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Erin Burnett Outfront

House GOP Leader To Meet With QAnon-Aligned Rep. Greene; Tomorrow: Rep. Cheney's Future Likely To Be A Topic At GOP Meeting; Dems Take First Step To Fast-Tracking COVID Relief Without GOP; Michigan Governor Wants Pro-Trump Lawyer Sidney Powell Disbarred Over Debunked Election Fraud Claims; Rep. Ocasio-Cortez Calls On Sen. Cruz To Resign; Hundreds Of Protesters Take To Streets, Some Detained After Putin Critic Navalny Sentenced To 2.5-Plus Years In Prison. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired February 02, 2021 - 19:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Fred Pleitgen on the scene for us, as he always is, live from Moscow.

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"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is meeting with QAnon supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene tonight. So will he take action against her for embracing dangerous, extreme, fringe theories and in a new video from 2019 for telling supporters to 'flood the Capitol'?

Plus, Trump's new impeachment lawyer speaking out tonight saying Trump's heated rhetoric and call to action before the riot is protected by the 1st Amendment. One of the nation's top constitutional scholars and impeachment experts, Laurence Tribe, responds.

And President Biden tells his party to go big on COVID relief and Democrats are about to do it alone and leaving Republicans behind. Let's go OUTFRONT.

And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight the breaking news, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy about to meet with Congresswoman and QAnon supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene. A meeting that is expected to decide not only Greene's fate, but also could determine the future of the Republican Party in the United States.

Because tonight the Republican Party is totally at odds over whether it will embrace QAnon conspiracy theories as the core of the party. And rhetoric like this from Marjorie Taylor Greene in 2019 that's just coming to light, will they embrace this what's seen in this video, uncovered by Twitter user Zedster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): If we have a sea of people, if we

shut down the streets, if we shut down everything, if we flood the Capitol Building, flood all the government buildings, go inside, these are public buildings, we own them. We own these buildings. Do you understand that? We own the buildings and we pay all the people that work in the buildings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Flood the Capitol, flood the government buildings, we own the buildings. Sounds now so sinister, 2019 that was said and now here we are, we see what that can bring.

Tonight's meeting should be a no brainer for McCarthy. Greene, of course, has advocated violence against politicians, claims school shootings, were planned just to hurt gun rights, talked about space lasers causing wildfires and that's not all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREENE: The so-called plane that crashed into the Pentagon, it's odd there's never any evidence shown for a plane in the Pentagon.

There is an Islamic invasion into our government offices right now.

Kennedy getting killed in the plane crash, that's another one of those Clinton murders, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: It should be pretty easy for McCarthy to say this stuff does not belong anywhere. Never mind in the Republican Party. It certainly does not deserve a plum assignment on the Education Committee, which he had just given Congresswoman Taylor Greene.

But for McCarthy and almost every Republican in the House, their reaction to Greene has been pretty muted or frankly flat out non- existent. Senate Republicans on the other hand have been much more vocal. Mitt Romney today saying, "Our big tent is not large enough to both accommodate conservatives and kooks."

Mitch McConnell, "Loony lies and conspiracy theories are cancer for the Republican Party in our country." Sen. Cassidy said he agreed wholeheartedly with McConnell. Sen. Ernst said, "I don't want her as the face of our party."

Greene then came out and responded to McConnell today, a statement saying, "The real cancel for the Republican Party is weak Republicans who only know how to lose gracefully. This is why we are losing our country." That was her tweet.

Now, Trump's refusal to lose gracefully is what led to the insurrection that ended with five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer who tonight will lie in honor in the very building he died protecting. Greene's comment that gracefully conceding is a cancer really shook me. Because this is what we all try to raise our children to do, give it your best, leave it all on the table.

And then if you lose, be graceful in defeat and stand up and try again. Gracefully conceding is what makes people great. It is actually also what makes American politics so great. It's why we have strong institutions. It's why our power transitions are peaceful.

In fact, no presidential candidate in modern U.S. history has refused to concede except Donald Trump and it's Donald Trump's support for Greene that is behind so many Republicans silence tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Marjorie Taylor Greene right here from Northwest Georgia. Oh, boy, I don't want to mess with her. No, she's great.

This one, I never ever want to have her as my enemy, Marjorie Taylor Greene. Where is she? She is so unbelievable.

Also joining us tonight our Georgia representatives, Marjorie Taylor Greene. I love Marjorie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: So we know why the House GOP sits largely silent on Greene. It isn't just because she's a Republican.

