well, good evening everyone, i'm laura coates, and the cnn tonight. president biden is responding this evening the the discovery of of at least ten classified

documents in his former private office. >> people know i take classified documents, and classified information seriously. i was briefed about this discovery and was surprised to learn that there were any government records that were taken there, to that office, but i do not know what is in the documents, my lawyers have not suggested i ask what documents they were. i've turned over the boxes, they've turn over the boxes to the archives, and we are cooperating fully. cooperating fully with the review, which i hope will be finished soon. >> well, the documents were discovered on -- wait for it, november 2nd. from joe biden's time as vice president, including u.s. intelligence memos, and briefing materials by ukraine and iran, and the uk. are learning exclusively at cnn that a couple of days later, biden's lawyers handed over everything, in the office some

50 or 55 boxes out of an abundance of caution. and here we go, the house oversight chairman, has already sent letters to the white house counsel's office, and the national archives, and the opening salvo of congressional investigations into biden's handling of those documents. now, the doj already has its hands full with two very different documents cases. and what happens next will all come down to, how those cases converged after those documents were discovered to be in the hands of something other than the national archives. at least ten classified docs founded president biden's private office and downtown, washington at least around 25 classified documents. found and president's trump a peach called in mar-a-lago. some of those ten or so biden, documents they were marked top secret. 60 trump documents were marked top secret. now, of course the idea of how many were there, at times, if it intentional, and if it's serious enough, just one

document is problematic. so don't be swayed by the number alone. but team biden, the word you heard was cooperation. they are cooperating with national archives and the doj. now trump, he is under investigation for obstruction. president biden's lawyers found his documents, and immediately notified the national archives. but, the archives had to reach out to team trump, and ask for his documents. and the doj doesn't think it's got all the trump documents, even as we're sitting here today. and sitting with me here tonight, is cnn's phil mattingly, also retired senior cia operations officer, douglas london, offering author of the great new book the recruiter, out in paperback as we speak. also, national security attorney bradley moss, and cnn 's mj lee who's been covering the president while in mexico city. i'm glad you are all here right, now i'm gonna leave it to you mj, because you are where the

action is with the president in the united states. of, course what is on everyone's mind is the dates here. we're not just finding out the president just found out. why did they not allow people to know, or tell this earlier? >> yeah, you know laura, as much as you just heard the president address this issue for the first time in press conference in mexico city. that is the one question that he really didn't, answer and it is a question that the white house isn't answering either. the question being, that if the biden team, excuse me, new and found these classified documents at a private office, where they should have been been going back to november. why are we only learn about this now. earlier, today when we are asking the white house about this, the white house counsel office spokesperson said, they are just limited now and what exactly they can share. the spokesperson also said that they are committed t o doing

things right way, and maybe some point in the future, they'll be able to share more information. right now, as things stand. this is not clear why my decision was made. and exactly who might have been involved and the summit, the north american leader summit. airforce-1. they're heading back to washington -- but the issue is clearly waiting for the president home, and as you laid out in your intro, they're just the real distinctions between the biden document situation, and certainly the white house is trying to make clear that those distinctions are real. we've seen over the last 48 hours, how many republicans and trump allies definitely don't care about those distinctions. >> you know it's really important poin--i want to go to you bradley on this, bradley moss is a national security attorney, and has dealt with caused by documents throughout your career.

i'm wondering, as much as we talk about there are some distinctions, obviously, we've laid out the distinctions. mj makes a fine point about whether that nuance will ever be appreciated, and the defense stins to that. i do wonder from your perspective, are the red flags here that people are missing? do you feel skeptical about the president's response,? >> they, sickly to rose diversion would, here and joe biden took the path you're supposed to take. he did what you're supposed to do when you find out that for whatever reason, whether it's incompetence, sloppiness, ignorance, whatever, classified records, wound up in your possession. notify the government, you get, it returned to it to them immediately. that, is according to what we know from media reporting and what the white house counsel said, as what happened. i want to still see what comes, out more details, wives are not just taking the word for it, but if it that is what transpired here then in terms of at least joe biden, he is in the clear. he did what you are supposed to do. donald trump is the case study in how to get yourself into more trouble when you didn't have to be.

