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Security Increased at Washington D.C. Ahead of Inauguration Day; Police Officers Injured by Storming of Capitol Describe their Experience; Interview with Washington D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine on Possible Charges of Incitement to Violence that Led to Storming of Capitol; Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI) is Interviewed About the Upcoming Senate Impeachment Trial After Biden Inauguration. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired January 15, 2021 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[08:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Abby Phillip, thank you so much for being with us this morning. I can't tell you how much we are looking forward to this special congratulations on all the work that you've done and will do.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Thank you. I hope you enjoy it. It will be a fun watch, especially this joint interview with the two of them.

BERMAN: Looking forward to it.

CAMEROTA: Absolutely.

BERMAN: "Kamala Harris, Making History" airs Sunday at 10:00 p.m. eastern only on CNN.

And NEW DAY continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The nation's capital on high alert and on edge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fears over renewed attacks in Washington, D.C., have turned the capitol building into a fortress.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a major security threat, and we are working to mitigate those threats.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is crazy. This is the most extreme I've seen in 16 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From January 6th alone, we've already identified over 200 suspects. If you're out there, FBI agents are coming to find you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was just trying to fight as best I could. How do I survive this situation? JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT-ELECT: Come Wednesday, we begin a new

chapter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. And Washington, D.C., is locked down. The threat of more terror attacks is very real this morning, 21,000 National Guard troops being deployed to the nation's capital to protect our future president, our lawmakers, and our landmarks.

President Trump is getting the wall, a wall, I should say, built at taxpayer expense, but this one is being built overnight around the U.S. Capitol to protect it from Trump supporters. The FBI director warning about an extensive amount of online chatter that calls for more violence. Five people, of course, killed in the insurrection at the U.S. capitol. And it is becoming increasingly clear it could have even been worse. Here's what one domestic terrorist said after beating a police officer with an American flag.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER FRANCIS STAGER, CHARGED IN U.S. CAPITOL INSURRECTION: That entire building is filled with treasonous traitors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

STAGER: Death is the only remedy for what's in that building.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: We're happy to report that man has since been arrested and charged along with more than 100 others, including the man who hurled a fire extinguisher at police officers, and another who brought a Confederate flag into the capitol.

BERMAN: So this morning for the first time, we are hearing from the D.C. police officers who were beaten by that mob, including this officer seen on video getting crushed in a doorway by the insurrectionists, and another seen here being attacked, tased, and surrounded by the extremists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL FANONE, METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT: Then some guy started getting a hold of my gun. And they were screaming out, kill him with his own gun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: This is the country that Joe Biden will inherit when he takes office in five days as he also confronts the worst public health crisis in modern history. Last night, Biden unveiled his $1.9 trillion rescue package to fight the economic downturn and the pandemic. There is so much going on in this country. Let's go to CNN's Pete Muntean. He is live in Washington, D.C., where you can just see it is pretty much completely locked down, Pete. What's going on this morning?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is pretty jarring here, John. The fortress around the capitol complex only getting bigger by the moment here. You can see the crews putting in more concrete barrier as we speak, along with the eight-foot fence that has been here for a few days now. We have just learned that more of this type of fencing will go also around the National Mall. But then what went in last night, this giant 12-foot fence, fortified with concrete on the bottom. Even if somebody did make it to the other side of this fence, they'd be faced with some of the 21,000 members of the National Guard armed with M4s. The Pentagon says it is particularly concerned about improvised explosive devices, IEDs, like the pipe bombs found outside of the RNC and the DNC during last week's attack.

The head of the Metropolitan Washington Police Department is urging people not to come to Washington for this inauguration. Gone is the bunting, the port-o-potties, the jumbotron, maybe even the crowds. We have learned that a rehearsal slated for today has now been moved to Monday. This is going to be an inauguration like no other.

And I have to show you one more thing. This is Pennsylvania Avenue. This would be the parade route from the capitol to the White House, now being completely cleared out.

BERMAN: Yes, Pete, that rehearsal being moved to Monday because a lot of the online chatter that the FBI Director Christopher Wray and others have talked about includes discussions about threats, possible events happening on Sunday. They just felt in an abundance of caution Monday would be a better day to have that rehearsal. Pete Muntean in fortress Washington, thank you for being with us this morning.

[08:05:03]

So why does Washington look like it does this morning? It's because of what happened at the U.S. Capitol. In Washington, D.C., police officers speaking out for the first time about the violent mob that attacked them during the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, including the officer seen in this video being crushed in a doorway. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz live in Washington with these extraordinary stories.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Yes, certainly extraordinary, John. We've seen the pictures of these officers being dragged, crushed. And now for the first time, we finally hear from them, and what they have to say is terrifying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: USA! USA! USA!