[19:05:00]

It is because she is a Trump Republican, because the House GOP at this hour actually has absolutely no trouble calling out one of its own. They're meeting tomorrow to discuss Congresswoman Liz Cheney's future. Cheney, third ranking Republican.

They have no problem slamming her all the time because she stood up to Trump's big lie about election fraud and then voted to hold them accountable for the capital riot. And so this is how her fellow Republicans have absolutely no problem publicly talking about her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MATT GAETZ (D-FL): How can you even call yourself a representative when you don't represent the will of the people?

REP. ANDY BIGGS (R-AZ): I don't think she should be the chair of the Republican Conference anymore. The reality is she's not representing the conference. She's not representing the Republican ideals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: She's not representing the Trump Republican ideals. Not a whole lot of outrage over Marjorie Taylor Greene in the House, plenty over Liz Cheney. And it should come as no surprise, because the apples on this do not fall far from the Trump tree.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: We got to get rid of the weak Congress people, the ones that

aren't any good. The Liz Cheneys of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Manu Raju is OUTFRONT live on Capitol Hill. And Manu, what more are you learning about this meeting that we understand is imminent between McCarthy and Greene tonight?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I was actually just standing outside Kevin McCarthy's office. They closed the door in the hallway that is typically - that door is typically open. This meeting could be actually happening right now as the House is voting.

I have talked to a number of other House Republicans including the number two Republican Steve Scalise and asked him whether or not he believes that she should be stripped from her committee assignments. She sits on the House Education Committee also in the House Budget Committee. I said, "Do you support getting rid of those committee assignments?" He would not say. He said that is a discussion that the Republican Conference has to have tomorrow. He said he still wants to have a discussion with Kevin McCarthy.

I said, "Do you have any concerns about Marjorie Taylor Greene's views?" And he told me, I've been quote very, very vocal about it. I do. That is in reference apparently to what he said last summer, raising concerns when it first came to light about her controversial posts on social media, her videos and conspiratorial views she said in her alliance with QAnon at that time.

Now, since then, Scalise set aside those concerns. He ultimately got behind her like most other House Republicans did after she won her runoff race. Other Republicans clearly are just aligning themselves with her at the moment.

Jim Jordan who is a Republican, the House member, a very close Trump ally just told me moments ago he does not support kicking her off of those two committees. He believes he should stay on those committees. Jordan himself is waging a battle to try to get Liz Cheney out of her leadership spot.

Now, the Republicans don't move themselves, Erin. If Kevin McCarthy does not move, then House Democrats plan to do so themselves. They plan to move a resolution to the House floor as soon as Thursday to kick her off of those committees.

And just moments ago, Erin, the House majority leader, Steny Hoyer, told me he has some concerns about the precedent that would set if House Republicans and the majority go after one of their members, Erin.

BURNETT: Yes. I mean, it certainly does. It's not the way you want to do it and it actually feeds into the same feeling of partisanship, which they shouldn't be about. As you hear McConnell, and Romney, and Ernst and Cassidy, this one is - so it's not partisan. All right. Thank you very much Manu and Manu is going to come back if

we find out about this meeting. As he said, it might be happening right now.

I want to go right now, though, to former Republican Congresswoman Barbara Comstock and our own Michael Smerconish.

Congressman Comstock, let me ask you, you go through this and you see a House GOP largely silent, not uniformly. There are Kinzingers of the world, but largely silent on the issue of Marjorie Taylor Greene, but completely unafraid to call out Liz Cheney constantly. What does this tell you?

BARBARA COMSTOCK, (R) FORMER CONGRESSWOMAN FROM VIRGINIA: Well, I don't think it's going to be a tough vote tomorrow. I think Marjorie Greene is going to be gone, kicked off her committees, whether it's done by Republicans or Democrats. And I'm confident that Liz Cheney will retain her leadership position.

So the loudmouths that are out there all the time attacking Liz or attacking others, they don't represent the entire conference. And I think a lot of the conference is sick of these loudmouths intimidating them into this dead end policy of supporting people like Marjorie Greene. Let's make sure people understand. It was Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows along with help from Matt Gaetz who gave us Marjorie Greene, Steve Scalise did (inaudible) her in the primary.

I'm on a woman's Republican PAC, view PAC. We oppose and supported her male opponent, a brain surgeon. We could have had a brain surgeon in this position instead of her. So I think her views are unacceptable. I think she should also be kicked - I'd vote to kick her out of the conference.

