one example of things getting out of hand? this fight in miami's airport last night. police say they were called to the gate because of a disturbance surrounding a delayed flight, and it quickly escalated. two people were, eventually, taken into custody. honestly. thank you so much for joining us tonight. i am kate bolduan. "ac 360" with john berman starts now. good evening. it is only tuesday but already, it feels like we have witnessed a week of major developments in the fight against covid. as families, friends, and worshippers gather in the days leading up to christmas, president biden used his speech from the white house this afternoon to ensure the nation that there is a plan to fight the surge in covid cases, and the quickly-spreading omicron variant. and that, his administration is up to the task. i'm john berman in for anderson. in just a moment, we will see with one of the administration's top-health officials, cdc director dr. rochelle walensky,

specifically about the substance of that speech and what the administration is promising including half a billion free at home testing kits and more aid to overburdened hospitals and the guidance from the president that the vaccinated should not change their holiday plans. today, the president appeared defensive over the persistent problems in testing. he also told the tens of millions of unvaccinated americans that getting these lifesaving shots was their, quote, patriotic duty. but if there was one them he kept returning to, it was that progress has been made in the fight. >> we should all be concerned about omicron but not panicked. and no, this is not march of 2020. 200 million people are fully vaccinated. we're prepared. we know more. we just have to stay focused. >> a lot to cover tonight, including as i mentioned o you are our discussion with the cdc director but let's start with cnn's athena jones on where we are right now.

>> we're really not seen anything like this before. >> reporter: hospitalizations are up 35% over a month ago. the u.s. now averages nearly 140,000 new covid cases a day and more than 1,200 people are dying each day, on average. and even as early indications suggest omicron may cause milder illness than the delta variant, the sheer number of covid cases could overwhelm already-stretched hospitals. >> one of the things we are very concerned about is in healthcare systems they are already overstretched, literal raly breaking. now, imagine taking 20 or 30% of the healthcare workers out because they now, too, are infected. >> reporter: doctors stressing people who have not been vaccinated are most at risk. for the vaccinated, getting boosted reduces your risk further. while just over 61% of the country is fully vaccinated, less than 20% has gotten a booster shot. even as a new england journal of medicine study says people vaccinated more than six months ago were more than three times more likely to have a breakthrough case of covid than

those inoculated more recently. in new york, where more than 70% are fully vaccinated, only about 40% of those eligible have received a booster. there is one potentially positive sign. >> we have, right now, about 460 patients in our hospitals. that's less than 10% of our overall capacity. >> reporter: while the empire state is setting daily records for new covid infections, it is not yet seeing a corresponding increase in hospitalizations. >> this time last year, during the second wave, we had almost a thousand cases this time last year. and compared to where we were back in the first wave, we had 3,500 patients in our hospitals. >> and athena jones joins us now. athena, with infections once again rise here in new york, how are city officials responding to that threat? >> reporter: hi, john. well, for one thing, incoming mayor -- mayor-elect eric adams

has decided to postpone his inauguration citing the serious public health threat of covid. of course, the transfer of power will still take place on january 1st. but they are going to postpone the -- the -- the -- the formal ceremony to a safer time. in a joint statement, the mayor-elect, along with the city's incoming controller and the public advocates saying health and safety must come first. and in another move today, the mayor of new york -- bill de blasio -- announced a $100 incentive for any city resident who goes and gets a covid-booster dose from a city-run vaccination site. this booster bonus program is in effect starting today and it runs until the end of the month. john? >> athena jones, thank you very much. and joining me now, cdc director dr. rochelle walensky. dr. walensky, nice to see you. president biden said americans do not have to cancel their holiday plans. he says it's safe to gather, as long as all eligible people are vaccinated. but -- but really, how safe? i mean, given the rise in infections, does the science

