tv Anderson Cooper 360 CNN May 26, 2021 9:00pm-10:00pm PDT
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deleting it. so break free from the big three. xfinity internet customers, take the savings challenge at xfinitymobile.com/mysavings or visit an xfinity store to learn how our switch squad makes it easy to switch and save hundreds. and good evening. we begin, tonight, with the shooting at a public-transit railyard in san jose, california, that ended with eight lives lost, plus that of the gunman. for the families of the victims, tonight is just the beginning of what will be almost unimaginable pain and sadness. and that pain will be uniquely and indellably theirs.
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for the country, what happened today was the 232nd mass shooting of the year. it was the 17th, since last wednesday. california's governor spoke to that reality, a short time ago. here we are, in the united states of america. we're experiencing something just is not experienced anywhere else in the world. there's a sameness to this, and a numbness, i think, is something we're all feeling. but it begs the damn question, what the hell is going on in the united states of america? what the hell is wrong with us? >> well, cnn's dan simon joins us, now, from the scene. dan, what do we know? >> reporter: anderson, as usual, the main question is why? what would cause this shooter to go across the street, target his own co-workers, shoot and kill them? at this point, authorities have not established a clearcut motive. what i can tell you is that authorities did recover multiple weapons at the scene. they haven't said what the make and model of those weapons were. but it seems clear, that he wanted to inflict as much carnage as possible, before taking his own life.
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at 6:34 a.m., calls started. >> deputies responded and received information that there were multiple shots fired calls. >> just as workers at the mantance yard were beginning their shift. >> deputies immediately responded to the location. and addressed the threat and the situation. they did not wait. they immediately went into the scene, and rendered first aid. and rescued victims out of the building, as fast as they can. >> while the shots are still being fired, our teams with san jose pd, are -- are entering the building while shots are still going on. >> we formed multiple-tactical teams that came into the building to extricate victims out. >> reporter: around the same time, firefighters were responding to a house fire. a source close to the investigation confirms belonged to the suspect. >> it's very complex investigation. we now know that san jose is working on the house fire. >> reporter: as of now, law enforcement says the shooter took eight lives, before taking his own. >> i know, for sure, that when
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the suspect knew that law enforcement was there, he took his own life. >> reporter: a close-knit family in morning. the board chairman. >> it's a family. people in the organization know everyone. this is a terrible tragedy and we will do everything we can to help people get through this. >> reporter: as friends and family members desperately search for their loved ones. >> i just got to get my wife. >> reporter: others wanting action. and for this, to finally stop. >> to the victims, to those that lost their lives and the families lost their loved ones. yes, our hearts go out. but we are resolved to not make this meaningless but to bring meaning, at this tragic moment in our state and our nation's history. and, dan, i understand authorities also found explosives at the site? >> that's right, anderson. a bomb-sniffing dog was brought in, and did discover the
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presence of explosives. and i can tell you that, right now, as i speak, a robot is going, from room to room, within the large facility behind me, trying to find, potentially, more explosives. and, anderson, i mentioned earlier, at this point, we don't have a clearcut motive. but one thing to note is that the shooter's ex-wife spoke to the bay-area news group, a cnn affiliate, and mentioned that during their ten-year marriage, he often spoke angrily about his co-workers and his bosses. and seemed to be very unhappy about his work. she hasn't spoken to him in a number of years but i'm certain that investigators will want to speak with her. >> dan simon, i appreciate it. thank you. right now, jonathan, freelance video journalist who went to the scene. he doesn't want his last name used. he joins us, by phone. so, jonathan, you took a video that we are about to show. can you just walk us through what happened? and -- and how you got it? >> caller: yeah, so, you know, i actually live in, you know, a
