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The Situation Room
President Biden Announces Infrastructure Plan; Testimony Continues In Derek Chauvin Trial; Biden Unveils $2.2 Trillion Infrastructure And Jobs Plan, Seeks Corporate Tax Rate Hike From 21 Percent To 28 Percent To Pay For It; Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) Denies Relationship With 17-Year-Old Girl As He Faces Justice Department Scrutiny In Sex Trafficking Probe; Pfizer: COVID Vaccine 100 Percent Effective In Young Teens. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired March 31, 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 here in the United States and around the world. I am Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Another truly gut-wrenching day of testimony, it just ended in the murder trial of the former police officer Derek Chauvin, jurors seeing a lot more of George Floyd's final, very anguished moments. Prosecutors presented graphic video of Floyd's arrest from multiple police body cameras.
Some of it had never been shown publicly before. After watching the video, a 61-year-old witness on the stand actually broke down in tears as he relived that moment.
We also got our first look at surveillance of Floyd inside a convenience store before the police arrived. The store worker testified about confronting Floyd over a suspicious $20 bill. He says he later felt disbelief and guilt over Floyd's arrest and death.
Also tonight, President Biden says his infrastructure and jobs plan is a once-in-a-generation investment in America. He unveiled the $2 trillion proposal just a little while ago, and it is aimed at rebuilding America's roads, bridges, and schools, and reshaping the entire U.S. economy.
But, first, let's go to our senior national correspondent Sara Sidner. She is covering the Chauvin trial in Minneapolis for us, has been over the past several days.
Sara, we saw George Floyd's arrest from a variety of new angles, from start to finish, video that we had never seen before, and it was so painful.
SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Painful and stunning.
But I have to say this. I cannot overstate how powerful, how stunning, how revelatory, and how emotional the testimony from 61-year-old Charles, who stood there, and tried to explain what it felt like to watch this; 61-year-old Charles McMillian brought the courtroom to tears. 61-year-old Charles McMillian really brought the courtroom to tears.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIDNER (voice-over): Sixty-one-year-old Charles McMillian took the stand, breaking down in sobs after prosecutors played this body camera video of George Floyd interacting with police.
GEORGE FLOYD, DIED IN POLICE CUSTODY: I can't breathe. I can't breathe. I can't breathe.
CHARLES MCMILLIAN, WITNESS: Stop moving.
FLOYD: Momma. Momma. Momma.
MCMILLIAN: I feel helpless.
I don't have a moment here to understand him.
SIDNER: McMillian is the man you hear on the video begging Floyd to give into police before Floyd is taken to the ground.
MCMILLIAN: You ain't going to win.
Because I have had interaction with officers myself, and I understand, once you get in the cuffs, you can't win. You're done.
SIDNER: On this day in court, the jury also saw George Floyd alive, watching not-seen-before surveillance from inside the Cups Food store; 19-year-old former cashier Christopher Martin took the stand to explain what was going on leading up to police arriving.
MATTHEW FRANK, MINNESOTA PROSECUTOR: Do you recall what it was you sold to him?
CHRISTOPHER MARTIN, WITNESS: A pack of cigarettes. He seemed very friendly, approachable. He was talkative. He seemed to just be having an average Memorial Day, just living his life.
SIDNER: A scene from everyday life. But the jury knows they're watching a dead man walking. In less than an hour, Floyd will be struggling for his life under that officer Derek Chauvin's knee. Martin says Floyd seemed high.
MARTIN: When I had asked him if he played baseball, he went on to respond to that, but it kind of took him a little long. So, it would appear that he was high.
SIDNER: And paid for cigarettes with an odd-looking $20 bill.
MARTIN: I assumed that it was fake.
SIDNER: He testified the store policy is, if a cashier accepts counterfeit money, it comes out of their paycheck.
MARTIN: I took it anyways. And I was planning to just put it on my tab, until I second-guessed myself. And, as you can see in the video, I except examining it. And then I eventually told my manager.
[18:05:02]
SIDNER: The manager asked another employee to call police on Floyd after the teenage boys confronted Floyd at his car twice. When police detained Floyd, Martin heard a commotion and went outside.
MARTIN: George was motionless, limp. And Chauvin seemed very -- he was in a resting state.
FRANK: What's going through your mind during that time period?
MARTIN: Disbelief and guilt.
FRANK: Why guilt?
MARTIN: If I would have just not taken the bill, this could have been avoided.
SIDNER: And for the first time, Chauvin explains on his own body camera why he restrained Floyd.