So I think this is (inaudible) wants to be represented by her. You don't have members who want to have her face in their ads two years from now saying that they stood by her.

[19:10:04]

So I think these loudmouths who are defending her are going to be a smaller number of people than you think.

BURNETT: Do you agree with that, Michael? I mean, why has it been so hard for McCarthy to just stand up and say and do the right thing? I mean, he has tried to avoid touching this thing with a hundred-foot pole over the past week.

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST, SMERCONISH: I think that Greene is far more emblematic, and mirrors the base, the vocal base of the GOP than does Cheney, that's the reality. And Congresswoman Comstock mentions that runoff election, it's very instructive to take a look at what happened.

Dr. John Cowan checked all the conservative boxes. Yes, a neurosurgeon. By the way, married to an anesthesiologist, 2nd Amendment guy, pro-borders, pro-Trump, all of the conservative critical issues, he was there. But as he explained to me, the reason that he thinks he lost 57 to 42 is that the voters of the 14th congressional district in Georgia, they wanted someone figuratively to bring a grenade to Washington and he wasn't going to give them that.

So what I'm suggesting is we need to take a look at what is it that drives people to vote for someone like her because she was this way during the campaign. There's no surprise as to how she comport yourself now.

BURNETT: No, it's true. And I mean, more and more of these videos are coming out, more of these strange conspiracy theories, but none of them as you point are inconsistent with what was known at the time. They all are on that same plane of, in some cases, complete insanity and in others just dangerous conspiracy theories.

Congresswoman, it is different though in the Senate. In the Senate, you have seen senators speaking out here, Jori Ernst, as I said. She said Greene doesn't represent the party. The Minority Whip Sen. Thune spoke out said it's a big distraction for House Republicans right now and not in a good way. Marco Rubio actually spoke out on this and said she's not good for the party and that anyone who says the Parkland is a false flag is deranged.

And there are more as I already mentioned. Why Congresswoman, is this so much harder for House Republicans? I mean, it seems like this goes back to the base. They think that their voters, their base, may want that.

COMSTOCK: Well, Marjorie Greene is from a very red district. And to get to a majority, Republicans need to have a much broader cross section. They have to remember that Donald Trump is the only president who lost two popular votes. He only got, what, 46 percent.

These people who are his full-time defenders like Marjorie Greene and Jim Jordan, they're such lousy defenders that he was impeached twice also. So this is not a path to a majority to have more Matt Gaetzes or Marjorie Greenes. We understand that we need to have a big tent party, but this isn't conservative (inaudible), this verse is conservative versus crazy versus kooks.

And we need to stand up, Republicans, and I think they will and reclaim their party as a big tent party, but not big enough for dangerous people like Marjorie Greene who is still making threats and it's I understand why both Democrats and Republicans alike feel she's a danger to the institution. When you see the kind of remarks she's made, I personally was very upset when I heard the kind of remarks she made about 9/11, given I had lost a best friend there.

So there's just no place for somebody like this in the body politic. It isn't partisan. It's just she is ill-placed there. Her constituents will soon find out she's not going to be passing bills. When she's not on committee, she won't get anything done. And with redistricting, I think she may be sent home pretty soon.

BURNETT: OK, I understand what you're saying and I know maybe this is reality, maybe some of it is wishful thinking. I'm not sure. But Michael, let me ask you, to that point that I said about wishful thinking, this is a battle for the soul of the Republican Party that's going on right now. That's what we're witnessing. And when you see the different treatment between Greene and Cheney among the vocal that it appears we truly are at a fork in the road.

SMERCONISH: One hundred and forty-seven of the House, the Republican Caucus supported President Trump on January 6th relative to the Electoral College. Only five senators in that Rand Paul vote did likewise. Bottom line, I think the House is far more subjected to populism than is the Senate perhaps because of the six-year term. That's why the difference.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you both so very much. I appreciate it.

And next, we have some new details this hour coming in about Trump's impeachment defense. Is Trump still pushing his attorneys to argue the election was stolen?

Plus, Democrats won the Senate. So why is Lindsey Graham still the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee?

And Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tonight doubling down on her claim that Ted Cruz fueled the deadly Capitol riots saying he must resign. She is making incredibly stunning accusations about the Capitol Police that day.