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mile radius where the shooting occurred. and i just heard a lot of commotion from, you know, my apartment. you know, i just started hearing police sirens, firefighters, and, you know, just based off of my instinct as a journalist, i just decided to check on some resources and see what was happening in my area. and, you know, i just happened to see that there was a large, you know, fire response going towards younger where the shooting had occurred. so, you know, i just wanted to go see what was happening. and, you know, as i was leaving my residence, just seeing a lot of deputies just rolling lights and sirens towards the direction of the scene. >> how -- how quickly were you getting toward the scene, from when this actually -- i mean, did you hear gunshots? or did you just know -- see action of police and know something was going on? >> so i just heard a lot of sirens. i'm not -- like i said, i live in a mile radius. it took me three minutes to just get to the scene. and, yeah, on my way there, i actually did hear a loud, you
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know, gunshot. kind of just echoed through the neighborhood because it's a pretty quiet area. you know, you don't really get a lot of things like this ever happening, especially in this part of town. like, it's just very quiet. really residential. i mean, you got the police department. you have, you know -- you have the sheriff's office. and, you know, some of the training facilities here. and it's just -- it was just really surprising to even know that that was happening, just, you know, not far away from home. >> so, when you got to the scene, at what point did you realize this wasn't a drill? or, you know, a false alarm? or a fire? when did you realize it was an active-shooter situation? >> until they started bringing -- bringing people out. i didn't -- you know, like i said, when i was going there, i didn't really know what was happening. and, you know, just -- you know, i just thought it was, you know, i just thought it was training. and, you know, yeah. when i got there and i saw that they were bringing victims out and, you know, just seeing fire gear up. and their, you know, tactical
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vests and their bulletproof vests or bulletproof helmets. that's when you -- that's when i really realized something was happening and just seeing what i saw was just really -- it was very -- it was a shock. >> jonathan, i appreciate you showing us your video. thank you very much. we'll keep updating the story, throughout the program, tonight. but there's more, breaking news tonight. a warning, from a highly-respected federal judge, handling the cases of some of the alleged capitol hill attackers. she says the threat has not gone away, because the former president's big-election lie lives on. cnn's jessica schneider joins us now with the story. so, jessica, talk more about what we've learned from this judge. >> yeah, you know, anderson, this is a warning coming from judge amy berman jackson. she is really an outspoken and longtime federal judge here, in washington. and she says that the public could really, still, be endangered if some of these capitol riot defendants were released from jail because the exact lies that brought them to the capitol on january 6th, and inspired them to attack the capitol. she says, they're still being repeated by the former-president
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trump and some major-news organizations. so, this is what judge amy berman jackson wrote in this 26-page opinion, tonight. she said the steady drumbeat that inspired defendant to take up arms has not faded away. six months later, the canard that the election was stolen is being repeated daily on major-news outlets and from the corridors of power in state and federal government. not to mention, the near-daily fulninations of the former president. and how it poses this danger throughout our society. judge amy berman jackson. she wrote these words as part of her ultimate decision to keep the defendant, in this case, cleveland meredith, in jail because she said he posed a danger to the public. this is a man who allegedly texted that he wanted to shoot house speaker nancy pelosi on live tv. and then, he hauled a trailer of guns and ammunition, allegedly, he here to washington. he's pleaded not guilty. but obviously, anderson, the judge in this case, not holding
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back in this 26-page opinion. keeping him in jail. >> she's -- she's not the first-federal judge to issue this kind of a warning. >> nor, we have seen it repeatedly over the past weeks and months, that this continued push of the big lie. it may actually be keeping alive some of the grassroots anger that led to the capitol attack in january. so we have heard from several judges. one of them being d.c. federal judge emmett sullivan, in april. he talked about how he was concerned that this dissatisfaction over the election that some americans have, still, hasn't dissipated. and he also referenced the constant-public comments that we're hearing from former-president trump about what he's repeatedly called the stolen election. and then, there was judge paul friedman, also, here in d.c. he wrote about how, actually, one of the defendants who drove cross country with guns before allegedly assaulting police at the capitol. the fact that this defendant idolized president -- former-president trump. and believed those lies about the election fraud. so, really, anderson, this is an ongoing concern for judges for,
