you can follow me on twitter and instagram @wolf blitzer, you can tweet the show @cnnsitroom. erin burnett is "out front" now. we are learning more tonight with the man in the car with george floyd the day he died. mitch mcconnell fought for years to raise massive amounts of money from corporations. now he says corporations should be staying out of politics. good evening, i am erin burnett. a pivotal day in the murder

trial of derek chauvin. the prosecution bringing back the image of chauvin's knee on floyd's neck to drill down the point that this was not something that chauvin was trained to do. >> in addition to the class room tr training do you teach chauvin how to do these neck restraints? >> yes, sir. >> is this an mpd trained neck restraint? >> no, sir. >> had it ever been? >> not in minneapolis training neck restraint and never has been. >> chauvin's defense tried to pivot the conversation away from what he was not trained to do and instead to raise questions

again. >> can you see in this photograph what appears to be the knee of the officer. would you agree that the knee was placed in the center between mr. floyd's shoulder blades? >> it appears to be between the shoulder blades. >> let's go to omar jimenez to begin our coverage tonight. omar, when you take a look at this trial you now have yet another member of the minneapolis police department condemning chauvin's actions today. >> reporter: that's right, especially over the past few days we have seen senior level officers within this department testifies in regards of the training chauvin has had saying

this is not what we do. floyd's brother, rodney does in the courtroom today. watching today was a nail biter and it is like a movie where you don't know what's going to happen next. >> reporter: more than 20 witnesses have been called for the trial of chauvin's. many of them are officers. >> just because they are speaking does not mean they are breathing adequately. >> reporter: police lieutenant jo johnny marcelle is a training police at the police department. >> marcelle admitted there are scenarios where a knee on the neck does happen in times of aggressive resistance.

but -- >> for example, the subject was under control and handcuffed, would it be authorized? >> i would say no. >> reporter: the defense pushing the lieutenant to their central argument that george floyd dies largely from drugs and asking about drugs in his adrenaline which the lieutenant say can speed up the process. >> youhow long based on your training and experience does it typically take to render a person unconscious using a neck restraint? >> my experience is 110 seconds. >> reporter: lieutenant mercill is among multiple senior officers to testify in recent days on topics like use of force and crisis intervention. the court on tuesday focused on chauvin's exact knee place which the defense argued more on

floyd's back at point. >> does this appear to be a prone hold that an officer may apply with his knee? >> yes. >> reporter: prosecutors argued the exact placement matters less than what they argued led to especially floyd was around under control. >> you talked about the prone position in of itself meaning that something cab lead to fix fix asphy asphyxiation, right? >> reporter: the defense returned to one of their central arguments that a loud crowd was a distraction for chauvin. >> does it make it difficult to assess a patient? >> it does. >> reporter: doethe distractionn

actually harm the potential care of the patients. >> reporter: among those , defense also wants to call maurice hall. defense wants to ask him allegations that he supplied floyd with drugs and the counterfeit county bill. >> reporter: all of that with hall in court happened this morning before -- not in front of the jury. the defense has to write out specific questions that he'll go through on thursday and then make the determination if any of those questions will be allowed to be asked in front of the jury. that's where we are going to pick things backup tomorrow morning. >> we are eager to see where

that is. i want to go to our elie honig and also isaiah mckinnon, the former police chief for detroit. elie, let me start wyou. jurors have heard from five police chief members. are they making an open-close case as you hear it? >> the big picture is putting a strong and compelling and almost an unequivocal case that derek used far exceeded his training. today we started to get into diminishing returns for the prosecution. we already had heard from the

senior most officer on the whole force. we heard from the training official, we already heard from the chief, it does not get anymore credible than the chief. they kept on calling witness after witness to say largely things that we already knew. at a certain point that can backfire. you ever a jury that have limited attention span. they're only going to stay with you, the defense lawyer is getting a chance to score points, maybe not major points but minor points. the medical trainer was called today. on her cross-examination, we heard the clip from omar, it is better practice if you can get the person away from the scene. that's the point they're going to argue for defense on closing. >> for sure. i am not a lawyer but i am saying they're making the case that he used excessive force

again and again and they're making it to that specific point of the knee on the neck. that created the opportunity for the defense to try to create some fog, right? today they came in and said okay chauvin's knee was on floyd's shoulder and not his neck. last night they said that was the case. today they seem to claim his knee was on floyd's shoulder for the final five minutes. they're creating this fog, this question about where was his knee and when was his knee. is that fog going to be useful for them? >> any fog or confusion or any doubt is a win for the defense. we can watch the video a million

