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Erin Burnett Outfront
Trump: Venezuela Turning Over Up To 50M Barrels Of Oil To U.S.; White House "Discussing" Greenland Options: "Military Is Always An Option"; Pardoned January 6 Rioters March Same Streets Five Years After Insurrection. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired January 06, 2026 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:29]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
The breaking news, Trump making a bold announcement just now saying Venezuela will turn over 30 to 50 million barrels of oil as the country's opposition leader, who won the Nobel Peace Prize that Trump wanted, is speaking out tonight about that very fact.
Also breaking, CNN learning the White House is discussing all options tonight to take Greenland. And they explicitly include using the United States military.
And it is being called the largest immigration operation ever. Amidst all of this international news going on, thousands of federal agents are now sent to Minneapolis, and the mayor of Minneapolis will respond here live.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
(MUSIC)
BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, we begin with the breaking news. Trump just announcing that Venezuela, he says, will turn over between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil. That announcement, coming four days after Nicolas Maduro was captured by American troops. Trump is posting this. He says this oil will be sold at its market price, and that money will be controlled by me as president of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States -- and the United States. It will be taken by storage ships and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States.
Just to be clear here, clear here, current market price for that oil is about $60 a barrel. So that's between $1.8 billion and $3 billion that Trump says that he personally now controls.
Venezuela is very much a country on edge. As this development is happening, security forces are now patrolling the streets of the capital, Caracas, on the heels of gunfire erupting. There's fear, there's uncertainty. And the leader of Venezuela's opposition party, Maria Corina Machado, has just spoken out. She, of course, just won the Nobel Peace Prize. She is now openly taking on the country's new appointed leader, Delcy Rodriguez, who of course, was Maduro's vice president.
Rodriguez is a rubber stamp for the man Trump just ousted in that context. But she also has the backing of Trump and Secretary Rubio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER: Everybody in Venezuela and abroad knows perfectly who she is and the role she has played.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Now, not mincing words at all about Delcy Rodriguez and against the Trump administration there, that's important. But she also tells CBS News in this new interview that Rodriguez is ruthless and she didn't stop there, accusing Rodriguez of cozying up to Americas adversaries.
Here's what she just said about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MACHADO: The main link -- the main actor that has relations with Russia, with Iran and other countries that have, you know, obscure and criminal activities in Venezuela.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. Her accusation comes after this video of the ambassador of China, Russia and Iran came out right.
They were among the first officials to congratulate Rodriguez after she was sworn in as president.
Meanwhile, Machado also spoke to the audience of one, the one who says he's ruling Venezuela and is taking those 30 to 50 million barrels of oil that he is going to personally control. Appearing on Fox News with Hannity last night, Machado offered up her Nobel Peace Prize.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MACHADO: I certainly would love to be able to personally tell him that we believe that Venezuelan people, because this is a prize of the Venezuelan people certainly want to give it to him and share it with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, she knows that prize means a lot to Trump. He openly lobbied for it. He actually, you know, in a very serious way, cares deeply about it. He even said this back in October.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The person who actually got the Nobel Prize called today, called me and said, I'm accepting this in honor of you because you really deserved it. A very nice thing to do. I didn't -- I didn't say then give it to me, though, I said, I think she might have. She was very nice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: You know, then subsequent to that, of course, he got the FIFA Peace Prize. Two people close to the White House telling "The Washington Post", quote, if she had turned it down, they were referring to the Nobel Peace Prize and said, I can't accept it because its Donald Trump's, she'd be the president of Venezuela today.
Trump, of course, had said that, you know, they didn't want her in Venezuela. And his press conference this weekend, he denied that, saying that to NBC News. He said, according to NBC, that Machado should not have won the prize. But that had nothing to do with his decision.
Comes as Trump himself raises things that he did not like about Maduro, including this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[19:05:03]
TRUMP: And, you know, he's a violent guy. He gets up there and he tries to imitate my dance a little bit.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Making light of something, of course. So serious. He's referring specifically to this video of Maduro dancing. Days after Maduro stood up and did this dance, it was a dance to an electronic remix of his own speech saying no war. Yes, peace. Maduro was gone. His wife and he now custody in New York.
Stefano Pozzebon is OUTFRONT. He is live in Bogota, Colombia.
And, Stefano, how tense is it right now inside Venezuela where, of course, you just came from?