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as these people who carry out the attack. they are still appearing in court. and because of this concern from these judges, many continue to be kept behind bars because of the danger these judges say they still present. >> yeah. jessica schneider, appreciate it. thank you. we have more, breaking news coming up new developments surrounding the grand jury investigating the former president or his organization that could signal a big change. a shift from collecting evidence, to actually presenting a case. a later, and this is pretty amazing, new reporting on how difficult it is, even for the mother of fallen capitol police officer brian sicknick, to get answers from senators weighing a proposed commission on the january-6th attack. keeping 'em honest. ♪ ♪ ♪ common love isn't for us ♪ ♪ we created something phenomenal ♪ ♪ don't you agree? ♪ ♪ don't you agree? ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ow! ♪ keeping your oyster business growing has you swamped. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. when you sponsor a job, you immediately
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seek a commitment to clean. look for the ecolab science certified seal. more breaking news tonight involving that special manhattan grand jury, convening to hear possible charges against the trump organization and perhaps the former president. "the washington post" first reported manhattan district attorney, cyrus vance, has the grand jury looking to, among other things, the
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former-president's tax returns and the overall finances of the company. cnn's paula reid joins us now with the developments. so what do we know about what prosecutors are now focusing on? >> anderson, we know at least one witness has been told by investigators to prepare to go before a grand jury. so this signals that this long-running investigation, it's been going on for about-two years now, is entering an advanced stage. the grand jury, it's an incredible powerful tool for prosecutors. it allows them to continue to gather evidence. and they can also test their case to see whether potentially bring an indictment against the former president, the trump organization, or anyone else. it's pretty wide ranging but really it's focused on whether the trump organization lied about its assets. looking at whether, had they went to the banks to get loans, they inflated assets. and when it was time to pay taxes, they may have devalued their assets to they didn't have to pay as much. now, former president, anderson, has denied any wrongdoing and he has dismissed this, as he does
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with most investigations, calling it a witch hunt. >> do we know who the d.a.'s office may look to as potential witnesses? >> the potential crime, of course, one of them is fraud. and as we know, the former president, anderson, he doesn't e-mail. he doesn't tend to leave a paper trail. so what prosecutors are going to need? they are going to need a witness, who was in the room with him. anyone who talked about these, specific issues. so, all eyes are on the longtime-trump organization cfo, allen weisselberg. he is the kind of guy that, if he is willing to cooperate, he could really give investigators some insight about the inner workings of this organization. now, he is also facing his own investigation into his taxes. which could help pressure him to actually cooperate, in this investigation. but we'll see. and anderson, just because there was a grand jury, no guarantee that the former president or anyone, at all, in this investigation will be charged. but a former prosecutor tells cnn that it would be very rare to convene a special-grand jury in manhattan, that didn't at
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least consider charges. >> paula reid, appreciate it. want to get perspective now from blair who teaches at the columbia school of journalism. also, with us, cnn legal analyst, elliot williams, former-federal prosecutor. elliot, what -- what does it tell you about where manhattan d.a.'s investigation is at? given its office has told one witness to prepare for grand jury testimony? >> they have reached a point in their investigation, that the district attorney believes there is evidence of a crime. you know, it would be responsible for any prosecutor's office to have reached this point, and not believe that there was at least some suggestion that there had been a crime. now, look. in the grand jury, the prosecution has a relatively low bar to clear. it's probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed. which basically, means, in plain language, that it's more likely, than not, that a crime was committed. now, it seems, based on the fact that they are calling evidence and where they are, they probably know more than that.