suggest you can but maybe you shouldn't? >> good evening, john. it's good to be back with you. so maybe, let's just step back and talk about where we are right now in the last 24 hours. cdc announced that we have now 73% of our cases are projected to be the omicron variant. the rise in the omicron variant is, as we have seen in other countries, it's mirrored what has happened in other countries, so we have expected this and we have been prepared for it. um, the president today announced um major efforts to tackle the omicron variant and the surge that we have right now. and that, of course, includes support to hospitals. um, increased access to testing and increased capacity for vaccination. and we have the tools right now. we can vaccinate. we can boost. and we can wear our masks in indoor-public settings to protect ourselves. now, to your question about holiday travel and this is a question we are getting a lot certainly in this moment. of course, you want to make sure that you are vaccinated and that

you're boosted. and you want to make sure that the people you're gathering with are also vaccinated and boosted. wearing your mask in public indoor settings until you gather and taking a rapid test or a -- a test before you gather to make sure that everybody is negative. certainly, not to travel if you're symptom atic. but one thing i want to make sure people understand and it is not really the act of being on the airplane or being in the car, the travel, itself, that is -- puts one at risk. what puts one at risk is actually all of the behavior and the mitigation strategies that may not have been used in the week prior to gathering, before people meet up. and that's really why we are saying right now is the moment to really practice those mitigation strategies so that you can be safe when you are together. >> i get that but given that it might be too late already if you haven't been practicing these mitigation strategies or if people next to you in the airport weren't practicing those mitigation strategies. again, the question is how safe is it really, given this spike in infections?

>> yeah. everybody is really going to have to assess their own personal risk and what they are willing to risk. what i can say now, though, is you -- if you have been vaccinated, if you have been boosted, if you have been practicing those mitigation strategies for the time leading up to your travel, your risk is much lower. and in fact, you can get that extra reassurance by testing ahead of time. >> what about if you are celebrating with kids younger than 5 who were not eligible for the vaccine? >> right. really important. so first of all, kids over 5, we really want to encourage vaccination there. um, we -- the advisory committee to the cdc, just this last week, reviewed the safety data that we've seen so far in the 6 million children who have been vaccinated to date and it's really beautiful. it really demonstrates that -- that extraordinarily safe vaccine. yes, our children are having some sore arms, some fatigue after the vaccine. but truly, that is demonstrating that their immune systems are working. as for the children who are

under 5, really the best way to keep them protected is so surround them, cocoon them with people who are vaccinated and if eligible who are boosted. >> the flip side of this is one of the things we are seeing is more people get tested and more people are boosted is you are seeing people test positive but asymptomatic positives. and i spoke to dr. fauci about this this morning. right now, the cdc recommendation is to isolate for ten days if you test positive. even if you were boosted and asymptomatic, he said you are discussing changing that for folks who are boosted and asymptomatic. changing it to what? how many days are you considering? >> so, we are reviewing -- that's a really good question -- we are reviewing that science and that policy right now. and understanding in the context of people who have been vaccinated, people who've been boosted, people who have mild or no symptoms associated with what might be -- what might be a positive test, um, they have some low level of infection but they are not being symptomatic.

we are reviewing that science right now. um, and we will, you know, be -- be, you know, changing those guidances as that science emerges. >> the uk has changed it to seven days just tonight. does that seem reasonable? >> yeah, i mean, that -- that is certainly one of the places where we're looking the science that they have reviewed and what they have been able to do. we want to make sure that people are complying with the guidance and that we keep americans safe. >> so, as i noted before, the president when he was responding to questions from reporters did seem pretty defensive about the issue of testing. is this is what he said. >> the alarm bell went off. i don't think anybody anticipated that this was going to be as rapidly spreading as it did. all of a sudden, it was like everybody rushed to the counter. it was a big, big rush. and i knew that was coming, so what i tried to do is meet with the companies and use the defense production act to get a half a billion more tests.

