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): As Russia has just kicked off massive military drills with Belarus right on the border with Ukraine, the U.S. is not backing down, sending an additional 1,000 troops from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment to Romania.
LT. COL. BENJAMIN NAGY, U.S. ARMY: Our mission here is to reassure the allies and show faith that we're here to support and deter aggression.
PLEITGEN: The reinforcements setting up here are only part of a larger deployment of thousands of troops ordered by President Biden. That also includes additional combat aircraft, both for air policing and for deterrence.
(On-camera): With the deployment of forces here to Romania, the U.S. says it wants to send a clear message to both its allies and its adversaries, that the United States remains fully committed to collective defense on NATO's eastern flank.
(Voice-over): U.S. troops will be training with allied NATO forces to make sure the alliance can operate as a single, coherent force in case of aggression from Russia.
LT. COL. DANIEL HILL, U.S. ARMY: If the time were to ever come, you know, they know that they can trust us and we know we can trust them.
PLEITGEN: The U.S. says Russia already has well over 100,000 troops amassed near Ukraine and Vladimir Putin could order an attack at any time, even though Russia claims it would not.
The next few days could be critical. NATO's secretary-general told me in an exclusive interview.
JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: Russia is increasing both the number of troops but also their readiness and their capability to act and to conduct aggressive actions on very short notice. So the number of troops is going up while the warning time is going down.
PLEITGEN: And the secretary general tells me that's exactly why the additional U.S. support is so important.
STOLTENBERG: I strongly welcome the deployment of more U.S. forces partly because the United States is by far the biggest ally and they contribute thousands of troops but also because it, of course, sends that very strong message of the ironclad commitment of the United States to NATO and to European security.
PLEITGEN: Both the U.S. and NATO say they hope diplomacy can prevail but they are stepping up preparations in case it fails.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Bucharest, Romania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Let's bring in former Defense secretary under President Clinton, William Cohen.
Mr. Secretary, thanks so much for being with us. Great to talk to you again. Let's start with this phone call between President Biden and Vladimir Putin. We heard the White House readout that Biden told Putin that the U.S. and allies will respond decisively, impose swift and severe costs on Russia, and he urged Putin to choose diplomacy. Putin has heard all of this before. Do you think that that message is going to act as any kind of deterrent at this point?
WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: I don't. Sadly, I don't. I listened to former Ambassador William Taylor earlier on your program and I wish I had his sense of possibility and optimism that there's an off ramp. I think what Putin wants is for the Ukraine to raise a white flag and for the United States to do the same in terms of pulling our troops out of all of the other areas in Europe where we have expanded NATO membership.
That's simply not a possibility. So I tend to be far more skeptical about President Putin. He could say, theoretically, I told you the truth. I'm not planning to attack. It's simply a training mission to show you what I can do and then decide he's going to sit down with United States and other NATO members and organize some sort of peace here. I doubt that very much. He's been planning this for a long time. He has the capability now.
And I was in Munich when he gave the Cold War speech back in 2007. I think he's been planning this for a very long time.
ACOSTA: Right. I mean, we know from so much reporting that has come in over the years that he wants to reconstitute some semblance of the Soviet Union and that he sees the breakup of the Soviet Union as this, you know, as this crime against Mother Russia and so on. He's almost trying to avenge that.
[16:10:04]
You know, I wonder, Secretary, you know, by agreeing to the call, does that suggest that Putin hasn't yet decided on invading Ukraine or because he is somebody who plays three-dimensional chess, he's maybe just moving some pieces into place and he's buying time?
COHEN: I don't know. You know, I can only suspect what he is doing. I don't know what he plans ultimately. It may be that he's looking at all of the economic sanctions that will be imposed, but I think we have to keep in mind that if we impose these sanctions, it doesn't mean that we won't feel them. If he goes to war, certainly the international economy's going to be up in the air and all people all across the globe are going to have some reaction to that, some consequence to it. But if we -- if he does go and we impose the sanctions, we have to
understand we're going to get hit here as well. Supply lines will be affected here as well. But I think what Putin is doing is he is calculating that we will fold faster than he will. In other words, I think what we have to do to reuse General Mattis' comment about the need to hold the line, we're going to have to hold the line militarily in Europe, all the NATO members, and we're going to have to hold the line here at home.
