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The Situation Room

Interview With Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL); Biden Nominee For OMB In Jeopardy; FDA Calls Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Safe And Effective; Sheriff's Department Says, Tiger Woods' Crash Was Purely An Accident, Won't Pursue Any Charges Against Him; Acting House Sergeant At Arms Says There Was Contradictory Information In Bulleatin Issued Days Before Attack At Capitol; Prosecutors: "Oath Keeper" Charged In Attack On Capitol A Flight Risk, Danger To the Community. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired February 24, 2021 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:01]

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.

Tonight, the Biden administration is driving home the ongoing danger from the coronavirus, extending a national emergency declaration into a second year, this as new progress is being made on the vaccine front.

The FDA has declared that Johnson & Johnson's one-dose vaccine does meet requirements for emergency use authorization here in the United States. That means a third COVID-19 vaccine could be given to Americans as soon as next week.

And Moderna just announced that it's designed an updated, updated vaccine to help combat the South African variant of the virus.

Let's go right to CNN's Amara Walker, who's joining us.

Amara, another vaccine clearly on the horizon right now in the next few days. But the United States remains in a state of emergency.

AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Wolf.

President Biden continuing -- declaring the continuation of this national emergency concerning the coronavirus beyond March 1 of this year. Right now, we're here at the Delta Flight Museum's parking lot. This is one of four mass vaccination sites in the state of Georgia.

In fact, the Georgia governor, Brian Kemp, was here earlier touring the site. And he said in a news conference he is hoping the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will receive emergency use authorization. If that happens, we could see doses of that vaccine go out as soon as next week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WALKER (voice-over): A third vaccine on the horizon in the U.S.

JEFF ZIENTS, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: We will waste no time getting this lifesaving vaccine into the arms of Americans.

WALKER: The Food and Drug administration announcing today the Johnson & Johnson vaccine meets requirements for emergency use authorization, which could come as early as Friday, the White House COVID Task Force on Wednesday saying they have already started preparing for distribution.

ZIENTS: If authorized, we are ready to roll out this vaccine without delay. If an EUA is issued, we anticipate allocating three to four million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine next week.

WALKER: But that's less than what the White House was originally expecting.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We were surprised to learn that Johnson & Johnson was behind on their manufacturing. As you noted, it was kind of reported earlier to be about 10 million, and now it's more like three to four million doses that they would be ready to ship next week.

WALKER: Experts say they expect the potential third vaccine to expand access and get more people vaccinated faster because it's a single dose.

DR. MEGAN RANNEY, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: My suspicion is, is that it's going to start with those people who are lower risk for severe disease to begin with, so people without comorbidities, people who are younger, the general population.

WALKER: Vaccine maker Johnson & Johnson told Congress Tuesday they're ready for the rollout.

RICHARD NETTLES, VICE PRESIDENT OF U.S. MEDICAL AFFAIRS AND VIROLOGY, JOHNSON & JOHNSON: We will have 20 million doses of the vaccine to be made available by the end of March.

WALKER: Adding to the 220 million doses that Pfizer and Moderna have pledged to make ready for shipment in the same time frame, after some initial delays in manufacturing.

JOHN YOUNG, CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER, PFIZER: We did initially experienced some problems with the initial ramp-up of our vaccine.

WALKER: Record vaccine supply is getting to states this week. And the White House is encouraging sites to be open 24 hours a day. To get more shots in arms, the task force says they will mobilize 1,200 National Guardsmen to serve as vaccinators.

Even with progress on the vaccine front, the White House today also announcing they will distribute 25 million masks beginning next month to get them to some of the most vulnerable.

ZIENTS: Many low-income Americans still lack affordable access to this basic protection.

WALKER: And Dr. Anthony Fauci announced the National Institutes of Health would be supporting research looking at people experiencing long-term COVID-19 symptoms, or long-haulers, after new data shed some light on the toll it takes.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID DIRECTOR: Approximately 30 percent of the patients who are enrolled at the University of Washington reported persistent symptoms for as long as nine months after illness.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: And, Wolf, regarding that updated vaccine, Moderna is currently evaluating a booster shot and a primary vaccine that would be designed to combat the South African variant.