>> so the president in answer to that question said nobody expected it to be this rapid. but you just told me and i heard you say it earlier today that you did expect omicron to create these problems. so, which is it? i mean, why -- why weren't these tests maybe ready earlier? >> yeah. so -- so when we learned about the omicron variant, um, at the end of november. so really, just, you know, about a -- less than a month ago, really. we started to follow the science and see where what we are learning from other countries who had it buefore we did. so really in the last couple weeks, it has demonstrated really capacity to rapidly rise. and what i really do want to address is the government is doing a lot to address, um, testing. we know we have more work to do and the president announced many of those steps that we are taking right now. $3 billion invested in rapid tests. 500 million rapid tests that will go out to americans in january. 20,000 sites where you can get a

free pcr. and right now, actively putting new federal testing sites in areas with the highest demand, like in new york, that will be open before christmas. and really, i -- what i want to emphasize is in this moment with omicron now around the world, there is a global need for more testing. >> if you are asymptomatic right now, should you be tested? >> you know, i think it really depends on the behavior -- the -- you know, what you have been doing in the last week that you believe could put you at risk and certainly what you are going to be doing, and who you are going to be sharing the holidays with. certainly, if you are sharing the holidays with -- with older population -- you know, older family members, people who have immune compromised or have underlying medical conditions, i would use that extra reassurance of a test before you go visit them. >> and again, i mean, surely you have seen the drugstores. i mean, these rapid tests just aren't available for people who want them. and certainly, not in places

like new york, boston, other places where people have been going in to find them. >> yeah. and that's really why, in this moment, we're actively working to -- um -- for surge capacity in testing to see where the biggest rapid -- the biggest demand is in this moment for testing, and set up those new federal testing sites before the holiday so they'll be available to more people. >> israel calling for now a fourth shot for people older than 60 years old. is that something the united states will consider? >> um certainly, when we see science to that -- we will examine that. we will absolutely consider it. right now, we are working to make sure that our vaccinated people get a booster. we really do want to make sure that people get a boost. if there is science and when there is science that demonstrates that that is necessary, we will certainly billion be reviewing that. what i do want too to say also though is that we have many vaccines where two shots -- two primary series and a booster -- gives some durable protection. so, while i think it's an

important question to evaluate, um, we will, you know, it may very well be that we have some added protection by this booster shot right now. >> and very quickly, bloomberg news reported the fda could authorize these covid treatment pills, these antivirals from pfizer and merck, sngs as soon as i guess tomorrow. is this something we could expect within the next 24 hours? >> i am not going to get ahead of the fda. what i will say is how important these will be as another tool in our tool box to fight this variant. but importantly, and i really want to emphasize this, those treatments are for after you have gotten infected and what we really want to do is prevent infection in the first place through vaccination, through boosting. but yes, when and if the fda were to move forward and authorize these two, um, antivirals, they will be a really important tool in our toolbox in this moment. >> cdc director dr. rochelle walensky, hope you have a wonderful holiday. thank you for taking time to join us. >> thanks so much, john, good to be with you. >> so we are going to continue our conversation next.

two experts on covid will join us to discuss what we just heard from the cdc director and from the president today in what we should be prepared for in the weeks and months ahead. and later, a lot of breaking news to report on the house select committee's investigation as well as allies of the former president refusing to cooperate. i am going to be joined by a former-republican congressman, a firebrand in his day, critical of what the party has become under the former president. ♪ superpowers from a spider bite? i could use some help showing the world how liberty mutual customizes their car insurance so they only pay for what they need. (gasps) ♪ did it work? only pay for what you need ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ spider-man no way home in theaters december 17th - oh...oh. - what's going on? - oh, darn! - let me help. lift and push and push! there... it's up there. hey joshie...

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before the break, i asked cdc director dr. rochelle walensky about the plan president biden unveiled during his white house speech today and just how safe it is to gather in groups for christmas after the president said the vaccinated shouldn't change their holiday plans. she said the people should be vaccinated and boosted and now is the time to begin those best practices to prevent catching the virus but that ultimately, quote, everybody is really going to have to assess their own personal risk and what they are willing to risk. perspective now from michael osterholm, he was also adviser on covid during the biden transition. and dr. craig spencer, director of global health and emergency medicine at columbia university medical center. professor osterholm, let me gist start with you on the issue of the holidays. i know how important your family is to you. how much you cherish hugging your grandchildren. but really, how safe is it now to gather given the explosive rise of omicron?

