andy scholes, thank you so much. "new day" continues right now. good morning to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. it is tuesday, december 14th. i'm john berman. brianna is off. chief white house correspondent kaitlan collins here with me this morning. >> thanks for having me. all the poinsettias around us this morning. >> we set them up just for you. overnight, text messages reveal that really do reframe the january 6th investigation. text messages to former white house chief of staff mark meadows from donald trump jr., from fox entertainers, from trump administration officials, even from some lawmakers, that all privately, and for a time, unsuccessfully beg to do something to stop the violence as the attack unfolded at the

capitol. now, there's a lot of focus this morning on people speaking out of both sides of their mouths, entertainers ers at fox. while it is salacious, there are important, legal implications here. what could be a road map to exactly what the white house knew, what the white house did, what the white house didn't do. even what some of the white house may have coordinated or known before, during, and after the attack. it certainly shows an acute, keen awareness that the capitol was under zbsiege. >> the messages were read by congresswoman and vice chair of the committee liz cheney. >> multiple fox news hosts knew the president needed to act immediately. they texted mr. meadows. he has turned over those texts. quote, mark, the president needs to tell people in the capitol to

go home. this is hurting all of us. he is destroying his legacy, laura ingraham wrote. please, get him on tv. destroying everything you have accomplished, ryan kilmeade texted. quote, can he make a statement? ask people to leave the capitol, sean hannity urged. >> those are from fox news hosts. some of the most dramatic messages were from the president's own son. >> as the violence continued, one of the president's sons texted mr. meadows. quote, he's got to condemn this shit asap. the capitol police tweet is not enough, donald trump jr. texted. meadows responded, quote, i'm pushing it hard. i agree. still, president trump did not

immediately act. donald trump jr. texted again and again, urging action by the president. quote, we need an oval office address. he has to lead now. it has gone too far and gotten out of hand. >> finally, congressman adam schiff read a message that an unnamed lawmaker sent after the v violence. >> here's the last message i want to highlight, again from a lawmaker in the aftermath of january 6th. if we could cue graphic number three. yesterday was a terrible day. we tried everything we could in our objection to the six states. i'm sorry nothing worked. the day after a failed attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power through violence. >> adam schiff didn't name which lawmaker sent that message. of course, donald trump jr. and former president trump's media allies are now downplaying the

severity of the insurrection, singing a very different tune on their shows every night. here's how mark meadows responded to that procedure. >> what they've done is had a contempt vote. we've tried very hard, in a very transparent and accommodating way, to share non-privileged information. what we found out tonight is that not only did that just get disregarded, but then they tried to weaponize text messages, selectively leak them, to put out a narrative that, quite frankly, the president didn't act. i can tell you, the president did act. this is all about -- it's not about holding me in contempt. it is about coming after president donald trump. sadly, that's what tonight's vote was all about. >> the panel voted unanimously to advance the contempt of congress charges against meadows last night. the full house is expected to vote on the resolution today. joining me now, cnn senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor elie honig.

elie, talk to me about what you think the most important revelations are from these meadows text messages and why the panel is so focused on them. >> john, now we know for sure, mark meadows was at the heart of this. he was the direct line to then president donald trump. these texts and emails that have come out, dozens of them, are utterly damning to mark meadows, donald trump, and others. here's what the committee said about why they're focused on mark randall meadows. they're ticked off, used the middle name. he can provide critical information about january 6th. he was with or in the vicinity of mr. trump on january 6th as mr. trump learned of the attack on the capitol. these texts we've seen, dozens of them, but a common theme from lawmakers, former administration officials, media sources is, basically, this is on you, mark meadows and donald trump, and only one person can stop it. liz cheney read us these texts. we are under siege here at the capitol. potus has to come out and firmly and tell protesters to

dissipate. someone is going to get killed. potus needs to calm this blank down. also, some of donald trump's most ardent defenders, who have claimed january 6th was no big deal, we know they felt differently in the moment. donald trump jr., quote, he's got to condemn this blank asap. sean hannity, can he make a statement? ask people to leave the capitol. keep in mind, these are just the texts mark meadows decided to hand over to the committee. there's others he said, "i'm not going to give you." >> he knew the severity of what was going on during this timeframe, during this gap, which we really haven't had much visibility on for some time. let's focus on meadows. what is the process now that the committee voted to refer him to criminal contempt? >> select committee voted to refer for contempt. it'll go to the full house of representatives. they need a majority vote. democrats hold a narrow majority in the house. then it'll go over to the justice department.

