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New Day Saturday

Gasoline Shortage Persists in Southeastern U.S. As Pipeline Restarts; Executive Orders Seeks to National Cybersecurity; CT Mobilizes Mass Vaccination Drives For Teens With Community Health Centers; Biden Revokes Series of Trump-Era Executive Orders; Representative Liz Cheney on Trump Purging Republicans Who Stand Up to Stolen Election Lie: "He Might Try But He Won't Succeed; Kobe Bryant Being Inducted Into Hall of Fame Today. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired May 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]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Gas stations across the parts of the Southeast are still running on empty even after that pipeline restarted when supplies expected to return to normal.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, paying up colonial pipeline paying to get that pipeline reopened. But that begs the question, if businesses pay these ransoms, I should say what is to stop hackers from doing it again?

WALKER: Hitting the streets community health advocates are setting up shop and parking lots and beaches. All in an effort to get teenagers vaccinated against the Coronavirus.

SANCHEZ: Plus, the power of the pen President Biden is rolling back Trump era executive orders on everything from immigration to national monuments. We're going to break down everything he's doing.

It is Saturday, May 15th. We were so grateful that you woke up with us this morning and we're grateful to have a special visitor good morning.

WALKER: Good to be with you this morning. Well, admit this first mask less weekend getting out and about is slightly more complicated due to the gas shortage more than a day after colonial pipeline system was fully restored service stations are still waiting for gasoline deliveries up and down the East Coast.

SANCHEZ: Fuel tracking service "Gas Buddy" reports that as of last night 88 percent of gas stations in the nation's Capitol were still out of fuel, Maryland and Virginia also experiencing outages of more than 40 percent. And it's even harder to fill up in North Carolina where analysts say that two thirds of gas pumps are completely dried out.

WALKER: Two thirds. Well, let's go to CNN's Natasha Chen, who is live in Charleston, South Carolina this morning. And Natasha, the latest tracking shows people there had a 50-50 chance of finding a gas station in service. Is that still the case this morning? NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDET: Well, Amara, the "Gas Buddy" app that

we're talking about is crowd sourced. So it really depends on drivers self-reporting, what they're seeing at the pump. That being said, you can rely on that, to some degree, it is about 50-50 apparently right now, we went around the Charleston area last night looking at a few gas stations this morning.

Some of them got fuel supply overnight, but not this one behind us. You can still see the yellow bags over the pumps right now there are red tags on the pumps, actually saying stop sale notice. So nobody's coming to this gas station for fuel for sure.

And it's unclear when they are actually going to get new supply? So wild colonial pipeline did say this morning that they've returned to normal operations, it is going to take some time for people to see that fuel come to the pump.

Until we've had several states in the region declared States of emergency over the past week that includes Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida. Yesterday, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp renewed that state of emergency. And he has really suspended the gas tax. And also, the price gouging statutes are in effect to prevent price gouging from happening.

A number of states also lifting restrictions when it comes to trucks, weight size and weight limits so that they can really get as much fuel as possible to the people to the drivers here. So, there is some frustration initially, you may have seen some long lines in other states at the gas stations that really do have fuel.

We're not seeing long lines here necessarily at the stations that just got gas, perhaps people in the last few days fueled up to what they needed. And hopefully they heard the message from leadership from authority saying please do not engage in panic buying because that just makes the whole situation worse Amara and Boris.

SANCHEZ: Natasha Chen reporting from South Carolina thanks so much. The cyberattack that shut down the colonial pipeline was just the latest extortion plot that's compromised a company or government entity. Colonial reportedly paid ransom to the hackers but negotiations with these kinds of hackers don't always work out.

A ransomware group says that it published all of the information it stole from the Washington Metro Police Department, saying the department's offer was not enough to stop the release. Now this week, President Biden signed an executive order on Cybersecurity.

It includes removing barriers to threat information sharing between the government and private sector, as well as steps to modernize and implement stronger Cybersecurity standards and the federal government.

It establishes a Cybersecurity Safety Review Board and creates a standard playbook for responding to these kinds of incidents. Joining us now to discuss further is Amit Yoran. He's a Former National Cybersecurity Director with the Department of Homeland Security. And he's now the Chairman and CEO of Tenable, which helps organizations assess and reduce their Cybersecurity risks. Amit, pleasure to have you on. This executive order as you noted in piece you did for Forbes.