In fact, doses have already been shipped to the NIH for a clinical study. They are looking at three approaches to the South African variant. One would be a booster shot of half-a-dose of the current COVID-19 vaccine, secondly, a booster shot of a new vaccine made specifically for the South African variant, and, lastly, a booster shot that combines current and new vaccine into one -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Amara, Amara Walker reporting for us. Thank you.

Let's get some more on all of this.

Dr. Ashish Jha joining us, the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health.

Dr. Jha, thank you so much for joining us.

Do you think this new Johnson & Johnson vaccine will still play a key role in containing the pandemic, even if it's not necessarily quite as effective as the shots from Pfizer and Moderna?

[18:05:08]

DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Yes, so Wolf, thank you for having me on.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is Really terrific. It's a very, very good vaccine. And on the issue of is it as effective as Moderna and Pfizer, the bottom line that we care most about is hospitalizations and deaths. And this vaccine is terrific, basically 100 percent, at preventing hospitalizations and deaths.

So I think it's going to end up playing a really big role in our effort to bring this pandemic under control.

BLITZER: Does it make any sense, as some have suggested, Dr. Jha, that we reserve the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for the highest-risk Americans and offer the Johnson & Johnson shot to everyone else?

JHA: Well, there's a little bit of data, and, again, we will see what the FDA's advisory committee says, that for people over 60, this vaccine seemed -- again, I don't want to overstate this -- maybe to be not quite as good.

So one could argue that if the advisory committee says, well, maybe, for younger people, this is a better option that could be a way that we split this. But, basically, even for older people, the vaccine was really terrific at hospitalizations and deaths and preventing those.

So, we will see how this plays out. But I do think it will end up being an important part of the whole mix of tools we have.

BLITZER: Would the Johnson & Johnson vaccine be more effective if there were a booster three or four weeks later, you got a second Johnson & Johnson shot, as is the case with Moderna and Pfizer vaccines?

JHA: That's a great question. That clinical trial is happening right now. We don't know.

If I had to speculate, I think it's possible that we may find that a second dose of the J&J may end up being a really helpful thing. I think we will know more in the next couple of months. That trial is happening just even as we speak.

BLITZER: Yes, one shot is great, but two shots might be even better, but we shall see.

We know that these vaccines, Dr. Jha, are very good at preventing severe disease, hospitalizations, certainly deaths. But, as Dr. Fauci said today, it was pretty alarming, so many people who have had mild or moderate cases of the virus often have symptoms, serious symptoms, painful symptoms that linger for several months.

Are you optimistic that these vaccines will prevent these kinds of chronic symptoms?

JHA: You know, I am.

Again, we don't know, but we haven't seen a lot of people who got these vaccines who then ended up having those long-haul symptoms. So, I'm hopeful that these vaccines will also end up preventing what we call the long-haulers.

Do I know for sure? I don't. And we should know more of that in the weeks and months ahead. But I hope this is part of that important set of tools we have for preventing even those complications.

BLITZER: I want you to look at this, Dr. Jha, Moderna exploring new strategies to tackle the South African COVID variant, including a variant-specific booster shot, a booster shot of the standard vaccine or a combined booster shot.

Which of those symptoms, from your perspective, would make the most sense?

JHA: Yes, so a couple of things on this, Wolf.

I do think these booster shots are going to potentially end up playing an important role. Even the current vaccines do prevent -- do seem to work against the South Africa variant. But having a booster specifically targeted towards that, I think, can be quite helpful.

But there's a broader point here, which is as long as we're seeing large outbreaks happening in other parts of the world, we're going to constantly be chasing our tail. We're going to have to be coming up with boosters all the time.

So the best way to put this pandemic behind us is to have a global strategy that gets everybody vaccinated, so we can move on from this horrible pandemic.

BLITZER: Good advice, as usual.

Dr. Ashish Jha, thanks so much for joining us.

JHA: Thank you.

BLITZER: Let's get to the breaking news unfolding right now up on Capitol Hill, after a Senate briefing on Capitol security involving the January 6 insurrection.

I want to go to our congressional correspondent, Ryan Nobles.

Ryan, what are you learning about how the senators left -- they left this briefing, I understand, feeling pretty frustrated.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Wolf.

Senators that we talked to, both Republican and Democrat, feeling that they did not get the answers to many of the questions that they have about security here at the Capitol on January 6 and how long the Capitol's going to remain in its current security posture going forward.