DEREK CHAUVIN, DEFENDANT: We got to control this guy, because he's a sizable guy.
MCMILLIAN: And I tried to get him to get in the car.
(CROSSTALK)
CHAUVIN: And looks like he's probably on something.
SIDNER: Charles McMillian was on the stand watching then Officer Chauvin's video. McMillian explained that he had actually seen and talked to Chauvin five days earlier, and then excoriated him for what he did to Floyd five days later.
MCMILLIAN: Five days ago, I told you, at the end of the day, go home to your family safe, and let the next person go home to their family safe. But, today, I got to look at you as a maggot.
SIDNER: His punishing comment was followed by excruciatingly close video of Floyd suffering, recorded on the officer's body cameras.
FLOYD: Momma, I love you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIDNER: Incredibly difficult to watch yet again, incredibly difficult to hear.
And one thing you will notice throughout this trial and certainly during this testimony from the witnesses is the ripple effect this has had on them. They are feeling guilty. They are wondering if they should have done something different to try and save this man's life.
What you are not yet seeing is the humanity on the part of the police officers. And that juxtaposition is playing out very much in court so far -- Wolf.
BLITZER: It certainly is.
Sara, stay with us.
I want to bring in Natalie Jackson. She's a former co-counsel for the families of Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor and others. Also joining us, Cheryl Dorsey, a retired LAPD sergeant and author of the book "Black and Blue."
Natalie, let me play some video shown by the prosecution in the course of today's trial. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll roll the windows down if you pull your legs in, all right? I will put the air on.
(CROSSTALK)
FLOYD: Look at that. Look at that.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Man, God, you all do me bad, man.
Man, I don't want to try to win. I don't want to try to win. I don't want to win.
MCMILLIAN: You ain't going to win.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will roll the window down.
FLOYD: Man, I am scared as fuck, man. When I start breathing, when I start breathing, it's going to off on me, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pull your legs in.
FLOYD: OK. OK. OK. Let me count to three. Let me count to three and then I'm going in, please.
MCMILLIAN: You can't win.
FLOYD: I'm not trying to win. I'm not trying to win. I will get on the ground, anything. I can't stand this shit, man. He know it.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you get in this car, we can talk!
FLOYD: I'm -- I'm claustrophobic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm hearing you, but you're not working with me!
(CROSSTALK)
FLOYD: God, I'm claustrophobic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Plant your butt over here. I'm going to pull you in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get in the car!
FLOYD: Can I get in the front, please?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, you're not getting in the front.
FLOYD: Please. I'm claustrophobic, Mr. Officer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get in the car!
FLOYD: OK, man, OK! I'm not a bad guy, man!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get in the car!
FLOYD: I'm not a bad guy!
(CROSSTALK)
FLOYD: Please, officer! Please! Please!.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take a seat!
FLOYD: Please! Please! No.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take a seat.
FLOYD: I can't -- choke. I can't breathe, Mr. Officer! Please! Please!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Fine.
FLOYD: My wrist. My wrist, man. My wrist.
(CROSSTALK)
FLOYD: I want to lay on the ground. I want to lay on the ground. I want to lay on the ground!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're getting in the squad.
FLOYD: I want to lay on the ground! I want to lay on the ground!
I'm going down, I'm going down, I'm going down, I'm going down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get in the squad.
FLOYD: I'm going down. (CROSSTALK)
MCMILLIAN: Bro, you about to have a heart attack and shit, man. Get in the car!
FLOYD: I know. I can't breathe. I can't breathe.
MCMILLIAN: Get in the car!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: So painful and so hard to watch.
Natalie, what stands out to you from seeing that video that was introduced as evidence today?
NATALIE JACKSON, ATTORNEY: The video that you just showed, it shows me a man in distress. There's already been some evidence that he was intoxicated or may have had -- and I'm sure there's more evidence that will come out on that.
In the situation, there was no -- this was not a violent crime that was being perpetuated. This was not a situation where you needed to immediately take him to the jail. There could have been a call for the ambulance at that point for George Floyd. There could have been some humanity shown for him at that point.
[18:10:04]
And even if there was a crime committed, it was a small, petty misdemeanor crime, that I believe taking care of someone's physical and mental well-being would be the first thing that we would think about.
And, unfortunately, our police systems are not made to do that in the United States. That's one of the things that we're struggling with now and activists are struggling with now, having those social workers and those mental health evaluations on the scene.
BLITZER: Yes, you're right.