>> well, let me just give you a very personal experience. just in the last day and including just 30 minutes before i came on this set, i have learned of five different families whose kids have come home from college, all of them bringing omicron with them and it's now spreading in the household. and so, that gives you an example what's happening out there right now and i think you have to assume that anyone, even those who may have been fully vaccinated, including the third dose, could be infected. and so, i think anything we do this holiday season has to consider not only the transmission but who might get the virus from them? people with underlying immune deficiencies. people who have other comorbidities that put them at higher risk for being a serious illness. it really should give you paused to just bring people together. >> so given that, do you disagree with the guidance, professor? >> well, i think that we are trying to find a -- that happy medium where we say please don't just lock down. please, don't just quit living. but at the same time, we are in an incredibly difficult

position. i think that the next two to eight weeks will be, as i've said to you before, a global blizzard and -- of this virus. and so, i think that -- that we have to understand that if this were ever a time where we'd want to be careful about exposing people to this virus, it's right now. and with all the travel and the holiday events taking place, i'm concerned that we are going to see a -- a great acceleration of the transmission of this virus. >> dr. spencer, you are on the front lines and have been, you know, for -- for 18 months or 20 months or however long it's been going on. so how do you feel about it? because you are going to feel the impact of the decisions that are made the next two weeks. >> we are going -- all of us working on the front lies, healthcare providers, doctors, nurses, respiratory techs, we are all going to feel the impact of those individual decisions and, look, when we have more of our community that's had previous exposure to this virus, and/or has been vaccinated, the likelihood that they are going to get sick and they are going to see me in the emergency room is considerably lower. now, we want everyone to do

everything they can to slow the spread of this virus, and it feels almost unbelievable saying this a year after i was vaccinated and almost two years into saying this. but we have a communal responsibility. our individual decisions matter. and as dr. osterholm said, you know, getting together can be safe if we use rapid tests beforehand, if we limit the size of our groups. but if we are going to big indoor parties without masks, without testing, i think you are going to end up fighting a lot of family like i have seen also in the past couple days that are going to find positives among them. >> dr. spencer, if i can stick with you for a second, i spoke to michael who runs northwell health in new york state. your hospital system is not part of that but it is in the same area. he said they are only 10% filled right now. they have a lot more capacity. they are not seeing huge increases in terms of hospitalizations, yet. um, do you think that -- that maybe there will be a decoupling between this explosive rise in

infections and growth in the patients that you see in the hospital? >> let me say three things really quickly. one, hospitals and emergency rooms were crowded before omicron came. we had a delta surge. we had ers that are full of tired workers that are exhausted, not enough nurses. two, right now in new york stwaef had a lot of people that have been exposed throughout the past two years and have been vaccinated. i expect we are going to have a big number of cases here and relatively fewer but still significant numbers of hospitalizations and deaths. and the third thing i want to cover is that when we are talking about this, it's probably not best to just take the advice and the feedback and ceos of hospitals. now, to be fair, they are doing everything they can but many of them have not been in the emergency department and healthcare in this country is a business. and so, no one wants to go on camera saying our emergencies rooms and hospitals are overloaded, stay away. talk to frontline providers and if you talk to them, they are going to tell you we are exhausted, we are burnt out. there is not enough left of us

and it's going to be hard to handle another surge. >> no slack. you wrote a piece on that really that i think is very moving and people should go look at that. professor osterholm, do you -- the test surge -- you know, 500 million new tests. but not for a few weeks. don't we need these tests yesterday? >> well, we do. and we do have some testing. but what we're going to need, i think, over the course of the next two to eight weeks is going to be remarkable. we are going to see this big surge nagtionwide. remember, as we have been discussing, the delta wave -- the delta surge really hit a limited number of states over the last four months. if you are one of those states, like ours here in minnesota, or parts of new york, you understand the situation that delta's done but a lot of the country hasn't had a need for this testing. if you talk to people in california, they will ask you what's going on? what are you concerned about? well, that's going to change with this particular variant because i think we are going to see all 50 states in the soup

about the same time. and so, testing needs are going to go up tremendously. the other area that is going to go up tremendously is going to be the need for healthcare workers. we got 20.2 million healthcare workers in this country. 9.2 million of them are drrs doctors, nurses and the kind of technologists that dr. spencer just talked about. imagine 10 to 30% of those individuals getting infected in the next two to eight weeks and being out of work. that's going to be a huge challenge, too, that we have to address. and right now, we're not. >> well, professor osterholm, dr. spencer, thank you both. dr. spencer, thank you in every way that you work with every day for everything you have done. i know it is exhausting and all we keep doing is forcing you to do even more. >> keep showing up. >> the breaking news from cvs and walgreens within the last few minutes. both have announced a limit on the number of at-home tests customers may purchase. cvs is capping the number at six. walgreens, four. the new policies underline just how difficult it has been for americans to get the test the cdc suggests you need to have the safest possible christmas.

