Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

Congress To Set Up Commission To Investigate Capitol Attack; Biden Pushing For His $1.9 Trillion Relief Plan; Trump Faces Legal Problems After Senate Acquittal; U.S. Death Toll Tops 486,000 With 27.6 Million Cases As Daily Case Average Dips Below 100,000 For First Time Since November; Study Finds Seven New Virus Strains In The U.S.; CNN Examines More Than 800 Pieces Of Evidence Used By House Managers To Build Case Against Trump; Cuomo Denies He Covered Up COVID Deaths In Nursing Homes. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired February 15, 2021 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Wednesday into Thursday, another round of record snow and crippling ice moves from the southern plains to New England. Watch out. It's going to get worse in the Ohio Valley this evening.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Yes. This seems like one for the record books. Thanks, Tom. And you can follow me on Twitter @PamelaBrownCNN or tweet the show @TheLeadCNN. Our coverage continues right now.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. This is THE SITUATION ROOM special report and we're following new developments from the capitol siege.

The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi telling lawmakers just a little while ago that Congress will set up an independent commission to investigate the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. Pelosi says it will be similar to the 9/11 commission. The announcement comes in the wake of former President Trump's acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial. But tonight, there are new questions about whether he can be criminally prosecuted as well as questions about the future of the GOP.

With the impeachment drama over, President Biden's agenda is once again front and center as he moves to garner support for his $1.9 trillion emergency pandemic relief package. He will lay out his big plan tomorrow night in a CNN presidential town hall, his first since taking office.

The president will travel to Wisconsin for the event, the first official trip of his presidency. Let's begin this hour with our chief White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins. Kaitlan, Mr. Biden has just returned to the White House for his first weekend at the presidential retreat at Camp David. Update our viewers on the very latest.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, Wolf, he has been in office for nearly a month now, but President Biden has had to deal with this split screen for the last several weeks while trying to enact his agenda but also still focusing and still dealing with this, his predecessor's impeachment trial that was always kind of lingering in the background.

But now that that has wrapped up, his agenda is moving front and center. And of course, top of his list right now is that COVID-19 relief bill that he is trying to get pushed through Congress, Wolf, and is still struggling to get Republican support.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS (voice-over): With the distraction of former President Trump's impeachment trial behind him, President Joe Biden is forging ahead with his agenda. Following a weekend at Camp David, Biden returned to the White House with one item at the top of his list, getting his COVID relief bill through Congress.

CEDRIC RICHMOND, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: President Biden is not willing to wait.

COLLINS (voice-over): Republican lawmakers still overwhelmingly oppose Biden's $1.9 trillion plan, and his top aides say he's building support within the GOP just not in Washington, D.C.

RICHMOND: Look, you know, I was looking at that the other day. We have many Republican mayors, we have Republican governors, we have more than 50 percent of Republicans in this country. There's just one place that we don't have anybody who has signed on yet, and that's in the United States Congress.

COLLINS (voice-over): But Biden ran his campaign promising to bring unity to Washington. Democrat Senator Chris Coons, a close ally of his, says Biden will keep pushing for bipartisanship even if his first major piece of legislation isn't.

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): We can proceed with a Democrat only bill. President Biden is uniting the American people. He is moving forward on relief that has the support of three-quarters of the American people.

COLLINS (voice-over): Biden's top health officials are also pushing for the passage of his stimulus bill, arguing that schools need more resources to reopen.

ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I think that the schools really do need more resources, and that's the reason why the National Relief Act that we're talking about getting passed, we need that. The schools need more resources.

COLLINS (voice-over): On Friday, the CDC issued new guidance for reopening schools.

ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: Most of these in-school does not come from in-school transmission, but comes from outside from into the community. COLLINS (voice-over): CDC director, Dr. Walensky says they are not

mandating that schools reopen, but the guidance the CDC issued appears to have created more questions than it's answered about how and when to do so.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Can you point to any scientific reasons for students in the United States not to return to in-person classes tomorrow, as long as schools are taking the five steps?

WALENSKY: You know, I think if you look at what -- as you noted, there is 90 percent of communities with this high rate of transmission going on right now and we really don't want to bring community disease into the classroom.