of times. >> so chief, let me ask you, we heard from the officer when elie mentioned. both sides questioned her about this issue of crowds. we know defense were trying to make a thing of this. let me play this exchange. >> does it make it more difficult for assessment? >> it does. >> does it make it likely for you to miss signs? >> only if they are physically

getting themselves involved. >> chief, we know at this point was one of the keys of chauvin's defense. he was distracted or the crowd was in the face and jumping in and cell phones in the video and yelling. she was the witness for prosecution here and seemed to be making an argument for the defense. > >> you had three officers holding him down and one with his knee on his neck and another was addressing the crowds. so they're trying to tell you that this crowd was being unruly and threatening the officers. let's look at chauvin's face. that's not the case at all. i can tell you specifically. i was almost killed by the attorney police officer in 1977.

that was the same look i saw on the face of that officer. i was beaten up by an officer. the same look. it is just amazing when you see this where i see this, my god, they're trying to deflect and get you to think these kinds of things are not happening. we have all seen this right. this has been in the courtroom again and again. so this image, the defense has tried to explain. here is how they try to do that today. >> some of the techniques that minneapolis police department trains both veterans and recruits would be to have a confidence about them, right? they should speak slowly and softly. >> yes, sir. >> they should avoid staring or eye contact.

>> yes, sir. >> they clearly felt they needed to address his demeanor. >> head off this argument that he's cold-blooded and he's unfeeling. when you see him and hear his voice, he sounds like he's basically undisturbed whatsoever by just what happened to george floyd. what the chief said and what he's feeling when he's looking at chauvin's face and the things that reminded him yet, i assure you the jury is getting the same impression. >> one other point that we heard from the defense today, sometimes people lie. >> when you arrested people, have you had people plead with you not to arrest them? >> yes, sir. >> have you had people say they were having a medical emergency? >> yes, sir. >> have you had people say i

can't breathe? >> yes, sir. were there circumstances during the course of your career where you didn't believe that person was having a medical emergency? >> yes, sir. >> what did you make of that? >> even when i made arrests, i never had anyone told me yes, i did it. someone is going to try and lie. no one wants to go to jail. the thing is as a trained and police officer who's compassionate to people who try to understand, i know you are going the lie to me but i am going to take you to jail. how you take them to jail is the bottom line and bottom question that we have the deal with and to me this is one of those

situations where we state this is not the way to do it. >>. >> he was 25 years old, died after sustaining a neck injuries. three officers acquitted and charges dropped against three boards. do you believe there could be a similar outcome in this trial or do you feel differently this time? >> it is a much different case. >> i don't want to prejuj the chauvin's trial and we'll see if the defense is able to convince one juror that they feel more comfortable calling george floyd a person who abused drugs or maybe it was the fentanyl that killed him or rather say police officer is a murder.

it is definitely a different set of circumstances with a lot more evidence but again too early to judge. >> thank you all very much. i appreciate it. >> thank you. ne next george floyd's friend who's in the car on the day of his death wants to plead the fifth but he had spoken out before. mitch mcconnell calling corporations weighing in stupid. plus, corporations should stay out of politics. why does it not apply when he spends so much time seeking for their donations. texas joining florida banning passports. why this is the new wedge issues when it comes to covid?

tonight the friend of george floyd's who was in the car with him before he die telling the

judge he intends to take the fifth. he's also in jail of domestic abuse. >> there is an allegation that mr. floyd ingested controlled substance as police removed him. a car that's been searched twice and drugs have been found in that car. this leads mr. hall infringing himself for third-degree murder. >> i want to give you a chance to talk about mr. hall. when you hear they have concerns of a third degree charge, possibly drug use or may it be

rel relevant. they're raising that speck to. a -- spector. >> are you worried how defense could be? >> no, just so they can bring up drug use and get away from the murder that we are all watching. i get it, it is for drama but it is not relevant to the murder of george floyd. >> last month court tv interviewed hall and obviously this was not all about drug use or whatever else happened. he talked about george floyd. here is what he had to say. >> at one point he said it, "this is cold, i can't believe it." just like the whole world, we can't believe it. just hearing him say that and suffered man. my heart goes out to him. they broke my heart when they did floyd like that.

