good evening. the first president, since andrew johnson, to skip his successor's inauguration, is now on his way to becoming the first president ever to be impeached, twice. house democrats are drafting articles of impeachment

including one covering, quote, incitement of insurrection. the plan is to introduce them on monday, leading to a vote later next week. twitter, today, permanently suspended the president's account. raising the question, will a social media platform bring more accountability to this president than any sanction provided for in the constitution? that would be, well, something. late today, lisa murkowski became the first republican senator to call on the president to resign after wednesday's insurrection. many are now trying to sweep this all down the memory hole. people, like house minority leader kevin mccarthy, who tweeted today, impeaching the president with just 12 days left will only divide our country more. or lindsey graham. he tweeted as president donald trump stated last night, it is time to heal and move on. adding it is up to president-elect biden to step in, and allow the nation to heal. late today, the white house deputy press secretary weighed in quoting from his statement

now. as president trump said yesterday, this is a time for healing and unity, as one nation. a politically motivated impeachment against the president with 12 days remaining in his term will only serve to further divide our great country. which, sort of, misses the point, doesn't it? what happened this week couldn't be more serious. there need to be consequences for people involved. the mob trying to locate house speaker pelosi didn't really want to pose for selfies with her. here's some video of them, which was posted on youtube by jaden x. [ bleep ]. [ bleep ]. >> gray-haired lady shouting, tell effing pelosi we're coming for her, among other obscenities. it wasn't just nancy pelosi rioters wanted. they also wanted vice president pence. at least three different rioters at the capitol said they hope to find vice president mike pence and execute him by hanging from a capitol hill tree, unquote.

some carry police restraints, zip ties, like this guy in the senate chamber. an alabama man, police say had firearms in his vehicle, as well as 11 molotov cocktails. one of the protestors was shot dead, as you know, as the mob tried to break through a barricaded door. and what was the president doing? as this insurrection was just getting started. listen to republican senator ben sasse describe it to conservative talk radio host, hugh hewitt. >> as this was unfolding on television, donald trump was walking around the white house, confused about why other people on his team weren't as excited as he was, as you had rioters pushing against capitol police trying to get into the building. as this was happening, he was delighted. >> with -- anyone with a functioning soul would be revolted and disgusted or simply dismayed that his words unleashed such -- such mayhem. senator sasse, republican, says

the president was delighted. and according to a spokesman for utah senator mike lee, both the president and human once known as rudy giuliani, were also working phones trying to call newly elected republican senator, tommy tuberville, so they could press him to delay certification of the electoral vote. think about that. as the mob was descending on the capitol, making death threats to lawmakers there, the president was, at the very same moment, calling senators trying to keep up his election con. we know this as he and others were sheltering in a temporary-holding area. that's where the president's thoughts were, as lawmakers and staffers tried just to survive the moment. because, well, because, of course, because no matter how many words he reads off the teleprompter about healing and unity and love, there is no room inside him for any of that. to him, those are all loser words.

along with, responsibility and accountability. more, now, on all this from our chief white house correspondent, jim acosta. and cnn chief political correspondent, dana bash. jim, has the white house reacted to the president's twitter ban? is there anything, any expectation of when he next communicates -- you know, how does he communicate? are his spokespeople actually going to have to start, you know, speaking? >> well, that would be something, anderson. i mean, it shudders the mind to think about this. maybe, the president might actually come into the briefing room and take questions but at this point, no. what i am told by a white house official is that there are internal deliberations going on right now as to what to do about all this. keep in mind, we were hearing from our sources earlier this evening that the president was going to put out some sort of video statement. yet another, video statement. don't know what the contents of that statement was going to be. but they were planning on tweeting that out on the president's twitter account. and in the words of this white house official, the way this white house official was explaining it, they don't know what to do now. and now, they are exploring

other alternatives. but anderson, i mean, it needs to be said that, you know, one of the reasons why twitter did this is because of this potential for the president to incite further violence. kind of violence you were just laying out at the beginning of the show. and that is something that gett twitter says in its statement, they were worried about plans for future, armed protests that have already begun proliferating on and off twitter regarding some sort of planning for potentially a secondary attack on the u.s. capitol on january 17th of this year. right before the inauguration. and so, they took action, according to twitter, because they were worried about what might be coming, next. and, you know, the white house can try to work around that. but that is a -- just a damning statement. a damning set of events that this white house is having to deal with, this evening. >> yeah. also, a reminder just how much advanced notice there was about the attack on the capitol and the plans or at least the desire to have insurrection, on january