COLLINS (voice-over): Top White House aides said they were not involved in the making of the new guidance.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I can assure the White House is not directing the CDC on how they're to determine their guidelines.

COLLINS (voice-over): Meanwhile, starting today, Biden reopened the Affordable Care Act's federal insurance marketplaces for three months. The White House says it will give millions of Americans affected by the pandemic another chance to buy health care plans.

[17:04:59]

RICHMOND: We just want to use every tool in the tool kit to make sure that people are covered in the middle of this pandemic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS (on camera): House Democrats are drafting that COVID-19 legislation this week. They're hoping to have it to the Senate soon and then have it a final version on President Biden's desk as soon as next month.

And of course, after he signs that, Wolf, then the administration is already planning to move on to their other priorities, things like immigration, infrastructure, while still dealing with this pandemic.

But first, he is going to go on the road this week to sell his stimulus plan, trying to get more support for it, of course. And that starts with that CNN town hall tomorrow night.

BLITZER: Yes. Very important point. I want to remind our viewers, Kaitlan, to be sure to join us tomorrow night for the president's first town hall since taking office. CNN's Anderson Cooper will moderate the CNN presidential town hall with the president of the United States. That's tomorrow night, 9:00 p.m. eastern, only here on CNN. Kaitlan, we'll get back to you.

The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, meanwhile, has informed lawmakers that Congress will, repeat, will establish an independent commission similar to the 9/11 commission to investigate the January 6th attack on the U.S. capitol. And while former president Trump was acquitted of inciting the

insurrection, he could still face lots of legal trouble. Our justice correspondent Jessica Schneider is working the story for us. Jessica, there are now, what multiple investigations that could mean real serious problems for Trump.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Very serious, Wolf. The legal threats really are looming large against the former president even though he has been acquitted by the Senate. Prosecutors in Georgia and New York, they are investigating Trump's actions in his final days in office to determine potential criminal culpability.

Plus, investigators in New York State, they've taken aim at the entire Trump organization.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Tonight, former President Trump is facing legal threats from around the country. And now that he's out of office and without the protections of the presidency, even his former ally, Mitch McConnell, seems to be sending signals to prosecutors that they should proceed.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office. Didn't get away with anything, yet.

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): The vote to acquit Trump now shifts the spotlight to ongoing probes in Georgia, New York and Washington, D.C. In Georgia, investigators have launched two separate inquiries. The Fulton County district attorney opened a criminal investigation into Trump's attempts to influence the 2020 election in Georgia.

FANI WILLIS, FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It's a very simple equation. We're going to look at the law and we're going to look at the facts. Should we find that anyone violated the law, then we are going to make a charging decision.

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): And a source tell CNN Georgia's secretary of state is investigating two of Trump's calls to state election officials where the then president pressured tried to pressure them to overturn the election results. The first call was from Trump to Georgia's secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state.

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Trump's senior adviser, Jason Miller, tells CNN there was nothing improper about the call, continuing, "If Mr. Raffensperger didn't want to receive calls about the election, he shouldn't have run for secretary of state."

In New York, the Trump family business is under investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors are scrutinizing the Trump Organization and whether its officials committed insurance or tax fraud. Right now, the D.A.'s office is waiting for word from the Supreme Court about whether it can enforce a subpoena to get Trump's tax returns.

It's even possible that Trump could face criminal charges for inciting the violence that erupted at the capitol January 6th. Federal prosecutors have indicated that no one is being overlooked in their probes and lawyers inside D.C.'s attorney general's office are investigating whether Trump's words and actions violated a little used local law, making inciting violence illegal, punishable by up to six months in jail.

STEPHEN SPAULDING, SENIOR COUNSEL, COMMON CAUSE: There is a -- it is a crime to incite rebellion, and that is a statute that I hope investigators, federal investigators, the District of Columbia and others will investigate and unspool whether, in fact, he meets that standard.

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): But the former president still has a hold over the Republican Party, even with legal liability looming, and the senators who have stuck with him are speaking out against any repercussions.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS HOST: Does Donald Trump bear any responsibility for the attack on the capitol on January 6th?

