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Trump's Legal Jeopardy Intensifies with Georgia Criminal Probe; U.S. and Russia Face-to-Face to Discuss Ukraine; Grammy-Winning Singer, Actor Meat Life Dies at 74. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired January 21, 2022 - 06:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. It is Friday, January 21. I'm John Berman. Brianna is forsaking us for one more day but has instructed Kasie Hunt to watch over me. Great to see you.

[06:00:08]

KASIE HUNT, CNN CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: It's -- it's been a tough job, I've got to tell you, Berman. Happy Friday.

BERMAN: You almost made it. You almost made it.

HUNT: We're almost there.

BERMAN: So this morning, a completely different legal landscape for Donald Trump with new risks for him and growing peril.

The Fulton County district attorney has requested a special grand jury to investigate the former president's effort to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. D.A. Fani Willis has been investigating possible criminal disruptions for the election for nearly a year now. Her request to seat a special grand jury indicates that she is seriously pursuing criminal charges against the former president or his allies.

HUNT: And that is not all. Trump's week from legal hell started when New York's attorney general announced she'd uncovered, quote, "significant evidence" of fraud in the Trump Organization. And she's looking to question the ex-president, his daughter Ivanka, and his son Don Jr.

Then, on Wednesday, the Supreme Court cleared the way for the release of presidential records from the Trump White House to the January 6th Committee. Records that could shed light on the events leading up to and, of course, what happened during the insurrection.

We also learned that the January 6th panel subpoenaed and obtained the phone records of Eric Trump and Kimberly Guilfoyle, who's engaged to Donald Trump Jr. And now the Committee has sent a letter to Ivanka Trump, requesting that she appear for questioning.

Let's bring in Laura Jarrett, attorney at law, and of course, the co- anchor of EARLY START. Laura, it's good to see you. LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: Kasie, good morning.

From Georgia to New York, Trump's legal woes reached new heights this week, as you laid out. And there's a pattern emerging here. All the allegations and accusations he's facing here, what it all centers on is fraud. From a fraud on the American people, the big lie, of course, to election fraud. A pressure campaign to find votes that simply didn't exist. To financial fraud at his namesake company. That's what's got prosecutors' attention now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (via phone): I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have.

JARRETT (voice-over): It's that fateful request that has the former president in growing legal jeopardy this morning.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: It tells me the D.A. is getting serious down in Fulton County, Georgia.

JARRETT: Nearly a year after opening a criminal investigation into Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis is now asking for a special grand jury to handle Trump's case exclusively.

FANI WILLIS, FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: What I know about investigations is they're kind of like peeling back an onion. And as you go through each layer you learn different things.

JARRETT: In a letter to the chief judge of Fulton County Superior Court, Willis wrote that her office has, quote, "received information indicating a reasonable probability that the state of Georgia's administration of elections in 2020, including the state's election of the president of the United States, was subject to possible criminal disruptions."

BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE: I live by the motto that numbers don't lie.

JARRETT: That's George Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who was on the receiving end of Trump's demand to find votes that did not exist. A key witness who Willis says won't sit for an interview without a subpoena, something a special grand jury can issue.

She now points to this interview he did last October.

RAFFENSPERGER: If she wants to interview me, there's a process for that, and I will gladly participate in that. Because I want to make sure that I follow the law.

JARRETT: In a statement, Trump says he didn't say anything wrong in the call. He says he made it while he was president "on behalf of the United States, to look into massive voter fraud which took place in Georgia."

But that's not true. There was no massive fraud. Three recounts confirmed Georgia's results.

It's been a trying week for Trump, who's facing increasing legal scrutiny not just in Georgia but in New York where the state's attorney general revealed for the first time Tuesday she has, quote, "significant evidence" the Trump Organization fudged its bottom line to obtain loans and avoid taxes, citing misleading statements and omissions in financial statements.

Letitia James now says she needs the testimony of the former president and his two children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka, to figure out who's responsible.

And then there's the ongoing congressional investigation into the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The House Select Committee was handed a big win Wednesday by the U.S. Supreme Court rejecting Trump's efforts to keep hundreds of his White House documents under wraps.

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): We're going to get these documents. And we're going to go through them and help piece this picture together.

JARRETT: Subpoenas were also issued this week by the Select Committee to some of Trump's former attorneys who pushed the big lie. Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell. They'll claim their conversations were protected by attorney/client privilege.

But former Trump campaign advisor Boris Epshteyn was also subpoenaed.

And it's not just aides and allies. It's family members. CNN learned this week the committee has obtained phone records for Trump's younger son, Eric, and is now asking for Ivanka Trump's voluntary cooperation with the investigation. No word whether she will comply.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JARRETT: Kasie, in the committee's letter to Ivanka Trump, they also dropped a few new Easter eggs of what they found about what Ivanka was doing and saying around January 6th.