Senators asking very specific questions about when the tall fencing and razor wire that currently surrounds the Capitol could be brought down. And these security officials could simply not answer that question.

They were also given a bit of a briefing about some of the concerns that security officials have for events that are coming up in the future, specifically if and when there is a joint session address for President Biden here on Capitol Hill. That hasn't been scheduled yet, but if that were to occur.

And then, of course, the concerns around March 4, which is this other date that conspiracy theorists and QAnon supporters have talked about as another potential date for some sort of an uprising.

At this point, though, Wolf, if you have been here on Capitol Hill at all in the days past January 6, it is still very quiet, obviously, an enormous security presence, still National Guard members here. That fencing and razor wire remain.

[18:10:12] And, today, senators just got the feeling that they didn't have any answers as to when all of that could be taken down.

BLITZER: You're also seeing, I understand, Ryan, some debate emerging right now over this proposed 9/11-style commission to probe the January 6 attack and what it should look like. What's the latest?

NOBLES: Yes, that's right.

You know, both members of Congress in the House and Senate would like to see this commission be bipartisan, but they're running into trouble right now in the early stages of drafting the legislation that would get them to that point.

First of all, the initial proposal from Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for Democrats being able to appoint seven members to the committee, Republicans appointing four. Republicans would like to see that an even 50/50 split.

And then there's also some controversy about the scope and the mission about the commission itself. The speaker would like it to look into everything having to do with what led up to the insurrection, including the lies that the former President Donald Trump peddled about the election results, where Republicans want it to be specifically focused on just January 6 itself.

And they also want the commission to be able to draw its own conclusions, without findings that come from other agencies such as the FBI and other intelligence agencies. So, right now, that is a breakdown in communication.

To be clear, Wolf, Democrats should have the votes to get this commission pushed through in both the House and the Senate, especially if they can keep the votes in their pocket here on the Senate side. But both sides ultimately want this to be a bipartisan report that is issued by this commission, which is part of the reason you see this negotiation still continuing -- Wolf.

BLITZER: What can you tell us about the committee hearings that are about to take place, more committee hearings, on what exactly happened January 6?

NOBLES: Yes, that's right, Wolf.

We're expected to learn more about the type of extremist behavior and the different groups that were behind some of the activity and social media activity that took place leading up to the event.

There's also been briefings that took place having to do with the emotional and side effects that took place for the people that were victims of what happened here on January 6.

You know, Wolf, there's just been so many comprehensive, detailed investigations into what went wrong here, senators, both Republican and Democrat, still demanding answers as to what went wrong. We expect hearings that will continue for the next weeks and months, maybe even years, as they get to the bottom of exactly what happened on January 6.

BLITZER: Yes, we have got to learn lessons from what happened to make sure it never, ever happens again.

Ryan Nobles, reporting for us, thank you very much.

Just ahead: Is President Biden fighting a losing battle on behalf of his nominee to be the next budget chief? We're going to have the latest on Neera Tanden's troubles.

And I will speak live with the second-ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate, Majority Whip Dick Durbin. He's standing by. We will discuss right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:16:53]

BLITZER: President Biden just signed an executive order on the economy, even as a key nominee to his economic team is facing growing opposition.

Let's go to our senior White House correspondent, Phil Mattingly.

Phil, we have heard from the president just a few moments ago. What's the latest?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the president ordering a sweeping review of critical items, critical sectors of the U.S. economy in terms of the supply chain, something, the fragility of which has been laid bare over the course of the last year, largely due to the coronavirus, perhaps no issue more so than the issue of semiconductors, semiconductors, the small chips that run many of the items that are necessary for just about everyday life for most Americans, a significant shortage.

It's not just an economic issue, White House officials have been trying to address, but also a national security one. Now, Wolf, there is bipartisan consensus that something needs to be done here.

The president meeting with Republicans and Democrats in the Oval Office a short while ago. Where there isn't bipartisan consensus, on some of the president's nominees, one of whom is now in significant trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Tonight, President Joe Biden on the brink of his first failure in office.

PSAKI: We're fighting for her nomination.

MATTINGLY: The White House for now sticking by Neera Tanden, Biden's nominee to run the Office of Management and Budget.

