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Jan 6 Committee: Trump Should Be Barred From Office; Migrants Wait Along Border For End Of Title 42 To Cross Into U.S.; Winter Storm Puts Millions Under Weather Alerts Across U.S. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired December 23, 2022 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:00]
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SARA SIDNER, CNN HOST: Welcome back to "CNN This Morning". Coming up, millions of Americans bracing for extremely low temperatures and dangerous wind chills. We have reporters standing by with the very latest. Plus, a CNN report on migrants and their long and dangerous journey, what they endured, coming up. And, the one and only Gloria Estefan joins us ahead, what her and her family are up to this holiday season.
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: The January 6 Committee has released its final report. It is 845 pages. This document is based on more than 1,000 interviews, emails, text messages, and year-and-a-half long investigation, and this is what they found. They found "That evidence has led to an overriding and straightforward conclusion: the central cause of January 6 was one man and that is former President Donald Trump, whom many others followed. None of the events of January 6 would have happened without him."
So, let's bring in now former Trump White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews. Sarah, - by the way, she said Sarah resigned on January 6 and testified before the January 6 Committee. Sarah, good morning to you. Thank you for joining us. This is an extensive report, no doubt. The Committee places the blame right at the feet of the former President Trump for this insurrection, and they conclude that he should be barred from office. Do you believe that this report is the next step in accountability for the former president, and do you agree that he should be barred from office?
SARAH MATTHEWS, FORMER DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY UNDER PRES. TRUMP: I do agree with that assessment. I think that the report shows that this was a very orchestrated effort by Trump and his co- conspirators to try to overturn the election, and that on January 6, it played out exactly how Donald Trump wanted it to. He sat by and watched, as the riot unfolded, and never once picked up the phone to try to call for help, even when his own VP was under attack. And so, I do think that he shouldn't hold office ever again. And, I hope that this report now, that DoJ will have all of the evidence that the Committee has collected, will go forth and hopefully do something with it.
LEMON: So, Sarah, so you're surprised - not surprised that you're in here. Right? So, there is one part in your interview with the Committee where you talk about your realization that Trump was saying on January 6 that it was indefensible. What do you say to people, some of your former colleagues or members of the GOP who still don't see what he did was wrong?
MATTHEWS: It is disappointing to see that some of my former colleagues don't have the same opinions on January 6 that I did. I mean, on January 6, I knew that Trump's behavior was indefensible. And, at that time, I didn't even have a full scope of the whole picture. And so, now, seeing everything that the Committee has uncovered, and truly seeing just how much Trump didn't care, and didn't - it wasn't even that he didn't want to act or it was that he didn't even want to act, he didn't care about the riot unfolding. And, it was indefensible, his behavior that day. And, I think even more so his behavior since then. He has never felt any remorse for his role in January 6, and he continues to push his lies that the election was stolen.
LEMON: I want to read some other stuff. But, just real quickly, was this the final straw for you, or was there other - was - were there things that led up to this, or did you, at this moment, have an epiphany and say, I can't do this any longer? Is that why you resigned?
MATTHEWS: It was definitely a slow burn for me after the election. I knew on election night that we were going to lose. I think I saw when Georgia wasn't trending our way that it didn't spell a recipe for success. And so, I knew then that we had lost, and--
LEMON: OK.
MATTHEWS: --I think then the president chose to pursue litigation and everything. And, I had hoped that once that litigation failed, he would proceed with the peaceful transfer of power. But then, when January 6 came about, obviously, that did not happen. And so, it definitely was a slow burn for me after the election. But, on January 6, his behavior was definitely the final straw.
LEMON: OK, got it. So, you told the Committee that the former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany felt uncomfortable promoting the Dominion conspiracy theory, and that the president had asked her to talk about that during the interviews. He did request her to do briefings on it as well. Did - but, we did not. Why did she feel so uncomfortable talking about Dominion voting conspiracies?
MATTHEWS: I think she knew, as I knew, that there was no evidence to prove those conspiracy theories. And so, that was something that she wasn't willing to speak about in interviews and obviously would not do it from the White House podium too.