Cheryl, you're a retired LAPD sergeant. I want to show you and our viewers another moment that was captured on video where an officer approaches George Floyd with his gun actually drawn. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FLOYD: Hey, man. I'm sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay in the car. Let me see your other hand.
FLOYD: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me see your other hand!
FLOYD: Please, please, Mr. Officer. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Both hands.
FLOYD: I didn't do nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your fucking hands up right now! Let me see your other hand.
FLOYD: All right. What I do though? What we do, Mr. Officer?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your hand up there. Put your fucking hand up there! Jesus Christ, keep your fucking hands on the wheel.
FLOYD: I got shot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep your fucking hands on the wheel.
FLOYD: Yes, sir. I'm sorry, Mr. Officer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who else is in the car?
(CROSSTALK)
FLOYD: This my friend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your foot back in.
FLOYD: I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. God dang, man. Man, I got -- I got shot the same way, Mr. Officer, before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Well when say, "Let me see your hands," you put your fucking hands up.
FLOYD: I am so sorry, Mr. Officer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got him?
FLOYD: Man. Dang, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your hands on top of your head.
FLOYD: Last time, I got shot like that, Mr. Officer, it was the same thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands on top of your head. Hands on top of your head.
Step out of the vehicle, and step away from me, all right?
FLOYD: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Step out and face away. Step out and face away.
FLOYD: OK, Mr. Officer. Please don't shoot me. Please, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not going to shoot you. Step out and face away.
FLOYD: I'll look at you eye-to-eye man. Please don't shoot me, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not shooting you, man.
FLOYD: I just lost my mom, man.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're taking one out. Step out and face away.
FLOYD: Man, I'm so sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Step out and face away!
FLOYD: Please don't shoot me, Mr. Officer. Please don't shoot me, man. Please. Can you not shoot me, man?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Step out and face away.
I'm not shooting you. Step out and face away.
FLOYD: OK, OK, OK. Please. Please. Please, man. Please. Please. I didn't know, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the car.
FLOYD: I didn't know. I didn't know, Mr. Officer. I didn't know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your fucking hands behind your back. Put your fucking hands behind (AUDIO GAP) right now!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop moving. Stop! Put your hands behind your back then!
(CROSSTALK)
FLOYD: I'm not going to do nothing.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, you come back! Stay in the car!
FLOYD: I'm sorry, Mr. Officer. I will get on my knees whatever.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did you say, sir?
FLOYD: Oh, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop resisting, then.
FLOYD: I'm not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you are.
(CROSSTALK) FLOYD: I didn't do nothing wrong, man.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand up!
FLOYD: Please, please, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Against the wall.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who, me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: All right, Cheryl, as a former police sergeant, what goes through your mind seeing that video?
CHERYL DORSEY, RETIRED LAPD POLICE SERGEANT: Poor tactics.
We don't use our weapon as an intimidation tool, something to get compliance from a suspect. Once you draw your weapon -- I mean, he was even knocking on the glass of the window of the car with his weapon. What if he had an accidental discharge and shot and killed Mr. Floyd at that moment?
And, of course, Blitz -- Wolf, I always say that, when an officer kills you, then there's only one version, and that's the one that they tell.
And so you don't get to use your weapon in order to gain compliance. And what we have to remember, at the very end of the day, is that when everything was said and done, Mr. Floyd was in handcuffs. And you don't get to use excessive force once a person is handcuffed. He was in the car. They could have left the scene. They could have allowed him to continue to sit on the sidewalk, as we saw for a little while.
There was no exigent circumstance. There was no hurry. There was no reason to escalate the situation to the extent that they did. And the problem that they're going to have is, when the police chief and their supervisor gets on the stand, they're going to contradict and say this is not the way our officers are trained to behave with a combative, uncooperative suspect or not.
BLITZER: Natalie, the Chauvin legal defense team, they point to a scuffle. But is that really relevant, when Floyd was handcuffed during those nine minutes and 29 seconds when that former police officer Derek Chauvin was on his neck?
JACKSON: No, it's not relevant, because, with use of force, you have to you have to evaluate use of force on a moment-to-moment basis.
We see that, at a certain point, George Floyd, even the police officer said that he was unconscious. At that point, there was definitely no need for use of force. Many will argue there was no need for a use of force with his hands in
handcuffs. But at the point where he was unconscious, where he was limp, or even when he said, "I give up," that was a point where an evaluation should have been done whether or not force was needed.