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: As well, Erin, it is extremely tense in the streets of Caracas and the other major Venezuelan cities. Unfortunately, today is the day that Delcy Rodriguez is flexing her muscle and asserting her authority over her countrymen. And well, when it comes to Venezuelan leaders, they normally assert their authority by sending out security forces wearing balaclavas and rounding up citizens and questioning them on their political allegiances. So that is what has been happening in the streets of Caracas, according to our teams that are still in Venezuelan capital as of today. But Delcy Rodriguez also has a monumental task ahead of her. And I'm
talking about that exports of crude oil that Donald Trump demands, essentially almost as if it was a bounty for him. Well, Venezuela, in the last few years has struggled to export to drill as much as 1 million barrels of oil. The Delcy Rodriguez has been at the top of that operation, as she was not only the vice president of Nicolas Maduro, but also the president of the Venezuelan oil company PDVSA.
So, she knows everything that Venezuela knows to pump up that that oil production reaching 30 to 50 million barrels of oil a year. Well, that was a monumental task that she will need to come up and need to come up with very, very fast because we know that the man in the White House has a very, very thin, patient string -- Erin.
BURNETT: Yeah, absolutely. All right. Stefano, thank you so much. And those numbers, that context so crucial. Thank you, Stephanie, reporting for us tonight. Just coming out of Venezuela now in Bogota.
OUTFRONT now, Freddy Guevara, he is the former vice president of the Venezuelan parliament, an opposition politician now living in exile.
You had been jailed by the Maduro government. So, so much there that you endured. And to talk about.
Paul Rieckhoff here with us as he so often is, and Richard Quest as well.
All right. So just with this news just coming out, you heard what Stefano saying. They're struggling to produce a million barrels.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Yeah. They're producing roughly 850,000 a day.
BURNETT: But Trump's getting 30 to 50 million of the --
QUEST: So I assume that's going to take all of that production, put it on ships that are not sanctioned because the sanctions are still in place and somehow get them to the United States. This heavy crude, which, by the way, the U.S. is quite good at refining and do with it, I have no know what.
BURNETT: But you're saying the most they have is under a million. So when he says 30 to 50 million, that is at the current rate of production, 30 to 50 years away. I understand, he says, to be more investment.
QUEST: Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean, there was just lunacy. It's -- he's going to be taking the entire production of Venezuela for the foreseeable future. If he can even do that and get the ships and get it there.
BURNETT: Okay. So, so, the numbers don't add up in any way, shape or form as Richard's saying right now, Paul. But even if they did, they don't. But even if they did, you'd be looking at current prices of $1.8 billion to $3 billion. That might maybe pay for the operation itself to take out Maduro. PAUL RIECKHOFF, HOST OF THE INDEPENDENT AMERICANS PODCAST: Can we just
stop and say this is all dangerous, outrageous, ridiculous, and deeply un-American? We don't plunder, we don't pillage, we don't send our military in to take people's stuff.
And this is breaking a very important compact that we have with our own American values. When American troops stand up for other countries, the only thing we ask for is a place to bury our dead. We don't ask for their oil. We don't go in there to take their riches.
And he is in direct violation with the very foundation of what this country is all about.
So before we get into the numbers, we have to talk about how deeply this is in conflict with American values.
BURNETT: The word "plunder" is powerful word.
RIECKHOFF: That's what this is. I mean, what he's talking about here is, is ripping them off and taking their stuff. And if you don't, we're going to send in more troops. American troops did not sign up for this. This is why most of the country doesn't support it. This is why Congress hasn't authorized it.
And I'm going to put something else on the table. If he supports it so much, why doesn't he send his own son? Barron Trump is 19 years old. He's eligible to sign up for the military.
Let's stop with the chickenhawk stuff and find out who's going to put their own kids in if this is so important.
BURNETT: Well, and you're talking about possibly military operations in multiple other countries as well.
Freddy, I know that you're in regular contact with people in Venezuela, and you're hearing some things that the government is doing at this time, right? In this incredibly chaotic time that were reporting on that Stefano has been on the ground reporting on that, you say, is creating what you call a terror state in the wake of Maduro's capture. So, in the current, I don't want to use the word regime, but the current leader is Delcy Rodriguez.
What are you hearing?
FREDDY GUEVARA, FORMER VP OF VENEZUELAN PARLIAMENT: Well, you know, just at the same time while I'm here, I'm receiving these pictures.
[19:10:06]
I don't know if I can show it like people taking pictures of people from the regime, receiving guns from the authorities. There's civilians that are harassing the people in the country and probably these guns were by with the money from oil. So, I know that this might sound very controversial, but of course, in an ideal world, we Venezuelans would love that that money will be administered by an elected Venezuelan government. But in this reality, and I have to say, very clear, Venezuelans prefer
that this money is administered by the United States, that by these crooks that are using the oil to kidnap, torture and destroy the Venezuelan population.
BURNETT: Okay, so you're saying that between the choice of the Delcy Rodriguez administration and Donald Trump, they would choose Donald Trump.
GUEVARA: For sure.