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and -- and are calling witnesses to establish that. so, this is beyond the point where they're just poking around, and looking for documents. and i think they're, in all likelihood, on to something. >> couldn't it be possible, though, they just want a witness to explain some complex documents that the grand jury will be looking at? >> it could be. you know, witnesses can come in to sort of help authenticate or make sense of documents. but again, when you're talking about an investigation into a former president. and frankly, step back and note, and we should always note, how significant this is. history has never seen this. the law has never seen this. and it's in their interest to only bring evidence that's going to get them, you know, more than a fishing expedition, i think, anderson. and closer to bringing charges. so, yes, the -- it could be. but, you know, i just think it's hard to -- to believe that or see that, at this point. >> and gwenda, we don't know who the witness is or if there is more than one. we do know prosecutors have been
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investigating as -- as we were just hearing. the trump organization cfo, allen weisselberg. he -- been -- been with the company for almost-50 years. paula reid talking about them looking into his taxes. we also know they have looked at, i believe, one of his children, as well. based on your reporting from your book, is there really much he doesn't know about what's gone on there? >> is there much that allen weisselberg doesn't know? >> yeah. >> the simple answer is no. he's there -- he's the guy, who figured out all the tax strategies for the last-half century. he is the guy. >> and what -- so, what role -- i mean, he has been the -- the person in charge of all of that? all this time? >> he has been -- he was an accountant. he started in 1973. donald -- that was before donald trump actually took over the business. so he's been there the whole time. he's the guy who figured out the strategy that fred trump used to
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pass on his estate to his children. and to avoid taxes. shell corporations. all kinds of things that were documented, extensively, in "the new york times," a few years ago in a very, very lengthy series. and allen weisselberg was the guy who figured all that out. and i have to tell you that, when i interviewed donald trump, it was back when he was at trump tower, of course. and everybody -- he had a very small staff. i was surprised at how small it was. and some very [ inaudible ] looking people there. it was a very ritzy, stylish, fancy, superluxury environment. over in the corner, was this guy, allen weisselberg, and he wasn't there for decor. he wasn't there for glamour. he wasn't there for any of that. he was there because he knew how to do tax strategies. and he's been there for this
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whole time. he knows. >> elliot, what -- what kind of levers do prosecutors have to get something, like, you know, the accountant to -- to cooperate with them? and we've seen this in, you know, mob cases and in, you know, mob movies. where it's the accountant, in the end, who brings the people down. >> right. look. if you are -- if prosecutors are investigating an organization for financial or tax irregularities, the last person on earth an organization wants is their four-decade-tenured chief-financial officer, now, the huge incentive, to answer your question, anderson, is the risk of prosecution of him or his own family. and i think what prosecutors can hold over him is either, look, you know, you can plead to a particular charge. or -- you know, or you can plead to a pretty big charge. or, you know, we can go after members of your family. or we can go after you, more seriously. and so, avoiding being prosecuted or avoiding having
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loved ones be prosecuted a huge incentive. and even for someone who might be loyal to an organization or the principal of the organization -- so imagine if allen weisselberg just, you know, wishes to remain loyal to the trump family, i don't know. but, you know, the risk of being prosecuted and avoiding that could be a huge incentive to motivate behavior. prosecutors do it all the time as a means of securing guilty pleas for people who are cooperating. >> allen weisselberg's former daughter-in-law, jennifer, told the new yorker about her former father-in-law saying does donald like me today? it's his whole life, his core being, he is obsessed. he has more feelings and adoration for donald than his wife. end quote. she also told cnn she thinks weisselberg would flip, and cooperate with investigators, if necessary to protect himself. i mean, it's sort of a stunning portrayal of this person. and again, it -- there are all these people around the former president, who seem to pledge him loyalty, even though loyalty
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is not something he, himself, pledges to anyone. >> yeah. loyalty to an -- the simple fact is, yes, that -- that might be a one-sided loyalty. but the simple fact is, if this is a question of going away for months or years in prison. what is that going to get you? and that is a question that criminal defendants, targets, subjects, face all the time. and based on what we know, this individual will have to confront here. >> gwenda, does it make sense, to you? this whole kind of loyalty thing to this person? >> his core staff and -- and allen weisselberg is certainly one of them. he certainly -- loyalty -- he -- he puts a great emphasis on that, except as we've seen when it doesn't matter to him anymore when it's expedient not to. and allen weisselberg has been very loyal to him, over all these years. but going to jail? that's a pretty -- that's the ultimate test.
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and his -- his own daughter-in-law, you know, former-daughter-in-law. she said something very interesting. she says the way the -- the perks and benefits are handed out to staff, it's to keep them dependent. to keep them afraid to not stay there. to keep them docile. and i think that that is very much the case with allen weisselberg. he was the poster child for how successful that has been, in the -- in the trump organization. he was the -- we have to remember that he was the co-trustee of the trust of -- of the setup that was supposed -- that, when donald trump moved to the white house, his two sons were going to run the company. the third person who was supposed to be running it was allen weisselberg. he's, absolutely, been in the midst of everything. everything. the midst of donald trump being able to kind of gain the bankruptcy system.