And not just Ivanka. They've also included a text message from Sean Hannity to former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, where he said the day after the insurrection, quote, "no more stolen election talk." Advice Trump obviously didn't follow.

HUNT: Surely, he did not. All right. Laura Jarrett, thanks very much for that report.

BERMAN: All right. Joining us now, former U.S. attorney general for the middle district of Georgia, Michael Moore.

Michael, great to see you this morning.

A special grand jury request. What exactly does that mean?

MICHAEL MOORE, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA: You know, this is really just a request by the D.A. To have a dedicated group of people paying attention to one case.

The special grand jury in Georgia does not have the power to indict. It really only has the power to make a recommendation.

And so what she's asked for is that the chief judge asked the other Supreme Court judges there, 20 in Fulton County, and the majority of them have to approve it, that she be allowed to call this grand jury, and to present evidence and to ultimately get their -- their report.

You do it sometimes if you want to have people locked into their testimony. You do it so that they're under oath and they can't crawfish on you later if you try a case.

This is little bit interesting to me, because really, she sort of singles out the secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger. But not really a lot of reason to need his testimony under oath at this point, because you've basically got him on multiple television appearances. So these are recorded statements he's made. He wrote a book about this. So we know what he thought about it.

And then of course you've got the audio tape.

So she may be just putting the belt and suspenders on the investigation, or she might be looking to broaden it out, maybe want to talk to some other people, some other government officials on the state and federal level, to see if, in fact, there's a conspiracy charge or something like that that she wants to pursue.

HUNT: So, Michael, based on what you said about Brad Raffensperger, I mean, is there a benefit to getting his testimony under oath, as compared to what he said in public?

MOORE: Well, I mean, the benefit is, if you want to impeach him, he can be impeached with prior statements that he's made, as well.

Remember that a grand jury -- and again, she can't ask this grand jury for an indictment. But a grand jury just determines probable cause of whether or not the case goes to trial.

You don't -- as a prosecutor you don't have to put your whole case forward. You know, we think somehow that the prosecutor presents every witness to a grand jury. They don't. Sometimes they present one witness.

I mean, the joke is sometimes you can indict a ham sandwich in front of a grand jury. You just need a good detective.

And so, you know, you put up enough evidence to establish probable cause. And then the grand jury decides whether or not they'll issue the indictment.

And so in this case, the best evidence is the tape. And if that's the case that she wants to make. And, again, I sort of urge that she looks at this rightful shot approach and make a good, clean, simple case on the most readily provable offense that she has. And that lets the case stay without some of the appellate issues that are likely to result. We live in a state here where the majority of our appellate courts on

a state level are controlled by Republican appointees. They're good people and many of them are friends of mine.

But nonetheless, if she moves forward, there will be decisions that will be made on the appellate level. And if there was a conviction at some later time -- again, this is very early in the process -- but if later on there was a conviction, that committee (ph) would have to survive some pretty tough scrutiny by the appellate judges here.

BERMAN: So one reason to have a special grand jury also is to go beyond Brad Raffensperger, possibly. Because there were other phone calls from other people. Lindsay Graham. Mark Meadows took a trip to Georgia there.

And one of the things you might try to prove is conspiracy or racketeering. And those are both words with different legal meanings.

But also, legal avenues that this district attorney happens to have some acute experience with, Michael.

MOORE: She does. I mean, she was involved in a -- in a cheating scandal here with the school system. And so she does have some experience with the RICO charges and conspiracy charges.

And conspiracy is just an agreement between several people to do something wrong. And so she may, in fact, be looking to broaden it out. I mean, we've got recent news reports talking about, you know, this coordinated effort with the campaign, and Giuliani and what was going on with false electors in various states.

But it also may be a good opportunity for her to get information that sort of becomes a cog in the wheel if the Justice Department were to ever move on this. So if it became a multistate investigation, became a federal investigation, looking at those states that -- that -- and there's six or seven -- I think maybe six -- you know, this could provide information for that, as well.

[06:10:06]

At the same time, it might also give information. You know, the grand jury proceedings are secret. She'll be learning information that, I'm sure, there will be some interest, and she'll look at other avenues to be able to present it to the House Select Committee and other avenues to share information to.

BERMAN: Michael Moore, thank you so much for your experience and joining us this morning.

MOORE: Glad to be with you all. Thank you.

HUNT: All right. Happening now, Secretary of State Antony Blinken holding high-stakes security talks with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, aimed at defusing the crisis in Ukraine.

This after President Biden's controversial remarks seeming to suggest NATO powers might tolerate a, quote, "minor incursion" by Russia in the Ukraine.

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen live in Geneva, Switzerland, with more. Fred, what's the latest here?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kasie.