6th, was on social media. it's a reminder of that. dana, last we heard from the president before his account was shut down was him saying he will not be attending the inauguration on january 20th. what -- what do you think the next move is, for him? >> well, we don't know. and i mean, how ironic that the man who got the nomination, in the first place, snatched it from, you know, 16 other republicans, by using his social media. is now completely hamstrung, sitting in the most -- one of the most powerful buildings in the world, holding the most powerful office in the world because he can't use that medium, anymore. or other, you know, social media. it's -- it's kind of crazy. he's got the biggest megaphone, and he doesn't know how to use it. it -- it boggles the mind. and so, that's the first thing that they -- that they need to do. and -- and it's not as if the trump orbit didn't know that

twitter was eventually -- you know, he, obviously, had gotten flagged on tweet, after tweet, after tweet, especially over the past couple of months. but i'm told that, you know, even earlier this year, towards the beginning of -- of the campaign year, last year, i should say, 2020. there were discussions about whether they should move the president's tweeting to a separate platform because they -- it wasn't a question of if twitter and other more mainstream social media platforms were going to ban him, but when. and now, it has happened, as clearly, it should be, given what jim was just reporting. >> jim, do we know what the president's days are like? i mean, what is he doing? said they are meeting about what to do about him on twitter. clearly, he is not meeting about what to do about americans dying every few seconds in this country from coronavirus. >> well, up until january 6th, anderson, he was -- he was plotting a procedural coup. and he was strong arming the vice president and trying to get senators to go along with some

sort of procedural coup, on january 6th, when they were tabulating the electoral votes. certifying joe biden's election. but in terms of what he's been doing over the last couple of days, i will tell you, this white house has been in crisis-management mode. they have been reaching out to outside lawyers about the potential for impeachment. about the potential for the vice president and the cabinet invoking the 25th amendment. we don't think that's going to happen, at this point. and so, i've been told there have been many meetings. but the president, according to multiple sources that i've been in touch with, is just not dealing with reality. he's been unstable, ranting and raving and so on. and in terms of -- of being taken off of twitter, i mean, it -- it makes you wonder what he is going to do next. this, in -- in a way, will be seen by the president as a provocative act. he has been emasculated, to some extent, by twitter this evening because, if you think about, and dana was alluding to this, you think about, of all the toys donald trump likes to play with,

it's his twitter account that he prizes, most of all. and to take that away from him, i think, is an emasculating moment. it's like when air force one and the beast are taken away from him, on january 20th. his toys are being taken away from him and it's not going to sit well with this president, obviously. >> dana, beyond the twitter ban, the most likely consequence the president could face looks to be a second impeachment. is it clear? i mean, is there enough time for something like that? >> yes. for -- for the house to impeach him, there certainly is. the house democrats are planning on moving in warp speed, anderson. i mean, i was talking to a top-house democrat, earlier, who said likely it could happen as early as early next week. it's kind of remarkable, when you think about what -- what normally happens. if an impeachment is normal, certainly not to do it twice. but, because, you know, our hill team got the draft of the article, the singular article of

impeachment that they're working on. it's pretty clearcut and it's not as if they need to do investigating or, you know, hold lengthy hearings about what -- what happened. as members of congress have -- have said to me and others, they experienced it and we saw it. we saw it with our -- it's not as if, you know, it was a -- the president went to this rally and incited, with his words, this group of protestors to become a mob, and to become rioters. and ransack one of the most important buildings, you know, in the world. while theray were doing the business of their constitutional duty, actually written in the constitution, to certify the electoral college. so, it could happen very quickly. the open question, which maybe isn't even much of a question, is what happens after that? how the senate is going to deal with it, whether mitch mcconnell, in his waning days as majority leader, is just going to run out the clock and try to

avoid having a trial. you know, that is probably the most likely scenario. but we are in real uncharted territory, here. >> yeah. dana bash. jim acosta. thanks. joining us now, a central figure in the last impeachment hearing, connecticut democratic congressman, jim himes. congressman, your reaction to the president being banned from twitter? and frankly, do you think this week's insurrection could have been avoided if had pain taken the step before? >> i have very mixed reaction to the president being removed from twitter, anderson. it's not being talked about enough. but in addition to accountability, for what the president has done, there is a lot of thought being put into how -- is there any way to remove him from the oval office? you know, this is a man, who -- who incited a situation, where the presidential line of succession, the vice president, the speaker of the house, the speaker pro tem of the senate, were at risk. there appears to have been, we don't know the whole story, but a break in the military chain of command with respect to the

deployment of the national guard. it -- the issues don't get more serious than that, anderson. and so, there is a lot of thought, not exactly about accountabilit accountability. that's a whole, other conversation that will extend for a year. but to answer your question. when i heard the president's twitter account had been revoked, you know, i thought, well, that's good. that's one means of not inciting violence. but, as your guests were pointing out on the show, how is he psychologically going to react to that? again, i'm very focused on the fact that this is a man who still is in charge of american nuclear forces. he is still the most powerful man on the planet. and guess what? i bet he's more than a little grumpy right now. so, i don't quite know how to think about that. but i do think that it doubles down the importance of thinking about those ways that, you know, low probability that they may be, that could separate this man from the ability to launch a nuclear strike, amongst other things. >> well, i mean, doesn't seem like the 25th amendment would require vice president pence taking action with a majority of