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And so, that was something that we tried to actively avoid the president in those days after the election because he was putting that pressure on her to try to go out there and speak about this.
LEMON: OK. A couple of other things quickly. Did you ever hear anyone tell the president that his theories about Dominion were wrong?
MATTHEWS: I was never in the room for that. But, I did know that that was something that the lawyers were communicating to him on the campaign side.
LEMON: OK. The Committee has put forward evidence that Trump knew that he lost the election. Your former colleague, Cassidy Hutchinson, told them that Mark Meadows said to her, and I quote here, "A lot of times he'll tell me that he lost, but he wants to keep fighting it, and he thinks that there might be enough to overturn the election." Do you think Meadows - should Meadows have pushed back more on the president?
MATTHEWS: I do think so. I think Meadows knows better, and I think that he was one of Trump's biggest enablers in the White House. And, it's disappointing given he was in the room, and he chose to just allow Trump to pursue these crazy conspiracy theories, rather than swatting them down. And, that's why I think you saw Trump turn to the people that were feeding him these conspiracy theories, because the folks that were telling him that these weren't true, he stopped listening to, toward the end of his administration.
LEMON: OK. Just real quickly, this - the person that the Committee identified here, this Trump attorney, this known pro-Trump attorney, Kenneth Chesebro, right, as being the original architect of the fake- elector spot. Did you hear anything about that?
MATTHEWS: I did not.
LEMON: OK.
MATTHEWS: Yes. That was not a name that I was familiar with.
LEMON: OK. Let me make sure that that's all I want to ask you. And then, there is Jack Smith, who is a special counsel, have you offered testimony too in that investigation, or have you heard from the investigators?
MATTHEWS: No, I have not. They have not reached out to me.
LEMON: All right. Sarah Matthews, thank you very much. I appreciate you coming on.
MATTHEWS: Yes. Thank you so much.
LEMON: Merry Christmas to you. Thank you.
Desperate migrants braving dangerously cold temperatures for the chance to cross into the U.S., where they're turning for shelter. Where are they turning for shelter? Next.
SIDNER: And, coming up, the iconic Gloria Estefan, Oh, that's my jam, releasing a new Christmas album with her family. They'll tell us how it all started ahead.
LEMON: Sara and I want to start dancing. We are not.
SIDNER: I mean, I am ready.
LEMON: We have to be serious anchor people. OK?
SIDNER: Do we know?
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SIDNER: A lovely iconic picture this morning. You're looking live at St. Louis. The arch is beautiful. It looks beautiful. But, guess what? It does not feel good because the wind chill right now is 29 degrees below zero. We'll have updates from across the country throughout the morning.
LEMON: Texas authorities at the border are now asking asylum seekers to shelter indoors or go home as the Arctic chill hits. For those waiting in line, this is the final step in their long and often dangerous journeys even as the Trump-era Title 42 restrictions remain in limbo. CNN's David Culver spoke to Venezuelan migrants who are stuck at the southern border. Take a look at this.
DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There were those who cross illegally, streams of people, every day, every hour, and then there were those who watch, wait, and face the unknown. Here is Ciudad Juarez, this is what the U.S. looks like for you Ulexi Fernandez (ph) and Lucy Bastidas (ph). We're not criminals, we are good people, they stress. The two met while serving in the Venezuelan Military. In October, they started their trek north, fleeing political turmoil, hiking through jungles, rafting murky waters, riding a train from on top, so close to their final destination until policy and this halt their journey.
Before Sunrise, Tuesday, we watched as Texas law enforcement mobilize, sealing off this popular access point to American soil, one of the state's efforts to stop the flow of migrants. But, it only reroutes them a short distance down the river, creating a new bottleneck for illegal crossings and a tense standoff.