[19:15:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): Did he not give us the extraction point location, because he forgot or was he trying to actually put us in a vulnerable situation?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:19:00]

BURNETT: Breaking news, Trump's new impeachment lawyer speaking out in an interview with The New York Times, David Schoen saying Trump had the right to say all of the things he said prior to his supporters attack on the Capitol. Schoen says because it's free speech and it's protected under the 1st Amendment.

Schoen trying to make his case even as Trump's team remains in disarray. Today, they actually misspelled United States on the first page of their response to the article of impeachment.

Jeff Zeleny is OUTFRONT. So Jeff, what else do we expect to see from Trump as part of his defense now that they're making it clear 1st Amendment is going to be a big part of it?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORREPONDENT: Well, Erin, as we're pouring through these filings that were filed today with the Senate, it's clear that the constitutionality can you convict a former President is going to be front and center. Now, the Trump's lawyers will argue that it's simply not constitutional to convict a former president, someone who's no longer in office.

Now, the House managers argued in a really detailed 80 pages worth of legal briefs saying there's no January exception. You can't simply have an exception at the end of a president's term. But this new free speech argument is very interesting, because, of course, the president's own words are going to be front and center in all of this.

BURNETT: Yes.

[19:20:07]

ZELENY: And we all remember seeing him standing near the White House, saying if you don't fight like hell, you won't have a country left. Now that is referenced specifically in the president's lawyer's briefs there. And they say, hey, look, he was talking about election security. He wasn't talking about anything else.

But what's left out of that is him urging them to march to the Capitol. What's left out of these briefs is what happened on the 77 days between Election Day and January 6th, so that is what is going to be a central part of the House manager's case.

So when you break it all down, is it constitutional for a former president to be convicted? Most legal scholars agree that it is. So suddenly this free speech argument is coming into play. But Erin, the President did so much more than that.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Jeff Zeleny. Yes. I mean, as Jeff points out, the vast, vast majority of scholars all agree that it is constitutional.

OUTFRONT now Laurence Tribe, Constitutional Law Professor at Harvard Law School, House Democrats have also consulted Professor Tribe on impeachment and the lead impeachment manager Congressman Jamie Raskin has been in frequent contact with you, I know Professor up to and including today.

So let me start by asking you about this interview with Trump's new lawyer, David Schoen, with The New York Times where he says holding Trump accountable for the impact of his words risks and I quote, Mr. Schoen, "Chilling the rights on any passionate speakers." It's a 1st Amendment defense, will it hold up?

LAURENCE TRIBE, HARVARD LAW PROFESSOR: I don't think so. It's a very serious point, but it's wrong. I don't know anybody who is a stronger 1st Amendment advocate than I am. But I fully recognize that there's a difference between the right of an ordinary citizen to express herself passionately and the right of someone to run for president, take the oath as President, then stand by the presidential seal in front of the White House and urge an angry mob to burn it down, to go to the Capitol and basically take it over.

That is not freedom of speech. Justice Scalia was a strong defender of free speech and he once said, you can't ride with the cops and cheer for the robbers. There's a big difference between the rights of an ordinary citizen. No citizen will be chilled if a president is held accountable for what this guy did.

In fact, the usual trope about yelling fire in a crowded theater, which isn't within your rights of free speech doesn't quite capture it. What's involved here is much more like being the fire chief and urging a mob to burn the theater down. That is not freedom of speech. We're not talking about the rights of people to express themselves, we're talking about getting rid of somebody permanently from government when that person is an enemy of government. When that person (inaudible) take it apart.

BURNETT: The argument about the fire chief is actually really interesting and, of course, the fire in a crowded theater, that would be a basic thing that we all had in any constitutional law class that we had. Let me ask you about something else, though, Schoen said, because he went even further to The New York Times, Professor.

He said that Trump cannot be held accountable for his words and let me let me give you this in quotes, because we can't control the reaction of the audience. So I want to remind our viewers first of how Trump's words specifically inspired, motivated and charged his audience. I warn you some of the language you're about to hear is offensive, but this is important to the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Stop the steal.

CROWD: Stop the steal. Stop the steal. Stop the steal. Stop the steal.

TRUMP: We'll lose everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Man, we're going to fucking lose it all.

TRUMP: That's treason. That's treason.

CROWD: Treason. Treason. Treason. Treason. Treason.

TRUMP: We got to get Nancy Pelosi the hell out of there and we're very close.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I speak to Pelosi? Yes, we're coming, bitch.

