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Erin Burnett Outfront
House Removes GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from Committees; Only 11 Republicans Vote to Punish Her; Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) Discusses About His Take on Some Republicans Who Voted Against Punishing Greene Due to Her Conspiracy Theories and Very Dangerous Rhetoric; Impeachment Managers Call on Trump to Testify; House Removes GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene From Committees As She Tries to Distance from Her Past; Johnson & Johnson Asks FDA to Authorize Its One-Dose COVID Vaccine; Voting Technology Company Files $2.7 Billion Lawsuit Against Fox News, Rudy Giuliani & Pro-Trump Attorney Sidney Powell. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired February 04, 2021 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:00]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: All the Democrats were consistently opposed to her. She will not be on the Education and Labor Committee. She will not be on the Budget Committee. She will not be on any committee at all.
Our special coverage continues right now with Erin Burnett OUTFRONT.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next the breaking news, the House just voted to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from two key committees. All but 11 Republicans supporting Greene despite her fringe conspiracy theories and her very dangerous rhetoric.
Plus, impeachment managers calling on Trump to testify in his trial next week. His legal team refusing, so will Trump be subpoenaed?
And tempers flaring in Washington, Sen. Sherrod Brown taking on Rand Paul for not wearing a mask on the Senate floor. You have to watch this one happens. Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight the breaking news, she's out. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has officially been removed from both the Education and Budget Committees, those key committees. But only 11 Republicans made a move for her to lose that position, only 11 Republicans holding her accountable for her fringe conspiracy theories and dangerous rhetoric.
These 11 Republicans include Adam Kinzinger and Brian Fitzpatrick. They joined 219 Democrats who voted to strip Greene from her assignments on the Education and Budget Committees. So let me just do the math for you.
What that means is that 199 Republicans looked the other way when it came to punishing Greene for her bigoted and deranged comments and views. They represent nearly every state. They include Kevin McCarthy and Liz Cheney, the number three House Republican. These elected officials gave Greene and these comments their stamp of approval.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): 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: The 199 Republicans still backing Greene even though she repeatedly indicated support for executing prominent Democrats before being elected to Congress. So, they're apparently OK with her response to a comment about hanging former President Obama. Our own KFILE uncovered her remark.
And they support her calls for political violence over the past two years. The first that you see here uncovered by Mother Jones.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREENE: The only way you get your freedoms back is that it's earned with the price of blood.
If we flood the Capitol Building, flood all of the government buildings, go inside, these are public buildings. We own them. We own these buildings.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: That last comment, 2019. And now today before the vote, Greene tried to explain herself on the House floor, insisting that her record is not her record. She claimed that 9/11 happened. Can you believe someone had to actually go on the floor today and say, oh, actually, I think 9/11 happened.
Well, she went and said that because she has said, "It's odd there's never any evidence shown for a plane in the Pentagon." You heard her say it. She also said today and had to go to the floor to say school shootings are absolutely real. She had to say that, because she has called Parkland High School shooting survivor David Hogg, who she trolled and harassed a paid actor. She has supported Facebook comments that alleged the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that killed six adults and 20 children, little tiny children were a staged event. And she also tried to rewrite history when it comes to supporting QAnon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREENE: Later in 2018 when I started finding misinformation, lies, things that were not true in these QAnon post, I stopped believing it. I never once said during my entire campaign QAnon. I never went and said any of the things that I am being accused of today during my campaign. I never said any of these things since I have been elected for Congress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: That is not factual. She continued to defend QAnon during the campaign and after she was elected to Congress. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the video you say, "Q as a patriot." Do you believe that? Is that what you believe?
GREENE: I've only ever seen patriotic sentiment coming out of that source and other sources. There's never been any dangerous rhetoric coming out of people like that.
I think it's unfair to criticize regular American people that just are looking things up on the internet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Defending QAnon followers and they were among the people seen at the stop the steal rally. They were also part of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. They left five people dead and yet Republican leader Kevin McCarthy wants to give Marjorie Taylor Greene another chance. He says her words now should bring Republicans comfort.
[19:05:07]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): I think it would be helpful if you could hear exactly what she told all of us, denouncing QAnon. I don't know if I say it right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I'm sorry. He literally stood there and acted and said he doesn't know if he's saying it right. I mean, this is really - come on - before Greene was elected, McCarthy was able to say the group's name with no problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCARTHY: Let me be very clear, there is no place for QAnon in the Republican Party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: No place for QAnon in the Republican Party until there was and is.