and how to tick off the justice department. >> well doug, enough, point that idea when you're thinking about, not taking a word for it, the whole trust and verify, or just not trust you at all moment, but i wonder, if you're looking at this in you're trying to think about, how to evaluate and assess one's accountability. or to trust somebody. you can easily, say i don't know, and some talking points will say isn't that what trump would say? and how would you see it? >> from a counterintelligence perspective, you're looking at the material that, self control, and intent. intent may be speaking to the accountability factor. in terms of material, maybe ten, documents some of it special access programs. but they are finished products when it comes as sources and methods. in terms of control, these were locked in an office that perhaps, only biden and his

team had access to--where with mar-a-lago, this is a common storage space, with boxes that common workers could have access to. in terms of, intent as you've explained, president trump might perhaps find himself charged with obstruction, because he went out of the way to prevent these documents from being retained. which means he had an endgame. it could be very possibly the actions of president biden staff, but he seems to say he doesn't know about it--either way, numbers, himself as the metrics and clinical evaluation, makes it less of a potential hazard for sources and methods, as what we saw in mar-a-lago. >> and of course, still thinking about this, there is the divergent path taken. there is the idea of what one knows when you're aware of it, but that awareness factor, we're talking about it, it was known november. it is now january, i know last week was an entirely year, but it's technically still january, and it's not november by any stretch of the imagination. but you make of the idea that we didn't know about this sooner. this was a of a timeline. >> look, as a reporter, i'm not thrilled by it. but it also spent the last 24 to 36 hours making calls about, this and not being thrilled about a general lack of

answers. to some degree, i think that underscores the approach the white house on their team of taken. it's not satisfying from in informational perspective or journalistic perspective, but also very much price with the caution they've operated, through throughout the entire process. part of what you're seeing right, now all the issues you laid, out who had access, to it where they came, from what the process was. that is part of the review. that is what they expect the u.s. attorneys to look into, as he presents his information to the attorney general. >> and they already gave a preliminary report. >> they don't expect any more coming out of, that which means the decision becomes. so the worst case scenario to, there is not the politics of, it not whatever house republicans are gonna, do the worst-case scenario is that the

attorney general decides, this is suspect enough to try to appoint a special counsel. that is a nightmare for any white house, and that is certainly something this administration is cognizant of, and wants to avoid because at least according to, them they don't believe they done a thing to marry. that that drives a caution both on the timeline of, things willingness to talk about, this and just how few details they've been willing to let out up to this point. the one, thing, however they have been made clear, of it's been exposed, if it is pretty blatant. if you like the special counsel statement, from last, night if you listen to the president today. they are drawing a very significant contrast of the former president, that is not unintentional. they're doing that, with a little information they're

given, they're making clear this is a very different scenario. that's an understanding of the, politics even with restrictions they feel like they had on him. >> mj, let me bring you back to the conversation, here because i wonder what -- this is really taking center stage, and of course biden, trudeau, and everyone who wanted this to have a different vibe today, to say the least. what is the atmosphere like, there. even having to address, i think many people were surprised that president biden didn't just plant and say, this is not why i'm, here we'll talk about this back in washington post. see in some respects it speaks to, the idea, i think we lost her first, second it speaks to the urgency of how he knew, but this was. let me go to, you proudly, on this. because i wonder about the timing issue. >> the fact is there's already

been somebody look at, this somebody who's a trump appointee, the u.s. attorney out of illinois. the fact that there's already a preliminary report handed, over what is arsenal to you but either the pace of the investigation, or how this might end up. >> it shows me that it's running by the proper course, that was turned over when everything was turned over back and november to norah, it wasn't like what we know with the trump, team where they try that out for months fighting about executive privilege with norah. doj got the records, they had no problems getting information out of whoever they needed it from, they're been able to interview people they need, it they will to get an understanding of what has transpired. >> you, mean to have that report, interviews have been done. maybe even lawyers for biden. >> quite possibly, we already know the president has his personal lawyer, so if they're in fact lawyers been involved. -- on >> that wasn't shade.