ultimately, merrick garland. it's not up to congress whether mark meadows gets charged criminally. it's up to doj. if he gets charged, there is a federal crime for contempt of congress. it is less serious than a felony, but it is serious. the maximum penalty is 12 months in prison and a fine. there is a minimum of one month. you almost never see that with a misdemeanor. if mark meadowsconvicted, bannon, clark, they have to go to jail for one month. importantly, this does not compel testimony. this does not force mark meadows to testify. this is aimed at punishment and dete deterrence. >> which is an important point. never has to talk. he never does. >> right. >> he can take the fifth if he chooses to talk, but this doesn't compel him to talk. merrick garland, this is a different decision than steve bannon. >> it is. steve bannon was not a part of the executive branch. mark meadows was the white house chief of staff. that makes it easier to charge

bannon. next. steve bannon has -- remember, steve bannon partially complied. sorry, steve bannon completely defied the committee. mark meadows partially complied. he partially defied them. bannon never waived the p privilege. meadows did with writing his book and providing these documents. for both of them, we're talking about the executive privilege by a former president. the d.c. court of appeals has said, that doesn't work here. i think they could both be charged. meadows is going to be a tougher case. doesn't mean he is in the clear though. >> the most important thing for last year, liz cheney making sure, or at least opening the door to the idea that what happened during these hours may have been a crime. inside the white house. >> liz csehheney said something that made my prosecutorial ears perk up. did donald trump, through action or inaction, correctly seek to obstruct or impede congress'

proceedings? sounds legalistic. guess what? it is. here's a federal crime for objection of congress. to impede the administration of the law by congress. it almost seemed like she was reading out of the statute book. one of the important things the january 6th committee can do is make a criminal referral over to doj, saying, doj, we believe there may have been crimes here. again, ultimately, the charge of whether to bring criminal charges is up to merrick garland. up to the justice department. >> this is the most important thing. for all the talk about who said what, what fox person said this, that and the other thing, this is the most important thing here. this is the law. this committee may, they may be telling us they're looking at referring for criminal charges. >> also, much higher penalties than contempt of congress. >> right. elie, thank you. >> thank you. one of the most dramatic moments we have seen in this, and, of course, i want to bring in cnn political analyst david gregory and tiffany nelson. she was the investigative committee counsel to the republican majority on the

oversight and reform committee. david, i'll start with you. we know mark meadows had a role here. he was the former chief of staff. he produced all these documents and then decided to stop cooperating with the committee. but the extent of his role on that day became a lot clearer last night. >> well, i think that's an important point. the extent of his role that day. because he is on the receiving end of all of these pleas, by family members, which was so co compelling, by other republicans, who in private said this is going to hell. this has gone too far. we're helpful. then publicly have come out to defend the former president. so he's helping us understand that what we hear in response to january 6th is not on the level. people who were there, people in the white house, people connected with the president, people who were allies of the president knew how serious this was, only to try to downplay it later on. meadows is the key to that. it's not just that day, of

course. why meadows is important -- john karl writes about this in his book "betrayal" -- is because of the role he plays in trying to pressure officials. like in georgia, to deny the slate of electors that were going to be certified. to somehow intervene in the process. so there's a lot to learn here. >> yeah. sophia, meadows is also a former member of the oversight committee. he is arguing, you can't compel senior white house officials to testify, as his argument that he is not cooperating. but does the fact he turned over all these documents undercut the argument that he's trying to make here? >> yeah. i think he is double minded. i think what these texts reveal, and i think what we're learning is that everything we thought we saw, we saw. mark meadows and the fox news gang and others have tried to make us believe that we didn't see the insurrection on january 6th. you know, kaitlan, what is important, this started before january 6th. i said on cnn last fall after