Manu Raju is OUTFRONT on Capitol Hill. So, Manu, what more are you learning tonight as this vote went down?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the number of Republicans who voted for this resolution to strip Marjorie Taylor Greene from the committees was only 11 and it's not the same members who voted to impeach Donald Trump. There is some overlap. Though, of course, there were 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, but some of them who voted to impeach voted to support Marjorie Taylor Greene, including Congresswoman Liz Cheney, of course, who just survived a challenge to her leadership post last night.
She clearly is siding with the concerns raised by the other Republicans that they don't believe in this process and their belief that it sets a precedent where a majority party can go after a minority party and use it and wield it to their advantage in the future. Something that really has not been done before. But a handful of Republicans did break ranks, despite the pressure from top Republican leaders to fall in line.
Some of those Republicans were from South Florida, from the home of Parkland, Florida. Of course, that's where the massacre occurred at that high school in 2018. Something that Marjorie Taylor Greene initially suggested was a false flag operation. Until today, she said that those massacres actually took place.
Those members, including Congressman Diaz-Balart who's from South Florida. He voted against this resolution - I'm sorry, voted for this resolution on the floor, joined with a couple of other South Florida Republicans.
Now, the question going forward is how does the Republican Conference go from here. If you talk to people very close to Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, they are happy this is done with. They believe that what the Democrats did in moving forward essentially took it off their plate. They can let the Democrats move forward to take her out of the committees, unite behind what they believe is an unfair process and believe that would be enough to get their party united, get their party behind that.
They got Liz Cheney in her conference position and worry about their next confrontation going forward. But, Erin, as we know, it's not going to be that easy. A lot of questions remain, including from Senate Republicans who are very critical of the way the Senate House Republican leadership dealt with this, Erin.
BURNETT: Yes. All right. Thank you very much, Manu. And, of course, the process point, it's a fair point. It's also sad that we're in a position where the only Republicans saying this isn't OK seem to be - well, there were a few crossovers but people who are from places where there were school shootings are impacted by 9/11 who said, look, saying those things didn't happen is a bridge too far that they were the only ones willing to say that.
OUTFRONT now the Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries. I appreciate your time, Congressman. So, the numbers here, 11 Republicans voted to remove Greene from her committees, even some who voted to impeach Trump voted against this measure. Were you surprised?
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Well, it didn't surprise me actually that there were only 11 individuals who saw fit to hold Marjorie Taylor Greene accountable because, they've taken direction from the House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy who's been absent without official leave, missing in action in terms of providing leadership in an ethical way that brings people together as opposed to what Kevin McCarthy is doing, which is continuing to pander to the far-right elements of his party.
The House Republican Conference has been taken over by the QAnon caucus, the crackpot caucus and the conspiracy caucus at the same time. The party of Lincoln is gone. The party of Reagan is gone. The party of John McCain is gone. This is now the party of Marjorie Taylor Greene.
BURNETT: So, you heard what Greene said on the floor today, Congressman. She said she found QAnon while surfing on the internet and she says she now believes, "School shootings are absolutely real," and, "9/11 absolutely happened." I still am dumbfounded that such a thing would need to be said in any capacity in Congress. When she said that, what was your reaction?
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JEFFRIES: I had no reaction because at the end of the day I think she was directed to say that by Kevin McCarthy and House Republican leadership who tried to get themselves out of this situation because of their own failure of leadership and they want to disassociate themselves from her extreme views without disassociating themselves from her as an individual congressperson and they're not going to be able to get away with that.
What is more troubling is that she continues to refuse to disassociate herself from some of the views connected to her promotion of violence directed at members of Congress or at former high-ranking elected officials like Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.
BURNETT: Yes. Well, she said on the eve of this, I just want to remind everybody we played it last night. I mean, she played it to Sebastian Gorka, former Trump official interviewed her. She said, I have nothing to apologize for when he specifically asked her if she was sorry for any of the things she said, and he actually even listed some of them including 9/11 conspiracy theory.
I want to ask you, Congressman, about one of the 11 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, I'm sorry, 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump, Congressman Jaime Herrera Beutler, she voted against this, so she's not on the list here of 11. And this is the issue of precedent, she said she doesn't want to create a new precedent.
Kevin McCarthy says this sets a dangerous new standard. Basically, they're listing all of the Democrats that you guys should be punishing all of these, they have a whole list of people that they think should be removed from committees. Basically saying, look, one party gets power, you can kick the other people off committees and that's a very dangerous precedent. That's Liz Cheney's reason for being on the other side on this one. What's your response to that?
