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United States Senate Back In Session As Confirmation Hearings Start; Van Jones: Biden Is The President This Country Needs; Independent Panel Criticizes World Health Organization & China For COVID Response; How Social Media Is Still Fueling Extremism; United Kingdom Reports Highest COVID-19 Death Rate In The World; 25,000 National Guard Troops Now In DC For Inauguration. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired January 19, 2021 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president is not going to be at the inauguration of Joe Biden. He is going to be over at Joint-Base Andrews and it is going to
be something of a sendoff that you would see for a departing head of state.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The inaugural address is still being written and it is going to be steeped in the history talking about restoring the soul of the
nation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is just sad that this is going to be the backdrop for Joe Biden's Inauguration.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to see Joe Biden do what is necessary to try to find common ground. And put this country back together.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Well, from Delaware to D.C., President-Elect Joe Biden will be touching down in America's Capital just
hours from now set to be sworn into office around this time tomorrow. The day is here.
Donald Trump's last full day as the President of the United States, and there's a marine standing outside of the West Wing doors, and that normally
means that the Commander in Chief is inside the Oval Office where if he is, Mr. Trump may be preparing his final act in office, clemency. Mr. Trump
using his last 24 hours in power to issue a slew of pardons for his associates, white collar criminals and rappers.
We are expecting a prerecorded farewell message from him in the coming hours and as we've watched in due for the last four years he is flouting
all the traditions of brace and dignity of a departing president.
Donald J. Trump will break with long-standing tradition by not greeting with Bidens at the White House tomorrow. Instead of all to pomp and
circumstance, the Trumps will be holding their own farewell - at a military base on Wednesday morning as it were.
Long gone before Joe Biden raises his right hand to take the oath of office on Capitol Hill the very sight where just days earlier homegrown terrorists
mounted a deadly siege, it will be a low-key affair due to the insurrection and the Coronavirus pandemic. There won't be the usual throngs of people
filling the National Mall instead almost 200,000 flags will take their place.
Well, CNN Security Correspondent Josh Campbell joining us now and Josh spent more than a decade in the FBI investigating terrorism and counter
intelligence operations, and did you ever expect that Washington would be welcoming an incoming president in this fashion, Josh?
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Never, Becky. This city, the Capitol of United States of America has been turned into a fortress. As you
drive around this city, you see military checkpoints there are snipers on rooftops and there are bomb-sniffing dogs and you can't get around the city
right now in many place, because they have perimeter around the inauguration site that then extends through many different layers.
So just to answer your question you know in a word, no, this is something that Americans are certainly not used to, but right now, the nation's
Capitol is filled with members of the National Guard and filled with police officers who have been mobilized from across the country.
And of course, the issue for law enforcement and the military is this concern that there could be some type of attack similar to what we saw
domestic insurgents storm the United States Capitol on January 6th, and it is also worth pointing out Becky that the motivating factor here as we
proceed to changeover the peaceful transfer of power and the motivating factor of these extremists according to our intelligence sources is this
lie that Donald Trump has continued to tell about the 2020 election being stolen.
Officials are concerned that that is fueling some of this hatred and some of this anger and some of this possible violence and so as we prepared to
hand over the presidency here in the United States, the law enforcement and the military on high alert for extremist who may conduct an attack in the
current president's name. Becky?
ANDERSON: Josh is reporting from Washington, thank you. We brought just you some of Janet Yellen's opening statement at her Senate confirmation hearing
for U.S. Treasury Secretary on the Hill in Washington. Yellen urging lawmakers and this is virtually to act big on COVID stimulus.
The Senate back in session today with hearings for five of President-Elect Biden's nominees and you can see Yellen and the others here.
[11:05:00]
ANDERSON: It is important to note that the incoming presidents usually have several key positions filled by Inauguration Day, and Biden has none.
Sunlen Serfaty connecting us to what is shaping up to be an important day in the Capitol on the eve Sunlen, of this inauguration.
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It certainly is Becky an important day for the incoming Biden Administration, and certainly today is
the first steps into potentially getting some of his cabinet officials in place.
Now today as you noted there are five confirmation hearings going on up here on Capitol Hill, three of which started in the last hour. First up we
have seen Janet Yellen to be Treasury Secretary. She is in front of the Senate Finance Committee certainly no small task she has ahead of her
essentially trying to take over and help the economy to recover in the midst of this pandemic.
