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Erin Burnett Outfront
Source: Trump Calls Georgia's GOP Gov. A "Moron" & "Nutjob"; Some Republicans Fear He Will Hurt Them in Runoff Races; White House Exodus Begins Even Though Trump Continues to Baselessly Claim Victory; Sources: Presidential Pardon Bribery Investigation Involves Kushner Lawyer & GOP Lobbyist; White House Purges Pentagon Advisory Panel, Appoints Trump Loyalists Corey Lewandowski, David Bossie to Defense Business Board. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired December 04, 2020 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:00]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: And Sunday night, I'll be anchoring CNN's special coverage of the Georgia Senate debate. That's at 7 pm Eastern.
Erin Burnett OUTFRONT starts right now.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, Trump's dangerous road show. He's about to go to Georgia and broadcast his baseless claims about a stolen election as he calls the State's Republican governor a moron and a nutjob for not doing anything to reverse the election.
Plus, Joe Biden with a warning tonight about the Trump administration's plan to distribute the vaccine to hundreds of millions of Americans. COVID is now the leading cause of death in the United States of America.
And the stop the steal movement cashing in, how lies about the election are making the right-wing money. Let's go OUTFRONT.
Good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
And OUTFRONT tonight, moron and nutjob. Those are the exact words of the sitting President of the United States about a sitting U.S. governor in his own party. This is according to two sources to CNN. Why is Trump calling Georgia Governor, Brian Kemp, names you'd be angry if your children used to pick on each other?
Well, because Gov. Kemp refuses to go along with what Trump is saying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look at what's happening in Georgia, a lot of things are being found in Georgia.
To be honest with you and because it's massive fraud.
We are looking at things that are so bad in Georgia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OK. Again, the facts there, it t wasn't anything so bad in Georgia, no massive fraud in there or any other state. Every ballot in Georgia has a paper trail, every single one. And the State has counted the votes now three times, three times with the same outcome.
But Trump's lies and I use that word very fairly because he knows that these are all lies, they come as Vice President Mike Pence went to Georgia today ahead of Trump's visit tomorrow. Pence still throwing around words like illegal and leaving the door open to Trump winning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to keep fighting until every legal vote is counted. We're going to keep fighting until every illegal vote is thrown out and we will never stop fighting to make America great again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, every legal vote has been counted in Georgia, as I said not once, not twice, but three times and they have lost, Trump and Pence, that vote three times. The doubt though that they keep sowing, that doubt keeps being amplified by some of Trump's allies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNEY POWELL, PRO-TRUMP ATTORNEY: I would encourage all Georgians to make it known that you will not vote at all until your vote is secure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Basically, telling their voters not to vote and they're now even going so far as to wish harm to anyone who disagrees with them in their own party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIN WOOD, TRUMP ATTORNEY: I want you to go to the Governor's mansion. I want you to circle it. I want you to blow your horns until Brian Kemp comes out and orders a special session of the Georgia legislature and then he can resign. And then as far as I'm concerned, lock him up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Meanwhile, Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani has been barnstorming the country visiting state lawmakers, bringing witnesses to a hearing in Michigan. Witnesses, one of them named Melissa Carone, who's an IT contractor for Dominion voting systems. She has been deemed not credible by a judge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELISSA CARONE, TRUMP CAMPAIGN WITNESS: The poll book is completely off, completely off.
REP. STEVE JOHNSON (R-MI): Off by 30,000?
CARONE: I'd say that poll book is off by over 100,000. That poll book - why don't you look at the registered voters on there.
JOHNSON: So, my question then is if the ...
CARONE: I guess, how many - wait, what about the turnout rate? A hundred and twenty percent?
REP. MATT HALL (R-MI): Let's let Rep. Johnson ask his question.
JOHNSON: My question here is why we're not seeing the poll book off by 30,000 votes. That's not the case.
CARONE: What'd you guys do, take it and do something crazy to it?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Rudy Giuliani was even sort of laughing there trying to get it to stop. Look, Trump is all too happy to let this dangerous nonsense go on and on and on. And while he does, his campaign was met with reality yet again in the courts today; Nevada, Michigan courts again shutting down more desperate attempts to overturn an election.
Jeremy Diamond is OUTFRONT live near the White House. And Jeremy, you have more reporting on just how tense it is getting four Republicans ahead of this visit by President Trump. I mean, this is like the big rally post the election and he's going to Georgia. I mean, they've got to be nervous, what can you tell us?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And, Erin, these special elections in Georgia are so critical to the balance of the Senate.