the election, this was a soft coup attempt when they began to try to interfere with the electors in georgia and other places, to put pressure on people, not having a clue, of course, that january 6th would happen. of course, january 6th happened. i think what mark meadows is trying to do is have it both ways. i'm really proud of this committee because congress has to exert its article one powers here, or future generations of congress have no power. it'll be interesting to see what doj does on this once it is referred to, assuming it passes the house today, which i expect it to do. the contempt, that is. >> we expect it to pass the house. we know it took the justice department three weeks to act when it came to steve bannon. we will be watching to see how they choose to handle mark meadows when it comes to this. david, i wonder what you make of what we're learning about the timeline of the day, when it comes to the messages not just from the fox news hosts but also, most tellingly, from the former president's own son, donald trump jr., who was texting mark meadows in all of

this instead of, it seemed, directly appealing to his father who was sitting in the oval office. >> well, you know, we're left to speculate about a lot of things, which is why the committee is pursuing mark meadows. it is amazing that mark meadows is happy to write a book about his experience but can't be bothered to testify on the grounds of executive privilege. the legal track is difficult here. we don't know the outcome, but the political track, the investigative track on the part of congress' is very, very important. the fact that the president's own son -- i mean, again, as has been said, right, yeah, what we saw with our own eyes was actually happening. what was going on behind the scenes was, in fact, worse. because even those who are just ridiculously, blindly behind the president and his efforts to undermine the election and interfere with our democratic process knows that it has gone too far. so it is critical to know what

the president was actually thinking, what he was telling others. was he being defiant in the face of what his own family was saying was such a grave mistake that he had unleashed, that he had committed? that's what is so compelling about his own son who, let's be clear, donald trump jr. has not been a responsible political actor during the trump pres presidency at all. to get this window into his concern shows you how serious everybody knew that it was. what meadows was being told by the president at that time is important for our -- for not just our politics but for our democracy as we go forward. >> the issue with him not cooperating, not answering questions, is he can't talk about what he did with these messages and whether or not he went to the former president that day. there is a pbit of a black hole from january 6th of that day. >> what the discussions were like. >> exactly. what was the former president saying. we have an idea, but we don't know exactly, of course,

firsthand what mark meadows himself heard. sophia, we did hear last night, members were talking about what even former trump administration officials were saying that day. not just fox news hosts and the former president's family, but officials inside the white house were urging action, saying that trump needed to come out and firmly tell the protesters to dissipate. someone is going to get killed. another message, they said, mark, he needs to stop this now. a third, they said in all caps, tell them to go home. so this was coming even from inside the administration. >> right. but let's go back to the beginning. donald trump had no intention of stopping them pabecause, again,e had been telling the big lie since he lost the election in november. if you want insight into what the president was thinking at that time, he told you in that horrible video that came out afterwards, talking about how much we love you and we know you're upset. you think if that had been a black lives matter protest or any other protest in this

country, people of color running up on the capitol, that would have been the response? edon' i don't think so. the fact of the matter is we know what donald trump was thinking. we know he didn't protect his vice president, mike pence. we know there was tension there and a lot of pressure being put on pence. this was the plan, folks. wake up. this is not a secret anymore. he did not intend for this to stop, and i think only once the pressure from maybe those who didn't know, kaitlan, what was going on, those in the white house, maybe fox hosts and others who didn't know about the powerpoint, et cetera, i think they were shocked as we were shocked. i don't think trump was shocked at all. >> yeah. we will wait to see -- >> can i add one point? >> go ahead. >> imagine if this were a black lives matter protest. i'd add to that, my test of imagine if the democrats had been the perpetrators here. what republican leaders would now be doing to those who perpetrated this, if they had sympathies for a democratic president. how harsh it would be.

i go back to 9/11 and the response to 9/11. if anyone was perceived on the democratic side as being unpatriotic, not supporting the so-called patriot act, being unpatriotic when it came to all of the military responses, they were derided as soft, as coddling terrorists, as unpatriotic. it was swift, and it was punishing. can you imagine what the response would be from republican leaders if democrats had been leading the charge here on attacking the capitol? i always like to put that filter on these discussions because it would really be revealing. >> good perspective. sophia nelson, david gregory, thank you so much for joining us this morning. >> thanks. up next, you'll see what the fox news hosts were saying on the air despite their texts pleading with the white house to call off the attack. plus, why senate candidate dr. oz is apparently refusing to be interviewed on this network. nine years ago today, 20