>> so is there anything if hall does testify anyway and i know he's trying to avoid it that can help humanize himself and add something to your case about what happened that day in the car. >> i think that first week we all got a great picture of the suffering that george went through. we heard about his family and how he is and you know he was humanized by a phenomenal job pieby the prosecution. if they did not put him up and people would say oh they were too arrogant and they should have more witnesses. >> i want to play a line of witness from defense >> when you arrested people, have you had people plead with

you not to arrest them? >> yes, sir. >> have you had people say they were having a medical emergency? >> yes, sir. >> have you had people say i can't breathe? >> yes, sir. >> and were there circumstances during the course of your career as an officer where you didn't believe that person was having a medical emergency? >> yes, sir. >> chris, what's your reaction to the defense suggesting that officers could have been justified floyd was faking this whole thing? >> well, you know, you have to understand what jury trials are, they're mind games. they're trying magic tricks. you didn't see what you saw and now his knee was not on his neck but -- it is on his neck. that's on his neck. sorry, they're now arguing every american didn't see what they

actually saw. his knee is on his neck. it is mind games. they're trying to go after every emotional attack that the prosecution made. and all they need is one person to confuse or mix up something and so now their defense is ever flowing. it changes everyday. now his knee is on his back and not his neck. tomorrow who knows what it will be? it changes everyday. >> do you have confidence in the verdict you will get in the jury? >> i have got confidence in human beings. i will never lose that and all the civil rights cases that i fight. i won't lose hope, i believe this jury won't be confused. they're paying close attention and they're noticing wow, mr. chauvin is taking notes constantly but he could not

check a pulse or listen to the officer who said "turn him over," it is not going to work. >> chris, i appreciate your time. >> thank you. next, the president on baseball decision to pull the all-star game out of georgia and as mitch mcconnell calling the corporations for being stupid for taking sides. the u.k. putting astrazeneca on adults, people are being investigated as well. and alls this guy runs off to. like jeff's, a life well lived should continue at home. home instead offers customized services from personal care to memory care, so older adults can stay home, stay safe, and stay happy. home instead. to us, it's personal.

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people need this symbol. where do we start? find the best in entertainment all in one place, with disney plus now on xfinity! a way better way to watch. tonight senate minority leader mitch mcconnell blasting corporations to taking sides in the voting laws debate. they're officially moving the all-star plan from denver to atlanta and protest of the new voting law. >> republicans implied on planes and drink coca-cola, too. what i am saying here is this is quite stupid to jump in the middle of a highly controversial

typically when they got their facts wrong. >> yet, the hypocrisy is palpable for mcconnell. here is what he said in 2012. >> no individual or group in this country should have to face harassment or crippling defenses to defend themselves against their own government simply because their government does not like the message. >> mcconnell does not like the message they are advocating now and he's the most senior republican in washington. he's certainly a big part of the government. when he does not like the message, it is okay to intimidate the koconversations d also with me our dana bash. what do you make of what mcconnell is doing here?

>> i think mcconnell is an ex hearth. . >> mcconnell was asked whether companies should give up on political donations. as dan is saying the expert, you said it in a memorable way than i said it, dan. let me play mcconnell for you. >> i am not talking about political contributions. most of them contribute to both sides and that's fine and legal and appropriate, i support that. so dan, he's got no problem of contributions continuing to flow but he has a problem when corporations speak out not on

his side. >> yeah, that's what it appears to be. >> dana, sorry. i didn't realize y'all names are so similar. >> he's not just saying it now. he was and still is at the tip of the spear of the number one advocate for citizens united which open the flood gates of corporate america being allowed to spend unlimited sums of money in campaigns. the argument he made was it was a first amendment right that they should be able to speak out and be apart of the process. it is really hard to understand why this is a right and they don't have the same right to speak out when they decide for their own company and in this case is the mlb deciding as a company we want to make a first

amendment statement and say we don't like this new georgia voting law. we think it is restrictive so we'll move. >> corporations people -- >> it is hard to make -- they're people when it comes to their money but not to their point of view. >> dan, you are from georgia. >> yes. >> this just happened. you have not seen yet. former president trump put out a statement and he is slamming the republican governor brian kemp, he's always looking for an excuse to do that for the win that trump says democrats got in the new law. trump says "kemp also caved to the radical left wing. well, he kept it and they still call him racist." >> trump weighing in on this and slamming kemp and is he doing

more harm than good by making h himself as a central player? >> mcconnell got the kind of nuance language and trump is going for the full frontal assault. he seems consistently want a civil war with the gop and in the state of georgia. trump is trying to stay relevant and stir up a mess here. i think this law gotten a little bit of a good stuff for voters in georgia and a lot of bad stuff and should have been more thought through. trump is really trying to weigh in and staying relevant and it is really going to cause a lot of chaos and economic harm in georgia the way i see it. a if somebody wants the metro atlanta to do well, we need to keep the all-star game in atlanta and no boycott.