JEFFRIES: The line in the sand has to be the promotion and elevation of violence directed at your colleagues or other Americans. And Speaker Pelosi indicated in a very clear way earlier today that if a Democrat ever promoted violence or associate themselves with sentiments encouraging violence against other Americans or Republicans or presidents and individuals who are serving that she would be the first person to kick them off of their committees and I will join her in that regard.
BURNETT: So, before we go, I want to ask you about impeachment. Today, the House impeachment manager sent a letter to President Trump asking him to testify. His team said no way. Now, the question is whether you all will subpoena him.
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin was non-committal on whether he'd support such a subpoena if the House managers made that request. His comment was it could be a dog and pony show, if Trump showed up there. What's your view on this? Do you think Trump's testimony could derail this whole thing?
JEFFRIES: Well, I don't want to get out ahead of the impeachment managers who have laid out a clear strategic approach and they've requested the President's testimony apparently is refusing at this particular point in time. I'm not sure if they're going to make an argument that he should be subpoenaed.
I do believe that the evidence of Donald Trump's guilt is hiding in plain sight. He incited that violent attack on the Capitol that resulted in the spilling of American blood, including the death of Officer Sicknick. That's an extraordinary thing that we have a former President of the United States who helped to lead the charge, he summoned the mob, then he incited the mob, then he directed the mob to march on the Capitol with deadly results.
And so, I think with or without his testimony, there is a lot of compelling evidence that the impeachment managers will present. And if the senators on the Republican side of the aisle follow the facts, apply to law are guided by the Constitution, I believe that he should be convicted.
BURNETT: I appreciate your time, Congressman. Thank you very much, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries.
And I want to go now to Michael Smerconish. Michael, as I'm talking there with Congressman, you have 11 Republicans voting to remove Greene. Just to give everyone some more context here, 11 vote to remove Greene, 61 voted to remove Liz Cheney from her leadership position, just to let that number sink into people. What's going on here?
MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN HOST, "SMERCONISH": Well, I see Republican inconsistency in the last couple of days that I think is pretty significant and I think I can explain it. Superficially, you could say, well, the GOP in the last 48 hours protected two very different members and left them in the fold. Liz Cheney and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
But here are the numbers that I'm looking at, 139 Republicans voted to challenge the Electoral College back on January 6.
BURNETT: Yes.
[19:15:04]
That's almost the same number, 145, that behind closed doors voted to protect Liz Cheney and I think those votes are entirely inconsistent. How can you be someone who wants to overturn the Electoral College, very Trumpian, and then turn around behind closed doors and support Cheney? The answer, Erin ...
BURNETT: Who voted to impeach Trump, yes.
SMERCONISH: ... is it depends who's watching.
BURNETT: Yes.
SMERCONISH: It depends who's watching. If you think you can get away with a vote of conscience, i.e. protect Cheney, then you do it. Now we come full circle to tonight where in the plain light of day, what did the Republicans do, all but 11 to appease the base they lined up. And by the way, the early polling data, Axios today suggests that Cheney is less popular than Marjorie Taylor Greene, so that explains it with the base.
BURNETT: OK. Yes, yes, it explains, I suppose, in a way that deeply confuses me in so many ways. But let me ask you then to this point, Republican Senator Mitt Romney tell CNN that the House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy made a mistake, his word, mistake, in his handling of Marjorie Taylor Greene. But given what you're saying, do you think Romney is right?
SMERCONISH: I think that Romney is not afraid of the base. He was one of the five to oppose Rand Paul. There's more independence in the Senate, because they're not at the whim of populism the way that house every two year elections are. And I know it's confusing the way that I presented it, but what I'm really trying to say simply is that these Republicans are intent on one thing, reelection and to get reelection they think that they need to honor the whims of the base.
BURNETT: So I don't know if you just heard Hakeem Jeffries, but he was just saying that Nancy Pelosi has made it clear that if any Democrat did what Marjorie Taylor Greene did specifically in advocating violence against anyone, that he would join her to kick that Democrat off any committee.
So that's their response when asked about the precedent that they could be setting by removing a Republican with Democratic votes, the reason Liz Cheney did not vote to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from the committees is her concern about that precedent. So does that reason that Jeffries and Pelosi are giving add up or do you think this is indeed a dangerous precedent?
SMERCONISH: So glad that you raised this because on radio this week I've gotten the occasional caller asking about what about ism? What about Ilhan Omar? What about Maxine Waters? What about all of these 'outrageous statements from the left'?
