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New Day
Six Capitol Police Officers Suspended; Women Describe Abuse from Chinese Camps; NBA to Hold All-Star Game. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired February 19, 2021 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Developing this morning, six U.S. Capitol Police officers have been suspended with pay and 29 others are under investigation for their alleged role in the Capitol insurrection.
CNN's Whitney Wild is live in Washington with more.
What do we know about this, Whitney?
WHITNEY WILD, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, we know that the department is looking into the actions these officers took on the day of the insurrection, January 6th. We don't know the details. We don't know if these are use of force cases. We don't know if these are reactions to the insurrection that day.
But what we do know is this comes after previous CNN reporting that at least ten officers were under investigation. That was as of last month. And back then we had learned that two officers were suspended. That was according, at the time, to Ohio Representative Tim Ryan who told reporters that one officer was suspended after putting on a make America great again hat and apparently, according again to Representative Ryan, directing rioters through the building and, additionally, another officer had been suspended after he took a selfie with rioters. Again, that's all according to Representative Tim Ryan.
But, Alisyn, what this shows is that the department is taking a very hard look, not only at its preparations for that day, but also the reactions of officers on the ground.
However, I think it's important to note, this is just a very small fraction of the hundreds of officers who risked their lives that day to try to protect the Capitol, Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: OK. Whitney Wild, thank you very much for all of that reporting.
Joining us now, CNN's senior law enforcement analyst, Andrew McCabe. He's the former deputy director of the FBI.
Andy, great to see you. So in terms of these nine officers -- or, sorry, six Capitol Police
officers suspended, 29 others being investigated, are these anomalies or is there something that we should know about a larger issue of a pipeline from law enforcement to kind of radicalization or something like this?
ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I don't think I'd call these suspensions and investigations an anomaly. I mean these are, of course, based on evidence of, you know, likely taken from video from the event of people or officers who may have engaged in some sort of conduct that's not consistent with the Capitol Police code of conduct. So these are solid investigations.
But I do think it exposes a deeper question of the prevalence of extreme right-wing philosophies and beliefs held by members of the -- of law enforcement and the military. I mean that sort of -- the adherence to that ideology is absolutely unacceptable in a law enforcement role or in a military role. So I think what you see the Capitol Police doing here is really drilling down to get to the bottom of how many of their folks may have been involved in something that's an indicator potentially of a larger problem.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: You know -- you know, Andrew, we used to speak about insider threats, right, in partner military forces abroad, right? You know, that -- that worry -- I mean the worry here is you have an insider threat in U.S. law enforcement. And it's not entirely new. I mean you have the Pentagon -- the new defense secretary issuing a stand down order to examine this inside the military ranks.
[06:35:00]
And I just wonder how serious that -- of a problem that is and what needs to be done about it right now.
MCCABE: Yes, Jim, that's a great question. And I think the answer is right now we don't know until we do the sort of -- take the sort of proactive steps that the military is taking to get to the bottom of it.
Look, I spent my entire career in law enforcement. It's not going to surprise anybody that many, maybe most people in law enforcement have, you know, lean conservative. Have more conservative political beliefs. That doesn't make them rioters or white supremacists.
But what we're seeing today is this strange overlap between extremist right-wing groups and support for conservative political causes. So I think the fact that those two groups are potentially overlapping and combining here makes this a really important topic for law enforcement and the military to look into.
CAMEROTA: But, I mean, of course, there's also all sorts of hypocrisy and contradiction. Blue lives matter. No, they didn't, that day. You know, no, they didn't. Those flags didn't mean anything that day when they were being beaten with the flag pole of those flags.
MCCABE: That's absolutely right, Alisyn. You know, we've all seen those horrendous videos. This is a crowd that considers itself pro-law enforcement and yet we see attacks on law enforcement, brutal victimization of, you know, heroic men and women from the Capitol Police Department and the Metropolitan Police Department being attacked by, you know, blue lives matter and flag poles and other implements. Absolutely outrageous. And I think people in law enforcement should see that hypocrisy for what it is.
Andrew McCabe, thank you very much. We always appreciate getting your expertise.
MCCABE: Thanks.
CAMEROTA: OK. Touchdown on Mars. NASA's Perseverance rover is now on the surface of the red planet. We bring you this incredible achievement and the images.
SCIUTTO: It's so -- if you had a bad day, watch this, yesterday. It's great.
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SCIUTTO: Well, round two in Texas. Millions of Texas residents are now facing a massive water crisis this morning, though most of the power has now been restored. So many people desperate just for safe drinking water. Nearly half the state is now under boil water orders to drink it. And many who don't have tap water are reduced to boiling snow. The damage to homes is extensive. Many Texans are dealing with broken pipes, structural problems, fallen ceilings. Shelters filling up despite the pandemic.