>> we're, carter, phil i get it. >> a minor cloud. >> but that does show this is going by the pace that, for something, this is supposed to. the reason is taking so long, mar-a-lago is because of all the obfuscation, and the obstruction, they made it take longer, and they put up those roadblocks. what about attorney general garland, he is a dilemma on his hands, with the criticism coming out right now from anywhere from the former vice president mike pence to congressman marjorie taylor greene, they're expressing that this might be a double standard unless there is a protocol that follows precisely in the same way that happened for trump, even with this divergent paths. garland fast to rwanda on these reports, but also has a political and legal calc calculus. it's >> it's a double standard, at one point the intelligence community probably has to get involved to see if there is any damage soon assessment.

you know better than me, leaving our depend on justice to let them know to provide the subject lines, the serial numbers those reports, if they can then take people off line to see have we seen anything. this intelligence reporting has to pre-day 2017 because of the obama material. some of it might have already been overtaken by events and certainly there might be an opportunity, had damage been done, had it fallen into bad hands, by now we certainly would've seen an indication of the source of the methods that were involved in collecting the material used in those assessments. >> real quick, is it a good thing that his lawyers told him what not ask what lawyers documents are? >> yes. do not talk to have about, it do not ask. >> there you go, phil that's why didn't ask. >> by the way we reported that before. >> awe, see how that happens. >> i will say one more thing, i know we're on the clock here but that has been interesting element of this. it's not just the president, most people in his team do not have a great sense, they certainly have not refuted in the counsels office or in the seniors visors and that has complicated their response as well. they do not, know they have broad sense of things just based on the review has been ongoing, some of the person law is been involved as well. but that in complicates the ability to get information as well. to his point, there is reason that the president does not

know about, it that is also not unintentional. >> final point from bill mattingly, please stick around, the lawmaker called him multiple lies being sworn in. that is of next, and of course his fellow members of congress are asking showed george santos really be interested with classified information? i will speak with a democrat who demands that mccarthy block santos is access that information, next. gronk speaking. great news gronk! you're going to be in the fanduel super bowl commercial. so i just lift up my phone and say, “new fanduel customers bet $5, win $150 bucks?” and kick a field goal during the super bowl. what!? fanduel, america's number one sportsbook. i know there's conflicting information about dupuytren's contracture. i thought i couldn't get treatment yet? well, people may think that their contracture has to be severe to be treated, but it doesn't. if you can't lay your hand flat on the table, talk to a hand specialist. but what if i don't want surgery?

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republicans will say it will investigate what they call the weaponization of the federal government and it is one of the first acts of the speaker, kevin mccarthy led house. it is a clearer picture of what comes next for house republicans after the brutal speakership battle. joining me now to discuss, former gop congressman and cnn political commentator, adam kinzinger. nice to see you today, adam, it is interesting, first of all most people saw that flash for a moment and had a déjà vu and thought, oh no are we back here again at along speakership vote? it is not that, but this was truly a test today.

