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49ers Win Play-off Game in Last Seconds; Biden Considers Deploying U.S. Troops to Putin's Doorstep; Police on High Alert after Deadly Shootings in NYC, Texas; Cheney Hits Gingrich for Saying Committee Members May Be Jailed. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired January 24, 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 Monday, January 24th. I'm John Berman with Brianna Keilar. You're back!

[06:0015]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Here I am, and it's lovely to be back.

BERMAN: You were big-timing us for a whole week. But yow you're back in the mornings, which I guess is, like, just one of the major stories developing overnight, right?

Also overnight, we saw something, honestly, you're never going to see again. You are not supposed to be able to go the length of the football field in 13 seconds. You're just not. Not against the best defense in football. It's basically impossible, or supposed to be.

But that was just one part of the ridiculous Bills/Chiefs game, which was honestly one of the best, if not the best played game I have seen.

This is how it ended, in overtime. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, hitting Travis Kelce. That's a game-winning touchdown.

Now, this would be controversial because of the league's silly overtime rules. The Bills and quarterback Josh Allen never got to touch the ball in overtime. But to even get there. The team scored a combined 25 points in the last two minutes, which is ridiculous.

And that capped a weekend of almost as ridiculous football games. The Chiefs will face the Cincinnati Bengals, who beat the Titans with their own last-second field goal.

KEILAR: In the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers knocked Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers out of the playoff with a 13-10 win, thanks to a 45-yard field goal by Robbie Gould on the game's final play. And there will be no 11th Super Bowl appearance for Tom Brady. The

L.A. Rams knocking off the defending champion, Tampa Bay Bucs, 30-27, on Matt Gay's 30-yard game-winning field goal as time ran out the clock.

Time may also be running out for Brady, because after the heartbreaking loss, the GOAT told reporters that he's going to take his future day by day. So that doesn't mean nothing. That means something.

Let's talk with Mike Florio, founder of ProFootballTalk.com. He's also the author of the new book "Play Makers: How the NFL Really Works and Doesn't," which comes out in March.

Mike, at my House, I will tell you, my 3-year-old was so confused. He just kept talking to my husband and my dad, who's in town and saying, "You guys, not so much yelling, OK? Not so much yelling. OK?"

I mean, it was a wild -- this was a wild, wild day.

MIKE FLORIO, FOUNDER, PROFOOTBALLTALK.COM: There's never been a weekend like it before in the NFL to have all four of these games, divisional round games decided on the final play, walk-off victories. Three of the road teams won, capped by one of the best, as John said, games that we've ever seen, the kind of game you never want to have end. And there was an element of it that was epic. (AUDIO GAP) that they could do in overtime.

BERMAN: I -- honestly, I'm a Patriots fan, so I've seen a lot of good, exciting football. But that last two minutes, Mike, last night, I've just never seen anything like it. I've never seen quarterback play like that before, where Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes did whatever they wanted to do in ways you're just not supposed to be able to do it.

I mean, for Patrick Mahomes, with 13 seconds left, it just doesn't happen to go the full length of the field to get the field goal.

FLORIO: And these are the two most physically gifted quarterbacks right now in the NFL overall. Their ability to run, their ability to buy time, their ability to extend plays, the ability to throw the football whenever they want, wherever they want, however they want. Some of the throws Josh Allen had last night were mind-boggling.

But the things Pat Mahomes does were mind-boggling on a regular basis. And even with only 13 seconds left, you see two plays field goal range, forced overtime. And that was that.

But this feels like, and hopefully it will be, a matchup that continues on a regular basis. We've been looking for the next Peyton Manning and Tom Brady dual for years. And it may be settling in on Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. And hopefully, they will continue to cross paths in this kind of a setting.

KEILAR: So we all saw why this overtime rule maybe should be revised, right? It just seems like you should -- in a court of law, the prosecution and the defense, they both get a shot. And then here you are in overtime, and the Bills, you know, fate sealed, they don't even get a chance.

FLORIO: Well, and the rule changed a bit after the 2009 NFC championship game. (AUDIO GAP) a ticket to the Super Bowl with a field goal. A decision was made.

If it's only a field goal scored on that first round of overtime, we'll give the other team a chance. But the touchdown, the game is still over.

But we've seen the game evolved to the point where offenses are so successful. And the rules are skewed in their favor.

And how can you not have a fair opportunity for both teams to possess the football? And that's all we're looking for, is something that is fair. Because there's something inherently unfair about a coin flip deciding who gets the ball first.

[06:05:05]

And actually, whoever got the ball first was going to score a touchdown and win the game. The defenses weren't stopping anyone late in the game. The defenses were exhausted by that point.

