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McCarthy's Speaker Bid in Peril After 11 Failed Votes; Idaho Student Killings Court Documents Reveal New Details About Crime and Suspect; Buffalo Bills' Hamlin Awake and Communicating; Ukraine, Allies Dismiss Putin's Ceasefire Push. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired January 06, 2023 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and everywhere around the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Max Foster joining you live from London. Just ahead on CNN --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those opposed, no.
CROWD: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No nominee having received the majority of the votes cast. A Speaker has not been elected.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: DNA evidence, a suspicious vehicle and a new witness account. Critical information released publicly for the first time.
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Now they want to use Christmas as a cover to at least briefly stop the advance of our guys in Donetsk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.
FOSTER: It is Friday, January 6th, 9 a.m. here in London, 4 a.m. in Washington where the House of Representatives still doesn't have a Speaker.
NOBILO: We've seen 11 votes over the past three days and each time Republican leader Kevin McCarthy has fallen short despite his party's narrow majority in the chamber.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHERYL JOHNSON, U.S. HOUSE CLERK: No nominee having received the majority of the votes cast. A speaker has not been elected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: A small group of Republicans now known as "Never Kevins" is blocking McCarthy's path to the leadership. He's already offered them major concessions but he hasn't swayed a single vote. The California Republican says talks are continuing and he remains confident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): I think we're having good discussions. I think everybody wants to find a solution and the good thing about it is we'll work this all out in the beginning so the rest of the Congress will be very productive for the American public.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: McCarthy said he's not threatening to strip committee assignments for anyone voting against him. And he's not putting a time line on his bid to be Speaker. CNN's Manu Raju reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN SHE CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: 11 times in a row Kevin McCarthy has failed to get the 218 votes he needs to be elected speaker. It has been 100 years since a speaker's race has gone to multiple ballots. It's been since the mid-1800s since a speaker's race has gone for this many pallets. And Kevin McCarthy is not at where he needs to be, the 218 votes to be elected speaker.
But behind the scenes he has been negotiating. He and his allies along with some of those holdouts to try to assuage their concerns, try to bring them over to his side. He has proposed a number of measures to give them more power, give the rank-and-file members, especially members of the far right freedom caucus. Some of those members denying him the ascension to the speakership, giving them more power, more to say over the legislative process.
The ability to call for a vote to oust a sitting speaker. Now under the rule proposed by McCarthy, one member could do that. That is down from conference rules that about half the Republican Congress, 111 members, initially would be able to do that. McCarthy has gone down to have one member which raises concerns about keeping the speakership stable, the stability of the speakership assuming he gets the job. Now McCarthy in speaking to him late after -- soon after the final failed vote on Thursday, was confident he would ultimately get there, he just didn't know when.
MCCARTHY: The entire conference is going to have to learn how to work together so it's better that we go through this process right now so we can achieve the things we want to achieve for the American public. We'll have a commitment clause. So, if this takes a little longer and doesn't meet your deadline, that's OK because it's not -- it's not how you start, it's how you finish.
RAJU: But even if a deal is reached with some of those dissidents and McCarthy and his allies, that doesn't mean he's going to get the 218 votes right away. There are other members with different concerns. They're trying to work out an agreement with those members who have those different area of concern. Can they get there with those members after cutting those deals? That still remains to be seen. So, if he does get this deal, he's got some more work to do which means a lot of people think this is going into next week at least to see if McCarthy can get the votes, if not maybe even beyond.
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Ron Brownstein is CNN's senior political analyst and the senior editor for the Atlantic. He joins us from Los Angeles. Of course, this is extremely unusual, isn't it, in terms of the situation.
[04:05:00]
But it's not unprecedented and it could go on for months.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, well, you know In the 19th century, in the longest case right before the Civil War, it did go on for months. And although as Manu pointed out, we have not done this in exactly 100 years. This has been building a long time in the sense that there were similar conservative revolts once John Boehner and Paul Ryan, the two previous Republican speakers were in office, that led to their departures from the House.
But it is extraordinary to see it go to this level. As people have pointed out, Kevin McCarthy has had months to figure out a way to mollify these critics on the right. He hasn't been able to do so and now his answer to do so is pretty much to give away the store -- Max.
NOBILO: And Ron, does McCarthy still have a path to the speakership? And if not, are Republicans formulating a credible plan B?
BROWNSTEIN: You know, it's not clear. I mean, those last few members are unlikely to ever vote for him. The core of the "Never Kevin" movement. The question is whether he induced them to simply vote present and thus allow him to get the mathematical majority.