But I am taking Speaker Pelosi at her word that the Greene case is so extraordinary that the totality of all of these comments is such. And I will be the first to shout from the rafters if there's similar conduct on the left and it's not disciplined.
This case is beyond the pale. I've been paying attention for 30 years. I've never seen someone with these views that are so public get elected to the Congress.
BURNETT: Right. It's incredible. And then to your point, it's what is the call of conscience from those who are now her peers to call her to account if voters did not and a lot of this, by the way was out there, but a lot of it is our Martin Savidge just reported, a lot of people there did not know when they voted. So who knows where this will go, but a lot of it was not known at the time to many people voting.
SMERCONISH: Right.
BURNETT: Thank you so much. I appreciate your time, Michael.
SMERCONISH: Thank you. OK.
BURNETT: And next, Trump rejecting Democrats calls to testify at his own impeachment hearing. So will Democrats go ahead with that subpoena?
Plus, a federal grand jury upping the charges against the Texas woman for her alleged role in the insurrection. She is one of more than 20 women arrested following the riot.
And Rudy Giuliani and several of Fox News biggest stars with a massive $2.7 billion lawsuit. A voting technology company suing because of comments like this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, ATTORNEY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP: They're going to cheat Democratic. They're going to cheat left-wing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:22:40]
BURNETT: New tonight, former President Donald Trump will not testify in his second impeachment trial. That's according to a top Trump adviser who calls the trial unconstitutional. And Trump's legal team also slamming the request from House Democrats saying and I quote in part, "We are in receipt of your latest public relations stunt. The use of our Constitution to bring a purported impeachment proceeding is much too serious to try to play these games."
OUTFRONT now Ben Ginsberg, a Republican election lawyer for four decades, including serving as National Counsel to the Bush-Cheney campaigns in both 2000 and 2004. So Ben, team Trump says the former president won't testify. That asking him to do it was just a PR stunt and games, but you actually say team Trump opened the door to Democrats asking him to testify, why is that?
BEN GINSBERG, REPUBLICAN ELECTION LAWYER: The answer that they provided to the Senate, they raised the question of the President's 1st Amendment rights and saying that his claims to election fraud had some degree of merit. In other words the Trump answer didn't stick just to the statement and the argument that impeachment is unconstitutional for former president.
BURNETT: So do you think that they should or will subpoena the former president?
GINSBERG: Oh, I think that's pretty unlikely. I mean, I think this whole effort seems to be an appeal to the president's ego to testify. But in terms of a subpoena, remember that the last two administrations really figures in it have managed to avoid congressional subpoenas and to pretty carefully demonstrate that Congress doesn't have a lot of teeth in its subpoenas. Former White House Counsel Don McGahn was subpoenaed in April 2019 by the House, he's not testified yet.
BURNETT: Right. Yes. And then when we saw this, obviously, the Russian impeachment trial as well. The whole game over subpoenas, the time it adds to the process. John Bolton waited till he published his book to come out and give all the details about what really happened.
But this does get to the point, you say they're appealing to his ego. Trump's been muzzled in a lot of ways here, he doesn't have his Twitter account which is where he'd be ranting about this. He doesn't have his platform anymore and he wants to be heard. So what he may want to do and what his lawyers may want him to do could be very different things, so do you think there's a chance that he wants to do this.
[19:25:03]
GINSBERG: Well, I think there's always a chance that he might not listen to his lawyers. But his lawyers are telling him you got 45 Republican senators to say that the process of impeaching you is unconstitutional. You win if the status quo is not disrupted. If you go in and testify, you're not going to be giving a discourse on constitutional law, you're going to be talking about election fraud in your 1st Amendment rights. Republican senators do not have to win to defend you on your theories of election fraud.
BURNETT: Right. There's been plenty who have said that he incited this entire thing and is fully to blame who would use the, to your point, the constitutionality thing as dubious as it may be as their excuse out. But you mentioned Trump's lawyers and I wanted to ask you about them, Ben, because they are new lawyers for Trump. Last weekend, the entire team left and so now he's got two new lawyers.
In their response to the article of impeachment, the word United States is misspelled on the very first page, OK, Unites States. Some people may say, OK, why would you bring something up like that, it's petty. It is the word United States. It is in the defense of a former president in impeachment trial. It is not a small thing. What does that tell you?
