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New Day
Global Oil Prices Hit Two-Year High; Dr. Francis Collins is Interviewed about the Delta Variant; Republicans Vote against Medals; House Committee Needed to Investigate Attacks. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired June 16, 2021 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:30:00]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Recovering global economy. As the world reopens, oil prices have doubled over the past year and it doesn't get top billing, but energy policy affects both countries.
Our chief business correspondent Christine Romans has got more for us.
Christine, update our viewers.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Wolf.
Well, Russia's economy, it's not even in the top ten globally. It's smaller than Canada's, but its outsize influence, especially in Europe. That's because Russia is a major oil producer. And with oil prices at more than two-year highs, that's advantage Putin. Global oil prices closing in on $75 a barrel. That's the highest since 2019.
Oil and gas are responsible for more than 60 percent of Russia's exports and account for almost a third of Russia's economy. Russia is racing to complete a major pipeline, the Nord Stream II, to deliver Russian gas directly to Germany under the Baltic Sea, bypassing Ukraine. The U.S. strongly opposes this pipeline which would give Russia greater leverage in Europe.
But this administration, the Biden administration, recently softened U.S. sanctions against the company behind the pipeline. That's arguably a win for Putin but also a way to help repair the U.S. relationship with Germany.
Look, despite the U.S. preaching energy independence, Russia still holds sway in the American energy ecosystem. U.S. refiners, for example, bought Russian oil at a record pace in 2020 after they were cut off from Venezuelan crude due to sanctions. And Russian-based hackers, remember, hit the Colonial Pipeline in May. That created gas shortages, long lines in the southeast in this country. A reminder that within Russian borders, criminals are attacking U.S. companies for ransom money. It's something the American consumers have already felt, Wolf.
BLITZER: Certainly true indeed.
Christine, thank you very, very much. John.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the CDC now calls the new coronavirus strain first spotted in India a variant of concern. The doctor in charge of the National Institutes of Health joins us next.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And the Republicans who voted against giving a congressional gold medal to the police officers who defended the Capitol on January 6th. How do they explain it?
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[08:35:38]
BERMAN: A new warning from the CDC. It is now labeling the delta variant, which was first detected in India, as a variant of concern with coronavirus, meaning, among other things, it is potentially more transmissible.
Joining me now is the director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins.
Dr. Collins, thank you so much for being with us.
Here in the United States, for the unvaccinated or the partially vaccinated, how concerned should they be about this delta variant?
DR. FRANCIS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: It's one more reason, if you're still on the fence, to go ahead and get vaccinated. Roll up your sleeve.
This is a variant of considerable concern. It appears to be about 60 percent more transmissible, more contagious in other words, and especially so for younger people. On top of that, data just published a couple of days ago from Scotland, where this variant has completely overtaken the U.K., shows that people who get it are about twice as likely to end up in the hospital. So it's not only more contagious, it's more severe.
Think about this as a racetrack. You know, we've got the vaccines in one lane and they've been coming along pretty good. Some of the states, yes, 13 of them now have 70 percent coverage, aiming for that for the whole country. But the virus is racing, too, and now there's a new horse on the track called delta. And it's coming up fast. And our best chance is to really activate this vaccination system to get us to the point where the virus is going to lose, which is what we all want.
BERMAN: Just to be clear, if you are vaccinated, fully vaccinated, it shows very good protection against this variant, correct?
COLLINS: That's right, 88 percent protection from the Pfizer or the Moderna messenger RNA vaccine, which is mostly what people in the U.S. have currently received and can still receive. And, by the way, if you're not sure where to go to get vaccinated, it's easy. Go to vaccines.gov or go to your cell phone and type in 438829 and put in your zip code and it will tell you, where's a place near you that has vaccines ready to go. Let's make today the day to really push this.
BERMAN: That's right. And if you're unvaccinated, though, you are at risk of this variant.
What about a single dose?
COLLINS: A single dose is better than none, but it's only about a 33 percent protection from one dose. So if you're somebody who's already had that first dose and you're like, oh, I'm not quite sure I need the second one, yes, go and get it. Three weeks after Pfizer or four weeks after Moderna, you're due. That's the way you're going to get fully activated. Your immune system will be able to fight off this nasty delta virus.