BURNETT: But is that a choice that I mean, you know, as a former opposition speaker in parliament, I mean, can you imagine that you're in a -- in a -- in a decision like. That's your decision tree?
GUEVARA: I mean, we wouldn't like that. You know, we tried to use elections, negotiations, protests, the United Nations, China and Russia did everything the ICC, the prosecutor was disbanded because his sister-in-law was the lawyer of Maduro.
We tried the Organization of American States and we didn't try the mediation of Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, Colombia, Gustavo Petro, and Lula from Brazil, and none of them helped us.
So, this is the outcome that we wanted? Of course not. We have been fighting for a negotiated solution from a long time ago, but Maduro built this pathway for himself and his cronies. And of course, we would like a different outcome. But this is the world that we live now.
And between what we had before and this, I have to say it, I know this might seem surprising, but Venezuelan prefer the situation.
BURNETT: Okay, and I understand you're not saying it's a good situation. You're saying you have choices, that you have.
GUEVARA: Yeah.
BURNETT: So in this context, though, I think it's important, Paul, to talk about the fact that this is the way that Trump has always thought. And we were talking earlier, I had a conversation with him years ago. He said, I don't know why we just don't go in and take all the Saudi Arabian oil and just take it. Why not?
And that was just a conversation that we had. Then actually did an interview with him. We were talking about Libya. It was right after the U.S. had gone in and backed, the opposition forces that took out Gadhafi.
And there's an eerie similarity in what he said then and what he's doing now. Right. This whole coming in and taking the oil use the word plunder is not new. Here he is when he's saying what the U.S. should have done in Libya.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: For the next 25 years, we want 50 percent of oil. You know what they would have said? How about 75 percent? We'll give you that too. All right?
But now you can't go back because, you know, they so-called won the war. We spent billions of dollars. They won the war. Why didn't we get oil? Why didn't we get oil for what we did?
We made it possible. I mean, we knocked out Gadhafi. Nobody else knocked him out. We knocked him out through NATO. And we are NATO.
BURNETT: Yes.
TRUMP: Why didn't we get paid for that? We are very, very stupid. Our leaders are very, very stupid people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: This is the -- this is not new. This is the same exact thing.
QUEST: This is Ukraine and the minerals.
RIECKHOFF: Minerals deal.
QUEST: This is the modus operandi of the real estate developer who only knows the price of everything, and the value of almost nothing. But what's interesting here is he has constructed to your point, sir. He has constructed the arrangement in Caracas perfectly to his advantage.
He has -- he's decapitated the regime. He's kept the basic policies there in place and the people to enforce it. And providing they do what he says, all will be well as far as he sees.
BURNETT: Right. So, I mean, it's not regime change though, Freddy. That's the thing. That's why in the context of you saying you'd prefer this outcome to Maduro himself, but in a sense, it's just kind of a -- there isn't a -- this isn't regime change. It's a management change.
GUEVARA: I believe that we have a big opportunity now, of course.
BURNETT: Yeah.
GUEVARA: The removal of Maduro opens a path, but the job is far from being done. The only way that we can assure that this truly ends into a Democratic transition, if it ends with an election, of course. And in the way from point A to B, we have the freedom of political prisoners and a lot of changes.
So, we don't believe that, you know, development and we believe that we can align American interests and Venezuelan freedom. I think that both things could be true at the same time.
Of course, as I said, in a perfect world, this would have been different. But when people are in need, in survival state like we are now, because as were speaking, there's people in jail, tortured, being raped by these gangs from the regime.
BURNETT: Yeah.
GUEVARA: These people just want to be free. And as I said, we would love that other people will help us. But the situation now is that the Americans were the only ones who took the chance and did what was required to do.
[19:15:05]
And why I say this, because we were not just facing an autocrat. It's very important that the Cuban regime, the Cuban dictatorship, have recognized that 32 military Cubans were being in the country and were killed by the military operation.
BURNETT: Right, a number that we understand is significantly higher. But they're admitting 32 were killed in the operation.
GUEVARA: Yeah, they're saying.
RIECKHOFF: Here's the problem with all this. I mean, this this harkens back to 20 years ago when I was in Iraq, where everybody said everything was going to get paid for and there was going to be --
BURNETT: Oil.
RIECKHOFF: And Iraq was going to look like New Jersey. Here's the problem. Security. Who's going to handle security? Because what you're seeing now in Venezuela could be very much just the start.
And Trump has said that we are going to handle Venezuela. Venezuela. That means American troops. And if it doesn't mean American troops, who does it mean? Who's going to establish security, so you can have basic functioning society and so that people aren't killing each other in the streets? Because that's how this evolved in Iraq and could very well go the same way in Venezuela.