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♪ i'm watching it fall ♪ watch the full story at www.xfinity.com/sing2 folk entertainers frantically texted mark meadows as the capitol riot was happening and urged him to get then president trump to stop it. they were clearly alarmed then about the attack on democracy. well, kilmeade, sean hannity, la laura ingraham of january 6th, meet yourselves since. >> we also knew that there's always bad actors that will infiltrate large crowds. i don't care if they're radical left, radical right. i don't care who they are. >> i've never seen trump rally

attendees wearing helmets, black helmets, brown helmets, black backpacks. >> they knew they could just easily find out and determine hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people are going to show up because they did. they were descending onto the town. there they go. they're going to peacefully protest. we had reports that groups like antifa, other radical groups, i don't know the names of all of them, that they were there to cause trouble. i want to explain in detail, if i can, what today is about and why people are feeling the way they're feeling, to the extent that i think i can. and this is not something that is -- has happened here in a vacuum. >> they're going to do anything to keep that narrative alive of january 6th because, i don't know, if liz cheney runs out of space in the gop's big tent -- >> why isn't liz cheney looking into the 500 plus riots that took place in cities all across the country in 2020? >> the fbi will infiltrate

groups, whether it's the mob or al qaeda, and they're try to be one of them and unwind a part before it takes place. >> right. >> do you think maybe, perhaps, and maybe you don't want to give away your theories, you find indications the fbi was actually pushing for this invasion? >> the latest political charade on capitol hill, that is nancy pelosi's january 6th commission. literally, it has one mission and one mission only, oh, let's see if we can impeach, slander, and smear donald trump one more time and the gop one more time on television. >> every other network has a test pattern. >> exactly. >> this is all they cover. it is unbelievable. >> there was certainly a lot of violence that day, but it was not a terrorist attack. it wasn't 9/11. it wasn't the worst thing that ever happened to america. it wasn't an insurrection. the theatrics were intended to promote a logical reaction,

facts be dammed. we will have the best performances. save us from the third rate theatrics. best use of an exaggeration in a supporting role, the winner -- best performance in an action role, michael fanone. >> one man perfectly suited to address this situation, cnn chief media correspondent and anchor of "reliable sources" brian stelter. also the author of -- >> "hoax," which documented a little of the craziness after january 6, when laura ingraham said, which could have been antifa. i've not seen a montage like that. that is damming to see the text messages they were sending to meadows, and then hours, days, weeks later, the lies they were spreading. this is embarrassing for fox or the murdochs. it should be. after all, they stoked the big lie. they fueled the fire that led folks to storm the fire. then, of course, as soon as the

siege began, they were embarrassed and had it was out of control and they were texting meadows, trying to get it to stop. you know, there's a lot of blame to go around here, and it includes fox as well as donald trump jr. and others. >> it is also pure. you get to see what their real, raw reaction was to what was happening that day, to what we were all watching. before they had time to think about what their reaction should be and what would fit the narrative, it seems. then they adjusted it and decided, okay, this is what we're going to go with. this is what they thought in the moment. >> you're saying there is a story, and then comes the spin. what we're seeing is the reaction when the story, the event, the terror began. after a few hours th, they came with the spin and the narrative. that's become, ever since, well, the liberals are force. antifa is probably responsible. what about the riots in the summer of 2020? those excuses are continuing to this day and to this morning all across, not just fox news, and the texts don't lie. we've only read a few of them. this committee has hundreds and

hundreds. >> we also don't know what is in the national archives. all that stuff could be released soon. i want to note, these texts reveal serious legal questions about what happened that day inside the white house. that's a big deal. they also reveal, and this is the stuff where fox comes into play, what's happened since, the coverup, the coordinated, it seems, coverup of what happened that day by people who know better. we know they knew better because we see these texts. brian, about the same outfit here. dr. oz is running for senate in the commonwealth of pennsylvania. our michael smerconish bumped into him at a christmas party. >> smerconish goes to the best parties. >> what transpired? >> dr. oz, of course, in the gop primary, he is running, trying to prove his republican credentials. so he needs fox news. in fact, he was on "fox and friends" yesterday. then smerconish shared a story on the radio. he said, i asked him to come to the show. you need to reach out to independents and moderates. here's what oz told him.