BERMAN: So the NIH led this study which came out with results over the last few days which indicated that COVID could have been present in the United States as early as December of 2019, earlier than we had known before.
How does this affect your or our understanding of this pandemic?
COLLINS: Well, it is surprising. This was by looking at blood samples that were obtained from 24,000 people across the United States between December and March just to see whether there might have been any indication of earlier infections. What are they doing? They're looking at antibodies to try to see, are there people there who seem to have had the infection and have already raised an immune response? And the earliest positive sample was January 7th of 2020, and that would mean somebody would have already had antibodies which means they would have been infected in late December. That was in Illinois. That's a surprise.
Now, let me be clear, the antibody tests are not perfect. This was done as rigorously as you can do it. It's possible this is a false- positive. But when you have nine of these in states before they knew they had the virus there, it does make you wonder, was COVID-19 in our country sooner than we realized?
BERMAN: It does make you wonder.
Listen, you know that there is a continuing, intensifying discussion about the origins of coronavirus. Did it evolve naturally? Did it somehow leak from a lab potentially in Wuhan?
Former CDC Director Robert Redfield says he believes it is his belief that it did leak from a lab. And he also suggests that he doesn't think scientists were open to that notion early enough.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ROBERT REDFIELD, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: Sometimes scientists, when they get on -- they bite into a bone on a hypothesis, it's hard for them to move on.
[08:40:02]
I guess if I'm disappointed about anything, about the early scientific community, is that there seemed to be lack of openness to pursue both hypotheses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Do you think that's fair, Dr. Collins?
COLLINS: Not entirely, although Bob Redfield is a friend. On the front page of "The Washington Post" today is a report of a meeting that happened February 1, 2020, that Tony Fauci and I were part of where the experts on analyzing the genome sequence of this virus got together on a conference call to look at every detail, to say, could this have been human engineered? And, ultimately, after a lot of back and forth on a purely scientific basis, with everybody's minds wide open, the conclusion was, no, this is something that only nature could have engineered this way. It has too many features that humans never could have thought of. And that got published in a peer review journal.
So I do take a little bit of offense at the idea that the scientists had their minds closed. Our minds were open then. They're open now.
Let's be clear, the lab leak hypothesis versus the natural origin, both are possible. We don't have any information right now that's new to really tell the difference between those. We call on China to really open up something they have not done and to be more transparent about what could be known there. And if they're offended by all of these insinuations, well, their best protection is to be transparent. Tell us what really happened. What about those workers who apparently got sick in November of 2019? Open up your lab books. Let's see what really happened.
BERMAN: Let's see, indeed. Be transparent. And for everyone here in the United States, go get vaccinated!
COLLINS: Yes.
BERMAN: Dr. Francis Collins, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it. Thank you.
COLLINS: Thank you.
BERMAN: Brianna.
KEILAR: Almost six months since the insurrection at the Capitol, the House and Senate coming to an agreement that will award the Congressional Gold Medal to the officers who defended the building. Seems like a layup. But not for 21 House Republicans. They just voted against it. These Republicans, who find themselves in a pickle, how do you honor the heroics of the police in an event that you deny? Despite the facts, the video, the witnesses and the accounts of the police who were there protecting them, these lawmakers who usually wrap themselves in blue are now proudly showing their yellow. BERMAN: Lauren Boebert, a once QAnon curious congresswoman, she
tweeted on January 6th, today is 1776, which, of course, signifies revolution and independence. Days before she also used this rhetoric.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. LAUREN BOEBERT (R-CO): I will carry my firearm in D.C. and in Congress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: During the insurrection, she used her Twitter account to announce to the public and thereby any insurrectionist who might look that Speaker Pelosi had been removed from chambers.
But in May, during National Police Week, she proclaimed that, quote, Republicans will always back the blue and honor their service.
"Always" being the suspect word there.