>> just real quick, i am sure he would agree with me the other part of the trump's statement was trying to keep governor kemp from having any benefits among republicans with this law because it is personal. trump really decespises kemp fo the election. >> it is a personal vendetta. >> >> he's trying to keep brian kemp's number down and that's the sub text of what's going on here. >> thank you both. i appreciate it. >> thanks. next, partisan battle line is being drawn when it comes to vaccine passports and congressman matt gaetz is now fund raising?

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as we continue to return to classrooms... parents like me want to make sure we're doing it safely. especially in the underserved communities hardest hit by covid. trust me, no one wants to get back to classroom learning more than teachers like me. using common sense safety measures like masks, physical distancing, and proper ventilation. safety is why we're prioritizing vaccinations for educators. because working with our local communities... we will all get through this together, safely. the republican push to ban vaccine passports, greg abbott issued executive order banning agencies. he follows the florida's

governor desantis who issued a similar order last week. "outfront" now is dr. rhiner, you do support them, how come? >> let's think about it this way, many businesses really require large volumes of people to make money. think about the broadway theater industry. broadway shows can't make money unless the house is filled. how do you ensure it during the pandemic? you need to make sure everyone is vaccinated. i have received e-mails from celebrity cruises, they plan on vaccines on only cruises? how do you prove that? with a vaccine passport.

the texas rangers packing 45,000 people into that stadium and not knowing who's sitting next to you. think of it, not as a political talisman. think of it as an economic expansion tool. >> so putting aside any questions and i get your point but how you do it or id or making sure there is no fraud, i mention to republican governors and they are arguing it is an invasion of privacy. it is interesting dr. reiner that the white house says they're not going to ask americans to be required to carry a passport like this. what do you say to that? >> i say the white house is wrong. >> i can't practice in my hospital without being vaccinated every year for influenza, important public

health tool. if we want to open this country, we have to ensure public safety. it is not invasion of privacy to ask people to document if they are going into a tightly packed space that they have been vaccinated. they don't have to be vaccinated but they can be preventing from engageing in that activity. offices are going to start doing this, showing proofs. how they feel about asking foreigners coming to the united states to prove they have been vaccinated. i bet you not a single one of governors would oppose mandating proof that foreigners have been vaccinated. why are we asking less from americans? >> on this issue you mention people from outside of the united states coming in. a lot of the united states coming in are going to have other vaccines and i am not talking about the chinese

vaccine, i am talking about astrazeneca which is applying now for the u.s. has been picked for the vaccine of choice, europe, philippines and you name it. they have now paused a child in children and teens and the medical regulator in the u.k. is reviewing the cases of rare blood clots in adults that have caused the vaccine to be put on hold in several european country in various points of time. how concerned are you of the astrazeneca vaccine? >> so the issue with the vaccine is not so much the number of blood clots they had. it is a relatively small number of serious blood clots, about 30 out of 15 million which is .0001%. but, it is the kind of blood clots. 22 out of those 30 blood clots

were cerebral which are really rare. overall it is rare but they're doing the right thing by pausing their trials to evaluate. >> all right, a lot of focuses going to be on that. the more delays on that, the more you have the entire population europe continue to lag and a big problem here. thank you so much dr. reiner. congressman matt gaetz is fund raising, fund raising because there is an investigation of his involvement with young women. he went to speak at the trump's doral and alexei navalny, live

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tonight, embattled republican congressman matt gaetz fundraising off the federal investigation whether he had a sexual relationship with an underaged girl and paid her. the close trump ally sending out this email to supporters with the subject line they're coming for me he denies wrongdoing but still tonight few on capitol hill are coming to the

congressman's defense. jessica dean is "outfront". >> reporter: when it comes to representative matt gaetz and the justice department investigation into allegations of sex trafficking, republicans on capitol hill have been largely silent and house republican leadership hasn't said much either. >> those are serious implications if it comes out to be true, yes, we would remove him if they were the cause. >> reporter: mccarthy has not spoken publicly about gaetz since last week and he was asked if he'd spoken with gaetz about the allegations. two house republicans offered public support for gaetz. jim jordan and marjorie taylor greene who like gaetz are fierce defenders of former president donald trump. aside from these comments, republican response on the hill is pretty universal in its silence. a silence former republican congressman charlie dent says sends a clear message. >> the fact many republican