And she has already told the committee that she wants congress to go big with COVID. Really we're also hearing from Alejandro Mayorkas he is the
Biden nominee to be the DHS Secretary certainly already a topic for discussion under this committee is domestic terrorism. What we saw that
insurrection up here on Capitol Hill in the last few weeks, and he says that domestic terrorism will be one of the biggest challenges to his
department.
Also in this hour we're hearing from Avril Haines to be the Director of National Intelligence in her opening remarks she vowed to keep politics out
of intelligence. She says "When it comes to intelligence there is simply no place for politics ever. And then Becky later today we're also going to be
hearing from Tony Blinken for Secretary of State and Lloyd Austin, the nominee to be Defense Secretary.
And of course, time is of the essence for the Biden transition officials because they want them to move quickly through the process, but it is
unclear at this moment how quickly they will be moved? Some Republicans already signaling that they're going to tend to push back on these nominees
and of course a complicated moment up here on Capitol Hill given that the Senate is also going to be starting the impeachment trial for what will be
the Former President Donald Trump in the next few days potentially.
So all of this is really intersectioning at the same time, Biden transition officials, Becky, they want essentially the Senate to move on a dual track
take up the nominees and of course deal with impeachment at once, but very unclear how quickly these nominees will go through?
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely tough times and busy times certainly a different tone from a Joe Biden lineup going forward. Former Obama administration
official and CNN Political Commentator Van Jones say Joe Biden is "The president this country needs because he has the capacity to bring people
together and he knows who he is".
Van Jones connecting with us from New York and it is great to have you with us, and we will get into the state of affairs shortly, Van. But with a
little over 24 hours until the end of Donald Trump's Presidency, your thoughts and your reflection on an era-defining term in American history.
VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, it has been a nightmare for a lot of Americans. You know, you certainly have the strong Trump supporters
who focus on his court appointments who enjoyed some of the stock market performance. They can point at things that they are proud of, but the vast
majority of American voters came out definitively to say enough is enough.
You know, people overseas may focus on the kind of the clownish aspects and the shocking behavior the words what they may not understand is the
trickle-down effect and the tidal wave effect on regular people. He unleashes and unlocked nastiness, a racial intolerance that had been in the
corners and in the closets and under the rug for a very long time.
But it is one thing to have you know something under the rug is something else when people are putting it right in your face every day. So it is
going to take a while to put this toothpaste back in the tube, but at least we will have some adult supervision in the White House for the first time
in four years.
ANDERSON: And we have heard from First Lady, and I just want our viewers to have a quick listen to Melania Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELANIA TRUMP, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I ask every American to be an ambassador of the best. To focus on what unites us, to rise above what
divides us, to always choose love over hatred, peace over violence, and others before you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Make of that what you will. We are, Van, expecting a video message from Mr. Trump. We know his rhetoric has incited his supporters,
and we saw the evidence of that last Wednesday.
[11:10:00]
ANDERSON: What tone do you expect him to take as he leaves office?
JONES: Well, first, let me just say that I am glad that the First Lady is saying what she is saying, and she is come in a no-win situation. If she
says nothing, people get mad, and if she supports the president people get mad. And she speaks up for the values that most American people get mad.
So I just want to say I am glad that she said what she said and I hope that she and others in her party say it louder. And as far as Donald Trump
listen, he never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity. So I don't have high hopes for what he is going to say.
It would great if he went out on a high note, but the mere fact that he is not even going to meet the Bidens at the White House and he is not going to
go to the inauguration. He is having a counter party; counter sendoff for him does not give me a signal that this is going to be some high-minded Dr.
King rhetoric from the outgoing president.
ANDERSON: Well, talking about that ceremony at Joint Base Andrews. It seems that they are getting a little desperate for guests. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COMMUNCATIONS DIRECTOR: They are looking for people, and trust me, there had to be a mass email if one of
them got sent to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: That is Anthony Scaramucci who worked for the president for all of what was 10 or 11 days with his words clearly and let's remind our
audience that he has been, you know, no fan of Donald Trump since then, your thoughts.
JONES: Yes, Scaramucci that has become a term like a very short period of time for Justice Scaramucci he was only in his office working for President
Trump for less than two weeks and since then he has made a career of just excoriating the president on cable television pretty much every day.
The fact that he somehow got invited to the sendoff of the president is probably just a gaffe, but you can make that mean that they are desperate
for poor attendance.
ANDERSON: Our colleague Steven Collinson wrote, and I quote here Van, Donald Trump's presidency is ending in a riot of division, discord and
disgrace that it encapsulates the pandemonium of his single term that culminated and inciting an insurrection against congress and a legacy that
will take years to purge from the American psyche. You have talked briefly about what happens next. What needs to happen immediately?