KEILAR: Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, actual QAnon curious. She says she didn't vote for the bill because she wouldn't call it an "insurrection." She once introduced legislation that awards gold medals to police in Minneapolis and Portland who protect Americans from, quote, Black Lives Matter domestic terrorists. She also said, in the face of this dangerous threat, our men and women in blue have stood strong by defending our streets, protecting storefronts and restoring order. The heroic action of American law enforcement is the only force standing between us and total anarchy.
BERMAN: So this is John Rose of Tennessee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN ROSE (R-TN): Low morale is permeating police departments across our nation as rioters and law breakers repeatedly vilify, demonize and verbally attack the thin blue line.
At a time when police forces around the nation are themselves under attack, I want our law enforcement officers to know that I will continue to support the thin blue line.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Except when he doesn't. Rose also declared that, quote, if we do not support our police and stand up to this unprecedented violence, we will lose our democracy. We must use our freedom to defend our freedom or we will lose our freedom.
KEILAR: And meet Andrew Clyde of Georgia. Even though he actually barricaded the door in the House chamber against rioters, he has a unique take on that experience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ANDREW CLYDE (R-GA): You know, if you didn't know the TV footage was a video from January the 6th, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Now Clyde also honored law enforcement during National Police Week. Quote, having worked with law enforcement for over 30 years, I know the risks our brave officers undergo on a daily basis. Thank you to the men and women of the Georgia police forces and across our nation for keeping us safe every day. #backtheblue.
A tourist visit, he says.
Well, here's what one of the officers protecting Clyde's life says.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. AQUILINO GONELL, U.S. CAPITOL POLICE: It was very scary because I -- I thought I was going to lose my life right there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[08:45:05]
BERMAN: So Andy Harris of Maryland also voted against the medals. He says, he commends the Capitol Police for their actions on January 6th but calls the awarding of medals a politically charged publicity stunt. Notably, he was a big supporter of Law Enforcement Appreciation Day
KEILAR: And Jody Hice of Georgia, he also has recognized the need to honor police heroes, in the past at least. Ditto for Bob Good of Virginia. Said, proud to stand with law enforcement.
And Tom Massie of Kentucky.
BERMAN: He tells CNN that he can't support the medals because the bill calls the attack an insurrection instead of a mob and that language would affect the court cases of those who mobbed.
KEILAR: Matt Gaetz of Florida, he also says Americans need to stand by police.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): I want an America where we support the police, where we utilize every resource available to ensure that they're responsive to their communities and the overwhelming number of people who wear that uniform, whether it's in our law enforcement or in our National Guard, they do it because they love America and they love Americans. And we need to stand with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: But all these members voted against the medals, as did Matt Rosendale of Montana, who last month declared that he'd always stand behind law enforcement, the ones who selflessly put their lives on the line to protect his family. Apparently always has limits. Ralph Norman of South Carolina wrote an op-ed last summer denouncing
the left's effort to defund police, declaring that he will, quote, always stand behind our law enforcement agencies and those who serve their communities honorably. There must be a mutual two-way trust. Again, with the "always."
KEILAR: Now Chip Roy of Texas, here he is just three weeks ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CHIP ROY (R-TX): So I'm proud to stand here with some of these great friends, to stand up in defense of our law enforcement community, stand up in defense of safe streets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. SCOTT PERRY (R-PA): And (INAUDIBLE). And any place (INAUDIBLE) under any conditions for our safety and our communities.
When elected leaders refuse to stand with our law enforcement officers and continue to bend to the whims of violent mobs, we lose our civilization. We lose our civil society.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Again, he voted against the medal.
So let's play that last part one more time from Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. SCOTT PERRY (R-PA): When elected leaders refuse to stand with our law enforcement officers and continue to bend to the whims of violent mobs, we lose our civilization. We lose our civil society.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Also voting against medals for Capitol and D.C. police officers, Warren Davidson of Ohio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. WARREN DAVIDSON (R-OH): And our law enforcement protect that right. They defend freedom. They protect and defend our communities. They do it heroically with bravery every day and so often thanklessly. We're right to give them thanks. They put their lives in harm's way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: They do it thanklessly, he says. Ain't that the truth.