TRUMP: And Mike Pence, I will tell you right now, I'm not hearing good stories.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because Mike Pence is a fucking traitor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Is there any way, Professor, in your eyes that an argument of free speech would protect the word echo that I just showed and by the way, I can show you something three times as long? TRIBE: I don't think so, especially because he's not just any old guy.

He's not some guy talking on a street corner. He is the President of the United States. He's no longer the president and the January exception that he argues for doesn't protect him from being tried for what he did as president and then was impeached for doing as president. But those words echoed by the mob, show a direct link.

[19:25:00]

And are pages upon pages of evidence in the trial brief filed by the House managers today detailing in really painful detail how unbelievable it would be to say that the President wasn't responsible. Liz Cheney thought he was, the Majority Leader thought he was, anybody looking at this evidence would realize that the President riled this mob up, aimed it toward the Capitol like a cannon and fired.

BURNETT: All right. Professor Tribe, thank you very much. I appreciate your time tonight.

TRIBE: Thank you.

BURNETT: And next, Democrats take the first step to push through a COVID stimulus package and this is the first big thing out of the gate and they say they're going to do it without Republicans.

Plus, Michigan's Governor calling for pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell to be disbarred for comments like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNEY POWELL, PRO-TRUMP ATTORNEY: The entire election, frankly, in all the swings states should be overturned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Michigan's Governor is OUTFRONT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Breaking tonight, the Senate voting to begin debate on the Democrat's budget resolution, laying the groundwork to pass President Biden's Coronavirus relief bill without any Republican support.

[19:30:06]

They're using a maneuver. It's called reconciliation and basically what it boils down to is Democrats can pass the bill just with a simple majority.

And they've got that, but the margin is tight. Democrats would need all 50 Democrats onboard plus they need Vice President Harris as the possible tiebreaking vote. And, of course, in going it alone without working with Republicans on Biden's first big legislation, they're making it clear that bipartisanship is not what this is about.

Kaitlan Collins is OUTFRONT. So, Kaitlan, even after a two-hour meeting with Republican senators,

you know, we all watched unfold yesterday at this time, both sides described it as very constructive, albeit without a breakthrough. It appears Biden's made the choice that they're going to go ahead and do this alone without the GOP.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it does. That two-hour meeting might have been constructive, but it doesn't appear to have had a lot of impact with how the White House is viewing this because Chuck Schumer said today after a virtual meeting that Democrats had not like the one that was in person last night at the White House with Republicans. He said that Biden told them, he told Republicans their proposal and their counteroffer to his $1.9 trillion bill was just too small.

So, today, you saw the White House say they were standing by that big price tag that Republicans urged him to scale back, saying that was not in the plans for the White House's line of thinking and they also said that President Biden supports these efforts that you're seeing by Senator Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to move forward with that process that we're talking about, that reconciliation process which would allow them to get this bill passed with no Republican support.

Now, you're right, as you noted, they do have a razor-thin majority. So, of course, it is going to need every Democrat onboard. But you saw Senator Joe Manchin who is a crucial swing vote saying today he does support moving forward with these steps. So, they took the first step today. They got a few more to go forward, but it does look like they are pushing ahead and that no Republicans are going to be supporting this bill as it currently stands.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Kaitlan.

Let's go now to Dana Bash, our chief political correspondent and co- anchor of "STATE OF THE UNION", and David Chalian, our CNN political director.

Dana, so, the Democrats, basically, this is their first big thing, right? And the whole mantra of Joe Biden is I can get things done, unity bipartisanship. They've made the decision not to go that way this time and first big bill, they're going it alone. How risky is this for any compromise or any legislation in the future?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly poses risks, no question about it because of the fact that Republicans, you know, they were saying this publicly and I'm hearing it from them privately saying, you know, this is Joe Biden and his administration playing hard ball, and not living up to what he said in his inaugural speech.

Having said that, a couple of things. Number one is the argument that you're hearing in constantly, the refrain from the president on down from the White House is this is not like a regular piece of legislation. This is an infusion of money that they argue needs to get into the economy and needs to get into people's hands and it needs to get into the health system for vaccines and so forth, and that there's no reason for them to compromise on that.

So, and the fact that they had this meeting yesterday that you covered live, Erin, is something that is going to be a down payment for these future conversations because they really did have productive discussions.

BURNETT: Right.

BASH: And that is according to both parties.