And when things get tough for us, we can't have some members of the media who have already started this, which is shocking. Some members of the media, on the right-wing, have said why aren't we with Russia? They have money. They have weapons. They have energy. Why aren't we on their side? Well, the short answer is we're on the side of freedom and they are arguing Ukrainians should give up their freedom in favor of the Russians.
So he's counting on that kind of propaganda in our own country to divide us here at home and then make an effort to do it and have us pull back the sanctions because they're affecting us.
ACOSTA: It really is just shameful what's happening in right-wing media when it comes to what you're talking about there. And I wonder, Mr. Secretary, you know, I think one of the responses to that what you're saying in terms of what's coming from the right wing is of course if we just hand Ukraine over to Putin, he may have designs on other countries, and then we have a much larger crisis on our hands in Europe.
COHEN: Of course, he has designs on the rest of the European nations who are part of NATO. And that's one of the reasons why President Biden not fully sending an emergency group of people, soldiers, to the NATO countries. But we have to make it more permanent. We have to say these troops are going to be there and rotating in and out, but the numbers are going to increase in all of the countries who are on the front lines over there if he's in Ukraine and controls Ukraine.
We have to make sure that he understands that this is not going to in any way disincentivize us from increasing the level of support that we have for our troops. It's going to be harder for him to contend with that. I think all of that is part of the calculation right now, but from my perspective, seeing what he's done, I think he's prepared to go in. Maybe talked about it.
Adam Schiff talked about it in the past, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, about a decapitation move to go in and remove the members of the government in Kyiv and then put his own toadies in place. He's done that before. He will do it again if given the chance. So I think we have to be prepared for all of the above and he has multiple avenues to attack Ukraine. And by the way, we should understand he may try to attack us as well in different fora.
For example, stirring trouble in the Middle East. What we're over here looking at Ukraine, he may have some supporters and some proxies in the Middle East starting their own activities. He may, in fact, try to really influence our own domestic economy by jumping in now where the truckers are on the Canadian border, possibly going to interrupt the Super Bowl, possibly going into Buffalo.
He may, through the cyberattacks, try to influence our decisions here as well. So it's not just Ukraine we have to be concerned about. We have to be concerned about wherever we are all over the world because I think he is not just going to play a solo game here. I think he'll have multiple avenues of attack in Ukraine and also throughout the world.
ACOSTA: All right, well, former Defense secretary William Cohen, that's a lot to contemplate and I think it is very wise what you're warning about there. Thanks so much, as always. Good to talk to you, sir. We appreciate it.
COHEN: Good to be with you. Thank you.
ACOSTA: Coming up, call the plumber. Reports that Donald Trump wanted to flush a lot more than democracy down the toilet. Hold on for that. Plus, reaction from Donald Trump's former White House press secretary.
[16:15:01]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times, as opposed to once.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: CNN has learned that the National Archives threatened to go to Congress and the Justice Department in an effort to get former President Donald Trump to turn over 15 boxes of records he took to Mar-a-Lago after he left office. On top of that, a source tells CNN Trump is still in possession of documents that the National Archives wants. Other records, though, may be lost in the sewage pipe of history.
Maggie Haberman of the "New York Times" is also reporting in a new book that Trump would try to flush wads of printed paper down the White House toilets. This story elicited this reaction from a member of the January 6th Committee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Are you confident that you're going to get what you're asking for?
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): Well, we're clearly not going to get the ones he flushed down the toilet, although we may have solved the mystery of why Donald Trump kept saying the toilets don't work anymore and you have to flush 10 times.
[16:20:02]
He may have destroyed the entire septic system over at the White House. So we're not going to get those back.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Joining me now is Trump's former White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham.
Stephanie, thanks so much for being with us. You know, I wish we did not have to delve into this subject, honestly. But let's talk about this. You know, I know you were saying the other day that he would rip up some documents, tear up some documents as sort of a, as a nervous tick or just something that he would do. And I guess if you accept that, then why would he flush other items down the toilet?
It raises the question I suppose that there were some things that were meant for the wastebasket and some things that were meant for the plumbing system. He had his own filing system, I guess.