>> and i said to him, look, i'd really like to get you on my program. i will treat you -- what is my line? >> i'll treat you with dignity and respect. >> i'll treat you with dignity and respect. and he proceeds to say to me, i can't possibly do that because it would upset everybody at fox. i'll come on your show after the primary. >> this is the best illustration of the fox primary. the power of these right-wing media machines to influence the pri primaries. oz was honest about this, according to smerconish. let's also be honest about the situation. the real oz doesn't want to appear anywhere but fox is he doesn't want to answer tough questions about his record, his flip-flops on various issues of importance to conservatives. the fact he's been living in new jersey instead of pennsylvania for decades. he'll stay in a safe space on fox, try to win the primary that way. what was he railing about yesterday? cancel culture. he says because the

"philadelphia inquirer" is printing his full name, they're trying to cancel him. because he is known as dr. oz. meanwhile, his show going off the air. whether he wins or loses this campaign, he's already lost his television show. that's a dramatic move. >> it shows how seriously he is taking this though. >> true. >> this is a critical seat in pennsylvania. this is huge. so it is not something to just -- i think after trump, people realized to stop laughing after certain candidate like this. they're taking him more seriously. >> you have to take it seriously. i just think, you want to understand how gop politics is being distorted, it is because of the fox primary power. you know, these candidates know they basically have to stay in a safe space during the primaries. >> not just primary power, they have a direct line inside the oval office apparently, based on what we're seeing. >> they did. >> they did. that's key. based on what we're seeing from the january 6th investigation. brian, you'll have a lot to talk

about sunday. can >> can you come on? >> i'll check my calendar. eight people dead in a kentucky candle factory where more than -- the governor there is calling it a christmas miracle inside this candle factory because more were not killed there. we're joined next by a navy veteran who spent hours pulling people from the wreckage. and there's been a historic settlement for more than 500 victories of sexual abuse by the gymnastics doctor larry nassar. who, of course, is now disgraced. one of those former gymnasts is joining us next. ast, celebrate the future. season's greetings from audi.

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this morning, search and rescue efforts continue after the deadly tornadoes in the southwest. in kentucky, 74 people are

confirmed dead and many more missing. one family there revealed their two-m two-month-old daughter died from injuries sustained in the storm. president biden is traveling to kentucky tomorrow. kaitlan collins will be there with him to visit the candle factory where more than 100 people inside collapsed to a pile of rubble. eight people confirmed dead in the factory. joining me is one of the first rescuers to arrive on scene at the factory that night, adam slack. thank you so much for being with us. i appreciate you waking up with us this morning. you were at home when the tornado hit with your wife and kids. everyone was fine. you get a text message from a buddy that says, "hey, the candle factory was hit hard." then what happened? >> it's highly unfortunate. i got a buddy of mine text me a little after 10:00 saying that it had collapsed. another buddy of mine said that

there were people stuck in it. immediately changed my clothes, locked up my dogs, and headed about a mile and a half west of the house. arrived and started helping people. we started clearing debris from the road, . the access point was 500 yards from where the rescue vehicles were. there was a lot of people that showed up. to say that i was one of the first on the scene of hundreds, if not thousands. but as a community, we all came together and started clearing the roads and getting the debris off the roads so that the paramedics and fire could get in there to the john deere and candle factory. >> what was the condition like when you first got there? what did it look like? >> it was horrific. if i talk about it a little bit too long, it'll bring tears to your eyes. it's a community that is very close. the wind was still going.

power lines, a couple gas leaks. people everywhere. it looked like a mound of ants when you kick it over. everybody is trying to help, try to get in and get people out safely. very dark, eerie. it was bad. >> could you hear people from inside the rubble? >> vaguely. like i told the reporter last night, there were a lot of people screaming in distress. i was lucky to get one lady out. got her back to my vehicle, gave her some shelter, blankets, kept her warm until we were able to get her to her father. a local lady from paducah. but a lot of it was a blur. it was just chaos. people obviously lost their lives, family members touched in this community. just trying to continue to support where we can. >> you say you got one woman out. walk us through what happened there and what her condition was