the cabinet. i guess, in secret, so that the president couldn't fire them first. and then, the president would have a chance to, essentially, you know, say that he is completely capable of -- of continuing on. then, they would have to kind of counter that. that -- that -- that just seems highly unlikely, correct? >> well, it's all highly unlikely. and -- and yes, of course. and -- and that's, of course, what makes this a very nervous, very nervous moment. look. when you wake up to the news and hear that the speaker of the house. the speaker of the house. who is not in the military chain of command. is talking to the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff about safeguards on -- on our nuclear assets. that's just not a -- this is not a conversation, that i ever imagined that -- that we would be having. so, yes, there is no indication that vice president pence is going to agree to this. two cabinet secretaries, and, remember, you need -- you need a majority of the cabinet, in order to -- in order to excerpt the authorities, under the 25th

amendment. or, by the way, you can also have a commission. the word commission, though it may take the cabinet out of the calculation, cabinet members like mike pompeo, almost inconceivable that happens. the very word commission makes you think time and bureaucracy. so, you are right. it's a low-probability thing. but the stakes are so high, that's where an awful lot of attention is this evening. >> and if president trump were to be impeached again, in the house, it would, of course, then head to the senate where the prospects would be uncertain. there is, frankly, no reason to believe there are enough republican votes there to convict him. is that -- should that be part of the calculus? about whether or not the house does it? >> again, i think you are right in terms of that as a mechanism for removing the president. i keep coming back to this notion of, okay, his twitter has been taken away. but, yeah, what about the nuclear trigger? you're right. the probability is low. look. i -- you know, it would take some time in the house, as -- as dana bash pointed out. even moving at warp speed.

and there is no reason to believe that mitch mcconnell would even reconvene the senate for a trial, prior to the 20th of january. so, you know, when you talk about impeachment, i think you're really, at least again, coming back to this question about can he be taken out of the oval office? you are really talking about accountability, which is essential and important. our country will never get back to normal, until people are held to account for their seditious and their violent actions. but, you are, also, talking -- and this is my, i guess, second observation on how discussion of impeachment is valuable. you know, we haven't talked, yet, about the possibility that he might be persuaded to resign. that, actually, is -- that's low probability but it may be higher probability than these other things. and, of course, if a second impeachment is on the table, maybe, that conversation is a little bit more probable. >> congressman jim himes, appreciate your time. thank you. >> joining us now, conservative attorney, george conway. mr. conway, good to have you back on the program. you see the action by twitter, against the president.

what do you make of impeachment? >> well, i think it's important. it's important to do because, at a minimum, it sets the historical record straight. it sets -- it's -- it's accountability. also, another reason why it could be important. a senate trial can be held, after an official, who is impeached, leaves office, whether by resignation or by the end of his term. and one of the sanctions for a judgment of conviction in the senate on an impeachment charge can be permanent disbarment from holding federal-public office, again. and that would be some -- that would be significant, here. i think the republicans would do themselves a favor by signing onto that. so, i think, impeachment is -- is something that should definitely be on the table, if only because, you know, you cannot have -- this cannot be left standing. you cannot have a president of the united states try to subvert an election, not only by lying to the american people about

what happened in the election and not only by strongarming election officials in various states, like georgia, but by fomenting what was essentially insurrection. >> do you think him being removed from twitter, being impeached a second time, does that -- you know, there are some who argue, well, that, you know, gives -- gives fuel to his grievance politics. and helps him launch, you know, the next -- assuming it doesn't go through the senate and the senate doesn't, you know, prevent him from ever running again. that it kind of fuels his supporters, and fuels him to run on kind of a grievance platform of everybody's against me, big tech's against me, et cetera. >> well, two answers to that. first is these people don't need -- they are plenty aggrieved, as it is. you know, you saw those people chasing -- i think on your air, we see them chasing senator graham down the airport corridor. we've seen what they did on capitol hill. they're -- they're going to do

what they are going to do, anyway. they are aggrieved, as it is. one thing, though, they -- they like, in president trump, is his perceived strength, even though he's really just a whiny, weak president. and taking him down by taking him off these platforms, and not giving him -- showing that he is powerless to do anything about it. and then, ultimately, sending him back to mar-a-lago is going to diminish his appeal for these people who really seek some kind of, you know, authoritarian leader. >> does -- you know, congressman himes was just raising the idea that he might, you know, though probably limited probability of it, might resign. that seems highly unlikely. >> it's just not -- he will never do that. it's just something that he will never do. he will -- he will die in the bunker, first. he's not going to do that. but what i -- i -- i think the 25th amendment should, unfoef unfortunately, because i don't

think vice president pence has any kind of a moral backbone, he won't do it. but that would be, actually, the perfect solution, alongside impeachment. because the way the 25th amendment works is that, if the vice president and a majority of the principal-executive officials, the cabinet, say that he's -- that trump is unable to carry out his duties and he's mentally -- he's clearly mentally unfit and unable to carry out his duties. he hasn't been carrying out his duties at all. that takes the president out of commission, and makes vice president pence acting president for four days. now, during those four days, if trump says, no, no, i'm okay. i'm okay. i can resume my duties at the end of the four days. if the cabinet then says, no, no, no, we are sticking with our original decision. then, it goes to congress, and congress has 21 days, in which it's supposed to vote by two-thirds majority to affirm or reject the decision of the cabinet. well, if you add up those -- that time, the clock runs out on donald trump's term. it's actually a perfect and easy way to keep the country safe,