STEPHANIE GRISHAM, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Yes, exactly. Thank you for having me on, by the way. But, you know, it reminded men when Maggie kind of had that scoop of a time I actually watched him ripping up documents like he would and he would throw some on the floor and I did watch him one time rip some up and place them in his inside jacket pocket.
And I remember at the time thinking, I wonder why those went in the pocket and not on the floor. So I mean, perhaps those are the ones that went upstairs to the toilet. I have no idea. I think the answer, though, is that he was paranoid. He was a very paranoid man. He didn't trust many people. I don't think he trusted much of his staff, to be honest with you and while many, many chiefs tried up until our last chief tried very hard to keep things in order, especially when it came to classified information, there was just only so much you could do with Donald Trump and he was the president of the United States.
ACOSTA: No question. I mean, that was an explanation for many things over the course of his administration, but, you know, in regards to those documents recovered from Mar-a-Lago, as you know "The Washington Post" reporting that some were not just confidential. They were also top secret.
The "Post" story also says, quote, "Trump was very secretive about the packing of boxes that were retrieved from Mar-a-Lago last month and did not let other aides, including some of his most senior advisers, look at them, according to people close to him."
I was wondering, you know, Stephanie, when you were there and especially serving as White House press secretary, did any White House documents go to Mar-a-Lago or Bedminster or his other properties while he was in office? Did that ever catch your eye and make you wonder what's going on there?
GRISHAM: Well, you know, that's -- yes is the short answer. He had his boxes that would travel with him, you know, wherever we went. And that had a myriad of different things in it from newspaper to articles he wanted to read to things staff would give him to, you know, classified information he may be needed to review. I never had any red flags there because he was working in my mind. He
was taking those with him to work when we were at Mar-a-Lago or at Bedminster or wherever we were. I mean, he took those boxes with him on foreign trips as well. So for me, at that point when he was president, that never raised any red flags. That was kind of common practice.
Now the fact that some things were packed up and taken to Mar-a-Lago post his presidency, you know, that is definitely concerning and whoever packed them, that's concerning, too, because you don't know what security clearance level they had. So I do think it needs to be looked into. It's definitely, it's definitely very odd and hopefully we can get to the bottom of it because I do understand it hasn't been as happy an exchange of documents as the past president has claimed.
ACOSTA: Right. Exactly. And as you know, the January 6th Committee is looking for answers when it comes to these gaps in the official White House call logs on January 6th. I mean, that is not terribly surprising because, and you can talk about this, Stephanie, I mean, he would use other people's phones. He would use his own personal cell phone. That would drive people crazy at the White House and so on.
GRISHAM: Yes, absolutely. You know, it went both ways. People would walk in and say, hey, so and so is on the phone, they want to talk to you, and then just hand the president their phone or he would say give me your phone and he would want to make a call as well. So the gaps don't surprise me.
I thought, too, you know, it's interesting on January 6th, especially the fact that there are these gaps, part of me wonders if it's because he didn't want to talk to anybody because everybody at that point was calling and begging for him to do something. You know, including Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan, et cetera. So I wonder if he just didn't want to hear their message. And that's part of why there was a gap in those calls.
I really hope the January 6th Committee will be able to get a hold of a lot of cell phone records to be able to kind of assess that out because I do think it is very, very important.
ACOSTA: And you don't think, I mean, all of this stuff, the document shredding, the document tearing, the flushing down the toilet, the gaps in the phone logs. I mean, it all fits a pattern, does it not? Do you think as somebody who worked with him, that this weren't some kind of investigation, that this should be more than just, you know, fodder for a segment, you know, on a Saturday afternoon to talk to you about?
[16:25:03]
GRISHAM: Absolutely. Yes. I do think it's important to be looked into. Now I've always said, you know, tearing up documents was, always seemed to be something he did. It really -- I mean, I always saw him do it, so I do think part of it is a nervous tick, but, you know, again, what did he -- at the time I saw him rip up and place in his jacket, what was that? Why did that go in the jacket and not on the floor? And then certainly flushing things down the toilet, aside from being
just weird, that's clearly trying to hide something. That's just -- there are so many ways to get rid of documents at the White House. Whether it be, you know, if it's classified, it'd be going in a burn bag. So to do it and throw it in the toilet is just, it's odd. So I think it is concerning and I really do think it should be looked into.