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and end up being, you know, run up over a billion dollars in debt. and use that to offset paying taxes for, you know, years and years and years. him having to pay taxes of $750 in 2016 and 2017? >> yeah. >> that's allen weisselberg's handy work. >> appreciate your time tonight. elliot williams, as well. thanks so much. the next question of a commission to investigate january-6th attack on democracy. why even the mother of a fallen capitol police officer might not get answers from some of the lawmakers who will be voting on that commission. we've got 'em on the ropes. the billionaires buying elections. the corporate special interests poisoning campaigns with dark money,
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given the federal judge's warning, which we reported on tonight, that the former president's big lie about election fraud could inspire yet-more violence, this next story is not just about recent history. it also speaks to those who would close their eyes to what still may come. tomorrow, the mother of fallen capitol police officer, brian sicknick, will go to the institution he gave his life defending. she'll be there, trying, and i emphasize, trying to talk with republican senators about the bill to create a commission to investigate the attack that cost her son his life. now, you would think that no senator could refuse her. but cnn has learned answers from some senators are hard to come by. first, though, it's when you think about it, hard to believe that some lawmakers would refuse to see her.
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hard to believe that there are human beings, who witnessed the worst assault in democracy by americans since the civil war, who do not want to be reminded of what they saw, with their own eyes. and it seems, they especially don't want to be reminded by a grieving mom. which, i guess, should really not come as a surprise, considering the reason some gop senators are giving for opposing the january-6th commission. some have argued that it comes too late and would spill over into an election year. even though, the bill before them imposes a december-31 deadline. others say that it comes too soon. and then, of course, there's this guy. >> you know, if you didn't know the tv footage was a video from january the 6th, you would actually think it was a normal-tourist visit. congressman -- congressman adam clyde. his remarks are so ludicrous and so offensive to the memory of officer sicknick, that his mother, gladys, included it in her letter to lawmakers today. here's what she said about that, as well as her son's role in protecting that congressman. quote, he and his fellow
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officers fought for hours and hours against those animals who were trying to take over the capitol building and our democracy as we know it. while they were fighting, congressmen and senators were locking themselves inside their offices according to some who were barricaded in their offices, said it looked like tourists walking through the capitol. really. she added, i suggest that all congressmen and senators who are against this bill visit my son's grave in arlington national cemetery. and while there, think about what their hurtful decisions will do to those officers going forward. more now, from jamie gangel. also, the man who swore brian sicknick in as a young capitol police officer. former capitol police chief, terrance gainer, and we are pleased he could be with us tonight. jamie, first of all, what are you learning? >> well, the list of senators who have said yes has been influx all day. we are reaching out to everyone. thus far, according to a source familiar with the list, only-15 senators have said yes.
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these are republican senators, anderson, out of 50. we've been told that seven others, including mitch mcconnell, have offered that mrs. sicknick could meet with staff members. so, that leaves about-28 other members. now, our source has told us that some of those senators have told them, no. but cnn is, still, in the midst of reaching out to the entire conference. i think it's not unimportant to note that, at the beginning of today, some people said no. and then, when we called them, all of a sudden, they switched to yes. >> chief gainer, what does it say that some republican senators won't even take the time to meet with officer sicknick's mom? >> well, it reinforces that some of them don't get the seriousness of what went on, and the sacrifices made by these officers. i -- it's just pitiful and there's no reason they can't
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spare a few minutes for the mother of this fine officer. and she, certainly, has a right to speak for him. >> jamie, do you think that anybody would actually change their mind, after speaking to officer sicknick's mom? >> it -- it's really hard to say, at this point. right now, there are only three members, mitt romney, susan collins, and -- and lisa murkowski, who have said that they will vote to end -- to allow a vote on the commission to go forward. my sense is, especially when you look at these numbers today, that we've only been able to confirm that 15 will actually meet with her. that mitch mcconnell has a very firm grip on his conference. and he does not want this commission. >> chief gainer, you knew officer sicknick, personally. you swore him in. and -- and i want to read more of the letter from his mom. she says, putting politics
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aside, wouldn't they want to know the truth of what happened on january 6th? if not, they do not deserve to have the jobs they were elected to do. what do you think the -- the message it sends to capitol police -- the capitol police force if the commission gets voted down tomorrow? >> you know, we talk a lot about the trust the officers have to gain with the public. but i think the -- the leadership of the congress and the members need to reinforce their trust of the officers. i think the officers are still hurting from the 6th. and the loss of this officer and the other two that resulted out of this. and they need some affirmation, besides just a nod from some of these members, that they care about them. and can take some action to try to find out what happened so we can improve, make sure it never happens again. so, all they have gotten in the last four months is really a lot of lip service about thank you very much, you're our heroes. we did let you lie in honor but now, let's move on. and that's not fair.
