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House To Deliver Article Of Impeachment Against Trump To Senate; Interview With Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA); U.S. Detects First Case Of Worrisome New COVID Variant; New Arrests In Capitol Attack, Nearly 140 People Charged. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired January 25, 2021 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:10]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. We're following breaking news that's unfolding this hour.
The House of Representatives is about to make history, as members handpicked by the speaker, Nancy Pelosi, deliver an article of impeachment against the former President Donald Trump to the U.S. Senate. It will be the first time a U.S. president has ever faced a second impeachment trial in the Senate.
Mr. Trump is charged with inciting the deadly January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol as Congress was trying to certify the results of the presidential election.
Let's begin our coverage this hour with CNN's Ryan Nobles joining us from Capitol Hill.
Ryan, we're on the verge of a truly historic moment here in Washington. Set the scene for us. Tell us where what we're about to see.
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Wolf, a president never facing impeachment for the second time. And that's exactly what Donald Trump, the now former president, is facing here tonight.
And that process begins as leaders from the House of Representatives will take over the articles of impeachment from the House chamber over to the Senate chamber, essentially starting the clock on President Trump's impeachment trial, which is set to begin in the next two weeks.
The senators will be sworn in to their positions as jurors in this trial. And the presiding judge will be Senator Patrick Leahy, the Democrat of Vermont, will also be sworn in. Now, this is a process, of course, Wolf, that is still very controversial.
Even though the impeachment didn't make it through the Democratic- controlled House of Representatives, there are a number of Republicans that are raising red flags about it at this stage, saying that it is unconstitutional to put a former president on trial after he had been impeached while still in office.
Well, the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, is not buying that argument. He is insistent that this trial must go forward. And he said that he and his Democratic colleagues will do everything they can to hold President Trump accountable for his actions on January 6.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): The theory that the Senate can try former officials would amount to a constitutional get-out-of-jail-free card for any president who commits an impeachable offense.
There seems to be some hope that Republicans could oppose the former president's impeachment on process grounds, rather than grappling with his actual awful conduct. Let me be very clear. This is not going to fly. The trial is going to happen. It is certainly and clearly constitutional.
And if the former president is convicted, there will be a vote to disqualify him from future office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBLES: And while there may be some effort by Republicans to try and stop this trial before it even starts, those are unlikely to have any kind of success.
It's very clear that this trial will take place. The big question, though, is whether or not there is any real chance that the former president will be convicted, even though there are a few Republicans that have suggested they'd be open to casting a vote to convict the former president, they would need 17 Republicans to cross party lines and vote to convict President Trump.
At this point, Wolf, it just does not seem that the votes are there. However, this trial still needs to take place. The arguments need to be heard before a final decision will take place. Right now. We're expecting the trial to begin here in the Senate chamber on February 9 -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Ryan, thank you very much, Ryan Nobles up on Capitol Hill.
Let's get some insight from our chief White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins, our CNN legal analyst Carrie Cordero, CNN special correspondent Jamie Gangel and CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers. He's the author of the book "My Vanishing Country."
Jamie, the delivery of this one article of impeachment, in addition to being historic, this is a key step toward the trial. I mean, this is history.
JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. But there's still a lot we don't know, Wolf. We don't know, will they
be calling witnesses? We don't know how long the trial will go on. We don't know if Donald Trump is going to want to show up for any of this.
But I think there's one thing we do know, and that is that this is really a reckoning for the Republican Party. As Ryan just said, 17 votes, that's a heavy lift. But these senators were witnesses. They were victims to what happened on January 6. The Senate chamber, the Capitol, was the scene of the crime.
I think the real question here is maybe not, will we get to 17 votes, but how many votes will there be from Republicans, or how hard are they going to be looking for an excuse, a bigger desk to hide under, Wolf?
BLITZER: That's a good question. That's a good point.
Carrie., the trial will take place, of course, while Mr. Trump is no longer in office. He's now a private citizen, a former president of the United States.
[18:05:05]
And there have been some questions about whether the whole trial of a former president is constitutional. Can you set the record straight for us?
CARRIE CORDERO, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, there is a debate amongst constitutional lawyers and academics.
I think the vast majority of people who have -- legal scholars who have studied this issue believe that it is absolutely appropriate and it is absolutely constitutional for the trial to take place in the Senate even though the president is no longer in office.
When we think about it, the opposite argument really would be nonsensical, because it would be allowing a circumstance where a president could resign in the last days of office, and therefore avoid any constitutional accountability for events that could take place.
There also is a provision in the Constitution that provides for disqualification, meaning the Senate, if they vote to convict, will then be able to vote that would bar the president from ever serving a future office.
And if one accepts the argument that the trial can't even take place, then it precludes the Constitution from allowing that disqualification process to go through.
BLITZER: Bakari, we're seeing some splintering within the Republican Party.