GINSBERG: Well, typos are never career-enhancing moves for lawyers, especially not an important briefs like this in the fifth typewritten line. And so what it tells you is Donald Trump is going to look around and say, who did I hire that these guys can't get the spellings right. And the Republican senators are going to sort of question the lawyers in whom Donald Trump has placed his faith.
So it is a small thing in one sense, but it's indicative of some other behavioral traits that's going to make people nervous.
BURNETT: Well, and to your point, to Jonathan Swan's (ph) reporting there had been the word district had been misspelled five times, in five different ways in all of those briefs that were dismissed by courts across this country and the President had a problem with it when he heard about it. He thought it was sloppy and bad and made him look bad. So we do know that he cares about this and understands that these appearances matter.
Do you think, Ben, when push comes to shove that any of these Republicans will change where they stand?
GINSBERG: I think that this is a case in which Donald Trump does not raise arguments about election fraud and the Democrats just get to make a very dramatic case about his role in insurrection, that's not enough. But if Donald Trump and his lawyers were to raise these issues of election fraud, I think that's a place that Republican senators are going to be really, really hesitant to go and maybe that flips boats.
BURNETT: Yes. All right. Ben, I appreciate your time. Thank you as always.
GINSBERG: Thanks Erin.
BURNETT: And next, Marjorie Taylor Greene removed from her committees partially for embracing QAnon. So I'm going to talk to a former QAnon believer who says today's vote will only embolden other QAnon followers.
And breaking news, a potential game changer when it comes to vaccinations. Johnson & Johnson just asking the FDA for emergency use authorization for its single shot vaccine.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:32:12]
BURNETT: Tonight, a federal grand jury upping the charges against a Texas woman for her alleged role in the Capitol Hill riot after she asked the judge for permission to travel to Mexico. Jenny Cudd now faces five total charges including felony obstruction charge which carries a possible maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison. And we are learning about even more women who were living seemingly normal lives who were drawn into the deadly insurrection. Tom Foreman is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the madness of the riot, as violence erupted, Gracyn Courtright posed for her Instagram feed. The college student from Kentucky beaming: Can't wait to tell my grand kids I was here.
While Jenny Cudd, a flower shop owner from Texas who is expected to plead not guilty admits she went exploring.
JENNY CUDD, FLOWER SHOP OWNER: We did break down Nancy Pelosi's office door. And somebody stole her gavel.
FOREMAN: Arrest records list more than 20 women charged in the uproar and that's no surprise for Seyward Darby.
SEYWARD DARBY, AUTHOR, "SISTERS IN HATE": They are being told, you are the revolution. You are the radicals.
FOREMAN: She's written about women in extremist movements and say many embrace a very conservative view of life.
DARBY: Women are being appealed to by being told, you know, you are mothers. You are, you know, the protectors of your home, of your family, and now is the time to stand up and fight for that.
FOREMAN: Among those charged, Christine Priola, a mother and former school therapist from Ohio. Dawn Bancroft, a gym owner who prosecutors say posted a photo claiming she was looking for Nancy to shoot her in the friggin' brain.
CNN has reached out for comment. No response.
Authorities say there was a salon owner, a corrections officer, the woman shot and killed, an air force veteran.
And Jenna Ryan, a realtor and radio host from Texas.
JENNA RYAN, RADIO HOST: I went to serve our country because our president, President Donald Trump, asked us to go to the march.
FOREMAN: A Christian fund-raising site is being used to help what her lawyers says will be a not guilty plea. Jenna is not a terrorist, but a freedom freedom-loving patriot who needs your help. Her legal bills are expected to be $50,000.
But how did they all allegedly wind up here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tens of thousands of women are already at work in aircraft.
FOREMAN: Just as the government asked women to pitch in during World War II by appealing to them as mothers and community members, experts say movements like QAnon are doing the same now, telling women the nation needs them to stand up amid political warfare and a raging pandemic, no matter how dishonest that recruitment may be.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[19:35:06]
FOREMAN (on camera): There is absolutely no question some women joined this movement for the exact same reason as men. But it is also beyond a doubt that this year in particular with so many pressures on families and communities falling disproportionately on women, this message from QAnon of saying, we have another way, a new answer, another path forward clearly resonated with some -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right, thank you very much, Tom.
And I want to go now to Ashley Vanderbilt, former QAnon believer who has left the movement and is trying to help others do the same. She was profiled by our own Donie O'Sullivan.
And, Ashley, I appreciate your taking the time. I know that this is hard to do, to come on and talk about this and to talk about it. But it does matter so much.