BURNETT: Yeah, I understand what you're saying. So -- so, let me ask you, David, Joe Manchin has become sort of a power player. In a sense we all saw it coming, a Democrat who could be conservative and you don't know where he will go all of the time.

He's made it clear this time he does support the first steps of reconciliation, but there are parts of this package that he's not thrilled about and he certainly was not thrilled when the vice president did an interview in his home state and he didn't know about it.

Does this make him the ultimate power player in all of this?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, he is certainly going to be a critical vote. Any time that Joe Biden and his White House are going to go to the hill and try to get something through the Senate on just Democratic votes, that means they're going to have to make sure that it's something that Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Joe Manchin can all agree on.

And I will say, I think this is part of what the success was in that meeting with the Republicans last night. Joe Manchin came out today and called it a very encouraging thing to see that Biden's first meeting was with his ten Republican colleagues. Joe Manchin went on to say, I don't know what the right number is going to be, but I know this needs to be vigorous and robust.

So Joe Manchin is sort of speaking right now the language that you're also hearing from the Biden administration about the need for a big cash infusion as Dana's saying and here's somebody who now can take home to his voters in West Virginia if indeed, he ends up voting with it at the end of the day saying because Joe Biden extended his hand, he reached out to Republicans, their ideas were included even if it wasn't the final number.

[19:35:02]

This is something I was able to get onboard with for the people of West Virginia, that's giving Joe Manchin something to go back home with.

BURNETT: Hmm, which is interesting.

All right. So, Dana, let me just ask you because as we're speaking right now, there's a vote going on and Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader, just went to vote, wouldn't talk to anyone but said, I'm going back in to continue my meeting with Marjorie Taylor Greene, right? So, the meeting started, he left to vote, it's not done, it's continuing.

What do you think is going on here? Obviously, this is the crucial meeting for her, and her fate in the Republican Party?

BASH: Right. At least the first step in that, and, look, the fact that it's a lengthy meeting and we're not -- I'm not sure what to make of that except for the fact that Kevin McCarthy understands the pressure on him coming from all over. You have the Mitch McConnell argument and many others in the Republican Party and the quote/unquote establishment.

And even beyond that, those who want to do what is right, politics be damned, they're saying that she has to be reprimanded and she has to be punished, and then you have a lot of people in his own conference, members of the House who may not agree with her, but are worried about setting that precedent.

But what I was told earlier tonight, Erin, by a Republican source is to look at the model of Steve King as a potential one for Kevin McCarthy to follow and that they had a meeting just like this going on right now.

Steve King wasn't remorseful and so he was reprimanded and taken off the committees. We'll see what Marjorie Taylor Greene is like in these behind closed doors discussions after -- after they end.

BURNETT: Right, which is a great point because you can say whatever you want behind closed doors, but everything she's done has been public. So it would be a big public mea culpa which she's shown no willingness to do thus far.

OK. Thank you both very much.

Next, Michigan's governor wants to have a pro-Trump attorney Sidney Powell disbarred for her role in trying to overturn the election in the state of Michigan. Gretchen Whitmer is OUTFRONT.

And Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez throwing some big charges at capitol police for their response during the deadly riot.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:40:57]

BURNETT: Tonight, the governor of Michigan calling for pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell to be disbarred for leading the charge on a baseless lawsuit seeking to overturn the results of the presidential election. The governor wants to prevent Powell for practicing law in Michigan for comments like these.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNEY POWELL, PRO-TRUMP LAWYER: What we are really dealing with here and uncovering more by the day is the massive influence of communist money through Venezuela, Cuba and likely China in the interference with our elections here in the United States. The entire election, frankly, in all the swing states should be

overturned and the legislatures should make sure that the electors are selected for Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: So that would include in the state of Michigan. You know, she said it. Just overturn the election, have the legislatures by fiat appoint electors loyal to Trump. It's a stunning thing.

OUTFRONT now, Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.

So, it's your state, Governor, Powell tried to overturn the election there and others, you want her disbarred. Do you think he'll succeed?

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D), MICHIGAN: I don't know if I'm -- we're going to succeed, but I know it's the right thing to do.

Our election was fair. It was safe. There was zero evidence that there was anything at issue with the tally of the votes in Michigan.

Joe Biden won by almost 150,000 votes, and it was, I think, incredibly unethical for Donald Trump to send a team of lawyers to undermine our democracy, to violate their oaths, not uphold their high ethical standards that lawyers are held to, and there should be a consequence to that, because it has fed this big lie that ultimately ended up in insurrection at our United States Capitol. And it's unacceptable and there should be consequences for it.