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): No. In terms of the law, no. He bears responsibility of pushing narratives about the election that I think are not sound and not true, but this was politically protected speech.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER (on camera): Trump is also facing two defamation lawsuits that were largely delayed while he was in office. One is from a former contestant on "The Apprentice," accusing him of sexual assault. Another from a former magazine columnist accusing Trump of rape.

[17:10:00]

Both women, Wolf, allege that Trump defamed them by saying their claims were lies. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Jessica, thanks very much. Jessica Schneider reporting for us. Let's get some more on all of this. Joining us right now, CNN political commentator, former Republican senator, Jeff Flake, CNN contributor and former impeachment counsel for House Democrats, Norm Eisen, and our chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins is back with as well.

Norm, as you know, the House Speaker says the next step is to establish a 9/11-style commission of inquiry to investigate the January 6th attack. What unanswered questions, from your perspective, need to be investigated?

NORM EISEN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Wolf, thanks for having me back. The biggest unanswered question, we have some of the evidence, is exactly what did President Trump do and failed to do on that fateful day of January 6th. A lot of that evidence came in. Enough, in my view and the view of 57 senators to convict him of inciting insurrection.

But there is so much more to be learned, Wolf. From the witnesses, the Secret Service, their records have been compelled before in prior litigation. From those who were in the White House and from the Pentagon and how President Trump may have held them back.

Who else was culpable for this? And then so much more about what came beforehand President Trump's incitement and his henchmen and women, Wolf, those who spread this furious, baseless lie that drove the flames of insurrection that the election was stolen. So, there's a lot more to be learned about what happened on the 6th.

BLITZER: Kaitlan, as you know, President Biden, he is clearly trying to move on. He's got a lot of issues on his agenda right now. How does he do that with an ongoing commission, a 9/11-style commission digging into everything that happened that led up to the January 6th attack?

COLLINS: Well, I think because this commission will be set up so much differently than the impeachment trial was because it will be outside investigators looking into all of this. That will make it less of a concern for the Biden White House because that was really one of their main issues with the impeachment trial and those proceedings.

Is that it also hampered Biden's agenda because it tied up the Senate's work for an entire week and they feared it could drag on for longer than, of course, what we saw it go on. That was the kind of the concern on Saturday when there was this brief moment where we thought there was a bit of scramble.

We thought there were going to be witnesses. And I was talking to White House officials who were just kind of exasperated because anytime that that gets delayed, it delays their nominations, their -- moving their COVID-19 relief bill through.

But I think an outside investigation into this is a little bit different than that. And so there are definitely that faction of people inside the White House who want to see former President Trump held accountable in this way. So I think that they would view it a little bit differently than they did the impeachment proceedings.

BLITZER: Yes. My own sense is they need a commission to investigate, learn all of the lessons of what happened in order to make sure that it doesn't happen again. A really, really brutal day in American history.

Jeff, the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, he voted to acquit Trump but he very pointedly, immediately after the vote, said that former presidents are not immune from criminal justice investigations from the entire criminal justice system. How much could possible legal consequences curb the former president's influence on your Republican Party going forward?

JEFF FLAKE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You're right, that was a blistering speech. It sounded like it could have been made by the impeachment managers. But it will affect the president's influence. My sense is his influence is waning already.

You have some members of Congress, in the Senate and the House, that are willing to go down to Mar-a-Lago and see what the president wants to do with the party. But my guess is that is a minority in the party. So, I think his influence is waning.

And certainly, if there are investigations going on, the ones in Georgia in particular, where he called the secretary of state and asked him to find votes, those, I think, are particularly devastating and I think most of the country doesn't know much about that yet. So, I think those kind of things will diminish the president's influence which is frankly, I think, ebbing already.

BLITZER: Norm, do you think the former president will be occupied by these legal issues? How much will he follow through on his plans to help the Republican Party going ahead to the midterm elections in 2022 and potentially seek revenge on those Republicans who crossed him?