I want you and our viewers to listen to two very different viewpoints from Republican senators. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R), UTAH: The preponderance of the legal opinion is that an impeachment trial after someone's left office is constitutional. I believe that's the case. I will, of course, hear what the lawyers have to say for each side. But I think it's pretty clear that the effort is constitutional.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): I think the trial is stupid. I think it's counterproductive. We already have a flaming fire in this country, and it's like taking a bunch of gasoline and pouring it on top of the fire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: So, Bakari, what does that tell you about where the Republican Party, at least the Republican senators, are right now going down on whether or not to actually vote to convict the former president?
BAKARI SELLERS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think, initially, it's most people don't follow the moral compass of Marco Rubio.
But I think that what you're starting to see is these Republicans, some, Mitt Romney and others, are looking for an opportunity to purge themselves of Trumpism. And this is an opportunity to do so. And I think Mitt Romney, like some others, share what many of us believe, if we just level-set for a moment, that if inciting an insurrection is not cause for impeachment, then what is?
Like, what is the -- what is the bar? If you can literally incite an insurrection that leads to anti-Semitic rhetoric being shouted in the United States Capitol, Confederate Flags being waved in the United States Capitol, a United States Capitol Police officer dying, many others dying as well, and members of the United States House and Senate being evacuated while a Capitol is breached and stormed, if you incite that, but still are not held to account, then what is the standard?
So, I think from a very legal perspective, there are a lot of Republicans that are saying that this is our duty, we must do it. From a political perspective, a lot of them are ready to get rid of the albatross that is Donald Trump politically. And this is a way to do that.
And then there are others like Marco Rubio who are deathly afraid of what Trumpism is, who have an election coming up and who know that the Republican base still belongs to Donald Trump right now. And that's the splintering that you're seeing in the Republican Party.
BLITZER: Kaitlan, you're our chief White House correspondent. How does the Biden White House right now, based on all your reporting, feel about this looming Senate trial scheduled to start the week of February 8, February 9?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I think, publicly, they're trying to stay as far away from it as possible, saying that they don't have an opinion the timing.
But, of course, we heard from President Biden himself last week. He said he did, because you do see this concern, even in his own answers, about whether or not this is going to imperil his agenda early on in his first days in the White House.
And that's why he said last week he favored a delay, so they could start addressing things like getting Cabinet nominees confirm, talking about legislation. And so, while we are seeing more of his nominees get confirmed, of course, it is looking like that legislation is not likely to happen, the coronavirus legislation, that is, not likely to happen before that trial starts, because there's only going to be one week where the House and the Senate are both in session.
And so I think that's a real concern for them and that it's going to overshadow these early steps that they are trying to take. And they're going to have this looming presence of Donald Trump hanging over the White House, this impeachment trial hanging over the White House, as they are trying to get a handle on this pandemic that they have inherited from President Trump.
BLITZER: Jamie, the former president is discussing, we are told, actually launching some sort of new political party, depending in part on how many Republicans vote to convict him in the Senate.
[18:10:00]
How much could that threat sway Republican votes?
GANGEL: I think it is a huge problem for Republicans.
What we're seeing is that many Republicans are still scared of Donald Trump, end of story. And that threat is enough to keep them looking for excuses. I think one of the questions that the Republican Party is reckoning with is, who are Republicans today?
There was a headline in Arizona when -- this week that said, the Republican Party doesn't want Republicans anymore. You may remember, in 2016, Republicans were lining up to say about Donald Trump that he was going to destroy the Republican Party.
I think what we're seeing with this trial right now, what we're seeing with Rob Portman deciding not to run again for the Senate in Ohio is a real question about whether they feel there's enough of the party left that they can stand up to the threat of Donald Trump, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Jamie, Carrie, and Bakari, guys, thank you very much.
I want our chief White House correspondent, Kaitlan, to stay with us right now, Kaitlan, because we're getting some new breaking news coming out of the White House.
Just a short while ago, President Biden rolled out some new executive orders and announced he's raising the bar for his COVID vaccination goal. Give us an update. COLLINS: Yes, Wolf, these executive orders who really marked his first
few days in office. They are continuing with that. We're likely to see even more coming this week.
But something we also heard from President Biden in his first session where he was taking questions from reporters in a formal session since taking office was about that number of vaccinations that he wants to see, because, remember, on the campaign trail, he said 100 million shots in 100 days, his first 100 days in office.
But given the fact that we were already at one million vaccines going into arms per day, the question was whether that was too modest, and experts said it was. So we heard from Biden today saying he was going to up it by half-a-million shots.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS (voice-over): President Joe Biden now predicting every American who wants a vaccine can get one by this spring.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we will be able to do that this spring. And -- but it's going to be a logistical challenge that exceeds anything we have ever tried.
COLLINS: That comes after his health officials had declined to make a prediction.
XAVIER BECERRA, U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY NOMINEE: And once we have that information, I guarantee you we will share it.