[08:05:00]

SANCHEZ: Is not going to eliminate all threats to Cybersecurity in the United States, but in your eyes, it was a step in the right to. But in your eyes, it was a step in the right direction. Why?

AMIT YORAN, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, TENABLE: Well, I think it's a massive step in the right direction. As you said, no one piece of policy change is going to get rid of these pervasive types of cyberattacks. But there's clearly a call for action, right?

You know, when we see it on the news each and every day, whether it's colonial pipeline, whether it's solar winds, we see D.C. Metro Police, this is the threat environment we're operating in, and action is required. So, this is a very broad and very specific executive order.

It has significant components to drive increased transparency, increased accountability, and there's very tight timelines for action. So it's a significant step forward, for sure.

SANCHEZ: Now, ransomware attacks have been happening in escalating proportion for about a decade now. Why do you think the United States has lagged on addressing this issue?

YORAN: This is a very complex issue to address from both a technology standpoint where organizations need to do a better job, understanding the systems they've got understanding where and how those systems are exposed, and prioritizing the things that they need to do to protect those systems.

And that is much easier said than it's done in practice, because systems are not just the desktops and servers and workstations and, and computers that we used to talk about. It's also control systems, the computers that connect to physical devices, the robotics that deliver a manufacturing in oil and gas distribution.

And so these environments have become incredibly efficient and incredibly complex in recent years. And so there's the technology problem. There's the law enforcement problem, where many of these criminal gangs are operating overseas, and in some instances in countries, which don't have cooperative law enforcement agreements or condone these activities.

And there's complex policy issues involved as well. So, there's just a lot going on to address these things. But the best thing organizations can do is better protect them.

SANCHEZ: I want to ask you about that aspect of the sort of foreign influence on these hackers. But before that, I did want to play some sound for you from IBM's, Chairman and CEO who spoke with CNN, saying that we need to change the way that we think about and approach cyber security as Americans. Here is that sound bite.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARVIND KRISHNA, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, IBM: When we talk about infrastructure, you talked about the colonial pipeline, that's physical infrastructure. But the cyber side of that physical gets attacked, the physical is useless. So I actually believe that when we talk about infrastructure, we should make sure that the cyber infrastructure is on equal stage and equal footing with the physical.

That's the only way to take advantage of it. And you're right. I have said before, we should have a NASA style program; go spend $100 billion on a public private partnership to improve cyber resilience. Otherwise, we're going to be victim to these kinds of attacks again, and again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: He's talking about Cybersecurity as a part of infrastructure. Meantime, the White House is promoting this $2 trillion infrastructure plan that doesn't really address Cybersecurity in any meaningful way. Is that something you would like to see the Biden Administration tackle, beyond just this executive order?

YORAN: Well, I think, no doubt, you know, as you look at Cybersecurity, it's really become pervasive and integral to every aspect of modern life, our communications, infrastructure, all of our digital records, the power production, transmission distribution, the oil and gas, our healthcare systems.

We're seeing a ransomware attack happening right now, affecting Ireland's National Health System, shutting down hospitals, preventing patients from getting health care from entering the hospital.

So there's this situation where we've embraced digital technology, it is absolutely pervasive and we need to see a Cybersecurity component in cyber risk management as an integral component to corporate decision making to national policymaking to every aspect of regulating and governing our daily lives because it is influencing and impacting our daily lives.

SANCHEZ: Now, let me quickly so far, officials have said that there's no evidence that the Russian government had a role in this dark side hack. Is it feasible that an attack like this could have been mounted without support at least tacitly from the Kremlin?

YORAN: Well, it is anything is feasible in the cyber domain as you know an attribution is extremely difficult to establish. We do have incredibly strong capabilities in the private sector in the threat intelligence providers, and we have incredibly strong capability in our national intelligence and law enforcement organizations.

[08:10:00]

YORAN: So attribution while difficult certainly is possible. Whether there is tacit approval, whether there is direct guidance, or whether there is just a complicit acknowledgement or allowing these types of activities.

In any event, national governments and sovereign states are required to police provide reasonable policing capabilities within their borders, where those criminal gangs operate and where they're impacting so many American lives are critical infrastructures in Ireland and other nations around the world.

So that is part of the national policy debate and part of international law that needs to continue to be fleshed out and action taken.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it seems like a tough hill to climb. Amit Yoran, thank you so much for the time, so we appreciate it.