before we get into that though, i'm really curious to hear your take on the news of the day, president biden speaking and addressing from mexico city that there were classified documents found in a private office, he is not asked his lawyers about what is in, it they handed over immediately to the archives and it there is already been some preliminary report handed over to the attorney merrick garland, who trump appointed u.s. attorney who is a hold over illinois. what is your take on this? >> well first off, the u.s. attorney is a great guy, i know him, he is fair. i trust will be in that report. i think in any other time, this would be a news item but obviously given what has happened with the former president, it is huge. thankfully in the justice area, they do nuance and there is a lot of nuance differences here including just, either is classified, but what was the reaction after that was found out? politics-wise, nuance is not

done very well in this. so from an ammunition perspective, from a difficulty now and prosecuting trump, i do not think it is going to make a difference in what the justice department does but it certainly gives ammunition to the republicans to say that you are targeting president trump. i do not think that is necessarily the case. >> interestingly enough, if you were to look at your republican congressman who is attempting to do what you are talking about, if you are condemning more broadly the idea of possession of classified materials for a former executive office holder, then you necessarily have to condemn the former president donald trump. but that nuance will not apparently be there, hypocrisy really is something that needs to be part and parcel, as well. >> look, everyone can agree that the possession of classified material is wrong, it should not happen. what you are going to see from my former colleagues in the republican side is a lot of

attacking president biden saying that he should be in jail and ignoring what donald trump did. i heard yesterday saying, look, he was vice president at the time. you should not have had access to this material, which is patently false. but there is no excuse for either side on this, but i do think that former president trump has a much different case. again, justice will do nuance. they do nuance far better than politicians do. >> the laws about the behavior in part, but let's talk about part of this. as i mentioned at the top, republicans did create a new select committee today to investigate what they are calling the weaponization of the doj and the fbi. i am wondering what this is going to mean for the administration and also for the public's perception of the credibility of the doj more broadly? >> i think that we are in a moment where people already

have their minds made up. i am not sure this is going to change anybody's mind. i guess what i am confused by, generally is that there is an oversight committee. the oversight committee are the ones that are supposed to be dealing with this, so that is what is ominous about creating a whole new committee that says, anybody that is under investigation now we are going to go back after the investigators. i worry about any kind of a chilling effect that this puts on the execution of justice, are we targeting individuals now who are out doing their jobs? if you believe that there is corruption in the doj or government agencies, that is what the oversight committee is for. this seems like an extra layer, but what i am worried about is that this actually seems like something akin to mccarthy-ism in the 50s, not kevin mccarthy, in terms of who are we going to target, you are going to put out in front of us, and embarrassing people for doing

their job. >> when you try to investigate the investigation or's, a lot of legislation is not happening to your larger point. but speaking of committees and about how the oversight is done, speaker mccarthy was promising democratic wraps, shift, swalwell, and omar, that they will not be on the committees that they served on previously. we already know, we have come to think about even in the campaign platform and looking ahead to even november and beyond, there were conversations about what would happen if republicans gave the majority.

the-for-tat for removal for committees as we saw for other reasons, swalwell is reacting to that today for payback. listen to this. >> there flying to take me, adam shift, -- and put george santos, marjorie taylor greene, and -- i think that you see that that isn't an evil, vengeful approach. they are going to try to what they want to do, but i think that the voters see that. this is nothing more than one side trying to take the best of the other side of the field in a very vengeful way. >> how do you see it? >> look, it is a really dangerous and slippery slope that we are in. here let's go back in time to y marjorie taylor greene and why paul gosar were pulled off their committees. by the way, i voted for both of them to be voted of and pulled off their committees. if you go even further back, kevin mccarthy had pulled steve king for some white supremacist comments off of his committees. he was asked if you could do the same for marjorie taylor greene for denying school

shootings, and the whole jewish space laser, all of those conspiracies. he refused to because that was politically tough at the time. same for paul gosar who addressed a white supremacist conference. when he refused to do that, that the house took it up. we took it up because of a legitimate reason and it was a bipartisan vote. what is being done now is retribution and payback. listen, this is we get into this-for-tat retribution payback, at this house as dysfunctional as it is now will be even more dysfunctional. it is very scary where this is tracking at the moment. >> we think about the idea of oversight and what we are watching, i wonder what you