I think that that is the problem that the defense is going to have in this case. And I think a case can be made that Derek Chauvin had a depraved heart when he continued to kneel on George Floyd's neck.
[18:15:08]
BLITZER: You know, Cheryl, it was a very moving moment also when that Cup Foods employee testified today -- and I'm quoting him now. He said, "If I would have just not taken the bill, this could have been avoided," referring to that $20 bill that was suspicious.
Watching the video, were there are opportunities by the police officers to change the outcome here.
DORSEY: Absolutely.
But, listen, if you look at the video, when you see Derek Chauvin arrive on scene, he immediately puts on black leather gloves. And the reason that he put on those black leather gloves is because he intended to put hands on Mr. Floyd. He intended to punish him for not cooperating with his partner peers.
And that's exactly what he did. He pulled a handcuffed suspect out of a patrol car, put him on the ground, and then knelt on his neck, using his toes to create additional leverage and pressure for over nine minutes. Certainly, there was much more that could have been done, should have been done.
And we heard nine civilians who realized that what was going on was unreasonable and unnecessary. And every trained officer there acquiesced to the murder of George Floyd.
BLITZER: Sara, you're there on the scene. You're covering this trial for us.
One witness got very, very emotional seeing the actual body camera video; 61-year-old Charles McMillian. We actually saw him break down in tears. This clearly made a tremendous impact on those bystanders, didn't it?
SIDNER: It did.
And I have to say, what was so impactful about what Charles McMillian did is that you got to know him a little. They asked him about his education. He says, look, I have only got a third grade education, but I walk this neighborhood regularly. And I happened to bump in to Derek Chauvin five days prior to seeing George Floyd and the interaction between him and Chauvin and the other officers.
And what he says to Derek Chauvin in those moments is almost like a foreshadowing of what ended up happening less than a week later, where he says to him, you go home safely, and let the other man go home safe to his family.
That is not what happened five days later, and that is why he broke down, saying he understood George Floyd. He understood his pain. He understood him screaming out for his mother, because it turned out McMillian's mother had recently died as well -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, stand by.
Everyone, stand by.
I want to get some reaction now from a lawyer for the Floyd family.
Antonio Romanucci is joining us right now.
Tony, thanks very much for joining us.
As you know, we got a much, much fuller picture today from the trial, with the prosecution playing extensive footage of the responding officers' body cameras. Why is it so important to see that video from so many different angles?
ANTONIO ROMANUCCI, ATTORNEY FOR FAMILY OF GEORGE FLOYD: Well, Wolf, we saw something today that we haven't seen before.
And it really magnifies the situation that this happened over $20. It's really disheartening. It's actually sort of disgusting to think that this happened over a fake $20 bill, that a man lost his life, that bystanders who were standing there knew that -- what was happening, that a man was dying, his life was expiring, he was getting killed.
And what we really have to keep in mind, more than anything, Wolf, is the Floyd family themselves here. They -- George suffered. He was tortured. There's no question about that. The Floyd family is going through a torture every single day.
I have had the deep honor and privilege of getting to know them over this period of time. And I do love them. I respect them. But I know what they're going through. And they're suffering through this. This is very hard for them now to see new footage, new angles.
And they're hearing the visceral groans and grunts, the grueling aspect of George fighting for his life. It's just unimaginable.
BLITZER: Yes, he's screaming out, "I can't breathe." He's calling out for his momma. He keeps saying: "Momma, momma."
I mean, it's -- I -- it's very painful for all of us to see it. I can only imagine how painful it must be for the Floyd family.
I'm sure it's hard, very hard for so many to hear Floyd pleading and pleading with that police officer not to shoot him, to explain that he's scared, to call out for his family. How is the family really doing through this emotional stage of the trial?
ROMANUCCI: Well, the family, very fortunately, is a large family. And they find security in amongst themselves.
They have quite a number of people there in Minnesota. Nobody has any return trips home. Nobody is planning on leaving. And they can only find comfort in themselves.
[18:20:08]
I -- yesterday and even the day before, when we all saw the video that the world has seen, that was a challenge for them to watch. I can only imagine these new angles today, where we really hear and we almost feel George -- and Chauvin on top of George, and George trying to get away from them.
This is terrible. This is very, very difficult for them.
BLITZER: Well, please pass along our best wishes to them. I know how difficult and painful this must be for them.
Tony Romanucci, thank you very, very much for joining us.
We're going to have more coming up on the Chauvin trial. Stay with us for that.