JONES: Well, you know, the minute that Joe Biden puts his hand on the Bible, a process can begin of national reconciliation. It will not be easy.
Joe Biden has a catch 22. He has to reward his overwhelmingly African- American base not just because we came out in numbers unprecedented in the middle of the pandemic and saved his primary run and saved his, and powered
his nomination to the presidency and delivered Georgia and the Senate to Joe Biden but also because the black community is really hurting.
The economic pain in the black community which has always been tenuous now in free fall and women across the country is in freefall because of the
COVID, the black women are in freefall with a led balloon. A help needs to come, helps needs to be on the way for the African-American community.
At the same time he has got to reach out to and calm down tens of millions of white voters who have been told that he stole the election in order to
impose communism. And so probably only Joe Biden could both bring African- Americans up, and bring millions of white voters in, and he is probably the only person in the country who could do that and so we are lucky to have
him as president.
I will say to a lot of very angry liberals and progressives who don't want to hear talk about unity and reconciliation because we're still so upset
about the past four years. Let me just say you do not want just to have a position to throw away 30 million angry white folks, throw them away. We
don't need them throw them away your trash will be the Nazis' treasure.
And they will be happy to accept all 30 million. I don't like the Nazis enough; I don't like the cult leaders enough. I don't like the conspiracy
theory of people enough to give them 30 million people uncontested. We need to pull them in.
We need to obviously hold accountable the terrorists and there is a big terrorist network needs to be taken apart by law enforcement to the fullest
extent of the law but that is not the vast majority of American conservative voters and is not the vast majority of America, Joe Biden has
got to both deliver for his base and also reach out to others and give them a sense that he is on their side, too, probably only Biden can do that.
[11:15:00]
ANDERSON: No president of course acts alone, although at this point, a healer, as you might describe him, and certainly feels like a better option
than that which America has been suffering over the last four years, but no president acts alone.
Does his team, Van, and the little we know about his policy satisfy you that he will speak to that constituency that you have just described, both
of those constituencies in fact that you have just described?
JONES: Well, so far so good, but it is - he has got to be more aggressive in reassuring African-American voters. Listen, there are very few African-
American men for instance that have been put in position of power that is concerning to people.
You know we have Cedric Richmond, but not that many others, so there are other signals that have to be sent I think to the black base. And then of
course, it is hard to know what signals can cut through to some of the conservative voters, because they are in a completely different media
system, and everything is being reinterpreted.
I think you could literally walk around you know passing out puppies to them, and some of these people would say he is giving out rabid animals to
babies. We do have a challenge here. But so far, so good and he has just got to be Joe Biden.
The great thing about Joe Biden is that he doesn't have to be anything other than who he is. He is naturally a bridge builder. He naturally wants
to find common ground and he actually believes in the American experiment.
And I think that he, and he has in Kamala Harris someone who now has massive appeal to the next generation, and so he is in as good of a
position as you can be considering he is inheriting a house on fire.
ANDERSON: Van Jones in the house, always a pleasure sir, thank you. One vital part of the Inauguration Day is one you will probably never see the
handing off of nuclear codes often called the nuclear football, but with President Trump skipping the ceremony. CNN's Barbara Starr reports, it is
going some logistical juggling by the military.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The most important briefcase in the world carried by the military and never far from the President of the
United States, and it is often called the nuclear football.
The case holds the highly classified equipment and authorities needed for our president to order the military to launch a nuclear weapon. On this
Inauguration Day, with President Trump planning to depart Washington early and not attend the swearing in of Joe Biden, there will be two nuclear
footballs and the challenge of ensuring that it goes smoothly.
One for Joe Biden in Washington, D.C., the minute he becomes president. And one that will accompany President Trump to Florida until he no longer has
power in his nuclear authorities are deactivated. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi questioned whether Trump should still have the authority to launch a
war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): I have sort information from those who are in position to know that there are protections against this dangerous
president initiating any military hostilities or something worse than that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Pelosi recently said that she spoke to General Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff about the safeguards in place for
ordering a nuclear strike. Senior military officials say while the president has sole authority to launch nuclear weapons, he cannot do it
alone.
If an adversary were to launch a missile at the U.S., the president would immediately be on a classified communication network receiving minute-by-
minute intelligence and recommendations on how to proceed?
