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The Situation Room

Journalists Detained in Venezuela; Country Marks Five Years Since January 6 Riot; Former Uvalde School Police Officer on Trial. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired January 06, 2026 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Manu Raju on Capitol Hill, thank you -- Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: All right, I want to bring in Rahm Emanuel right now. He's CNN senior political and global affairs commentator and former U.S. congressman from Illinois.

Rahm, thanks so much for joining us.

RAHM EMANUEL, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: It's been exactly five years since we all watched those rioters, hundreds of them, storm the U.S. Capitol today. I know you and I both watched in awe as it was ongoing.

I want to play a bit of our live coverage from January 6, 2021, as myself, my co-anchor, Pamela Brown and I, we were watching that historic day unfold live. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: John, you and I have been in Washington for a long time. This is unprecedented. It is dangerous. And it is so, so embarrassing for the United States of America.

This is the United States Congress. And you see these law enforcement officers with their weapons pointing toward that window. It looks like it was smashed.

Pamela Brown, you're getting more information from inside as well.

BROWN: I sure am.

A law enforcement source tells me, Wolf, that there was an MPD officer inside the Capitol Building who called in, in distress, saying officer in distress inside the Capitol Building. This was around 15 minutes ago or so.

And that officer is asking for additional assets to be deployed to him inside the Capitol Building.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: And I still stand by what I said on that day. I have covered Congress for many, many years. I have covered Washington. I never anticipated that something like that would happen, hundreds, if not a few thousand, rioters would storm the U.S. Capitol, break windows, attack police officers.

And this insurrection was really awful. You said at the time, Rahm, and I remember, and I'm quoting you now, you said: "It was an unmistakable symptom of a cancer in the body politic of the U.S."

Reflecting now, do you think the nation has recovered from that cancer?

EMANUEL: No.

First of all, I don't know -- my own emotion was not awe, but more shock than anything else. No -- and to your core question, no, Wolf, because breaking the law there and then being commuted on the sentence leads all the way forward to selling off commuting sentences, which is what this president does, unlawfully -- some people question the legality of what we just did in Venezuela.

And also commuting the sentence of a former Honduras president who was sentenced in the United States courts and 17 years for drug charges, more confirmed case than what we were about to face with the former Venezuelan president.

So all of this is of a single piece. I don't think here domestically -- I think the president has been given a permission slip, which is why people actually wanted to hold him accountable. And so we have broken any sense that we're a country based on rules and laws and govern -- no matter whether you're the president of the United States or an ordinary citizen, we're all held accountable.

And commuting these sentences meant we replaced the rule of law with the rule of one man. And that's the consequence. And so, today, all the way to the anniversary, all of it is of a single piece and a single kind of expression, which is why it was so unfortunate the Republicans back then never held the people responsible accountable for what happened. The courts did, but not the Congress.

BLITZER: Yes. And as I said then and as I continue to say, I never in my life expected to see a riot like this unfold here in Washington in the U.S. Capitol, maybe in other countries, in Asia or Africa or South America and other countries.

EMANUEL: Yes, but...

BLITZER: But for hundreds of rioters to storm the U.S. Capitol the way they did is something that I never anticipated would happen in our Capitol.

EMANUEL: Agree.

I mean, the thing is, as all of us said then also, which is if this is allowed to stand, it's a permission slip to what comes next. Nothing ever stays in its lane. And once this permission slip was and not held -- both the president and the people who rioted hold accountable, you actually give a permission slip and there's no end to where this happens until it hits a wall of accountability.

And that's what we abandoned was any sense of not just respect for the law, but where the law has consequences for violating them.

BLITZER: I want to quickly turn while I have you, Rahm, to the other huge story that's still unfolding, very much so, the U.S. military operation in Venezuela.

EMANUEL: Yes.

BLITZER: Days after American forces deposed Nicolas Maduro, President Trump says the U.S. will -- quote -- "run that country." What's your reaction to what's been happening?

EMANUEL: Wolf, let me try to, for the viewers, put this in a perspective that you would have in both the Oval Office or the Situation Room. I call it the four R's.

On the liability side are rules and respect. We have broken any sense that we're upholders of the rules and we're diminishing the respect for America and giving it away to China, who's going to be seen as the power of order and we're now the power of disorder.

On the other side, equity, we have resources, and we go from Argentina all the way up to the United States. The United States now has 40 percent of direct or influential control of oil and gas in the world, and, also, I think, regional and then also our military, which Russia, we're coming on the four-year anniversary of a war that was supposed to be four weeks.