NEERA TANDEN, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET DIRECTOR NOMINEE: I do. MATTINGLY: But Tanden's confirmation hopes on the verge of collapse,

as two Senate committees postponed a vote on her nomination, making one thing crystal clear. At the moment, Tanden doesn't have the votes.

PSAKI: It's a numbers game. Right? It's a matter of getting one Republican to support her nomination.

MATTINGLY: In a 50/50 Senate, with one Democrat already opposed to Tanden's nomination, all eyes now on Republican Lisa Murkowski, but the White House also still waiting to hear if two key allies, Senators Bernie Sanders and Kyrsten Sinema, will vote yes, all underscoring a delicate balance Biden faces with his razor-thin Senate majority.

REP. DEB HAALAND (D-NM), INTERIOR SECRETARY NOMINEE: I promise you I will follow the law.

MATTINGLY: With two other nominees, Xavier Becerra secretary of health and human services, and Deb Haaland for interior secretary, also facing strong GOP opposition.

HAALAND: The role of secretary, a Cabinet secretary, is far different from that of a congresswoman. And so I recognize that it's -- I'm not just worried about my one district in New Mexico, but the entire country.

MATTINGLY: Haaland, a congresswoman, attempting to beat back Republican concerns about her past positions on fossil fuels that differ from Biden's.

SEN. STEVE DAINES (R-MT): I'm not convinced that you will be taking that view forward, because you certainly have been taking some very strong positions that clearly impact folks across the 1st District of New Mexico.

MATTINGLY: But Manchin in a statement Wednesday afternoon giving Haaland a boost, pledging to support her nomination, but that GOP opposition putting increased pressure on the White House to keep Democrats unified, something that goes beyond just nominations and straight to Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan.

PSAKI: The president is focused on moving this forward as quickly as possible.

MATTINGLY: The White House effort bolstered by more than 150 top business leaders...

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Now it's easy to see why there's such broad support.

MATTINGLY: ... who threw their support behind the outlines of the plan in a letter to congressional leadership. But with Republicans once again unified in opposition...

[18:20:00]

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): Unfortunately, this bill is too costly, too corrupt, and too liberal.

MATTINGLY: ... a dynamic no different than the one facing Biden's key nominees.

SCHUMER: Our Republican colleagues say all these groups demanding the $1.9 trillion American rescue plan, business leaders, government officials from both parties, economists from across the spectrum and seven in 10 Americans.

MATTINGLY: Where Democratic unity is a necessity, something top congressional Democrats, for now at least, are confident will be there.

SCHUMER: If congressional Republicans want to oppose all that, my response is, good luck.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: And, Wolf, this is a critical few weeks for the Biden administration, the Biden agenda.

Obviously, the Senate still moving through nominees. A total of four are expected to be confirmed this week. The House is expected to vote on Friday on the president's coronavirus relief package, with the Senate to follow suit shortly thereafter.

The White House understands the dynamics, the president understands the dynamics of the exceedingly slim majority in the United States Senate, and they are work behind the scenes particularly on the COVID relief bill to try to clear the way, make sure Democrats stick together.

But there's no question about it. There is no margin for error here. And when it comes to the president's cornerstone legislative proposal, they can't afford to lose a single Democrat in the Senate -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, 50 Democrats, 50 Republicans. You can't lose one.

Phil Mattingly reporting for us, thank you very much.

Joining us now, the second ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate, the majority whip, Dick Durbin. He's also the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Senator, thank you so much for joining us.

I know you have just come from a very sensitive briefing up on Capitol security in the aftermath of what happened on January 6. But Democrats and Republicans are telling us they didn't really learn much. Are you getting answers from the police chief on the scope of the current threat facing Congress?

SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D-IL): Listen, Wolf, after what happened in this Capitol complex on January 6, with the killing of a Capitol Hill policeman, and 140 other law enforcement officers who were beaten and injured themselves, you can understand why the people in charge now are being extremely careful.

We know the traffic is out there, and these crazy conspiracy groups, some of them are promising to come back in March 4 or whatever the heck their next prediction might be. We're being careful. I don't like to see 10-foot sentence and razor wires -- fences and razor wires all around the Capitol either.

I have been coming to this building in years and years, college student forward, and it really sickens me to see this. But I don't want to see anyone injured or killed as a result of another insurrection.