There are safeguards against illegal attack orders whether it's nuclear or conventional. To be legal orders must have a legitimate target a clear
military objective and use proportional force. The general who recently commanded strategic weapon and is now number two at the Pentagon is adamant
that the military will not follow illegal orders from any president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENERAL JOHN HYTEN, COMMANDER, U.S. STRATEGIC COMMAND: If it is illegal guess what's going to happen?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You say no.
HYTEN: I'm going to say Mr. President it is illegal, and guess what he is going to do? He is going to say what would be legal, and we will come up
with options of mix of capabilities to respond whatever the situation is, and that is the way it works. It is not that complicated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
ANDERSON: Well, for more, and excuse me, what Joe Biden is facing in his upcoming presidency, do head over to cnn.com there you will find some
terrific analysis by the CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson who says much of the world has more riding on Biden than any U.S. President
in decades.
[11:20:00]
ANDERSON: And I just want to remind you that January 20th promises to be an especially historical day in U.S. Presidential history for many reasons.
Watch our extensive live coverage of the Biden Inauguration starting just a couple of hours from now and all day Wednesday right here on CNN.
Well, still ahead tonight, experts warn the Capitol attack could just be the beginning of a very rocky road for the United States. We'll bring you a
fascinating report and how social media is fuels extremism?
Plus fingers being pointed at both China and the World Health Organization over their Coronavirus response, this as the W.H.O. goes to where the
pandemic started?
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ANDERSON: Well, China is defending its COVID-19 response in the face of criticism from an independent pandemic review panel which is based in
Switzerland. Now the panel says China should have acted more forcefully in applying public health measures last January.
These are images from that month of people traveling ahead of the Lunar New Year. The panel also criticized the World Health Organization for waiting
until the end of January 2020 to declare an international health emergency.
Well, Cyril Vanier is backing developments from Paris. What do we know about this independent panel? Who are they? What do they say?
CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, good to be with you. Look, this independent panel was set up by the World Health Organization to
assess the global and international response to the pandemic, and that is to say assess the work of the W.H.O., itself, and assess how countries
across the world responded?
This panel of experts is financed by the W.H.O., however, its members do unpaid work, which is to say that whatever they say, there is no financial
gain in it for them, and it is led by two Co-Chairs that are internationally respected figures, right? The Former Prime Minister of New
Zealand Helen Clark and the Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Ellen Sirleaf Johnson.
Now as to what they say well in a nutshell they say that both China and the W.H.O. were slow in responding and slow in sounding the alarm, right? They
say that the first cases were detected in the last two weeks of December, but China did not actually alert the W.H.O. until the very last day of
December, and that is December 2019, of course.
And the W.H.O. and then China was slow in taking action, public health actions like a lockdown, and then the W.H.O. was slow in declaring this an
international emergency. So let me read you some of the actual quotes from the report, Becky.
[11:25:00]
VANIER: The first one concerning the World Health Organization's response to the pandemic. They say it is not clear why the committee and by that
they mean the W.H.O's emergency committee did not meet until the third week of January nor is it clear why it was unable to agree on the declaration of
a public health emergency of international concern when it was first convened?
Anecdotally Becky, this squares with what we here at CNN and you'll remember this, we were finding at the time we were reporting we were all
about this new virus, and the W.H.O. seemed to always been a step slow, and seemed to be really giving names for international community and putting
names on a reality that was already being reported on.
Secondly, second quote from the report, this one concerns China, Becky. What is clear to the panel is that public health measures and by this they
mean public health measures from China could have been applied more forcefully by local and national health authorities in China in January.
So again Becky, in a nutshell China and the W.H.O. according to this independent panel and this is their preliminary finding were slow in
identifying the problem, slow in alerting it, pushing it up the chain and slow in taking action.
ANDERSON: How has China responded out of interest?
VANIER: Yes, well, look, China is acknowledging that its response was not perfect. They could have done better. But they are only saying this wrapped
in the argument, and in the explanation that in the face of the pandemic, you are never perfect and you can always do better.
So those are the words of the spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and they say, yes, our response could have been better, and
everybody should strive toward perfection, but there is no perfect when it comes to health.
And we disagree with the portrayal in western media in particular, so that is probably be us right now, Becky, disagree with the portrayal that they
did not adequately respond to the pandemic. They feel that portrayal is based on the anti-Chinese bias.
ANDERSON: Cyril Vanier on the story for you Cyril, always a pleasure thank you for that. The situation in the UK dire this hour, over the last week
it's had the highest death rates from COVID-19 in the world. Much more ahead on that and how the President Trump's allies stoked the flames ahead
of the Capitol riots, a deeper dive into their rhetoric is ahead.