make of the c-span video cameras. there is an amendment now from congressman get matt gates that has them up, to speaking about how people are watching about what is happening. is there some incentive if the cameras are on or if this amendment were to pass for some reason, that you think would be greater responsibility or accountability that you could see from people knowing that the big brother is watching? >> well let me just give you my personal opinion on that, either way this goes i do not think it is going to be a massive deal. of course matt gates wants that, he can go out and perform on the floor anytime we can to get on tv. but listen, what i worry about is, right now anytime that anybody speaks on a committee or on the floor or the house of representatives, all they think about is at any given time it is actually like 700,000 people who are, c-span. org, not all they are thinking about is addressing those votes. that's why you do not have legitimate debate anymore. i'm a little concerned with what happens if now, let's say i'm on the floor i go to talk to somebody that is politically very different. it could be a good story but in a base it could be why is that i'm talking to somebody on the

far left? i do worry about now making everything a performance. if they end up freeing the cameras, i do not think it's a huge deal, but i just kind of lean on the -- side that we should not do that. >> showmanship in congress, i do not know we are talking about. is that a thing? so nice to talk to this evening. >> no it's a surprise. >> spoiler alert, it is not. thank you so much congressman, nice talking to you tonight. listen everyone, speaking of i don't want to show called a show of what mother nature's, doing but flooded roads, heavy snow, there are desperate rescues. deadly storms have killed at least 17 people. it has forced tens of thousands of to evacuate so far, we are gonna have more after this. >> tech: cracked windshield? make it easy and schedule with safelite, because you can track us and see exactly when we'll be there. >> woman: i have a few more minutes. let's go! >> tech vo: that's service that fits your schedule. go to safelite.com. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ i'm sholeh and i lost 75 pounds with golo. i went from a size 20 to a size 6. before golo, nothing seemed to work. i was exercising for over an hour every day. it was really discouraging. but golo's so easy, the weight just falls off.

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battering california with

relentless rain and deadly flooding, at least 17 people have now died. thousands have been forced to evacuate, millions are under flood watch. you can see firefighters rescuing a 70-year-old driver stuck on a suburban street near l. a. county. luckily he survived. but in central california a five year old is still missing tonight after being swept away in floodwaters, at one point rescue teams were forced to suspend the search for him when the weather became too unsafe for even the rescuers. the heavy rainfall in fresno led to this rockslide with deep mud and debris forcing highway s to close. i want to bring in bryan may, spokesperson for the california

's office for emergency services. thank you for being here, bryan when you see the numbers of at least 17 people have died, do you fear this number may rise? >> it is hard to put into words just what we are seeing across the state right now, and you know california certainly no stranger to danger and events, but normally when we see events in california we see an isolated earthquake in one part of the state, we see a wildfire in one part of the state, but this really is impacting the entirety of california, especially along our coastal communities. we are seeing that the 17 deaths that you mentioned, they stretch from the southern border of mexico all the way up to the oregon border on the north side of the state. it is challenging, you mentioned for first responders as well. we did more rather rescues today than we have done in the last five years, we see a lot of events in california. we are just talking about the challenging conditions and try to get through the series of storms. >> watching sinkholes in the screen next to you. the entire state is under flood watch, and so what are you telling people in order to keep

them safe? it is a very seemingly unpredictable and dangerous storm in terms of what could actually impact and what could happen next? what is your message? >> well, first and foremost if you are here in evacuation order in your specific community, the best thing you can do is heed that warning. get out, keep yourself safe and also keep those first responders who then do not have to come in looking for. you the second thing along those, lines just pay very close attention. watch for local media, watch the weather reports, listen to your local authorities. these weather conditions are's changing very quickly, it is hard to predict the mudslides that we are predicting, hard to predict with the hundred plus-year-old trees are coming down. it is very dangerous out, so the third message would just be to stay off the roads and stay at home if you can and let's get through these next rounds together. >> such important messages, thank you so much ryan may for this evening. everyone out there, especially that five-year-old's family, thank you so much. >> you're welcome. >> everyone, george santos is kicking off his term in

congress insisting that, despite his mobilize, that he is done nothing unethical. some of his fellow members of congress, while they do not agree. now there are questions about whether he should even be intrusted with classified information.

