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Judge Blocks Trump from Putting Many USAID Workers on Leave Tonight; Trump Says, I Plan to Fire Some January 6 Investigators; Trump Says He is Revoking Biden's Security Clearance. Trump Says He Is Revoking Biden's Security Clearance; Eagles Standing In The Way Of Chiefs' Historic Super Bowl Three-Peat. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired February 07, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, a setback for the Trump administration's dismantling of USAID, a federal judge temporarily blocking plans to put thousands of employees of the humanitarian aid agency on leave tonight. We're taking a closer look at how the organization has helped needy people around the world.

Plus, the president says he is planning to fire some FBI agents who worked on January 6th investigations. Those agents at risk of retribution after the Bureau just turned over their names to the Justice Department.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Wolf Blitzer is off. I'm Jim Sciutto. And you're in The Situation Room.

We begin with the breaking news, a new ruling putting the brakes on President Trump's plans to wipe out nearly all of the workforce at the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is at the White House. Jeff, I wonder what this decision means and how the White House is responding.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, it's certainly a temporarily hold on this. And as fast as this administration has been flooding the zone with executive orders and actions, the judges really here in Washington and across the country have been responding in kind, another ruling tonight temporarily putting a check on these 2,200 employees at USAID that were going to be placed on administrative leave tonight. Now that is on pause.

A Trump appointee to the federal bench here listed this ruling during a hearing this afternoon that lasted some 90 minutes or so. He said this. He said they should not put those 2,200 people on administrative leave tonight. Frankly, there is essentially zero harm in the government to pausing this for some short period of time as it relates to the employee-employer relationship, so basically not doing away with this, but just doing a temporary pause on this as both sides can argue their cases here. A federal employees union made the argument here that these employees should not be placed on administrative leave.

And, Jim, this is just one more in a series of examples we've seen virtually every day this week a federal judge stepping up to the plate to temporarily pause an action of this administration from the buyout program, if you will, to the birthright citizenship program, and now to this USAID. All day long, we had our eyes on USAID with just a few blocks from the White House here, and the sign that you can see right there is no longer.

So, the White House moving very quickly on this, but a judge saying not quite so fast. That doesn't mean that the ruling will hold in the end, but at least for now putting a pause on these administrative leave for these workers, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Important point. These are temporary pauses. We'll see how long they last.

Jeff Zeleny at the White House, thanks so much.

Let's bring in our political panel now. Elliot Williams, let me take advantage of your legal background here. Break down this ruling for us. As Jeff noted, it's a Trump appointed judge saying, not so fast.

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Right, not so fast. And we should really step back, Jim, and note the staggeringly bad record the Trump administration has right now in the courts, and that's on account of the speed with which they're moving. They have not given the requisite notice that the law would require and taken the steps necessary to put people on notice who are being affected by their decisions.

Now, this particular ruling, as you and Jeff had noted, it's not a final ruling and certainly the action can still -- possibly will still proceed. All the judge is doing is pumping the brakes for a minute to give the parties at least a chance to brief up the case, make their arguments and do what we've done in America for the past 248 years, which is ultimately give people a chance to be heard in court before their rights are affected.

So, this was a smart decision by a Trump appointed judge, not some woke freedom fighter. This was actually somebody put on the bench by Donald Trump himself.

SCIUTTO: David, the Trump administration certainly in Trump himself has not been shy about spending time in a courtroom, right?

[18:05:03]

Sometimes they go there voluntarily. Is this evidence that they didn't do their homework prior or these legal fights they expected and expect perhaps to win?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: Well, I think there are legal fights that they want to have. I mean, I think a lot of these are designed part of the sort of speed with which everything is happening at is to get this stuff challenged in court even if they don't -- even if they're not convinced they have the winning argument, perhaps, let's say, on the birthright citizenship issue. They want the fight in court because it helps elevate their position. And, ultimately, some of these things are going to get before a Supreme Court that has three Trump appointees already on it, and they think may be a friendly turf for some of these issues.

So, not only do they not shy away from the fight, Jim, I think they are eager to have some of these fights in these courtrooms.

SCIUTTO: Van Jones, I want to get your reaction to something New York Times Columnist Nick Kristof wrote about the effort to dismantle USAID. He wrote, quote, the world's richest man, Elon Musk, is boasting about destroying the United States Agency for International Development, which saves the lives of the world's poorest children, saying he shoved it into the wood chipper.