Also ahead: As President Biden begins to sell his $2.2 trillion infrastructure plan I will ask his commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo, about the -- his plan to raise corporate taxes to pay for it and much more.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: President Biden just launched his next big legislative battle. He unveiled his $2 trillion plan to rebuild America's infrastructure and to reshape the U.S. economy.
[18:25:05]
Our chief national affairs correspondent, Jeff Zeleny, is breaking it all down for us.
Jeff, the president says his plan will create millions and millions of brand-new jobs here in the United States, but he has a selling job, a major selling job, just ahead of him.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, and that major selling job started today in Pittsburgh, as President Biden outlined that his plan, the American Jobs Plan, is part one of a two- part package.
The American Families plan, he says, will be unveiled next month, but this first plan would create, he says millions, of jobs, also really redo our roads and bridges and airports across the country. But it is more than an infrastructure plan. It's one of the biggest moments of federal spending in a generation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's big, yes. It's bold, yes. And we can get it done.
ZELENY (voice-over): President Joe Biden unveiling his highly anticipated infrastructure plan tonight, a $2 trillion proposal that goes far beyond rebuilding the nation's crumbling roads and bridges.
BIDEN: It's not a plan that tinkers around the edges. It's a once-in- a-generation investment in America, unlike anything we've seen or done since we built the interstate highway system and the space race decades ago.
ZELENY: In Pittsburgh, a city that's become a symbol of innovation in his native Pennsylvania, Biden pledging to reshape the American economy, create millions of jobs and make the country more competitive on the global stage.
BIDEN: We can't delay. We can't delay another minute. It's long past due.
ZELENY: He's calling it the American Jobs Plan, the first half of a two-part package, now the top priority on Biden's agenda.
It stands as the biggest test of Biden's presidency, not only in trying to keep Democrats unified, given their narrow majorities in Congress, but also in trying to win over Republicans skeptical about the scope and cost of the bill.
BIDEN: The divisions of the moment shouldn't stop us from doing the right thing for the future.
ZELENY: The plan calls for investing $621 billion to rebuild 20,000 miles of roads, 10,000 bridges, public transit, waterways and ports. It would also accelerate a shift to electric vehicles by building a national network of 500,000 charging stations by 2030.
It would also allocate $400 billion to bolster caregiving for aging and disabled Americans by expanding access to long-term care services and improving the wages of home health care workers.
The bill also proposes sweeping investments in creating new manufacturing jobs, affordable housing, upgrading water systems to improve drinking water in communities, building schools and expanding broadband to urban and rural areas of the country still without high- speed Internet.
BIDEN: This plan is important, not only for what and how it builds, but it's also important to where we build. It includes everyone, regardless of your race or your zip code.
ZELENY: To help pay for eight years of spending, Biden is proposing to raise the corporate income tax rate to 28 percent from 21 percent. The rate had been as high as 35 percent before former President Trump cut taxes in 2017. Rebuilding infrastructure has long been a bipartisan goal. But Senate
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the tax increases and massive scope of the bill make it a nonstarter.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): But this is not going to be, apparently, an infrastructure package. It's like a Trojan horse. It's called infrastructure. But inside the Trojan horse is going to be more borrowed money and massive tax increases on all the productive parts of our economy.
ZELENY: Moderate and progressive Democrats have concerns too, giving the White House little room for error, as it begins the tedious legislative work that will almost certainly take months.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi set an early goal of July 4 for the House to pass the bill, an optimistic timeline, given the questions already mounting in the Senate.
Tonight, Biden starting his sales pitch with a promise to go big, calling for transformational change, in the vein of the legacies of FDR or LBJ.
BIDEN: If we act now, in 50 years, people are going to look back and say this was the moment that America won the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZELENY: Now, President Biden also said he would invite Republicans into the Oval Office. He said he's open to ideas for how to pay for this plan, but made clear the plan is set and he's moving forward with that.
Wolf, he will be convening the first meeting of his Cabinet in person tomorrow in the East Room here at the White House to begin selling this plan and talking about the way forward.
But it's also important to point out Democrats, of course, can pass this alone if they change Senate rules. But Democrats have concerns of their own. So, the sales pitch begins now, certainly in earnest -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Yes, going to be a tough, tough battle.
Jeff Zeleny, reporting for us, thanks very much.
Let's talk about the president's infrastructure plan with the new commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo.
[18:30:02]
Madam Secretary, thank you so much for joining us, congratulations on the new job.