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ANDERSON: Extraordinary scenes in Washington a day before Donald Trump leaves office and Joe Biden is sworn in as the U.S. President.
[11:30:00]
ANDERSON: The extremist assault in the Capitol and fears of more violence has forced the surrounding area into lockdown. Bridges closed. Street,
closed and barricades and fencing are in place to prevent another attack. And we have just gotten word of the first significant conspiracy charge in
the D.C. riots against an apparent leader in the extremist oath keepers' movement as it is known.
A Virginian man accused of planning and coordinating the breach in an effort to stop congress from certifying the election for Joe Biden. Well,
security also being ramped up beyond Washington. There are concerns as we have been reporting now for some days that the attack on the Capitol was
just the beginning of a surge of violence across the country.
Experts are tracking the extremist chatter on social media, and they say President Trump did not start the fire; he simply threw gas on the flame.
CNN's Sara Sidner has been talking to some far-right Trump supporters in Michigan and she joins us now. What are they have been telling you, Sara?
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, there is a very good big wide breadth of people that have very differing opinions about what happened on January
6th even though they may believe some of the information that they see online that is based on the conspiracy.
The folks that we talked to here did not support those who went into the Capitol with violence, but they did talk about trying to start a revolution
here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER (voice over): The conspiracy-fueled deadly Capitol attack on January 6th may be just the beginning of an explosion of far-right violence.
OREN SEGAL, VICE PRESIDENT, CENTER ON EXTREMISM, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: The plots of tomorrow, the activity of tomorrow and the efforts of them to
maintain this movement and create threats in the future are literally being planned today.
SIDNER (voice over): Far right radicalization has been building in America for years and evidence of it all over the largest social media platforms on
earth. And even after mega sites like Facebook said they were cracking down, the tech transparency project, a nonprofit watchdog group found it
still easy to find extremist content calling for violence on the site.
Three days after the attack, this post. We need to organize our militia, wars are won with guns and when they silence your Commander in Chief, you
are in a war. Another posted January 14th, patriots, January 20th, 2021 is your Tiananmen Square moment.
SEGAL: Social media to extremism is like oxygen for fire, is required. It has shown itself to be one of the organizing factors for extremists.
SIDNER (voice over): Facebook removed the post from the site and the public group calling itself the patriot party, but the poison has already set in.
In Michigan after an armed rally at Capitol against the Governor last year federal and state authorities thwarted an alleged violent plot to kidnap
the Governor and a few of the same men who say they stood by some of those alleged plotters returned yesterday. And as with the Capitol Hill
terrorists, these guys are out in the open sharing their extreme views.
SIDNER (on camera): Tell me about your patch?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This patch is the Boogaloo, and we do not want a civil war or anything. We want to exercise every possible way before that comes
an option.
SIDNER (on camera): Is that an option in your mind, a civil war?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will not fire the first shot, but if it comes to that, I will fight.
SIDNER (voice over): The Boogaloo Boys are - anti-government group which started online some of its members are pushing for civil war, and at least
one Michigan Boogaloo boy was arrested this fall in the plot to kidnap the Governor. A plan for violence that law enforcement thankfully prevented and
yet those who support the plan are all right out the open.
SIDNER (on camera): Would you have supported a plan to kidnap the Governor?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would have supported a citizen arrest on a felony because that is what the law says. If a felony is committed a citizen can
arrest another citizen.
SIDNER (voice over): The Governor has not committed a crime, but instead was a potential victim of a violent crime and yet the lie persists among
extremists, threatening Michigan legislator safety. They brought their weapons, they do have the right to open carry, but some see their firearms
as clear threats. This guy said he does not support violence and would only use his AR-15 to save an innocent life.
SIDNER (on camera): That is a weapon that you will hear a lot of time that are used in attacks that are not to save innocent people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
SIDNER (on camera): Why carry it? I mean, have you been in the armed forces?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was in the National Guard, yes. This is right here is not dangerous unless the person behind it is dangerous. I would say that
this ain't any different than the muskets that the minutemen carried back in the revolution.
[11:35:00]
SIDNER (voice over): While he stood outside the Capitol current National Guardsmen stood nearby at the ready to protect Michigan seat of government
much like guardsmen are doing across the country in case the next wave of violence erupts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER (on camera): And just so you know, there is no one working right now on the people's behalf inside of this state house here in Lansing,
Michigan, because there was a credible threat according to police, and so all of the legislators have decided to go back to their safe spaces whether
that's their home or elsewhere for now up until Thursday until after the inauguration happens. Becky.
