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Erin Burnett Outfront
Biden Hours Away From Being Sworn In As Trump Is Secluded In Final Moments Of Presidency; Frantic Scramble Behind The Scenes At White House Over Whether To Grant Steve Bannon A Pardon; Interview With Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT); Hawley Vows To Block Quick Confirmation Of Biden's Homeland Security Pick Over Immigration Policies; Biden Hours Away From Being Sworn In; Prosecutors: Members Of Oath Keepers Coordinated Before Riot; Trump Expected To Issue 100- Plus Pardons At Any Moment. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired January 19, 2021 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We're going to have extensive live coverage all of this unfolding. CNN special inaugural coverage continues right now with "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT."
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, the final hours of Donald Trump's presidency. Trump giving a farewell address that rewrites history as Joe Biden arrives in Washington with a powerful message this hour.
Plus, 12 Army National Guard members pulled from inauguration duty as QAnon members reportedly talked about impersonating National Guard members.
And new details tonight on the Senate's impeachment trial. A top senator says the trial would take less than a week. He's my guest. Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, President-elect Joe Biden just hours away from being sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. His first and last item of business today in Washington, a tribute to the 400,000 Americans who have lost their lives to coronavirus. America passing the 400,000 death mark, a grim milestone today on the last full day of Trump's presidency.
And Biden, a man who, of course, has dealt with incredible personal loss himself spoke to the nation seeking to heal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: To heal, we must remember it's hard sometimes to remember, but that's how we heal. It's important to do that as a nation.
BURNETT: And that is the National Mall tonight, powerful, lit up to remember each of those lives lost. Every single one of them alive one year ago today. A lost this current president, of course, has not fully acknowledged. Trump whose tumultuous presidency will come to an end in 17 hours at noon tomorrow. Just a short time ago releasing his farewell address.
In it he does not mention Joe Biden by name. He does however list this as one of his accomplishments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am especially proud to be the first president in decades who has started no new wars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: The irony lost upon him that this is what the Capitol of the United States of America looks like tonight to the entire world. A fortified warzone, movements completely restricted, fences with barbed wire installed, barriers blocking roads to all the national monuments, 25,000 National Guard troops are stationed there.
Look at this, marching by the Capitol. It's a stunning video. This is taken by our own Manu Raju just today looking at what happened. And this, this war like reality is all because of the battle cries to Trump supporters who then staged a violent insurrection.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Stop the steal.
CROWD: Stop the steal. Stop the steal. Stop the steal. Stop the steal.
TRUMP: We'll lose everything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) we're going to - lose it all.
TRUMP: That's treason. That's treason.
CROWD: Treason. Treason. Treason. Treason.
TRUMP: Protect our Constitution.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To protect the Constitution of the United States.
TRUMP: This is country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is our house. This is our country. This is country. This is our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And in this farewell address, he's telling his supporters, this is not the end, only the beginning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Now, as I prepare to hand power over to a new administration at noon on Wednesday, I want you to know that the movement we started is only just beginning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Only just the beginning. That same line used as he lauded the rioters the day after the deadly insurrection.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: To all of my wonderful supporters, I know you are disappointed, but I also want you to know that our incredible journey is only just beginning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And now Trump is spending the final hours of his presidency isolated and about to pardon more than 100 people. In fact, we're expecting that any moment it is expected to be Trump's final act before Biden is inaugurated. An inauguration, of course, that Trump will not attend. And that is the first time in 152 years that a sitting president of this country has boycotted the inauguration of his successor. Part of the transfer of power that even Trump himself spoke so highly about just four years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Every four years we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power. And we are grateful to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for the gracious aide throughout this transition. They have been magnificent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Something that, of course, he has not been.
[19:05:01]
The Trumps are also not inviting the Bidens to the White House which is a tradition that has taken place for decades. As you can see, the Presidents putting their politics aside for the transfer of power. For the power of that image, a tradition that, as Trump said, Obama graciously bestowed upon him.
Well, it's also unclear whether Trump will write Biden a letter, it is also a tradition for presidents leaving office. Former President George H.W. Bush, who like Trump was a single term president famously wrote to Bill Clinton, "You will be our president when you read this note. I wish you well. I wish your family well. Your success now is our country success. I am rooting hard for you."
Kaitlan Collins is OUTFRONT near the White House tonight and Jeff Zeleny is at the reflecting pool where President-elect Biden spoke earlier this evening.