PROKUPECZ: In last week's deadly coup attempt at the U.S. Capitol, a pro-Trump mob swarmed the building, outnumbering and battling police officers fighting to defend it. OFFICER MICHAEL FANONE, METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT: It was

difficult to offer any resistance when you're only about 30 guys going up against 15,000.

PROKUPECZ: D.C. Metro Police Officer Michael Fanone was in this group of officers at the west front entrance as rioters forced their way in. They eventually pushed him out into the crowd, where Fanone says was tasered several times. While trapped, the 40-year-old says he thought about using his gun to fight back.

FANONE: Some guy started getting a hold of my gun, and they were screaming out kill him with his own gun. At that point, it was just like self-preservation. How do I survive this situation? And I thought about using deadly force. I thought about shooting people. And then I just came to the conclusion that if I was to do that, I might get a few, but I'm not going to take everybody, and they'll probably take my gun away from me, and that would definitely give them the justification they were looking for to kill me if they already didn't have -- made that up in their minds.

So the other option I thought of was try to appeal to somebody's humanity. And I just remember yelling out that I have kids. And it seemed to work. Some people in the crowd started to encircle me and try to offer me some level of protection.

A lot of people have asked me my thoughts on the individuals in the crowd that helped me, or tried to offer some assistance. And I think kind of the conclusion I've come to is like thank you, but -- you for being there.

PROKUPECZ: This horrifying video shows the moment the violent mob storms into a tunnel of the building. Trapping and crushing D.C. Metro Police Officer Daniel Hodges by a door.

OFFICER DANIEL HODGES, D.C. METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT: There's a guy ripping my mask off, and he was able to rip away my baton and beat me with it. And he was practically foaming at the mouth. So just, these people were true believers in the worst way.

When things were looking bad, obviously, I was calling out for all I was worth, and an officer behind me was able to get me enough room to pull me out of there and they brought me to the rear, so I was able to extricate myself.

PROKUPECZ: Hodges miraculously leaving the attack without any major injuries, saying he was shocked. Some rioters thought authorities would be on their side.

HODGES: The cognitive dissonance and zealotry of these people is unreal. They were waving of the thin blue line flag and telling us, we're not your enemies while they were attacking us, and killed one of us. Some of them felt like we would be -- some of them felt like we would be fast friends because so many of them have been vocal, or at least virtue signaling their support for the police over the past year. They'd say things like we've been supporting you through all this Black Lives Matter stuff, you should have our back. And they felt like entitled. They felt like they would just walk up there and tell us that they're here to take back Congress, and we would agree with them and we'd walk in hand in hand and just take over the nation. But, obviously, that did not -- that was not the case, and it will never be the case.

PROKUPECZ: The insurrectionists even using unusual means in their efforts to break into the most secure areas of the U.S. Capitol building.

OFFICER CHRISTINA LAURY, D.C. METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT: The individuals were pushing, shoving officers, hitting officers. They were spraying us with what we are calling -- it's essentially bear mace. It was two to three hours of heroism and bravery from these officers. The violence that they were -- they were getting hit with metal objects, metal poles. I remember seeing pitchforks. They are getting sprayed, knocked down.

[08:10:00]

And I remember just reinforcements, just officers pulling officers back to heal up, and them stepping in to get to the front line. And then they go down, and then more officers step in.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PROKUPECZ (on camera): And guys, law enforcement officials we've talked to said that it is the work of the D.C. police, the Metro P.D. here in Washington, D.C., that may have saved many lives. They were able to slow down the insurrection, the mob, the violent mob from attacking people inside the Capitol, which allowed the Capitol police to move lawmakers out of harm's way.

CAMEROTA: My gosh. Shimon, hearing from them is so stirring on every level knowing what they were up against. We had seen the video, but just knowing the hand-to-hand combat and how they were having to beg for their lives. It's incredible. Thank you very much for that reporting.

Joining us now is Washington, D.C.'s Attorney General Karl Racine. Mr. Attorney General, can I just get your reaction when you hear for the first time from these police officers what they had to endure at the Capitol?

KARL A. RACINE, ATTORNEY GENERAL, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Thank you Alisyn. Let me first commend you and John and your team for putting that piece together. The men and women of the Metropolitan Police Department, led by Acting Chief Robert Contee, were extraordinarily courageous and heroes on that day. They not only kept the peace in the District of Columbia, but they called and called and called and wanted to get involved in stemming the tide at the Capitol. And once they were asked to do so, they went into the fire and literally cleared the Capitol.

I am so indebted to the leadership of the Metropolitan Police Department, as every D.C. resident is. There is some irony, however, that D.C. police officers, D.C. government, D.C. residents fought for democracy, they don't have democracy, because we're not a state. We're not represented with a voting member in Congress nor the Senate. This should be a clarion call for equal representation in the District of Columbia. Taxation without representation needs to end.