Look, the stakes are really high for these talks between Sergey Lavrov and Secretary of State Blinken. They've been talking for about an hour already. We expect the talks to last for about another hour on top of that.

And certainly, at the beginning of the talks, you could hear the Russian foreign minister. He was saying to Secretary of State Blinken that he heard from the American side that they don't believe there's going to be any breakthroughs at these talks.

The Russians said they also don't believe there are going to be any breakthroughs. But they certainly hope to scope out in what areas diplomacy could prevail with that very dangerous situation, of course, happening there near the borders with the Ukraine.

From the U.S. side, you're absolutely right. What Secretary of State Blinken has been doing in the run-up to these meetings is essentially trying to clean up those remarks by President Biden. That certainly seems to have some of America's allies a little bit unsure of the U.S.'s position.

Of course, Secretary of State Blinken, he was in Berlin yesterday meeting not just with the German foreign minister but also with the foreign ministers of the U.K. and France, as well.

And afterwards, they seemed to have that unified position that if there was another Russian aggression, further invasion of Ukraine, there would be a strong response not just from the U.S. but from its allies, as well.

The Russians, for their part, have made clear that they want answers from the U.S. as far as their security demands are concerned. Of course, the main ones being they want written guarantees that there's not going to be any more NATO enlargement. First and foremost, no Ukraine in NATO ever, is what the Russians are saying.

And they want NATO troops and weapons to be withdrawn from Eastern European NATO states. The U.S. said that those demands are nonstarters.

But of course, at these negotiations, the tough part is going to be to see whether or not headway can be head, whether nuances can be found, to see whether or not headway can be made, whether nuances can be found, to see whether or not all this can remain in a diplomatic realm.

As, of course, we've mentioned, the situation in and around Ukraine seems to become more dangerous by the day, as the U.S. says the Russians continuously moving assets, not just towards Ukraine but also now into Belarus, as well.

And we have the negotiations going on for about another hour now. We expect the press conference to be about an hour and 10 minutes. We'll certainly bring you the latest then -- Kasie.

HUNT: All right. Fred Pleitgen, yes, please do keep us posted. We really appreciate it.

Let's bring in now Georgetown University adjunct professor at the Walsh School of Foreign Service and former CNN Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty.

Jill, thanks so much for being here. What are the stakes for this meeting?

JILL DOUGHERTY, ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, GEORGETOWN'S WALSH SCHOOL OF FOREIGN SERVICE: I think they're extremely high. Because this is really -- you could argue the last opportunity for diplomacy.

Now, of course, as Fred said, it could continue. But I think the Americans want to find out, No. 1, is Russia serious about attacking? And that -- that is a very -- you know, an important thing that they have to find out.

But also, they want to find out is this the end of negotiations? Is this the end of diplomacy? And could there be a second round? Remember the round about 10 days ago where there were three big meetings in a row. Or is this the end?

So, as you look at it, I was watching the body language and what they said today on Russian TV. And Lavrov is saying, you know, we're not looking for a breakthrough. We want an answer, and we want it in writing. So that's where we are.

Now, behind the scenes, there actually are some things that they could have some type of compromise on. But the Russians consider that kind of piecemeal. They want the whole deal, and that is, you know, three big demands, which essentially would kind of rewrite the post-Cold War era.

Yes, and they're non-starters, basically, for the United States, some of those demands. And Russia knows it, or should know it.

Jill, first of all, it's great to see you. Second, I'm struck by the over military movements that we've seen in some ways over the last 24 hours, whether it be Russia putting more assets into Belarus. Or the United States authorizing the movement of weapons from Latvia and Lithuania into Ukraine. How significant is that?

DOUGHERTY: I think they're both significant. You could also point to those naval maneuvers that Russia is carrying out right now, essentially over the entire world.

[06:15:04]

I mean, Russia -- this is really high-stakes for Putin. He is bringing, you know, troops in from eastern military districts for over -- you know, really far east to the west, bringing in tanks, et cetera.

And this is a show of force. I think essentially, it is a show of force, yes, about Ukraine, that he does not want Ukraine to be -- continue to be pulled into the west.

But I think it's a bigger picture. It's really we do not want the United States and NATO in what they consider their territory. And that's the crucial point.

Now, the United States and NATO cannot accept that independent countries like Ukraine, Georgia, the ones that are along, you know, the perimeter of Russia, that they could not be given the right to do whatever they want in terms of defense or any type of organization they want to join. But that is -- those are the stakes.

HUNT: Very, very high stakes. Jill Dougherty, thank you very much for being up with us this morning. We really appreciate it.

All right. Ahead here, a proposal to vaccinate migrants now back on the table and causing political infighting in the Biden administration.

Plus, more drama in the unfriendly skies. Why an American Airlines flight turned around just an hour into its journey.