[19:05:03]
Republicans need to win one of these seats. Democrats need to win both. And it could potentially swing the Senate majority, which has been Republican for several years now. And look in the lead up to this, what we've seen from President Trump publicly is going after the system of elections in Georgia, calling it fraudulent despite a total lack of evidence and attacking the Georgia's Secretary of State who is called the enemy of the people. And even the governor of Georgia whose endorsement the president gave and now says that he regrets.
But now we are learning from two sources familiar with the matter that the President behind the scenes has been even more constant, calling Gov. Brian Kemp a moron and a nutjob. And he's also questions why Kelly Loeffler, the Republican Senator who is also facing a special election, why she couldn't win an outright majority, even though she faced a primary challenge from Doug Collins who the President would have liked to have seen in that seat.
So obviously a lot coming at play here as the President prepares to go to Georgia and that's why sources are telling me that Republicans are on the edge as the President prepares to arrive there. One Trump advisor told me that look, if the President spends an hour and a half of this rally tomorrow railing against the Republican Governor, Brian Kemp, that's not going to be helpful. With that being said, they are hopeful that the President can help boost turnout by saying a few good things about David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, the two senators running in that race, something that they can then use in television advertisements over the next month leading to the special election.
But that is a big, big if given what we have seen from the President over the last couple of weeks. Now, Erin, as all of this is happening, we're also watching something happening here at the White House and that is the beginning of an exodus of staff that is bubbling behind the scenes. You saw that bubbled to the surface just yesterday with Alyssa Farah, the White House Communications Director.
She resigned her position just a couple months before Joe Biden is set to take office and that is said to be a sign that you are going to start to see more of those departures at all levels at the White House from the most junior to the most senior as people start to prepare for the reality that President Trump will no longer be in office, even as the President continues these baseless attempts to try and overturn the results, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Jeremy, thank you very much.
And I want to go OUTFRONT now to the Democratic Mayor of Savannah, Georgia, Van Johnson. That is where Vice President Pence campaign today. Greg Bluestein, he is a Political Reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and longtime Republican donor, Dan Eberhart. Thanks to all.
Greg, you've been talking to voters and you've got new reporting, I know tonight, on the Republican nightmare that Jeremy just laid out that what Trump is saying, all these lies about the election could keep voters away from the polls, so they don't actually vote in this crucial Senate election.
GREG BLUESTEIN, POLITICAL REPORTER, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Yes. I've seen evidence of that on the ground here in Georgia of voters that I've talked to at Republican rallies throughout the week who are saying exactly that, that they're actually torn. And these are Republicans who are dedicated enough to show up at these rallies and yet they're torn about whether or not they're going to vote on January 5th runoffs to determine control the U.S. Senate.
Republicans are in this awkward position in Georgia of trying to reassure the base that, yes, even though while President Trump is promoting false baseless claims of a stolen election, they should still go out and vote in a few weeks on all important runoff races to determine basically how aggressive Joe Biden can pursue his agenda.
BURNETT: I mean, Dan, you're a Georgia native. You've been telling me in very blunt terms that President Trump's top priority needs to be Georgia and not what it has been, which is 800 plus tweets trying to undo the election that he lost. When you hear Greg's reporting, talking to voters in Georgia, how worried are you? DAN EBERHART, REPUBLICAN DONOR: Well, it's certainly very problematic.
I'll tell you, if I was Sen. Perdue or Sen. Loeffler, I don't know if I would want Trump to come. I think it just puts a spotlight on this entire issue of potentially 'rigged election', and all this kind of nonsense where versus needing their votes, needing these folks to show up again in January.
And I'm quite frankly, I'm pretty worried about what's going to happen and what turnout is going to look like. I think that we've been sending the wrong message and I think it might be coming back to bite us here in January if we're not careful.
BURNETT: So Mayor Johnson, in terms of you know what's really happening on the ground, your city is the fifth largest in the state and your county went for Biden 59 to 40 over Trump. Vice President Pence though was there today. He still picks Savannah for where he chose to do that rally. So do you see any reason why any sign of Republican momentum in your city?
MAYOR Van Johnson (D) SAVANNAH, GEORGIA: Absolutely not. I mean, Savannah is a beautiful place, 15 million visitors coming here a year. I can understand why he will want to come here. But the reality is, is where we are, Erin, in this point in time is that we're getting tired of the juvenile tantrums of the President of the United States.