BLITZER: Yes, I totally agree. I have been covering Congress for a long time, and it's heartbreaking for me to see those fences, the armed National Guard troops, those big trucks blocking entrances.

You can't get anywhere near, not just the Capitol, but the House and Senate office buildings. They're all surrounded. Tourists are going to start arriving. The weather's getting better here in Washington. And they love going up to Capitol Hill. And it's heartbreaking to see what's going on, although I understand why the security is as intense as it is right now.

One of your colleagues, Republican Senator Ron Johnson, just said he has no regrets -- let me repeat -- no regrets about using a hearing yesterday up in Congress to promote a wild conspiracy theory that, in his words, fake protesters instigated the Capitol riot on January 6.

How disturbing is that to you to hear that from a United States senator?

DURBIN: It's hard to hear these views that are not only from a senator from another state. It sounds like he's from another planet.

You just wonder, what is he thinking to say those things in public? I know what he's doing. He's stoking up those folks who are in denial, who are the revisionists, who want to rewrite the history of January 6 and somehow blame the liberals for it.

Well, the fact of the matter is, that was a Trump rally that led to a Trump mob, that led to an insurrection, which killed a police officer and did damage to the reputation of the United States around the world. That's a fact.

BLITZER: It certainly is.

Let's talk a little bit about Neera Tanden. She's got a rocky nomination to become the director of the Office of Management and Budget, OMB. You say there's a full-scale effort under way right now to find enough support for her confirmation.

But we're getting a lot of signs, as you well know, Senator, that Senate Republicans would quickly confirm a different nominee if that turned out to be the case. Do you believe it's time for President Biden to withdraw Neera Tanden's nomination and move ahead?

DURBIN: That's not a decision for me to make.

But I want to make one point. Sure, she went overboard when it came to those tweet accounts, Twitter accounts and the things that she said. And she said as much and apologized, said she was sorry for what she did in that respect.

Think of the barrage of Twitters that we -- tweets that we lived with for four years with this president. There were two words not in his vocabulary: I'm sorry.

She said she was sorry. I know she made a mistake and she realizes it. It's really sad to see someone with her ability being denied an opportunity to serve this nation.

BLITZER: Quickly, before I let you go -- I know you have got to run -- you're the chair -- chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

[18:25:02]

How many Republicans do you expect to vote to confirm Judge Merrick Garland as the next attorney general of the United States?

DURBIN: Well, it's certainly confirmed my belief that there is a God, when Senator McConnell said he was going to vote for him, and several others have joined him.

I think we are quietly, with fingers crossed, building up a good bipartisan support for a man who clearly should be in this position. We need Merrick Garland as attorney general of this country now, more than ever.

BLITZER: Senator Dick Durbin, as usual, thanks so much for joining us.

DURBIN: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Just ahead, we're getting new details on the investigation of Tiger Woods' high-speed car crash, as he appears likely to avoid any criminal charges.

And former President Trump is causing more division within the GOP, as two Republican leaders split, they split dramatically on his plans to address conservatives.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:00]

BLITZER: Tonight, Tiger Woods appears to be in the clear from any criminal charges after his high-speed rollover car crash. But the investigation into the accident continues along with the golf legend's recovery from serious injuries.

CNN's Senior National Correspondent Kyung Lah's joining us. She's near L.A. right now. Kyung, the L.A. County sheriff says Woods's crash was purely an accident. KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're getting more of those details and threads from the investigation. The sheriff right now says that although it is early at this point, they are not looking at this as far as a reckless driving charge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAH (voice over): The investigation into Tiger Woods's crash will look at speed, how quickly the SUV was traveling down this road when the golfer lost control.

SHERIFF VILLANUEVA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: You're hoping obviously it's going to be equipped with this black box and would have some information about the speed. It would may be have a factor in this accident.

LAH: This winding downhill road is known as a local trouble spot. Deputies did not find skid marks or indications of brakes used or any evidence of impairment. Deputies say the engineering of the SUV, airbags and the seat belt likely saved Woods' life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a rollover with one trapped.

LAH: Responding officers found Woods trapped in the wreckage of the high-speed single-car rollover. The hospital says his legs were broken multiple places. Surgeons inserted a rod to stabilize fractures exposed to open air. Bones, especially in his right foot and ankle, needed screws and pins. Surgeons also worked to relieve muscle swelling and pressure.