EISEN: Well, I think he will follow through on his plans, Wolf. But whether they help or hinder remains to be seen. I agree with Senator Flake that the president has profound legal jeopardy like two walls closing in on him, the New York financial investigation by D.A. Cyrus Vance, and the Georgia election tampering investigation.

[17:15:00]

Wolf, you can't tell a secretary of state, I just want to find 11,780 votes, one more than necessary to win. That very likely is a serious issue under Georgia criminal law. That will make him a liability. So whether he helps or hinders when he goes on the road, we don't know. But he will go on the road.

BLITZER: Do you believe, Jeff, that Trump is still the leader of the Republican Party?

FLAKE: No, I don't. Obviously, he has influence still and he can shake up a primary here and there, but if you take here in Arizona as an example, the president's weighing in so heavily on the races here led to two losses, over two years.

We now, for the first time in 72 years have two Democrats representing the state at the senate. So, yes, there are a few races where he can make a difference, but it will likely simply put Republicans in a bad place when the general election comes. And so you're going to have people like Mitch McConnell and others who are pushing back on the president's influence.

BLITZER: I suspect, Kaitlan, that these criminal, potential criminal investigations into the former president could present a pretty serious challenge to the new Biden Justice Department.

COLLINS: Well, that's why Mitch McConnell's speech from the Senate floor was so interesting because I do think that was a concern before, that it could look like the Biden Justice Department was targeting the former president, who obviously was a political rival. And I think Mitch McConnell's comments, the comments of people like Liz Cheney has helped to provide them a little bit of cover if that was something that they were to pursue because Mitch McConnell, of course, the former Senate majority leader was saying that he can be civilly or criminally prosecuted in this way, strongly implying that was likely or was something that could happen.

Liz Cheney has said similar. So I do think that actually provides a little bit of cover if we were to see something of that nature from the Biden Justice Department.

BLITZER: All right. Good analysis from everyone. Everybody, stand by. Up next, we'll have more on the Georgia investigation into former President Trump's efforts to influence the state's election outcome. We'll talk about it with the Republican lieutenant governor of Georgia, Geoff Duncan. There he is. We've got lots to discuss. We will, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:20:00]

BLITZER (on camera): Former President Trump may be off the hook for impeachment after his acquittal in the U.S. Senate, but even some Republicans are signaling he potentially could face significant legal trouble as a private citizen, especially in the state of Georgia. And it all stems from this phone call that he had with Georgia's Republican secretary of state.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

TRUMP: All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER (on camera): For more on that, we're joined by the Republican Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, Geoff Duncan. Lieutenant Governor, thank you so much for joining us. As you know a lot better than I do, Trump is facing potentially two separate investigations in Georgia, one by the secretary of state and another criminal investigation.

Even the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says former presidents are, in his words, not immune from the criminal justice system. So, what role do you want to see Georgia play in holding the former president accountable?

GEOFF DUNCAN, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR Of GEORGIA: Well, we received word last week in our office that the district attorney in Fulton County was going -- wanted us to preserve all the documents around the election process, specifically, I think, they spoke of the hearings, the Senate -- the state Senate hearings.

So, look, I'm not an attorney and certainly can't speak to the legalities of the president's conversation with the secretary of state and others, but I can speak to, I think it was inappropriate. And at the time I said this 1,000 times, it was inappropriate and it obviously helped us lose two very important elections here in Georgia, or led to.

BLITZER: Do you think that because of the then president's interference, those two Senate races went to the Democrats?

DUNCAN: Well, I think it was part of the narrative. I spent 10 weeks, the better part of 10 weeks with others trying to talk about that we needed to focus on the issues here in Georgia and move away from the conspiracy theories and all the misinformation that continued to spread.

But Wolf, this is a pivot point for us here in Georgia and here as a party nationally. This is a true pivot point for us to move past impeachment, past all of this other stuff and try to rebuild a party here, the GOP 2.0.

BLITZER: Even as you try to do that though, you correctly point out the Fulton County district attorney says her investigation will go beyond that one phone call and she is open to even considering conspiracy or racketeering charges. How likely is it that Trump will actually face those kinds of charges?