BURNETT: So, Governor, "Axios" is reporting on a December meeting in the Oval Office. It's a pretty stunning report. Anyone who hasn't read it, I hope you go read it. Jonathan Swan's great reporting there.

Where Powell and others fed former President Trump debunked conspiracies about election fraud and it goes on and on, and they're all screaming at each other.

And part of what they say is at its essence, the Powell crew's argument to the president was this, we have the real information. These people, your White House staff don't believe in the truth, they're liars and quitters. Put us in charge.

On some level, this argument was music to Trump's ears. He was desperate.

And in this meeting, Governor, they say Sidney Powell recommends that the government, FBI agents go and -- and get all of the Dominion voting machines. Just take them, and -- and I mean, it was pretty stunning. I mean, it was essentially martial law by some sort of fiat.

This is the Sidney Powell we're talking about.

WHITMER: Right. And that's why there has to be consequences. We cannot say, oh, well let's just move on and turn a blind eye to this. Sidney Powell and the lawyers that Trump sent all across the country to participate in the big lie that has fed all of the -- and fomented all of the ugly, scary, dangerous rhetoric in this nation has a consequence.

And frankly, as a lawyer myself, or our secretary of state is a lawyer and our attorney general is a lawyer, all three of us have joined in filing this because we know that we are supposed to be upheld to these incredibly high, ethical standards and not only was it breached in this instance, but it put our democracy in danger.

BURNETT: So I want to ask you about the coronavirus news that we've just gotten here tonight. The Biden administration says it's going to ship the vaccines directly to retail pharmacies and they're going to do that next week. But there's a huge caveat on this.

In the early days, right, people -- many pharmacies aren't going to have the vaccine or have an incredibly limited supply. So, it isn't what people are hoping, meaning I can go in and get it, putting aside any questions of efficacy and variants and all of that.

What do you say to this, the extremely limited supply to the pharmacies?

[19:50:01]

WHITMER: Well, I say that this is music to our ears. I mean, obviously, it's not enough. We all need more vaccines, but the fact of the matter is the Biden administration has only been in office for two weeks. They've already given us confidence in the fact that they got a plan to ramp up vaccines, that we have predictability in terms of what is coming in. They're focused on equity.

I mean, this is -- these are leaps ahead of where we were just three weeks ago with an administration that couldn't tell us what was coming in on a given week, much less tell us that there was a long-term strategy here.

So, we're making progress. I was on the call with the nation's governors in the White House today. We had a call last week. I know we're going to have another one next week.

They're sharing information, they're being transparent and they're ramping up. And I think that's what's been so desperately needed in this country.

BURNETT: Governor Whitmer, thank you very much.

WHITMER: Thank you.

BURNETT: And next, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a damning accusation about a police officer's response during a capitol riot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OCASIO-CORTEZ: He was looking at me with a tremendous amount of anger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: And Moscow bracing for more protests after opposition leader Alexey Navalny was sentenced to prison.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Breaking news, Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez intensifying her ongoing Republican feud with Republican Senator Ted Cruz, saying he, quote, contributed to the carnage at the Capitol Hill riot and again calling on him to resign.

This as she's opening up about her experience as a survivor of sexual assault. She gave an emotional recounting of her experience at the capitol during the riot and made a stunning accusation against the police.

Sunlen Serfaty is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OCASIO-CORTEZ: I hear these huge, violent bangs on my door and then every door going into my office.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez --

OCASIO-CORTEZ: Nobody identifying themselves, and just -- boom, boom, boom.

SERFATY: -- disclosing new, harrowing details of her experience during the January 6th insurrection at the capitol.

OCASIO-CORTEZ: And I just hear, where is she?

[19:50:00]

Where is she? And -- this was the moment where I thought everything was over.

SERFATY: Revealing that as she hid in the bathroom of her office, she felt threatened by Capitol Hill police officer who she says did not immediately identify himself.

OCASIO-CORTEZ: There was no partner, was not yelling, you know, capitol police, et cetera, et cetera.

SERFATY: And even after he said he was with Capitol Hill police, the congresswoman says she was still uncertain if he was there to help or hurt her.

OCASIO-CORTEZ: But then it didn't feel right because he was looking at me with a tremendous amount of anger, and hostility.

SERFATY: Ocasio-Cortez followed the directions of the officer to go to another building within the capitol complex, and did so unescorted.