DR. JEREMY FAUST, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL: The surgeons likely believed if they did not perform one of those procedures to release that pressure, they actually were worried that he could lose the limb, that amputation might have been necessary.

LAH: Woods' family says he is awake, responsive, and recovering in the hospital. Emotion continues to pour in from the sports world --

JAY MONAHAN, COMMISSIONER, PGA TOUR: We love him. And anytime someone that you care deeply about is hurt, it hurts. And it's not me. It's everybody out here.

LAH: -- to those marking the barrier-breaking figure in a sport largely dominated by white athletes.

JEMELE HILL, CONTRIBUTING WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: There are some people who were able to look at Tiger Woods and understand black excellence in this arena in a way that they hadn't understood it before.

TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: I had come to a realization that I would never play competitive golf again.

LAH: Woods has faced potentially career-ending injuries before. This video featuring Woods from a health care company explains his comeback after one of his five back surgeries, a reminder of why even after this devastating accident, Tiger Woods cannot be counted out yet. WOODS: I went from accepting it and having a peace of mind that I would never, ever do this again to all of a sudden monkeying around with my kids with the green coat, just hanging around the living room. It's wild.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH (on camera): Now, tonight the county of Los Angeles has ordered a safety review of this particular stretch of road. To put it into some context, Wolf, there have been 13 accidents, according to the sheriff's department, since January of 2020. That's on average one accident every single month. Wolf?

BLITZER: Yes, they've got to do something to fix that. All right, Kyung, thank you very, very much.

We're joined now by the Tiger Woods correspondent for Golf Digest, Daniel Rapaport. Daniel, thank you so much for joining us.

First of all, what are you hearing from your sources about the legendary golfer's condition today?

DANIEL RAPAPORT, TIGER WOODS CORRESPONDENT, GOLF DIGEST: Yes, nothing really new apart from the statement that his camp released last night, which is that he's out of surgery, that he's responsive, he's conscious, he's recovering in his hospital room. He had surgery to repair comminuted fractures in both the tibia and fibula bowls in the right leg, which means -- comminuted fracture means it's broken into multiple pieces and open fracture means it was exposed to skin. So his right leg was basically crushed.

But, again, when you see the images of the crash and you hear a leg injury, you don't want to say he escaped because it's a very serious injury and it's a very long recovery ahead of him but it could have been so, so much worse. The latest is that he's out of surgery, he's recovering but now the road to recovery and how long that road is, who knows? It begins right now.

BLITZER: As you know better than most, Tiger Woods has displayed tremendous grit throughout his career, especially as he recovered from other major surgeries and setbacks. How do you think that kind of resilience will influence this recovery, Daniel?

[18:35:00]

RAPAPORT: Yes, I think if you've seen the reaction from other PGA Tour pros, I think Barack Obama tweeted something similar, like if there's one person that you just don't count out, you just don't, it's Tiger Woods.

Everyone in the golf industry, in the sports industry in 2017 before he had his final fusion surgery, they counted him out as done. He was finished. He was the butt of jokes. And then he made everyone eat their words pretty good when he won the Masters in 2019.

So, look, it's not unprecedented. You know, he's been written off before. This is certainly a huge mountain to climb given his age and his other injury history, the back he struggled with a long time, the left knee as well. But this right leg is a new one.

So, not only is he going to have to overcome the back struggles that have really plagued him for last five or ten years, now he's got a new variable in the equation. So it's a tough one.

BLITZER: Yes, it's going to be really tough. Daniel Rapaport, thanks so much for joining us. Keep up the good work.

RAPAPORT: Yes, thank you for having me.

BLITZER: All right. Just ahead, the GOP divide over former President Trump on public display as top Republican leaders disagree on his role in the party.

Plus, a key figure in the Capitol siege in court, where prosecutors call her a flight risk and a danger to the community.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: We have more breaking news right now on security and intelligence failures just ahead of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. Let's go to our Congressional Correspondent Ryan Nobles. He's up on Capitol Hill.

So, Ryan, what are you learning?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we talked earlier in the hour about these ongoing hearings that are scheduled to take place here on Capitol Hill having to do with the January 6th riot. There's one taking place tomorrow in the House of Representatives, and appearing before the house will be the acting sergeant-at-arms, Timothy Blodgett.