Kaitlan, let me start with you. President Trump's mindset is put that video out, obviously, this is his final night that he will spend in the White House. What is he doing?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: His last few hours in the White House, Erin, are kind of being described in a way that the President is not comfortable feeling or hasn't really felt over the last four years, which is boxed in. He's incredibly restrained, muted, more muted than we've ever seen really where he hasn't made a public appearance in a week now and we're not expecting to see him again until tomorrow when he goes to Joint Base Andrews for that departure ceremony.
And a lot of what that has to do with is the President is worried about angering Senate Republicans. He knows that his political fate is in their hands when it comes to the Senate trial. And I'm told by sources that is shaping a lot of what he's doing or not doing really in his final days in office, because he is genuinely concerned that they could vote to convict him and, of course, prevent him from running for office again, tarnish his legacy forever.
And Mitch McConnell's words today give the President a pretty good reason to be in that kind of a mindset. And so one of his last acts that is being shaped by this is going to be this pardon list that we are expecting to get. We still haven't gotten yet notably.
And part of that, Erin, is the reason that we are told there is a frantic scramble happening behind the scenes in the West Wing even as of this moment. Because my colleague, Pam brown and I are told that they are still going back and forth on this idea of whether or not they should pardon Steve Bannon, the President's former chief strategist who, of course, who is being charged in a money - basically, some questions about money that was being raised to build the border wall by some of the President's supporters.
But what's actually being discussed right now are the possible connections that he has to that January the 6th rally. Of course, that was the rally that preceded the riot by the President supporters on Capitol Hill. And so they're not sure whether or not they're going to give Steve Bannon a pardon or not. We're told that the President has been going back and forth on it all day. Aides thought this had been settled as of last Friday, then, of course, they had another meeting on Saturday.
But it does really speak to the chaos that we've kind of seen from inside the West Wing over the last four years that even in Donald Trump's final hours in office, there is still a scramble happening behind the scenes and they're not clear yet where this is going to end up.
BURNETT: Pretty incredible, even in this final day. True to form. It is what it is. Kaitlan, thank you very much.
And we are waiting, of course, that list. It literally could happen any moment. I want to go to Jeff Zeleny at the reflecting pool right now, though. So, Jeff, President-elect Biden, something that he has so deeply desired for so long, he is now hours away. He is going to be the resident of the White House after years of being so close. What is his mindset tonight?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORREPONDENT: Erin, his mindset tonight, I'm told, is one of optimism and realization of the challenge that is indeed in front of him. And I am still here at the reflecting pool and you can still see the lights illuminated behind me here. Some 400 lights representing the 400,000 Americans who have died just in the last year of COVID. And as we saw President-elect Joe Biden said to heal, we must remember, he said healing is so important for the nation.
So that is what he is thinking tonight going into, the eve, the final hours before he becomes president. He is at the Blair House tonight, just across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, just really about a block or two away from President Trump. An extraordinary proximity, if you will, but the two men will not speak. They will not see one another as is tradition.
But he is going to start his morning tomorrow at mass. He's going to go to mass with the four congressional leaders, two Republicans, two Democrats and that is how he wants to start the day in both tone and substance and that is going to sort of frame the challenge here as he delivers that inaugural address from the west front of the Capitol.
I'm told it's going to be optimistic. It's going to be steeped in his faith, but also urging Americans to really appeal to them to unify. Now, these challenges are very stark, no question. The Washington Mr. Biden left four years ago as vice president, that he returned to here tonight is remarkably different. That he believes there's still an opportunity for unity and healing, Erin.
[19:10:04]
BURNETT: All right. Jeff Zeleny, thank you very much and I want to go to David Chalian, our Political Director, Laura Coates, former Federal Prosecutor and Tim Naftali, our Presidential Historian and the former Director of the Nixon Presidential Library.
So David, when you look at Washington today, that Manu Raju video of the of the marching troops was quite stunning and sobering as we see those pictures from around the world. We have all been to war zones and seeing these images in Capitols that we never thought would be ours.
Trump though congratulating himself in his video and says he starts no wars in his farewell address. So what do you make of this? It's a true contrast between Trump and Biden who, of course, spoke of the dead at his memorial today.
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. I mean, Joe Biden has sort of a unique skill in a moment of grief like this that the country is experiencing. I've covered a bunch of Joe Biden events on the campaign trail pre-COVID, Erin, when he could work a rope line and talk to voters who would come and see him.