when you first saw her. >> i think she was in shock, for the obvious reasons. i'm not going to disclose her name. 48-year-old woman from paducah. she appeared physically okay. we had to remove people -- i don't want to say the long way -- but there were multiple gas leaks so we had to walk around the john deere building. wind and rain obviously was still happening. the poor woman, she would not let go of my hand. i asked her multiple times if she was okay physically. she says, "yeah, i just want my dad." i said, okay, let's get you to the vehicle. i got her water and a blanket. her phone, she lost her phone so i gave her my phone to contact her dad. i got to know her pretty well, waiting in the car with her. she kept telling me to go back and help somebody else. i said, "well, i want to make sure you're okay first." about an hour and a half later,

her father was able to get to us in the many, many cars and vehicles and rescue that were already there. i told her father, i said, "i think she's okay physically, but take her to the hospital and get her checked out." for obvious reasons, i think she was in shock. >> adam, look, i know how hard it is to relive that night. i know how awful it must have been to see it like that, this town you live in and that you love. the one thing i know from being there, it's because of people like you that mayfield is going to recover and rebuild. you guys didn't wait. you went there. it was still raining. the wind was still blowing. you got there right away, and mayfield is not waiting to rebuild here. you're all at it. i appreciate everything you've done. i appreciate what you're doing. thank you so much for being with us this morning, adam. >> i appreciate your time. if i could real quick, if there is anybody out there, please continue to help this town. not only mayfield but all of the surrounding areas in multiple states and multiple counties.

mayfield was hit hard, but there's a lot of people out there that still need help. anything that anybody can use to bring to support, let us know. let me know. however we can direct you in any way possible. i do thank you for your time. >> such an important message, adam. this sus this isn't going to be better tomorrow. it'll take weeks, months, years. thank you so much. >> yes, sir. thank you. hundreds of gymnasts sexually abused by larry nazssa agreed to a settlement with usa gymnastics and the olympic and paralympic committee. nassar is the former team doctor who sexually abused girls for decades. usa gymnastics has also agreed to ensure that at least one nassar survivor will serve as a member of the committee that is dedicated to athletes' wellness. joining me is former u.s. olympic gymnast who helped negotiate the settlement, tasha schwikert, as well as her attorney, who represents over two dozen nassar survivors. tasha, yesterday, usa gymnastics

put out this statement saying they are, quote, deeply sorry for the trauma and pain the survivors endures as a result of this organization's actions and inactions. first, i just want to ask, how do you feel about this settlement? >> you know, this $380 settlement marks the end of a five-year legal battle. it is a full resolution of all the civil-related claims. this settlement will compensate more than 500 gymnasts. the majority of them abused by larry nassar and who endured horrific abuse for years. you know, so while i'm glad that we've settled the case and we can move on to the next chapter of our lives, there's still a lot of work to do to make sure the non-monetary requests are implemented appropriately. >> i know no amount of money can make up for what happened, but does the settlement help, to a degree, put an end to this

five-year battle that has been going on? >> absolutely. you know, i think that with a resolution, as survivors, we hear heard and feel acknowledged. so many survivors deal with severe mental illness and, you know, substance abuse and trauma. that settlement will help pay for mental health services and, you know, related needs for survivors going forward in their lives. >> we know it is important. michelle, you represent tasha and dozens of other victims and survivors from larry nassar 's abuse. tasha and a few others played a pivotal role in these negotiations. how important is it from your perspective that the victims themselves, the survivors themselves, are involved in the negotiations? >> it's key to it. i mean, these women and brave women like tasha and the other olympians and national team members and gymnasts from

michigan, these women brought to life what they lived through for the defendants, for the court, and for the nation. i mean, really, the legacy of what they have done here is change how our nation treats and views sexual abuse survivors, especially children. having the survivors be at the center of that is so key to people really understanding what they've been through. >> tasha, to go back to this as a bigger picture, i know in 2017 when you bravely first told your story, you said that steve b penny, then the president of usa gymnastics at the time, asked you to put out a positive statement about the organization. of course, we now know he later left with a huge severance package. he waited weeks to notify the fbi about the allegations, and the case is still pending.