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>> what -- what -- what do you remember about officer sick nick? i mean, you swore him in, in 2003, was it? >> yes. and, you know, one of the things, when you swear these young men and women in, a, they look so old -- or young to us oldsters. and then, when you see them in and around the capitol doing their job. how proud you are of them. so he and the other two that died were people that i talked with, interacted with, and other staff members talked very highly about them as do their contemporaries. we owe them this. these members, whether they're democrats or republicans, owe something to these officers and the other people who fought that day to get to the bottom of this and figure out how we can prevent it. how possibly could they not want to meet with this man's mom? i mean, it's like he's calling from the grave. she's speaking for him. reach out and talk with the woman, and then if you can look her in the eye and deny this. then, i guess, you've manned up.
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>> terrance gainer, appreciate your time tonight. jamie gangel, as well. thank you. earlier, i said the congressman's name you heard from was adam clyde. his first name is andrew, not adam. coming up, the president takes action in a political controversy that is also a legitimate mystery about whether covid-19 emerged from a chinese lab. discomfort back there? instead of using aloe, or baby wipes, or powders, try the cooling, soothing relief or preparation h. because your derriere deserves expert care.
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president biden has tasked his intelligence agencies to redouble their efforts to investigate the origins of covid-19 and report back to him in 90 days. this comes after u.s. intelligence report found several researchers at china's wuhan lab fell ill in november of 2019. and had to be hospitalized, which is fueling debate about where and how the pandemic began. and also, comes after cnn has learned of a secret investigation by the former president's state department into the mysterious origins of the virus. that was shut down by the biden administration. cnn's kaitlan collins joins us now with more on all this. also, cnn medical analyst, dr. leana wen. so, kaitlan, what is the white house saying tonight? these are all the most substantive statements we have gotten from president biden since taking office on the origins of covid-19. it suggests that he saw something that's driving this,
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in the reports he'd requested. >> it does. and kind of, what the president goes into in his statement, where he was announcing this new directive for the u.s. intelligence community, anderson, is he says that he asked his national-security adviser, jake sullivan, about this back in march. and he said they came to him. he had follow-up questions for them. and now, because of whatever he saw in those follow-up questions, he's now directing them to lead this effort into, basically, getting a better answer as to what the origin of this could be. because he says the intelligence community has coalesced around these two ideas. but both have, essentially, low-to-moderate confidence in the fact that they are right in what their theory is. so he wants a more definitive answer, and so that's why he's instructing them to do this. but it does give you this indication that maybe he thinks there could be some credibility behind this theory of a lab leak, potentially, because he does want them to put the full force of the federal government behind it. >> and, kaitlan, the cnn reporting that the biden administration shut down a trump-state department effort looking into the origins of the virus. it's raising eyebrows, though it's not entirely clearcut
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because it was run by allies of mike pompeo. and there were, apparently, concerns about political motives. that said, how is the biden administration justifying the move? >> well, i think, that's the big question facing them because they are disputing that it was shut down. they are saying, simply, the investigation came to an end and that its work was done but i think it raises questions because, obviously, it did not come to a conclusion to what the ultimate effect was. obviously, there are still questions. that's why president biden wants this investigation to go on and he is putting the u.s. intelligence community behind it. but i do think there was this concern when you talked to biden officials, that they were worried when it was attached to someone like secretary of state pompeo, who pushed it repeatedly against what other experts were saying, people were doubtful of it. and, of course, you saw former-president trump pushing it, as well. so i think it's kind of surprising to see the biden administration waited this long to see that, yes, we are going to put the intelligence community behind this. but i do think it speaks to the level of they want to figure out what's going on here. they don't seem to think china's being cooperative. of course, we have known that they have not been cooperative