And there was never an event that I covered with Joe Biden where somebody wasn't telling a personal story of grief to the former Vice President and he would embrace them and take time to talk to them, because of all he's been through in his personal life. He chose for his arrival in Washington to be this moment where he's sort of served as the nation's grief counselor. And what was so stunning is not that Joe Biden chose to do that,
actually, that's totally within character. What was so stunning in the moment was the realization that that hadn't happened in the last year for the country under President Trump's watch. And so it was just such a stark contrast of the man coming in to be the 46th President and the man who's on his way out who is just served as the 45th President that he never sort of convened the national moment like that.
BURNETT: No. And, of course, today in his last day, we formally passed that horrible 400,000 death mark. Tim, there have been so many breaks in protocol throughout this presidency and now with the transition. Amazing to listen to Trump four years ago talking about the transfer of power, how peaceful it was, how gracious the Obamas were, how magnificent they were, in his words and yet he has not said Joe Biden's name.
TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: No.
BURNETT: He's not going to greet him at the White House, which is tradition. He's not attending the inauguration. The first president to not do so in 152 years. How does this rank in terms of unusual transitions?
NAFTALI: Well, let's think about why it matters. It matters not because one human being owes it to another, although that should be part of the story. It's because the office is supposed to be more important than the occupant. And tomorrow is about passing the office and all the awesome power that goes with it from one individual chosen by the American people to another.
And so it's incumbent on the person who is passing the power, to show respect for the office and the American people who have made the choice that it go to someone else. That's why the visits matter. And President Trump throughout the period since the election has not wanted to give up power. That's what the crisis that we're facing now is all about.
One man and a mob wanting to hold on to power despite the desire of the American people that it be passed to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. And that's why the nation's Capitol is more tense than it has been since 1861 and it is more militarized today than it has ever been in our history.
BURNETT: And Laura, we are at this moment waiting that pardon list. Here we are at 7:13 Eastern Standard Time, it is not out. Chaos in the White House true to form till the last as the President makes final decisions on people like Steve Bannon.
Now we understand that he's been talked out of pardoning himself and his family for now at least and we're told the conversation spooked Trump in a way few others have, why? What do you think he was told?
LAURA COATES, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: That it will backfire. That he, the same person who just last week said to President-elect Joe Biden be careful what you wish for, talking about the 25th Amendment. That be careful what you wish for about self-pardon because it invites prosecutors to challenge the ability of the President of the United States to do so. It could invite both Republicans and Democrats to challenge this idea of absolute presidential authority without recourse.
It would go into a longer discussion that would invite the Supreme Court of the United States to weigh in. And remember, these are self- professed, at least the ones that he has nominated and were confirmed, self-professed originalist who would be looking at the intent of the founding fathers, not simply the preference of a current president of what he decides to do. And I think what the framers actually intended, perhaps for never to be a president who could be fully immunized on all capacity about pardons.
[19:15:03]
And so, if he would like to have some sort of comfort and knowing that the pardon power is absolute, he was probably told to confine it to how it was envisioned, which means to grant meaning to other people. So he probably noted, it would backfire, it would invite more scrutiny and it'll be problematic for himself personally.
BURNETT: Right. And, of course, as we know, under investigation at the state level pardon would do nothing about it and he's facing that, obviously, in New York. He could be facing that in Georgia as well. We'll see in Fulton County.
So David, at the moment, Vice President Pence is not expected to attend Trump's departure ceremony tomorrow. So he's actually going to get up, take Marine One to Joint Base Andrews and sort of have a farewell party is what it was going to be. Very unclear who is going to be there.
Sources are telling us that, oh, logistically, it would be difficult for Pence to be there and then attend Joe Biden's inaugural. But, of course, the VP is a VIP. I would imagine if he wanted to be there, he could, there's a couple of hours between the two. So what do you make of this? And our understanding that the President's having trouble getting yes RSVPs.
CHALIAN: Well, I don't think it's any mystery to anyone watching that there has been a deterioration in the Trump-Pence relationship since the election. I mean, you saw Donald Trump say basically that he would think ill of Mike Pence if he didn't own upend democracy and overturn the will of the American people with the Electoral College vote count. Mike Pence, of course, did not do that.
No, he was actually there under attack by people, the President he serves incite it. And then, of course, we know that Pence has been dismayed that during that attack or in the immediate aftermath, Erin, that the President never checked on Mike Pence or his family or how he was doing. So I don't think there's a real sort of buddy movie that's coming to some romantic end here. I mean, it is a frayed relationship.