And I have said with everything else, if there's nothing to hide, just answer the question and then we can move on with things.
ACOSTA: Right. And you worked on the 2016 Trump campaign, as we -- I mean, we both worked together from time to time.
GRISHAM: Yes.
ACOSTA: I would see you out there on the campaign trial as a reporter. You remember how much he talked about Hillary Clinton's e-mails and hearing the crowd chant lock her up. I guess Hillary Clinton responded. She put out a tweet, you know, she's wearing a hat that says "but her e-mails."
I mean, you've got to admit, Stephanie, you know, despite what you think about Hillary Clinton and so on, I mean, this is the height of hypocrisy.
GRISHAM: Yes. I totally -- yes. Doesn't matter what I think about Hillary Clinton or my political beliefs, when you just look at the two things, yes, it is -- the hypocrisy is pretty astounding.
ACOSTA: And, I mean, all of those chants of lock -- I mean, isn't this just more Trump projection? I mean, chants of lock her up and all of that? I mean, give me a break.
GRISHAM: Well, sure. I think that, you know, we can talk about the lock her up that happened. I don't think that his base and some of the more extremist Republicans out there are going to admit to that and I don't think, you know, I don't see any rallies happening where the Democrats are going to say (INAUDIBLE) lock him up. I hope that's not what happens because it was terrible when it happened to Hillary Clinton.
I think that at the end of the day, we need to look forward and no matter what happens, if there's an investigation or not, whatever is found, I think what's important is that this kind of behavior has no place in the White House ever, ever again. That's not to say it shouldn't be looked into. That's not to say there shouldn't be consequences if things are found, but as I'm looking forward, I think that this is another thing we can add to the list to show people what went on there and again, this just, this can't be at the highest level of our government ever again.
ACOSTA: All right. Stephanie Grisham, thanks so much. We appreciate it.
GRISHAM: Thank you very having me.
ACOSTA: All right. And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:32:21]
ACOSTA: You could say there were plenty of warning signs that Trump would take this country down the tubes.
No, I'm not talking about the portable toilets brought in for the 2017 inauguration of Donald John Trump.
You may remember the name of the company that provided the Port-A- Potties, Don's Johns, was concealed by inaugural officials.
And I'm not referring to the time Trump was caught on camera with what appeared to be a scrap of paper hanging on his shoe.
No, I think it was his fixation on government regulations on toilets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People are flushing 10 times, 15 times, as opposed to once.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Yes, it's all starting to add up.
Consider the latest revelation from "New York Times" reporter, Maggie Haberman, who has been plumbing the depths of the Trump years for a new book.
She writes that Trump would repeatedly tear up sensitive White House documents and attempt to flush them down the toilet. White House engineers reportedly found wads of paper clogging the system.
I know what you're thinking. The jokes write themselves.
Did they find the Constitution or is his long-awaited health care plan jamming up the pipes? It's as if they were frantically searching for Hillary Clinton's emails.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If I deleted one email, like a love note to Melania, it's the electric chair for Trump.
She deleted her emails. People go to jail for that.
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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Now Trump is doing a lot of spinning in response to water closet gate, insisting he never flushed White House documents and denying any mishandling of his official records.
Perhaps he's worried about all of those chants of, "lock her up," coming back to haunt him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Emails which put America's entire national security at risk.
(SHOUTING)
TRUMP: And to think she was here yesterday. I guess she didn't do very well.
(LAUGHTER)
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: I'm telling you, that Biden family, and others, that Biden family is corrupt.
You should lock them up. Lock up the Bidens. Lock up Hillary.
(CHANTING)
TRUMP: Lock them up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Trump was so obsessed with document destruction that he suggested House Speaker Nancy Pelosi broke the law when she ripped up the former president's State of the Union address.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[16:35:02]
TRUMP: I thought it was a terrible thing when she ripped up the speech. First of all, it's an official document. You're not allowed. It's illegal what she did. She broke the law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: No, Pelosi tearing up Trump's speech is perfectly legal.
But Trump's handling of official document documents is another matter.
A source says the National Archives is now seeking a Justice Department investigation into whether Trump violated the Presidential Records Act, which requires all records created by presidents be turned over to the Archives at the end of their administrations.