Of course, the offense who got the ball first was going to score a touchdown and win the game. And hopefully, the NFL. And it's happened several times over the last decade in a postseason game where a team has won the coin toss, gotten the ball and scored, and they haven't done anything about it.

Hopefully, last night is the thing that will spur the NFL to do something about it.

BERMAN: It's only good for the NFL. I mean, why I would be ever against Josh Allen getting another chance? They seem to be resting on this bizarre theory that, just because the rule used to be insanely awful, that it's better now only that it's very awful. Like they went from insanely awful to very awful, and now they think they're done.

FLORIO: The argument is -- and people in the league have told me this -- they want to have the sudden death element as part of overtime so people won't look away.

Well, they're not looking away anyway. They're not going to go take a break for five minutes during overtime of a playoff game. So you've already got our attention.

Now give us something that feels fair from a visceral level. That's the challenge moving forward. And, look, they don't want to do the college rule, because that's the college rule, and they don't have their own rule.

The college rule is imminently fair. You may not like it, but at the end of the day, each team gets a fair and equal shot to win the game. They need something like that, that feels more fair than win a coin toss and off you go.

BERMAN: We did all our talking about the Bills and Chiefs only because that was really historical. But all these other games were great, too. What a weekend of football. And it portends great things maybe for next weekend, as well.

Mike Florio, great to see you. Thanks for humoring us this morning.

FLORIO: Thanks for having me.

KEILAR: We could have had him on for an hour.

So a massive shift this morning in the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The Biden administration is now discussing deployment of several thousand U.S. troops, along with warships and aircraft, to NATO allies in the Baltic states and to Eastern Europe.

It's a move that would signal a significant shift for the White House amid growing fears of a Russian invasion.

CNN's Clarissa Ward is on the ground in Kiev, Ukraine for us. Give us the latest here. A lot of developments. And the question is, will the U.S. be able to do something -- or at least threaten something -- that will deter Russia?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So we're seeing the diplomatic process still playing out, Brianna. But in the background, there's definitely a sense that military preparations are being made on all sides so that the U.S. and NATO allies are ready for any possible eventuality.

We have heard a statement from NATO this morning saying that they are basically trying to ready additional troops, that they are sending additional ships and fighter jets to NATO deployments in Eastern Europe.

And this comes just after the U.S. sent another shipment, sorry, a little snowy here today. Excuse me. After the U.S. sent another shipment of weapons here to Ukraine. That arrived last night, 198,000 pounds of weaponry arriving in Kyiv. A lot of that will be going directly to the front line.

And it's part of the 200 million U.S. dollars that has been earmarked for lethal assistance here in Ukraine. And a big part of this is because, simply put, there is very little trust in -- that the Russians are acting in good faith as they go about continuing these ongoing diplomatic talks.

There are concerns that this could be a delay tactic for the Russians, that they could be using this time to try to ready and prepare themselves for some kind of a military invasion.

And so there's a sense that both sides want to make sure the U.S. and NATO certainly want to make sure that they are ready to support Ukraine to the maximum of their abilities, should that take place and should the diplomatic process be derailed -- Brianna. The U.S. embassy there in Kyiv pulling its nonessential staff, as well

as sending family members of staff home. Ukraine is upset about that, Clarissa.

WARD: Yes. I think the Ukrainians feel that this was overly cautious, in the word of a spokesperson for the foreign ministry. And it's important for our viewers to remember that for Ukraine, they really want to project an image of strength and they want to protect an image of being calm and being in control.

And their fear and their worry -- and this is something that officials have privately commented to me many times -- is that the more talk there is about this massive potential Russian invasion, the more that sort of weakens Ukraine.

Because inevitably, it becomes a story about the U.S. and Russia and both sides facing off and having diplomatic negotiations. And Ukraine looks weak there, because they -- they don't necessarily have a seat at the table.

And so what they want to do is really focus more on the fact that the U.S. and Ukraine are in lock step. The foreign minister here talking regularly to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

[06:10:11]

And they want to calm down a little bit some of the rhetoric that has been coming from the U.S. and NATO allies that sort of implies that an invasion is imminent.

In their eyes, this threat has been around for eight years. It may be more intense now, but it is nothing new, Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes. That rhetoric is definitely not in lock step. So many developments ahead here. Clarissa, thank you.

BERMAN: All right. This morning, law enforcement around the country on high alert after the deadly shootings of police officers in New York and Texas.

NYPD Officer Jason Rivera was shot and killed Friday while responding to a domestic incident. And Houston area Deputy Charles Galloway was killed during a traffic stop on Sunday.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz joins us now, live from New York. This is such a tragedy, Shimon.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's just horrific. And the brutal nature of this attack is really calling for change. City officials here saying that it's time for something to be different. It's time for change. The mayor saying something needs to change.