how do you feel about the harsher consequences? >> it is very important. behind the organization were people, people that i knew very well. all of us olympians knew very well. you know, the thing -- the horrible influence and the toxic environment that those people created was just awful and, you know, devastated hundreds of sur survivors. i'm just glad that steve and others who were part of this horrific situation continue to be held accountable. >> i think one big lesson out of this is young women need to be listened to. michelle and tasha, thank you both for joining us this morning. >> thank you. >> thank you. as millions of americans get ready to hit the roads and go to the skies, we have brand-new data indicating that holiday travel is about to roar back with a vengeance. nine years ago today, an

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just in, brand new data from aaa predicting holiday travel is coming back. the agency estimates more than 109 million americans will be on the move over the long christmas and new year's week. a number approaching prepandemic levels. cnn's pete muntean, the mayor of reagan national airport, joins us live this morning from his happy place. pete, give us a sense of what we're expecting. >> reporter: well, john, you know, if you missed the long lines, if you missed the backed planes, if you missed the traffic, you're really going to love traveling for this holiday. it is so interesting here, aaa compiled all of this data before the omicron variant hit, and it

is still not coming off of these numbers. this is the latest projection, just out today from aaa, 109 million americans will travel 50 miles or more between next thursday and january 2nd. about 100 million of those by car. it is so interesting here, these numbers not all that different from where we were in 2019 before the pandemic, only about an 8% difference. now, airlines say they have started to see a wavering in ticket bookings because of the omicron variant, but aaa says people learned to live with this pandemic and that is shown in this forecast. >> all right. pete muntean for us at reagan. i appreciate you being with us, obviously. people make plans, they're hard to change. hopefully everyone travels safe. thank you, sir. "new day" continues right now. good morning to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. it is tuesday, december 14th. i'm john berman.

brianna is off. chief white house correspondent kaitlan collins here with me this morning. >> love to be in studio, not on the lawn at the white house always. >> you're going to kentucky tomorrow with the president. >> i will be in kentucky tomorrow. from new york to kentucky, covering the visit where the president is going to go and see the damage firsthand. >> it is a very important story. there is other major news overnight as well. newly revealed text messages that i think reframe the january 6th investigation. text messages to former white house chief of staff mark meadows, from donald trump jr., fox entertainers, from trump administration officials, even from lawmakers, that all privately and for a time unsuccessfully beg to do something to stop the violence as the attack unfolded at the capitol. now, there is a lot in here that reveals that people said things that day that they later recanted or they tried to cover up. people at fox. and while that is salacious, there are some important legal implications here. what could be a road map to exactly what the white house knew, what the white house did,

what the white house didn't do, what some of the white house may have coordinated before, during and after the attack. it certainly shows this acute keen awareness that the capitol was under siege. >> vice chair of the january 6th committee liz cheney read the messages allow last night. >> multiple fox news hosts knew the president needed to act immediately. they texted mr. meadows, and he has turned over those texts. quote, mark, the president needs to tell people in the capitol to go home. this is hurting all of us. he is destroying his legacy, laura ingraham wrote. please get him on tv, destroying everything you have accomplished, ryan killny texted. quote, can he make a statement, ask people to leave the capitol,

sean hannity urged. >> those messages were from fox news hosts. but even the former president's own son was pleading with his chief of staff. >> as the violence continued, one of the president's sons texted mr. meadows, quote, he's got to condemn this -- asap. the capitol police tweet is not enough, donald trump jr. texted. meadows responded, quote, i'm pushing it hard, i agree. still, president trump did not immediately act. donald trump jr. texted again and again, urging action by the president. quote, we need an oval office address, he has to lead now, it has gone too far and gotten out of hand. >> congressman adam schiff also

wrote a message sent by a seemingly disappointed unnamed lawmaker after the capitol was attacked. >> the last message i want to highlight again from a lawmaker in the aftermath of january 6th. if we can queue graphic number three. yesterday was a terrible day, we tried everything we could in our objection to the six states. i'm sorry nothing worked. the day after a failed attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power through violence. >> of course, many of those who were pleading with mark meadows that day now often downplay what happened. mark meadows was on television last night and didn't address the messages, but said this. >> what they have done is had a contempt vote. we tried very hard and very transparent and accommodating way to share nonprivileged information, and what we found out tonight