during the next 12 days. that said, i do think that, you know, the ideal situation would be to trigger the 25th amendment and impeach trump because i think the sanction of barring him from holding federal office, ever again, is actually an important one. >> you know, you mentioned what happened to lindsey graham. i just want to play that for our viewers, in case they haven't seen it. him walking through national airport, getting heckled by trump supporters. let's just play some of that. >> lindsey graham, you are a traitor to the country. you know it was rigged! you know it was rigged! you know it was rigged. garbage, human being. it's going to be like this forever, wherever you go, the rest of your life. >> i mean, i'm not a fan of, you know, people full of self-righteous indignation, on any side of the political aisle, heckling people, you know, in restaurants and stuff like that. but i mean, it's just pathetic, looking at that. if you are acknowledging the

reality of an honest and fair election, that you, then, now, are publicly heckled by a mob of people. and that, you know, he -- he has security. but there is a lot of folks who don't. >> yeah. it's completely insane. i mean, we have a psychopathic, a sociopathic president, and he is triggering all this abhorrent behavior. even -- even if you don't remove him, these people are spun up because donald trump spun them up. so, why not just do the right thing? i mean, the answer should always be just do the right thing. and the right thing here is this man is unfit for office. he should be removed because he is unable to carry out his duties, under the 25th amendment. and he violated his oath of office. he basically incit-- and if it' late to do that, then just make sure he never holds federal

office again because the constitution allows to do that, too. >> you are a student in history and politics, and, obviously, the law. i mean, is there -- not in u.s. history but is there -- are we -- is there something that, anywhere in the world, that has happened like this? i mean, this just seems such a weird confluence, surreal at time -- i mean, i -- what do you compare it to? >> well, i mean, i -- you can compare it to any number of nations where fascistic movements managed to achieve some degree of power. fortunately, we have -- you know, it wasn't perfect and was allowed to go on for far too long. we have a much stronger constitutional system, with the federalist aspect to it, which allowed states to conduct elections, free of federal interference. and we have -- you know, we have a -- a -- an independent judiciary. and we have a separate branch of

congress, that isn't fully controlled by the person controlling the executive authority. and we -- you know, we've managed to survive. the problem is there is, over the next 12 days, there is this danger of -- of having a psychopath, who is completely deranged and completely off his rocker and completely desperate. frankly, he's desperate because he knows he faces the potential for criminal liability, going forward. he has control of thousands of nuclear weapons, and he has control of the armed forces. i don't think that people will obey his orders. but it's a scary proposition that there is even a remote chance that he could do something completely insane. >> george conway, i really appreciate talking to you. thank you. >> thank you. thank you, anderson. coming up next. jim acosta's reporting, more on the possibility that what we saw on wednesday was only act one. later, with the country having recorded a 4,000-fatality day.

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ask your health care provider today about once-weekly ozempic®. as we reported at the top, we started seeing arrests today of some insurrectionists from the capitol. people like richard barnett, seen here in speaker pelosi's office. here is more current photo of him. it's a mugshot. he is now charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any

restricted building, violent entry and misconduct on capitol grounds. also, arrested today, west virginia state lawmaker, derrick evans, who posted and later deleted a video of himself in the capitol. reveals the scent fincident fort was and not just some harmless protest. this next clip posted on youtube by jaden x, catches chaos the seconds before one of the rioters was shot requeand kille. tactical team has just been called. but for the moment, it's just three officers on that door, and several more behind it. >> i want you to go home. go! go!

>> he has a gun! he has a gun! there is a gun! >> hey, he's got a gun! >> just a few seconds later, ashli babbitt was shot dead. seconds after that, the tactical team arrives. you saw those officers there in front of the door. you saw them move away, allowing the protestor -- not protestors, attackers, to attempt to batter down the door. it's unclear whether they did that because they were persuaded by the man you just heard there saying we had your back. or whether they were just getting out of the tactical team's way. we don't know. we don't have a definitive answer to that. nor do we know, in a larger sense, precisely why authorities didn't see and hear the warning signs all over the internet. cnn's drew griffin went looking for answers online. >> reporter: caught flat footed, federal and local officials insist they had no idea the

siege would happen. >> there was no intelligence that suggested there would be a breach of the u.s. capitol. >> reporter: but that seems hardly believable. in the days and weeks before the insurrection, the warning signs were clear. violent and threatening, online posts. an online call to arms. operation occupy the capitol, one viral post called it. go to washington, january 6th, and help storm the capitol. we will storm the government buildings, kill cops, kill security guards, kill federal employees, and agents. and demand a recount. trump or war. today. that simple. another user posted. >> the writing was on the wall, months ago, that this could turn into something extremely violent. >> reporter: researchers, who track hate, violence speech, and extremist groups, say what happened at the capitol shows what some dismiss as just online boasting, was actually a plan of action. and some of those who sieged the capitol were prepared. >> there were men on the senate