[11:35:15]

Our military showed a capacity, our intelligence, that only gets further, further type of sense of the resource and the capacity of the United States, something that either Russia and China can't do. And then the region, and on that side of the equity, which is our ability and influence in the Western Hemisphere, because we have been losing it and actually have not paid attention.

Now, in the Oval Office, you would weigh the liabilities of rules and respect against -- quote, unquote -- "the equities of resources and region."

And I think when you measure them all out, I think the consequences to America of the upholder of rules, how much we have benefited over the post-World War II from a rules-based system, the respect that we used to be about order, we used to be about the kind of consequences and system that everybody, regardless of the size of the country, have held to, we have given that away to China.

Something they couldn't even get on their own, we gave it to them. China is now the center of order and stability. Then we already, I think, on the energy prices -- or, rather, energy and military, we had that. And then the other piece is regional. There's other ways to get the respect, power and influence in the Western Hemisphere that the president wants and is a worthy national security goal.

I'm not sure this -- in fact, I would say this is not going to accomplish that. And when you weigh it all out, to me, the liabilities are much bigger and more consequential than the equities here. And that is going to be a problem.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: As you know, the Trump administration is putting several nations on notice right now, making threats against countries from Colombia to Greenland, Denmark, which controls Greenland, that they will be next.

How concerning is this behavior?

EMANUEL: Well, first is, look, I would say you're focused on Venezuela. We're focused on Virginia. You're focused on Caracas. We're focused on Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, and what's going to be the prices.

The president's priorities are not where America, the people's priorities are. The second piece is, after Afghanistan and success, that's when President Bush and Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney had this hubris and they said we're going to take on the axis of evil and it became Iraq, Iran, et cetera. And they overran the runway, cost us a trillion dollars, thousands of men and women's lives.

And it was all built on a lie. They're over -- this Venezuela operation was not a military, et cetera. This was a coup d'etat because you're keeping the same people, corrupt people in place. It was a coup. That's what happened here. They're already starting to talk like this and they are showing the level of hubris, something I know something about.

And it's going to outrun, in the same way that President Bush outran what happened in Afghanistan holding both al Qaeda and obviously the leaders in Afghanistan responsible, and they took it right to Iraq and we lost everything, plus more. We lost a generation of Americans, spent a trillion dollars in a country built on a lie. That's what happened.

BLITZER: All right.

EMANUEL: And this -- the president and his team have no idea what they're talking about on this and the consequences of this.

BLITZER: Rahm Emanuel, as always, thanks so much for joining us -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM, what we're learning about the detention and eventual release of 14 journalists by Venezuelan security forces in the capital of Caracas.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [11:42:58]

BLITZER: Happening now, opening statements in the trial of former Uvalde school district police officer Adrian Gonzales.

BROWN: He has pleaded not guilty to 29 counts of child endangerment or abandonment in connection with the May 2022 shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead.

And in exclusive CNN analysis, CNN has learned that Gonzales, the first officer to arrive, was on the scene for more than a minute before the gunman entered the building.

For years now, the community has accused law enforcement of failing to intervene sooner. And what he did during those critical moments will be a pivotal question as he goes on trial in the first case related to the massacre.

BLITZER: Let's go live right now to our senior crime and justice correspondent, Shimon Prokupecz, who's in Corpus Christi for us.

Shimon, you broke this story for CNN. Tell our viewers, what more are you learning?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, SENIOR CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Look, Wolf, we're already seeing the weight of this incident and this horrific incident already in display in court.

I just watched the prosecutor give his opening statement. And as he's describing their case, he's getting emotional. You can hear the emotion in his voice. This is something that those of us who've covered this and this prosecutor obviously has been living with for over three years.

He told them, in ending his opening statement, he said to the jury, why are we here? And he says it's, because when a child is in danger and calls 911, we have a right to expect a response. And that's what this trial is about.

Now, the officer, Adrian Gonzales, what prosecutors here are focusing on and what they have charged him with is not those 77 minutes we all know about, about how long it took for officers to respond. It is certainly part of that.

But what they are charging him with is specifically, in those first few moments, as the gunman arrived on scene, and his failure, his alleged failure, this officer's failure to act, to take some kind of actions. And, thereby, they say he caused negligence against children.