As you know, the Chamber of Commerce already criticizing President Biden's proposal to fund the infrastructure plan, saying and I'm quoting now, we strongly oppose the general tax increases proposed by the administration, which will slow the economic recovery and make the U.S. less competitive globally, the exact opposite of the goals of the infrastructure plan. That's the statement from Chamber of Commerce. So what's your response to that criticism?
GINA RAIMONDO, U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY: Yes, good evening, Wolf. And it's good to be with you. Good to see you.
BLITZER: Thank you.
RAIMONDO: My response is that the very purpose of the president's package is to enhance American competitiveness and create jobs and every business leader that I have spoken to from the big companies to small companies agrees that we need investments now if we're going to compete and if we're going to win.
We need investments in job training for the jobs of today and tomorrow, investments in basic research and research and development, investments in broadband. It is a disgrace, Wolf, that we're the greatest country on earth and not every American has access to high quality affordable broadband.
So the question isn't can we afford it, it is how can we afford not to do it. And, by the way, we are in global competition with China among other countries, but principally China. We need investments of this scale to outcompete and to stick up for the American worker and American businesses and that's exactly what this bill will do.
The proposal will do. And which is why as someone who spent a career thinking about competitiveness and who is now charged with enhancing competitiveness, I'm excited about the package.
BLITZER: Yes. Well, everybody seems to agree that we need major infrastructure development. When will the American people, Madam Secretary, when will the American people start to see real world benefits? There's going to be a struggle obviously to get it approved in the House and the Senate.
RAIMONDO: Immediately, and that is one of the reasons we have to move so quickly. By the way, the president has been clear with us, his team, that he's open to new ideas. We're all going to spend plenty of time on Capitol Hill, across the aisle, working with senators and congress people from both sides of the aisle to get something done because the answer is Americans will feel it immediately.
They will be put back to work quickly in manufacturing jobs, in jobs of the future, they will immediately see more affordable housing, they will immediately see investments in the care economy.
You know, Americans have struggled enough this past year trying to get child care, afford child care. This will provide immediate relief to allow workers to compete, to allow businesses to compete and to allow America to win the future.
BLITZER: Yes, God knows our roads, bridges and airports need a lot of work. When you and I spoke several times last year, you were combating this coronavirus pandemic from a different perspective as the governor of Rhode Island. You told me, and we went back and looked at some of those interviews, you told me that the high unemployment rate was weighing down on you every day all day. What aspect of economic recovery is weighing on you most heavily right now?
RAIMONDO: All of it. It's still weighing down on me, Wolf. I just sit in a different office. It's making sure that we can be competitive. I mean, it has been a brutal year for Americans. And it's time to invest in America, invest in American workers. Nobody can outcompete Americans if they're given the skills they need to compete, if they're given a chance at a decent job.
Nobody can outcompete American innovation, American businesses if we give them a fair chance, we invest in research and development, we invest in broadband, we invest in airports, and roads, and bridges.
So the amazing thing about this plan is, it puts people to work right away, building and also sustains an economy in the long run. You know, one of the pieces of the proposal is around semiconductors. And as fashioned, that I would play a big role in that, semiconductors are literally the building blocks of the future digital economy. And we need to shore up our supply chain right here in America.
So, I'm just anxious to get something done here. It's too important. I heard some of the criticism. Then come up with a better idea. But doing nothing is not an option.
BLITZER: Well, good luck, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, we'll stay in close touch with you, please come back and visit us here in The Situation Room.
[18:35:05]
RAIMONDO: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: Just ahead, could younger teenagers get the green light to start getting COVID vaccinations soon? We have new details on a brand new study, what it could mean for ending the pandemic.
And we're also getting new details on a Justice Department Investigation of Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, as he's denying he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl.
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BLITZER: We're just getting some new details on a U.S. Justice Department investigation into whether Congressman Matt Gaetz had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, an allegation the Florida Republican denies.
[18:340:07]
CNN Congressional Correspondent Ryan Nobles is working the story for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Tonight, new information emerging about an investigation involving Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz. A source familiar with the probe telling CNN Gaetz is being investigated by Department of Justice for possible sex trafficking and prostitution, including allegations involving a minor, all things the Republicans strongly deny.
REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): It is a horrible allegation and it is a lie. The New York Times is running a story that I have traveled with a 17- year-old woman and that is verifiably false. People can look at my travel records and see that that is not the case.
NOBLES: Instead Gaetz claims he and his family are the victim, the target of an extortion attempt.
GAETZ: On March 16th, my father got a text message demanding a meeting wherein a person demanded $25 million in exchange for making horrible sex trafficking allegations against me go away.