COLLINS: In his first press conference since taking office, Biden also raised his goal of one million COVID-19 vaccinations per day, after experts said that threshold was reached last week.
BIDEN: I think, with the grace of God and the goodwill of the neighbor and the creek not rising, as the old saying goes, I think we may be able to get that to 150,000 -- 1.5 million a day, rather than one million a day.
COLLINS: Biden estimated it could take weeks to negotiate another coronavirus relief bill amid bipartisan pushback on Capitol Hill to his proposal, but said he's willing to negotiate.
BIDEN: No one wants to give up on their position until there's no other alternative.
COLLINS: While the White House hammers out details with Congress, Biden's first days in office had been filled with efforts to undo President Trump's actions. After Trump tried to terminate COVID-19 travel restrictions on his way out the door, today, Biden reinstated them on non-U.S. citizens who have been in Brazil, Ireland, the U.K. and much of Europe, while also extending them to South Africa due to the spread of a coronavirus variant strain.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID DIRECTOR: I believe the travel ban will be important, in addition to having a situation where anybody coming into the country now is going to required to have a negative test before they even get on the plane.
COLLINS: In the Oval Office today, with his new defense secretary by his side, Biden also reversed Trump's ban on transgender troops serving in the military.
BIDEN: And what I'm doing is enabling all qualified Americans to serve their country in uniform.
COLLINS: Trump had announced the ban by tweet, effectively ending an Obama administration effort that allowed transgender service members to serve openly.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think I'm doing a lot of people a favor by coming out and just saying it.
As you know, it's been a very complicated issue for the military. It's been a very confusing issue for the military.
COLLINS: Meanwhile, the Justice Department watchdog announced today that he will investigate whether any current or former officials tried to improperly use the department to -- quote -- "alter the outcome of the 2020 presidential election."
That comes after "The New York Times" first reported that a little known Justice Department official, Jeffrey Clark, secretly plotted with President Trump about ousting the acting attorney general and using the department to pressure Georgia lawmakers to overturn the state's results.
While it was another stunning sign of how far Trump tried to go to change the election, he never followed through, fearing mass resignations.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[18:15:02]
COLLINS: Now, Wolf, one thing that President Trump's looming impeachment trial has concerned the White House about is those Cabinet confirmations for President Biden.
Of course, one of them is about to be confirmed. It's under way right now in the Senate. And that's for Janet Yellen to become the first female Treasury secretary that the U.S. has ever seen. That comes after Senator Mitch McConnell said earlier he would be voting yes to confirm her. She's gotten a lot of bipartisan support.
And it looks like she can be confirmed any minute now.
BLITZER: We will watch that unfold, history unfolding.
Kaitlan, thank you very, very much.
Just ahead, we're going to have more on former President Trump's looming impeachment trial in the Senate. The incoming chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Mark Warner, there you see him. He's standing by live. We have lots to discuss.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Breaking news we're following.
We're closing in this hour on an unprecedented moment in American history. The House of Representatives is about to formally transfer an article of impeachment against former President Trump, transfer that article to the U.S. Senate. This will be the first time a U.S. president has ever faced a second impeachment trial.
Let's discuss with the incoming chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Mark Warner.
Senator, thank you so much for joining us.
We're about to watch this House -- the House impeachment managers walk from the House to the Senate to deliver this article of impeachment. Some of your Republican colleagues, though, are arguing it's not even constitutional can to convict a former president, who's now a private citizen.
What does that say about the chances of conviction? As you know, you need a two-thirds majority. You need 67 senators out of 100 to convict. You need 17 Republicans, assuming all 50 Democrats vote to convict?
[18:20:05]
SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA): Well, Wolf, I think, as Mitt Romney said, if the act of inciting an insurrection isn't an impeachable event, he wasn't sure what was.
And then we have heard since that incident, which all of us lived through -- I was on the floor of the Senate that day when those thugs came in. I saw those images flash all around the world, which was, frankly, maybe Donald Trump's parting gift to Vladimir Putin. Those images probably did more damage to our country than anything Russia is going to get out of the SolarWinds hack and gives, frankly, assistance to all our adversaries.
And then we have got this new report that just came out about Trump potentially dealing with mid-level folks at DOJ again to try to unconstitutionally overthrow the results of the election.
So, I'm not sure I'm very good at predicting. But how many more of these kind of efforts will be uncovered between now and February 9?
BLITZER: Well, you mentioned this Justice Department inspector general, the watchdog at the Department of Justice, launching a formal investigation, in light of this reporting that former President Trump was actually plotting with a relatively -- relatively obscure Department of Justice officials to try to overturn the official results of the 2020 election.
I don't suspect we're going to get the inspector general's report before the Senate trial. But how do you expect that alone to influence the trial?
WARNER: Well, again, if anyone is trying to approach this in a fair way -- and, again, I'm going to give Mr. Trump's lawyers a chance to make any kind of countercase.