it is a busy night. just minutes ago, the jury in the kim potter trial ended deliberations for a second day without reaching a verdict. cnn's omar jimenez has the details, next. family not getting clean? get charmin ultra strong. go get 'em. it just cleans better. with a diamond weave texture, your family can use less while still getting clean. goodbye itchy squirm. hello clean bottom! we all go. why not enjoy the go with charmin. [school bus passing by] [kids laughing] [bikes passing]

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for a limited time, you may be eligible to qualify for a credit of up to $50 a month toward your internet service through this program. that's right! you could qualify for a credit of up to $50 a month toward your internet service and equipment. for even more value, switch to xfinity mobile, and you could pay as little as $15 a month for wireless. click, call, or visit a store to learn more. breaking news. the jury in the trial of former police officer kim potter has ended its second day of deliberations without reaching a verdict. a reminder, potter faces manslaughter charges for shooting and killing 20-year-old daunte wright at a traffic stop in april. the jury has deliberated for around 14 hours in total, longer than the jury in the trial of former minneapolis police officer derek chauvin who was convicted of killing george

floyd. the potter trial jury will resume deliberations tomorrow morning. cnn's omar jimenez joins us now with the very latest and there is quite a bit here with the jury asking two questions. >> reporter: yeah, john. well, for starters, it seems they may be having trouble getting to a consensus, at least based on one of two questions they asked the judge today. the first question was simply if we can't reach a consensus, what is the guidance on how long we should go and what steps should be taken? the judge simply referred them back to part of their juror instructions, which said they should work toward an agreement without violating any individual's judgment, and that no one should sacrifice their honest opinion just to get to a verdict. now, as you mention, they are done deliberating for the day. they have gone more than 14 hours, total, over two days, which is little more than four hours more than it took to convict derek chauvin. but the second question they

asked was less about their consensus, but more about procedural stuff. little more normal. was they wanted to remove the zip ties from kim potter's gun. likely, to compare it to the taser that they also have in evidence. though, prosecutors noted the weight will likely be different because it has been rendered safe by the court, so this gun is unloaded, therefore, a different weight than what kim potter would have felt back in april of 2021. and of course, that comparison is important because potter, all along, has claimed that she mistook her taser for her gun when she shot and killed daunte wright during that traffic stop back in april of 2021. and p and prosecutors say the mere fact that she claimed she meant to reach for a taser shows she knew this wasn't a deadly force situation, while her defense has argued that if daunte wright had just complied, none of this would have happened. of course, that is the heart of what this jury is deliberating, they'll be back tomorrow morning to see if they can get closer to some sort of con sen sis.

>> they will be back tomorrow morning. but it was an eventful day. omar jimenez, thank you for that report. joining us now, criminal defense attorney sara azari and mark o'mara. whenever the jury comes back and says what happens if we can't reach consensus, what does that mean? >> well, john, it means that they could potentially be deadlocked. now, this could be a little premature. sometimes, jurors -- juries are concerned they might not be able to reach a unanimous verdict. it's unclear whether they are at that point or headed that way but this is exactly what the defense was aiming for. the idea that this jury would be swayed by that raw emotion in potter's testimony that made it worthwhile, frankly, for her to testify, despite making some bad admissions. um, this jury might be headed to a jury nullification. the idea that applying the law to the facts, they find her guilty but they just can't come up with a guilty verdict because they don't -- they don't feel like she's guilty.