YORAN: Thanks for having me.

SANCHEZ: Of course. President Trump wanted sculpture garden of American heroes but now it's not going to happen. We'll tell you the other executive orders that President Biden just revoked from the Trump era next.

WALKER: Plus, major confusion this week after the CDC updated its masks guidelines help people prove that they're vaccinated and don't need to wear one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:15:00]

SANCHEZ: Millions of Americans are enjoying their first full weekend with loosen COVID restrictions in over a year. But there's some confusion and concern some thinking that the decision to lift mask mandates for fully vaccinated people maybe too much too soon.

WALKER: Yes, CDC says more than 155 million people have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine including about 2.4 million children under 18. But some experts have raised concerns about the new guidance in part because vaccine hesitancy remains a barrier to achieving the goal of herd immunity, CNN's Polo Sandoval with more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Several state governors and big retailers signaled to return to normal on Friday in the U.S. a day after the CDC said it is safe for fully vaccinated people to remove their face masks in most settings.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGEY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE: People who feel that which they should now based on the data that it are safe for them not only outdoors, but indoors. They should feel comfortable in not wearing a mask.

SANDOVAL (voice-over): Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced Friday the state which recently battled a surge in Coronavirus cases will lift its mask requirement for fully vaccinated people effective this morning. Several states have already taken that step. Maryland Minnesota, New Mexico, Vermont and Virginia ended their mask mandates yesterday.

That's after the CDC on Thursday changed its masks guidelines and said fully vaccinated people no longer need to keep their distance from others outside their household. Several national retailers followed suit Walmart, Costco, Sam's Club and Trader Joe's announced Friday that they are no longer required wearing masks in some of their stores.

And public supermarkets announced that starting today; fully vaccinated customers will not be required to wear face masks in their stores. Starbucks will make facial coverings optional for vaccinated customers starting on Monday, the company announced late on Friday in a post to their website, the CDC trying to make things less confusing with this new list of masks guidelines.

There's at least one group still scrambling for answers parents of kids younger than 12. Children and educators should expect to return to school in person and full time in the fall that's going to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, but children who are not yet vaccinated against COVID-19 will still need to wear masks in the classroom this fall said Dr. Anthony Fauci on Friday.

DR. FAUCI: What hasn't changed is what's going on for the unvaccinated group. And if the unvaccinated group or the elementary school children, nothing has really changed for them, I think that's the thing we need to clarify.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Back here in the New York area actually just across the river, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announcing that for now his masks mandate will stay in place, but he said just the last few days here Amara that we - they do expect to get to that point where they will tell their residents if you've been fully vaccinated and are indoors and take your mask off, then you should be OK.

The Governor saying they will - expect him to get to the point "The coming weeks". But for now, that mandate will stay in place many states going to be doing the same.

WALKER: Polo Sandoval. Thank you for that. It is about getting in the habit though, of taking off that mask and keeping it off, isn't it? Well, now that the FDA has authorized the Pfizer vaccine for nearly 17 million American teens ages 12 to 15. The real challenge begins to actually get them vaccinated.

In Connecticut federally funded community health centers are leading the charge to reach kids right in their communities mass walkout vaccination drives that mall parking lots amusement parks, beaches and even school buses are always there trying to get shots in arms now right before summer vacation begins for many students and that's just in days or weeks.

Here with me now is Yvette Highsmith Francis, she is the Vice President for the Eastern Region of Community Health Centers in Connecticut. Yvette, good morning to you thank you for the work that you do. And thanks for joining us.

So Yvette your organization has worked to help get more people in your state vaccinated but you has been saying it's not just about access, but also creating the ease of access. Tell us more about how you and your team are making it easier for this age group 12 to 15 to get access, easy access to the vaccines.

YVETTE HIGHSMITH FRANCIS, REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER, INC.: Well, good morning, Amara. And thank you so much for having me on this morning. It's a pleasure to speak with you about the work that we're doing in Connecticut to ensure that all of our residents have access to the COVID-19 vaccine should they need it?

[08:20:00]

HIGHSMITH: And when it comes to our young people, we are finding that, you know, removing all barriers and being assessable and available and in trusted areas of our residents lives is absolutely key to ensuring that more people get vaccinated. We have these large drive-thru vaccine clinics.

Our approach had been "Hub and Spoke" for mass vax drive through locations in Connecticut that are able to serve thousands of people daily vaccinating in our primary care centers.