And we've obtained his opening testimony, his opening remarks as part of his testimony that will take place tomorrow. And he breaks down what he calls just a systematic intelligence failure and a lack of communication during the various agencies that were preparing to protect the Capitol on January 6th. And he cites an example of a memo that was passed around, a U.S. Capitol Police bulletin that was issued on January 3rd.

And within that bulletin he cites two completely contradictory messages. At one point in the memo, the Capitol Police warn that there is the potential that those that plan to protest at the Capitol on January 6th had the potential and the possibility of becoming violent. He says that they make that clear in this memo.

But then just a couple of pages later in the same exact memo, they actually describe what they anticipate as being more of what they call a million MAGA march. These were the types of marches that took place in Washington in and around the election where hundreds and thousands of Donald Trump supporters would come to Washington to protest the election results and those protests were, by and large, peaceful and ended without much of a disturbance.

So Blodgett points to this specific bulletin as an example of the myriad examples of information that were coming into law enforcement officials as they planned for January 6th that didn't give them a clear understanding of exactly what was going to happen on that date. And that's part of what led to the security posture being not as strong as it should have been on that day.

And, Wolf, this really tracks back to some of the other testimony that we've seen up here this week from the outgoing Capitol Police chief, Steven Sund, who also said that the information that he received was not necessarily all uniform and some of it he didn't even learn of until after the riot took place. So Blodgett, this of course just his opening statement, he will then be grilled by lawmakers for more as to what he has learned in the wake of the Capitol insurrection.

But, Wolf, this opening statement by the acting sergeant-at-arms pretty stunning in terms of what he was told ahead of the January 6th riot and how so much of it was confusing and led to the Capitol Police force and other security personnel just not being prepared. Wolf?

BLITZER: Yes, amazing stuff. Ryan Nobles, thank you very much.

Let's get to the divisions now within the Republican Party. They played out in public today rather dramatically when the House GOP leaders Kevin McCarthy and Liz Cheney openly clashed about former President Trump's upcoming speech to conservatives.

Let's go to our CNN Political Commentator, the former Republican member of Congress, Mia Love. Mia, thanks so much for joining us.

I want you to listen to this rather awkward moment for the House Republican leadership today, it sort of sums up the state of the Republican Party. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Do you believe President Trump should be speaking -- or former President Trump should be speaking at CPAC this weekend?

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): Yes, he should.

REPORTER: Congresswoman Cheney?

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): That's up to CPAC. I've been clear on my views about President Trump.

I don't think that he should be playing a role in the future of the party or the country.

MCCARTHY: On that high note, thank you all very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, Mia, where does your party go from here? That was pretty amazing to see that. MIA LOVE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I have to say that I'm actually pretty proud of Liz Cheney for standing up and sticking to her guns on this. She is pretty much making it clear that I don't see eye to eye with Leader McCarthy and I am going to continue to state that the president no longer has a place in the party.

I think it's really important for her to stand out like this because I think that there are some Republicans out there in the conference, at least ten of them, who agree with her and others in the conference who may not have voted the same way but respect the fact that she has her own voice and represents people in the areas that she represents.

[18:545:07]

And I also think that there are Americans, a wide variety of Americans, especially Republicans, that she still represents. And so, she literally is giving Republicans a place to say, okay, I'm not -- this is not going -- we're not going to completely be after the president, we're not going to completely follow the president.

Here is somebody in leadership that is saying, I'm not in the same place.

BLITZER: Yeah, Congresswoman Liz Cheney, she's got guts. She's a courageous member of Congress. I don't think he, referring to Trump, should be playing a role in the future of the party or country. It took guts for her to say that.

Your fellow Utah Republican, Senator Mitt Romney, says he thinks Trump will win the GOP nomination if he decides to run once again. At least he believes that right now if he runs again in 2024. What do you think?

LOVE: Well, I think that there are several things that come into play here. First of all, Mitt Romney's right. If you look at the poll numbers today, it would state that if he is the nominee with the Republicans that are being named out there, that he is going to win.

I also think that Republicans if they continue to give him a platform and say that he is the leader of the party or continue to follow along I think that that's going to be harmful I think and helpful to the president.

I also think that Joe Biden, President Joe Biden, actually if he doesn't stop what he's doing in terms of not working with Republicans on the stimulus, not having any Republicans in the cabinet, it's going to be very -- it's going to be really reluctant for Republicans in my experience to say, okay, here's a situation where I can work with him because he hasn't been working with him since the beginning of his presidency.