It's true. I mean, in the Doge world, and it extends beyond, they're characterizing USAID as just a -- you know, just a pot of wasted money that denies a broad part of its message -- of its mission here. Are Democrats getting that point across, in your view?

VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't know, but I tell you it's beyond cruel. There are people who are going to die in very large numbers because they were counting that the United States, which made promises, we won't let your children die. We won't let your children die of HIV. We won't let your children die of malaria. You can count on us. We have refrigerators that are keeping that medicine cold for your child.

Those refrigerators are in danger of being unplugged all across the world, and children will be dying. And people will remember this. And the cruelty, the casual cruelty that is being displayed for people around the world who believe in this country, who count on this country, who tell China, go away, the United States is going to protect us and stand with us, those are the horror stories rippling around the world.

And when you have a bunch of 22-year-old kids running around the federal government having a great time destroying people's lives, Americans who've gone to college and whose parents are proud of them, who took jobs in the federal government, everyday heroes who are doctors, who are lawyers, who are trying to help Americans, when those people are now afraid tonight, they won't be able to sleep tonight. They don't know if they have a job tomorrow.

That's not fun. It's not funny. Elon Musk is a disgrace, and what he's doing is unconscionable. It's unconscionable.

SCIUTTO: Lauren, I spoke to Senator Alyssa Slotkin earlier in the week, and she said, listen, you know, Michigan voters, a lot of them do believe, quite reasonably, that there's waste in government but she tried to draw attention back to the missions of a agency, such as USAID targeting things to Van's point like malaria AIDS, they do counternarcotics work in Latin America, certainly close to the president's heart. And they're also filling spaces that countries like China, you might imagine, would backfill if the U.S. retreats from here. Do you have any concern about destroying those other missions with real consequences in an effort to go after the portion of the budget that you can characterize as waste?

LAUREN TOMLINSON, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: So, I think that there's two things here. We have a very real need to reduce our debt, right? You just mentioned China. They're the second largest foreign owner of our debt, which is a huge vulnerability for our system. So, there is a need to look at every single government program the way that they are and really look at how we're going to reduce that debt.

On the flip side, I think that we have a secretary of state who has expressed a lot of support for foreign aid in the past. I don't think that that all of a sudden changed just because he is serving in the Trump administration.

So, while USAID is getting cut right now and these federal workers are putting on pause, there's still 300 or so that are still working and moving into the State Department. What I view this as, and I think that they should probably communicate this a little bit clearer to everyone, is that there is a realignment happening where the foreign aid agency is going to move into the State Department. There's going to be an alignment on our objectives and we can spend money where it is going to be most helpful to the United States.

I don't think anyone wants those images of people not getting what they need for the United States, and it is in our interest to exploit that soft power and put that out in the world. But we also need to take care of people at home.

SCIUTTO: Elliot, just a legal question here. USAID was created by an act of Congress. The money spent was approved by appropriations decisions of Congress, of course, Article 1 of the Constitution here.

[18:10:07]

And yet I see today them ripping it off USAID, which I suppose there was a performative aspect to that. Is this legal? I mean, can you just do this by executive order?

WILLIAMS: I don't believe you can, Jim. And it's not just Article 1 of the Constitution. I believe the spending power is the first power enumerated in the Constitution. It is critically important to Congress' powers. Certainly, the president does not have the ability to abolish an agency outright. So, we got to get that out of our heads.

Now, if it's a question of just taking the lettering off of a building off of the Reagan building here in Washington and moving people to somewhere else, and certainly that's the power that the executive branch through the president would have. But, no, the president cannot and the White House can't just eliminate an agency under the law. They can try but that's what the point of courts are for and that's where these months and months and months of lawsuits are going to play out.

SCIUTTO: And to your point, and it's in the Reagan building, Reagan himself was a proponent of foreign aid and he said it was in his view was in U.S. national security interests.

Thanks so much to all of you.

Just ahead, while some federal workers are getting a partial reprieve, others worry their days are numbered after President Trump response to a question from CNN about potential firings at the FBI.

But, first, some other breaking news just coming in to CNN, the top prosecutor in Washington, D.C., says he plans to now investigate people at the recommendation of whom, that man, Elon Musk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

SCIUTTO: More breaking news tonight, the acting U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia says he is planning now to investigate a list of people referred to him by Elon Musk.