And then having mobile teams that go out in the community and reach people where they live? Where they work? Where they play? Where they pray? Where they you know, walk along the water? And that has been really critical in terms of reaching this next group of individuals who get remained to be vaccinated.

WALKER: Are you seeing a 12 to 15 year olds coming to these vaccination drives to get vaccinated and where are you meeting them? Where do the 12 to 15 year olds go?

HIGHSMITH: So we are Amara yesterday, we actually had a blitz day at our drive-thru locations, and we saw young people coming through with their parents or guardians or family members, to our drive thru locations. But what we've done is really partnered with school districts across the state.

And some of those school districts have decided to make being vaccinated an event in the lives of these young people. And so they've coordinated bus transportation, one high school called it senior skip day, and brought their 16 and 17 year olds, we had you know, upwards of 10 buses.

Thousand kids on that day came and were vaccinated with their peers. We had the Governor, we had the Lieutenant Governor, we had Senator Blumenthal, we had the Mascot from Dunkin Donuts National Park, and we had a DJ and our vaccinators were dancing.

We gave out swag to the kids; they left their high schools. And, you know, it was so significant for a couple of reasons Amara. Number one, a lot of these young people shared with us that they were the first in their family to be vaccinated. WALKER: Wow!

HIGHSMITH: So they're making informed choices about their health care. And if you think about it, most kids, we take them to the doctor to get their immunizations, and they don't really have a say in it. But for this COVID-19 vaccine, these young people are having a say and they are leaders. They are - they want their future to be one that is beyond COVID.

WALKER: Do the children have to get their parent's permission or authorization to get a vaccine?

HIGHSMITH: They do.

WALKER: OK.

HIGHSMITH: They do. Parental consent is absolutely required. But this goes to show that these young people are having conversations with their parents that allow their parents to give them that consent whether the parent has been vaccinated or not.

WALKER: Yes. If I could just get through--

HIGHSMITH: --get vaccinated.

WALKER: Good. Go ahead, finish that thought. Sorry.

HIGHSMITH: So I was going to say parents got vaccinated as a result of their young person making that decision to be vaccinated.

WALKER: And that goes along the lines of my next question, because I was going to ask you, how often are you seeing children and being the advocate to their parents? Hey, I got a vaccine mom, dad, why don't you get one?

In fact, I want to talk a little bit, we got to go. But there is some hesitancy among parents who may have been vaccinated. But you know they don't see the need for the children to do so. Or they might be a little concerned.

Let's wait and see. And a Kaiser Family Foundation Survey found that only about 29 percent of parents were ready to allow their kids to get vaccinated right away with 32 percent say, alright, you know, let's wait and see. Are you hearing about that hesitancy from the parents or from the children?

HIGHSMITH: We're hearing about it from the parents, and then the young person is really the catalyst in that decision being made or changed. And that's the power and our young people are so informed today.

And again, these are students who have not had the opportunity to do a lot of the things that you and I had to do when we were in high school. They miss their senior - they you know, had a different type of prom if they had one.

And so they are ready to get on the other side of this pandemic and they are willing to take action. And some of them just want to hug their grandparents again, you know, they are so engaged in this and so are working together with school districts to support young people and being vaccinated together to identifying teen influencers, trusted messengers around this is so critical to us getting to where we need to be.

WALKER: And we know they've suffered so much of this pandemic as well. Not being able to be in school and having that social network that we all crave.

HIGHSMITH: Great.

WALKER: Yvette Highsmith Francis, appreciate the conversation and important one. Thank you very much.

HIGHSMITH: Thank you, Amara. Have a great day.

WALKER: You too. Well, when COVID-19 hit the race to develop a vaccine began and tonight CNN takes you inside the mission to give the world a shot with the new film "Race for the vaccine". Here's a preview.

[08:25:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three out of four of the mice that were dosed with one microgram which were protected against viral replication in their nasal terminus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The lab work was led by Kizzmekia Corbett, then just 34 years old.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ironically enough, I was interested in Coronaviruses because most other people were not. You want to build a niche and so you want to tap into some unchartered territory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kizzy first came to NIH as a teenage summer intern in Barney's lab.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I asked her so how do you envision yourself a 10 or 15 years from now? And she said, well, I'd like to have your job. So that was that was unique in my years of interviewing students.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the start of 2020, when she was running a tiny research team of mostly students.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the case of SARS COVID 2 to this receptor is the ACE II receptor.

UNINDENTIFIED MALE: Kizzy could not have guessed that she would soon be leading the charge against a global pandemic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Wow! Incredible stuff be sure to watch "Race for the Vaccine" tonight at 9 pm. Eastern, right here on CNN. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]

SANCHEZ: President Biden revoking or rolling back a number of executive orders issued by Former President Trump.

WALKER: And that includes one that required migrants applying for visas to either have health insurance or the money to pay for medical care. CNN's Jasmine Wright joining us now from the White House with more. Good morning, Jasmine if you will, please walk us through what President Biden has done so far?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, it's a rejection of Former President Trump. That is the impact of reversing these Trump era he owes doing away with what the White House sees are he owes that were harmful or frankly irrelevant.

Now, this effort really started in earnest with the first day that President Biden took office when he rejoined the Paris Climate Change Agreement when he revoked that Muslim travel ban. That is when the White House started acting on it and now it continues 5 months in with reversing the six Trump error he owes reversing or rolling back really all things that were not necessarily impactful, but were windows into Former President Trump's a political agenda.

So let's walk through some of these. They range from immigration revoking an EAO that allowed the government to deny immigrants a visa unless they can prove they can obtain health insurance that never went into effect because it was blocked by a federal judge.

Biden also rolls back an EAO that protected national monuments and action Trump took after people began to facing Confederate monument monuments his show he did not approve that happened after all of those protests, and an executive order that would have built a park called "The National Garden of Heroes" with statues of people like Whitney Houston, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Albert Einstein, but was never funded.

And of course, one though we cannot really forget that executive order Former President Trump signed on online censorship after Twitter began flagging his tweets as misleading or false. Of course, that is one of the ones that were revoked. And of course, President Trump is no longer on Twitter.

But these executive orders of revoking rolling back really signal a symbolic effort by the White House to reject President Trump to reject his political agenda. It is something that President Biden ran on the campaign trail, and now he is following through as president.

WALKER: All right, Jasmine, right. Appreciate it. Thank you very much. Over on Capitol Hill, there is a disturbing trend among some House Republicans to downplay or actually deny the violence that we all saw with our own eyes on January 6th.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it's an attempt to rewrite recent history and its adding new urgency for an independent commission to set in stone the facts of that day. It looks like there could finally be a bipartisan deal to make that happen. CNN's Daniella Diaz is on Capitol Hill, Daniella some concessions from both sides but no sign off yet from Republican Leader McCarthy.

DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Boris that's exactly right. Look, this is big, big news out of the House yesterday. You know, this is a significant breakthrough for a bipartisan commission a 9/11 style commission to investigate the events on January 6th.

Look, House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson reached a deal with the Ranking Member of the Committee John Katko, who's a Republican to create this commission that would investigate the events on January 6th.

I want to talk a little bit about what they agreed to. Some of the details include a 10 member panel that was - it would be half appointed by Democratic Congressional leaders, including the Chair and half by Republican leaders including the Vice Chair.

The panel would also have the power to issue subpoenas if they are signed off by both the Chair a Democrat and the Vice Chair a Republican. And the commission would be tasked with issuing the final report by the end of this year, which would make it a quick timeline for the panel to put on the final product.

Look after the agreement was agreed to yesterday a reporter spoke with McCarthy House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on what he thought of this and he said he was still reviewing it and he hasn't signed off.

But that is not stopping House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from putting this on the floor. Next week she's going to have the House vote on a bill to create this commission as well as a $2 billion supplemental funding bill to increase capital security, of course all of this because of the events of what happened during the Insurrection on January 6th.

But the bottom line is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had been negotiating this and had been stalled to create this commission.

[08:35:00]

DIAZ: You know we didn't even know if it was going to happen after a while because these negotiations had stopped for months. But now it's clear that they will likely create this commission now to investigate the insurrection, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Daniella Diaz from Capitol Hill. Thank you so much. We have planned to discuss with Susan Page, she's the Washington Bureau Chief for USA Today. Susan, a pleasure to have you as always, let's get right to Liz Cheney. I want you to listen to a portion of her interview with my colleague Jake Tapper yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): I think it's been especially clear on my side recently, is that, you know, we need to incentivize people who want to come to Washington and do real work, people who want to come and actually legislate.