or there could be stragglers on this jury and that's why they can't reach a unanimous verdict, in dh case it would be a hung jury. so either way, it seems like it is going the defense's way. >> mark o'mara, what do you see here? and how many times will a judge send them back to keep talking? >> generally speaking, she didn't do what will come next which is what we call an alan charge, which is that push charge. look. we have really relied on you. no other jury is going to do it as well as you could do it so really go back there and give it one last, good shot. listen to the other side. open up your minds. that hasn't happened yet but i will expect that would come the next time they say they don't -- they are not going to get to a verdict. but, you know, it -- it's troubling because i think what's happening now is this jury -- at least a few them -- are now trying to determine the reasonableness of her mistake. there is no question it was a mistake with tragic consequences. i think the reason why they want to be able to touch that gun is to see how reasonable or,

therefore, unreasonable the mistake was to hold onto that gun and think it was a taser. >> so, you think a combination of these questions today, mark, really is a revealing? >> i think it's very revealing, yes. i think they are -- they are probably arguing over the issue of what -- what she did and what she agreed she did but did it as a mistake. that's why they want to touch that gun, touch the taser. that is why the city -- and don't forget, a -- a question like that, the first question, what do we do if we're hung? that could be one person. it could be two or three. if it's more than one or two, they are probably not going to get resolution because once you have that confederacy of two, three, or four, they are going to stick together. but they may be trying to convince one or they just really wrestling with the idea of the reasonableness of the tragic consequences of a mistake. >> so, sara, the specific question about the gun was to remove the zip ties that were on it, holding it in the box so they could get a better sense of

it. do you see that as important as mark does? >> i do. i mean, i agree with mark. i usually agree with mark. but, you know, these two weapons are at the crux of the prosecution's case. they go to count one and count two, the idea she mishandled her weapon. count one. the idea she acted with criminal next, count two. and so, though the weight is going to be different because ammunition is out of the gun, they still get to feel and see -- and -- and physically observe these two weapons to determine like mark said the -- the reasonableness of this mistake. so, i do think, you know, when you couple that with the idea that they might be struggling, it could be that that might change the trajectory of where they're headed. i'm not sure. but they are definitely related. i don't think we should take them separately out of con tejts. >> mark bein, last week, kim po took the stand in her own defense. are you seeing that pay off for the defense now in some ways based on these questions? >> yeah, i think she had to. i think she had to show that raw

emotion. i don't think it was -- and here is why. it was connected to and very relevant to exactly the way that she reacted when she realized she had shot him. and i think it was really good because having cried and broke down at the scene, the idea of doing it now it's actually sort of consistent. and i think gave more credibility to her, if you will, in front of this jury who had to hear her apology, her explanation as best she could give it. >> but, sara, the prosecution flat-out says that a mistake isn't a real defense here. >> it's not, john, because, look, inherent in the crime of manslaughter under minnesota law, it is the accidental killing of another human being. so, you have -- you know, you call it accidental and mistaken. you have that mistake in the offense. so, a mistake is not a defense to that mistake. um, it isn't. and i think the defense has been quite cleverly misleading in repeatedly telling this jury in closing arguments that, you know, it was a human mistake, it

was an action error, you know, anyone -- well, first of all, it's not any human. it is an officer of 26 years of experience who has had training and has had certifications and recertifications. so -- um, but it seems to me like it might be working. >> mark, just finally, look, we always talk about the effect weekends have on juries and having them reach a decision. i mean, this is -- this is christmas coming up here. >> they're -- they're going to have a decision tomorrow. i hate guessing because we always want to be a fly on the wall but they are not going to spend her time on this and if they don't get a decision tomorrow, by noon or 1:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon, they may very well hang. >> mark o'mara, sarah azari, interesting discussion. thank you so much for your insight. >> thanks, john. happy holidays if i don't see you. so breaking news on the january 6th committee involving michael flynn, the former president's embattled national security adviser. the details, ahead. oh no.