But I lived through what happened on January 6. I saw the damage that was done to our country abroad by those insurrectionists in the halls of Congress. It is very plausible to me that Donald Trump had interfered or tried to get mid-level Department of Justice officials to overthrow the election.
Anyone that is trying to approach this with any kind of open- mindedness, it seems like the evidence keeps mounting. And I really would question whether any of my Republican colleagues would not at least believe that Trump did try to get a mid-level, obscure DOJ guy to try to come up with some wackamamie theory of trying to overthrow the election.
I mean, that was just the way that guy operated. So, how many more of these stories will break before the 9th? I don't know. But I do think -- I believe in unity, but I also believe there has to be some accountability before we move -- that unity.
BLITZER: The formal trial is supposed to begin in about two weeks, the week of February 8.
On the question of witnesses, one of your Republican colleagues, Senator James Lankford, is accusing Democrats of what he's calling obvious hypocrisy, pointing out, this time last year, Democrats were screaming for witnesses in the first impeachment trial against Trump.
How do you respond to that?
WARNER: Well, Wolf, I'm not sure whether there's been any decision made on witnesses. I don't think I have heard from Trump's defense counsel what witnesses they'd want to bring.
BLITZER: Are you open to allowing witnesses?
WARNER: So, let's -- listen, I was strongly in favor of bringing witnesses during the first impeachment trial.
I think John Bolton, who had things to say in his book, should have said them on the floor of the Senate to help make that case. So I'm very much -- I can't have one position then and another position now. I'm open to that.
But I -- but in the case of what happened in terms of the insurrection, we will be jurors, but we were also, all of us, fact witnesses of what happened that day. I'm not sure I need a further explanation that individuals incited to go up by Donald Trump to take on the Capitol, to frankly, seek out members of Congress and seek out Vice President Pence. I saw it firsthand.
But, again, let's see who Trump's lawyers want to bring forward.
BLITZER: As we're speaking, we're just getting the final roll call in the U.S. Senate on the confirmation of Janet Yellen to become the secretary of the Treasury. She will be the first woman to leave the Department of the Treasury.
The final vote, Senator -- I know you will be interested -- 84 in favor of confirmation, 15 opposed, a very lopsided vote. This is historic, the first woman to lead the Treasury Department. What do you think?
WARNER: Well, listen, I have enormous respect for Janet Yellen.
And I think getting 84 votes is a testament to the experience, to the respect. She was obviously chairman of the Federal Reserve. I think she's going to be a great secretary. And I think she can help make the case that this economy, while we have got a record stock market, if you look below that stock market, there are tens of millions of Americans who are really on the economic precipice.
[18:25:03]
There are thousands of businesses, particularly restaurants, who are on the verge of going out of business. I think we have seen economists from left to right -- and I think Janet will be one of those voices, Secretary Yellen will be one of those voices, saying, we need to not only get the virus under control with vaccine distribution, but we also, this economy needs additional stimulus.
And I think that will help President Biden in terms of making his case on his own initiative.
BLITZER: She was confirmed at 84-15.
And it follows Lloyd Austin, the first African-American to lead the Pentagon, secretary of defense. He was confirmed 93-2. Avril Haines will be the director of national intelligence, the first woman to lead the U.S. intelligence community. She was confirmed at 84-10, very lopsided votes in the Senate.
Senator Warner, what does that say to you that you and your Republican colleagues, at least most of you and your Republican colleagues, agree on these three initial confirmations?
WARNER: Well, they were all historic choices. And they were all breakthrough choices. But they were all extraordinarily qualified choices.
And I do think there is a little bit of reservoir of goodwill that still exists in many ways, I think, because there were a bipartisan group of us who came together that fashioned that $900 billion package that got signed into law in late December.
That bill actually ended up getting 92 votes. So, we have -- for all of the noise, when the Senate has actually been voting recently, we have found a lot more common ground. And I genuinely hope that continues.
BLITZER: We shall see.
The secretary of state nomination, Tony Blinken, that's about to come up. We will see whether he gets confirmed. I assume he will be confirmed. We will see how lopsided that vote is.
WARNER: I think he will.
BLITZER: Senator Warner, thank you so much for joining us. Good luck.
WARNER: Thanks so much, Wolf. Be well.
BLITZER: And stay safe out there.
Just ahead, there's more breaking news. A new worrisome, very worrisome new variants of the coronavirus has just been detected right here in the United States.
And we will also have the latest on the investigation into the U.S. Capitol riot. There are new leads and new arrests.
We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:30:00]
BLITZER: We have breaking news we are following, were standing by for a truly historic moment here in the nation's Capitol. House impeachment managers are minutes away from formally transferring the article of impeachment against former President Donald Trump to the U.S. Senate. Stay with us. We are going to be tracking this story throughout the evening.