CAMEROTA: And so let's talk about the legal consequences for what those officers had to endure, and what we all had to endure as an attack on our U.S. Capitol. As we have all heard with our own ears, President Trump and his son and his allies ginned up this violent mob in the moments before they made their way to the U.S. Capitol. But just to remind people of the actual language they used, here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MO BROOKS (R-AL): Now our ancestors sacrificed their blood, their sweat, their tears, their fortunes, and sometimes their lives. Are you willing to do the same? Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass.

RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: If we're right, a lot of them will go to jail. So, let's have trial by combat.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You'll never take back our country with weakness. We fight. We fight like hell.

DONALD TRUMP JR., SON OF PRESIDENT TRUMP: If you're going to be the zero and not the hero, we're coming for you. I suggest you choose wisely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Mr. Racine, what are the legal consequences of that language? Are you going to charge them with anything?

RACINE: So our office, the office of attorney general, has jurisdiction over a charge called inciting violence. The inciting violence charge is a difficult claim to bring because there is a First Amendment right of free speech. However, speech that incites violence, speech that appears to be close to what you just replayed, certainly deserves the full scrutiny of the law, and that's what we're doing in our office.

I can add something else. The lies that formed the disinformation around the false allegation of voting fraud is continuing to germinate with amplification from the president of the United States. He needs to stop it. Attorney General Bill Barr, his attorney general, who he had so much confidence in, has indicated that there is no systematic voting fraud. The United States Supreme Court as indicated with an instant slam of the Republican attempt to overturn the election that there was no fraud and no basis for these lawsuits. The disinformation needs to stop, and the incitement needs to stop as well.

CAMEROTA: And I hear you that these incitement cases can be difficult to prove, but are you inclined, from what you've heard, to charge them?

RACINE: Well, I think what we're inclined to do is carefully review all of the law related to incitement --

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: -- to charge them?

[08:15:02]

KARL A. RACINE, ATTORNEY GENERAL, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Well, I think what we're inclined to do is carefully review all of the law related to incitement and all of the law related to free speech. Once we've completed that legal analysis, we'll apply the facts, including those words, that were clearly calls for people to act.

They weren't saying protest in peace. Take your signs. Urge Congress members and the senators to withhold their vote. They're talking about combat justice, not showing weakness and fight on and fight on.

Those seem to be words that are closer to words asking for violence, and we're going to make the tough decision and the right call, and you'll be one of the first to know about it.

CAMEROTA: Thank you.

What if the president pardons himself in the next five days?

RACINE: Well, those will pose interesting questions. I think it would be outrageous for a sitting United States president to pardon himself for hateful violence. And you indicated earlier with your guest Ken Cuccinelli who dodged the question. Every single law enforcement entity knows that the people who attended that mob violence also consisted of seven hate groups, white supremacists who hate people of color, Jews and other distinct and protected groups.

And so, now, we're really looking for a responsible government and a responsible leader who can bring some healing and understanding, accountability to the law breakers.

CAMEROTA: Very quickly, what do you think about the argument that the people like Ken Cuccinelli keep trying to make? Well, this was just like Black Lives Matter protests over the summer? How is this any different than what happened in Portland?

RACINE: Well, let's be honest about that. And I think that people like Ken Cuccinelli who I heard last week, actually tried to criticize the Capitol Hill police officer who shot and unfortunately killed the woman who broke into the Capitol. Cuccinelli was actually calling for de-escalation.

Are you kidding me? When have you ever heard this administration talk about de-escalating violence? This is selective. It's inappropriate, and it's outrageous.

In regards to Black Lives Matter and the comparison to an attempt of insurrection at the Capitol -- I think it speaks for itself. When people like General Mattis make clear that what this was, was an attempted insurrection into our democratic ways, we know quite easily that the Black Lives Matter protest was unbelievably different. And, by the way, do not let anyone, including Ken Cuccinelli or other

elected officials tell you that Democratic elected people did not condemn the violence that occurred during the summer protests.

CAMEROTA: Yeah.

RACINE: They always did. I always did.

I got to tell you, though, trying to overturn an election with violence, including violence on police officers, is something very, very different. And they should be held to account for their lies.

CAMEROTA: Attorney General Karl Racine, we really appreciate your perspective. Thank you very much for being on NEW DAY with us.

RACINE: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: CNN has learned what President Trump's legal team plans to use as their defense in his Senate impeachment trial. So, we're going to get reaction from one of the House impeachment managers who will prosecute the case, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:17:30]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump is the first president ever impeached twice. But we still don't know much about anything about what his trial in the Senate will look like. Maybe that will change right now.