OCASIO-CORTEZ: The situation felt so volatile, I ran over and grabbed my bag and we started running over to that building.

SERFATY: It wasn't until she got to that building that she realized he didn't give her a specific place to go.

OCASIO-CORTEZ: He did not give us the ex traction point location because he forgot or was he trying to actually put us in a vulnerable situation?

SERFATY: The U.S. Capitol Police did not respond to repeat repeated attempts by CNN to give answers about the congresswoman's claims. Federal prosecutors charged one capitol rioter with threatening in a tweet to assassinate AOC.

OCASIO-CORTEZ: I mean, I thought I was going to die.

SERFATY: That was one part of her nearly two-hour Instagram live, bringing a scathing message for Republicans.

OCASIO-CORTEZ: That you want to be president so bad that you're going to allow people and your own colleagues' lives to be in danger.

SERFATY: Calling out by name Republicans like Senator Cruz, Hawley and Congressman Roy among others, who she has repeatedly tangled with online since the attack, even saying to Senator Cruz, you almost had me murdered three weeks ago, denouncing them and speaking on a personal level about how painful it is some have suggested she just move on.

OCASIO-CORTEZ: These are the same tactics of abusers.

SERFATY: And for the first time revealing her own past history with sexual assault.

OCASIO-CORTEZ: I'm a survivor of sexual assault. And I haven't told many people that in my life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SERFATY (on camera): And we did hear back from one of the Republicans that the congresswoman called out directly in that video. Congressman Chip Roy, he said he's saddened to hear about the experience she had with sexual assault but he says that does not change her allegations which he calls, Erin, completely unacceptable allegations against Senator Cruz.

Now, we have not heard back from Senator Cruz about his being named in that video last night by the congresswoman even as she doubles down on attacks on him tonight, Erin, and calling him, again, to resign.

BURNETT: Sunlen, thank you very much.

And next, the opposition leader who says he was poisoned by Putin has some choice words for the Russian president as he's sentenced to prison.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:56:53] BURNETT: Tonight, protests erupting in support of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny in Russia. A judge sentencing Navalny to two and a half years in prison, in a Russian prison after dramatic court hearing, where Navalny called the Russian President Putin the poisoner, yes, and everybody heard it.

Matthew Chance is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Anger is pouring out onto the streets of the Russian capitol. Protesters furious that the imprisonment of Alexey Navalny are making their voices heard. Let him go, they chant.

Earlier, outside the Moscow court, police detained hundreds to make sure this hearing passed off undisturbed, as the real drama unfolded inside. Alexey Navalny glanced towards his wife in the gallery, drawing a heart on the pain of his glass cage as the judge read out the decision.

Russia's most prominent Putin critic was being sent to jail. Outside, his lawyers told CNN, Navalny took the court's decision bravely, as usual but they said they will definitely appeal. It was these images of the opposition leader groaning in agony after being poisoned by a suspected nerve agent in Siberia last year that shocked the world. His recovery and defiant return to arrest in Russia has also struck a chord.

Last week, slamming his detention as blatantly illegal, telling the judge in his latest hearing that he was being persecuted because he survived assassination and that President Putin himself was behind it, something the Kremlin has denied.

His main grievance against me, he told the court, is that he'll go down in history as Putin the poisoner.

For the past two weeks, this country has been rocked by some of the biggest anti-Kremlin protests its ever seen. Critics say a heavy- handed response with thousands detained nationwide underlines how threatened the Kremlin really feels. But the Kremlin tells CNN, President Putin himself isn't even following the trials of his biggest critics.

Instead, the Russian president was shown meeting teachers of the future generation.

It's the generation of Russians protesting in the streets outside inspired by Alexey Navalny that may yet prove Putin's most dangerous challenge.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE (on camera): Well, Erin, supporters of Alexey Navalny have urged their supporters tonight that protesters to disperse and to go home but they say, a government that persecutes innocent people, poisons them, kills them and sends innocent people to jail won't be tolerated for long and they say they'll be back on the streets soon to protest it.

Back to you.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Matthew.

Pretty incredible, right? Navalny went back to Russia by choice because he wanted the world to see this. It is pretty incredible. He went home knowing, knowing it was a certainty that he would be sent to prison.

All right. Thanks very much for watching. And don't forget, you can watch OUTFRONT anytime. Just go to CNN Go.

Anderson in the meantime starts now.