Also breaking, a very troublesome new coronavirus variant has just been detected here in the United States. CNN's Erica Hill has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPODENT (voice over): The virus variant first discovered in the U.K. is not just only more transmissible. Scientists now say it may also be more deadly.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: They became convinced that it is, in fact, a bit more virulent, namely making it more difficult when you get to the point of serious disease and even death. So I believe their data.
HILL: As the variant spreads here in the U.S., the push is on to boost the pace of vaccinations. Moderna expects its vaccine will, to some degree, protect against the variant. There is just one problem. DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: I can't tell you how much vaccine we have. And if I can't tell it to you, then I can't tell it to the governors and I can't tell it to the state health officials.
HILL: That's the new CDC director, and that problem is forcing scheduled appointments to be put on hold.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New York City does not have enough doses.
HILL: Plans for mass vaccination sites, New York's Citi Field was supposed to open today, paused. The Biden administration, once again, shifting the message.
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think we may be able to get that to 150 -- 1.5 million a day rather than 1 million a day.
HILL: Just over half of the 41 million doses distributed nationwide are now in arms. 2,000 shots administered at this site Sunday in Seattle. Amazon helping out with logistics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are ready.
HILL: Average new cases down in nearly every state over the past week. Not a single red state on this now familiar map.
DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: There is now clear evidence that the peak has passed in the United States and cases are dropping rapidly.
HILL: COVID hospitalizations declining. California lifting regional stay-at-home orders for 90 percent of the state as ICU availability increases. Massachusetts ending its curfew today but not Ohio.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately, it's going to have to stay.
HILL: Deaths still far too high. The average reported on a daily basis still around 3,000. The Biden administration committing to regular coronavirus briefings.
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: These will be science-led briefings featuring our public health officials.
HILL: As members of the Trump administration's coronavirus task force pull back the curtain.
DR. DEBORAH BIRX, FORMER COORDINATOR, TRUMP WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE: I saw the president presenting graphs that I never made, so I know that someone or someone out there or someone inside was creating a parallel set of data and graphics that were shown to the president.
HILL: Dr. Fauci telling The New York Times, Trump surrounded himself with people saying things that didn't make scientific sense but said he stayed because if I did walk away, the skunk at the picnic would no longer be at the picnic.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL (on camera): And, Wolf, I do want to update you, as you mentioned just before running that piece, we have now learned that this variant of the virus first identified in Brazil has now been identified here in the U.S.
[18:35:01]
We are learning it was in Minnesota. Health officials there say the patient had recently traveled to Brazil, this is someone who, we're told, is a resident of the Twin Cities' metro area.
Officials saying this variant has also been shown to be more transmissible, to transmit more easily, as we were talking about with the variant first identified in the U.K. But they say, at this point, there is no evidence to show that this Brazil variant is causing a more severe disease. Wolf?
BLITZER: And we're just getting this in from the Pentagon correspondents, Erica, Oren Liebermann and Barbara Starr, reporting that the Pentagon is now weighing options to deploy thousands of U.S. military troops to help in the vaccination process all around the country. The other day, they announced that FEMA is being activated as well. This is very, very significant, getting the military personnel out there and helping in the vaccination.
Erica, thanks very much for that report.
Meanwhile, we are also learning about new arrests, arrests in the investigation of the deadly Capitol riots. CNN's Brian Todd is working this story for us. Brian, what's the latest? What are you hearing?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the arrests keep piling up in this investigation. Tonight, we have new information on several of them, including two, which may have caused significant friction within two families.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice over): Amid the chaos and violence on January 6th, evidence was also piling up, like this cell phone video capturing a punch to the head of a law enforcement officer. The man who threw that punch, prosecutors say, is Scott Fairlamb, the brother of a U.S. Secret Service agent who once guarded Michelle Obama.
PETER LICATA, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: We can't account for everyone that's in our circle on their political beliefs or what their activities are.
TODD: Scott Fairlamb faces five charges in connection to the riot, including assaulting a federal officer. His attorney says, Fairlamb's brother, the Secret Service agent, was not affair of Scott's the alleged activities that day. Neither the brother nor the Secret Service have responded to CNN's request for comment.
Another family seemingly tortured by the events of January 6th, the family of Guy Reffitt, a Texas man charged with unlawful entry and obstruction of justice. According to FBI documents, Reffitt threatened his own son and daughter if they turn him in. Quote, if you turn me in, you ire a traitor and you know what happens to traitors. Traitors get shot.
Despite the alleged threat, Reffitt's son, Jackson, who says his father gravitated more toward far-right wing groups in recent years, tipped law enforcement off about his father.
JACKSON REFFITT, FATHER ARRESTED AFTER CAPITOL HILL RIOTS: I was worried. I didn't think he would do anything bad. Him saying anything even remotely threatening to me and my sister and my family and government officials, it was just too much.
TODD: Tonight, around 140 people have been charged in connection with the assault on the Capitol, including Tommy Allen, who prosecutors say stole papers and tried to steal an American flag from the Senate chambers, and Garrett Miller, who allegedly tweeted a call to assassinate Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Miller's lawyer tells CNN he regrets what he did but that his comments were, quote, misguided political hyperbole.