The big picture though -- you know, when you think about the big picture, the reason the Republicans have such a narrow majority in the first place is because too many voters in the competitive districts last November in our mid-term election saw the candidates as extreme. And now you have the most extreme elements of the caucus using that narrow majority to demand more power and visibility to impose on the party the exact same politics that the voters rejected in the first place. And McCarthy so focused on his personal ambition is giving into them on front after front possibly at the institutional cost or risk to the Republican Party itself. It really is just an extraordinary dynamic when you take even half a step back.
FOSTER: Is the frustration also growing with a group outside the 20 with the current candidate? Why aren't they offering someone else up as an alternative who may be more uniting?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, it's not clear, first of all, if there's anyone in the Republican Party that can easily get to 218 votes. But your basic question is right. I mean, the moderates -- to the extent there are at least Republicans in swing districts, center right members, they largely have stood aside as McCarthy has made concession after concession to the most extreme elements of the caucus that will increase their power and visibility and give them more leverage to define the Republican Party over the next two years in a way that is highly unlikely to be helpful to those 18 Republicans who are representing districts that voted for Joe Biden in 2020. Where the ones who ultimately provided the majority.
I mean, the center of the party simply has not shown as hard an edge or as much ruthlessness as the far right extreme of the party and as a result you are seeing this imbalance that is I think setting in motion the conditions for potentially two years of a highly, highly chaotic Republican control of the House.
NOBILO: And what impact is this having on Republican voters? Exasperation, frustration -- is it turning them off?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. No, we have not seen polling on voters themselves, but certainly in the conservative media that is often a gauge or a, you know, kind of a window into those voters, you're seeing the same divisions you are in the House. I think primarily I think Republican media figures want there to be a resolution. By and large they are willing to accept McCarthy so long as he has made all of these extraordinary concessions to increase the power and visibility of the far right. But there is also an element like Steve Bannon, Tucker Carlson, that are supporting the holdouts.
And you know, I think you see this division -- we have seen -- as I said, this has been building for years. There is a portion of the Republican base that is deeply distrustful of the party's leadership, no matter who that leadership is. As Groucho Marks said, any club that would have me I wouldn't want to be a member. Once you become a leader you almost inherently become a figure of suspicion to part of the Republican base and that is playing out here.
These members who are pursuing this, who are resisting McCarthy, are from overwhelmingly safe Republican districts and almost all of them are election deniers. Which is another angle to consider when we're now on the 2-year anniversary of the January 6th riot. And Kevin McCarthy is going to commemorate that by making concessions to election deniers and using as a character witness Jim Jordan and Marjorie Taylor Greene who are two of the members that the January 6 committee singled out for their participation in Trump's effort to overturn the election.
[04:10:00]
Again, after a midterm in which voters explicitly rejected in at least the competitive races most of those election deniers on the ballot. So, you almost see the inverse of what you expect as a political reaction to the vote being driven by the internal Republican policies to Republican conference in the House.
FOSTER: Ron Brownstein in Los Angeles, thank you.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
NOBILO: As Ron just mentioned, today marks the second anniversary of the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The events of that day stand out as an especially dark moment in recent American democracy. Numerous people have been charged so far and far-reaching criminal investigations are ongoing.
FOSTER: U.S. Capitol Police have stepped up security ahead of several planned protests at the Capitol and Supreme Court. Lawmakers are expected to hold a bipartisan observance this morning. And this afternoon President Joe Biden will mark the occasion at the White House ceremony where he'll honor 12 Americans with presidential citizen metals.
NOBILO: Among them is the late officer Brian Sicknick, who died one day after he was attacked while protecting the Capitol. On Thursday Sicknick's estate filed a civil suit in federal court against two individuals involved in the riot, as well as against former President Donald Trump.
FOSTER: New details are emerging from just-released court documents about the man accused of brutally killing four University of Idaho students last November. Bryan Kohberger did not enter a plea during his first appearance in court in Idaho on Thursday.
NOBILO: But court filings are revealing chilling claims including a surviving roommate who saw the alleged killer and described some of his actions. The documents also say that Kohberger's DNA was found inside the house where the killings took place on the sheath of the knife that was left behind. CNN's Veronica Miracle has more on the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): DNA evidence, a suspicious vehicle and a new witness account. Critical information released publicly for the first time, details that led to the arrest of Bryan Kohberger who is charge with the brutal stabbings of four University of Idaho students more than seven weeks ago.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Kohberger, I am going to advise you of the rights that you have in this case.
MIRACLE (voice-over): Kohberger appeared in an Idaho courtroom today looking straight ahead and not at the victims' family members.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you understand these rights?
BRYAN KOHBERGER, ACCUSED: Yes.
MIRACLE (voice-over): The new court document places the murders between 4:00 a.m. and 4:25 a.m. on November 13th. According to an affidavit released today, Kohberger's DNA profile obtained from the trash at his family's home matched DNA on a tan leather knife sheath left behind at the crime scene and was found lying on the bed of one of the victims.