The votes have been counted, and counted, and counted and yet it's the same result. Yet we keep finding ourselves in the same place and certainly what you said earlier. Although Brian Kemp and I had had very significant, substantial policy differences, particularly around wearing a mask, I don't appreciate the President of the United States calling our Governor these types of names.
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I mean, we're trying to get beyond this point in time.
BURNETT: I mean, I know no one's surprised, but I mean for a sitting president to call a governor a moron and a nutjob, it's really absurd.
JOHNSON: (Inaudible) ...
BURNETT: Yes. So Dan, today, we learned that America first action which is actually the President's official super PAC. On its own, they sent you back $5,000 that you donated in October and you had said that America first made a series of tactical mistakes. You've also said that the President needs to accept the outcome of this election, because it's the right thing to do for the country.
You're a longtime and major Republican donor. You say you donated more than $200,000 to Trump's election efforts. Of course, when he lost, you said he lost. And now they're sending your money back to you, what does this tell you?
EBERHART: Well, it tells me that there's too much inside politics and not enough soul-searching going on. I mean, my point with America first was quite simply this is, their strategy of hold the money, keep your powder dry in the summer so that we have money for the fall campaign was going to backfire. This is what happened in 2012, Obama defined Mitt Romney and Mitt Romney never recovered.
And I think this summer is when Biden built up the lead and Trump never recovered. So I feel like I'm proving right now, but they're trying to settle scores and play kind of inside politics and inside the beltway stuff. But what I think really matters is being able to look in the mirror and say truth to power and say, look, this is the strategy and the strategy is not working. We need to reallocate, rearm and refire so we can go out.
My goal as a Republican is to win elections and when we lost, I said, we lost. But I thought the strategy was bad. I called him out on it and suddenly, somehow I'm a bad guy internally for that. I think it's the wrong message to the wrong people at the wrong time. And clearly, I feel like I'm vindicated now and their strategy didn't work.
BURNETT: Well, it didn't work, they lost, which they don't seem to - they obviously didn't admit it, but they lost. So, Mayor Johnson, President Obama made a last minute trip to Georgia to help Joe Biden and that state obviously turned blue the first time since 1992 for Georgia. So today, he was back headlining a rally, a virtual rally for both Jon Ossoff and Rev. Warnock who are running in those two Senate races. Here's part of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The special election in Georgia is going to determine, ultimately, the course of the Biden presidency. I'm hoping that everybody understands the urgency of this upcoming election. Anybody who's listening right now, you need to understand this is not just about Georgia, this is about America and this is about the world. And it's in your power to, in fact, have an impact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So Mayor, our analyst, Harry Enten, who the number's master, he found seven out of statewide runoffs in Georgia since 1992, Republicans gained more ground in those from round one to round two than Democrats. Do you think the odds are against you right now or not given the macro issue here, the moron, nutjob business?
JOHNSON: Well, I think is two things. I think, first of all, this is a different time. I think momentum is on our side. And I think the other thing we have to remember is that a fair number of Republicans might have gone in and held their noses and voted for Joe Biden. I think that people recognize it's time for our country to move in a different direction, they're tired of the baby games, they're tired of us being gripped and not being able to move and I think that Republicans' independence, I think they recognize here in Georgia the significance of this time and so I don't think it's just Democrats.
I think we're in a momentum. We have turned blue for the first time, as you said, in 30 years and we're feeling really good about our chances. However, we can't take it for granted. We have to still push a very solid message and push back on all of the negative and inaccurate campaigning particularly in ads that's going on throughout our state.
BURNETT: So Greg, I want to ask you about this reporting. So our Jeremy Diamond is reporting that President Trump called Gov. Kemp a moron and a nutjob. So let me just be clear here, it's not as if this is out of the blue. Publicly, he's called Kemp hapless and said he's ashamed to have ever supported him.
So in the vein of the way President Trump speaks this is quite consistent, but Gov. Kemp in a new interview today with The Wall Street Journal, before the moron and nutjob thing came out, said he still stands with President Trump. Can you shed any light on this and what Gov. Kemp is thinking, what's going on there?
BLUESTEIN: Yes. And you can tie this back to the reason why senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue are welcoming Trump to Georgia tomorrow. It's because this is a base turnout election. They can't afford to alienate any of the Republican base. And that means they can't afford to antagonize President Trump.
