>> HAS IT?
SENATOR TIM KAINE, THANK YOU.
WE WILL SEE ABOUT THAT.
WE WANT TO BRING IN NOW FORMER
SECRETARY OF STATE AND FORMER
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER AND
FORMER CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT
CHIEFS OF STAFF RETIRED FOUR
STAR GENERAL COLIN POWELL.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING ON
THIS MORNING.
TWITTER AND FACEBOOK TOOK ACTION
TO SECURE THEIR PLATFORMS.
THE PRESIDENT HAS ACCESS TO THE
NUCLEAR CODES.
WHAT CAN BE DONE -- WHAT SHOULD
BE DONE TO SECURE OUR DEMOCRACY
FOR THE NEXT 13 DAYS?
>> LET ME SAY FIRST I’M PLEASED
TO BE WITH YOU THIS MORNING AS
YOU COVER THIS TERRIBLE ISSUE.
I’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING OR
EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THIS
IN MY MANY YEARS OF PUBLIC
SERVICE.
YESTERDAY WAS A NATIONAL
DISGRACE, BUT WE’LL COME THROUGH
IT.
WE KNOW HOW TO COME THROUGH
THINGS LIKE THIS.
IT REMINDS ME A LITTLE BIT OF
THE RIOT WE HAD IN ’92 WHEN WE
HAD A RIOT BECAUSE OF THE EFFECT
OF THE RODNEY KING THING, AND WE
WERE CALLED IN, AND I WAS THE
CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF
STAFF, AND PRESIDENT BUSH CALLED
ME AND SAID SEND IN THE TROOPS.
WE DID, AND WE BROUGHT IT TO A
CONCLUSION.
IN THIS CASE, THOUGH, I DO NOT
KNOW WHAT THE PLAN WAS.
I COULD NOT TELL HOW MANY PEOPLE
WERE GOING TO BE THERE IN POLICE
UNIFORMS, WHY WE DIDN’T HAVE
MORE NATIONAL GUARDSMEN ON
STANDBY.
MAYBE THEY WEREN’T THERE RIGHT
AWAY, BUT WHY WEREN’T THEY ON
STANDBY
STANDBY, AND SO I THINK THE PLAN
WAS NOT GOOD, AND I HOPE THAT
THIS WILL BE EXAMINED VERY, VERY
CLOSELY, BUT ONCE AGAIN, WE SEE
PRESIDENT TRUMP DOING THINGS
THAT ARE ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS,
CRIMINAL CLAIMING THAT HE IS
GOING TO BE THE PRESIDENT OF THE
UNITED STATES WHEN HE KNOWS HE
ISN’T, BUT MOST SHOCKING OF IT
ALL WAS THAT WE HAD TO DEAL WITH
THIS, AND YOU HAD CONGRESS THAT
WAS NOT DEALING WITH IT, AND SO
EVERY TIME I THINK ABOUT
PRESIDENT TRUMP I ALSO THINK
ABOUT THE CONGRESS THAT DID NOT
DO ITS JOB.
IT DID NOT DO ITS JOB.
IT JUST WENT ALONG WITH HIM, AND
THERE YOU HAVE 12, 14 SENATORS
WHO ARE RIGHT WITH HIM.
THAT’S NOT WHAT WE SHOULD HAVE
DONE.
WE SHOULD HAVE HAD A CONGRESS
THAT REALIZED THE PROBLEMS THAT
EXISTED AND DID SOMETHING ABOUT
IT.
THEY’VE DONE IT BEFORE ON A
NUMBER OF OCCASIONS.
THEY DID NOT DO IT ON THIS
OCCASION, AND WE SHOULD HAVE
SEEN WHAT WAS HAPPENING EARLY ON
AS I WATCHED IT ON TELEVISION, I
COULD SAY TO MYSELF, WAIT A
MINUTE.
WHERE ARE THE COPS?
WHERE ARE THE POLICEMEN?
HOW ARE THEY IN RESERVE?
WHO’S IN RESERVE?
HOW FAR AWAY ARE THEY?
AND IT TOOK HOURS FOR THEM TO
RESPOND BECAUSE THEY HAD TO GO
INTO THE BUILDING FIRST AND TAKE
CARE OF THAT PROBLEM.
SO I THINK IT WAS A DISGRACEFUL
PERFORMANCE BY OUR LEADERS, A
DISGRACEFUL PERFORMANCE BY OUR
MILITARY AND OUR POLICE
OFFICIALS, AND THOSE WHO ARE
RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE
INDIVIDUALS, BUT WE’VE GOT TO
MAKE SURE THAT WE’RE ON TOP OF
THIS.
BUT THIS SCARES ME THAT IT WAS
OUR CONGRESS THAT FOR THE LAST
FOUR YEARS HAS PUT UP WITH THIS.
I’LL NEVER FORGET MY FIRST TIME
AS A PUBLIC OFFICIAL WHEN THIS
ADMINISTRATION CAME INTO BEING,
AND DONALD TRUMP WENT AFTER MR.