The same document says one of the surviving roommates said she was awoken around 4:00 a.m., heard crying from Xana Kernodle's room and heard a voice say, "It's OK. I'm going to help you." And that she heard the crying and saw a figure clad in black clothing and a mask. She describes him as 5'10" or taller, male, not very muscular, but athletically built with bushy eyebrows saying he walked past her as she stood in a frozen shocked phase.
But questions still remain about why no one called 911 until almost 8 hours later. The affidavit says security video around the time of the murders picked up distorted audio of what sounded like voices or a whimper followed by a loud thud. A dog can also be heard barking.
The document also details multiple sightings of a suspect vehicle from surveillance footage showing a white Hyundai Elantra like this one that helped lead to Kohberger's arrest. About two weeks after the murders police from Washington State University where Kohberger attended school flagged his vehicle later seen at a traffic stop in mid-December in Indiana while driving with his father to Pennsylvania.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this your car?
KOHBERGER: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, cool.
MIRACLE (voice-over): Before the cross-country drive and just five days after the brutal murders, Kohberger received a new license plate for his car according to Washington State licensing documents. And according to investigators, cellphone records suggest that Kohberger's phone was near the victims' residence at least a dozen times in the last six months including about five hours after police believe he committed the murders, suggesting he may have returned to the crime scene.
Still no evidence was released that connects Kohberger to the victims or any indication of a motive. In court today, Kohberger seated with a new court appointed attorney responded to each charge of murder.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you understand?
KOHBERGER: Yes.
MIRACLE (voice-over): The attorney for the family of victim Kaylee Goncalves today reacting to the proceedings.
SHANNON GRAY, ATTORNEY FOR GONCALVES FAMILY: It's obviously an emotional time for the family seeing the defendant for the first time. This is the beginning of the criminal justice system and the family will be here for the long haul. MIRACLE: And the family of Kaylee Gonsalves hardly ever took their eyes off of Kohberger during the proceedings. He is next due in court on January 12.
Veronica Miracle, CNN, Moscow, Idaho.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:15:00]
FOSTER: Now Russia's president orders a unilateral cease-fire in Ukraine but Ukraine and its allies are not buying that he serious about peace. We'll explain why.
NOBILO: While promoting his memoir, Prince Harry shows new details on the alleged scuffle with his brother and describes a red mist.
FOSTER: And the U.S. football player who collapsed during a game has finally woken up. We'll tell you the first thing Damar Hamlin wanted to know.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NOBILO: The NFL announced it has officially canceled the game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals. The decision not to resume play comes just three days after the severe hit to Bills' safety Damar Hamlin collapsed during Monday Night Football and suffered a cardiac arrest. The league's planning to recognize Hamlin before every NFL game this weekend.
FOSTER: Yes, but the biggest news is that Hamlin is neurologically sound and moving his hands and feet. His first question upon awakening, did we win? CNN's Ryan Young picks up the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN MCDERMOTT, BILL'S HEAD COACH: The news has been very encouraging as we are all up to date at this point, and just extremely grateful.
[04:20:00]
RYAN YOUNG, CNN U.S. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The good news teammates and fans have been waiting for, Damar Hamlin showing some improvement today as the Buffalo Bills, head coach and quarterback are speaking out for the first time.
JOSH ALLEN, BILL'S QUARTERBACK, TEAM CAPTAIN: Today's news was -- brought a lot of tears of joy, I'll tell you that.
YOUNG (voice-over): Both reacting to the positive news that Damar Hamlin's medical team delivered earlier in the day.
DR. TIMOTHY PRITTS, UC HEALTH, SURGERY DEPARTMENT: It appears that his neurological condition and function is intact. We are very proud to report that. Very happy for him and for his family and for the Buffalo Bills organization. This marks a really good turning point in his ongoing care.
YOUNG (voice-over): While Hamlin remains in critical condition and on a ventilator, he's able to communicate with written words. Doctors revealing one of the questions Hamlin asked.
PRITTS: Last night he was able to emerge and follow commands and even asked who had won the game.
ALLEN: To see Damar, go through that and to come out on the other side and still again just think about his teammates, that's Damar. That's who he is though.
YOUNG (voice-over): Shocking details were also shared about Hamlin's understanding of what happened to him.
PRITTS: He was -- expressed surprised that he had been, you know, not with the world for two days.
YOUNG (voice-over): Doctors describing how Hamlin's supportive family never left his side.
DR. WILLIAM KNIGHT IV, UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI MEDICAL CENTER: We wish everybody had parents as wonderful as his parents are.
YOUNG (voice-over): Hamlin's father even taking time to meet with the team yesterday.