NOBLES: Pensacola based federal prosecutors are examining the extortion claim, according to the source familiar with the investigation, that is being handled apart from the other investigation, the Congressman accusing a former federal prosecutor by name during an interview on Fox News.
GAETZ: His name is David McGee. He was a top official in the leadership in the northern district of Florida as a prosecutor. He currently works at the Beggs and Lane law firm. As a matter of fact, one of the recordings made at the FBI and Department of Justice request occurred at that law firm, and the money that was supposed to be paid today that would show even more evidence of David McGee's work in this extortion scheme.
NOBLES: Gaetz also called on the FBI and DOJ to release tapes of surveillance involving his father.
GAETZ: And if the FBI and Department of Justice will release the tapes that they are in possession of, the American people will see what is really going on.
NOBLES: McGee's law firm, Beggs and Lane, released a statement denying the accusation against him. The allegation by the congressman is both false and defamatory. Mr. McGee was the chief United States attorney for Northern District of Florida 25 years ago. During his tenure with the department of justice, his reputation for integrity and ethical conduct was impeccable. CNN source did not disclose who was being investigated for the extortion.
The interview with Tucker Carlson at times got uncomfortable, with Gaetz suggesting that the talk show host had dinner with Gaetz and a woman who could be at the center of the investigation by the FBI into Gaetz's conduct. Carlson said, he did not remember the woman or the dinner.
TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: I don't remember the woman you are speaking ever or the context at all, honestly. But I would like to know who. So they're saying there's a 17-year-old girl who you had a relationship with. Is that true? And who is this girl? What are they talking about, in The New York Times?
GAETZ: The person doesn't exist. I have not had a relationship with a 17-year-old. That is totally false.
NOBLES: Even Carlson left the interview sounding confused.
CARLSON: You just saw our Matt Gaetz interview, that was one of the weirdest interviews I have ever conducted.
NOBLES: Today, the most powerful Republican in the house, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, called the allegations serious, but said he was waiting to learn more.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): If that's come out to be true, yes we would remove him if that was the case. But right now, as Matt Gaetz says it's not true and we don't have any information, so let's get all of the information.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBLES (on camera): And as you can see the congressman's political future very much in doubt, that was not a ringing endorsement from the House minority leader as they wait to learn more about this investigation. He did get support from a fellow member of the freedom caucus, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, who is the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee.
In a statement to CNN, he said that he believed Matt Gaetz, and said that he shouldn't be removed from that committee. But right now, Wolf, a lot of pressure on the congressman from Florida. Wolf?
BLITZER: Enormous indeed. Ryan Nobles up on Capitol Hill. Thank you very much.
Let's get some more on all of this. Dave Aronberg is joining us, the state attorney for Florida's Palm Beach County. Dave, thank you so much for joining us.
So Matt Gaetz told the New York Times as you know that he suspect someone is actually trying to, quote, re-categorize his, quote, generosity to ex-girlfriends. If this was a 17-year-old, which he denies, how real is the risk of sex trafficking charges?
DAVE ARONBERG, STATE ATTORNEY, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA: Well, good evening, Wolf. It's very real sex trafficking, especially when it comes to minors, is treated very seriously at the state and federal levels, because it's punishable by up to life in prison. It requires a minor to be recruited, enticed, harbored, transported or maintained, provided for commercial sex acts.
And that's a definition. And as far as commercial sex acts, it's any sex act in exchange for anything of value. And that would include hotel rooms, and flights, and expenses, things Matt Gaetz has admitted providing to his dates, although he is adamant that he's never dated an underage girl.
[18:45:07]
So, the federal prosecutors would have to show that it is indeed an underage girl and he knew or should have known about it. He can't just put blinders on and walk away. And you've got to tie the hotel rooms, plain tickets, expenses to sex underage girl and knew or should underage girl and knew or should have known about it, can't just put blinders on and walk away, you have to tie hotel rooms, plain tickets, expenses to sex acts.
And if that is not done, prosecutors have other tools in their arsenal. They could charge what's known colloquially as statutory rape, if it's found that he had sex with a 17-year-old. That's punishable up to 15 years in state prison. It's also the crime of solicitation of sex with a minor, punishable up to five years in state prison. All these crimes that come with it, registration as a sex offender.
BLITZER: Gaetz claims as you know, Dave, that his family is being targeted in an extortion scheme, even claiming his father has been, quote, wearing a wire at the FBI's direction. Does that make sense to you?