According to the "New York Times," officials at the Archives believe Trump may have taken classified material with him when he left the White House.
"The Washington Post" has also reported that some documents marked "top secret" have turned up at Mar-a-Lago.
On top of that, the January 6th committee says there are gaps in White House phone logs from the Trump administration from day of the insurrection, even though we know he made some phone calls.
Oh, Donny boy. The pipes, the pipes are calling.
If document preservation hypocrisy were an Olympic sport, Trump would easily take home the gold.
Which has me thinking about this. Trump and his buddies should think about hosting their own winter games.
There are some major players to watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Sir, do you think I can ask you about the RNC?
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): You know what, make an appointment in the office and come by another time, okay? It's not a good -- it's not good to do interviews --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Like Kevin McCarthy speedskating past questions about the RNC labeling January 6th at legitimate political discourse.
Then there's the Tanya Harding of the House GOP, Marjorie Taylor Greene, who discovered a fly in her canned talking points after it was too late.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-FA): Not only do we have the D.C. jail, which is the D.C. gulag, but now we have Nancy Pelosi's Gespacho police spying on members of Congress.
Spying on the legislative work we do. Spying on our staff. And spying on American citizens that want to come talk to their representatives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: As some observers noted, first, Gespacho police, what's next? Sangria law?
Perhaps Ted Cruz can compete. Yes. Cancun is probably too warm for the Olympic, unless there's a tequila luge, which case, count me in.
But the far-right Olympic games would fit in with the autocratic tendencies.
The MAGA Olympics could follow the lead set by China with its free- style skiing competition at a dystopian-looking Beijing industrial park. Not to mention its appalling human rights record. It should be noted the Russians are doing quite well in Beijing if you
overlook its 15-year-old figure skater, who we just learned turned up positive for a banned substance in December ahead of the Olympics.
Astounding when you consider that the Russians are competing at the games as the Russia Olympic Committee, not as Russia, after Russia received a two-year ban from the World Anti-Doping Agency.
No wonder Russia thinks it can get away with bullying Ukraine. It's not even punished for cheating in sports.
As for our own cheater in chief, back here in the U.S., Trump does not seem very worried as if his punishment is being decided by the Olympic committee rather than the Justice Department.
Perhaps in 2024, Trump could run under the banner the TIC, the Trump insurrection committee. He could bring home yet another gold toilet.
But honestly, this is what happens when you allow someone like Trump to clog the pipes of American democracy.
Now that the GOP has failed to root out the problem, it's up to the American people to flush as many times as possible. Go, Team USA.
We'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:43:19]
ACOSTA: An autopsy report on the untimely death of Bob Saget is raising more questions.
CNN's Brian Todd has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: It's a date?
BOB SAGET, ACTOR & COMEDIAN: It's a date.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The latest ruling on the death of actor and comedian, 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 office releasing an autopsy report saying the 65-year-old died from blunt head trauma.
That it is likely Saget's, 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.
JOHN MINA, SHERIFF, ORANGE COUNTY, FL, SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: There is speculation he may have slipped in the bathroom. But again, there was no visible signs of trauma to the back of 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, CHAIRMAN, DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSURGERY, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: This suggests that there was level of injury to the -- to the brain that was far more than just a simple ground-level fall as one might expect in a typical hotel room.
[16:45:03]
TODD: Barrow says he bases that on the fact the autopsy says Saget had injuries to the eye sockets and to the side of his head, as well as to the back of his head.
He said, if someone came into his emergency room with those injuries --
BARROW: I would be concerned that they were involved in a motor vehicle accident, a -- a fall down a flight of stairs, a fall from a -- a -- 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: He had 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 an 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.
GUPTA: If you are -- have a headache and the headache is worsening, if you develop confusion, if you have nausea and vomiting, if you are slurring your speech.
TODD (on camera): Dr. Gupta and other experts say people who are on blood thinners -- and there are more and more of them now as the population ages -- are also susceptible to dying from bleeding in the brain after a head injury.
There's no indication that Bob Saget was on blood thinners. His family says no drugs or alcohol were involved in his death.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: We're almost 24 hours away from Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles. The Rams taking on the Bengals.