congress members haven't spoken out against him doesn't hide the fact i think many are gleefully feeling light in his misery. >> reporter: they are investigating whether gates engaged in a relationship with the 17-year-old and whether his involvement broke federal sex trafficking and federal prostitution laws. he claims to be the victim of an extortion plot. >> it's a horrible allegation and a lie. >> reporter: gaetz has the reputation of being a man apart on capitol hill better known for stunts than his close relationships with his colleagues. he wore a gas mask on the house floor during a vote on the covid-19 relief package and during the first impeachment inquiry against former president trump, gaetz led a group of republicans who stormed a secure room where a closed door deposition was taking place. dent who served with gaetz says

gaetz is politically isolated. >> he's isolated, marginalized and no friends and those are republicans. >> reporter: earlier this year gaetz attacked the leadership of his party traveling to wyoming where he railed against representative liz cheney, the third ranking republican in the house after she voted to impeach former president trump. >> we are in a battle for the soul of the republican party and i intend to win it. >> reporter: while gaetz acted as one of trump's staunchest defenders, the former president has not offered any public support to the florida congressman. a source tells cnn trump brought up the gaetz conversation in a recent conversation with an ally talking as if he was gently fishing whether he should weigh in. the response was he should stay far away from the situation. a senior house gop source tells cnn tonight that gaetz is unlikely to lose his seat on the committee unless he's indicted but because he has refuted the

allegations, said they're not true and because it's based on news reports right now, he's able to keep the seat until or unless federal charges are filed, erin. one more thing to keep in mind, he is not going to face a lot of pressure at home right now to resign his seat. he says he doesn't want to resign. he won the race in 2020 by 20 points. he won his primary by some 71 points against two other people, erin. he enjoys a lot of support in his home district. >> wow, thank you very much, jessica. next, matthew chance detained in russia while coveringei navalny's deteriorating health in prison. i'll talk to him next about what happened. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google, turn up the heat. ♪ ♪ ♪

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tonight, top putin critic alexey navalny reportedly in deteriorating health at a brutal personal colony in russia.

>> reporter: from inside this grim penal colony where alexi t n navalny is languishing. latest unconfirmed he's coughing hard, running a high temperature and been moved to a sick ward on the prison grounds. the group of simple ympathetic s gathered at the gates demanding access to the critic that complained about a t.b. outbreak behind bars. >> i'm in great trouble about his health and about what could happen tomorrow with his health and i understand very clearly about some symptoms that he has now that it can lead to the very severe condition and even to death. >> reporter: those in power are pushing back to the claims he's at death's door. this closed circuit television

footage purports to show navalny in the prison dorm after complaining of a bad beck and lack of sensitivity in his legs. he's walking across the room and chatting to a prison guard suggesting his poor health may be exaggerated and this broadcast on state media, navalny fast asleep in bed recorded by an employee. the opposition figure is described being woken every hour by guards, torture by sleep deprivation. there is also extraordinary access granted to this woman. maria who is a name once a high profile prisoner in u.s. jail after being convicted of conspiracy to be a foreign agent. now a reporter on russian television and comparing that va navalny's prison conditions to her own. you should spend time in an american jail she screams at him

off camera. at least here it's clean. it was navalny taken ill on a flight from siberia last year suspected nerve agent poisoning. amid concerns of neurological damage, the opposition leader who was jailed after recovering and returning to russia in january says he's on hunger strike until he gets proper medical care. but russian officials are showing no sign of relenting. navalny's wife said she just got this letter from the personal colony requesting her husband's passport. without it the letter says he can't be treated in hospital. russia's stubborn bureaucracy threatening the health of its of signi -- opposition leader. >> incredible footage. f matthew, you're with me now but free after being detained outside the facility we sauna volum sasauna --

sauw that value -- navalny is i. >> reporter: a small taste but the couple hours drive from moscow and that was broken up and they declined the woman you heard from that report, she was spear heading that doctor's protest demanding access to navalny but also, i was picked off. my camera man was picked up and a couple other journalists were put on the police van and driven to the police station and we had our documents checked and processed and set free and allowed to continue with our work, but it just under lines how little patience they have with protests to alexei navalny's conditions and coverage of the protests, as well. erin. >> amazing. thank you so much for that fantastic report and we're glad you're back with us. thanks to all of you for watching. anderson start