DUNCAN: Well, I have no way to speak into those charges. We're certainly going to let the authorities do their job and we're going to certainly work with them when we need to, for sure. But look, once again this is not helping the GOP to have these conversations.

Look, we're already campaigning for 2024 as a party and we've got a lot of big steps to take. We've got a lot of tough decisions to make. And quite honestly, there's a huge vacuum of leadership within the GOP right now all around the country. And it's time for us to step up and start talking about real issues that real Americans care about.

BLITZER: Do you think Trump is still the leader of the GOP?

DUNCAN: I don't believe so. I think we watched how that played out here in Georgia. We lost two Senate elections with him trying to take the lead. Look, I appreciate four years of conservative leadership, but it's time to move on, it's time to turn the page. It's time to start talking about the policies that got us here. It's time to start growing the party through empathy and it's time to start communicating with a better tone.

BLITZER: You've been calling on the GOP to move on from the Trump era, but after his acquittal, the former president put out a statement saying his movement, in his words, has only just begun. What impact could an emboldened Trump have on the future of the Republican Party?

DUNCAN: Well, I hope it doesn't. I hope, you know, look, this party is bigger than one person. I hope he sees the future opportunities ahead of us for our country and doesn't try to create headwinds for a party that's truly just trying to do our job and lead with conservative strategies and put Americans first with good strong fiscal policy, a strong military, strong safe communities, jobs, high paying quality jobs. [17:24:59]

I hope that's the foremost in his to-do list in over the next four years. And certainly we, as a party, need to make sure that's our important to-do list.

BLITZER: Related question, to your credit, you forcefully defended the integrity of the 2020 presidential election, the vote counting in Georgia. So, why are you and some other Georgia Republicans are pushing voting restrictions that would actually make it harder for people to vote in Georgia?

DUNCAN: Well, certainly there isn't an overtone of a knee-jerk reaction. The number of bills that have been introduced are much higher than normal. I think this is a bipartisan effort looking forward. I think both Democrats and Republicans have introduced election reform ideas that are common sense ideas, that aren't trying to make a point but truly trying to make a difference.

Things like, you know, making sure that the county's release at the time that they close the election, the total number of outstanding votes, that would have made a difference on election night. Looking for opportunities to allow counties to start processing those absentee ballots well before the election is over so we don't have to wait days.

There are some common sense decisions. I'm going to personally work with the Democrats and the Republicans to try to get some big ideas across the finish line.

BLITZER: But will these new ideas that some Republicans are now putting forward actually make it more difficult, let's say, for minority voters in Georgia to actually cast their ballot?

DUNCAN: I certainly would never support anything that makes it more difficult to vote. Certainly, it make it harder to cheat but not more difficult to vote. Quite honestly, a win for us here in Georgia is to see a record number of folks voted in the last election, 5 million, to see an even more -- a higher number of folks vote in the next series of elections.

BLITZER: All right. Well, let's see what happens on that front. These are critically important issues. You guys got a lot going on right now in Georgia. Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, thanks so much for joining us.

DUNCAN: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Coming up, one company is now testing a new version of its vaccine to specifically target South African coronavirus variants.

Plus, newly released video show extreme levels of coordination by groups who invaded the U.S. Capitol. New information, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:31:24]

BLITZER: Tonight, the U.S. coronavirus death toll is now top 486,000 people with more than 27.6 million confirmed cases. But for the first time since November, the average daily number of new cases has actually dipped below 100,000. CNN's Nick Watt is joining us from Los Angeles right now. Nick, as new cases decline, there's a major focus understandably so on reopening schools.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. And the CDC put out their guidance late last week and in that guidance, they have something called a red tier. And by our calculations, about 89 percent of American kids live in that red tier right now. And in that red tier, high and middle schools should remain virtual.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATT (voice-over): Thermal cameras in Loudoun County, Virginia ready to scan for students with high temperatures when they returned to school later this week. When can all schools reopen?

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: Somewhere around 60 percent of students are reliably masking, that has to be universal. So we have work to do it.

WATT (voice-over): And debate on one key issue rolls on.