Andy Scholes is live in L.A. at Sofi Stadium.
Andy, for once, we don't have Tom Brady in a Super Bowl. This whole thing's up in the air as to what could happen.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN "WORLD SPORT" ANCHOR: Jim, fingers crossed we're still going to get some excitement for Super Bowl LVI.
But I've got a feeling it's going to be OK because of the quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals. Coming up, we'll hear from him on how he's approaching this Super Bowl.
Plus, Peyton Manning gives us his thoughts on this quarterback match- up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:51:42]
ACOSTA: Just a few hours from now until the Super Bowl kickoff.
It's a match-up with the Rams, with the advantage of playing on home turf, and the Bengals, who have never won a Super Bowl.
CNN's Andy Scholes joins us now from Sofi Stadium in California, the site of tomorrow's big game.
I'm jealous, first of all, because the stadium is beautiful and I've always wanted to see it in person. I'm sure it's just fantastic being there, Andy.
How surprising is it that the Cincinnati Bengals with playing in the Super Bowl? I still can't over that they're there and that we might see them win a Super Bowl.
I apologize to the Rams. Kind of rooting for the Bengals because I want to see each individual franchise in the NFL win a Super Bowl. I'm that kind of a football nerd.
What are your thoughts.
SCHOLES: I think a lot of people feel that way, Jim. It's amazing we live in a world where the Cincinnati Bengals are Super Bowl champs after what they've been through the last three decades.
Bengals fans are so excited right now. All the ones I've talk to have said they've been waiting their whole lives for this moment because they literally have been waiting their whole lives.
The Bengals are one of 12 teams in the NFL that have never won a Super Bowl title.
But the man giving them hope this will be their year is quarterback, Joe Burrow. He's trying to become the first quarterback ever to win a Heisman trophy, national championship and a Super Bowl.
Burrow just exudes confidence. And yesterday, while rocking some more swaggy shades, he explained how he approaches the game of football.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BURROW, QUARTERBACK, CINCINNATI BENGALS: Just like with anything, the things that you go through help form who you are.
And, you know, when you think about successful NFL quarterbacks, I think it's paramount to keep that even keel, personality and attitude.
A game is a microcosm of life. And if you have these super high highs and super low lows, you're not going to be successful on a consistent basis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Yes, if Burrow pull this off, Jim, it's going to go down as one of the greatest three-year spans we've ever seen from any athletes.
ACOSTA: Yes, I'm getting some vibes of Jim McMahon there, the Bears quarterback, who liked to wear the sunglasses during press conferences.
What did Peyton Manning have to say about this match-up? I'm curious to get his thoughts.
SCHOLES: Jim, Peyton Manning was the best ever to do it. He's a former top overall pick, as are the two guys playing quarterback in this year's Super Bowl.
Burrow, of course, making it to the Super Bowl in just his second season.
Matthew Stafford took a very different path. Took him much longer to get to the big game.
And Peyton told me he thinks both of these guys are really going to rise to the occasion tomorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEYTON MANNING, FORMER NFL QUARTERBACK: Joe Burrow -- and this is not a big deal. He won a national championship a couple of years ago. Won the Heisman. Going to go to a Super Bowl in my second year. What's the big deal?
The moment is not too big for him. He's calm and cool all the time.
He will actually embrace the moment of all the attention that comes with playing in Super B. And I think he'll play great.
For Matthew Stafford, playing for 13 years, I know how tired he is of hearing, yes, but can you win the big win, win a playoff game?
[16:55:02]
He's won three. Taken the Rams in his first year there, after that trade to the Super Bowl. The answer is, yes, he can do it. So I'm happy for him that he can put those questions to rest.
And I see both guys having big games on Super Bowl Sunday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: And, Jim, it's nice here in L.A., but it's a little hot, 90 degrees right now.
ACOSTA: Wow.
SCHOLES: The high tomorrow is 87. Going to break the record for the hottest Super Bowl in history if that holds.
ACOSTA: Don't you dare complain about 90 degrees, Andy, at a time like this.
SCHOLES: I'm not. I'll take it all day.
ACOSTA: Take it all day.
All right, enjoy L.A.
Thank you so much. Appreciate it, Andy Scholes. Great job there.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