CNN's Paula Reid is gathering the details. Paula, Elon Musk is making a list of people for the Justice Department to investigate?

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's according to the acting U.S. attorney here in Washington, Ed Martin. Now, Martin has already made some controversial moves. He has opened investigations into those who have worked on cases related to January 6th, even fired some prosecutors who worked on those cases. And now he posted this letter to social media saying that he is going to act on recommendations that he has received from Elon Musk.

He is saying, quote, thank you for the referral of individuals and networks who appear to be stealing government property and/or threatening government employees. But we don't know who these people are or what the specific allegations are.

He goes on to use some language that's pretty unusual for a federal prosecutor in a public statement saying, quote, we will chase them to the end of the earth to hold them accountable. No one is above the law. So, it's clear that Mr. Martin wants to get some attention about these referrals, but there isn't a lot of substance here.

And this just sort of lends itself to more of the chaos and confusion that DOGE has created within the federal government. Well, it's certainly understandable that people want accountability they want some oversight. I mean, a letter like this really prompts more questions than answers.

SCIUTTO: And it's certainly not the typical way that the Justice Department comes to find a list of folks that's going to investigate.

Paula Reid, thank thanks so much. I want to bring the panel back for a moment. Van Jones, what power or rights does Elon Musk and I suppose his team of former SpaceX interns, to choose people to be investigated by the Justice Department and to have the U.S. attorney take up that list or say it is?

JONES: Well, no power that I've ever heard of. But we're in this weird situation. Maybe some of his marauding musketeers actually found somebody doing something bad, in which case they should let the world know they did something bad. But there is a normal process by which this is done and those watchdogs were all fired by the administration.

So, there's a normal process by which ones, you know, we're supposed to go about. So, it's hard for us to comment on this. This is completely out of order. It's completely out of line. Unleashing random children running around the federal government saying this person's bad, this person's bad, having a billionaire tell somebody in the federal government to investigate him, have the person who's been told to investigate them jump up and down and say, yes, sir, yes, sir, happy to do so, sir, is all bizarre. This is not the way to run a bodega, let alone the federal government.

SCIUTTO: Lauren, I know that there's a lot of folks celebrating the new administration and its hunt for not just waste but potential criminal activity. Does the Republican Party want Elon Musk and this team of folks, who have no official government role, performing the role of sort of, I don't know, freelance prosecutors?

TOMLINSON: I don't think that's what's happening here. They came on as special government employees, so they do have ethical boundaries in which they are operating with the federal government. They are consulting. They are recommending different actions that the government takes., And ultimately, I don't think that this was necessarily Elon team that are wrong. I think that the prosecutor's language, like we said, the letter I think is odd.

But they did what they should do. They referred what they found. They didn't take action. They referred it to the proper channels. So, to me, this is -- they're going to come up against these types of things when they're investigating ways to make our government more efficient and modernize our systems.

And so they have -- this is exactly what they have to do, is refer it up the chain of command. They're not firing these people. They're not investigating further. They're referring. And I don't think that you can ask much more of that.

SCIUTTO: I mean, there's a basic question, though, is there not, a possibility of conflict of interest. Did Musk and his team look at waste in any government contracts that his companies are involved in? This is the fundamental question, is it not, Elliot, in that this is typically the job of professional prosecutors with law degrees and backgrounds in building cases, I imagine, right, to find, and then at some point, if the evidence suits, to prosecute wrongdoing.

[18:20:08]

Have you in your experience of a prosecutor have had outside folks come in and say, hey, here's a list of folks for you to investigate?

JONES: -- Van on this. But, in general, the problem here is not Elon Musk. The problem is the prosecutor. Any citizen is free and within their right to bring evidence of wrongdoing to the Justice Department. Case in point, Jim, Congress does it all the time. They're not prosecutors, but they write letters referring criminal activity to Congress for the Justice Department to investigate.

The problem is that letter from this prosecutor, using this language to the ends of the earth or whatever else, seeming to suggest that he has made a decision as the guilt or innocence already of these people. So, by all means, if these DOGE folks have found what they think is evidence of wrongdoing, they're allowed to tell DOJ about it. It's just up to DOJ and, quite frankly, the courts to make responsible, reasonable decisions as to who ought to and ought not to be prosecuted. And that's what smells bad here.