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Of course, teacher vaccinations are essential.

WALENSKY: I'm a strong advocate of teachers receiving their vaccinations. But we don't believe it's a prerequisite for schools to reopen.

WATT (voice-over): In 22 states, teacher is still not an eligible category. Good news on vaccines, average doses in arms every day is climbing up 22 percent since February 1st.

PAUL STOLARSKI, ASTHMATIC, NEWLY ELIGIBLE: It's a relief. And oh, it's -- I hope everybody gets done quick

WATT (voice-over): Today, many places this is a problem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This weather is going to slow down our vaccination sum.

WATT (voice-over): Here in Los Angeles in the 60s, partly sunny, but the vaccination site at Dodger Stadium remains closed, lack of supply. Team Biden says they're playing catch up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was no national strategy or plan for vaccinations. We were leaving it to the states and local leaders to try and figure it out. And so, in many ways, we are -- we're starting from scratch, and something that's been raging for almost an entire year.

WATT (voice-over): Good news, nationwide in just a month, the average daily COVID-19 case count has fallen more than 50 percent. And for the first time since mid-November, fewer than 70,000 during the hospital fighting the virus. This weekend was the busiest for air travel since the holidays, more than 4 million fliers since Thursday. But that idea to mandate a test before even domestic air travel, not going to happen at this time.

DR. MEGAN RANNEY, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY: I know a bunch of states are relaxing their restrictions, that makes me nervous with those mutations that give me pause.

WATT (voice-over): Nearly 1,200 cases now confirmed here of those more contagious variants first found in the U.K., South Africa and Brazil.

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Now they're on our radar screen and now that we're looking for them, we're finding them.

WATT (voice-over): Seven home grown U.S. variants also now identified so far, no evidence they evade vaccines but signs they may be more transmissible. The research goes on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: Variants and vaccines, one of the key questions right now, Wolf. Now, the Novavax vaccine which is still in the trial phase here in the United States, but the company says that right now, their researchers are doing lab tests on a different version of that vaccine that would specifically target that variant first found in South Africa. Wolf?

[17:35:13]

BLITZER: Well, that's pretty encouraging as well. All right, Nick, thank you very much.

Let's get some more in all of these, joining us now, Dr. Peter Hotez, Professor and Dean of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Hotez, as usual, thanks so much for joining us. With more than 52 million coronavirus vaccine doses now having been administered in the U.S., do you share the CDC Director's optimism that there will be enough vaccine available to cover the entire eligible U.S. population by the end of the summer?

DR. PETER HOTEZ, DEAN, NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Yes, definitely, Wolf. By the end of the summer, I think we're going to be in a very good place that we'll have most of the U.S. population fully vaccinated, or at least the adult population.

We'll see how the pediatric and adolescent clinical trials go. But that's going to be a game changer in terms of opening up schools and the economy and making Americans feel secure that they're not going into the hospital or Intensive Care Unit. That's so important.

But the only thing that I'm concerned about now, is that we do have this U.K. variant, the B.1.1.7 variant that came out of the United Kingdom, and it seems to be accelerating in the United States. So even though the new cases are going down now below 100,000 confirmed new cases a day, that's great news.

But I'm worried we're going to start seeing an uptick again, an upturn. And with that, not only more transmissibility, but the United Kingdom government, just the -- British government just put out information a couple of days ago saying they think the case fatality rate is higher with this new strain as well. So, the key now is how we get through the spring until the mother lode, the big tranche of vaccines comes in June, in July.

BLITZER: There will be more vaccines, presumably beyond the two that are already been approved here in the United States for Emergency Use Authorization. One of those still not approved, Novavax, as you heard in Nick's report tells CNN it's testing this new version of its COVID- 19 vaccine that specifically targets the coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa. Dr. Hotez, how critical is it to have vaccines that can address these variants?

HOTEZ: Well, we think in the United States the U.K. variant is going to be dominant in the coming months. And the good news is all of the Operation Warp Speed vaccines seem to work just as well against the U.K. variant as the parent lineage. So that's good news.