And Mike Pence, we should note did accept the invitation to attend the Biden inaugural, is going to be the representation of the handover from one administration to the other. BURNETT: And it is a good thing that he is. I think we all know that.
It's good. Thank you all very much. I appreciate it.
And next, Sen. Josh Hawley, you remember, the guy - sorry, remember that? The one who challenge the election results in the day of the insurrection now vowing to block quick consideration of Biden's pick to lead the Homeland Security Department.
Plus, breaking news, alarming new court filings alleged three of the Capitol rioters from an extremist militant group planned the attack and one was allegedly told the attack was 'everything we expletive trained for'. And just months into his presidency, Trump defended neo- Nazis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You also had people that were very fine people on both sides.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So what will Trump's legacy be?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:21:28]
BURNETT: Breaking news, top allies of President Trump skipping the President's farewell ceremony tomorrow morning. One senior White House adviser saying, "Sending the mob was a red line." Guess we found one red line. Well, we'll see if it really was because it all comes down to whether they'll vote on the impeachment trial.
It comes as outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell met with soon to be Majority Leader Chuck Schumer behind closed doors. They met for 31 minutes and this is after McConnell, of course, said Trump was to blame for the violent mob storming the Capitol.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the President and other powerful people. And they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific proceeding of the first branch of the federal government, which they did not like, but we pressed on. We certified the people's choice for their 46th president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Now, of course, he's right. The mob was fed lies. It was provoked by powerful people, including the President, led by the President. All of that is true. It's important McConnell says it. It's also important to note in that context that it took McConnell more than five weeks to admit that Biden had actually won the presidential election and was the President-elect.
Manu Raju is OUTFRONT. Manu, that context I think is important. However, those words today from Sen. McConnell were very strong and clearly he is leaving the door open to convicting Trump.
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no question about it. Remember, this is the first time he has said explicitly that Donald Trump was to blame for what occurred on January 6th. That night after the violent mob of Trump supporters came into this building, Mitch McConnell went to the floor, condemned the actions but he did not condemn Donald Trump. Today he did and those words carry weight because we do expect the impeachment trial to begin within days.
And privately Mitch McConnell is telling his associates that he does believe Donald Trump committed an impeachable offense. But sources make very clear that Mitch McConnell is undecided about whether or not to convict Trump. He's saying he wants to listen to the arguments on both sides and make a decision and that is the view held by a lot of top Republican senators, including Sen. John Thune, Sen. John Cornyn and two other members of Mitch McConnell's leadership team who today made clear that they also are going to wait and hear the arguments on both sides before making a decision about whether to convict.
And that is significant too, Erin, because back in 2020 during the first Trump impeachment trial, most of these Republican senators were firmly on Donald Trump's side. They were leaving little question about where they may end up, which means that there are still questions about whether 17 Republicans will ultimately break ranks, join with 50 Democrats, convict Donald Trump, prevent him ever from running for office again.
While it's still going to be a high hurdle to clear, it's one that remains possible, especially as people are still very frustrated, especially here on Capitol Hill about Donald Trump's actions, but what will Republicans do when it comes time to vote, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Manu, thank you very much.
OUTFRONT now the Democratic Senator from Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, also the former Attorney General for Connecticut. Senator, you heard Mitch McConnell, the mob was fed lies, they were provoked by the President and other powerful people. OK. He's right. That's accurate.
Obviously, if someone does that, if someone says that, that would mean they're going to vote to - it would mean they're going to vote in favor of the impeachment trial, in favor of removing Trump and preventing him from serving in office. Do you think that's what McConnell will do?
[19:25:08]
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): Thanks for having me, Erin. If McConnell believes those words, he has no choice but to vote to convict. What he's saying is that Donald Trump and other powerful figures, he probably is referring to senators Hawley and Cruz, helped to incite, instigate and really arouse that mob in a way that they attacked the Democratic process, sought to overthrow a lawful election and indeed stage a coup. That kind of language does not give him a pass from voting to convict
nor does it give Republicans a pass for their emboldening and enabling the President over the last four years, but what's really important is action, not words, and that's what we should see from Mitch McConnell, a demand for accountability.