floor wearing tactical equipment, carrying zip-tie restraints of the kinds police use to handcuff people. i, somehow, doubt they just brought those to a protest. >> reporter: the violent rhetoric had wide reach. the nonprofit advance democracy tracked 1,480 violence-related qanon twitter posts, just since january 1st. on tiktok, videos promoting violence were viewed 279,000 times. >> if you look at the work of anybody who has been tracking extremism in the united states, you will find that they have been issuing warnings, regularly, about these groups and the language that they're using. >> reporter: one of the main stop-the-steal rally organizers, ali alexander, told followers he and three congressmen were planning something big. >> we schemed up a pretty maximum pressure on congress, we could change the hearts and the minds of republicans who are in that body. hearing our loud war from

outside. >> reporter: he told followers, bring tents, sleeping bags, and other supplies. and added this. if d.c. escalates, so do we. a follower responded to the post, bring a gun. investigators at the anti-defamation league say they were sharing the violent posts and concerns about january 6th with law enforcement, right up until this week. >> we have been in touch with law enforcement, on a very regular basis. >> reporter: fearing the warnings were being ignored, the adl went public. >> our level of concern rose so dramtcally that, on monday, we actually published a blog to put out on the public record about our degree of alarm. we weren't surprised by the intensity of what happened. >> reporter: what's next? january 20th. researchers are worried about the increasing chatter about violence at the inauguration. >> i think it's very plausible that we are just in the beginning of this. >> reporter: round two, on january 20th, one poster writes on the online forum, the donald.

i don't even care about keeping trump in power. i care about war. please, take urgent action to save our country. on january 20th, says another post, it's our last chance. drew griffin, cnn, atlanta. again, those threats are about january 20th, inauguration day. tonight, we are learning there might be a threat three days earlier, on the 17th. as part of its announcement, twitter said quote the further incitement of violence, plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating, on and off twitter, including proposed secondary attack on capitol and state capitol buildings. brian stelter. and charles ramsey, also happens to be district of columbia's former police chief. chief ramsey, calls online for round two january 20th. doesn't seem to get more serious than that, does it? >> no, it doesn't. and i am aware of both. the one on january 17th targets, not only the u.s. capitol but,

also, capitol buildings in all 50 states. especially, the swing states. it's going under the guise of being some kind of second-amendment rally. so, that would indicate that they are going to be armed, if they do, in fact, show up. one of the problems that we have right now is the fact that, in light of wednesday, the 6th of january, the capitol police chief has resigned. the sergeant in arms of the capitol and -- and senate and the house have all resigned. we are two weeks away from an inauguration and we don't have leaders in place to really make sure that everything stays where it ought to be, in terms of security plans and preparation for the inauguration on the 20th. now, there are going to be some changes in the inauguration. but that was all pre-the 6th of january. it was due to covid. i imagine, there will be even more changes in light of what happened wednesday. but, you don't have a police chief over there, now. and you have got two assistant chiefs that are just recently promoted.

so, that's got to be addressed. and addressed, pretty quick. >> brian, i mean, just president trump being banned from twitter, the tech industry, as a whole, seems to be kind of waking up and taking some action. >> yes. google has banned parlor, which is that newer social network like a far-right twitter that attracts a lot of extremists. that happened in the past hour. we have seen youtube banning a steve bannon podcast channel in the past hour. we are seeing action, all over social media companies. it reminds me, anderson, of those days back in march when the pandemic was really up eendg life in america and corporate america took action before the federal government. it's a little bit of a similarity right now. technology companies taking action against the president, while the house and the senate just think about what they might consider doing. this is about -- this week is about online radicalization having real-life consequences. people that were brainwashed with lies on the internet, showing up to commit crimes in d.c. these technology companies know that they are partially

responsible and that's why they are taking action. >> chief ramsey, in a situation where, i mean, the city of washington, d.c. knew, obviously, this rally was to take place on january 6th. you know, we had reported on some of the threats. we had reported on the rhetoric surrounding it. the chief of police there, now, says, you know, we didn't know of any specific plans to attack the -- the capitol. it does seem like there was just this assumption that, oh, well, these -- you know, these are patriots and they're not going to attack us like we were afraid black lives matter protestors would attack and prepared for. is there a double standard? >> i wouldn't say it's a double standard. but -- but i would say this. that was a d.c. police chief that said that. that intel would have come, first, into the u.s. capitol because that was the target that was being discussed in the threat. everyone in d.c. should have known about it. all the law enforcement, anyway. >> right. i'm just wondering, why -- why -- why are there -- black lives matter protests, this summer, you know, heavily-armed