You know, when you think back to your experience with QAnon, when you did believe these things, and you know, you see a piece like we just heard, does it surprise you to see these women, normal women, mothers, people who work at schools, taking part in this attack on the U.S. Capitol?
ASHLEY VANDERBILT, FORMER QANON SUPPORTER: No, not really. I mean, I feel like these women -- I mean, being mothers, I think anyone would probably do whatever it took to protect their kids. And then obviously, the loyalty to Donald Trump, you know, I guess these people are thinking that they are having to fight for their freedom and for their country because they feel like it's actually getting stripped away, if that makes sense.
BURNETT: Yes. So, you know, for people who don't fully understand, Ashley, QAnon specifically, people are listening to a person named Q, part of it is that this person says there is a cabal of pedophiles who are in the Democratic Party and Hollywood and that there's going to be what they call a storm where Trump uncovers all of it, right? So, that's I guess the description of it, right?
I mean, it does seem so ridiculous when I say it, and yet people believe it and they believe it with all their heart and soul. What do you think it is that attracts people and especially women to this theory?
VANDERBILT: I mean, I guess I don't know. It is -- when you start getting this QAnon information, I mean, there are a ton of people out there that are believing this QAnon stuff. But they don't even know that it's Q. And so you're just getting these small bits of information that you're kind of like, well, that doesn't seem right. So you look into it more, and you ask more questions from the same person who told you and it just gets deeper and deeper -- BURNETT: Is that how it was for you, that it just sort of started with
somebody said, you know, how did it happen where you went down that rabbit hole?
VANDERBILT: Yeah, I mean, I had seen TikToks and I couldn't tell you what the TikTok was at this point, but it was just something that was, it was really pro-Trump, but then it was also something that was like, oh, my gosh, is the country really doing this? And so I would reach out to someone that I knew that was a bigger Trump supporter, and I was like, I just heard about this. What do you think?
And, like, yeah, look at this YouTube video. Look at this Facebook live. You'd watch that and all of a sudden the two fit together and it makes sense. And you're just like oh, my gosh, like I didn't know this. Nobody knows this. And I don't think we're supposed to know this, but this is scary.
And you just all of a sudden fear takes over and you're so scared and you're -- now you want to learn more. Now you want to dig deeper and figure out what you can do to protect yourself, your family, your friends, your country. It just -- yeah.
BURNETT: I know, it's incredible. It's very powerful how you describe it. So, you know, the vote tonight, right, the House voted to remove Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committees, but she says a lot of people are turning out to support her through all of this.
You know, she said to "The Washington Examiner", I quote her, Democrats don't realize they're helping me. I'm amazed at how dumb they are.
So, Ashley, what do you think? Do you think this is helping her? Do you think this is actually emboldening people who believe in QAnon?
VANDERBILT: Yeah. If she stays -- this is my opinion. She shouldn't have a job. Anyone that thinks anything that there is any truth of anything involved with Q, they have no place in government.
And my honest opinion, though, is I don't feel like it would do anyone any help for the government to remove her, you know what I mean? Like for it not to be her decision, because then again, it's just fueling fire amongst QAnon.
[19:40:05]
Here we are, more people -- you know what I mean?
BURNETT: I do understand what you mean.
Ashley, before we go, can I just ask you what was it that made you say, this is, this is all crazy and it's wrong? What made you see that?
VANDERBILT: After the inauguration and there wasn't a blackout and there wasn't arrests, I went back, obviously I said I was wrong, but I went back into the group to watch a Facebook live to see like, okay, what do we do now because it didn't happen.
And they started talking about March 4, and it didn't make sense. I was like I don't know that a president can get inaugurated or sworn in and then not be the president any more. I said, something's not right. I mean, that was the aha moment.
BURNETT: Well, all right. Well, I appreciate your talking to me and I hope -- I know you're really, you know, it's not easy to do this to come out and talk about it and try to help others. So I do appreciate your taking that time. I know it's valuable for everyone watching, too.
So, thanks so much, Ashley.
VANDERBILT: Thank you.
BURNETT: All right. And next why pushing Trump's lies about a rigged election could be paying off for some Republicans.
Plus, frustration boils over on the Senate floor after Senator Rand Paul, a doctor, again, refuses to wear a mask.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D-OH): I would like to ask Senator Paul in front of everybody to start wearing a mask from the Senate floor, like the entire staff does all the time.
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[19:45:14]
BURNETT: Breaking news, the House just voting to remove Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from her two committee assignments. The move backed by only 11 Republicans comes after she backed conspiracy theories and violence against elected officials.