BURNETT: So Sen. Van Hollen told me that the Senate would be able to go through a quick impeachment trial, but have that for part of the day and the other part of the day, you're doing the business that needs to get done. This country needs to have a cabinet approved, this is what the country needs, whether you supported Biden or not, you got to have people in these positions.
But Manu was reporting that John Cornyn, another top Republican senator, said that that is not going to be possible. That you can't have the impeachment trial going on at the same time as confirmation hearings. So what do you think Sen. Cornyn is trying to do? Is that true or is he trying to stall this so you fail?
BLUMENTHAL: I respectfully disagree, Erin. We can do both. It's a false choice and we can do this trial in a matter of days and we can do it quickly, because the evidence really is open and shot. It's in the videotape. It's Donald Trump's own words, his tweets, his remarks afterward which showed no remorse. He called them special people just as he did after Charlottesville saying there were good people on both sides.
This kind of revulsion that my Republican colleagues are expressing that Donald Trump provoke this mob attack, a terrorist act, really demands action and accountability. I think we can do both at the same time.
BURNETT: Sen. Mitt Romney, of course, voted to convict Trump in his first impeachment trial. The only Republican to join Democrats in doing so in the Senate, sidestepped what he would do this time. He told us, "I'm going to wait and see the evidence as it's presented."
Mitt Romney knows as well as you and I do and everyone watching what the evidence is. It's all been out there. He knows that. So does his word choice there worry you or no?
BLUMENTHAL: Word choices, the parsing of these caveats worries me deeply because what we should feel is moral outrage, not just at the legal violations, the law breaking in inciting a riot, seeking to stop the Democratic process, but also a moral revulsion at what Donald Trump did. And it reminds me of all the silence that we've seen over the last 40 years as Donald Trump again and again and again has broken the law, self-enriching, obstructing justice and it's time really for my Republican colleagues to (inaudible).
BURNETT: So let me talk about Josh Hawley, you mentioned him, a Republican senator. He thought Mitch McConnell was referring to him and, of course, he, along with Ted Cruz did lead the Senate charge to try to overturn the election. So Hawley now says he will oppose a quick confirmation for the Homeland Security Secretary nominee, Alejandro Mayorkas. He says he's worried about Biden's plan to give undocumented
immigrants a citizenship pathway and he cites that migrant caravan picture that we all saw on newspapers today, coming from Guatemala, that the crowds are sensibly heading towards the American border. Do you think other Republicans will join him on this and make some of these nominee processes incredibly difficult for you?
BLUMENTHAL: I certainly hope not, Erin. First, Joe Biden deserves and needs to have his National Security team. This moment is always the time when our adversaries check us. Historically it happens to every president. We confirm Donald Trump's security team literally on the afternoon of his inauguration and so the Departments of State, Treasury, Homeland Security and Defense need a permanent leader.
Many of these departments have been without a permanent leader for weeks, sometimes months and the nation needs a permanent leader for each of them. I regret that Sen. Hawley is acting so shamefully and disgracefully. I hope my Republican colleagues will reject that stance.
BURNETT: Sen. Blumenthal, I appreciate your time tonight. Thank you, sir.
BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, 12 Army National Guard members removed from inauguration duty, why?
Plus, President-elect Joe Biden's tribute to the 400,000 Americans who have died from coronavirus.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:33:31]
BURNETT: We are following a lot of breaking news tonight on the investigation into the Capitol Hill insurrection. New court filings alleging three members of the extremist militant group the Oath Keepers coordinated before the attack, citing conversation heard on a walkie-talkie app. Here's part of what was said during the riot on January 6th.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JESSICA WATKINS, MEMBER OF OATH KEEPERS: We are in the mezzanine -- we are in the main dome right now. We are rocking it. They're throwing grenades. They're shooting people with paint balls. But we're in here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be safe. God bless and Godspeed, keep it going.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get it, Jess. Do your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) thing. This is what we (EXPLETIVE DELETED) lived up for. Everything we (EXPLETIVE DELETED) trained for.
(END AUDIO CLIP) BURNETT: Also, 12 National Guard members removed for inauguration duty as the FBI vets troops just hours before President-elect Joe Biden is set to be sworn in.
Alex Marquardt is OUTFRONT.
So, Alex, first, let's start with those three suspects and what prosecutors are saying about the coordination between them. What have you learned?
ALEXANDER MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this is everything they trained for, you heard them say there. Well, this is extremely notable and worrying, Erin, because this is the first significant conspiracy charge. The first serious allegation of coordinated activity among those who attacked the Capitol on January 6th. And it appeared that they were looking to root out and find lawmakers in the Capitol.