riot gear police already surrounding around the capitol. and this time, there weren't? >> well, i mean, it's inexcusable. i think it's pretty obvious. obviously, they underestimated this particular crowd, versus the other. >> how is that not a double standard? >> it is a double standard. it is a double standard. there's no question about that. i'm certainly not arguing that. they should have been equally prepared, as they were during the summer for the demonstrations that took place. there was no excuse for them not to be. so, yes, it was a double standard, clearly. and it should never happen. >> brian, i just got in word that minutes ago, apparently, president trump tried to tweet from the potus twitter account. and correct me if i'm wrong, the twitter -- twitter immediately took -- took it down. i mean -- >> the whole rule of this ban is if trump tries to go on anybody else's account and post, this ban applies to any of those accounts. now, these are the potus

account, the white house account. these are u.s. government accounts. twitter does not want to suspend these accounts because, in about, what, 10, 11, 12 days, they are going to be transferred to joe biden. these accounts are going to be transferred to biden. so, twitter is being very careful now watching to see if trump tries to post something else. and, anderson -- >> this is nice. like, the president of the united states is now trying to trick twitter and posting -- as if it's so important that he use twitter, somehow, as opposed to just making a statement. i mean, i guess, then he would have to be open to, you know, being confronted and talked to by reporters. and we lost brian. chief ramsey, as you heard earlier, the d.c. chief of police said that there was no intelligence. that there be a breach in the capitol. what can -- what should be done differently for january 17th, for january 20th? >> well, obviously, a lot has to happen. these intelligence agencies and

groups, both local as well as federal, need to talk to one another and share intelligence information. i don't know if that was the case or not, for the 6th of january. but when i was chief of d.c., we always shared information. i mean, it didn't matter if the target was the capitol or, maybe, one of the monuments and the park police were involved. we all knew what was going on so we could gear up and be prepared. so, i don't know how this happened. and it's inexcusable that it happened. but they got to get their act together, now. because the 17th is on the horizon, just about a week away. and the 20th, which is the inauguration, and i'm very concerned about both those dates, in light of what happened. >> white privilege. >> brian? >> white privilege is how it happened. white privilege. we know why it happened, right? because these are white people, who are perceived to be friendly with the police. and there's been a fear in country of taking on far-right terrorism for more than a decade. there's been a fear of addressing that there is a form of domestic terrorism in this

country that involves radical, right-leaning individuals. and i hope that fear goes away. i hope no one's afraid, anymore, to take on this threat here, at home. >> former police chief, charles ramsey. brian stelter. appreciate it. u.s. capitol attacked, exposing major security concerns weeks before a presidential inauguration president trump has told supporters is illegal, which most certainly is not. i am joined by presidential historian, doris kerns. good to have you here, in these very difficult days. i just want to get your reaction as things played out on wednesday, what we all saw. how do you see this? how can you put it in perspective? >> well, you know, i try to think about what it's going to be like when people, a hundred years from now, look at that event on january 6th. and i think, first of all, whatever is written about it, it will start with the election. and the election that president trump did not concede, was not willing to accept was real. and then, fabricated, to millions of people, the idea that it was stolen. created the atmosphere that

allowed those people to come to washington, under his incitement, and attack the capitol. so, and in the meantime, i think, 100 years from now, people will be saying we were suffering one of the worst crises we had ever been through with the virus and economic catastrophe, and almost not a word was said about it. and this is what we were talking about and this is what he fostered upon us. i hope people, 100 years from now, will be stunned that this happened and it won't be something that they are going to see happening, again and again. and think, how in the world did this happen to us, at this time, in history? >> i mean, the idea that the president of the united states, is right now, like, running around trying to bogart other people's twitter accounts so that he can tweet is just ridiculous. i mean, he hasn't -- you know, he's not doing anything about coronavirus. but he is just, you know, trying to find twitter accounts that -- that he can ghost. is there anything that compares to this, in the history of the nation? i -- you had referenced the -- the famous cane attack that took place prior to the civil war in

the halls of -- can you explain what happened? and why you think it resonates today? >> yeah. i think there really is a sense of looking at that attack, now, and figuring out what happened. and thinking about what we can do, now, to make that not happen. >> charles sumner, who got attacked, right? >> charles sumner, an anti-slavery senator, seated at his desk in the chamber. a representative from south carolina, preston brooks, comes into the chamber and takes his cane and hits sumner on the head so hard that he falls into unconsciousness. he is bleeding. he has to be carried out. he cannot get back to the senate for three years, so badly was he injured. but that attack finally mobilized even more people in the north to mass rallies. it's partly responsible for creating the dawn of the republican party, which had already been formed. but moderates and conservatives began to form into the republican party. but meanwhile, the really scary thing is that, in the south, just as sumner was a hero in the