The setting sun ushers in freezing temperatures. By nightfall, migrants settle in on the U.S. side of the river, building campfires to keep warm. Hours later, some rush another border entry point about a mile away. Under Title 42, they can still be immediately expelled on the grounds of COVID prevention, Lucy and Ulexi determined to enter legally. She wants to do it the right way, she tells me, and knows exactly where she wants to go. Far from their Big Apple dreams, unable to return home, stuck in international purgatory.
I'm here with my partner, she says, discriminated against, they say, because they're migrants, they're women, and there were a couple. To be safe, they avoid public displays of affection, and traveling groups. Another reason they want to get to the other side? When we're there, we're going to help all of our family, she says. The very mention of family triggers emotions Lucy has carried since leaving Venezuela. Lucy missing her mom and siblings, Ulexi, her 10-year-old daughter.
We hurry across traffic about a half mile from where we first met the couple and arrive at this local shelter. With nowhere else to go, families line up, hoping to escape the freezing cold, Lucy and Ulexi among the fortunate. This is home at least for now. We meet some of their new friends, fellow migrants from all backgrounds.
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CULVER: And, how many people altogether are usually in here at night?
ELIAS RODRUGUEZ, DIRECTOR, HOPE CENTER SHELTER: Altogether, 135 has been our greatest number. We don't have the capacity for the demand.
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CULVER: The Church group that runs this shelter, bolstered by locals, donating their time and food, and much like border cities in the U.S., Ciudad Juarez is feeling the strain from this migration surge.
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THOR SALAYANDIA, PRESIDENT, JUAREZ CHAMBER OF INDUSTRY (TRANSLATED): The city has always been very generous to migrants, but in this case, with so many people, it's difficult. The city isn't prepared for this influx, he says.
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CULVER: Back in the shelter, Ulexi struggles with having left her daughter behind, telling me, I don't know when I can give her my love again, because right now, I'm just trying to provide for her, but Lucy saying, the hardest part in this moment right now is being so close and not being able to cross.
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But, echoing from their phone, a familiar song that chronicles a migrant's journey brings back smiles and hope.
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CULVER: We are going to make it. We're going to make it, she says.
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CULVER: And, it's precisely because of Title 42 that you Ulexi and Lucy want to avoid doing what the migrants you see behind me are doing, thousands of them turning themselves into U.S. Customs Border Patrol so as to seek asylum officially. But, the problem that they would face under Title 42 is that as soon as they enter, they risk being deported to places much farther and much more dangerous. David Culver, CNN, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
SIDNER: You really see the humaneness. David is really good at just bringing out sort of the human story behind this. But, there is one thing that Democrats and Republicans can agree on when it comes to immigration. Our system is broken.
LEMON: Yes.
SIDNER: And, it galls me that we can't figure it out.
LEMON: And, that they need to make it better,--
SIDNER: Yes.
LEMON: --because we have to remember that at the end of the day, they are human beings--
SIDNER: Yes.
LEMON: --who said they are people, and for whatever circumstances they're wanting to come to the United States, we need to figure out how to make the whole process better.
SIDNER: Better. Agreed.
LEMON: We will be right back.
SIDNER: We'll be right back.
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LEMON: I mean, even the pictures, like, give you cold vibes. Look at that. You're looking live now at Kansas City, Missouri, where it feels like a negative 31 degree continuing to monitor the severe winter weather all around the nation, and of course, it is impacting holiday travel. And, new on "CNN This Morning", superstar singer and songwriter, Gloria Estefan, joined us to talk about the holidays, for music, and hitting the record studio with her family. Her husband, her daughter, and her 10-year-old grandson, also joined us in the studio to talk about their favorite holiday memories and her first Christmas album since 1993. That album is called "Estefan Family Christmas".
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LEMON: Wow. I need notes here to reel off all the accomplishments of this next woman and family. After selling millions of records, winning eight Grammy Awards, performing around the world. Latin pop star, Gloria, American pop star, worldwide pop star Gloria Estefan is now bringing her family together to spread a bit of holiday cheer this season to everyone. We're so happy that you're here. Gloria Estefan, joined by her husband and her business partner, and partner of many years, Emilio. GLORIA ESTEFAN, LATIN POP MEGASTAR: Yes, maybe.