SCIUTTO: Understood. So, that's the check, in effect, is the prosecutors here seeing if the list, in effect, is backed by the goods. Well, we'll see. We'll see where the prosecutor where the prosecutor takes it.

Rene, another story we've been following today. We're learning now that DOGE could rehire a former staffer connected with racist social media messages. And it was remarkable to see the president in his press conference today alongside the Japanese prime minister asked about this and say, hey, if J.D. Vance, my vice president, is for bringing him back, I'm for bringing him back. And can you remind folks what the actual statements were?

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. So, this DOGE staffer actually resigned after being linked to these racist social media posts that called for repealing of the Civil Rights Act, endorsed eugenic immigration policy that discriminates against immigrants from certain countries and favors others, and repeated these anti-Indian posts saying, quote, normalize Indian hate.

Well, that person is now back on the job. Elon Musk announced that via a post on X today. And the reinstatement of this 25-year-old DOGE staffer by the name of Mark Elez came shortly after Vice President J.D. Vance said on X, that while he didn't agree with some of Elez's posts, he didn't think, quote, stupid social media activity should ruin a kid's life.

And President Trump publicly supported the DOGE staffer's reinstatement this afternoon and in the White House. I want you to take a listen to that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: The vice president says, bring him back. What do you say?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I don't know about the particular thing, but if the vice president said that, did you say that? I'm with the vice president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: And just like that, that DOGE employee is back.

But, Jim, you know, retaining a staffer who has called for the repeal of the Civil Rights Act, which essentially makes sure that you are not discriminated against based on race, sex, et cetera, bringing back someone who has that point of view, coupled with the administration's attack on all things related to diversity, equity, inclusion, really says a lot about the administration and its views, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Van what does it say about the administration views to you?

JONES: Well, listen, if it were just simply a policy disagreement about the Civil Rights Act, that might be one thing. He literally said, I was racist before racist was cool. That's one of the posts. So, this is not, oh, some woke agenda. These people are just -- you're literally talking about someone who's a self-admitted racist, someone who literally says the most horrible things about Indians that you can't even repeat on air, and he hasn't taken these posts down.

And, by the way, I'm a second chances guy. I'm a restorative justice criminal justice guy. When you apologize, when you atone, when you show you've learned something and want to move forward with your life, then society should welcome you back. This young man has not made any apology, any atonement, and apparently, that's no longer necessary in America. You can literally say, I am a racist, and proud of it, and work at the highest levels of government. Because that's what we -- DEI says, we only want to have qualified people, apparently only qualified racists, qualified bigots, and qualified haters, need apply.

SCIUTTO: Lauren, your thoughts, is that an association that this president, this administration, this party should want?

TOMLINSON: Absolutely not. But I do think that we don't know if he has apologized privately, which is, might be why J.D. Vance made the comments that he did.

JONES: He said it publicly.

TOMLINSON: I agree, though, that Van's, right, that we have to have an apology here from this young kid. And, you know, I don't want to judge him and ruin his life either.

[18:25:01]

Cancel culture to me is just really harsh, especially for, you know, teenagers and 20-year-olds and others that are -- don't even have their brain fully developed all the time when they're making these posts. But I do think that he needs to accept the responsibility for what he did, especially if he wants to come back in and make things right.

SCIUTTO: Van Jones, Lauren Tomlinson, Elliot Williams, Rene Marsh, thanks so much to all of you.

Just ahead, new reaction from a top Democrat on the decision to partially pause the effort to gut USAID. Senator Richard Blumenthal is here live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: We're back now with breaking news on the fate of USAID, the humanitarian relief agency, on President Trump's chopping block. [18:30:05]

A federal judge parsed the administration's plans to put thousands of the agency's employees on leave tonight.

CNN's Brian Todd is taking a closer look at what the agency actually does. Tell us what kind of impact this wipeout is having.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, tonight there is just so much concern over how many people will be immediately affected by a cutoff of food, water, medicine. And those who know about how USAID works say Americans should not consider this a problem just in faraway countries.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice over): At this hospital in Thailand Refugees from war- torn Myanmar say services at their refugee camp came to a sudden stop after the U.S. froze aid to the region.

MAUNG LAY, INJURED REFUGEE FROM MYANMAR: We don't have money to buy medicines. We will all die if we have no medicine at the camp.