For some suspects, prosecutors have moved to more serious potential charges, possibly including conspiracy or sedition, accusing members of the right-wing militia group, the Oath Keepers, and others of plotting the assault in advance. Experts say proving conspiracy will be tougher than getting convictions on other charges.
HARRY LITMAN, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Conspiracy involves an important extra element of proof and you have to get into the state of mind of the actors but the extra element is an agreement to do something unlawful which the law rightly regards as something more dangerous.
TODD: Two other cases meanwhile seemingly have not been solved. Law enforcement has so far identified no suspects in the case of two pipe bombs left near the Capitol that day and no suspects in the death of Capitol Hill Police Officer Brian Sicknick. Experts say it's possible law enforcement has people in mind but doesn't want to publicly I.D. them.
LICATA: They don't want to tip that individual off. And at the federal side of things, we build a case from the ground up. It is build a case first then arrest.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (on camera): Former FBI Special Agent Peter Licata says he believes it's just a matter of time before suspects in both those cases are identified but he acknowledges there is an enormous amount of pressure on law enforcement tonight to solve those two cases. Wolf?
BLITZER: All right. Brian, thanks for the update, Brian Todd reporting.
Just ahead, we are about to watch history in the making here in Washington, D.C. as the U.S. Senate prepares to receive an article of impeachment against the former president of the United States, Donald Trump, for an unprecedented second time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:40:00]
BLITZER: Breaking news we are following, truly historic developments unfolding right now in the nation's Capitol. In just a few moments, the House impeachment managers will formally deliver the article of impeachment against former President Trump to the U.S. Senate. We're going to, of course, bring that to you live.
But let's go back to our Chief White House Correspondent, Kaitlan Collins, as well as Norm Eisen, he served as impeachment counsel for the House Democrats during the first Trump impeachment, he is now a CNN Legal Analyst.
So, Norm, what are you watching for as these House impeachment managers get ready to walk over, deliver this one article of impeachment to the Senate?
[18:45:08]
The former president, Donald Trump, he's no longer in office, he is a private citizen. So, what message are the Democrats sending with this historic impeachment trial that will formally begin the week of February 8th?
NORMAN EISEN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Wolf, thanks for having me back.
The House managers are sending the most fundamental message under the American Constitution and U.S. law, Wolf, that no person is above the law. Donald Trump, as we'll hear when Jamie Raskin, one of the great constitutional scholars ever to serve in the House of Representatives reads that article, will hear that Donald Trump clearly incited an insurrection, that there's no doubt about the factual basis or the legal basis, Wolf.
This was the nightmare of the framers of the Constitution, that a president would use a mob to disrupt the electoral process, corruptly to benefit himself. And, finally, will there -- since there's no question about the facts, no real question about the law, we'll be looking for the thing this trial will be about, courage. Will 17 Republican senators have the courage to do the right thing and convict and disqualify Donald Trump?
BLITZER: As you need a two thirds majority in the Senate, to convict 67 senators or 50 Democrats, you need 17 Republicans.
You know, Kaitlan, you were in the briefing earlier today. We saw you ask questions. The Biden administration, clearly, based on everything we're seeing doesn't want to get directly involved or weigh in on this trial. They want to leave it up to the Senate, right?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. And I think they're torn between these two spots, where, of course, Democrats do want to see President Trump held accountable. We've heard that time and time again from all those lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
But the other concern is that it's overshadowing Joe Biden's first few days in office and could potentially imperil his agenda, given that he wants to get that coronavirus legislation that he's proposed passed, once it gets through negotiations, which, of course, there's been some pushback on that.
But there's also a concern about getting his nominees confirmed because, of course, they now have agreed to this delay after President Biden pushed for it and when that trial is actually going to start. But it's still something that's looming because the longer they push it, the more it's still out there as they are trying to move on and turn the page from his predecessor to move on with this.
So I think it is something that's looming over there. You know, no other president has had to deal with this. A former president facing an impeachment trial in their first few days in office.
So, it's kind of uncharted territory and they are trying to make the way through it. But I think you are seeing in that sense of hesitancy from White House officials to weigh in on it or generate any headlines around it. Though, of course, we did see President Biden weigh in last week and say he actually agreed with Republicans on when that trial should start, not with Democrats who, of course, kick starting it today potentially, with delivering this impeachment article over to the Senate.
BLITZER: You know, Norm, as you know, the actual trial in the Senate -- on the Senate floor with 100 senators as jurors, that won't begin until at least week of February 8th. We have yet to hear if there will be witnesses or how long the trial could last.
You served as the Democratic impeachment counsel during the first Trump impeachment trial. What do you think the strategy -- what do you think the strategy, the discussions look like right now?