Something needs to be done to save the city as the NYPD, shaken by this brutal attack, prepares to bury the 22-year-old officer later this week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Hundreds of police officers, EMTs and firefighters lined the streets to honor NYPD Officer Jason Rivera, killed in the line of duty Friday.

Twenty-two-year-old Rivera is the fifth officer shot in New York City so far this year and has the city's mayor calling for action.

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK CITY: We have to stop the flow of guns.

PROKUPECZ: The shooting also left 27-year-old Officer Wilbert Mora critically injured. According to the NYPD, their unit was responding to a domestic incident in Harlem. A 911 call from a mother arguing with her son. When a man inside began shooting at the officers.

COMMISSIONER KEECHANT SEWELL, NEW YORK POLICE: He suddenly, without warning, opened fire on them. In a moment, a young 22-year-old life was ended. And another forever altered.

OFFICER JASON RIVERA, NYPD: You know what? You could do it.

PROKUPECZ: Rivera wanted to motivate young people. In a resurfaced video from his high school days, Rivera gives freshmen advice.

RIVERA: I want you all to -- to, like -- to hear me, hear my voice and know that you're going to get through it. You're going to get through hit. You've got to put in the work.

PROKUPECZ: While Rivera was in the police academy in 2020, he wrote about his experience watching his brother stopped and frisked by officers.

Over time, he noticed police in his neighborhood working to change their relationship with the community. That, quote, "is when I realized I wanted to be part of the men in blue; better the relationship between the community and the police," he wrote.

Friday's shooting is drawing the attention to the problem of illegal guns on the streets. The NYPD says the suspect used a gun stolen from Baltimore in 2017.

JAMES ESSIG, NYPD CHIEF OF DETECTIVES: Recovered at that scene is a Glock .45 high-capacity magazine, which holds up to 40 additional rounds.

PROKUPECZ: On Sunday, Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan to address the problem.

ADAMS: Immediately we're going to reinstitute a newer version of a plainclothes, modified plainclothes anti-gun unit. Our team has done the proper analysis. And now we're going to deploy that.

PROKUPECZ: A city official said the NYPD commissioner has asked precinct commanders to select candidates for the unit. But it's not clear how many officers will be chosen or how they would operate.

New York's governor also announced the first meeting of an interstate task force on illegal guns later this week.

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D-NY): They're coming in from other states. They're flooding our streets. And I have pledged the resources of the New York State Police to become embedded with NYPD and others to help them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PROKUPECZ: And, John, live back out here at the 32nd Precinct where these officers were. You can see behind me candles and balloons, and flowers.

Many of the community members have been coming here, lighting the candles as they're really just trying to unite the city and show support for this police department.

As we await word on the other officer who was moved to NYU Hospital late yesterday, we're waiting for an update on his condition. And a funeral for the other officer to take place Thursday and Friday at St. Patrick's Cathedral -- John.

BERMAN: A lot of emotion here in New York City. And obviously, everyone thinking about the families of these officers. Shimon Prokupecz, thank you very much.

A top January 6th investigator fired from his job at the University of Virginia by the state's new Republican attorney general.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki under fire for saying people upset over voting rights failure should do some cardio and have a drink.

[06:15:04]

KEILAR: And the U.K.'s Boris Johnson ends all COVID restrictions, saying that it's time to start treating COVID like the flu. Will the U.S. follow suit?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich is claiming members of the January 6th Committee could face jail time. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: These are people who are literally just running over the law, pursuing innocent people, causing them to spend thousands and thousands of dollars in legal fees for no justification. And it's basically a lynch mob.

I think when you have a Republican Congress, this is all going to come crashing down. And the wolves will find out that they're now sheep. And they're the ones who are, in fact, going to, I think, face a real risk of jail for the kind of laws they are breaking.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KEILAR: Republican Liz Cheney, who serves on the committee, tweeted this in response. Quote, "A former speaker of the House is threatening jail time for members of Congress who are investigating the violent January 6th attack on our Capitol and our Constitution. This is what it looks like when the rule of law unravels."

And this is happening as we have learned Donald Trump's former attorney general, Bill Barr, has been speaking with the House Committee.

Let's talk about all of this with CNN senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elie Honig. He's also the author of the book "Hatchet Man: How Bill Barr Broke the Prosecutor's Code and Corrupted the Justice Department."

So Elie, you hear Newt Gingrich say this, and you say what?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Newt Gingrich's comments were wrong, dangerous, idiotic, crazy. I could probably keep going on.