north, preston brooks becomes a hero in the south. and the governor presents him with a golden or silver goblet and a cane. all sorts of people are sporting canes and wanting to go after other people. and then, that's one of the incidents that leads to the civil war is it seems inevitable to us now that civil war took place. right now, we worry about what is going to be the end of our story but it doesn't have to end this way. and maybe, there is some hope in the idea that republicans, even if they were in the dawn of their party back then, are now at a point of changing their party. of separating themselves from trump and creating a new form of the republican party. we've seen massive numbers of people voting, in south carolina. voting in the november election. if people can take hold of this and realize, this is our story. we have to tell it, so it doesn't end up the way it did in the civil war. then, something will be learned. that's what history does. >> there is this stringing throughout american history,

though, of -- of -- of, you know, of violence and, you know, upheaval and, you know, it's not something we like to think about. it's not something we like to -- to view as part of -- of our history. >> and it's very important that we understand that because i think that's part of the problem, sometime. and that's what our educational system is getting better at, right now. is to make us understand how we had to go through various times, very difficult times, to come out looking better. i mean, i keep going back in a positive way. when you think about how public consciousness was shifted with the selma demonstration. there, you had a strain of that violence. look what those alabama state troopers did to the peaceful protestors at pettus bridge. and somehow, people saw that, just as people have now seen this attack in the senate, just as they saw charles sumner. there is something about visual imagery like that or something so dramatic, it shifted public consciousness and that voting rights act was passed. so, i think we just have to hope

that somehow public sentiment can change through this. that's what old abe lincoln said. without it, nothing is possible. and he doesn't just mean public opinion. he meant, when you get the country to realize something is against the ideals we allow ourselves to believe. and hopefully, we are at that turning point now. that is the only way we can go forward, is for people to realize something has to change from where we have been in the last four years. >> yeah. doris, it's always a pleasure to talk to you, especially in a difficult time, to get some perspective. thank you. >> you are very welcome. so glad to be with you. >> you, take care. last night, we pointed out some in congress and white house staffers who are now distancing themselves from the president they had enabled. cabinet members, suddenly, jumping from the sinking ship. while we were doing that, over on fox news, last night, tucker carlson, and then sean hannity, were downplaying the i tack on the capitol. saying it wasn't insurrection, just a peaceful protest, got out of hand. they also both devoted segments

to what they would like you to believe is the real outrage about the attack on the capitol. me. and they are twisting something i said about the people who perpetrated the attack. >> according to anderson, the real horror from yesterday's chaos is that some of the pro-trump protestors will go back and celebrate at an olive garden. and spend the night at a holiday inn. oh, the thought. anderson cooper thinks that accusing someone of eating at an olive garden or staying at a holiday inn is a low insult. >> now, look. i know they're in a jam. those guys have backed the president, more than anyone. hannity's multimillion-dollar media empire of tv and radio and books is all based on the support of trump supporters. so, i get that they need to play down what we all witnessed at the capitol. i get it. they need to change the subject. they need to divert attention. and i guess, i gave them an easy opening to twist my words.

i should have been more clear with something i said in the immediate moments after the attack as people who had broken into the capitol were simply being allowed to leave, it seemed. to just walk away. celebrating, if fact, the criminal act they had taken part in. i was trying to remark about the seeming casualness of the behavior we were all witnessing, at that moment, after the attack. the high-fiving, the laughing. the celebratory atmosphere, as if they had actually accomplished something, other than just disgraceful mayhem. i said they should be ashamed of what they did. and i believe that. and i was trying to say, and perhaps didn't do a good job of it, that they were just going to go back to their lives, that day, as though they were patriots. they were going to go back to hotels and have a drink, have some dinner. i named the two hotels that i could think of in the capitol hill, in that moment, in the mall area. i named the olive garden as a restaurant they might eat. normal places as if this was a normal day. in the moment, my brain froze, i couldn't remember the exact name. i said the olive garden. turns out, the nearest one is in maryland. anyway, now, hannity and carlson are trying to rile up viewers

and trying to distract them by pretending i was somehow dissing olive garden or those hotels, implying i am too fancy for those establishments because of my mom's last name. i somehow look down on those establishments. and it genuinely makes me sad to think people would believe that. and i have been kind of sad about it, all day. that is not what i was doing. i wasn't dissing a restaurant. i was dissing criminality and the ability of some who took part, to just go back to their routines, seemingly, without any sense of shame. and being allowed to just walk away from a crime scene. a shocking crime was committed. an assault on our democracy. an assault, many, otherwise-law-abiding citizens had actually been fooled to taking part in by our president, who lied to them about widespread election fraud that did not occur. and those lies were amplified by fox news. and, yes, by tucker carlson and sean hannity. and now, they are trying to minimize it and divert attention away from it. "the washington post" quotes hannity as saying i'd like to know who the agitators were.