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here is how gop leaders say they are going to deal with it. >> this is something that is being handled internally, obviously there are concerns about what we have heard and so we are going to have to sit down and talk to him about it. >> sit down and talk to him about it. joining me now to talk about this, democratic congressman pat ryan of new york. congressman, ryan thank you for being here this evening, for so many people we are still recovering from the entire speakership election. however -- >> i join that group. >> you join the recovery of all of this. >> but one of the things that was on the minds of all of us

is our congressman san jose would be treated, number one. how would the slim origin, mccarthy might try to either appeal to him or maybe rabeh kim, how did that go. i wonder in hearing that i would called a tepid response. they're gonna sit down and talk to. i'm a member of congress who's accused of all of these lies, what is your reaction? >> well, what is it enough. when does lie upon lie upon lie become enough to actually grow a backbone and say, this is deeper than gaining 218 seats in the house, this is about trust in our democracy among the american people. unfortunately, we just continue to see people putting power over the essence of our democracy, the democracy that i risked my life to defend as an

army officer. so it -- may of frankly. >> they're probably have skiing the same question that you are asking, especially with the trust element. trust of course in our democracy has become imperiled in recent times, either through feigned accusations of not having a fair and free election, we do. or the idea of having to sow discord and distrust between people to have the self gain that you are talking about. you have written to mccarthy, speaker mccarthy, today. you called santos a direct threat, and i'm quoting, a direct threat to national security. that something that's goes beyond the idea of misplaced trust or rejected trust. why is he a direct threat to national security? >> i think it's important, the american people understand that when you're elected to congress you essentially automatically get access to top secret national security information,

a security clearance. that is undergirded by this idea that if the people know you and luck to you that you should be trusted with this information was lies at stake. the problem is that santos blatantly lied to the american people, and yet he is going to get the same access to this highly sensitive top secret information, so i said to the speaker. i demand, it along with other cargolux, all of who have served in harm's way in the military or intelligence agencies, we cannot let the stand. we do not even know where hundreds of thousands of dollars of campaign contributions have come from, who he might be beholden to. until that is sorted out and he is properly vetted, we -- it truly is a national security risk to allow him access to this information. >> you said the idea of vetting, of course, and the idea of an investigation pan deng. there is least one republican congressman who appears to be on the side, dusty johnson out

of south dakota, wanting to have an investigation. i wonder what that would look like to you? >> well there needs to be a comprehensive investigation into how he was allowed to be seated given that we knew these issues had come up, the lies that occurred, and yet he was allowed to be sworn in. >> there was time to catch? not >> yet, we knew. this was widely reported before he was foreign in and me and many others called let's stop it now, and not let the mistake go further. what i called for specifically, though, is that he should be subjected to a national security investigation if he does want access to this information. the normal american citizen getting clearance goes through months of extensive background checks and vetting, given his lies at a minimum, if they want to keep in the congress, which i do not think he should be, let's at least objecting to a full background check which i do not think you would pass, frankly. >> speaking of national security, the big news of the day and really the past 24 hours, and frankly several months given the prior president that brought donald trump's handling of classified

documents. there is been reporting about classified documents of some nature being found in the private office of a former vice president who is now the president of the united states. what do you say to the fact that this has happened and has occurred? we do not have all the information, that is true, we're still waiting for data for the reporting to come, in for the president to talk about what really happened if he knows. what is your reaction to this issue? it is a matter of trust in many respects. >> it all comes back to trust, which comes back to accountability. i analysts find information every day as an element me intelligence officer. if somebody were to actually misplace it must, or what you do is identify that problem, you own it, you address it and fix it and you do it in a transparent way. that was what the president seems to be doing. it is what everybody should, do it does the opposite of what trump did, to try to cover it up, lie about, it and so on and so forth.

you know, as we said we need to learn more. but i think the first step is taking accountability, getting to the facts. >> congressman, thank you so much for your insights today. >> thank you for having me. >> well, china's government denying a covid surge over there, but picture evidence tells a very different story. we've got the satellite images showing crowded crematoriums and funeral homes, after this.

