tonight on kqed newsroom, california congress members barbara lee and eric swalwell talk to us about the historic second impeachment of president trump. some regions are plus presidents and plagues have come and gone, but is california redwoods have endured for centuries. welcome to kqed newsroom. president donald trump has certainly made his mark on the office accomplishing what no

other u.s. president has managed to do. he has been impeached, not once, but twice. two members of kqed's politics and government team. marissa, i frequently hear myself using words like historic and unprecedented. what you think of this? >> how much more serious it could have been, if not for the quick action of some law enforcement. then, of course, noting that we did have 10 republicans in the house pilaf and impeach trump. it does feel like the ground is moving fast, but given the seriousness of last week, i'm

surprised that there weren't more republicans. >> they were all sort of on the floor sleeping mostly. i thought that image really captured the history of our country and a reminder that george washington as the first president really established this idea of not running for a third term. not was something very much at stake in everything we have been seeing in washington. i remember being a young kid watching the watergate hearings. what are they going to remember? what are they going to take away? >> marissa, you mentioned the at 10 republicans that voted for impeachment.

what can you tell us about them? >> very purple district. very more democrats actually. he has always been more cautious. we don't fully know how he had have would have acted at the time, but i do think that he has his points on the district and his needs. >> scott, you did some other reporting by house minority leader, kevin mccarthy. he is seems to be walking a fine line here. what do you think? >> as the ground is shifting, it is much more of a challenge. resell another member of the

house republican leadership peel off. the one thing mccarthy has to do is keep those members in the folder. if he is going to keep become speaker in another two years. the question is, can he maintain that support as a pro- trump loyalist? as the speaker potentially, but now as the minority leader now i thought it was really fascinating to see liz cheney take that stand this past week we covered her dad, vice president cheney when i was a reporter in washington, d.c. marissa roeder should receive the republican party going after this? how is it falling apart, coming together, reforming?

i think the way that the impeachment was handled, the impeachment was going to make a difference in that. the midteens of the world who have really tried to walk the line. scott is talking about. last week it was a breaking point. i am not sure yet, we have members of qanon in congress. >> and moving back here to california scott the gavin newsom recall leaders were calling it a to this week. >> it does. are very much involved in the recall you are right it is a bit of a stretch california is a very popular

unpopular statewide. they are trying to make that connection with the recall. i think the political environment will be unpredictable. >> all right. scott and marissa, thank you for your time. california lawmakers have have bent then front and center through the impeachment proceedings. president trump is a continuous dnger to the united states, and should be removed immediately. >> donald trump has been and remains a threat to our national security and is unfit to serve as president. he has incited violence against the government of the united states. >> our president has incited our citizens to a type of

capital. america is still under attack and that is why donald trump must be impeached. >> joining us now, congress members barbara lee and eric swalwell . you were a member of the house impeachment team, the impeachment manager. how what sort of a danger that the president poses during his final days in office? >> this is an ongoing threat that we face as a country, a threat to life and a threat to our constitution and this experiment of self-government. every hour he stays in government, he remains a threat. that is why we should remove him as soon as possible.

he called these individuals to washington. he lit the match that set in motion the attack on the capitol . it is a very imminent situation here, and we cannot do enough to see him out of office. >> donald trump will serve out the remaining days of his term. what danger are you worried about specifically as he is in office until next week? >> i am so excited about alameda county will be presenting these articles of impeachment. let me tell you my background is a psychiatric social worker. i worry about the mental state that this president is in and what he has been in all of the issues the behavioral

scientists and mental health professionals understand. given the fact that he is being backed into a corner and he knows he lost this election and he is in total denial and delusional. i worry of course he has his finger on the black box one thing our military officials are making sure he doesn't do anything crazy. anything is possible. we saw him incite violence. there was an attempted coup on the capitol. members of congress were targeted for assassination. these are very dangerous times, and he needs to get out as quickly as possible. they need to move quickly to convict because he is presents a present danger in and out of

office and he is a national security threat. >> how are you and impeachment managers planning to convict the president? >> the continuity of this experiment and self-governance. if they are not going to bring the trial before it that president, we will be still ready to convict him post- presidency because there is still going to be consequenes. being able to run for public office again. we believe there is an imminent see here. >> i want to change directions now and step back a week leading up to the insurrection. congresswoman lee, can you tell us more about the siege?

>> within a few minutes, the security personnel capital police told us that we may need to hit the floor. his hostile rhetoric for the last five years in his efforts to incite violence at his rallies and what that chatter was up until the last three or four weeks. we also knew what the nemesis were planning. i knew something was going to go down. i just knew it. i am just appalled that more preparation wasn't in place and our law enforcement officials and those in power and trusted in terms of our security did not know this. why didn't they know it? >> you said some rioters expressed racism.

what you know about that? what did they say or do? >> i have talked to many black capitol police officers. they, quite frankly, were overwhelmed. they did an incredible job. all of the police officers did. the black capitol police officers told me that more than once they were called the n-word . what the black police officers told me they were fighting to protect us, they were fighting to protect the building, and they were in combat with white supremacists for a couple of hours. they were being threatened and harassed at the same time. >> congress member eric swalwell , what about you?

what was your experience that day? >> i was sitting right next to barbara when it all unfolded and barbara and other colleagues shared with each other some of the alerts we were seeing on our phones. next thing i know, as barbara said, we were taking out the gas masks and were told to get ready to duck. the chaplain went up to the podium and she offered a prayer and that was the point i realized this is not good. we got the gas masks. we were being told to duck. now, prayers were being offered. that is what is most unsettling about a place that is supposed to be assembled to the world.