ARONBERG: Well, I don't doubt that his father is telling the truth when he says he wore a wire. I think we have to put that in a different category. Extortion is not defense to child sex trafficking. It's a smokescreen in my opinion here because you can have both these things.
Even if there is extortion here and the evidence does not bear it out, we shall see, does not negate the crime of child sex trafficking. You could have both things at the same time.
And also, if this is about a private lawyer who is representing a client who is allegedly a victim in this case, they're allowed to try to engage in settlement negotiations before they file a lawsuit that they're allowed to file, especially when Department of Justice apparently has been investigating this matter for six months. It is not like they're going to leak something to the prosecutors if you don't settle. The prosecutors already have this information apparently.
BLITZER: Yeah. And as you know, the federal Justice Department investigation as you correctly point out, it actually began in the final months of the Trump administration under the then Attorney General Bill Barr. What do you make of that timing?
ARONBERG: Yeah. I watched that Tucker Carlson interview last night. At no point did he say the investigation started under Bill Barr and Donald Trump. That would ruin the narrative because one thing Matt Gaetz is good at is political theater.
Remember, he's the one who led the House Republicans to storming the SCIF, that secure room where depositions are taken during the first impeachment investigation, he stormed it and they occupied it, had pizza there. He's good at political theater.
And this is another example. They're going to blame it on a political witch hunt. You know, he made the allegation he was promised a pardon from Biden if he played ball. That's crazy.
I can assure you, Wolf, that if Biden ever issues pardons in four years, I would assume that Matt Gaetz and allegations or conviction if that ever happens of child sex trafficking is probably not high on the president's list.
BLITZER: David Aronberg, thanks so much for joining us.
ARONBERG: Thanks for having me, Wolf.
BLITZER: We'll have you back soon.
Coming up, Pfizer says its COVID vaccine is 100 percent effective in young teenagers. Will adolescents be able to get the shot before they return to school in the fall?
Stay with us.
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[18:52:48]
BLITZER: A very disturbing new CDC forecast just out tonight protects up to 33,000 more deaths here in the United States, deaths from COVID- 19, over the next few weeks. This comes as cases are going up even as more Americans are, in fact, being vaccinated.
Let's discuss with Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the CDC.
Dr. Frieden, thank so much for joining us.
The CDC projection is that 585,000 Americans could die from coronavirus by April 24th. More than 550,000 Americans have already died from this virus. This new forecast further demonstrates just how deadly, how serious the pandemic remains right now, right?
DR. TOM FRIEDEN, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: Absolutely. And unfortunately, Wolf, it looks like we are heading into a fourth surge in the U.S. I do think this surge is going to be much less deadly because so many people who live in nursing homes and currently half of all people over the age of 65 have been fully vaccinated so the lethality of the virus is going to be less because so many people are protected by the vaccine, but we are not all protected.
And that's why it's so important that we continue to double down on protection protocols, mask up and limit indoor air sharing with people not from your household.
BLITZER: Very important point. Let's go through some of the other major developments today. Pfizer now says it's coronavirus vaccine is safe, in 100 percent. It's safe and effective 100 percent in people ages 12 to 15, teenagers. How will the ability to vaccinate teenagers help bring an end to the pandemic?
FRIEDEN: You've already got the Pfizer vaccine approved for 16 and 17- year-olds. It may be by the fall that we have vaccines for younger kids but already, we have increasing numbers of vaccines, increasing numbers of places to get vaccinated and what we need to do is continue to ramp up the pace on vaccination while we continue to stay safe, because we are going to need a much larger proportion of the population vaccinated in order to drive cases down and get to the new normal.
BLITZER: And let's not forget, about the thousand Americans are still dying, Dr. Frieden, every single day from this virus.
[18:55:03]
FRIEDEN: Yeah, Wolf, it's a deadly disease. It will become less deadly with vaccinations but still illness even in a young, healthy person can be severe, can result in weeks or months of disability. We don't fully understand what's going on with long haul COVID.
And the more uncontrolled spread there is, the more risk of dangerous variants emerging.
BLITZER: Yeah.
FRIEDEN: So, vaccinate, mask up and reduce spread.
BLITZER: Excellent advice, Dr. Frieden. Thanks so much for joining us.
And we'll have more news right after this.
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BLITZER: To our viewers here in the United States and around the world, thanks very much for watching us.
I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. You can always follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Wolf Blitzer. You can always tweet the show @CNNSitRoom.
I'll be back tomorrow.
"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.