As you mentioned, these three defendants are alleged to be members of the Oath Keepers which is this far right anti anti-government militia. According to the affidavit, they were among eight to ten Oath Keeper members at the capitol.
[19:35:06]
The affidavit said that they were moving in an organized and practiced fashion.
Now, one of the defendants, his name is Thomas Edward Caldwell, and during the siege on the Capitol, he received a message that said all members are in the tunnels under the capitol. Seal them in, turn on the gas. Caldwell also received messages from unnamed sources telling him where to go, indicating at least some knowledge of the lay of the land, of the plans of the capitol.
Now, another one of the defendants, Erin, her name is Jessica Watkins, she was found to have instructions at home to make explosives out of bleach. So, some extremely worrying allegations here for these three defendants. Again, the most significant, the first significant conspiracy charges to come about following this terrorist attack on the capitol, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. So, Alex, what can you tell us about the other reporting here that's developing this hour that you have on these 12 national guard members that were removed from inauguration duty?
MARQUARDT: Well, because of the real threats around this inauguration, the National Guard and the FBI said that they would be vetting all 25,000 members of the National Guard who were being mobilized for this inauguration. We learned today that a dozen of them, 12 of them have been removed from inauguration duty, really for two main reasons, two because of inappropriate comments or text messages, that's according to the Pentagon, and the other ten for questionable behavior found in the process.
But that's really all we know. We really don't know more details other than that, about specifically why they were removed. We did hear from the chief of the National Guard who was kind of down playing it, saying it's only 12 out of 25,000. We don't know whether it is specifically to do with any sort of extremist thought or expressions about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
But nonetheless, Erin, it is very worrying, and that fear over an insider threat does continue in these final hours before the inauguration.
BURNETT: All right. Alex, thank you very much.
And also this hour, "The Washington Post" is reporting the FBI is warning that QAnon followers have discussed posing as national guard members to try to infiltrate the inauguration ceremony for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Tom Foreman is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just as they struck the capitol, almost two weeks ago, authorities warn radical right wing elements are now trying to penetrate the bristling security around the inauguration. QAnon followers, sharing maps, discussing tactics and according to an FBI intelligence reporting obtained by "The Washington Post" talking about posing as national guard soldiers believing that it would be easy for them to infiltrate secure areas.
REP. TOM MALINOWSKI (D-NJ): There is a violent extremist insurrectionist mob out there that has been stoked and that has been growing courtesy of QAnon, courtesy of extreme leaders and they're already including the president for the last four years, and these people who stormed the capitol and are threatening to do it again today.
FOREMAN: QAnon was everywhere in the capitol. Ashli Babbitt, the woman shot and killed by police, had connected through social media with theories supposedly emanating from what followers believe is an anonymous secret agent in the government called Q.
That mob, chasing a cop up the stairs was led by a man in a Q shirt. That guy in the horns, he's known as the QAnon shaman, and his lawyer says like a great many followers.
ALBERT WATKINS, ATTORNEY FOR CAPITOL RIOT SUSPECT JACOB CHANSLEY: He loved Trump, every word, he listened to him. He felt like he was answering the call of our president.
FOREMAN: QAnon has no official organization but countless supporters like many in this L.A. protest last fall spurred by nonsensical accusations of pedophilia and Satan worship among celebrities, business and political leaders.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The fact that you guys are attacking us and making us look like we're crazy when we're just trying to save some (EXPLETIVE DELETED) children pisses me off. FOREMAN: QAnon followers, push unhinged theories about murky forces in
the government supposedly trying to take down President Trump.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know much about the movement other than I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate.
FOREMAN: Trump winked at QAnon during the campaign, some new Republican Congress members have embraced the movement even tighter at times, but Twitter, after the capitol riot, it took down more than 70,000 accounts linked to QAnon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (on camera): The area of this inauguration has been so fortified with police officers and soldiers, it would take an act of raging stupidity or baying at the moon lunacy for someone to try to attack it now.
[19:40:07]
But with QAnon, and some of these other radical right wing groups around, authorities know that is absolutely possible. And they're ready for it. Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Tom, thank you very much.
And Will Sommer is with me now. He's politics reporter for "The Daily Beast". He's extensively covered QAnon, and is writing a book about it.