LEMON: Emily is here.
GLORIA ESTEFAN: My other baby.
LEMON: Sasha is here.
GLORIA ESTEFAN: The newest baby.
LEMON: Emily is a daughter. Sasha is a grandson, and we're so happy that you could all be here. Thank you. So, I said, look, I know this is a throwback. You guys don't like the Latin Osmonds.
GLORIA ESTEFAN: I am big fan. I had their posters, when I was a kid, all over my wall.
LEMON: Is this amazing that you guys did an album together? Why, Gloria?
GLORIA ESTEFAN: Well, because when he started singing as a little baby, we would always put together a little show for Thanksgiving, which I traditionally host. And, in 2019, we decided to do something original. And then, he was telling me that he felt his voice was changing. Oh, my gosh, we need to put this moment and capture it for posterity, and ask him, what if we put together an album, kind of like our shows, pick our favorite Christmas songs and do it, and they were all about it. And, the first time ever that Emilio sings,--
EMILIO ESTEFAN, BUSINESS PARTNER AND HUSBAND OF GLORIA ESTEFAN: That's a miracle.
GLORIA ESTEFAN: Really?
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LEMON: Wait. Let's hear the voice. Is it changing? Give me - give us--
GLORIA ESTEFAN: Not yet.
SASHA ESTEFAN-COPPOLA, GRANDSON OF GLORIA & EMILIO ESTEFAN: That's how I talk to all.
GLORIA ESTEFAN: It hasn't changed yet. But, it will, very soon, because he shut up so fast this year ago. Oh my Gosh, it's going to - but, we love the holidays. And, I secretly had a plan to have them with me for the entire amount of time that it took to do the album, and it was--
LEMON: It was a lie.
GLORIA ESTEFAN: Fantastic. I mean, mama, you know - let's hear from them, because for me, the studio was my happy place.
EMILY ESTEFAN, DAUGHTER OF GLORIA & EMILIO ESTEFAN: And then, we called our lawyers, right? (LAUGHTER)
SASHA ESTEFAN-COPPOLA, GRANDSON OF GLORIA & EMILIO ESTEFAN: I said I have to sign a contract first, and then I'll talk to you about it.
KAITLAN COLLINS, HOST, "CNN THIS MORNING": Show business, baby.
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EMILY ESTEFAN, DAUGHTER OF GLORIA & EMILIO ESTEFAN: It was amazing. It was once in a lifetime, and there are so few families I feel that love the same thing and can do it together and not kill one another.
COLLINS: Yes.
EMILY ESTEFAN, DAUGHTER OF GLORIA & EMILIO ESTEFAN: And, it's something that won't happen again. He is only going to be 10 once and life passes you by so quickly. So, whenever we listen to it, it's going to remind me of that time, and it is all live musicians, and we were all together the whole time and has a lot of love baked into it.
GLORIA ESTEFAN: Absolutely.
LEMON: Did you hear that thing that remind families the voices?
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COLLINS: On the phone, I didn't know who I was speaking to. But, it is so funny you said that about the family getting together, something that have trouble just sitting down at a table together to produce this. It is third generations for the first time, right, all together on this album.
GLORIA ESTEFAN: Yes indeed.
EMILIO ESTEFAN, BUSINESS PARTNER AND HUSBAND OF GLORIA ESTEFAN: I think in COVID that people realized family is so important that they realize. They say it's great to send a message of hope and unity. And, I think in this album, when you feel that, the energy about family and the traditions, and they wrote not only music, and they got me to sing.
GLORIA ESTEFAN: Yes.
POPPY HARLOW, HOST, "CNN THIS MORNING": When you guys talk about these issues at your red table, talk serious, you were - I have just - like, I just sent mom a picture of me with you because you were the soundtrack of my - not just childhood teenage years, you were all through our house, like,--
GLORIA ESTEFAN: I love that.
HARLOW: --you are the epitome of time.
GLORIA ESTEFAN: Thank you mama for doing this.
HARLOW: It's true.