Joining us, Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett. She's a delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands, and one of the House impeachment managers.

Congresswoman, thank you so much for being with us this morning. I appreciate your time.

REP. STACEY PLASKETT (D-VI), IMPEACHMENT MANAGER: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

BERMAN: We had one of your colleagues on yesterday, and I know you've only begun your preliminary meetings as House managers and haven't made every decision yet, but let me start by going rapid fire through a few key issues to see if there are answers yet.

Number one, when will the trial begin?

PLASKETT: That is yet to be determined.

BERMAN: Number two, how long will the trial last?

PLASKETT: That is yet to be determined.

BERMAN: Number three, how many witnesses do you intend to call at this time?

PLASKETT: That is yet to be determined.

BERMAN: So I get the sense there's a lot that's yet to be determined in terms of how this trial will go.

So, how are you then preparing --

(CROSSTALK)

PLASKETT: Sure, sure. We're working as a team. The impeachment managers are meeting regularly, consistently, around the clock. We have an incredible team working with us, staff that are really outstanding. And we are going to announce things as they become, you know, evident and appropriate at that point in time.

BERMAN: I fully understand. In terms of witnesses, what are the considerations that are going into how many and whether to call them at all?

PLASKETT: Well, you know, I don't want to discuss our strategy at this point and the deliberations that we're having. I think what would be more appropriate is for you all to see the witnesses when we have that witness list and have proffered that to the Senate, along with our evidentiary evidence. I think that that would be the appropriate time to really talk about that, and then you can parse out the rationale and the strategy behind it.

BERMAN: What do you think you need to prove in the trial?

PLASKETT: I think we need to prove the facts as in the indictment, really, correct? An impeachment is really kind of the grand jury meeting. An indictment stating there are sufficient evidence and sufficient reason to hold this person, this official accountable, to take those over to the Senate and for the Senate to act as jurors with the chief justice acting as the judge. And we will present the case against Donald J. Trump to state, why he has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law.

[08:25:08]

And that he continues to hold the office of the presidency is a clear and present danger to the United States.

BERMAN: In the impeachment, which is akin to an indictment, he is charged with inciting an insurrection. One of the defenses that we have learned that he may mount from whomever he has as his lawyers -- which we don't even know yet to be sure about that -- is that they will suggest that his speech on the 6th, prior to the mob attacking the Capitol, the mob that he said go to the Capitol, they are going to argue it is protected speech.

Your response?

PLASKETT: Sure. Of course, they're going to argue that. They -- you know, we've been wondering what their convoluted argument is going to be. But not all speech is protected speech. Not all speech, and particularly speech which causes harm, which one knows and has a reasonable belief, as well as an intent to cause harm, will, in fact, do that.

Listen, President Donald Trump has engaged in a prolonged effort to not only overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and maintain his grip on power, but he has done that to the detriment of our democracy. He would rather have our democracy fall apart than he lose the presidency.

That is what we are going to prove. We're going to prove that he knew what he was doing. That he incited the crowd and that that's what, you know, the things that are charged in the impeachment are going to be proven when we go to the Senate.

BERMAN: You know, in fact, not an hour ago, I was speaking to Ken Cuccinelli who is the deputy homeland security secretary -- acting deputy homeland security secretary, who said part of the online chatter they're hearing, and there's a great deal of online chatter we're told about possible threats on the U.S. Capitol and in all 50 states in the next few days, part of the online chatter is insisting that Donald Trump still won the election.

This is part of the threat that is coming from people who may or may not launch attacks around the country. And President Trump this week, "The New York Times" reports, is still telling people he won the election. How will that factor in, or what role do you think that plays in the argument you will make?

PLASKETT: Well, I don't want to talk about what the argument we will make and what our strategy is going to be, John. But what I can say is that this president has been engaged in lying, even before he was president.

I mean, you, the media, have listed the hundreds of thousands of lies perpetrated by the president during this term in office, and it continues. And, you know, whether it's falsely claiming that he won by a landslide, that the election was stolen, that the results are fraudulent or claiming that the coronavirus does not, in fact, kill individuals, is under control and is -- will be -- go away in a couple of months.

All and everything coming out of his mouth seems now to have been a lie and is a lie, and that is a clear and present danger, not only to our democracy but to the American people and their very lives.

BERMAN: To be clear, that's why I brought it up because the lie is still part of the online chatter that has people so concerned about attacks over the next few days.

Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett, we appreciate you coming on. I understand it's the early stages of planning. Please come back and talk to us again as it gets closer to the trial date.

PLASKETT: Thank you. Thank you very much. BERMAN: So, with the presidency unraveling around him, to be fair, he

unraveled the presidency, Donald Trump still wants a big going away party when he leaves Washington. New details about his planned departure, next.

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