But let me just say this. This probably does not need to be said. But everything Newt Gingrich said there is wrong. There is nothing that anybody on the January 6th Commission -- Committee has done that is remotely illegal or criminal.

Also, again, this shouldn't need to be said. Congress does not get to charge people. Newt Gingrich seemed to suggest that if Congress becomes Republican, these people are all going to jail.

Congress does not bring charges. The Justice Department brings charges.

But bigger picture here, Brianna, I think we see Newt Gingrich trying to become a mini-Donald Trump. He's taking a page out of Donald Trump's playbook, which is first, furiously deny everything; and then second, attack the people who had the gall to investigate in the first place. And I think that's a really dangerous thing that we're seeing more and more of.

BERMAN: It's false, absurd, and dangerous. I mean, all three of those things, the last one probably being the most important.

HONIG: Yes. Absolutely. Look, again, Donald Trump set the playbook here. Remember John Durham? Remember that name?

This is the guy who Donald Trump and Bill Barr put in place to investigate Robert Mueller's investigators. John Durham is still sitting there, by the way, wasting our time and money years and years later.

But that has become the model, the -- you know, the saying is the best defense is a good offense. Sadly, that seems to be spreading, and people seem to be trying to follow in Donald Trump's footsteps.

KEILAR: And you say -- so, look, you're right. It's up to the DOJ to prosecute. But is he raising the specter of, you know, two more years down the road after the midterms, Republican comes into the presidency.

Obviously, you know, the DOJ is supposed to be somewhat independent or independent. But there's this possibility that then you have Congress and DOJ kind of doing the bidding of a retributive, as you said, president.

HONIG: Yes, I think there's a couple issues here. First of all, Newt Gingrich seems to be suggesting that, if Congress flips at the end of 2020, we're going to see retribution. And by the way, he's not alone in that.

Remember, Kevin McCarthy, when the January 6th Committee started serving subpoenas on phone companies, Kevin McCarthy vowed that if things turn and we take over, we're going to seek retribution on these phone companies who have done nothing wrong by complying with subpoenas.

And bigger picture, Brianna, I think there's a suggestion here that, if the presidency, if the executive branch turns over in 2024 or whenever, then it will be payback time. And that, I think, is what's so dangerous here.

BERMAN: So Elie, overnight another story that caught some people's attention, which is that in Virginia, the Republican, the new Republican attorney general of Virginia, has removed the University of Virginia's legal counsel, the official counsel of the University of Virginia.

That person also happens to be serving temporarily for the January 6th Select Committee. Now, there were other counsels at public universities who were also removed from their posts. Apparently, the attorney general has an ability to remove or appoint them as he or she sees fit.

But there are people who look at the removal of this counsel who is serving on the January 6th Committee as being perhaps political. How do you see it?

HONIG: Yes. So there are some facts that I think we still need to know. As you know, John, a few dozen attorneys were removed.

But this particular attorney, Mr. Heaphy, has a sterling resume. Really nothing that would cause anyone to question his credentials.

So look, he may have a lawsuit here for wrongful termination. And then facts will come out in discovery here.

But again, I think this is another example -- this could be, depending on how the facts play out -- another example of someone just coming in and wreaking havoc and seeking retribution against somebody who had the gall, the temerity, to run an investigation.

And as a former prosecutor, I understand just how dangerous that could be. One of the great things about DOJ when I was there, under both Republican and Democratic parties, was there was never any concern, is boy, is this going to blow back at me? Am I going to be punished? Am I going to be attacked for investigating maybe the wrong person?

That's how DOJ ought to be. That's how our government ought to be. And I think we're seeing that change from places high and low, state, federal. And I think it's all because people are trying to emulate this Donald Trump counterattack playbook.

KEILAR: Yes. A reminder, it is a bipartisan committee. Just a reminder, there are some Republicans on it.

Elie, thank you so much. Great to see you this morning.

HONIG: Thanks, Brianna.

[06:25:05]

KEILAR: Up next, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. slammed for invoking Anne Frank in an offensive anti-vaccine speech.

BERMAN: This morning, jury selection begins in Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit against "The New York Times." This really does have the potential to be a landmark case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: This morning, we're going to play something for you that is deranged. Deranged and dishonest and offensive. I could go on. At a rally in Washington last night, the notorious anti-vaxxer, Robert Kennedy Jr., compared those who defy vaccine mandates to Jews hiding from the Nazis during the Holocaust.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT KENNEDY JR., ENVIRONMENTAL LAWYER: It's been the ambition of every totalitarian state since the beginning of mankind to control every aspect of behavior --

(END VIDEO CLIP)