[19:15:04]
They're trying to get as many of those 2.5 million voters. About 2.5 million voters who voted for President Trump in November to come back to the polls. And by doing that they've got rally those core conservative voters who back him. He's the most popular Republican in Georgia and so you've got to keep on appealing to them. That's why they're walking this fine line. That's why the Governor is not hitting back at President Trump right now, because he knows not only could it hurt the Senate contenders, but it could also hurt him in 2022 when he's running for reelection here in Georgia.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you all very much. I appreciate your time.
EBERHART: Thank you.
BLUESTEIN: Thank you.
BURNETT: And next an influential models cited by the White House projects that in just the next few weeks, 3,000 Americans will be dying every single day. This as Biden is now warning that there is no detailed plan to distribute the vaccines.
And Washington, D.C.'s Attorney General, he is a major threat to the Trumps. His office just deposed Ivanka Trump. What did she say? Well, he's my guest.
And CNN's Drew Griffin confronts Trump supporters who are profiting by asking for Republicans to help overturn the election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do we know that, with all the money that's going to your accounts?
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:19:48]
BURNETT: New tonight, President-elect Biden casting doubt on the Trump administration's vaccine distribution plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is no detailed plan that we've seen, anyway, as to how you get the vaccine out of a container, into an injection syringe, into somebody's arm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[19:20:08]
BURNETT: It comes as the influential IHME model, which is all the way through been cited by the White House and been accurate, says coronavirus is now the leading cause of death in the United States this week. It also projects deaths will go up to 3,000 people dying per day in January. That'll be a record every day.
For now, Dr. Ian Lipkin, Director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University and the scientists behind the movie Contagion. And Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who advised the White House medical team under President George W. Bush.
Dr. Lipkin, so the President-elect being very clear he's seen plans and it actually doesn't sound at all like he's criticizing the plan of getting the vaccine from the manufacturer to distribution points. It's that there's no detailed plan he's seen for how they're actually going to get people to take the vaccine and get that vaccine into people's arms, what's your reaction to that?
DR. W. IAN LIPKIN, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR INFECTION AND IMMUNITY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: It's challenging. We have to convince people to take the vaccine. There are many people who feel that the vaccine may be unsafe. There's no evidence of that, but we do need to persuade people to take this vaccine.
I hope there are plans. I know that I and my colleagues are trying to find ways in which we can promote the vaccine and the people who are in charge of producing the vaccine and vetting it at the FDA are solid people. I have full confidence in their ability to deliver a safe vaccine.
BURNETT: Dr. Reiner, coronavirus is now the leading cause of death in the United States this week, the leading cause of death. So I know as a cardiologist, you spent your entire career hoping for the day, when heart disease would not be the number one cause of death. So tonight, it's not. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Yes, it's heartbreaking. So
every year in the United States about 650,000 Americans die of heart disease. So that works out to be about 1,800 people per day and we're obviously way above that now in terms of deaths per day from coronavirus. It didn't have to be this way.
Yes, you're right. I've worked every single day for the last quarter of century to try and see the day where heart disease would no longer be the number one killer of Americans, but not this way. It breaks my heart.
BURNETT: So Dr. Lipkin, the President-elect is telling CNN one of his first acts as president will be to ask Americans to wear masks for a hundred days to reduce the virus spread. So Dr. Carlos del Rio who obviously is with Emory University and one of the main people behind the Moderna vaccine says that would save 66,000 lives.
Now, he is behind the Moderna vaccine, one of the two huge breakthrough vaccines; Moderna and Pfizer. But he is saying that universal masks is crucial, is going to save 66,000 lives over the next five months at least. That that's a long time, Doctor.
LIPKIN: We have been pleading for this for months. I was in China in January and masks were everywhere. And they were able to get their disease under control and their GMP is back up. This is something we should have done a long time ago, so I'm in complete accord.
BURNETT: And I mean, obviously, he can mandate it, I mean has to be done on the state level, but that leadership and lack of example we all know obviously has not been there. They're having parties at the White House right now with no mask.
Dr. Reiner, the Vice President visited the CDC earlier for a briefing on vaccines. Now, he was wearing a mask as you see there. Departure from what we've seen in the past, I presume Dr. Redfield insisted upon it. During the briefing, Pence addressed the CDC official Dr. Nancy Messonnier.
She was silenced in February. She accurately said the spread of the virus in the United States was inevitable and would cause severe disruption to our lives. OK. That's what she said, had been completely sidelined. Today, though, here's what Pence said to her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PENCE: Dr. Messonnier, it's great to see you again. It's been a little while, but I continue to follow your work and contributions here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: It's been a little while. It's been almost a year, but I continue to follow your work. What's he trying to do here, Dr. Reiner?