MCDERMOTT: His message was the team needs to get back to focusing on the goals that they had set for themselves. Damar would have wanted it that way -- and I'm paraphrasing. And so, that includes our game against New England this week.
YOUNG (voice-over): As for an immediate next steps or Hamlin's recovery, doctors are staying focused on his day-to-day progress.
KNIGHT: We want to get him breathing completely on his own. That'll be the next big milestone for him.
YOUNG (voice-over): But a much less definitive answer from doctors when asked about the return to the field.
PRITTS: It's entirely too early to have that conversation.
YOUNG: Really a big mood today when it comes to Damar. And the fact of the matter is, from the coach to the quarterback, to the doctors, all seem pretty happy with how he's been progressing. Even the idea that he was able to write down on that message whether or not they had won the game or not. So, this is progressing in a completely different way. The mood here has changed because people really believe the kid's going to pull through.
Ryan Young, CNN, Cincinnati, Ohio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Ukraine showing no indication it will go along with Russia's unilateral cease-fire that went into effect a short time ago. President Vladimir Putin ordered his military to implement a 36-hour cease-fire for Orthodox Christmas.
NOBILO: But Ukraine and its allies say President Putin probably has ulterior motives. Ukrainian officials are dismissing the move as pure propaganda and an attempt to buy time. We are now getting response from Moscow. The deputy of Russia's security council said Ukraine said no to the hand of Christian mercy.
Meanwhile, these satellite images show that months of fighting had done extensive damage to the eastern city of Bakhmut. Russian firepower has been pummeling the city which is still in Ukrainian hands. But officials say that 60 percent of Bakhmut is now destroyed.
FOSTER: Ukraine is also getting more fire power for ground operations against Russia. The U.S. and Germany are pledging to deliver armored infantry vehicles as Ukraine prepares an expected uptick in fighting this spring.
NOBILO: Nic Robertson is following developments in Ukraine. He joins us now in the studio. Nic, the idea that Putin is showing Christian mercy by observing the cease-fire does stretch credulity given all of the circumstances of this invasion. Do you think it's likely to be for reasons of regrouping? An opportunity to move troops or weaponry? Or is it deference to the power of the Russian Orthodox Church? What's your assessment?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: That Putin pulls all the strings. I think when we heard the Patriarch Kirill yesterday say that there should be the cease-fire and then Putin back it up. That was Putin having good cover, political domestic cover.
But it's a disastrous war for him. It's unpopular at home. Thousands -- hundreds of thousands of men have left the country. It's had big military disasters over the past week or so. This would be a positive thing for him back home. I think that's an important market for him right now. But there's the opportunities we've heard from Russian politicians to spin that the Ukrainians aren't playing fair by this.
But as President Biden said yesterday, look, on Christmas and New Year Russia was quite happy to bomb hospitals and schools and civilians. So, this is -- it's not being taken at face value at all and least of all by President Zelenskyy. This is what he said about his views on it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Now they want to use Christmas as a cover to at least briefly stop the advance of our guys in Donbas and bring equipment, ammunition and mobilize men closer to our positions. What will this bring? Just another increase in the death toll.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[04:25:00] ROBERTSON: Yes, so the question is obviously can you have a unilateral cease-fire and does it work? We were talking there about Bakhmut. You were mentioning the pictures and the destruction. I was there in the summer, I was there in the fall as well. That destruction comes about after intense fights for every inch of ground. So, imagine the Russians sitting in their trenches having a cigarette or going to church as their Patriarch has suggested they should do. Then the Ukrainians will take advantage on the ground. It's hard to imagine a unilateral cease-fire in a situation like that doesn't work. Will there be a diminution? Maybe a little bit. Will it hold for long? Not really. This is not something that's agreed Let's not forget Putin is asking for a cease-fire in a war that he's agreed. Let's not forget Putin is asking for a cease-fire in a war that he's created. It was his invasion, unprovoked invasion, illegal invasion and now he'd like to stop fighting for 36 hours.
FOSTER: Yes, OK, Nic, thank you very much, indeed.
NOBILO: A hard core group of right wing Republicans refuse to support Kevin McCarthy as speaker. Coming up, you'll hear what some of the "Never Kevins" have to say.
Plus, the U.S. labor market is looking as strong as ever. Investors on Wall Street are worried about more interest rate hikes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster. If you are just joining us, let me bring you up to date with the latest top stories.
The NFL says it has canceled the game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. The decision not to resume play comes just three days after the severe hit Bills' safety Damar Hamlin collapse during Monday Night Football when he suffered a cardiac arrest.
Plus, the House of Representatives reconvenes at noon today for a 12th vote to elect a new speaker and get on with the business of governing. Republican leader Kevin McCarthy.