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for some time. and they want to get answers to this. but whether or not we actually get those, it really remains to be seen. >> and dr. wen, we talked about this topic earlier in the week. i know you did your masters thesis on the chinese healthcare system. i am wondering what your initial reaction to the new reporting is? >> well, i think it's really important that we get to the bottom of this. and clearly, the world health organization hasn't been successful in their effort. which would have been ideal. and so, i do think it's really important that the biden administration now takes a hard look at the two-dominant theories that there are. it's important that we find out, for the purposes of preventing the next pandemic. to know is this the spillover animal theory? or is there a lab leak? in which case, you might also want to strain better protections in labs. i do want to say, though, it's really important for whatever investigation that occurs to follow the scientific method. because the last thing that we want to do is to have a predetermined conclusion. and then, to cherry pick our answers accordingly. perhaps, that was the problem with the investigation under the
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trump administration. that they, already, had a conclusion in mind. and that's why i hope that the biden team keeps an open mind. and they really look at the scientific data and the facts as they come in because overall, this is about the health and wellbeing of americans and the entire world. >> i mean, without cooperation, though, from the chinese, i mean, dr. wen, it's going to be extremely difficult to get answers. >> right. and even if the chinese government cooperated, at this point, there is going to be an open question of are they falsifying documents? can we really trust what it is that they're putting forward? there are lots of lab samples, for example, that we know are out there. including, of researchers, of individuals who were sick early in the pandemic. do we have access to them, now? even if we can get access, how do we know that what we are getting is -- is real? and so, i think, this is why having -- of course, having cooperation would be ideal. but even if we got cooperation, i think there needs to be some intelligence and -- and people looking into this to say whether
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we are getting truthful and accurate information. >> kaitlan, is there a sense of -- of how long this will take? i mean, i know the -- the biden administration, obviously, wants it as soon as possible. >> so, president biden said 90 days. that he wants them to get back to him, by then. but the question that remains then is, do we get to find out what president biden is learning, in 90 days? does the white house wait to declassify that and let reporters know, essentially, what that report that's delivered to the president's desk says? that's what we don't know, yet. and i think the white house is trying to be really cautious, here. saying that they don't think -- or they don't -- they don't know, for sure, that they are going to magically find out where this came from. what happened in 90 days from now. they are saying that it could be a little vague, then. but i think president biden was pretty clear in his statement, that he wants something more definitive by then. and so, we'll see what happens at the end of these 90 days. or if a determination is made before they reach that point. >> yeah. kaitlan collins, dr. leana wep, appreciate it. thanks very much. up next, we are joined by the mother of ronald greene, who died in police custody. she will join a big march
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louisiana will hold a rally for justice in honor of ronald greene. his family will be there. he's the black man who was punched, repeatedly tasered, kicked and dragged by his feet while handcuffed. by louisiana state troopers two years ago. this is some of the body cam video cnn obtained last week. authorities have since released all of the video. they have been sitting on it now two years. greene's family say police told them he died in a car crash after a police chase. they are accusing police of a cover up. the family filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit. joining me tonight is ronald greene's mother. thank you for joining us again. we learned this week that one of the troopers involved in your son's arrest and what we saw in that video was fired over the use of force in another unrelated incident. when you heard that, what did you think?
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he wasn't arrested, he wasn't -- there's been no repercussions for being involved in what happened to your son, it's just some other incident. >> and that's what -- that's what i'm so infuriated by that because they think that this is worse than a band-aid on a murder. and i don't understand how they can even apply this on any level. the fact that you already had one who supposedly died in a car crash, hollingsworth. you had another one who 50 hours administrative leave. we're talking about murder. it's clear, straight-out murder. >> in some of the video, one of the officers, i believe it's in the video, says that he didn't want to put your son up into a sitting position because he didn't want to get blood on him. he was afraid your son was going to cough up blood on him. i mean that's -- that's extraordinary.