QUEST: He is looking at the Iraq situation, though, as being like this. Iraq was producing a million barrels a day pre, post, and today it's now producing 5 million barrels a day. And its economy has gone from $25 billion to $250 billion. So, he looks at it as being, well, we've seen what happened there. We can replicate it --
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: -- surge 200,000 U.S. troops.
RIECKHOFF: And on and on. His balance sheet is not 4,000 dead American troops and 200,000 --
QUEST: No, because he's going to get -- he's going to get the existing regime to do the work for him. That's how this plays out. It is. Sorry, sir.
RIECKHOFF: That's how we hope it -- hopes it plays out. But hope is not a course of action. GUEVARA: I understand, of course I understand because I have American
friends. I'm now living in the United States. I've been working for four years in the university, and I understand where Americans come from. I understand your history. I understand your recent traumas with Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, all of this.
But the world is not just, you know, you cannot see the world just with one lens. Venezuela is very different than Iraq and Afghanistan. First of all, the first proof that we're not going to have a civil war is that Maduro was taken out by Americans in a helicopter in the main military base, and there's nothing happening now in terms of people fighting with each other with guns.
Second thing, if you have a civil war, you have to have at least two sides with guns. Venezuelans, we have the 70 percent of the country against this guy. I think it's more, but at least that was the one that was confirmed with the ballots. We are not -- we don't have guns.
And the people who have the guns now, they are not necessarily supporting Maduro because I understand that American power, military, military power is very good. But I don't think that you can take out Maduro --
RIECKHOFF: Here's what's the same, here's what's the same. The American public doesn't want it. The American public doesn't want boots on the ground.
And now we know there were 200 troops on the ground. Hegseth has disclosed that.
BURNETT: Right.
RIECKHOFF: We're also now just finding out seven Americans were wounded. We're going to find out more about them. Were lucky that no one was killed. It's a testament to our military.
But to think that this is going to be sustainable, especially if he starts to take on anything from Colombia to Cuba to Greenland, is fantasyland. And the most important thing is that Americans don't want our sons and daughters dying on foreign soil. That cuts across all parties.
GUEVARA: I understand your point, and I think that Americans have every right to make accountable their government and ask, you know, and express their opinions.
But I think one thing is different. One thing is saying, we don't support this. And the other thing is saying Venezuela will be like Iraq, or Venezuelans don't want this. Or as I heard, like other people saying, free Maduro.
Come on, this is a butcher, a dictator, a raper. So again, I respect this point of view for Americans. And you have all the right, this is your country, your president, your government. But please don't weaponize the Venezuelan situation in in the political situation.
RIECKHOFF: Americans are weaponizing the situation. President Trump is.
BURNETT: I mean, you talk about the oil though --
RIECKHOFF: That's where this comes from. The American public didn't want a war with Venezuela.
GUEVARA: Okay. What I mean is, like, I think that --
BURNETT: Can I just I just want to ask a question here, though about this, because when you mentioned the oil, the oil and what Trump has said in the past and how Trump is treating the oil could be very important to whether Maduro actually is convicted and that is held up. A Venezuelan investigative journalist, Roberto Deniz, says he thinks the entire legal strategy for Maduro will be to delay and then to say Trump wants to take Venezuela's oil, right? And that justification is going to be what undoes the entire case.
Let me -- let me just play quickly what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTO DENIZ, VENEZUELAN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER FOR ARMANDO.INFO: The other strategy probably will be to attempt to portray himself as a victim and show that everything related with his capture is just because Donald Trump is trying to get the Venezuelan oil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: It's not going to make a difference. I think in terms of the case, because the courts will give huge deference to the executive. They've done it again and again.
BURNETT: Yeah.
QUEST: They will basically say a piece of paper from the White House says, this is the executive. Yeah, we accept it.
[19:20:02]
BURNETT: No, and that's certainly where the courts have gone in recent years.
QUEST: Noriega, you can show that.
BURNETT: Yes. And that's the precedent for this.
All right. Thank you all very much.
And next, breaking news, CNN learning the president and his team are discussing all options tonight to take Greenland. They are explicitly not ruling out using the U.S. military there as well. Greenland, of course, is NATO territory.
Plus, Trump with a warning tonight for Republicans saying that if they don't win the midterms, he'll be impeached. And lawmakers from one of America's closest allies tonight warning they're ready to go to war with the United States. A special report ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Breaking news, President Trump and his team saying using the U.S. military to take Greenland is an option. The administration is discussing a range of options to acquire Greenland. Greenland is an autonomous territory of Denmark, a NATO ally.
OUTFRONT now, independent Senator Angus King.
[19:25:01]
He serves on the Intelligence, the Armed Services and the Energy and Natural Resources Committees.