CAMEROTA: And in the aftermath of this week's horrible devastating storms, Dr. Anthony Fauci says the U.S. is going to have to now work double-time to make up for delays in vaccine shipments. At least 31 states canceling appointments or facing vaccine shortages now. As of this morning, more than 12 percent of the population has received their first dose of the vaccine, 4.9 percent are fully vaccinated.
SCIUTTO: All right, do you need some good news? I do. This is going to make your day if you haven't seen it yet. Cheers and fist bumps after NASA celebrates the culmination of a 300 million mile journey to Mars.
You've got to watch this.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Touchdown confirmed. Perseverance safely on the surface of Mars, ready to begin seeking the sands of past life.
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SCIUTTO: It just -- it just makes you smile. After the successful landing, the rover updated earthlings on its Twitter account saying, I'm safe on Mars. Perseverance will get you anywhere. And the rover immediately sent back the first pictures of the red planet from its new perch there. One looking in one direction, one looking the other.
Perseverance landed safely after surviving what NASA calls seven minutes of terror. This was not easy, what they did. The spacecraft had to decelerate by thousands of miles an hour, no help from mission control. I mean look what it had to do there and then lower the rover to the ground.
Now Perseverance's two-year mission begins. It will roam the surface of the planet searching for signs of ancient life. And we're going to get to see more images from the rover this afternoon. I've got to tell you, I love this story. I can't --
CAMEROTA: I know you do. You're so excited about it, Jim
SCIUTTO: It is -- listen, it's hard -- it's hard to do.
CAMEROTA: OK.
SCIUTTO: I mean they didn't just like drop down on the planet. It had to like slow down and then lower the rover from these like wires. I mean this is like literally a high-wire act.
CAMEROTA: OK. I mean I'm excited by the technology, but do you really want to go to Mars? Is that what this is about?
SCIUTTO: I -- I mean, I would volunteer to NASA?
CAMEROTA: You would?
SCIUTTO: I think we should go to Mars.
CAMEROTA: You would volunteer to go to Mars?
SCIUTTO: I might have trouble getting permission from the -- from the family, but --
CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh.
SCIUTTO: I want us to go to Mars. I think it -- I think it would be great.
CAMEROTA: Wow. I just want to go outside here, basically.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
CAMEROTA: I just want to be able to go back out with --
SCIUTTO: Let's start with indoor dining and then we'll talk about Mars.
CAMEROTA: Thank you. Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
Well, coming up, shocking allegations, sadly, of just systemic sexual assault at Chinese internment camps. It's amazing these exist in the 21st century. We're going to bring you a CNN investigation, next.
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CAMEROTA: This morning, shocking allegations of gang rape in detention camps in China. The U.S. government accuses China of the mass internment of up to 2 million members of mostly Muslim ethnic minority groups in recent years. Part of the policy that the U.S. State Department says amounts to genocide. Beijing denies this, claiming the camps are vocational training centers aimed at creating jobs and stamping out Islamist extremism.
A warning, the following report has graphic language.
CNN's Ivan Watson reports.
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IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The traumatized survivor of a nine- month nightmare. Tursunay Ziyawudun, a refugee from China' Xinjiang region, describes the torture and rape she says she endured during detention at a Chinese internment camp.
WATSON (on camera): How is your health today after your experience in the camps?
TURSUNAY ZIYAWUDUN, FORMER XINJIANG CAMP DETAINEE (through translator): I was in a lot of pain and suffered bleeding. After I arrived in the U.S., I had to undergo surgery and my uterus was removed. I've suffered a lot of damage.
WATSON (voice over): Tursunay is an ethnic Uighur. In March 2018, she says police in Xinjiang detained her at a so-called vocational training center for women.
ZIYAWUDUN: Because I lived in Kazakhstan for five years, they wanted me to confess to say I was influenced by American propaganda and foreign organizations.
WATSON: During one interrogation, Tursunay says guard beat and killed her until she blacked out. In the camp, Tursunay says authorities began forcibly implanting female detainees with contraceptive IUDs. After a botched procedure led to breeding, she says she was taken into a room.
ZIYAWUDUN: There were three guards, they inserted a stun baton inside me and twisted and shocked me with it. I passed out.
WATSON: On a separate occasion, she says guards wearing masks once again took her from her cell.
ZIYAWUDUN: In the next room, I heard another girl crying and screaming. I saw about five men going into that room.
[06:50:01] I thought they were torturing her, but then I was gang raped. After that, I realized what they also did to her.