OBAMA BY SAYING HE WAS BORN
SOMEWHERE ELSE.
WELL, HE WASN’T BORN ANYWHERE
ELSE, BUT HE SENT OFF -- MR.
TRUMP SENT OFF INVESTIGATORS WHO
WERE NOT INVESTIGATING ANYTHING.
HE WAS USING IT AS A TOOL
AGAINST PUBLIC OPINION, AND
THAT’S THE WAY HE IS, AND WE’VE
WATCHED THIS NOW FOR FOUR YEARS,
AND HERE IT IS FOUR YEARS LATER.
HE HAS LOST THE ELECTION.
IT HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED THREE
TIMES BY TESTING THAT HE HAS
LOST THE ELECTION, AND HE IS NOT
GOING TO BE THE PRESIDENT AGAIN,
AND NOBODY WOULD ACCEPT IT.
PRESIDENT OBAMA WAS GONE, OF
COURSE, BUT PRESIDENT TRUMP
WOULD NOT ACCEPT THAT, AND THAT
WAS A DISGRACE, AND WHY DIDN’T
MORE PEOPLE SPEAK OUT AGAINST IT
AND SAY, NO, AND KEEP SOMETHING
LIKE THIS FROM HAPPENING?
AS A SOLDIER IN MY OLD DAYS, I
DON’T REMEMBER QUITE THE LAYOUT
OF TROOPS THAT WE HAD.
WHERE WERE THE BACKUP TROOPS?
WHO WAS IN RESERVE?
WHERE WAS THE GUARD?
WHERE ARE THE ACTIVE DUTY
TROOPS?
THAT’S DOABLE, AND IT WASN’T
DONE.
HASN’T BEEN DONE WELL, AND SO I
HOPE THAT WHEN PRESIDENT BIDEN
COMES IN, HE WILL ADDRESS THIS
PROBLEM, AND I HAVE GREAT
EXPERIENCE WITH THE PRESIDENT
AND I’M SURE THAT HE HAS WHAT IT
TAKES TO BE ON TOP OF A
SITUATION LIKE THIS.
I’VE KNOWN HIM FOR MANY YEARS.
I’VE WORKED WITH HIM, AND I’M
QUITE SURE HE WILL BE DOING A
GOOD JOB.
>> MR. SECRETARY, YOU FOUR YEARS
AGO WARNED AMERICANS THAT DONALD
TRUMP WAS A NATIONAL DISGRACE.
YOU SAID HE WOULD BE AN
INTERNATIONAL PARIAH, ALL OF
THAT HAS PROVEN TO BE TRUE.
WE HAD EVERY LIVING SECRETARY OF
DEFENSE AT THE BEHEST OF DICK
CHENEY WRITE A LETTER, SIGN A
LETTER WARNING ABOUT WHAT HE
COULD DO IN THE REMAINING DAYS.
WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST SPECIFIC
CONCERNS?
WHAT SHOULD GOVERNMENT LEADERS,
WHAT SHOULD MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE
AND THE SENATE BE CONCERNED
ABOUT OVER THE NEXT 12, 13 DAYS
THAT DONALD TRUMP COULD DO TO
FURTHER UNDERMINE AMERICAN
DEMOCRACY?
>> HE MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO DO
ANYTHING LIKE THIS.
WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE
MILITARY KNOWS ITS JOB AND THAT
THE CONGRESS IS BEING PROTECTED
AND THE CONGRESS IS BEING
PROTECTED, BUT WE HAVE TO MAKE
SURE THAT CONGRESS IS READY TO
STEP IN IF HE EVER TRIES
ANYTHING LIKE THIS.
HE SHOULDN’T BE ABLE TO GET AWAY
WITH IT.
WE HAVE A SYSTEM AND THE
CONGRESS IS PART OF THAT SYSTEM,
AND THEY’VE GOT TO DO SOMETHING
AND NOT JUST STAND THERE AND
WATCH IT GO BY.
>> GENERAL POWELL, IT’S WILLIE
GEIST.
SO LET’S BE SPECIFIC ABOUT WHAT
YOU MEAN, CONGRESS STEPPING IN,
THE MILITARY BEING READY.
WHAT SHOULD THEY BE READY FOR?
WHAT DO YOU SEE AS POSSIBLE IN
THESE FINAL TWO WEEKS?
>> I’D BE SURPRISED IF WE HAD
ANYTHING LIKE YESTERDAY, BUT WE
HAVE TO BE ALERT TO THAT
POSSIBLY HAPPENING.
SO WE SHOULD HAVE A RESERVE OF
FORCES, NATIONAL GUARD, ACTIVE
ARMY, MARINES, WHATEVER WE NEED,
WHATEVER THE MILITARY THINKS
MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE TO HAVE
STANDING BY.
SO THAT IF SOMETHING LIKE THIS
DOES BREAK OUT, WITHIN MINUTES
WE HAVE TROOPS ON THE WAY AND
THEY ARE CARRYING WEAPONS.
SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN