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The Situation Room
Interview With Former CDC Director Thomas Frieden; CDC Issues Guidelines For Vaccinated; COVID Relief Bill Heads To House; Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Bombshell Interview Just Aired In U.K.; Trial Begins For Ex-Policeman Derek Chauvin In The Death Of George Floyd, Jury Selection Expected To Start Tomorrow; New York Attorney General Selects Two Attorneys To Lead Independent Probe Of Governor Cuomo Sexual Harassment Allegations. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired March 08, 2021 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers around the world and here in the U.S. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Tonight, Americans have guidance on what they can and can't do once they're fully vaccinated against COVID-19. That applies as of right now to more than 30 million Americans. The CDC says it's safe to visit with other fully vaccinated people in small groups and with some unvaccinated people if precautions are taken.
But all of us are still being urged to wear masks in public and to avoid travel and crowds, this as President Biden's in nearly $2 trillion COVID relief bill is nearing final passage in the House of Representatives, the vote now expected Wednesday. The president plans to deliver his first prime-time address to the nation a day later, marking one year since the coronavirus shutdown in this country.
We're also getting new reaction to that bombshell Harry and Meghan interview. We will go live to the U.K. soon, where it just finished airing for the first time, the couple raising serious allegations of racism and neglect by the British royal family.
But let's start our coverage this hour with our national correspondent, Nick Watt.
Nick, this new guidance from the CDC for vaccinated Americans was highly anticipated. Break it all down for us.
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, let's start with the definition of fully vaccinated.
The CDC says that means it's two weeks after you have had your second dose or your only dose if it's Johnson & Johnson. And the headline? For now, being fully vaccinated does not mean that you can dance bare- faced through the streets.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: You can visit your grandparents if you have been vaccinated and they have been too.
WATT (voice-over): Finally, guidance for the fully vaccinated, how the government would like you to behave.
WALENSKY: Fully vaccinated people can visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing a mask or physical distancing, visit with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk of severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing.
WATT: But even fully vaccinated still, avoid travel, and out and about, still wear a mask.
WALENSKY: There is still a small risk that vaccinated people could become infected with milder or asymptomatic disease and potentially even transmit the virus to others who are not vaccinated.
WATT: They will update as the science evolves. But, for now, definitely don't do this, a mask burning protest in Boise, Idaho, over the weekend.
GOV. BRAD LITTLE (R-ID): Yes, it's not helpful for people to be burning mass. We want people to choose to make the right decision to wear a mask.
WATT: Masks, of course, no longer required in the likes of Mississippi.
GOV. TATE REEVES (R-MS): The fact is, we have seen significantly reduced levels. And, oh, by the way, unlike President Biden, who wants to insult Americans and insult Mississippians, I actually trust Mississippians to make good decisions.
WATT: But will they?
Meantime, nearly 2.2 million vaccine doses now going into arms on the average day.
ANDY SLAVITT, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE ADVISER FOR COVID RESPONSE: I know the pace is challenging. This is a war. We can't let up.
WATT: New cases now averaging just over 60,000 a day, lowest number in about five months. But about 20 percent of those cases could be the more contagious variant first identified in the U.K., according to one testing company.
DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH: That today is wrecking havoc in parts of Europe. We are in the eye of the hurricane right now.
WATT: Still, there is a creeping normalcy, this past weekend, air travel biggest numbers since the holidays.
Spring break is here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miami is the place to be. WATT: Also, there's this, just announced:
BILL DE BLASIO (D), MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: High schools will reopen on Monday, March 22, in New York City.
WATT: The final group back inside buildings in this, the biggest school district in the country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATT: Now, Andy Slavitt, who is one of the White House senior advisers on COVID, said that the current guidance for fully vaccinated people is based on where we are now, which is around 10 percent of the American population vaccinated.
That guidance will change, he says, as we get up to 20 percent, 30 percent. He also said it wasn't difficult to figure out what the guidance should be, but they took time getting the communication right.
[18:05:01]
He said that they learned lessons from last year and all that mixed messaging on masks -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Nick, thanks very much, Nick Watt in L.A.
Joining us now, Dr. Tom Frieden, a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. Frieden, thanks for joining us.
What do you hope our viewers will take away from these new CDC guidelines for 30-plus -- 30 million-plus fully vaccinated Americans? And more than two million Americans are getting vaccinated now on average every day.
DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN, FORMER DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Well, this is good news. It's science-based. It's sensible. You can hug your grandkids again.
If you have been waiting to get a haircut or see the dentist, you can do that. But it's not an all-clear. We're not done yet. COVID isn't done with us. The variants are still a risk. You don't declare victory in the third quarter. So, keep your masks up. Avoid places where lots of people are congregating indoors, because that's where the virus can spread rapidly.
And we will have to keep an eye on the variant to see what happens with that.
BLITZER: The CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, says the CDC will continue to recommend that Americans avoid unnecessary travel until there is more data about whether vaccinated people can transmit the virus to others.
When do you think we can expect to have that answer?
FRIEDEN: I think we're getting emerging data that these vaccines are really good. They drive down cases, they drive down deaths, and they almost certainly drive down the likelihood that you will spread it to others.
But, remember, nothing is 100 percent with vaccination, and there are some people who can get sick after getting vaccinated. There are some people who can spread infection after getting vaccinated. That's one of the reasons we say, mask up even after being vaccinated.
But, really, there's lots of good news here. Wolf, I was just looking at the nursing home data, and nursing home cases are down almost 15- fold from their peak. And that's a reflection of vaccination in nursing homes. That's making a huge difference. Over the next few months, we're going to see a lot more progress around the U.S.
So, hang on, mask up, avoid risky places, and a much safer future is just a few months away.
BLITZER: One of the big problems out there still -- and I'm sure you agree -- is what's called vaccine hesitancy. Do you think the new CDC guidelines go far enough to reduce this vaccine hesitancy? Among so many Americans still, they're reluctant to get the shot. Will it motivate more Americans to get the shot after they're told, as they were today by the CDC, what they can now do once they're fully vaccinated?
FRIEDEN: Well, I hope so.
And one of the interesting things is that, the more people get vaccinated, the safer it'll be for all of us. This is one of those things like masking up where what everyone does affects everyone else. And the more we're in it together, the more we mask up, the more we vaccinate, the more we can get our economy back, our kids back to school, we can go visiting with friends and relatives and get to a new normal.
BLITZER: Dr. Tom Frieden, as usual, thanks so much for joining us.
FRIEDEN: Thank you.
BLITZER: Let's go to the White House right now, where President Biden is on the brink of getting his COVID relief bill passed.
He's also preparing for his first prime-time address to the nation.
Our senior White House correspondent, Phil Mattingly, is joining us right now.
Phil, this relief bill certainly a top priority for the president and a critical test of his ability to get things done, right?
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No question about it on both counts, Wolf. Six days before President Biden even took office, he introduced a $1.9
trillion coronavirus relief package, making clear it was central to his administration's plans to try and get a handle on the pandemic. And now he's just a couple days away from signing it into law.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And one more thing. This plan is historic.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Tonight, President Joe Biden on the verge of clinching a transformative victory, as he prepares to deliver his very first prime-time address this week.
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT): The bill, as amended, is passed.
MATTINGLY: The Senate completing its marathon consideration of Biden's sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID relief proposal on Saturday, with the House scheduled to follow suit later this week, and Biden, while highlighting vaccinations for veterans today, making clear he's unequivocally ready to sign.
BIDEN: As soon as I get it.
MATTINGLY: Even as his administration continues to work behind the scenes to ensure the pathway is clear.
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Obviously, our focus continues to be on the American Rescue Plan, getting it across the finish line.
The president is taking nothing for granted.
MATTINGLY: The GOP opposition unyielding, not a single House or Senate Republican voting for the plan.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): This isn't a pandemic rescue package. It's a parade of left-wing pet projects that are ramming through -- they're ramming through during a pandemic.
MATTINGLY: But the House vote will complete Biden's top task from the moment set foot in the Oval Office, passing a sweeping bill to address the dual economic and public health crises confronting his administration, the scale of the bill and its focus on those at or below the poverty line almost without precedent.
[18:10:15]
The stimulus checks, which would provide $5,600 for a typical family of four making less than $100,000, extensions of emergency unemployment benefits for roughly 11 million Americans, an unprecedented expansion of the child tax credit, which would reach 66 million, and is estimated to cut child poverty in half an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit for 17 million, tens of billions of dollars for rental and homeowner assistance, and quietly bolstering the Affordable Care Act to reduce premiums for millions. Top Biden advisers in an internal staff memo obtained by CNN calling the package -- quote -- "a historic response to the moment of crisis we face."
PSAKI: We can't lose sight of what the bill actually means for the American people.
MATTINGLY: Still, warning signs for Biden's future plans in the form of Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who's demanding bipartisanship on issues like infrastructure and immigration.
SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): I'm not willing to go into reconciliation until we at least give bipartisanship or get working together or allow the Senate to do its job. Just by assuming that, hey, they will never work with us. That's the other side. This is tribal. Republicans will never agree on anything or Democrats will never agree. I don't subscribe to that.
MATTINGLY: For now, Biden firmly in Manchin's camp in maintaining the rules of the Senate in search of bipartisanship.
PSAKI: The president's preference is not to get rid of the filibuster. Look at what we have been able to accomplish in the last six weeks.
MATTINGLY: All as Biden is making clear that whatever lies ahead for his agenda, his cornerstone legislative proposal is a big deal.
BIDEN: By passing this plan, we would have delivered real tangible results for the American people and their families. And they will be able to see and know and feel the change in their own lives.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY: And, Wolf, at this point, the House is still waiting for the Senate to send the passed bill over to the chamber. The expectation is they could vote as soon as Wednesday, with the president expected to give that prime-time address on Thursday.
And White House advisers make clear he will talk about this new law when it's signed into place during that prime-time address, but it won't be the last time he talks about it. They want to spend the next several weeks ensuring that people know what's in the bill, ensuring that they can get those $1,400 stimulus checks out the door, ensuring that the programs this bill is expected to put into place actually work.
One thing to keep in mind, there's also a crucial deadline here over the course of the next couple of days. March 14 is when those emergency unemployment benefits expire, President Biden making clear that is a deadline that has to be met.
And, at this point in time, it looks like he's on track to do just that -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Yes, he wants to sign it into law before Sunday. Otherwise, millions of Americans will lose that emergency unemployment, those benefits.
All right, thanks very much, Phil Mattingly, over at the White House.
Just ahead: How are Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's allegations playing in Britain right now? We're going to get reaction to their bombshell interview that just aired in the U.K. moments ago.
And there's more breaking news coming out of New York right now on the investigation of Governor Andrew Cuomo and allegations of sexual harassment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:17:10]
BLITZER: President Biden may be less than 48 hours away from a critical legislative victory in his first 100 days.
Final passage of his COVID relief bill is now expected in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. And he's planning to address the nation on Thursday night.
Let's bring in our chief political analyst Gloria Borger and our senior commentator, former Ohio Governor John Kasich.
Gloria, the final House vote was supposed to be tomorrow. It's been delayed now until Wednesday. Some progressives aren't happy with some of the Senate changes in the legislation, like dropping that $15 minimum wage increase. You think the president can get this across the finish line this week?
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I do, because even progressives who are upset that the minimum wage was dropped understand that this is a $1.9 trillion policy revolution.
It is a huge bill that aims to end childhood poverty, that deals with people who live -- who live at the lower end of the income scale in this country. Very often, we have measures that deal with people at the top end and give them breaks. This is people who have suffered during this pandemic, who need the help, who will get direct assistance.
And they also understand that almost 70 percent of the American public right now says they support this bill. And I think that, when you look back on it, Republicans might think, wait a minute, public was really in favor of this. I didn't like some of it, but not one Republican voting for it? I think some of them may regret that.
BLITZER: Yes, not -- John Kasich, not one Republican in the House or the Senate, for that matter, voted for this bill.
I know you have been critical of parts of the bill. If you were still in the House of Representatives, I suspect you probably would have voted against it yourself. But what does that partisan vote...
JOHN KASICH, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, wait. BLITZER: Would you have voted against it?
KASICH: I -- I -- Wolf, here's where I think went wrong, to tell you the truth...
BLITZER: Well, would you have voted against over it?
KASICH: ... is that, over in the Senate -- well, you see, I think we would have a different bill if I were there. That's what I did when I was in the Congress. I forged compromise. And that's how we got those balanced budgets.
BLITZER: But let's say you didn't succeed.
KASICH: I would -- I would have -- no, I would have supported this, because I think it's necessary.
But here's the issue. I believe, if the Republicans had been serious about delivering votes, particularly in the Senate, I think they could have received some compromise from Biden. They could have dropped some of the state and local stuff. There were things that could be taken out of this bill that are not critical to the crisis we have right now.
But they couldn't deliver any votes.
BORGER: Right.
KASICH: And the question is, were the Democrats particularly interested in being able to work with them to deliver the votes? I don't think so.
So, we have another breakdown. but, at the end, Wolf, look what everybody is increasingly concerned about is the debt and what is the impact on inflation and what can this do later to create misery for the very people we're trying to help?
[18:20:08]
But, at this point in time, I would have supported it. But I'm not sure I would have been in this position, I would have tried to rally people to say, let's make a deal. Let's get something. Let's get it down to 1.3 or 1.2.
So, it's not kind of fair to say, well, what would you do right -- it wouldn't have been like this. I would have rallied people to improve the bill. But it's clear, as Gloria says, the things that are necessary in there, the pain that people have gone through.
But left with nothing else, I'm sure that I would have gone ahead to vote for it. And I -- it's kind of a mystery to me why Republicans would pound their chest who had gone along in the last four years in spending all this money, and all of a sudden be concerned about the price tag.
But going forward, Wolf, going forward, with these other bills that are going to come, they better figure out some pay-fors, or we're going to sink our children with debt. And it's wrong.
(CROSSTALK)
BORGER: The truth is that Governor Kasich is one of the last Republicans left who is actually talking about the impact of all of this spending on the debt, and how that could affect the economy in the future.
Republicans, in opposing this bill, are not so much talking about the debt. They're on the culture wars argument. I mean, they have been spending money for the last four years during the Trump administration, but it's just helped people at the upper end of the scale.
So, while some may be talking about the debt, they're really deep into Dr. Seuss and everything else. And they're not -- we don't hear them arguing about the debt the way they used to, like John Kasich is talking about, quite frankly.
BLITZER: Go ahead. Make your final point, Governor.
KASICH: I just want to say that we are in a culture now of I, and we are not in a culture of we. And it's affecting politics. It affects everything in our country today.
And all we do, most of us today, we have lost the moral underpinning that says we should live in a country where we care about we, and not just about I.
So, in politics, it's like: What's good for me? How do I get reelected? How do I have power? And this is something I'm going to be talking about all the time. And that is, we need to get back to a we culture, where we work together, and not cancel other people who don't think like us, and begin to work together to solve the real problems that people have.
BLITZER: Yes, that certainly would be nice and productive. Let's see if that's possible.
All right, Governor, thank you very much.
Gloria, thanks to you as well.
Just ahead: How much damage has been done to the British royal family from the eye-popping interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle? We're going live to the U.K., where the interview just aired for the first time.
And we're going to tell you what's happening with the trial of the former police officer charged in the death of George Floyd after a sudden delay.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:27:13]
BLITZER: The explosive Harry and Meghan interview just aired on the British royal family's home turf for the first time.
Let's get reaction from the United Kingdom to the televised allegations of racism, neglect, and so much more.
Our royal correspondent, Max Foster, is putting it all together for us.
Max, has there been any immediate response, any response at all from the palace?
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No response from the palace.
We're in lockdown here in the U.K., which obviously boosted the audience for this show. Everyone's talking about it, of course. We're getting a sense of public reaction if we look at the newspaper front pages.
I have seen a preview of the ones coming out tomorrow. They're all about a palace in crisis, a palace in turmoil, Wolf.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I have spent a long time now not commenting on royal family matters. And I don't intend to depart from that today.
FOSTER (voice-over): Addressing the elephant in the room, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson sidestepped the question of Harry and Meghan's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, commenting only about his admiration of the queen and her role as unifier.
The palace so far having no comment whatsoever on the interview that highlighted exactly just how disunified the royal family had become, leading to the so-called Megxit.
PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: There's a lot of hurt that's happened.
FOSTER: Airing a few hours ago in the U.K. for the first time in full.
The question is, just how damning will this interview be to the royal family? After all, it was everything it was billed to be and more, detailing a royal rift between father and son.
PRINCE HARRY: I feel really let down.
FOSTER: A gulf between brothers who had weathered so much together.
PRINCE HARRY: I love William to bits, but we were on different paths.
FOSTER: Candid and intimate, no topic off-limits.
MEGHAN MARKLE, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: I just didn't want to be alive anymore. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought.
FOSTER: The revelation that, amongst other things, isolation, a barrage of character assassinations by the British tabloids had driven the duchess of Sussex to thoughts of suicide, in and of itself, is shocking, leading to a show of support today from the White House.
PSAKI: For anyone to come forward and speak about their own struggles with mental health and tell their own personal story, that takes courage.
FOSTER: But the insidious undercurrent of racism perhaps the most damning claim in the most explosive interview to rock the royal family since his mother's interview with Martin Bashir.
PRINCE HARRY: What I was seeing was history repeating itself, but more perhaps, or definitely far more dangerous, because then you add race in.
FOSTER: One of the most jaw-dropping accounts in the raw, emotional interview with Oprah Winfrey that unnamed members of the royal family were worried about the skin color that Harry and Meghan's son.
[18:30:07]
MARKLE: And also concerns in conversation how dark his skin might be when he's born.
OPRAH WINFREY, AMERICAN HOST: What?
MARKLE: And --
WINFREY: Who is having that conversation with you? What?
MARKLE: So --
WINFREY: There's a -- hold up.
MARKLE: There are several conversations.
FOSTER: Which member or members of the royal family was it, Harry and Meghan wouldn't say.
Oprah Winfrey on Monday only saying she knows who it wasn't.
WINFREY: But he wanted to make sure that I knew and if I had an opportunity to share it that it was not his grandmother nor his grandfather that were part of those conversations.
FOSTER: Leaving open the question just who could have said it? Another shock, their son wouldn't be given a title or the security protections normally afforded to members of the royal family with no reason given for why.
MARKLE: The idea of our son not being safe and also the idea of the first member of color in this family not being titled in the same way that other grandchildren would be.
FOSTER: Racism clearly emerging from the interview is one of the key factors driving Harry and Meghan from the royal family. The couple saying, had they only had the family support, they would have gladly stayed.
The very tabloids that Harry and Meghan say drove their mental health to the brink was swift to get the splashy headlines. The Daily Mail U.K. saying Harry twist the knife, meanwhile the (INAUDIBLE), The Daily Telegraph say Sussexes deliver enough bombshells to sink a flotilla.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER (on camera): Now, the pressure, Wolf, really is piling on the palace to come up with some sort of statement. It's not clear why they haven't done that yet. They're not even briefing us behind the scenes, Wolf, absolute silence from royal circles.
BLITZER: Max, I want you to stay with us. I also want to bring in CNN Royal Commentator Kate Williams into this conversation. Kate, these are so serious, these allegations of racism, refusal to offer mental health support. The royal family, as you know well, often stays silent amid controversy, but do they need to respond now?
KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, Wolf, I think they do need to respond. This was a bombshell interview, revelation after revelation. It was a damning indictment of the royal family, both as a family, talking about a distance between them, and also as a business, also the fact that Meghan, a vulnerable woman who was struggling and suffering, that she went to H.R., she begged for help, she wanted to go to a hospital because of her severe mental crisis and she was told, no, you can't.
It will make the institution look bad. And these allegations of racism that there was concern about Archie's skin tone, these are very damaging. And the royal family, they do sometimes never say anything. They sometimes brief, as Max was saying, behind the scenes.
Palace sources say that they are completely silent today. And I think they do have to address these allegations one by one, because they are incredibly damaging. And this interview has the potential to be as damaging to royal family popularity as Diana's was in 1995.
Indeed, a woman who is suffering in a both similar way, isolation, thoughts of suicide. And it really suggests we haven't learned anything since Diana's death. The same thing has happened all over again to Meghan and Harry and she was completely unprotected.
BLITZER: Max, just how unusual was it to deny their little son, Archie, a title and security?
FOSTER: I think we're going to hear a bit more about this. There are certain points, I think, that the palace will be pulling the couple up on here. I don't know whether people will see that as appropriate, considering the wider issues they're trying to address here. But Archie, actually, I think experts would say, wasn't entitled to a title. It's only the grandchildren of the monarch who are automatically given titles.
An exception was made -- children because George was going to go on to be king. But these are sort of technical details which don't really speak to the wider issue here, which is what Kate was talking about there, the racism, the fact that a vulnerable woman was left unsupported in the palace.
There are huge questions about why the palace didn't respond, whether it looks outdated. We can't speak for the palace. They need to speak for themselves. What they're working on, I'm not sure, ultimately, the queen will have to sign off on any statement with this gravity. Maybe she's holding back for some reason. There's some speculation that might be the reason why a statement hasn't gone out yet. But it's all speculation. They're not speaking to us at this point.
BLITZER: What do you think is going to happen, Kate?
[18:35:00]
WILLIAMS: Well, I think we will see a statement eventually. But I think we are going to see, certainly I'm already seeing it, as well of anti-monarchy sentiment, moving towards a public (ph) sentiments in this country and a lot of sympathy for Harry and Meghan, not universal. There are a lots of polls saying they thought they've gone too far.
But here was a couple clearly incredibly in love, incredibly strongly- bonded and it was very striking when Harry says -- when Oprah said to Harry, would you have stayed if you got the support, and Harry said, without question. And the royal family had lost this pair of superstars. They speak to such new, diverse, young audience across the commonwealth. They are lost and they're not coming back.
And, really, I think, there is a responsibility within the royal family but also within Britain, the tabloid press and reading these articles which really drove Meghan to feelings of absolute despair, that there are real people behind these games of headlines and mocking people, particularly when you marry into the royal family. It's time for a reckoning about that.
BLITZER: Let's see what happens. Kate Williams, Max Foster, guys, thank you very, very much. Just ahead, we got a live report from Minneapolis as the trial of the former police officer seen kneeling on the neck of George Floyd is set to begin.
Plus, New York's attorney general announces who will lead the investigation into Governor Cuomo as two more women come forward, alleging inappropriate conduct.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:40:00]
BLITZER: Tight security is in place right now ahead of the start of the trial of the former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, charged with the killing of George Floyd. CNN's Omar Jimenez is over at the courthouse in Minneapolis for us.
Omar, jury selection was set to begin today but there's been a holdup. What happened?
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. Essentially, things were delayed by a day and it all centers around whether a third-degree murder charge will be reinstated in this case.
And so just to give background on this, Derek Chauvin here, he is charged with second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter. Initially when the criminal complaint was filed, prosecutors wanted to file a third-degree murder charge. He was dropped by the judge in October.
Then this past Friday, an appeals court ruled based on a separate case that, well, now there's precedent to at least reconsider reinstating this third-degree murder charge and, right now, prosecutors say they don't want to proceed with jury selection until it is decided whether this third-degree murder charge will be reinstated. So that is the stalemate that we are at right now. And it is why proceedings stopped or the jury selection process paused over the course of today and has been moved to resume tomorrow.
Judge Peter Cahill said he plans to proceed with jury selection until he hears otherwise from the appeals court. And, again, that process is expected to continue at 10:00 A.M. Eastern Time tomorrow.
That said, they did still make some progress today. They were able to eliminate a few of the 50 potential jurors in the first batch, just based on the questionnaires that were sent out to potential jurors. So, some progress made. But again, that jury selection process really is going to begin in full with the start of this trial after being delayed a day, tomorrow.
BLITZER: You're obviously over at the courthouse, Omar, visibly barricaded behind you. How concerned is the city about possible unrest?
JIMENEZ: Well, of course, the concern is there. What happened over the course of last summer, of course, very much on the minds of people here in law enforcement. And when you look behind me, you see the barricades that are up around the Hennepin County Government Center here. This is where the courtroom is for and where the trial is taking place.
And over the course of Sunday and even today, we've seen over 1,000 people is the number we got from law enforcement, show up, protest. They have done so peacefully and were even complimented by law enforcement on how peaceful their protest have been. However, in a press conference today, law enforcement said they are nimble, that's how they're describing their forces right now, to respond to wherever this week and further beyond takes things.
And we also have to understand, Wolf, there is just the first day of jury selection. There are other flashpoints in this process, opening statement and a potential verdict later on that law enforcement may be more wary of.
BLITZER: Omar Jimenez, on the scene for us, thank you very much. Let's discuss with our Senior Legal Analyst, Laura Coates. Laura, thanks for joining us.
Why is jury selection in this particular case so critical, so important and actually so difficult for a trial like this?
LAURA COATES, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, in any trial, you want the audience of the people who are going to hear the actual evidence. You want to try to have the most receptive audience on both sides of the issue. If you're the defense, you want people that are going to be objective. The prosecution does want the same. But they also want the opportunity to persuade.
And having that meaningful audience motion and have the ability to actually figure out who that's going to be is very important. But in a case as high-profile as this, with the stakes so high, we saw what the video of watching George Floyd die back last May, the impact it had on the entire nation.
We're trying to find a group of people who are going to be able to hear only that which is given to them in the courtroom is a very big challenge, not looking to have people who know nothing about the case, who've had their head under a rock for the better part of a year, but the idea of having people who are able to be receptive to the information as presented to them, not have the preconceived notions or at least be able to follow jury instructions.
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That's a very high task in a case as high-profile as this.
BLITZER: Chauvin, as you know, he's pleaded not guilty to this second- degree unintentional murder charge and second-degree manslaughter charge. But he could potentially face a third degree murder charge as well.
Tell us what that means for this trial.
COATES: Well, first of all, think about how odd it is. You're on the day of jury selection and the prosecutors don't yet know what the universal charges they're going to bring in? And they have different elements they have to prove.
The prosecutor can't give all the evidence and say now I think we want to charge this crime. They have to methodically present their case, show that they have met their burden of proof for every single element. Every charge has different elements, essentially, Wolf. So, if you have a charge you want to add on, your burden of proof expands or contracts depending upon the actual charge.
And the difference between the two main cases here, the third-degree and second-degree, second-degree in Minnesota is the felony murder doctrine where you are held liable for deaths that occur in the commission of a felony. The felony here you're talking about is putting the knee on the neck of George Floyd, and having a substantial injury, i.e., blocking out, lost of consciousness resulting from that as well.
Second-degree murder, however -- third-degree murder in Minnesota is the idea of being extremely reckless. The reason this is a hang-up here is technically under some precedent, they have suggested that if you just drive down, say, a crowded sidewalk with no particular victim in mind, perhaps that's applicable. You were extremely reckless, had disregard for human life.
But if you had an actual, specific victim in mind, a targeted person, then perhaps it no longer applies and one of the other ones should be used. So, the debate here now is whether the judge is able to allow that recklessness, third-degree charge as opposed to having the second-degree because one person was victimized by the conduct of officer -- former Officer Chauvin. They're going to have to grapple with that and resolve that issue.