Senator, President Trump has talked about this for years, and it certainly is real. I mean, the question is, though, do you think Trump will actually invade NATO territory?
SEN. ANGUS KING (I-ME): Well, I think if there's anything we've learned about this guy is that he will follow up on some of these suggestions, no matter how radical or unsensible they are.
Let me just say, there is no national security reason for us to control Greenland. We have had an Air Force base, which is now a Space Force base in Greenland for 75 years. And I know that the Danes and the Greenlanders are perfectly willing to accommodate whatever we believe is necessary to develop national security.
And it's funny, by the way, I just reread the national security document. The administration issued a month ago, and there's no mention of the Arctic. There's no mention of adversaries in the Arctic. There's no mention of Greenland.
Here, all of a sudden, it's become a national security priority. But I want to emphasize, if we want to have a national security presence in Greenland, there's no obstacle to doing so. I know that the Danes will cooperate, that the Greenlandic Greenlanders will cooperate.
So, I don't know whether something else is going on here, but -- and it's outrageous that we're talking about military force against a NATO ally and a sovereign country.
BURNETT: Certainly not something we would think we'd be talking about. But yet here we are.
Greenland said today, Senator, that it's asked for a meeting with Secretary of State Rubio. That request came after Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, spoke out and said this specifically.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: For the United States to secure the Arctic region, to protect and defend NATO and NATO interests, obviously Greenland should be part of the United States. Nobody's going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Do you agree with that? And do you agree with that logic?
KING: No, it's a false premise. If there's a -- if there's a concern about the national security and the security of the Arctic region, that can be -- that can be dealt with under the current arrangement, we don't need to own the real estate. We have bases all over the world, and we don't have to take over a foreign country in order to have a substantial military presence.
For example, in South Korea, we have a very major military presence. We don't need to annex South Korea in order to protect the security of that region. By the same token, there is no earthly reason that we have to take over Greenland. I just don't understand this obsession --
BURNETT: So --
KING: -- unless there's something else going on behind the scenes that we're not being told.
BURNETT: So, could there be something else? I mean, you're talking about national security. There's also, obviously, the reality that Greenland does have massive reserves of crucial minerals, which China has locked up around the world. I mean, I was saying I remember going to a mine in the DRC that a U.S. company was a part of. That's now Chinese, largest cobalt reserves in the world, and it's far from the only place in which that has happened.
Is it possible that it's either going to be China and Russia controlling that, or it's going to be the United States controlling that when it comes to Greenland?
KING: Well, I know that Denmark and the Greenlanders would much rather deal with us than China or Russia. If there is an interest in, in rare earth minerals or whatever, the other resources are, that's something that can be negotiated and developed. It doesn't -- again, it doesn't take an annexation. And certainly -- I mean, the idea of military force against a NATO ally is -- and by the way, you're right, that was expressly mentioned in the statement from the White House. I couldn't believe it.
They talked about Greenland as important for national security. And instead of I think the statement said, and of course, military action is one of the options available to the commander in chief. That's really appalling that we're talking about that again, to solve a non- problem.
BURNETT: Senator, I appreciate your time. Thank you so very much.
KING: Erin, always a pleasure. Thank you.
BURNETT: All right. This comes as we're closely watching yet another country that Trump is now threatening, Iran. There's video here on the screen of anti-government protests today. What you're looking at are the protests themselves. There were gas canisters thrown. Protesters were clashing with security forces.
Trump threatening that the U.S. and his words is locked and loaded. If Iran kills protesters. Rights groups say at least 29 people have been killed since protests began last week over economic fears.
OUTFRONT now, retired four-star General Joseph Votel, commander of U.S. Central Command during Trump's first term.
And, General, I'm really grateful for the opportunity to speak with you again.
President Trump has warned Iran, and I'll read the full quote, "We are locked and loaded and ready to go. If Iran kills protesters."
Now, as of tonight, General rights -- human rights groups say that 29 protesters are dead.
[19:30:03]
So, what do you think happens here?
GEN. JOSEPH VOTEL, FORMER CENTCOM COMMANDER: Yeah. Thanks, Erin. It's great to be with you again.
Well, I think the president certainly is using the informational element of national power here to send a message to the Iranian people and to the Iranian regime. And I think that is what he is -- that is what he has definitely focused on. He's trying to send a message of support to the protesters and a message of warning to the regime.
You know, there are a wide variety of options that the United States could consider here. And I don't know what the specific threshold is that the administration has in mind for deaths on the ground. But again, there are a variety of different options, everything from deploying to, you know, reestablish posture and deterrence to actually conducting strikes, to providing support for opposition elements, to sharing intelligence with some of our partners, or conducting maybe cyber or covert operations to make things more difficult for the regime.