And we also need to get back to a time when we could have really vigorous policy debates, where we were confident enough in our views and in our side of things that we could stand up and argue for them and make the case.

But that we didn't have the kind of vitriol flying back and forth that we certainly have over the course of last several years. And people ought to want to be there and work hard and not be social media stars.

And not that - that's not the right reason to be there. The vast majority of members are there for the right reasons. But we've got to find a way in our society to incentivize more substance, more seriousness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Get back to a time where we are confident in our views. It sounds like she's frustrated that Republicans are leaning further and further into Trumpism. You know, bluster and not much substance, and not really selling issues to get votes.

SUSAN PAGE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, USA TODAY: Well, President Trump has succeeded in denying Liz Cheney, her leadership posts, but in the process, she has gotten this big megaphone. She was on Jake Tapper show and did a series of other TV interviews have gotten a lot of attention for her case, against Trump against the direction of the Republican Party.

You know, it's remarkable Boris, you think about someone with the last name of Cheney, a sterling name in the Republican Party for so many years, the daughter of a former member of the House leadership himself, Dick Cheney, and then of course, a member of the cabinet and then vice president, and for her to now be on the outside of the Republican tent is really quite an extraordinary thing to see.

SANCHEZ: And, Susan, you mentioned the media tour that she's on how much of that do you think is a calculation for her about 2024 and a potential run for the White House?

PAGE: Well, this Republican Party would not be a friendly place for nominating Liz Cheney, for president. I mean, the art of politics can be pretty long, something that seems impossible today may seem more than possible in a decade, but this is Trump's Republican Party.

It President Trump - Former President Trump is defining the 2024 presidential election. We don't yet know if he's going to actually make a bid to run again. But he says he might and that has sort of frozen everyone else in place.

I think Liz Cheney's immediate issue is can she survive a Republican primary in Wyoming a very, very red state next year? If she does, then she will continue to have this platform to make the case for the party to go in a different direction. SANCHEZ: A very good point. And to the point of Trump running again,

Cheney said that she didn't think he could succeed if he tried to run for the White House in 2024. Reports from his camp, or that he's sort of fixated on the idea, at least for now. Republicans aren't really doing much to distance themselves from him. So how would they actually stop him from winning the nomination at this point?

PAGE: Well, you know, politics, as I said, things can change, and things can change quickly. But if he wants the nomination, if he runs for the nomination, it would be a titanic battle to deny him the nomination. On the other hand, you look at his standing and national polls, now he's down to an approval rating of 32 percent in one poll that came out and last week.

That's not a very strong base for a Former President to run for president. That might be of concern to some Republicans. And of course, there's no shortage of other Republicans who would like to get that nomination.

SANCHEZ: Now, Susan, I think we might have this graphic, but I want to ask you about putting all of this into context. This is from Alyssa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat that backed Trump both in 2016 and 2020.

She told our Den Merica, "No one's talking about Liz Cheney in my district right now". They want to know what's happening with their pocketbooks and their kids. They want to know what's going on with the things that directly impact them.

So we need to be able to speak to economic security, watching all of this unfold on the Republican side. Do you think it might make Democrats sort of rest on their laurels thinking that all this chaos will make it easier for them going into 22 and 24? Do they need to not focus on this chaos and get to working for the American people?

[08:40:00]

PAGE: Democrats, I think are quite concerned about what's going to happen in next year's midterm elections? History says they're going to lose control of the House of Representatives. That's not preordained, but that's what we've seen happen with Bill Clinton and with Barack Obama in their first midterm elections.

And if that happens, and everything gets so much harder for the Biden White House and for the Democratic priorities, generally, that's where I think Democrats are focused on. And of course, the issues on which Democrats will be judged, not Liz Cheney, its issues like is the pandemic under control and has the economy recovered?

SANCHEZ: Susan Page, we have to leave it there. We do want to remind our viewers to check out your book, "Madam Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the lessons of power". It's available right now. I've read it. I recommend it. We appreciate your time Susan Page. Stay with CNN we'll be right back after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:45:00]

SANCHEZ: Federal judge has ordered the Justice Department to create a digital drop box so media outlets can access Capitol riots videos being used in court cases.

WALKER: The ruling came after CNN and other news outlets thought body camera and surveillance video that has been seen by judges but not made public. Now this comes as new details emerge about the coordination between members of the "Proud Boys" on January 6th.