WATSON: Tursunay first revealed these claims in an interview with the BBC. The Chinese government did not answer our questions about the women named in this report, but Beijing did vehemently deny any human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
WENG WANBIN, CHINESE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (through translator): There has never been such a thing as systemic sexual abuse or mistreatment against women. China is a country ruled by law.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why you are here?
WATSON: There's strict state censorship in Xinjiang and police followed and harassed CNN journalists when they last visited.
WATSON (on camera): Tursunay claims she was held at a facility outside the city of Ghulja. CNN has also obtained rare testimony from another woman who says she worked in a camp near the city of Urumqi.
QELBINUR SIDIK, FORMER TEACHER IN XINJIANG CAMP (through translator): The woman all had their hair shaved off. They wore gray uniforms with orange vests and printed numbers on them.
WATSON (voice over): For 28-year-old, Qelbinur Sidik worked as an elementary school teacher. In 2017, she says she was ordered to teach mandarin at an internment camp holding thousands of women. Speaking from relative safety in the Netherlands, Qelbinur says on her first day of work in the camp, she witnessed a disturbing sight.
SIDIK: Two soldiers were carrying a Uighur girl out on a stretcher. There was no spark of life on her face. Later, a female police officer told me the girl died on her way to the hospital due to heavy bleeding.
WATSON: Although Qelbinur did not know the cause of the woman's death, she says later that same female police officer told her male guards routinely gang raped detainees at the camp. The officer also told her --
SIDIK: When they drank at night, policemen told each other how they raped and tortured girls.
WATSON: In previous reporting on China's mass internment policy in Xinjiang, CNN heard testimony from Gubahard Galilaba (ph), a citizen of Kazakhstan, who alleges that she endured sexual assault from a guard during prolonged detention in Xinjiang.
CNN cannot independently verify the accounts of these women. China has attacked their credibility, calling these women actors playing victims from Xinjiang.
WATSON (on camera): The Chinese government says no women are abused in the camps. What do you say to the Chinese government? ZIYAWUDUN: I am a 43-year-old woman. Do you think this is something I
can be proud of sharing with the whole world? I would tell them that I'm not afraid of them anymore because they already killed my soul.
WATSON (voice over): She hopes her brave decision to speak out will encourage others to do the same.
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WATSON: Now, speaking out can create a terrible burden for people. I've interviewed dozens of natives of Xinjiang outside of the country and many of them have said that after they've gone public criticizing what's happening in Xinjiang, their relatives who are still there face punishment from the Chinese authorities in the form of harassment and even detention.
The Chinese government denies that there is any punitive policy here and Beijing continues to insist that there are no human rights abuses at all in all of Xinjiang.
Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Oh, my God, Ivan, what a devastating story, just these hideous crimes and watching these women have to suffer through it. And so important for us to know about this and hear it. Thank you very much for bringing that to us.
Back here, millions of Texans still suffering this morning after spending days without heat and electricity and water in the freezing cold. So, coming up, we'll speak with a woman whose home caught fire as she tried to warm her family. She also just lost her husband to coronavirus.
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SCIUTTO: All right, the NBA is reversing course, announcing that the all-star game is back on.
Andy Scholes has more in the "Bleacher Report."
Good morning, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Jim.
Yes, you know, it had been widely reported that this was going to happen and now it's official, the NBA is going to hold its annual all- star game in Atlanta on March 7th, but there's going to be a bit of a twist. The game, instead of being -- or the weekend of events is all going to take place now in one night. No fans are going to be in the stands for this. The skills challenge three-point contests are going to happen before the game. Then the slam dunk contest is going to be held at halftime of the all-star game.
Now, LeBron James and other stars have been critical of the league for changing their minds about holding the all-star game and last night on TNT, Commissioner Adam Silver, well, he defended the decision to have the event during the pandemic.
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ADAM SILVER, NBA COMMISSIONER: All-star is part of our league. No different than the games we play. And I just end by saying, it begins and ends with the fans. And as I said, this is where our -- this is an event our fans love to see. They love to see our players come together. But, you know, nothing comes without controversy during a pandemic.
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SCHOLES: Yes, and last night LeBron passing the 35,000 point mark for his career, Jim. One of only three players in NBA history to do that, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone.
SCIUTTO: Yes, it's 35,000 more points than me, by the way, for the record.
Andy Scholes, thanks very much.
SCHOLES: All right.
SCIUTTO: And NEW DAY continues right now.
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
CAMEROTA: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world.
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This is NEW DAY.
John Berman is off today. Jim Sciutto joins me.
Great to have you.
SCIUTTO: Always good to be with you.
CAMEROTA: Another very busy morning because the crisis in Texas continues.