So, there's lots of there's lots of options that the president has. And I think right now, we're using the informational element of power here to, to put a lot of pressure on the regime.
BURNETT: And I know, General, you know, you're laying out a lot of options that make a lot of sense. Of course, we're in a world that's very shaken now by what just happened to Maduro. And obviously during the operation last summer, you know, when Israel had said they could take out the supreme leader, they didn't. But then, you know, he was hiding in the bunker, right?
You got to now put on the table of has the whole game changed? Has the red lines moved? Could -- could something happen here if taking out the supreme leader or taking out the president of Iran? I mean, do you think such a thing is on the table for the president? VOTEL: Well, I don't know. I don't know what all of the options are,
but certainly I think going after key leaders would probably be something that at least would be discussed in, in a wide variety of military options.
I think the one thing that I think is important for people to appreciate is that while we've just seen a stunning military operation down in Caracas by our special operations forces, expertly executed and with a high degree of precision and success, every situation really presents its own challenges. So, trying to do what was done in Caracas, it would -- there's an element of, you know, an aggravated element of difficulty trying to do something like that in Tehran.
So, you know, you have to look at the situation on the ground here and try to match the military options to the situation and the effects that we're trying to create.
BURNETT: General Votel, I'm grateful for your time, and thank you so much for your perspective, sir.
VOTEL: Thank you. Good to be with you.
BURNETT: All right. You, too.
And next, President Trump putting Republicans on notice tonight, warning that if they lose the House, he'll be impeached. As members of the Proud Boys returned to the streets of Washington, D.C., today, this January 6th.
Plus, homeland security secretary speaking is on the ground in Minnesota, Kristi Noem. She's leading what ICE is calling its biggest immigration operation ever. So, the mayor of Minneapolis will be OUTFRONT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:37:09]
BURNETT: Tonight, Trump issuing this warning to Republicans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: You got to win the midterms. Because if we don't win the midterms, it's just going to be -- I mean, they'll find a reason to impeach me. I'll get impeached.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Trump is the only American president in American history to be impeached twice. He made that declaration on the five-year anniversary of the deadly January 6th attacks. As members of the far- right Proud Boys, including former January 6th felons who Trump pardoned on his first day in office, took to the streets, some retracing their march to the U.S. Capitol.
Brian Todd is OUTFRONT. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(CROWD SINGING)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A January 6th anniversary like no other. And a political divide over that day deeper than ever.
(CROWD CHANTING)
TODD (voice-over): Dozens of January 6th defendants and their supporters marched toward Capitol Hill to mark the fifth anniversary of the attack on the Capitol.
At the same time, Democrats from the former January 6th Select Committee held a hearing to counter the rewriting of history by the marchers and President Trump.
During the march, we asked convicted rioter Robert Morse about the five police officers who died in connection with January 6th.
ROBERT MORSS, CONVICTED JANUARY 6 RIOTER, PARDONED BY TRUMP: We don't like the fact that people got hurt on January 6th, but the fact remains that the reason why people had to die in the first place was because the Democrats stole the 2020 election.
TODD (voice-over): That claim of election fraud from President Trump and some of his supporters has repeatedly been proven to be false.
Some of the pardoned rioters and their supporters demonstrating on the same streets they walked five years ago, this time to honor Ashli Babbitt, the Air Force Veteran and QAnon supporter who was fatally shot by a Capitol police officer during the riot as she tried to breach an area near the house floor while lawmakers were evacuating. An investigation found that officer acted lawfully.
Babbitt's mother laid flowers at the foot of the Capitol and addressed the crowd.
MICHELLE "MICKI" WITTHOEFT, ASHLI BABBITT'S MOTHER: As hard as it is for Ashley not to be here, she did die doing something she loved and believed in.
TODD (voice-over): But the fact remains, a violent mob entered the Capitol that day. More than 140 police officers were injured, and hundreds of rioters were convicted of felonies like assault and seditious conspiracy. During today's march, a scuffle broke out between the group and counter-protesters.
Later, CNN caught up with former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, who was serving a 22-year prison term for seditious conspiracy before getting pardoned by Trump last year.
TODD: It seems like you want to kind of flip the narrative a little bit from January 6th.
ENRIQUE TARRIO, CONVICTED ON CHARGES RELATED TO JAN. 6, PARDONED BY TRUMP: I think the narrative has been flipped. We saw it -- we saw it. The narrative was flipped on Election Day in 2024, you know, and I think right now, what you're seeing is that both sides of the argument.
TODD (voice-over): The White House also trying to recast the narrative, rolling out a new website today with the baseless claims that the rioters who stormed the Capitol were, quote, "peaceful protesters who were provoked by law enforcement and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi".