So, Will, I appreciate your time. You know, you hear Tom Foreman's report, which shows several people who took part in the Capitol Hill riot, who were supporters of QAnon, and some of these incomprehensibly bizarre conspiracy theories, right, about Democratic pedophilia rings and other things.
So, first from your understanding, how big of a role did QAnon play in the Capitol attack?
WILL SOMMER, POLITICS REPORTER, THE DAILY BEAST: Sure. I mean, I think QAnon plays a massive role. QAnon has so many weird things. The key thing for the audience to understand is that QAnon believers believe in this almost like a fascist moment of the Storm, Donald Trump will purge enemies and they're enemies.
And I talked to people outside of the riot who felt that day was the Storm. They thought it was kind of this apocalyptic utopian moment that could be accomplished through violence. A lot of QAnon believers thought they were the ones to carry that out by attacking the Capitol.
BURNETT: I mean, it is incredible. I mean, obviously, it's a mix of godlike as well.
So what are they saying will happen on inauguration day? How significant is the day for them? SOMMER: Sure. So we're not seeing as much chatter as we saw around
January 6th. But at the same time, for QAnon people, I mean, it's sort of like a really intense cult personality around Trump. They see him as not just a political figure but someone who's going to save the world and save their own lives in many ways.
And so, they're going to have trouble squaring the fact that he holds this role and the fact that he's leaving office. So right now, they're still expecting some kind of big moment, they think, you know, Trump is going to declare martial law or there might be a nationwide emergency that they're preparing for.
But I think we're still kind of headed towards this big collision for people who really devoted their lives and in many cases, alienated everyone around them in their commitment to QAnon, and suddenly they're potentially going to hit a wall.
BURNETT: Someone who's family member sort of turned that way, they're dumbfounded and not sure how to address it. But the point is that that has happened. What are a couple of the strangest things that you have learned about, you know, things they believe?
SOMMER: Sure. I mean, they believe a lot of different things. I mean, there's a faction that believes that John f. Kennedy Jr. Is secretly still alive, and he was going to replace Mike Pence on the vice presidential ticket.
They believe, you know, the Democratic Party operates a cannibal pedophile ring out of a Washington pizzeria, pizza gate there, they really believe a lot of crazy stuff. Some of them, they believe you can cure the coronavirus by drinking bleach and they tell their fans to do that.
So I mean, it's really concerning stuff, and kind of just for so many different reasons is a public health risk and a risk for many other reasons.
BURNETT: Absolutely, and of course as to the bleach, we know a person who suggested doing just that from the White House press room, president of the United States.
SOMMER: Sure.
BURNETT: Thank you very much, Will. I appreciate your time.
SOMMER: Thanks for having me.
BURNETT: And next, this is how he arrived in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So how will history remember Donald Trump? Plus, live pictures of the coronavirus memorial on the national mall.
See how cities across this country are now joining Joe Biden's tribute to honor those who have died from COVID.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:47:38]
BURNETT: We are still waiting for more than 100 pardons anticipated from President Trump at any moment here in his last night as president. As Donald Trump's one term in office comes to a close, he sits in the White House as an isolated and diminished figure as our damaged nation begins adjusting to the end of a presidency unlike any in American history.
Gloria Borger is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): In the beginning, the new president declared himself the savior of the forgotten.
TRUMP: This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is our capitol.
BORGER: Four years later, American carnage right there at the capitol. A peaceful transfer of power denied, a nation suffering through a pandemic, on edge, divided, over a twice impeached president.
And all because Donald Trump lied and lied about an election he lost.
TRUMP: We will never give up. We will never concede.
BORGER: Addicted to adulation, clinging to center stage.
TRUMP: If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.
BORGER: And so, the Trump presidency born out of conspiracy theories was finally torn down by one. But the chaotic final chapter is far more extreme than anyone could have predicted.
From the very first day of his presidency, palpable lies.
SEAN SPICER, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period.
BORGER: A focus on himself even at a hallowed space for the CIA fallen.
TRUMP: Trust me, I'm like a smart person.
BORGER: The new president came into office not so much humbled but rather reading from the same script that he had used for years in business.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's the first person to become president without ever having led any kind of organization that was devoted to any purpose other than himself.
BORGER: What Trump loved were the ruffles and flourishes of the job, not governing.
TRUMP: I will shut down the government. Absolutely.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): OK, fair enough.
BORGER: Chaos and division became his calling card.
CROWD: Jews will not replace us!