ANDERSON: Sara Sidner is reporting. Thank you, Sara. While it is absolutely clear that social media had a major role in fueling those Capitol riots,
the same could be said for some of Mr. Trump's closest allies. Drew Griffin looks at how the president's inner circle played a part with fiery rhetoric
and conspiracy theories.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The protesters came to Washington, D.C., and some of them prepared to storm the Capitol, because that is what they
were told to do. A CNN analysis finds that President Trump's inner circle just like Trump him has been spewing ominous lies militant language and
help stoke the flames of an attempted insurrection.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE BANNON, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: All hell is going to break loose tomorrow.
RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S PERSONAL ATTORNEY: And it has to be vindicated to save our republic.
ROGER STONE, LONGTIME POLITICAL ADVISER TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: We will win this fight or America will step off into 1,000 years of darkness.
GRIFFIN (voice over): The battle cries wrapped in their delusional lies about a stolen election Steve Bannon who's Twitter and YouTube channels
were removed for rhetoric like this.
BANNON: I would put the heads on pikes.
GRIFFIN (voice over): Spent weeks on a podcast he calls the "War Room" comparing the Republicans' fight to overturn a legitimate election to
historic periods in the American Revolution and World War II.
BANNON: I have met so many people in my life who said man, if I were in the revolution I would be in Washington and Trump, well, this is for your time
in history.
GRIFFIN (voice over): Ominously this is the day before the siege.
BANNON: It is not going to happen like you think it is going to happen. OK. It is going to be quite extraordinarily different and all I can say is
strap in. You have made this happen and tomorrow it is game day.
GRIFFIN (voice over): The president's own lawyer, a constant War Room guest with nonstop disinformation about election fraud.
GIULIANI: We should have stood up to Hitler. And stand up to these people, and it will stop.
GRIFFIN (voice over): All of the president's liars were all on the same page. January 6th would be monumental.
STONE: Let's have trial by combat.
GRIFFIN (voice over): Roger Stone, the originator of the "Stop the steal" slogan would speak in apocalyptic terms to protestors.
STONE: This is nothing less than the epic struggle for the future of this country between dark and light.
GRIFFIN (voice over): What is so frightening according to Heidi Byron, an international expert on hate groups, is these are not members of the fringe
hiding in corners; Bannon, Stone and Giuliani are confidants of an unhinged president.
HEIDI BEIRICH, CO-FOUNDER, GLOBAL PROJECT AGAINST HATE AND EXTREMISM: They're speaking to the president and he is listening to them, and he is
then broadcasting these ideas out to his millions of followers. What we end up doing is having a dangerous feedback loop growing a radicalized
population in the United States the some of whom are prone to violence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those behind it now say that they were all speaking metaphorically for all these four years. Do you buy that?
BEIRICH: I absolutely don't buy that they were speaking metaphorically, because this is a social movement that has building and has been organizing
since Trump came into office that we're getting more and more extremists and more and more people angry, and it just exploded on the 6th.
GRIFFIN (voice over): It was building for months in social media, podcasts and dozens of "Stop the steal" protests across the country. Ali Alexander,
a key "Stop is the steal" organizer and Roger Stone ally told followers to prepare.
ALI ALEXANDER, PROTEST ORGANIZER: Haven't I told you that this fight would escalate, and I said escalate always. Escalate always.
GRIFFIN (voice over): On the day of the siege Alexander was in Washington tweeting to his followers get down to the U.S. Capitol, and orders from
POTUS.
JOHN SCOTT-RAILTON, CITIZEN LAB, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MUNK SCHOOL: I was tracking the "Stop is the steal" movement for months and it began to feel
like a cocked rhetorical gun pointed at the Capitol in that day.
GRIFFIN (voice over): That day January 6th before a crowd of thousands many caught in the eco-chamber of delusion from Trump's inner circle would hear
the president himself pull the trigger.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: You will never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be
strong.
GRIFFIN (voice over): John Scott-Railton, Researcher at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab is concerned the mob is not through.
SCOTT-RAILTON: They're ready, is what they have been prancing around in the woods playing dress up preparing for. And I'm just terribly worried that
they weren't satisfied with what happened on the 6th and they're going to come back for more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:40:00]
GRIFFIN (on camera): Of those mentioned in this story Bannon and Giuliani did not respond, Ali Alexander said he was not involved in storming the
Capitol and Roger Stone told us his lawyers will be watching for what he calls our defamatory attempts to say he was somehow inciting violence. Drew
Griffin CNN, Atlanta.