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>> you know what you see in this video, they're really some sick individuals here. and it's really sad that these sick individuals are employed by the louisiana state troopers. and they're continuously on a lot of issues. my son isn't the first. and it's really sick what you see here, how these people with badges, killing and torturing my son to the point that they killed him. >> it's clear in this video that this is not the first -- that they are not experimenting with stuff that they haven't done before. it seems they all are pretty comfortable, multiple -- tasering your son multiple times, screaming at him, getting him out of the vehicle, beating him, dragging him by his feet while he's handcuffed, putting their foot onto your son to push him down to the ground so he can't get off his chest.
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i mean is that the sense you have from watching this video as well, that they have done this before likely? >> oh, yes. oh, yes. and the word you use and i agree totally is they're very comfortable with this, to the point that they know when it's done, someone else above them will help cover this up. it's like they're giving these badges to go out, find you somebody, kill them. we'll take care of it here. this cover-up, this corruption. it's not only the state troopers. it's those who employed them to let this happen. >> also, i mean they afterward were texting each other joking about it. i mean they're police officers who know about evidence. it clearly would seem to indicate they're either the stupidest people on the planet or they just assume no one is going to look into what happened, no one is going to care what happened, and if they
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do, it will just be covered up. i mean i don't understand, these are police officers texting about, you know, jokingly about, you know, beating up your son, his blood. i mean it's incredible. >> yeah, and you know, anderson, what's so gut wrenching is the fact that this story, this back-and-forth of this nightmare, of this obvious killing of my son, ronnie, you know, it started from day one. they knew what happened. the cover-up started way back then. fast forward, september of 2020 and then we're there. we're invited there to see these videos, but they give us only a small portion of it. and then part of it has no sound to it. and then we leave. but the whole time we're there, they have already made plans of letting colonel reeves retire.
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they already made plans of was it dakota demoss, cory york with the 50 hours administrative leave. they already had that planned. so it was like a photo op. it's a big joke for the family of ronald greene. and i'm so mad. i was so, so mad. it's -- it's -- here we are. how -- how are we trying to justify what we clearly see is a murder, and why do we keep this back and forth so that it can be politically correct for those that don't want to get thrown under the bus but they're going to decide who's going to pay for this while the rest just go on to glory. that's how i see it, you know, the corruption level. >> mona hardin, i appreciate your time and you'll be in baton
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rouge lending your voice. thank you very much for being with us. >> thank you. next up, an update on the mass shooting in san jose, california. the staggering toll of mass shootings to date this year alone when we continue. today we're going to fine tune the dynamic braking system whoo, what a ride! i invested in invesco qqq a fund that invests in the innovators of the nasdaq 100 like you you don't have to be a deep learning engineer to help make the world a smarter place does this come in blue? become an agent of innovation with invesco qqq
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recapping our breaking news from the top of the program, prosecutors say that multiple weapons were used today in that mass shooting at san jose, california, that left eight people dead plus the gunman, who authorities said took his own life. the gunfire broke out at daybreak at a light rail yard as workers were entering for their morning shift. this is the 232nd mass shooting
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of the year according to data from the gun violence archive and the 17th since last wednesday. california's governor, gavin newsom, reflected on the growing frustration over the sheer numbers of shootings saying it begs the damn question what the hell is going on in these united states of america. what the hell is wrong with us? president biden has urged congress to take immediate action on gun legislation. the news continues. let's handing it over to chris for "cuomo prime time." >> i am chris cuomo and welcome to "prime time." i have a very important show and tell for you at the end of the show. i can't now i'll get too emotional. we have important things to discuss. 90 days. new deadline set by president biden for the united states intelligence agencies and all the assets to get answers on the genesis of covid-19. what's the problem? the problem is china won't comply in the effort. so how can we discover if they don't let the world have a good look? nevertheless, potus has ordered
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