[19:40:08]
On Capitol Hill, the committee and witnesses wanted today to be a painful reminder of President Trump's past and what they believe is his ongoing threat to democracy.
Pamela Hemphill, a convicted rioter who has since disavowed Trump and rejected his pardon, said this.
PAMELA HEMPHILL, CONVICTED JANUARY 6TH RIOTER: I can't sit here while Mr. Trump and others are lying. I also want others who feel like me to know that we must stop the lies.
TODD (voice-over): Pelosi was also there with a sobering reminder.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): How many times did I hear they were going to put a bullet in my F word head.?
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TODD (on camera): And these competing narratives over January 6th could last a while longer. The January 6ers who held this event today say they plan on coming back on this date every year to stage similar events for the foreseeable future -- Erin.
BURNETT: Brian Todd, thank you very much on Capitol Hill tonight on this January 6th.
Next, there are 2,000 federal agents tonight. They are on the ground in Minneapolis. ICE calling it one of the biggest immigration crackdowns in history. The city's mayor is next.
And lawmakers from a close U.S. ally are tonight warning that they're ready to go to war with America.
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BURNETT: The breaking news now, quote, "The largest immigration operation ever". That is what ICE says is happening as I speak in the state of Minnesota. And they say this includes 2,000 federal agents being deployed to Minneapolis. The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, herself, is there on the ground. She joined an ICE raid in St. Paul earlier today. And all of this coming on the heels, of course, of a giant welfare
fraud scandal in the state that President Trump has put front and center nationally, including fixating on how dozens of those charged in one case are members of the state's Somali community, a community that Trump has called garbage should note that there have been nearly 90 convictions under the Biden administration in this fraud investigation.
The scandal also, though, leading to the sudden and shocking announcement by two-term Democratic Governor Tim Walz that he's dropping his reelection bid.
OUTFRONT now, in the midst of all this mayhem, the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey.
And, Mayor Frey, I appreciate your time.
All right. There's a lot going on. Let's just start with what they are calling in the Trump administration the largest immigration operation ever. Two thousand federal agents deployed to your city. Secretary Noem there today.
Are you -- I mean, do you know what they're doing, what those agents are doing? Is there any coordination or even -- are they telling you anything?
MAYOR JACOB FREY (D), MINNEAPOLIS: I don't think the agents know what the agents are doing. This is not about solving crime. This is not about preventing fraud. This is about sowing chaos on the streets of Minneapolis. And that's what they are intent on doing right now.
I mean, if the goal was to stop crime, we have mechanisms to do so. Weve worked in the past substantially with the U.S. attorney's office. And, by the way, driven down crime substantially. Crime is down across the board in virtually every neighborhood in the city, whether its homicides, assaults, carjackings, car thefts, they're all down. And if the Trump administration was looking to, you know, work on crime, we would be supportive of that.
But that's not what they're doing, what they are doing is an intent to terrorize people in our city. And specifically target our immigrant neighbors. And we're standing rock solid with them.
BURNETT: So, they say that this is because basically, illegal aliens, as they call them, they come to Minneapolis and then once there, some illegal aliens, others come to follow them. And it's all in an effort to commit welfare fraud.
Okay, this is what they said, the acting ICE director. I summarized it, but let me play exactly how they put it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TODD LYONS, ACTING DIRECTOR OF U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT: States like Minnesota that have a strong sanctuary city policy and sanctuary protections do attract other illegal aliens to come there to take advantage of welfare, public assistance, SNAP benefits. And that's just a magnet that brings that criminal element that can hide in plain sight. And that's what we're finding up in Minnesota.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, what do you say? I mean, is there a connection between illegal aliens come in and it's a magnet for others, including a criminal element?
FREY: No, they're getting all of this backwards. I mean, here's the thing. Fraud, bad. Crime, bad.
When fraud happens, you investigate, you charge, you prosecute, you arrest, and then you ultimately put the fraudster in jail as an individual, you put the fraudster or the criminal in jail as an individual. You don't hold an entire community accountable.
That's not what we do in America. In America, you rise based on your own success. You fall based on your own flaws. And of course, the individuals that have committed any crimes, they should be held accountable for them.
But again, what the Trump administration is doing here is they are playing a race games. They are explicitly racist in a number of occasions here. And that's what they're trying to do on our streets.
And again, if they were actually looking to do work in these areas, there is work to do. That's not what they care about, what they care about is stoking fear and stoking chaos on our streets. And we've seen it time and again.
So obviously your area, Minneapolis-St. Paul is home to the largest population of Somali immigrants in the United States, 84,000.
[19:50:06]
And you have stood in solidarity with them. Youve noted they were one of the first groups to welcome you. And of course, as immigrants came in, their children are born in America and are Americans. And because there's a large population, you have taken the time to speak to them in Somali many times. I just want to play you at a press conference a couple of weeks ago, Mayor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREY: Two are Somali community.