On the Senate side, a different story, though. Nearly a month after Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley challenged President Biden's election victory, a challenge that was at the heart of the deadly Capitol Hill riot, there has still been no accountability for their actions, for example, both senators have kept their key committee assignments.
Remember, Hawley was the first senator to announce he'd challenge the election results. He was the senator there with that famous fist pumped as the pro-Trumpers entered the capitol on the day of the riot. That's what he did to them.
And as the mob was already descending on the capitol, Cruz was the first senator to arrive in the chamber to challenge Arizona's results. And then listen to the insurrectionists actually mention both senators by name after they stormed the capitol.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a good one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hawley, Cruz. I think Cruz would want us to do this.
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BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, former Republican from Missouri, John Danforth. He was a big and early supporter of Senator Hawley. Now he says, supporting him was the worst decision I've ever made.
Senator, I really appreciate your time. You know, you obviously were his mentor and supported him. You have not held back in your criticism of his actions now. One of your hometown papers, "The Kansas City Star" says in an editorial that Hawley has, quote, blood on his hands. But his campaign says he just had his best fund-raising month ever, raising nearly a million dollars.
What do you make of this?
JOHN DANFORTH (R), FORMER SENATOR FROM MISSOURI: Well, I think so much energy in the Republican Party now is from what you can call the Trump lander, the populist wing of the party. And so far, it's been very successful.
But there's been almost no pushback from what I would call traditional Republicans. And that's unfortunate. So I think it's very important for the rest of us to speak out because what we're seeing now is really not the Republican Party. It's very important for America to have a viable conservative party, traditionally that is -- and a responsible party. Traditionally, that's been the Republican Party and it's just not that way any more.
The whole strategy of dividing America, of appealing to grievances, of making people angry, we are the party of Lincoln historically. We're the party of trying to keep the union together and keep the country together. So this strategy of dividing us and then attacking the constitutional system, the structure, attack the legitimacy of an election and attacking the legitimacy of a presidency is the opposite of conservative. It's really quite radical. So this has been a deviation from the Republican Party and it's time for us to reclaim what the party really is.
BURNETT: So, Senator Hawley is, though, actually denied that his efforts to challenge the results had any impact on the insurrection itself. He says it's a lie. He uses it over and over again.
Senator, here is Senator Hawley.
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SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): It is a lie that I was trying to overturn an election or that Ted Cruz was trying to overturn an election. It is a lie that I incited violence.
And what the liberals have said is because you did that, you effectively incited violence, that's a lie. They know it's a lie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: I mean, to be clear, Senator Danforth, Senator Hawley did vote to overturn the election. That it's true, it is not a lie.
DANFORTH: Well, I don't think his intention was overturning the election because that was impossible to do. It was politically impossible to do and is mathematically impossible to do.
But what he did was create an event, because traditionally the certification of the Electoral College votes is just a formality, and he turned it into something other than a formality. He announced that this was going to be a big deal, that he was going to object. And then in multiple statements he said that the whole presidency, the identity of the next president was going to be determined on January the 6th.
So he so he promoted this event as decisive for the presidency. And then of course in that famous picture where he appeared in front of the capitol egging on the participants he was somebody who really did incite those who were present.
[19:50:00]
So, no, I think he was a critical player in all of this. But for Josh Hawley, this would not have happened.
BURNETT: That's a very significant statement.
Senator Danforth, I appreciate your time, thank you so much.
DANFORTH: Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, the breaking news. Johnson & Johnson trying to get their single-dose vaccine with an emergency approval. Is it really a game changer?
Plus, a voting technology company just hit Rudy Giuliani and some of Fox News's biggest stars with a $2.7 billion lawsuit for lies about the election. How strong is their case?
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BURNETT: Breaking news: Johnson & Johnson asking the FDA for emergency approval of its single-shot coronavirus vaccine. That is the first single shot that would be available to the public.
OUTFRONT now, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, our medical analyst, who also advised the White House medical team under President George W. Bush.
And Dr. Reiner, obviously, there's all kinds of questions here with efficacy and single, double shot, all of this. But the bottom line is how big of a difference would this make when Dr. Fauci says guess what, the virus is moving faster than the vaccine? Does this change that?
DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Oh, yeah. This is big news.
[19:55:00]
Look, this could not come at a better time. Cases are dropping rapidly in the United States. The seven-day moving average for new cases is down 54 percent since its peak in January. Now is the time to put the fire out. And we just don't have enough vaccine to get out in sufficient numbers to the public.