TRUMP: We also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.
[19:50:05]
These are not acts of peaceful protest. These are acts of domestic terror.
BORGER: The norms of the office shattered.
TRUMP: This is based on a perfect phone call. Did anybody read the transcript?
It's a witch hunt. This is a hoax.
BORGER: His barometer of success was the stock market and a wall with his name on it. Trump's world was divided into those who would pay homage to him, and those who would firing those who deemed insufficiently loyal. A broad, it was the same. A bully to allies but praised for strongmen who flattered him.
TRUMP: He wrote me beautiful letters. We fell in love.
He just said it's not Russia. I will say this, I don't see any reason why it would be.
BORGER: Mortifying even to those once within his administration.
JOHN BOLTON, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I don't think he's fit for office.
BORGER: But the president's truest fans remain steadfast, convinced he was always on their side even as Trump himself became the architect of his own demise. Not only in the last few weeks, but for the last ten months as COVID swept through the nation and the president insisted on sweeping it under the rug.
TRUMP: We're doing a great job with it, and it will go away, just stay calm.
BORGER: After his own brush with COVID and hundreds of thousands dead, Trump still downplayed mask wearing, testing and science offering, this advice to Americans millions now without jobs and none with presidential healthcare.
TRUMP: Don't let it dominate your lives. Get out there. Be careful.
BORGER: The vaccines came but the disease Trump could not threaten did not bow. Nor did the facts. Nor did the courts or state election officials who uniformly said no to overturning the election.
GABRIEL STERLING, GEORGIA ELECTION OFFICIAL: It has to stop.
TRUMP: And the Congress and his own vice president stood with the Constitution. And while most elected Republicans don't want to alienate Trump's 74 million voters, the last two weeks have left the party untethered, wondering about its identity without a Trump presidency and with Washington in full Democratic control.
SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): I ask my colleague, do we weigh our own political fortunes more heavily than we weigh the strength of our republic, the strength of our democracy and the cost of freedom?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's American tragedy of unrivalled historical comparison and it's traumatized the country in a way that will require generations of work to recover from.
BORGER: And now Joe Biden begins inheriting a new American carnage, the one that is Donald Trump's legacy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: So, Gloria, what does Biden do from here with what some might say is the most important thing for him to do, which is to unite, which you can't do just by saying how bad Trump was.
BORGER: I think he started today. You saw the tone of the memorial service for those who had died from COVID. He gave the country the permission to grieve and to mourn and to change the tone in the country.
You're right. He's not naive, either. He's not going to say everyone unite and expect them to fall behind me.
What he's got to do is have debates and have policy debates and say to people, okay, this is what I want to do with immigration. Let's talk about it. Let's not threaten each other. Let's talk about it and come to some kind of arrangement.
In other words, he has to lead as a president can lead and convince the country that he is on their side and his own personal optimism, which is substantial, you know, he wants to say to the country, you can be optimistic, too.
We've been through a lot but you can get out of this hole if we try. That's about all he can do at this point is try and get things done and most of all, get those needles in the arms of people who need the vaccine. BURNETT: Yeah. Gloria, thank you very much for all of that.
And next, more on tonight's touching tribute to honor the 400,000 American lives lost to coronavirus.
(SINGING "AMAZING GRACE")
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:58:33]
BURNETT: You're looking at sobering sight, 400 lights. They are illuminating the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool tonight. Each one of them representing 1,000 Americans who have died from coronavirus. More than 400,000 people in this country have died from the virus, a number we pass today as it ticked up to 422,000 people dead.
And cities and towns coast-to-coast are joining in honoring those lives and the families left behind. Philadelphia, coronavirus claimed more than 19,000 lives in the state of Pennsylvania. In Nashville, take a look at the National Baptist Convention. At least 1,500 people dead in Utah where Salt Lake City is remembering those lives tonight. And here in New York City, the Empire State Building. New York, of course, the early epicenter of this disease.
But there is no part of this great country that has been spared. It is a somber message for all of us and one with hope, though, for the future, brought home by President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: For many months, we have grieved by ourselves. Tonight, we grieve and begin healing together.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Between sun down and dusk, let us shine the lights in the darkness along the sacred pool of reflection and remember all whom we lost.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All people who a year ago would have never thought this could happen to them.
And now, we are just hours away from swearing in a new president and in so many ways, hoping for are new beginnings.
[20:00:24]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Good evening.