[11:45:02]

And so that is what we're going to be listening to. Already, this morning, we're going to have our first witness here at any moment. It's a woman by the name of Mel Flores (ph). She's actually featured, and we actually talked about, for the first time revealed in our story that she came forward to investigators to say that she told this officer where the gunman was.

She will be the first witness here and certainly the -- like I said, the emotion of this case, because the defense attorney here also said to this jury -- and we all know this, those of us who have covered this -- that you will not be the same after this trial.

But he said to focus on who really did the harm here, and that's the shooter, and not this officer. And so here shortly we get under way with testimony.

BROWN: All right, Shimon Prokupecz, thank you so much.

And we want to take a moment to remember the lives lost at Robb Elementary School right here.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:50:34]

BROWN: And we're following breaking news.

CNN is now learning that Venezuelan security forces detained 14 journalists in Caracas on Monday. This is according to a media union in the country; 13 foreign journalists and one Venezuelan reporter were detained. They were later released, but had their equipment and messaging apps checked.

BLITZER: Let's go live right now to CNN's chief media analyst, Brian Stelter, who is watching all of this unfold.

It's already been difficult to get accurate information out of Venezuela, Brian. And now it will be even harder, right?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Right.

And the detentions of these journalists in Venezuela comes amid a broader sense of unease in the country, with rights groups reporting checkpoints on the streets and media repression with security forces patrolling in Caracas and elsewhere.

It is notable the union said that these 13 foreign journalists, one local journalist, were detained and then released. The Committee to Protect Journalists and other groups came out trying to advocate for these reporters on the ground, CPJ saying that the authorities must ensure the press can -- quote -- "work freely without intimidation or obstruction."

But Venezuela has been a hostile environment for journalists, for independent media for quite some time, many accounts of arrests in the past as well as harassment and other details. That's why I know newsrooms around the world are really thankful in this moment for the small number of journalists who have been able to work in Caracas, in other cities, telling us, for example, about the explosions early Saturday morning and now reporting on the aftermath as much as they can.

But it is, as I said, a hostile environment. And, as Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of the Human Rights Watch Group, he said on X Today, he said this most recent report about detentions of journalists in Venezuela is not a good sign for the authorities there.

He said -- quote -- "The signal being sent is not one of respect for media freedoms."

So, bottom line, for viewers watching around the world right now, as you watch what's going on, keep in mind how difficult it is to get information out of the country and look for these signs of unease, look for these signs of possible repression of journalists and other eyewitnesses on the ground in Venezuela.

BROWN: All right, Brian Stelter, thank you so much. Very concerning.

BLITZER: And coming up: major changes to vaccines recommended for children, the five shots that the Health and Human Services Department is taking off -- repeat -- off the list.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:57:00]

BLITZER: New this morning, a cheaper option for people wanting to lose weight. Drugmaker Novo Nordisk is making its weight loss drug Wegovy available as a daily pill for less than $150 a month. It's an option for people who don't want the more expensive weekly injections. The new starter dose deal is for patients who can pay cash. It was set up through a deal the company made with the Trump administration.

BROWN: And new this morning, the Department of Health and Human Services is rolling out its new recommendations that most children get fewer vaccines, no longer recommending for most of them the vaccines against hepatitis B, hepatitis A, the flu, and a handful of others.

BLITZER: I want to bring in right now CNN's Meg Tirrell, who's watching all of this unfold.

Go ahead, Meg, and update our viewers.

BROWN: Meg, are you there? Oh, looks like...

BLITZER: I think we lost our connection.

But since we lost our connection, I wanted to give a special -- a very special welcome to Iverson Lee-James Lamb. You know who that is.

BROWN: That is the now son of our senior broadcast producer, Kizzie (ph). She gave birth to little Iverson right here, how precious is he, on Friday. He came in weighing six pounds and six ounces, perfect size.

BLITZER: Beautiful.

BROWN: Mom and baby, we are told, are doing well. And just a huge congratulations from our entire team.

Welcome to the world, Iverson.

BLITZER: We want to welcome Iverson, a very, very warm welcome. Look at how cute Iverson is. Very sweet indeed. And we're really happy for Kizzie and the whole family.

BROWN: Yes, because now Iverson's part of the Wolf pack, right, Wolf?

BLITZER: He will be a lifelong member of the Wolf pack. Yes, he will.

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: That's the deal when you're on this team.

BLITZER: Yes.

BROWN: All right.

Well, "INSIDE POLITICS" with our friend and colleague Dana Bash starts right now after a quick break.