TODD: Part of the fallout worldwide of President Trump's decision to gut the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, the agency that provides food and other humanitarian assistance to millions around the world.

The president citing alleged waste and fraud unearthed by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

SAMANTHA POWER, FORMER USAID ADMINISTRATOR: 60 percent of the budget goes to humanitarian emergencies, literally to provide shelter, food, and medicine to keep people alive.

TODD: In 2023, USAID says it provided nearly $2 billion in food assistance to more than 45 million people around the world. But tonight, food services in famine stricken places, like Sudan, are already shutting down. Programs to provide safe drinking water for billions of people in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and India are under threat. And the impact on treatments for disease could be catastrophic.

ANDREW NATSIOS, FORMER HEAD OF USAID UNDER PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH: There are health clinics around the world that are treating people for HIV/AIDS, for measles, for children who get measles, 50 percent of them die in the developing world. We had a campaign to eradicate polio. That's been stopped.

TODD: And USAID's ability to detect and treat diseases doesn't just help people in faraway lands.

DR. ATUL GAWANDE, FORMER USAID ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR GLOBAL HEALTH: For responding to diseases that threaten populations and can come to the United States. A case example is right now in Uganda is a very serious Ebola outbreak in the capital city. TODD: And another malaria uptick in the us, like the one in Florida in recent years, is possible if agencies like USAID can't detect it overseas first.

USAID also works with security agencies to safeguard Americans.

STEVE SCHMIDA, FORMER USAID CONTRACTOR: There are organizations monitoring ISIS, right, in Syria, trying to keep an eye on extremist groups to make sure they don't attack us again. You know, these are -- they've gone dark.

TODD: Work often done by USAID employees who are putting themselves in peril.

ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: You have USAID employees in incredibly dangerous areas that are impacted not just by disease but also conflict and war. At least some of these workers are in places where they are risking their lives.

TODD: And in some cases, dying. In 2023, A USAID contractor was killed in an airstrike in Gaza. In 2010, suicide bombers stormed a USAID compound in Northern Afghanistan, killing four people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): And according to analysts and two former top USAID officials who spoke to CNN, another disturbing ripple effect is that as USAID pulls out of developing nations, America's adversaries, like China, Russia, and Iran, could move right in to fill that void. And as you know, Jim, China's already been doing that in some places.

SCIUTTO: Yes, it's an exercise of soft power, one might say. Brian, thanks so much.

Joining me now is Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat from Connecticut. Thanks so much for joining.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): Thank you for having me, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Part of the administration's argument here, and from its supporters, is not just that there's waste in USAID, but that it's just not America's job. Foreign aid is a waste of taxpayer's money and we shouldn't be in these places, even if there is need for food, medicine, et cetera. Make the case for why it is America's job, in your view.

BLUMENTHAL: Well, Jim, you know, as you know, it's not just a matter of soft power. It's a matter of influence and impact around the world. And the gap, the void that we leave will be filled by China, even Russia. And our soft power sometimes is the kind of power that keeps us out of war and stops terrorism.

But if you take that $40 billion budget and ask, where does the money go, a lot of it is spent right here in the United States. The $2 billion in food aid, for example, that's not money that we give to people on the ground. It's used to buy soybeans and wheat and corn from farmers here in the United States of America. And some of that food is actually just sitting in ports, wasting, spoiling, because it can't be shipped.

[18:35:04]

If you talk about the pharmaceutical drugs, they are purchased right here in the United States.

So, the $40 billion dollars generates business and jobs here. And there's one other point in terms of saving money. If you prevent disease from spreading to the United States from some foreign country, you save a lot of money, not to mention the intel that we know comes from them.

SCIUTTO: The case you just made there sounds a lot like a certain former senator you might recognize. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: We don't have to give foreign aid. We do so because it furthers our national interest. That's why we give foreign aid. Now, obviously, there's a component to foreign aid, that's humanitarian in scope, and that's important too.

I promise you it's going to be a lot harder to recruit someone to anti Americanism, anti-American terrorism if the United States of America was the reason why they're even alive today.

Anybody who tells you that we can slash foreign aid and that will bring us to balance is lying to you. Foreign aid is less than 1 percent of our budget. It's just not true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: I wonder about this about-face for Marco Rubio, USAID is going to end up under the State Department here. You've worked with him in the Senate. Could he quietly rescue some of USAID's mission?