BLITZER: You want to see more bipartisan Cooperation right now. We'll see what --

LOVE: I do.

BLITZER: -- unfolds in the coming days and weeks.

The former Vice President Mike Pence, Mia, he says he still has a close personal friendship with Trump despite the former president placing a target on Pence's back for all practical purposes last month when he was up on the Hill certifying the results of the electoral college, the win for Biden.

What does that reveal to you about Trump's lingering power?

LOVE: I just don't understand it. I guess I just don't understand where people believe that if you just do everything that the president wants maybe you can have one time that you disagree. The president doesn't work that way. It's 100 percent loyalty or that's it. And you have to go back and grovel if you make a mistake. If you do something that he doesn't want you to do, you have to go back and gravel.

I want everyone to remember that this was the biggest attack on one branch of government and the president had the responsibility and the means to stop the insurrection, the one that actually put Mike Pence in danger. And he had the responsibility to stop it.

And he didn't do anything about it. I mean, that's the type of -- that's not the type of leader you want. You want somebody who is willing to put himself in harm's way for you.

BLITZER: Mia Love helping us appreciate what's going on in the GOP right now -- thanks so much for joining us.

Just ahead, we're going to have more on the investigation into the Capitol siege as a key rioter appears in federal court.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:52:52]

BLITZER: We're following new developments in the investigation into the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol.

CNN's Brian Todd is working the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She's seen in this video in tactical gear, walking with other members of the far right extremist group the Oath Keepers tour the Capitol on January 6th. Later, she was pinpointed in these images by prosecutors as having been part of the group moving in an apparently organized manner inside the Capitol.

This week, Jessica Watkins has appearances before the federal judge. The judge is weighing a request from prosecutors to keep her in jail ahead of her trial. Prosecutors have called her a flight risk and a danger to the public.

JOHN SCOTT-RAILTON, RESEARCHER, CITIZEN LAB, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO: I think what we know from Watkins' intercepted chats and some of the things she's said is she was prepared to go underground, she said, if Biden was elected. And so the judge has got to be asking this question, is she prepared to go underground again?

TODD: Watkins has changed her story before the court in recent days. She just retracted an account she had given the court that she met with Secret Service agents on January 6th. The Secret Service denied it. Watkins still claims in court papers she was given a VIP pass to the Trump rally that preceded the riot and she was providing security for legislators and others in their walk to the Capitol.

OREN SEGAL, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: They may discuss the need to sort of protect people from a tyrannical government or make sure their freedoms are not infringed upon, but these people, this group has an ideology. They're animated by conspiracy theory.

TODD: In court papers, Watkins' lawyer claims her security role was sanctioned by people who organized the Trump rally. Watkins and two other members of the Oath Keepers are charged with conspiracy in the attack. A total of nine members of the group have been indicted. Prosecutors have said members of the Oath Keepers coordinated and planned before the January 6th attack and even during it.

According to court documents, Watkins communicated on a walkie-talkie- like app during the riot. Quote: We have a good group. We have about 30 to 40 of us.

[18:55:01]

We are sticking together and sticking to the plan.

This week, acting Metropolitan Washington Police Chief Robert Contee told senators about coordination between many rioters.

ACTING CHIEF ROBERT CONTEE, WASHINGTON, DC METROPOLITAN POLICE: There were hand signals being used by several of the insurrectionists. There was radio communication by several individuals that were involved.

TODD: Prosecutors told the court Jessica Watkins was, quote, gleefully embedded within this mob in the Capitol. Monitors of the extremist group said ay the Oath Keepers are likely under more pressure now than they've ever been, but they're worried about what happens next.

SCOTT-RAILTON: What about the lone wolf-style individuals with strong anti-government ideology who may be part of this group, part of their orbit, existing on the periphery or are now seeing the group under pressure and trying to decide if it's time for them to take things into their own hands?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): Jessica Watkins has pleaded not guilty to the charges against her. Her attorney did not respond to our request for comment on prosecutors calling her a flight risk and a danger to the public. Watkins is due back in court on Friday when the judge may decide on her request to be set flee pending her trial -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting, thank you.

And we'll have more news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.