The South African variant, of course, is a lot of concern in South Africa, and for Sub-Saharan Africa, and especially low and middle- income countries. So all of us, including our group, is now looking at how we redesign some of our vaccines to specifically target that South African variant.

So, in some ways, we're all designing two vaccines, one from the parent or original lineage and not for the South African one. Then the question is, do you combine the two or do you start out with your original vaccine and then give the South African one as a boost. And I think the latter is probably going to be more likely.

So we do have the South African variant here, but it's in small numbers. And the thinking now is the U.K. one is probably going to be the dominant one here in the U.S. But, globally, this is a huge concern, especially for the African continent, which so far has alluded a lot of severe illness. But this could all change with that South African variant.

BLITZER: Let's hope it doesn't. Israeli researchers, Dr. Hotez, say the Pfizer vaccine, which has been approved here in the United States, sharply reduces symptomatic coronavirus infections in the real world, not just in the trials that they had. Tell us why that finding is so important.

HOTEZ: Yes, it's really good news because you're absolutely right. That's one thing to do in a clinical trial setting. It's very different when you're doing it under real-life conditions of vaccine introduction. So the fact that the numbers are pretty much the same is really important.

I think the other findings we're starting to see out of Israel is that there also may be some interruption in asymptomatic transmission, which is something that the clinical trials were not set up to show. So, that's really good news as well, that it's not only stopping symptomatic infection and serious illness like we saw in the phase 3 trials, but also asymptomatic infection. So, the work coming out of Israel is really important and informative for the full performance spectrum of both mRNA vaccines so I'm really excited about that.

BLITZER: All right, well, that's encouraging as well. Dr. Hotez, thanks so much for joining us. And it's encouraging because all of this news is, remember, this crisis is by no means over. You got to keep wearing that mask, wash your hands, social distance. Don't give up. Don't move away. Don't let up at all. And I'm sure, Dr. Hotez, you totally agree with me on that.

HOTEZ: Yes, absolutely right, Wolf. Thank you for that.

[17:40:02]

BLITZER: Thank you.

Coming up, damning new video shows rioters at the January 6th insurrection up on Capitol Hill closely coordinating among themselves as they stormed the U.S. Capitol. And later, the New York Governor Andrew Cuomo facing accusations of a cover up as the coronavirus ravage the state's nursing homes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: There's new video we're getting right now, new audio as well of the siege on the U.S. Capitol. And it's revealing extreme levels of coordination among the rioters. CNN's Tom Foreman has been going through all the video and the audio for us. So what are you finding out, Tom?

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, there more than 800 pieces of video audio, still photos all gathered by the House impeachment managers. And when you study them, particularly the security video, there are things that were not shown during the trial that are still very telling. For example, look at this first clip. We've talked a lot about the number of people who got into the Capitol.

[17:45:01]

We went through encountered and at one point, at one entranceway in a minute and a half as soon as the doors and windows were breached there, 150 people came in through one entrance in a minute and a half spreading out through the building. That fundamentally changed the math of their encounters in the building. If you look at the next clip, you can see that at times, the police in the building, tried to stand these folks down and not let them advance.

But look what happens, even as they start fighting hand to hand, a few up front engage them, and then there's simply a flood of people who come in behind. And I can tell you when this video goes forward here, it takes only moments before that hallway is completely filled with the rioters, and the police are on the run. And this wasn't just a bunch of people putting it all together in the moment. If we looked at the next piece of video, you can see what we found here by scrutinizing all of these pieces of video.

In some cases, you had groups like this, a bunch of people all dressed in the same tactical gear, about nine of them here, who came in the building as a unit stuck together, were clearly working in concert as if they were a paramilitary group and then they move out as a unit.

Many of them wearing similar insignias for their group. So, it wasn't all happenstance. The result of all of these, Wolf, time and again, as you can see in this last video, when a standoff occurred, and you see it on all these security videos, whenever the police there tried to stand up and say we will stop them from coming in, they simply got pushed back.

BLITZER: You also are getting some new police dispatch audio showing what these police officers were really up against. How bad was it?