BLUMENTHAL: I'm hoping that he will stay true to the beliefs and values that he articulated so well in those clips that you used. Marco Rubio was one of the most powerful advocates of this kind of program because it's in our self-interest.

Put aside feelings of humanitarian care. This aid is a force multiplier for the United States of America. It isn't military aid and it isn't buying influence, but it has enormous impact in the way the world perceives us and the way they are willing to work with us in combating terrorism or our adversaries.

So, I am hoping maybe Marco Rubio will somersault back on his feet, because if he is true to himself, he will quietly or otherwise support and defend USAID.

SCIUTTO: We do have some news just into CNN, and that is that Donald Trump has posted on Truth Social that he's going to rescind Joe Biden, the former president's, security clearance, that he says he no longer needs to access to classified information. We've seen this president revoke security clearances for former government officials, including from his own administration, who, it seems, he was insulted by their criticism unprecedented to remove it from a former president. What's your reaction?

BLUMENTHAL: I think this kind of retribution is unworthy of a president, and I'm saddened and angered that he is using security clearances as a means of revenge against political enemies or adversaries, or generals, like Mark Milley. But it fits the pattern that you've just articulated in the earlier story about referring a list of people who may be prosecuted as a result of Elon Musk recommending them.

Elon Musk is responsible for the biggest public corruption scandal ongoing in real time, right before our eyes, stealing information, controlling agencies that provide contracts to his company, SpaceX and Starlink and Tesla, billions of dollars, and regulate those companies. So, if we're worried about corruption, we should be investigating what Elon Musk is doing with DOGE, and that's exactly what I am doing through the current subcommittee on investigation. We've begun that investigation with letters to all those companies asking what they're doing with the information, who controls it, who's involved.

But this kind of retribution really should have no place in the United States government.

SCIUTTO: Senator Richard Blumenthal, thanks so much for joining tonight.

BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Coming up, more on the action President Trump just announced, action he's taking against the former president, Joe Biden.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

SCIUTTO: More on the breaking news, President Trump has announced he is revoking former President Biden's security clearance.

I want to go to CNN's Jeff Zeleny at the White House. And in doing so, he's saying or noting that Biden stopped intelligence briefings for Trump following the 2020 election. Tell us how the president is justifying this.

ZELENY: Well, Jim, this would seem to take it a bit further than that, but it certainly is a tit-for-tat, if you will, President Trump making this announcement on social media as he was flying from here at the White House down to Mar-a-Lago, where he is spending most of the weekend. And he's saying there, you can see on screen, he said, there's no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information. Therefore, we are immediately revoking Joe Biden's security clearances and stopping his daily intelligence briefings. As he goes on, very bottom of that to say, Joe, you're fired. Make America great again. A couple of things, Jim, one President Biden was not the ultimate rival to President Trump. Of course, that was Vice President Kamala Harris. But we've seen a repeated series of examples of how President Biden is in President Trump's head. And he clearly is being used as a foil, really, day by day by day, the president mentions the former president. However, four years ago in 2021, it was President Biden who said that that former President Donald Trump should not receive daily security briefings.

He called his behavior erratic, and this is how he explained it to CBS's Norah O'Donnell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NORAH O'DONNELL, CBS NEWS HOST: Well, let me ask you then, something that you do have oversight of as president. Should former President Trump still receive intelligence briefings?

JOE BIDEN, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I think not.

O'DONNELL: Why not?

BIDEN: Because of his erratic behavior unrelated to the insurrection.

O'DONNELL: I mean, you've called him an. Existential threat. You've called him dangerous. You've called him reckless.

BIDEN: Yes, I have, and I believe it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So that, of course, was in the wake of the January 6th insurrection, just about a month or so after that, such a different time. President Biden, of course, ran to stop Donald Trump from becoming president. Donald Trump, of course, won and is back in power.

So, tonight, President Trump, going one step further, blocking security briefings and a security clearance -- Jim.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Jeff Zeleny at the White House, thank you so much.

Coming up, the former FBI deputy director reacts to President Trump saying he is going to fire at least some January 6th investigators.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:40]

SCIUTTO: Breaking news, after a standoff in court, the FBI has now turned over the names of agents who worked on January 6th related cases to the U.S. Justice Department. And now, President Trump says he plans to fire some of those employees.