EISEN: Well, Wolf, the -- strategy is going to be guided by this very adept team of House managers and their able counsel and they're focused right now, number one, on doing the right thing and this is the right thing, irrespective of the cost. But number two, an impeachment is a trial but it's also a political event. And so, they're thinking about how can we bring those 17 Republican senators we need, how can we persuade them?
And I think you saw the last time, they brought the events of the Ukraine impeachment to life. Expect another multimedia extravaganza. And trials are live events so maybe there will be developments, even witnesses that can bring those Republicans along.
BLITZER: Very quickly, Kaitlan, do you think the Biden White House is worried about this trial distracting from the new president's agenda?
COLLINS: I think they're not saying that publicly, but that is what we're hearing privately, because, of course, the president -- the former president has a way of kind of overshadowing a lot of things, and they are -- that is a concern that it could happen here. We don't know if this means that President Trump will come back to Washington for this trial. There are a lot of unknowns still surrounding it.
And while we cannot hear from President Trump on his favorite platform of Twitter given he was banned from it permanently before he left office, we should tell our viewers that they have established an office of the former president which involves former White House aides who were running that out of palm beach, sending out messages, and that's their way to broadcast what the president has to say, the former president.
[18:50:02]
BLITZER: Yeah, history about to unfold here in the nation's capitol.
Kaitlan Collins, Norm Eisen -- guys, thank you very, very much.
I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. Thanks very much for watching.
Erin Burnett picks up CNN's special coverage of the delivery of the House impeachment article to the Senate. She picks up our coverage right now.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
We are just moments away now from the House of Representatives formally delivering to the Senate one article of impeachment against former President Donald J. Trump.
Now, that article charges Trump with, quote, incitement of insurrection for his role in the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. So here's what's going to happen, what you're looking at on the other side of your screen.
Okay, we are going to see the nine impeachment managers walk from the House chamber through statuary hall, the capitol rotunda and onto the Senate floor.
Now, this is only the fourth time in American history that an article, or articles of impeachment will be delivered to the Senate. Two of those times, of course, taking against President Trump in a span of just a year.
So, this step is going to trigger of the start of Trump's formal Senate trial. It is expected by agreement between the Democrats and Republicans to begin on the week of February 8th.
So, let's get straight to Manu Raju here, OUTFRONT on Capitol Hill.
So, Manu, we'll keep a shot on that, as we said any moment expected to go through this formal process. What can we expect next?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's all will happen. They'll walk from the House side of the capitol, through the capitol rotunda, into the Senate side in which they'll be greeted by the acting Senate sergeant in arms. They'll come into the Senate chamber.
The sergeant in arms will essentially command the senators to be present, to be there or face potential punishment. Those are standard words that are announced to the senators on the Senate floor. And then at that point, the House impeachment manager, the lead manager Jamie Raskin will lead the article of impeachment, charging Donald Trump with inciting an insurrection that led to the deadly riot that happened here on Capitol Hill.
At that point afterwards, House members will retreat back to their chamber. The Senate essentially will be done for the evening and tomorrow will be the day in which senators will officially get -- will be sworn in, because they're acting as jurors in this case.
And unlike 2020 when Chief Justice John Roberts oversaw the trial of Donald Trump who was charged with abusing power and obstructing Congress, this time, Senator Patrick Leahy, the Democrat from Vermont, the Senate president pro tempore, the most senior Democratic member of the chamber, will preside over this proceeding because of how it's so unusual, unprecedented. A former president being tried, not a current president that would require a chief justice to come and oversee these proceedings.
And one of the arguments that will take place privately when they file their briefs behind the scenes and publicly when those arguments happen in the week of February 8th will be whether or not this is a constitutional proceeding. Democrats arguing it is absolutely constitutional, within the rights for them to go after a former President.
The Republicans, the former president's defense team, will say it is unconstitutional. That will be a key argument here and a key question, too, Erin. Will 17 Republicans break ranks, join with Democrats who are 50 members in the chamber, convict Donald Trump, prevent him from ever serving in office again? At the moment, that seems highly, highly unlikely.
BURNETT: Yeah.
RAJU: Most Republicans expected to side with Donald Trump other than a few who are considering convicting the former president -- Erin.
BURNETT: So let me ask you one other thing here, Manu, as we're awaiting this. There were seven impeachment managers, tell me if I'm wrong, on the Ukraine issue. And there are nine now on an issue that is, obviously much more clear-cut in terms of the evidence and understanding of it.
Can you explain why they have more, what role they're playing? What are you aware of at this point?
RAJU: Well, the reason why they have those managers, they represent different aspects of the house Democratic caucus. Everybody brings their own type of expertise to the table. The question will be, how much will they argue publicly? We'll probably hear each of them say something on the Senate floor. It's unclear how they're going to divide up the work. But the lead impeachment manager Jamie Raskin is a constitutional law scholar, and he is going to make the case about why this is a constitutional process going forward.