ANDERSON: Well, extremist language then from both Trump's allies and followers online has authorities on a high alert as we speak; thousands of
troops are in Washington ahead of the inauguration we will get you to Washington shortly.
Plus millions of people in the UK have been vaccinated, but the virus there rages on. We will speak with one doctor working on the front lines who has
a remarkable story to tell about his journey to where he is today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, the United Kingdom has reached a devastating milestone in just the past week. The data shows that the country now has the highest
COVID death rate in the world. In the past week for every 1 million people, there are about 16 who have died from the virus every day.
Meanwhile, British researchers say a third of people treated in hospitals for Coronavirus ending up coming back and more than 1 in 10 die after
leaving hospital. These statistics are truly awful, aren't they?
My next guest is an Emergency Doctor for the National Health Service or NHS as it is known in the UK and he is the Author of "In the wars" a memoir
about his life as an Afghan refugee in the United Kingdom. Dr. Waheed Arian recently tweeted coming to the UK as a 15-year-old refugee I could not be
more proud of ending up to fighting COVID-19 on the front line with my health care colleagues including thousands of refugees and immigrants.
And Dr. Arian joining us live from Chester in England, and it is a real joy to have you on. Yours has been a long journey and we will talk about the
past year which I know has been draining at best for you and your colleague, but I do just want you to explain what drove you to becoming a
doctor, Waheed just a sense of your story, if you will?
DR. WAHEED ARIAN, EMERGENCY DOCTOR, NHS: Thank you very much for having me here. It is a great pleasure. I was born in Afghan, and during the Afghan -
conflict so I spent 15 years of my life my childhood suffering from the trauma of life physically and mentally and then migrated as a refugee to
Pakistan and then internally migrated to within Afghanistan multiple times.
So I have seen the immense traumas that not just our families has witnessed that so many other refugees so many other people have witnessed, and that
was the foundation that was my inspiration to become a doctor to be able to help back over there.
[11:45:00]
DR. ARIAN: So when I came back to the UK as a 15-year-old refugee as an asylum seeker without any family support with $100 in my pocket, I was very
determined to carry on with that dream to be able to help back, to give back to the NHS to the UK which gave me asylum and gave me safety but also
give back to the people elsewhere globally.
ANDERSON: Well, you couldn't have done more this year, and this year will have cemented that decision you made to give back. You've said how proud
you were or you have been of your colleagues this pandemic of course worse than ever in the UK. The death rates now the highest in the world over the
past week and how does that translate mentally and physically for you and your colleagues? Does your own experience help you with any sort of
fortitude as it were?
DR. ARIAN: Well, first of all, I'm really proud as I mentioned in my tweets to be working alongside my dedicated colleagues from the UK from many other
countries immigrants and refugees who have been fighting this Coronavirus standing shoulder by shoulder.
I think is highlights the contribution that immigrants and refugees made to their host countries, not just in the UK, we have seen it in the U.S. and
we've seen it globally everywhere. Of course, the pressure has been enormous on the NHS as a whole.
On the staff, and we have had to work in different patterns, and colleagues that working in different specialties have had to come to the front line
and resources have had to be rearranged, and some of the wards have had to be made into acute wards which were not acute.
So there has been tremendous pressure, but overall, I think the NHS has responded extremely well, and I'm very proud of that, but unfortunately
there has been a lot of mental health impact of that on the staff as well as on the public as well.
ANDERSON: I know that you have actually, you have been diagnosed with COVID yourself, and how was that experience and do you have any long-term effects
of that?
DR. ARIAN: So I had COVID about five weeks ago and I would describe my symptoms, mildest, and temperature, I had temperature and body aches for
about five days, and hovering around between 39 and 40 degrees.
Really, the only thing available with me was Paracetamol and Ibuprofen I had a saturation probe to make sure that my oxygen levels dropped below a
certain level that I have had to go to the hospital, but there are many other people who are coming to the hospital at the moment. We are seeing
them, they are very ill.
And hence, I think that is the pressure that we are seeing at the moment, that young and elderly people with existing conditions all absolutely fine
who have no other health conditions. They're coming in seriously at the hospital, and I think that is the trend that we are seeing here in the U.S.
we are seeing that trend internationally through the humanitarian work that we do as well.
Also, I think what important another factor is that is not spoken about very much, and you asked a question is actually the mental health impact of
all of this. So this is another hidden pandemic that is only brewing right now, and it will only explode in the next few months and years.
I think that in the UK and globally, we have to be prepared for that as well whilst we are rolling out a vaccine, and we can't be caught short on
that end. And I have seen that impact of mental health pandemic on the staff as well as on the public.