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more breaking news. michael flynn, the embattled former national security adviser to the former president is now suing the january 6th committee in hopes of blocking a subpoena for his phone records. meanwhile, republican congressman scott perry has declined the requests from the committee to voluntarily speak with investigators. that means the committee could potentially subpoena him. he was the first lawmaker to receive a request like this from

the committee investigating the capitol insurrection. they want to talk to him about several things, including his efforts to install former-justice department attorney jeffrey clark as the acting attorney general. perry connected clark and the former president when he was pressuring the justice department to find evidence that the 2020 election was stolen. it wasn't. and as we approach the one-year anniversary of the january 6th attack, the former president is planning a news conference in mar-a-lago on that day to err his grievances over the committee's investigation and the 2020 election. and announcing the event, he once again shared his election lies. here anyway, former republican congressman joe walsh, who ran against the former president in the 2020 republican primary. let's start with congressman perry rejecting call from the january 6th committee to come in and answer questions from them. he calls them illegitimate, which is sort of this rhetoric we keep on hearing from the likes of perry about anything he doesn't like. why do they keep saying things like that? >> john, i may be lousy tv

tonight because i really don't care what my former colleague scott perry said. i -- i'm -- i'm not interested. i don't -- i don't think his statement telling us why he's refusing to cooperate in the investigation -- i don't think that statement even deserves a response. it's so easy to get lost in the weeds here. as the year ends -- and we are almost a year removed from january 6th -- john, the story is this. scott perry is yet one more republican who refuses to cooperate. that's the story. here we are, a year away from january 6th, and one more republican won't cooperate. the republican party, almost to a man and a woman, refuses to cooperate with an investigation into an attack on our democracy. that's the story.

>> so what do you do about it, then? should the committee issue a subpoena to a sitting member of congress? >> yes. and i believe it would be a first. yes. like mark meadows -- former member of congress before him -- scott perry should be issued a contempt citation from congress, should be subpoenaed. this committee should do everything they need to do to get to the bottom of this. john, look. again, here we are almost a year removed from january 6th. we have one political party. the republican party that, for some reason, doesn't want america to get to the bottom of that attack on our democracy. i get that the committee is in a tough spot and they're up against a clock but they've got to do everything they possibly can do to these republicans. >> well, along those lines, "the new york times" is reporting and cnn has matched it to an extent, the committee is at least considering the idea of criminal

referrals to the doj. not on contempt, not on contempt. not for perry and others but actual actions surrounding january 6th. "the times" says they could be financial actions, funding the lies that went into the insurrection. it could be, you know, the former president himself for not doing anything to stop it. do you think it's necessary, given your -- your passion about this for them to do this? >> i think it's necessary to do whatever they can do to -- to do whatever, john, they have to do to make sure that something that i've never seen happen any other time in my lifetime -- an actual insurrection. an actual -- and, john, this is where we need to stop and take a breath -- addressing your question -- and remind ourselves what happened on january 6th and what led to january 6th. donald trump and the people around donald trump systematically tried to overthrow an american election.

my god, if that doesn't demand that a committee use every single tool they have to get to the bottom of it to make sure a january 6th never happens again, then nothing does. >> well, it is happening again to an extent the lies happen before hand, the insurrection happened, then the lies continued after. and -- and the former president, who announced he is holding this news conference on the one-year anniversary of january 6th did so with more lies. so, what do you do? how -- how should one handle that day, his news conference, do you think? >> i -- john, i have got a contrarian view here and maybe you disagree with me but it goes like this. donald trump is america's enemy, and he's democracy's enemy. and i really think it's important to remind the american people of that every opportunity you have. so, if donald trump on january

6th stands in front of the american people and rattles off a bunch of dishonest, treasonous, un-democratic stuff, i think you broadcast that. i think you put that out in front of the american people because, john, the american people, god bless 'em, need to be reminded daily of -- of who this guy is and what he did. and i think democrats need to broadcast everything donald trump says. >> about 30 seconds left, do you think that there will be those who were there one year ago who will go back and try to do it all again? >> i worry about more violence on this anniversary. i felt that way before. many others felt that way before january 6th last year. i have that concern, again. because, john, as you said and i hear from these folks every single day, they do not believe joe biden won and they do not believe january 6th was a big deal. so i think america needs to be

concerned about further vier lens on this one-year anniversary. >> i think the even more troubling thing is it's not they don't think it is a big deal. it's now they celebrate -- they celebrate that day as something that should be pointed to with glee. former congressman walsh, thank you very much. >> thanks, john. so, why dr. anthony fauci is calling for a fox news host to be fired and how the network responded. my insurance i don't. i use liberty mutual, they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. wooo, yeaa, woooooo and, by switching you could even save 665 dollars. hey tex, can someone else get a turn? yeah, hang on, i'm about to break my own record. yeah. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. ♪ from the very first touch, pampers, the #1 pediatrician recommended brand, helps keep baby's skin drier and healthier. so every touch will protect like the first.