Another vaccine going into our pharmacies and our vaccination centers is going to help a lot. This is a very effective vaccine. And when you look at just from the 50,000-foot level, this vaccine is 100 percent effective at preventing death and hospitalization, the same as the Moderna and the Pfizer vaccines. And it only requires one shot.
This is the perfect vaccine for mass vaccination events where you don't -- you really want to try to get people back for a second shot.
BURNETT: Right. So, which is obviously very significant. You know, it comes as obviously Dr. Fauci has said, the virus is now outpacing the vaccines. He's very worried about that.
People are supposed to be wearing masks. People are supposed to be setting examples for that, like people in the Senate.
Senator Rand Paul, he's a doctor. Didn't wear a mask earlier on the Senate floor, which provoked a strong reaction from Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown. Let me show it to you.
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BROWN: I would like to ask Senator Paul in front of everybody to start wearing a mask on the Senate floor like the entire staff does all the time. I wish Senator Paul would show the respect to his colleagues to wear a mask when he's on the Senate floor walking around and speaking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Senator Paul, of course, you know, had COVID earlier this year. But he's the only one that doesn't wear the mask. What's your reaction to that?
REINER: What a display of arrogant ignorance. Look, if Senator Paul thinks he can't get the virus again, he's wrong. He was infected in March.
In fact, when he was infected, as he was waiting for his results, he took a swim in the Senate swimming pool. How selfish. How rude to his colleagues.
If the senator doesn't think he can be infected again with a variant, he's wrong. If he doesn't think he can give it to his colleagues, he's wrong. If he thinks he's making some sort of heroic libertarian stand, he's wrong and just out and out selfish.
He needs to do what we all do in the health care setting, which is wear a mask to protect yourself, protect your colleagues, and set an example. Lead. Be a leader. He's not being a leader.
BURNETT: Dr. Reiner, thank you very much.
REINER: All right.
BURNETT: And now news of a blockbuster $2.7 billion lawsuit filed against Rudy Giuliani, pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, and three Fox News hosts. It's filed by voting technology company Smartmatic, which was the target of baseless election fraud allegations like these.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S PERSONAL ATTORNEY: The chairman of Smartmatic is very, very close to none other than Mr. Soros. So how do you think they're going to cheat? They're going to cheat Democratic. They're going to cheat left wing. They're going to cheat radical.
SIDNEY POWELL, PRO-TRUMP ATTORNEY: We know that $400 million of money came into Smartmatic from China only a few weeks before the election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, Laura Coates, CNN senior legal analyst.
Laura, this is a huge lawsuit, $2.7 billion. Of course, they said there was factually inaccurate. It was completely made up out of whole cloth at the time and we know it to be untrue.
But do you think a lawsuit like this has real merit?
LAURA COATES, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: It does. It's the definition of defamation, when you're trying to make statements that are knowingly false and you make them with malice and then you actually tarnish reputations. And it has a financial consequence. That's why people have defamation lawsuits in the first place, because you have to be able to quantify the harm.
And when you know the statements are the same, that you would not have been able to make in a court of law, just because you opted to make them in a court of public opinion does not remove the accountability that comes. Another instance where your words matter and speech has its bounds.
BURNETT: Which is -- yeah, it's a pretty stunning thing to say when you think about just the size of this. And by the way, when it comes to Giuliani, he's also being sued by Dominion Voting Systems for $1.3 billion. He was pushing all sorts of lies about election fraud with that. You know, we heard the president of the United States do that with the Secretary of State of Georgia, right? All of this, again, was untrue at the time, proven to be untrue.
How serious is Giuliani's legal liability in all of this?
COATES: Particularly serious. I mean, as many -- two lawsuits in as many weeks now. Of course quantifying damage is a very difficult thing, whether you're actually able to get the billions of dollars is anyone's guess. It's unlikely to get that amount of money. But it sets a tone here and leads to people being able to say, hey, there is some basis and factual predicate. If it's the same that underlies more than one case, there might even be more. I just don't know.
But Giuliani is particularly vulnerable. He's got quite an Achilles heel, and it's all litigation.
BURNETT: Wow. Incredible to think about it.
All right. Laura, thank you very much.
Adding up to billions of dollars and seeing that lies do have consequences.
Well, thanks so much to all of you for joining us. You can always go to CNN Go to see anything you want from the show.
And meantime, it's time for "AC360" with Anderson.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Good evening. Thanks for joining us.
We begin with the House vote tonight to sanction Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene for her bigoted and delusional views.