Greg Steube of Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. GREG STEUBE (R-FL): Since last summer, members of law enforcement have faced attacks and dangerous rhetoric, even from members of this body. As officers put their lives on the line to protect all of us, our communities and our families, we have seen nothing but dangerous attempts from the left to defund, dismantle and disband the police. Even as we stand here today, surrounded by razor wire, National Guard, increased police presence to protect you, but you don't want them to protect our citizens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: This is Mary Miller of Illinois.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MARY MILLER (R-IL): Democrats are about defunding the police and taking away our Second Amendment rights. Republicans are here to back the blue and the Second Amendment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Back the police. She voted against the medals.
This is Michael Cloud of Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHAEL CLOUD (R-TX): We owe it to our hard-working police officers who dedicate their lives to upholding the law to give them the respect and provide them with the resources, training and support they need to do their jobs safely and effectively.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: They owe police officers respect, says Cloud, who disrespects the very police officers who ensure his safety day after day.
And then there's Paul Gosar of Arizona.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PAUL GOSAR (R-AZ): I strongly support law enforcement, firmly disavow the groups and individuals funding, enabling and partaking in mob violence, and call on my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to do the same.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Now Gosar also has a unique take on the officers protecting the building against his workplace and democracy while questioning the FBI director yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. PAUL GOSAR (R-AZ): Director Wray, do you know who executed Ashley Babbitt?
It's disturbing, the Capitol Police officer that did that shooting appeared to be hiding, lying in wait and gave no warning before killing her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Now, Babbitt was one of the rioters appearing on video trying to break into the Capitol.
[08:50:03]
Gosar accuses officers of hiding, lying in wait before for, quote, executing her?
KEILAR: And then there's Barry Moore of Alabama, also voting against this recognition for police officers. He was grateful for Capitol Police who bravely defended the Capitol back in January. But by June, he was voting against giving them these medals.
BERMAN: And, finally, one Louie Gohmert, notorious flame thrower who recently asked the National Forest Service if it's possible to change the moon's orbit to fix the climate crisis. Yes, he said that. He, too, has a unique take on the insurrection.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. LOUIE GOHMERT (R-TX): There's no evidence, as has been said on January 7, that this was an armed insurrection. Armed meaning with firearms. There were no firearms.
There have been things worse than people without any firearms coming into a building.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Well, there is evidence, loads of it. And those people who came into the building threatened the lives of police officers, trampling on them, assaulting them, torturing them. Even though in that same month Gohmert declared that we must hold law enforcement officers in high esteem.
KEILAR: And these 21 Republicans are voting against these medals for these officers. These officers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. AQUILINO GONELL, U.S. CAPITOL POLICE: It was very scary because I -- I thought I was going to lose my life right there.
OFFICER BRYON EVANS, U.S. CAPITOL POLICE: I remember specifically thinking that when I was on the floor, I remember thinking all that stuff like, Bryon, this is the day. All those times you've given thought on what you would do, you're doing it. CAPTAIN CARNEYSHA MENDOZA, U.S. CAPITOL POLICE: I have a daughter, and
I had a moment where I didn't think that, hey, it was a possibility I might not make it home.
CAPTAIN CAMEYSHA MENDOZA, U.S. CAPITOL POLICE: The rioters continued to deploy CS into the rotunda. Officers received a lot of gas exposure, which is worse inside the building than outside because there's nowhere for it to go. I received chemical burns to my face that still have not healed to this day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Here's the thing. Those officers, they'll keep doing their jobs, protecting these members of Congress, whether they vote to give them a customary and clearly deserved medal or not. Whether they tell the truth about what happened on January 6th or they whitewash it. Turning their backs on the police they embrace when it serves them politically and discard when it doesn't. Proving that, for them, blue lives matter, until they don't.
BERMAN: Until they don't.
So, how are some of those 21 Republican lawmakers explaining their no votes? Let's go to CNN's Lauren Fox live on Capitol Hill.
Lauren, how do they explain this?
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, I mean this -- these are not faces that they don't know. They walk by Capitol Police every single day in this building, both inside and outside their chambers.