BERMAN: And we are waking up to some sad news this morning. Listen to that voice. Meat Loaf, we learned, has passed away. His music, his films, his legacy, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK

[06:2051]

BERMAN: All right. We have breaking news. This made me sad this morning. Grammy Award-winning singer Meat Loaf has died.

According to his official Facebook page, he passed away with his wife, Deborah, at his side. No cause of death has been announced.

His career spanned six decades. He sold more than 100 million albums and starred in more than 65 movies.

CNN's Paul Vercammen looks back at his life and legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MEAT LOAF, SINGER (singing): I would do anything for love, and I won't do that.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meat Loaf performed sweet suburban melodies with dramatic flair, unleashing the lyrics of composer Jim Steinman.

MEAT LOAF: I go out on the stage as if it's the last thing I'll ever do. I will -- and that's what I've always said, if I'm going out, I'm going out on the stage.

VERCAMMEN: Meat Loaf. Where did that name come from?

MEAT LOAF: The real story is that there is no story. The real story is that kids. I was about 8 years old. I've been called Meat Loaf since I was about 8.

VERCAMMEN: Meat Loaf, or Meat for short, was born Michael Lee Aday in Dallas, Texas. But even Texas was not big enough to corral his talents.

Meat Loaf would go on to sell more than 80 million records worldwide, one of the top-selling musicians ever. His three "Bat Out of Hell" albums became staples in college dorms.

MEAT LOAF (singing): Like a bat out of hell I'll be gone when the morning comes.

VERCAMMEN: The first one selling 43 million copies.

MEAT LOAF: "Bat Out of Hell 1," I was not ready for. I had a nervous breakdown. I went to psychologists and psychiatrists for two years. And I went with them to deal with the word "star."

VERCAMMEN: Meat got ahold of his demons. He starred on stage and on screen, known for "The Rocky Horror Picture Show."

MEAT LOAF (singing): Hot patooties bless my soul. I really love that rock 'n' roll.

VERCAMMEN: And Bob Paulson, "Fight Club."

MEAT LOAF: The first rule is, I'm not supposed to talk about it. And the second rule is, I'm not supposed to talk about it. And the third rule is --

EDWARD NORTON, ACTOR: Bob, Bob. I'm a member.

VERCAMMEN: Offscreen, he married twice, became a father to two daughters.

And Meat Loaf entered reality TV, Donald Trump's "Celebrity Apprentice." In an infamous episode, he blistered Gary Busey.

MEAT LOAF: You look into my eyes. I am the last person in the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) world you ever (EXPLETIVE DELETED) want to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) with.

VERCAMMEN: Such harsh yelling, a stark contrast to what launched Meat Loaf to international adoration, that operatic voice.

MEAT LOAF (singing): I would do anything for love, but I won't do that. No, I won't do that.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BERMAN: So, there was a time, Kasie, where we would listen to listen

to music on things called boomboxes. You know, cassette players with big speakers. And I would have it on classic rock all summer long at my summer jobs.

And I just remember, you know, several times a day they would play "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights" or "Bat Out of Hell," and I would always love it. Just the songs are just frankly terrific.

HUNT: They're iconic. I mean, what a life he had. Even, you know, those of us around here who are a little too young to remember Meat Loaf.

I do remember him, but we work with some people who don't. They know the music. It's ubiquitous. It's been in our life for so long. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and everyone who's missing them, and that's going to include all of us here.

I will say the only chance I only got to see Meat Loaf perform live was at a Mitt Romney campaign event of all places. But I remember, it really sticks out in my mind as something that was really, really amazing to witness.

BERMAN: I'm sure that's something you will never, ever forget.

HUNT: I will not.

BERMAN: Our thoughts with the family of Meat Loaf this morning. "Rocky Horror Picture Show," so good.

HUNT: So good.

BERMAN: "Rocky Horror Picture Show." I remember staying up all night in the '70s, you know, going to those shows. I'm exaggerating a little bit. But so good.

HUNT: So good.

BERMAN: All right. Up next, Peloton pedaled success during the pandemic. Now the company has investors breaking a sweat.

[06:25:10]

Plus, mortgage rates on the rise. It's causing a frenzy and nerves among some home buyers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNT: Welcome back. Sign of a pandemic shift? Shares of two big pandemic winners, Peloton and Netflix, suffering a dramatic drop.

Chief business correspondent Christine Romans has the details. Christine, what's going on?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know, Kasie, millions of Americans spent the pandemic curled up with Netflix and clipping in with Peloton. But red-hot growth is slowing now for both.

With consumers -- I guess they're emerging, Kasie, from their stay-at- home shell. Right?

First, let's talk about Peloton. The stock lost almost a quarter of its value Thursday on rumors of a big drop in demand for Peloton bikes.

The CEO, John Foley, he confirmed there could be layoffs and what he called a production reset. He acknowledged Peloton.