FOREMAN: Well, it's bad enough, Wolf. These are experienced trained officers and you can simply hear the panic in their voices as this moves in. Listen to some of these recordings all put together here.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have bear spray in the crowd. Bear spray in the crowd. You're going to need to get us more help up here. We don't have enough people to hold the line. We're getting fire extinguishers thrown at us from the top in the upper level of the inaugural deck. We've lost the line. We've lost the line, all MPD pull back.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

FOREMAN: Again, these are trained officers, Wolf. These are people who were expecting to have to maybe encounter something, but what you saw outside where they were overrun, this happened again inside. And so you heard it on the radio, you see it on the security videos, and what it does show is that the amount of force, the amount of violence and the disdain that these riders had for the police was very pronounced. In many cases, time and again, you see them shove officers aside, yank them down, walk right past them and hit them. It really is astonishing. Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. No matter how many times you see it, it is so, so awful. Tom Foreman, excellent reporting. Thank you very much.

Coming up, the New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on the defensive right now over an alleged cover up of nursing home coronavirus dense (ph).

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:52:30]

BLITZER: Tonight, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is defending his handling of the state's devastating coronavirus death toll in nursing homes, some accuse him of a cover up. CNN's M.J. Lee has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): We made a mistake.

M.J. LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New York Governor Andrew Cuomo finally speaking out, days after his top aides admitted their office withheld data for months about COVID-19 deaths of nursing home residents. Cuomo acknowledging that the numbers were not provided soon enough, but insisting that the state's death count was accurate, and that information was not hidden.

CUOMO: To be clear, all the deaths in the nursing homes and in the hospitals were always fully, publicly and accurately reported.

LEE (voice-over): Until late last month, New York only accounted separately for people who died from COVID-19 in long-term care facilities like nursing homes. But the state's data did not include the number of residents from those facilities who died after they were transferred to a hospital or elsewhere.

CUOMO: The public had many questions and concerns and the press had many questions about nursing homes primarily. And I understand that they were not answered quickly enough.

LEE (voice-over): The tipping point, in a private video call, the Governor's top aide Melissa DeRosa telling democratic state lawmakers they had delayed giving updated information to them after then- President Trump's Department of Justice sent an inquiry about nursing home deaths in the state.

Because, "basically, we froze, because then we were in a position where we weren't sure if what we were going to give to the Department of Justice or what we give to you guys, what we start saying was going to be used against us". Her words and admission that the administration stalled on showing a true picture of just how many nursing home residents had died at the same time that the Governor was being lauded globally for his pandemic response.

EMILY MUNSON, REPORTER, ALBANY TIMES: Between his Emmy for his coronavirus press briefings to Governor Cuomo's book to his speech at the Democratic National Convention, Governor Cuomo has been held up as the model governor in his coronavirus response, even though New York was so hard hit by the virus early on.

LEE (voice-over): Cuomo arguing Monday much of the same as his top aide that the request for data from Trump's Department of Justice was politically motivated, but took priority over the state legislature's request.

CUOMO: There was a lot going on. Everybody was working 24 hours a day. Everybody was overwhelmed.

[17:55:07]

We were in the midst of dealing with a pandemic and trying to save lives. They were answering DOJ.

LEE (voice-over): He's now taking heat from both sides of the New York legislature. NICK LANGWORTHY, NEW YORK GOP CHAIRMAN: The gravity of this cover up cannot be overstated.

LEE (voice-over): Republicans declaring he should be investigated. Some even using the word impeachment.

LANGWORTHY: Andrew Cuomo must be prosecuted, and Andrew Cuomo must be impeached if this evidence exists.

LEE (voice-over): And Democrats are actively discussing drafting a bill to strip Cuomo of his emergency powers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: Now, the fact that members of his own party are contemplating stripping him of some of these emergency powers is such a sign of what a huge political fallout he has suffered already. We know that this is a very different story from the beginning of the pandemic when he was constantly being heralded as the model example of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. And, Wolf, we are going to see if there are going to be lasting political consequences, he is up for reelection next year. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, M.J. Lee, reporting for us. M.J., thank you very much.

Coming up, we have details of an independent commission that's now being set up to investigate the January 6th insurrection.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)