BLITZER: We'll watch it closely together with you, Laura. Thank you very, very much.
Just ahead, an investigation into the sexual harassment allegations against the New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, just took a critical step forward as he's defying calls to step down.
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BLITZER: There is breaking news tonight on the sexual harassment allegations against the New York governor, Andrew Cuomo. The state attorney general has now chosen two attorneys to lead an independent investigation.
Our national correspondent, Brynn Gingras, is in New York for us.
Brynn, the investigation of Governor Cuomo seems to be moving forward tonight.
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. This is a big move forward, Wolf. The two attorneys that Letitia James has appointed, former acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim and employment discrimination attorney Anne Clark. So, they will lead up this investigation. This as top leaders in the state have called for the governor to resign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: It was a painful year.
GINGRAS (voice-over): At a COVID-19 vaccine event today in New York City, no mention of sexual harassment allegations against Governor Andrew Cuomo. The city's mayor joined a growing chorus of other state Democrats calling for Cuomo to step down.
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: I just don't see how he can govern effectively when fewer and fewer people believe him.
ANDREA STEWART-COUSINS (D), NEW YORK STATE SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: I think he would have to resign.
GINGRAS: New York state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins putting out this statement: We need to govern without daily distraction. For the good of the state, Governor Cuomo must resign.
It was quickly supported by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and other state senators, to which Cuomo said Sunday --
CUOMO: There is no way I resign.
GINGRAS: This, as two more allegations that the governor acted inappropriately with former staffers were made public over the weekend.
Karen Hinton, once a paid consultant to Cuomo, says he inappropriately hugged her in a Los Angeles hotel room 21 years ago, describing the embrace to CNN: I thought it was too close for too long and I felt it was too intimate, and I could tell he was aroused and I pulled away, she said.
The claims were corroborated to CNN by a friend of Hinton's. The governor denies them and called Hinton a long-time political adversary.
And on the list, who served as a policy and operations aide to Cuomo for two years says the governor asked her if she had a boyfriend, called her sweetheart, touched her on her lower back at a reception and once kissed her hand when she rose from her desk, according to "The Wall Street Journal."
CUOMO: I say to people in the office, how are you doing? How's everything? Are you going out? Are you dating? That's my way of doing friendly banter.
GINGRAS: Now, five women, four who formally worked for the governor, have lodged accusations.
CHARLOTTE BENNETT, FORMER CUOMO AIDE: He is a textbook abuser.
GINGRAS: The lawyer for accuser Charlotte Bennett telling CNN that the New York attorney general's probe should look into more than just the governor.
DEBRA KATZ, ATTORNEY FOR CHARLOTTE BENNETT: In any sexual harassment scenario, there are always enablers. There are people who allow the harassment to continue and simply transfer the women out, and we see that here.
GINGRAS: Cuomo says he and his staff will cooperate fully with the A.G.'s investigation. And while the governor is losing some support in Albany, the state's Democratic leaders in Washington still not going as far.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), MAJORITY LEADER: I always believed sexual harassment is unacceptable and should never be tolerated. I called for our attorney general to do a full and thorough investigation. (END VIDEOTAPE)
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GINGRAS (on camera): And those two new attorneys who are now on board will have full subpoena powers. They'll be able to call witnesses. They will have access to records, Wolf.
And the attorney general says they will report to her weekly on the progress of this investigation -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Brynn, thank you very much.
We'll have more news right after this.
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BLITZER: Finally, tonight, we want to recognize that this is International Women's Day. It's a celebration of women's achievements in so many arenas, such as social, economic, cultural and political. But it is also a call to action for full equality and gender parity in all aspects of work and life.
The most powerful woman ever elected in this country, the Vice President Kamala Harris summed up the spirit of the day this way, and I'm quoting her now. If we build a world that works for women, our nations will all be safer, stronger and more prosperous.
That's such an important message on this day and indeed on every day.
Thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.
"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.
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