But another key question, too, Erin, is whether or not they bring witnesses before this trial. Of course, all the senators here witnessed what happened on January 6th, but I am told that in this discussion I've tried to bring in someone who has more insight to Donald Trump's thinking.
But does that person exist? Will that person cooperate? Will that lead to a protracted fight to bring someone who may know what Donald Trump was doing and thinking into how he's acting in a run-up to the January 6th riot? That is unclear.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader, just told me just earlier this evening that he does not know himself if they will pursue witnesses in this trial.
[18:55:02]
So, a lot of big questions here. Also uncertain how long this will, probably less than 21 days, which is the amount it took in 2020. But it could still eat up much of February, the key time in Joe Biden's agenda here.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you, Manu, and please stay with us, because, of course, as this happens, we're going to talk to Manu. We're waiting this happening any moment.
Let's go straight to our experts here.
And let me begin with you, Dana, as you cover this. The article about to be formally transmitted to the Senate. We're all going to watch it here live, and then Manu is going through this a little bit, what the calendar looks like. You get the Senate sworn in tomorrow, as he said.
The trial, though, doesn't begin until February 9th, an agreement between Schumer and McConnell.
So, what exactly happens between then and now?
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: What happens is each side prepares. The Trump team, especially, they have to form a team. We know that he has retained a lawyer, but we don't know if there are others that have come on board. It's a big job to, as we saw a year ago when the then-sitting president went before the trial happened. He had a team of lawyers. And we're going to see that happen.
Of course, the nine managers you were talking about with Manu, they have to come up with their plan and have to decide about witnesses. We're going to see briefs and so forth. That's what they're going to do as they prepare.
The main reason is not just preparation, is for delaying it, is to give President Biden more time to get his cabinet confirmed and perhaps push through a stimulus bill.
BURNETT: Right.
OK, and I just want everyone to understand what we're looking at. That is the door that we expect Congressman Raskin to walk through, obviously, to do this as the lead manager. So everyone understands why we're doing this, you just saw the former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell walk by, so just to give everyone a sense of a running walk- through of what's happening.
Gloria, Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy is the president pro tempore of the Senate. Our understanding is he's going to preside over this instead of Chief Justice Roberts, of course, whom we also saw, you know, president over the last impeachment trial of President Trump, that's because the Supreme Court justice presidents over a sitting president, he had leeway here, though. What is the significance of his decision not to preside?
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think he's busy. I think he had leeway here and he took it.
BURNETT: Yeah.
BORGER: If you'll recall, the last time he presided over a trial for a few weeks, it took him a huge amount of time, he couldn't conduct the business of the court. Well, he would do the trial, then go back and try and work, and it was very, very difficult for him.
And I think that perhaps there is a sense that this is a president who is already out of office, and he has a little bit of leeway to say, I'm not going to do it, thank you very much.
BURNETT: And so, as you say, he took it.
BORGER: Yeah.
BURNETT: John King, though, every day matters. So, they've reached a deal where they'll deliver it but they don't have to actually start deliberations the next day as would ordinarily be the case. But, you know, between now and February 29th, yeah, that's time to prepare.
It's also time for this to recede more into the rearview mirror.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, in an odd way, Erin, it could help both President Biden and former President Trump in the sense that former -- the current president does get that two-week window. Can he get more of his team confirmed? We're seeing more action on that even today, and in the next couple of days. Can he get some of his agenda passed? There's a hang-up to bipartisan agreement on stimulus plan will be hard to come by, but the negotiations are underway.
So can Joe Biden achieve something in this two weeks? Maybe. It's a chance for him to do that.
But as you mentioned, with every passing day, what Republicans are hoping, especially Republicans who condemned the president, the former president's conduct repeatedly. But you're not going to see a lot of people stand up and defend Donald Trump's -- former President Trump's conduct, you just not.
But a lot of Republicans don't want to vote to convict for whatever reason. Marco Rubio, for example, up for re-election in 2022 in the state of Florida. Does he want a Republican primary? Does he want Trump in his face the entire time?
We could go through the long list of reasons Republicans have. Their calculation is that with every day that passes, they'll be able to say, yes, the insurrection was outrageous. Yes, we're not going to go against the president's words, he's a former president now. Why don't we move on?
That's the political climate they're hoping for, which raises the bar for its managers. Getting 17 votes, as Manu noted, almost impossible if you look at the math today. But not impossible, not impossible.
So, what witnesses might they bring? How will they introduce the evidence? It's a giant steep hill. Right now, you would not think the managers can make it and the clock is also working against him, which means a lot of pressure on those managers.
BURNETT: Yeah, it's going to be interesting when they hear what they say tonight, and then, of course, we can go through some of these big decisions they have to make, especially on witnesses.
Abby, what does Trump's defense look like at this moment?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, so far, Erin --
(CROSSTALK)
And here they are. I'm sorry, let me just let everyone know what you're seeing. The House clerk Cheryl Johnson leading there with the nine impeachment managers.