One thing that I would keep in mind here is that these Republicans who voted against awarding these medals basically are arguing that they didn't like the language in the resolution. You had Marjorie Taylor Greene arguing she didn't like the use of the word "insurrection." Obviously, if you have seen the videos of the combat that was happening up here on Capitol Hill on January 6th, you can see very clearly the pressure and the lives that were in danger because of the people who had come into the Capitol, who had rushed this building.
You also had people arguing essentially that they didn't like the fact that this vote was happening while there are people who may have to stand trial as part of this insurrection. They said that they were afraid that that could affect the court cases.
Look, there have been several pieces of legislation to honor, to talk about these Capitol Police officers up here. None of them have an effect on what is happening with these court cases that are ongoing.
John and Brianna.
BERMAN: All right, Lauren Fox, thank you so much for that.
Remember, Republicans killed an independent, bipartisan commission to look into the Capitol attack, but there are other ways that an investigation could take place.
John Avlon has a "Reality Check."
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Democracy versus autocracy is the underlying subject of the Biden/Putin summit in Geneva right now. And, unfortunately, it's also the underlying subject of debate on Capitol Hill. This new information keeps coming in about the January 6th attack. That's despite Senate Republicans refusal to vote for a bipartisan commission to investigate its causes because Mitch McConnell said it would not uncover crucial new facts or promote healing.
Well, in the last 48 hours alone we've seen emails showing that then- President Trump repeatedly pressured the Justice Department to challenge the election results while his chief of staff, Mark Meadows, urged them to investigate a bonkers conspiracy theory about Italian satellites changing votes, which the acting deputy AG called pure insanity.
We found out that right wing social media site Parler flagged dozens of threatening messages for the FBI, like one that said Trump needs us to cause chaos to enact the insurrection act.
[08:55:09]
Now, the FBI director doesn't recall hearing about any of those messages, but announced nearly 500 arrests in the attack to date with hundreds more ongoing investigations. And nobody still seems to have a good explanation for why it took nearly four hours for the National Guard to deploy.
Despite all of that, Speaker Nancy Pelosi says that still no decision has been made on whether the House will convene a select committee to investigate the attacks. That's a big mistake because every day we see more signs that the big lie is metastasizing. Sham partisan audits going on in Arizona. Majority of Republican voters denying the election results, making them the political equivalent of the flat earth society.
But this has serious consequences. Those Trump-inspired death threats continue to intimidate honest election officials and their families. Senator Rand Paul said that democracy and majority rule aren't what America stands for anyway and some companies try to sneak past their pledge to stop donating to members of the sedition caucus, even as 21 House Republicans voted against giving Capitol officers the Congressional Gold Medal for saving their collective asses.
You got all that?
So just judging by this new information, there's plenty to suggest that a January 6th commission is necessary to promote healing around a common set of facts. But given that the Senate Republicans killed it, a bipartisan House select committee is the next best thing and should include Republicans like John Katko, Adam Kinzinger, and Liz Cheney, who supported an inquiry, taking as much time as needed to get missing information under oath. In addition, the special committee would have access to all Trump
administration documents under the Presidential Records Act.
There's a lot we still don't know. For example, what exactly was President Trump doing during the attack? We've heard report that he was gleefully watching TV as the mob stormed the Capitol. Well, Trump claimed he immediately called in the National Guard. But the acting secretary of defense said he never spoke to the president and a congresswoman said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told her that Trump sided with the mob.
We also don't know what role, if any, members of Congress or Capitol Hill staff played. Some Democrats allege that Republicans gave Capitol Hill tours to some of the insurrectionists, but we've seen no evidence of that to date.
Likewise, one of the organizers of the Stop the Steal Rally said that three members of Congress, Gosar, Biggs and Brooks helped him plan the rally. They deny this.
So, who's telling the truth?
And, finally, who was behind the dark money that helped pay for the rally that turned into a riot? These are just a few of the open questions that demand answers. And we need to understand exactly how this attack happened to make sure it never happens again.
Delay will only lead to more denial. If we want to defend democracy abroad, we must be willing to defend it here at home first.
And that's your "Reality Check."
KEILAR: John Avlon, thank you so much.
This historic summit that is now underway between President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, we are on this.
CNN's coverage continues, next.
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