the biggest agitator is your buddy, the president. you probably have his number on -- on your cell phone. tucker carlson said, we may never know the truth here. i keep seeing all these kind of accounts of who they were and what their motives might have been. that's like people saying, i keep seeing all those reports about election fraud, so we've got to act on it and have this commission and really investigate it. what happened at the capitol should be a moment for all of us to reflect on our own words and our actions, myself included, and how we can all do better to bring this country back together. is this who we really want to be? i hope the folks at fox might do some reflecting as well instead of just the usual games of diversion and division. just for the record, i like the olive garden. i like the artichoke dip which has spinach in it, which i hate. on my new year's eve a few years ago, we even broadcast repeatedly from the olive

garden. over the years, i've publicly praised orange chicken at panda express and mcdonald's big macs. this is a diversion from a crime that was committed, a crime in which people died, a police officer died. this is not a time for stupid cable news fights. it's a time for mourning the loss of life. and let's hope it's time for a new morning in america. we have more important news ahead. the daily death toll to the coronavirus reached a new high last night with 4,112, a number that could be surpassed tonight. nowhere right now is the virus hitting harder than in california. what it looks like inside one hospital there that's completely overwhelmed but is desperately trying to save lives. we'll be right back. acetaminophen blocks pain signals. new advil dual action with acetaminophen.

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as the threat of another impeachment looms against president trump, the pandemic his administration has failed to contain shows no signs of slowing down. tonight more than 272,000 new cases and more than 3,400 more people have died. new deaths recorded. as we reported, more than 4,000 people have died yesterday alone. among the hardest hit states has been california. as you know, los angeles county reporting 318 deaths, their most in a single day. statewide, 50,000 new cases today alone. take a look at this. a temporary morgue is being set up near the l.a. county coroner's office to help store human bodies. you can see workers loading some of them into temporary storage freezer containers. that's people's loved ones. miles away from los angeles in a rural town in the high desert of the state, covid cases are also

running rampant. cnn's sara sidner is there. >> we've never seen the e.r. like this before in our whole time being here. >> reporter: this is what covid-19 looks like in california in 2021. a hellscape. >> the death toll has been just out of this world. >> reporter: on the edge of the mojave desert at saint mary medical center in apple valley, you can see the crisis even before you walk in. >> keep that in your nose, okay? >> reporter: patients arrive constantly, some by ambulance, some on foot. >> what's going on today? trouble breathing? >> reporter: a california national guard strike team of medics and nurses arrives daily. >> this is an area of great need, and we're glad to be here. you know, when i first got in, it felt like maybe a band-aid on an arterial bleed. >> reporter: a gush of patients that just won't stop. >> i'd say about 80% of our patients are covid. >> reporter: temporary plastic

walls erected all over this hospital create a maze of covid pods. patients with other emergencies line the halls. >> the hospital is so full here that some of the patients you're seeing here in the hallways will have to wait seven to ten days possibly just to get a room. they need to be admitted to the hospital, but they're being cared for in the hallways for now. upstairs in the 20-bed icu -- >> in icu, we see death and dying on a daily basis, but never to this scale. >> reporter: every intensive care unit bed is full. every staff member busy saving patients. >> we have over 50 icu patients in the hospital right now, and we only have the staff to care for about 20 of them. so we are being stretched. the nurses are being pushed to their absolute breaking points and then a little further every day. >> rapid response, 238. >> reporter: the soundtrack here a never-ending series of

beeping, codes, and rapid response calls alerting staff when someone's heart has stopped or breathing has stalled. that's what's happening behind this curtain inside a newly created covid unit. a covid-19 patient in pain can't catch her breath. nurses and doctors can't either, working every day to exhaustion. >> the physical toll, of course. there's also an emotional toll. it's hard to see all these patients die. mortality has been very, very high. >> how do you live with this? are you okay? >> i guess i'm still standing, but, you know, we'll see. give it a few months. >> reporter: but right now a patient needs him. he's on life support. covid pneumonia is on the attack. his lung has collapsed. there's a scramble to insert a chest tube. the difference between life and death, razor thin. >> people don't take it seriously until they're here with us or until they're on the other line of that phone call

talking to their family member for the last time. it is real. it is serious, and most of what we're seeing is preventable. >> reporter: the hospital is making space in every nook and cranny, but the crush of patients threatens to overwhelm the space and the staff every single day. everyone here expects this to get worse before coronavirus takes its last breath. sara sidner, cnn, apple valley, california. >> the least we can do is wear a mask. the least we can do. i mean you can't look at that and hear that person gasping, trying to breathe. i mean what are we doing? what are we doing? i'm done. it's time for chris. chris? >> all those people organizing on parler and the other sites for people to come. you see how often they said don't wear a mask. don't wear a mask. it's become a sign of defiance

and one, once again, that was introduced by the worst of us, currently president of the united states. anderson, have a good weekend, brother. >> you too, chris. i am chris cuomo, and welcome to "prime time." the case against trump is the easy part of this situation. no one in their right mind can think what happened at the capitol is okay. they can say, well, but what about the summer? that rings hollow in the face of the worst attack on the capitol in recent history. we now know that when it was happening, trump refused to stop it. we have proof of his refusal to stop it for you tonight. he says he called for the national guard. sure, he did, when it was to attack black people all during the summer. but he refused to call the national guard when the capitol was savaged in his name. that is the truth. it i