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rent sing for $1, then belt out all your favorite tunes from the movie with sing karaoke. plus, see sing 2 in theaters with buy-one-get-one free fandango tickets. join over a million members by signing up for free on the xfinity app. our thanks. your rewards. dr. anthony fauci is calling on fox news to fire host jesse watters after he told a group of conservatives to ambush fauci with questions in hopes of creating a viral moment and send the video footage to his network. w waters also told them to go in for the kill shot. president biden's chief medical adviser believes goes too far.

fox news has responded to fauci. here's randi kaye. >> now you're going for the kill shot. the kill shot with an ambush, deadly. because he doesn't see it coming. >> that was fox news host jesse watters monday night at a turning point usa conference. watters asked the crowd to go for the kill shot by asking aggressive questions. >> this is when you say, dr. fauci, you funded risky research at a sloppy chinese lab, the same lab that sprung this pandemic on the world. you know why people don't trust you, don't you? boom! he is dead! he is dead!

he's done. >> reporter: fauci, who is president biden's chief medical adviser had this to say in response. >> that's horrible. i mean, that just is such a reflection of the craze ziness that goes on in society. >> reporter: fauci has served more than three decades as the nation's top infectious disease doctor. all he's ever done is encourage people to get vaccinated and wear a mask in public settings. >> for that you have a guy saying people should be giving me a kill shot to ambush me. whatever network he's on is not going to do anything for him. the guy should be fired on the spot. >> fox news is defending watters, saying he was using a metaphor and his words have been twisted completely out of context. cnn law enforcement analyst disagrees. >> it's just fuelling mob rule to satisfy a political goal. >> dr. fauci's been attacked by

fox hosts since nearly the beginning of the pandemic. most recently it was lara logan, who last month used her show on the channel's streaming network to compare fauci to a nazi doctor noun as the angel of death at auschwitz for his brutal experiments on prisoners. >> people say to me he doesn't represent science to me. he represents the nazi doctor who did experiments on jews during the second world war. >> after that fox stayed silent and lara logan continued to demonize fauci. then she appeared to be quietly removed from air, at least temporarily. >> how they can let her say that with no comment and no disciplinary action, i'm astounded by that. >> reporter: and all the rhetoric has come at a cost. fauci has received death threats, and it's put his entire family at risk. >> every once in a while you stop and you think about it and you say, my world has completely changed. but as it's changing, you don't

realize it's changing because you're just focusing. we've got to get a vaccine. we've got to get a drug. we've got to do this. we've got to do that. and every once in a while you say, well, wait a minute, i've got two armed security guards here. i've got another guy over there. >> reporter: since march of last year, fauci has had security detail for extra protection. comments like watters' perhaps making that all the more necessary. >> the potential for such phrases to transform from rhetoric into destructiveness or physical harm, we've seen that time and time again. people will co-opt that for a call to action and harm against dr. fauci. >> and randi kaye joins us now. randi, do these threats to dr. fauci go beyond just the rhetoric we hear from people on tv? >> absolutely john we are seeing that. over the summer the federal government filed a federal complaint against a 56-year-old maryland man. and according to the affidavit this man had made threats to fauci and his family that he

would harm or kill them. according to the affidavit, one email said he would drag them to the street, beat them to death, and then set them on fire. the affidavit also says this man sent seven threatening emails in seven minutes on a single day in april. separate from that, dr. fauci had received white powder in the mail that he described as blowing up in his face. of course there was concern there was the dangerous anthrax. it turned out to be harmless. but these are distractions. he says he's not going to let them bother him. he's going to stay focused on getting people vaccinated and doing his job. it's a lot to deal with. >> it certainly is. we'll be right back.

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