GLORIA ESTEFAN: Thank you very much.
HARLOW: Timeless, right, and you've continued that and then also have these discussions about really important things that a lot of families struggle with talking about.
GLORIA ESTEFAN, LATIN POP MEGASTAR: Especially Latin families.
HARLOW: There you go.
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How do you do it?
GLORIA ESTEFAN: We did it for that reason, because people would say, why would you talk about these things ago? Because it's important that we do it, and people think that celebrities have a charmed life, which I'm not complaining. We have a beautiful life. Thanks to all of you that have listened to our music for so long. But, we're families like anyone else that goes through things. And, we thought if we can somehow start the conversation, maybe they'll continue it in their own homes. We have lots of letters and messages from people that that's exactly what happened. So, it was important.
LEMON: Listen, I know you don't like to talk about yourselves. But, I know that you give back, and I've actually been down to your kitchen.
GLORIA ESTEFAN: You gave back with this?
LEMON: Yes, you - over the holiday season, but you do it all the time, and you do it beautifully. You give back. There is so much going on, especially during the pandemic, what transpired after that with people being not having - being homeless and not having food to eat,--
GLORIA ESTEFAN: Absolutely.
LEMON: --hunger.
GLORIA ESTEFAN: It's a privilege to be able to be of service and of help to other people. And, you were there serving up--
LEMON: Yes.
GLORIA ESTEFAN: --food. For 14 years, we threw a big party. We always had six to seven organizations that need it, and we wanted to make them happy. Since COVID, we couldn't do it. This year, we're here in New York. But, we take care of those organizations. Right at Thanksgiving, we call them, OK, we send money, we send whatever they ask us that they need. The most important thing which right now really is pretty much money because a lot of donations have dried up because people are in need.
HARLOW: What's it like to grow up in a family like this and be the next generation to carry it forward? SASHA ESTEFAN-COPPOLA, GRANDSON OF GLORIA & EMILIO ESTEFAN: Well, it's great because you get the opportunity that some people probably don't get, and it's great to just spend time with them. And now, we're doing it, like, professionally, and we always do spend time with them. But now, that we're doing it like this, we get to travel the world together and have fun together.
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HARLOW: I'm not sure his answer would be as eloquent.
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GLORIA ESTEFAN: We have an original to knit the three of us. So, why don't we sing the chorus which is - let's pick a key.
SASHA ESTEFAN-COPPOLA, GRANDSON OF GLORIA & EMILIO ESTEFAN: You want.
GLORIA ESTEFAN: I'm thankful for you. I'm thankful for you of all the things in life that are really thankful for you. I'm thankful for you. We are thankful for you.
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LEMON: Thank you, family. Thank you. Thank you so much. Happy holidays. Thank you for what you're doing. Great luck with the album.
GLORIA ESTEFAN: Thank you, sir.
(CROSSTALK)
GLORIA ESTEFAN: We have an album. You can buy the album.
SIDNER: I'm so jealous. They are royalty in Miami, where I grew up. Same thing as Poppy. I listened to her music now and I listened to it when I was young. I love everything about her. OK. Are we are doing the snake? Is that what we're doing?
LEMON: Should we do it?
SIDNER: I don't.
LEMON: Sara,--
SIDNER: You want to go?
LEMON: The way you and I will cut up, so we have to watch ourselves, because--
SIDNER: Do we know--
LEMON: Yes. Do you know what? I probably need you for this. By the way, Merry Christmas, Estefans. Thank you very much. This is what - I need you to cut up for this because we're counting down the days until we ring in the New Year. Anderson and Andy are back for another global celebration. Make sure you join them on New Year's Eve, live from Times Square at 8 p.m. And, this is where I'm going to need you, because after that at midnight, it's going to be me ring in from New Orleans, and I'm going to go till 2 a.m. And so, no to Sara.
SIDNER: I'll be watching it.
LEMON: Coming up, - all right. I'll call you. Maybe, I'll zoom in with you.
SIDNER: Awesome.
LEMON: We'll be right back.
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