Joining me now is the former FBI deputy director, Andrew McCabe. He's a senior -- CNN senior law enforcement analyst, as well. Andy, the president said he's going to do so quickly and surgically.

He often accused his political opponents of weaponizing the Justice Department, the FBI, et cetera.

To fire agents who investigated a violent attack on the capitol. In your view, is that weaponizing the law enforcement agencies?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: It's absolutely weaponizing the FBI and the Department of Justice.

It's -- it's the grand irony of the way the president and his supporters and the new attorney general even have been speaking about, you know, removing the weaponization of the FBI by essentially weaponizing it, by coming out and finding people who participated in lawful, fully predicated investigations -- investigations that resulted in grand jury indictments and arrest warrants, and cases in which people pled guilty or went to trial and were convicted.

So this is an entirely lawful process. There's no weaponization about it, but what they're doing now is hunting down anyone who had a fingerprint on those cases. And they're going to review that for some sort of loyalty.

We don't know what that review will be. Maybe we'll be looking at their political backgrounds or their donations to political parties or social media posts, and people are going to get fired. I can tell you from personal experience, when Donald Trump decides to start firing people, no matter what they did or what the investigation reveals, they're going to get fired.

SCIUTTO: So the next question is, can they simply be terminated fired for doing their jobs? Is there a process? Does he have to substantiate his allegation that they're somehow corrupt?

MCCABE: So there is a process. And the FBI, it's a well-known standard process in which you're investigated by the inspection division. And then your misconduct, whatever is found, is adjudicated by the office of professional responsibility. Let's keep in mind, there's not a single allegation against any FBI employee involved in this, all the 5,000 names, not one allegation of misconduct so far.

So if they just fire people and walk them out of the building, anyone who is denied that due process is going to have a pretty good legal case to bring in court, but that is a very long, very expensive process and not one that results in justice quickly.

SCIUTTO: I mean, just quickly, can that just be exile to some degree, even if you're not eventually fired, you know, your career is impacted regardless.

MCCABE: Yeah, certainly you can be taken off the work that you prefer to do. You can be reassigned to other duties that are less important. Those things are harder to challenge because the bureau maintains, you know, you we all serve at the needs of the bureau, and they can put you wherever they want. But he very clearly said people will be fired. I would expect we'll see some of that. SCIUTTO: Andrew McCabe, thanks so much.

And we'll be right back.

MCCABE: Thanks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:58:27]

SCIUTTO: This Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles are all that remained between the Kansas City Chiefs and an historic Super Bowl three-peat.

CNN sports anchor Andy Scholes is joining us from New Orleans.

Andy, folks ready for the game?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, certainly. Jim, it's been just a beautiful day here in New Orleans, a beautiful week. And all the Eagles and Chiefs fans have been just walking around the French quarter, enjoying it ahead of the game. But you know, only one of those fan bases is going to be happy come Sunday night.

As you mentioned, the Chiefs are going for that historic three-peat. It's really hard to bet against Patrick Mahomes getting it done. He's 15-0 playing indoors. And, of course, the game is indoors. This year it's at the Superdome. He's also 8-0 against the Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.

And the Chiefs, they've won 17 straight one score games, whenever these games are close. Mahomes just finds a way to get it done.

And I actually got the chance to speak to his mother Randi, last night at NFL Honors. She obviously told me she's very proud of her son, Patrick, but she also told me which part of his games she dislikes the most.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: What moment during a game makes you the most nervous?

RANDI MAHOMES, PATRICK MAHOMES' MOM: When he runs the ball.

Mama said, don't run the ball, but he still likes to do it. And so that's what makes me the most nervous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yeah, moms always worry, right, Jim? But we'll see if the Mahomes family gets to celebrate on the field after the Super Bowl once again.

But the talking here is over, Jim. The teams no longer meeting with the media anymore. They're going to have one more walk through tomorrow before enjoying some time with their families at the Superdome. And then it's time for Super Bowl LIX. But, man, New Orleans is such a great city to hold this event, Jim.

You know, of course you got all the great food. We're next to Cafe du Monde. And I will say this is now my fifth beignet of the day. Wow.

SCIUTTO: All right. Well, that's just rubbing it in, Andy. Enjoy it. Enjoy the game. We'll be watching. Shame there aren't any Giants fans there.

I'm Jim Sciutto in THE SITUATION ROOM. Thanks so much for watching.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now.