SANCHEZ: Nab CNN's Jessica Schneider has the latest on the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Federal prosecutors are poring over thousands of pages of newly revealed messages from key Proud Boys Leader and Capitol Riot defended Ethan Nardin. The internal communications between Nardin and other Proud Boys take place over text, Telegram messenger and WhatsApp.

And prosecutors say they prove how the pro Trump extremist group plotted out the Capitol insurrection? One Telegram exchange reads I want to see thousands of nominees burn that city to ash today would be epic. The state is the enemy of the people. We are the people. "F yes" God let it happen. I will settle with seeing them smash some pigs to dust.

Nardin and other Proud Boys have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and other charges. New exclusive body camera footage shows how D.C. Police Officer Michael Fanone was targeted and surrounded by members of the mob on January 6th. He pleaded for his life by shouting out about his family.

MICHAEL FANONE, DC METROPOLITEAN POLICE OFFICER: Excruciating pain and screaming out. And I remember the fear of losing control at that moment.

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Fanone said he relived the trauma of January 6th when he listened to a House hearing this week where several Republican lawmakers lied about what unfolded that day?

REP. JODY HICE (R-GA): It was Trump supporters who lost their lives that day, not Trump supporters who were taking the lives of others.

REP. PAUL GOSAR (R-AZ): To my knowledge, not a single person has been charged with a crime of insurrection.

REP. ANDREW CLYDE (R-GA): If you didn't know the TV footage was a video from January 6th, you would actually think that it was a normal tourist visit.

FANONE: Those are lies and peddling that bullshit is an assault on every officer that fought to defend the Capitol. It's disgraceful.

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Meanwhile, some members of Congress are still concerned about their safety when it comes to fellow lawmakers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You need to get rid of your diaper and come out and be able to talk to the American citizens.

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): CNN has uncovered new video later deleted from Facebook Live from February 2019 of Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene before being elected to Congress taunting progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez through a mail slot, urging her to come out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez crazy eyes. Crazy eyes, nutty Cortez.

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): The two had a face to face confrontation inside the Capitol this week.

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): This is a woman that - and clearly needs some help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: Marjorie Taylor Greene came under fire as well after January 6th when her close ally Anthony Guerra was seen on video inside the Capitol and later admitting on tape that he was among those who entered the building.

Now as per Officer Finone, he sent a letter to lawmakers recently calling on them to recognize what happened that day and to commend officer's bravery. Four people have been charged in connection to the attack on Officer Finone. Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.

WALKER: Despite a failed drug test after winning the Kentucky Derby Medina Spirit will race in the Preakness Stakes today. We'll have more on that next.

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[08:50:00]

WALKER: Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit will be allowed to race at the Preakness Stakes today.

SANCHEZ: Coy Wire joins us now. Coy the horse is going to be a Preakness the trainer not so much.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And Medina Spirit cleared and the favorite at today's race in Baltimore, the middle jewel of the Triple Crown. After passing the final two of its three drug tests yesterday, those were required by the Maryland Jockey Club and Maryland Racing Commission as a condition for entering the Preakness after the horse tested positive for a restricted anti inflammatory at Churchill Downs two weeks ago.

Derby officials still determining whether that win will stand and as Boris mentioned, Trainer Bob Baffert opting not to be at the race today. He is undefeated at Preakness with a Derby winner post time is 6:50 Eastern. The late Lakers Legend Kobe Bryant will officially become a Hall of

Famer today. The Hall of Fame unveiling a new exhibit designed in part by his widow Vanessa, dedicated to Mambo both the player and the father.

The five time NBA champ headlining what is a decorated, decorated class all time alongside a fellow five-time Champion Dunkin 15 time All-Star Kevin Garnett, and four time Olympic Gold Medalist Tamika Catchings, Kobe will be inducted by his mentor and friend Michael Jordan.

[08:55:00]

WIRE: The Lakers Superstar Anthony Davis they'll never forget seeing Kobe dunk on them in a game then holding his shoulder funny. Nobody realized that he had dislocated it Boris and Amara. And he stayed in the game shot left hand is still made the Dunkin - shows the level of toughness, focus and competitive player that make Kobe great should be an emotional night.

SANCHEZ: So many unforgettable moments in his career. It's great that he's being on it this way. Coy Wire thank you so much. And thank you so much for being here. We're not done yet. We're going to be back in one hour.

WALKER: Smerconish is that up next.

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