democracy was attacked that day as we were establishing this democratic community. six hours before we were able to come back. yes, i have heard from colleagues and capitol police officers about the comments that were made. off-duty police officers and off-duty military members who were flashing their badges and their i.d. cards as they were ransacking the capital as if their whiteness give them a privilege to do something that no black lives matter protester it would have been given license to do to enter the capital or get that close and this was a black officer that shared that so you can just imagine how he felt about that. >> we have been warned. the fbi director told us that it was a the greatest domestic

threat to our country. both barbara and i both saw the threat. a federal police officer was murdered. i believe it was officer underwood, i believe, in oakland who was murdered by a radical member of a radical white nationalist group. this is a top priority in the bided administration biden administration. >> the most significant terrorist threat in the united states was the threat from the violent white supremacists. >> as eric just mentioned, he is on the homeland security committee. the biden administration works with eric and committee members

to really the domestic terrorism. i don't think this administration has prioritized the dangers and unfortunately now, our international adversaries see how vulnerable we are and allow domestic terrorism almost topple our democracy. >> congresswoman lee, you have been an advocate for decades now, we now have a black and indian woman becoming vice president. we also had a black man for eight years. how do you explain the rise of black people in power? >> we have made a lot of progress. it is a major deal. it hits is historic.

it is important because we see this rise of white nationalism and white supremacy at the same time we see the country understanding that equal opportunity and breaking glass ceilings is absolutely a part of our democracy and absolutely needs to happen. you have donald trump coming in with a white supremacy in the white house and he has been building support of white nationalism and white supremacy. >> we are moving into a new administration. we have got a new four year term with president-elect joe biden . congresswoman lee, what is on the top of his agenda? >> crush this virus. that is number one.

the black and brown communities being devastated by this pandemic. people are on edge. people are dying. >> representative eric swalwell? >> crush the virus. sector workers who are out of work right now. recognizing that lower part of the is going to be lifted up and passing stimulus for those folks. voting rights and gun safety. i ran for congress. members of congress were ducking and covering like kids do at school. make sure no one has to do that.

>> address systemic racism and dismantle racism. heal the damage. >> democratic u.s. house of representatives, barbara lee and eric swalwell. thank you so much for your time . following a slow start in rolling out the covid-19 vaccine, california has ramped up its distribution this week. it is also following new cdc guidelines to vaccinate more broadly in addition to healthcare workers and most at risk of the virus 65 years and older can start getting the vaccine. hospitals continue to battle a surge of cases.

joining me now is dr. erika pond . thank you so much for joining us, dr. pond. according to the cdc california has only given out about one third of the doses we have received which is one of the worst rates in the country. what is going on with the distribution of the vaccine in california? >> it has taken ourselves and parts of the country we really do think that more vaccines have been administered. making sure that vaccine data is being entered. sometimes it takes two or three days for that data to be entered.

so it is taking a lot of our partners across the state and multicounty entities to really tear up these vaccination sides. you really need to have a core amount. >> at least according to the data we have right now, it appears that we are falling well short of that goal. can you tell me a little bit more about why that is? >> i think there is a data lag. we have a statewie system and a couple of other decentralized systems. we know we are over 70% as of yesterday, and there is a lot of mass vaccinations

happening in clinics. >> if i am hearing you right, you are saying that you do think we are going to hit that 1 million inoculation goal? >> i think that is what we are hoping. in many places, they are actually having to do data. so we have been doing a lot of ketchup this week. >> where do you stand on your thinking about resources do we have enough vaccine to get into everybody he was eligible right now and is there enough coming?

>> we have only gotten a little bit more than that we know that there is limited vaccines in the pile we also know that different areas are in places. are ready to start vaccinating over people over 65 years old. we are continuing to ramp up capacity. we will be able to provide vaccinations more effectively. >> why are we struggling so much. we had months of warning. >> i think there are a lot of different factors at play. we were seeing three times the nubers. our healthcare systems

are overwhelmed as well as our local health department. i think that is a huge part of it. just a lot of different complexities around ramping up planning these max mass vaccination clinics. things like that that really take longer and get smooth processes going. >> is it possible that they can close it back down again, or can they open right now? >> that is a great question. that is a crystal ball question. we did see some small increases

both right after christmas and right after new year's. we are seeing some encouraging signs. our case rates do seem to be stabilizing so we are hopeful that they will be on the decline and as we get people vaccinated, we will be able to move through this. >> this question of reopening outdoor dining. >> so i think it is important to note that especially when there is widespread transmission with rates as high as we have had in california. we know that the highest risk is indoors and the lowest risk is in indoors outdoors. we are trying to educate everybody about the highest risk and the

lowest risk. especially close face-to-face contact. >> thank you again for your time. >> thank you for having me. despite the lot done restrictions we are all encouraged to get out for some fresh air. if you had north across the golden gate bridge, you will see the national redwood monument. take a walk through the trees with us for this week: is look for something beautiful.

you will need reservations to visit. you can find more of our news coverage. thank you for joining us. good night.

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♪ yamiche: president trump impeached again. and the nation on edge. >> he must go. he is a clear and present danger to the nation that we all love. >> the charge against president trump and the claim of insurrection and the republican party splits wide open. >> a vote to impeach would further divide this nation a vote to impeach would further fan the flames of partisan division. >> my vote to impeach our sitting president is not a fear-based decision. i am not choosing a side. i'm choosing truth. it's the only only way to defeat fear. yamiche: ahead of president-elect joe biden's inauguration, the national guard and law enforcement are bracing for more violence. and new details emerge about the siege on the capitol. >> those members of congress who had groups coming through the capitol that i saw