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disturbing, newly-revealed images raised questions about china's covid deaths. there are growing signs that the number of deaths are far beyond what the government is admitting to. after the end of its severe lockdowns just last month, a single look at the satellite images of a funeral home outside of beijing. in just a matter of weeks, last month it apparently became so crowded that they had to build a new parking lot for mourners. the clues, well they do not stop there. this video shows people lined up in the night at a crematorium in china. the washington post reports that it seems like this suggests that families are now waiting for hours just to have a chance to make arrangements for a royal service and cremation. now in some cases, demand is so

high that the person who uploaded this video says that there were even scalpers holding spaces. joining me now is washington post video forensics reporter, samuel oakford. thank you for joining us. this is very disturbing to think about what is taking place here, samuel. i wonder initially, seeing these images, these images that are around china that show this increased traffic, i wonder what this truly signals in terms of what the current state of covid-19 is in china? >> laura, thank you for having me on. the chinese government is very tightlipped about how many people are dying due to current covid surge, on their zero covid policy especially when it comes to deaths in any major cities. we are seeing totals that are very, very low if at all showing up. so what we wanted to do was look at the satellite imagery

and available open source material, including videos to see if we get established patterns across the country. if we're able to do that, we looked at multiple cities, eventually we came up with six cities where we could identify funeral homes that have more activity now in terms of vehicles, people outside, compared to the same time last year. we then took videos that were taken inside of those facilities and we could see how crowded they were. >> that is pretty amazing to think about, just the technology that we are using and the idea of using satellite images to try to get at the heart of the matter of what china is not revealing. i want to underscore a point that you made, samuel, because officially just over 500,200 people, according to their numbers, have died since the beginning of the pandemic. that compares to the united states of over 1 million. but they say that just 5000 have passed. your reporting has a very different projection, it projects by international experts, they put the death toll at the 5000 number per

day. how do we get to that? >> right, our investigation was trying to see what was happening in cities across the country, to see if there is any evidence to suggest that what experts say could happen was. basically we did not find that there is evidence to contradict what those experts are saying, we do not know how many people are dying, certainly the evidence suggests that a lot of people are dying and especially the elderly who are -- may have lower levels of vaccinations or boosters, this is a big problem in china. when everything changed overnight effectively in early december, the country as a whole is undergoing what the u. s. may have gone through over the course of three years. >> and of course we are learning now that it is part of the light relaxing of the covid protocols, and so what with the cause of this recent surge most directly. but china is also allowing people to now travel again, and i am wondering how this might pose a danger internationally? >> well, our investigation was mostly focused on the possible

spread in china. i think we all know by now that covid can spread when people travel, but i think what we were trying to get out is accountability here, the chinese government is basically not saying and leveling with the international community along with their own citizens about what is happening at the moment. you think about what we went through in the united with so many deaths and so many dramatic scenes here in the early days of the pandemic. imagine if the government was covering up that, those deaths and we simply did not know how many people were dying. that is what is happening now in china. our investigation shows that what the government is saying is almost certainly inaccurate. >> a really important story in a way to get at the information when transparency is certainly not the name of the game there. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> so, the investigations, while they have begun. republicans are requesting information about the classified documents found in president joe biden's old private office. we will tell you about it,

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his silence on the classified documents from his time as the vice president that were found in his office. here is what he said today at the summit in mexico city. >> people know i take classified information seriously. when my lawyers were clearing out my office they set up a secure office for me in the capital. they found some documents and a box or a locked cabinet. as soon as they did they realized there were several classified documents in the box. they did what they should have done. they immediately called the archives. turned them over to the archives and i was briefed about this discovery and surprised to learn that there was any government records that were taken there to