(SPEAKING SOMALI)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So that was seized on by right wing media. They say that you were doing that just for political pandering. Glenn Beck says, why would the mayor of Minneapolis speak Somali to immigrants who love America and says it's 100 percent about politics. If you don't have the Somali community in Minneapolis, you're not going to win.
What do you say to him?
FREY: I'd say to him that the only reason that they're upset is that I'm speaking Somali. If I suddenly said, (SPEAKING FRENCH), I don't know. Bonjour. That's about the extent of the French that I know. But I guarantee that if I was speaking French, he would not be losing it right now. If I was speaking Norwegian, he would not be losing it.
Why is he losing it? He's losing it because its people of color coming from Africa. And by the way, these Somali citizens are largely citizens. They're American citizens. And I have a feeling that somewhere, way up the chain in the Trump administration, somebody said, go to Minneapolis and arrest and deport a bunch of Somalis, and then they only get here to figure out that they're here legally. And when you're here legally, even when you're not, there are rights that are associated with just being a person and habeas corpus, and they're violating that every single step of the way.
They're, you know, dragging a pregnant woman through the streets for no reason at all. I mean, they're -- they're pulling kids over that have done nothing wrong other than they look Somali or they look Latino. That's not how we operate in America, you know?
Again, if they wanted to work on crime or to prevent fraud, there's certainly ways to do that. That's not what this administration is about, not to mention massive, massive waste of money. When you're sending upwards of 2,000 or even more federal agents to a city. They don't know what they're doing. They're not trained in on constitutional law. They don't even drive in the snow very well, you know?
And so, I think there's much better ways to prepare people to do actual criminal work, and they're not doing it.
BURNETT: Yeah.
Mayor Frey, I appreciate your time, as always. And thanks so much.
FREY: Thank you for having me.
BURNETT: And next, a divide erupting tonight between America and its allies.
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[19:57:01]
BURNETT: New tonight, CNN is learning that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told lawmakers that Trump is considering buying Greenland. It comes as there is a stunning split between the head of NATO and European leaders about Trump's threat.
Melissa Bell is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The NATO secretary general, someone known to text with Trump, is coming to the president's defense, trying to downplay the issue that is tearing NATO apart. Trump's threat to annex Greenland.
BELL: So, you believe that the United States can be convinced that cooperation, rather than annexation, is the way forward?
MARK RUTTE, NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL: It's my absolute conviction that when it comes to NATO and the assessment of the situation in the north, we are all on the same page. The U.S. is heavily involved. And again, when it comes to Greenland, specifically, I know the Danes are totally open to have more U.S. troops in Greenland. They are fine. The agreements are there.
BELL: Rutte, of course, has a history of complimenting Trump in texts meant to be kept private.
Trump posted them on Truth Social, quoting Rutte as saying that Trump's action in Iran was truly extraordinary and something that no one else had dared to do, with Trump later saying that Russia had texted him about NATO's spending. You will achieve something no American president in decades could get done.
But on Tuesday, the NATO chief found himself once again caught in the middle of a crisis caused by the Trump administration's rhetoric on Greenland. Earlier, European leaders issued a joint response to the president's renewed claims over the arctic islands, saying Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland and them only to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.
Denmark's prime minister also hit back, reiterating Greenland does not want to be part of the United States and that the NATO alliance would be dead if Trump seized it by force.
METTE FREDERIKSEN, DANISH PRIME MINISTER: I also want to make it clear that if the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops. That is, including our NATO and thus the security that has been provided since the end of the Second World War.
BELL (voice-over): This, after Trump adviser Stephen Miller questioned Denmark's right to sovereignty over Greenland on CNN.
STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF FOR POLICY: The real question is by what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? For the United States to secure the Arctic region, to protect and defend NATO and NATO interests, obviously, Greenland should be part of the United States.
BELL (voice-over): Trump has a long held interest in obtaining the vast Arctic territory. Both Vice President Vance and Donald Trump Jr. have visited Greenland in the past year, and now the president is once again ratcheting the threats.
TRUMP: We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.
BELL (voice-over): After the dramatic U.S. operation to remove President Maduro and take control of Venezuela, many fear that Greenland could be next in Trump's sights.
Some Danish lawmakers have called for Europe to take a tougher stance against President Trump.
RASMUS JARLOV, DANISH MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: I don't think it's strong enough. I'm afraid the Americans are not going to stop. We don't know if they're going to attack Greenland militarily or not. We will defend it and in that case, we would be at war.
BELL (voice-over): Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Incredible. In that case, we will be at war.
Thanks so much for joining us.
"AC360" starts now.