REINER: Well, this is called revisionist history. So let's remember that the Vice President is the head of the Coronavirus Task Force and he's the person that silenced Dr. Messonnier. On February 25, there were 14 cases of coronavirus in the United States and she saw the future and she came out and warned the country to start talking about distance schooling, warn businesses to start talking about telecommuting, she told families to start thinking about bringing in some supplies. She said conditions were going to get very harsh.
Later that day, Alex Azar said that things were contained. The next day the President said that the outbreak wasn't inevitable and you never heard from her again.
[19:25:07]
And the message there to other scientists and the government was either shut up or be silenced and it was heard loud and clear by scientists across the government. Shame on the Vice President.
BURNETT: Dr. Lipkin, what is your biggest concern right now, especially as you look at the vaccine distribution, you look at the likes of Pfizer saying they've had a lot more manufacturing challenges at first than were expected?
LIPKIN: Well, as President-elect Biden has said, the logistics of getting this vaccine into people, these vaccines into people remains to be set up. But he's got a terrific group. We work with some of them over the past several years. Vivek Murthy is terrific. Tony Fauci obviously has become legendary. So I'm confident that we're going to pull this together.
I would also say that the Assistant Director of the CDC, Anne Schuchat, after whom one of the lead characters in Contagion was modeled, was responsible in 2003, 2004 for showing that the use of masks and communities was successful in reducing transmission. So we've known this for a very, very long time and we should have implemented this a long time ago.
BURNETT: We certainly should have and as you point out, China's economy has been roaring in part because they did that. Only time will show how significant this may be in the course of history. Thank you both very much.
And coming up tonight, don't miss our new CORONAVIRUS TOWN HALL it is on vaccines. Dr. Anthony Fauci will be there and answer all those questions. That is tonight with Sanjay and Anderson at nine o'clock.
OUTFRONT next breaking news, we are learning new details about who is allegedly involved in a scheme to funnel money to the White House for team Trump in exchange for a presidential pardon.
Plus, his office is leading to investigations into the Trumps. Investigations Trump calls politically motivated but that can continue regardless of a pardon. Washington, D.C. Attorney General's response next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:31:00] BURNETT: Breaking news. We now know who was at the center of the Justice Department's investigation into an alleged presidential pardon bribery scheme.
Sources telling CNN that it involves Washington attorney Abbe Lowell, who also represents Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. The possible crime, funneling money to the White House or related political committees in exchange for a presidential pardon.
Pamela Brown joins me now. She's got the latest reporting.
So, Pam, Lowell, of course, is a high profile lawyer. He's represented Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That's right, he's a star trial attorney, very well-known in Washington and beyond. And according to people we have spoken with, he is among one of the people involved in this effort, this bribery for presidential pardon.
Abbe Lowell, this was back in the earlier days of the Trump administration, before he represented Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, he represented this California psychologist who had been convicted in 2014 of tax issues. And what this bribery scheme was essentially, was for him to be given clemency for his substantial political donation.
Now, this was all from documents, these emails from the Justice Department that a judge of false part of this case. The judge did these court documents this week, they were heavily redacted. But we know that Abby Lowell was among the people involved because he represented Hugh Baras. And also, there's others involved, Elliott Broidy who is a lobbyist and a well-known in Washington the conduct and Trump involved in this, a California billionaire who died in 2018.
But there's a lot of questions still that haven't been answered. We know from this case, Erin, that someone reached out to the White House counsel's office to making sure that the clemency request went to the right person and there are these emails. But we are still waiting on more information.
Now, representatives for Abbe Lowell, for Broidy and Hugh Baras all say they have no indication that their clients are under investigation or under scrutiny in anywhere that there is any wrongdoing. Reid Weingarten who represents Abbe Lowell said he spoke to DOJ, they gave no indication that he is under scrutiny or that he did anything wrong.
DOJ released a statement that they say no government official was or is the subject or target of this investigation. No charges have happened and we don't even know of this is an active or closed case. But there are certainly a lot of questions raised, Erin, about this scheme that DOJ has been investigating.
It happened early on in the Trump administration and of course, this comes as there's a lot of focus right now on who the president will pardon in his final weeks in office. We know there is going to be a flurry of pardons and even though this was efforts, this was an alleged scheme, we know that there was no pardon that has been granted to Hugh Baras.