ANDERSON: No, I understand. The Head of the W.H.O. has described the world as and I quote him here, facing a catastrophic moral failure, because of
unequal COVID vaccine policies. You're originally from a country which simply will not be in the same position as the UK in terms of vaccine
rollout. What's your sense of the inequality of these vaccines is, this whole COVID process going forward?
DR. ARIAN: I absolutely agree with that statement, and firstly, from my own experience of living in refugee camps in all of those countries, they don't
have the preventive measures. They can't implement for example hand washing, they don't have the sanitizing material.
They can't self-isolate, and we as a family of ten, we used to live in one room. It is impossible for our people to self-isolate, and giving examples
of the preventive measures that may not work and will not. So hence, vaccine is our only exit strategy.
So first of all, it is important morally that we distribute vaccines globally to everybody, and that a moral obligation on the nations who can
afford it, and they have to contribute. And there is a system that is in place for that.
[11:50:00]
DR. ARIAN: And secondly, the pandemic will not to be over until it is over everywhere. It is very obvious thing that we can't keep our borders closed
for life even if it is from conflicts on all of those countries. People will be coming in and out, hence it is in the best interest of all of the
countries to contribute and stop this virus.
ANDERSON: With that, we're going to leave it there. It has been a pleasure speaking to you. I know you have a charity called "Arian Telehealth", and
I'm sure our viewers can reach out and see some of the work that you do. It is a real pleasure having you on, and thank you so much for the work that
you and your colleagues do every day.
Well, the virus has killed more than 400,000 Americans, and tomorrow, Joe Biden will take over the reins in the Oval Office and look to try and get
the pandemic there under control. Before he can the threat of armed protest that is inauguration has Washington deserted but for thousands of National
Guard. We have got some breaking news for you on the security situation up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
ANDERSON: Well, some breaking news to bring you on the security front out of Washington. The U.S. defense official has confirmed two U.S. Army
National Guard members have been removed from inauguration duty as part of the security vetting to ensure there are no ties to extremist groups.
Now it is not clear if the two are connected or what triggered their removal. All of the security personnel deployed for Joe Biden's
Inauguration as we have been reporting have been under scrutiny and subject to background checks to ensure against an insider attack, and we will get
you more on this as we get it.
Well, meanwhile on the ground, we are just a day away from inauguration, and I want to remind you of what it was like four years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Every four years we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power, and we are grateful to President Obama and
First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And this is how it is ending. Donald Trump spending his last full day as president holed up in the White House surrounded by fences and a
city filled with troops amid the threat of armed protests hanging over Joe Biden's Inauguration.
Mr. Trump expected to be moved out by tomorrow morning without seeing his successor, the first president to break that tradition in more than 150
years. Well, CNN's Pete Muntean is reporting for us from the U.S. Capitol. What is the mood this hour, Pete?
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, things are getting more and more clamped down all the time here Becky. Police are now in the process of
closing the bridges from neighboring Virginia here into D.C. This is one of those checkpoints staffed by members of the National Guard.
We know 25,000 members of the guard are now here in Washington, but the FBI is telling "The Washington Post" that it is concerned that more armed
protester could show up here and pose as members of the guard.
[11:55:00]
MUNTEAN: Now, the real question here is how long all of this protection will need to last? It is something that D.C. officials are now saying could
have to be here for a long time. Here is what they say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER RODRIGUEZ, DIRECTOR, WASHINGTON DC HOMELAND SECURITY: Right wing extremism is not going anywhere, and I think we can definitively say
that, and so, one of the things that we want to do is to see what is the new normal going to look like? And certainly, this domestic terrorism, and
this right wing extremism is going to be with us for some time in the months and years ahead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MUNTEAN: All of this is a harsh reality for a city now having to put up with these garrisons although this portion, the secure area is a smaller
portion when you consider the entirety of Washington, D.C. Even still, it is a big imposition for folks who live here.
Metro public transit stations closing down right now and the air space here is about to get more and more restricted. This is about being an
Inauguration Day like none other, Becky.
ANDERSON: Pete Muntean on the ground in Washington D.C. where it is just before mid-day and it is a super important day. It is 24 hours, give or
take a couple of minutes from now, that Joe Biden will raise his right arm and be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States of America. You
can watch that happen live right here on CNN.
And who won't be watching at least in person, the outgoing president. Catch all of the very latest breaking news as it happens here on CNN. It is a
very warm good night from us. You will hear from my colleague John King right after this short break more ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