BURNETT: All right, thank you very much, Pam. Of course, Elliott Broidy, in the midst of many other scandals as well with his time in fund-raising.
And this comes as we know President Trump has discussed and preemptive pardons for his family and even himself possibly.
OUTFRONT now, a man running two investigations that no pardon can protect, President Trump or his family from, Karl Racine. He's a Democratic attorney general of Washington, D.C., as well as the new president of the National Association of Attorneys General.
And Ivanka Trump, of course, just impose in your investigation just 3 days ago, Attorney General. You and I have been talking about this over the years, as part of a documentary work we've done on what's really happening with the family profiting off the business while the president was in office.
So, I want to ask you about that deposition, but first, if President Trump did follow through with these pardons of himself, of his children, would he give you more motivation to push ahead? Because you would be among one of the few who could hold them accountable if the feds couldn't?
KARL RACINE (D), ATTORNEY GENERAL, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Well, you are right when you say that our lawsuits, which are two civil lawsuits, not criminal lawsuits, are not subject to the president's pardon authority.
[19:35:01]
In terms of whether it would give us more motivation to go ahead, you know, we are following the evidence in this case and following the facts.
And then, Erin, as you well know, what you've researched and covered before, is that the Trump administration and the indeed the Trump family has sought to profit from the White House. And it started as early as the inauguration, we've developed compelling evidence that shows that the presidential inauguration committee was lose as a piggy bank to deliver money to the Trump Hotel. And I'm happy to give you specific examples.
BURNETT: So, I want -- give me some of those if you will in the context of Ivanka Trump's deposition where you took -- she was involved in this, right? The payments and who paid whom and how much? Why is she cooperative, and give us an example that she had to respond to?
RACINE: Sure. Look, there are three examples that really stand out. One example, involves the renting of event space. The Presidential Inauguration Committee is charged $175,000 for use for event space that was actually double booked by another not for profit that was charged $5,000. Compare a $5,000 charge to a not another not for profit and $175,000 charge to the presidential inauguration committee. That's not market rate.
Another example is a $300,000 charge that the presidential inauguration committee paid to the Trump Hotel for space that wasn't used. Again, free money going over to the Trump Hotel.
Lastly, yet again, another $300,000 charge for event space and rooms space utilized, not toward inauguration committee event, but instead, for a family event to celebrate the kids of the Trumps. Again, not a presidential inauguration committee event, but one for themselves and an exorbitant rates.
What we have here, to be quite honest, is a family that is used to using other people's money, OPM, for their own purposes. You might remember, the presidents foundation in New York, that was forced to shut down, forced to return to million dollars, because they use that foundation to pay off the lawyers, lawsuits and also, to buy things like portraits of the president.
They use other people's money in a way that is on lawful.
BURNETT: So let me ask you. So, Ivanka Trump put out a statement after she came out of deposition with you, and she said: I share it with them in email, which he posted, where I sent instructions to the hotel, to charge market rate, which the hotel did. This inquiry was a politically motivated demonstration of vindictiveness and waste of taxpayer dollars.
What do you say to that and was she cooperative and respectful in her deposition?
RACINE: I would have to say that Ivanka Trump was indeed professional, and presented herself in a cooperative manner in her deposition. I think the tale that she's telling after deposition is entirely misleading. What that email shows is what we have tried to establish, and that is that Ivanka Trump was in the decision-making loop, as to what charges were to be made against the presidential inauguration committee.
Remember those three examples I just gave?
BURNETT: Yeah.
RACINE: Well, those examples were examples that we, know she was aware of, we know that Stephanie Wolkoff raised alarms about the charges and is there an email where Ivanka Trump is saying, stop those charges? No.
And at the end of the day, with respect to the claims of partisanship, we live in America. I can bring a complaint, they get a chance to defend it. And our system of justice, a judge will be the final arbiter. That's where the justice will come.
And let me point out one other thing, some of my colleagues in the Democratic A.G. room brought a lot of lawsuits against the Trumps in the last, almost 4 years, about 130 lawsuits. Guess what? We won 80 percent of those lawsuits. You know what that means? That means that Democratic judges and
Republican judges, courts of appeals, final neutral arbiters, agreed that the administration was a lawless administration that needed to be held to account. And that's why we are bringing these lawsuits.
BURNETT: All right. Well, attorney general, I appreciate your time.
[19:40:01]
And thank you very much.
RACINE: Thank you.
BURNETT: What an incredible statistic he just share there.
Tonight, another purge by the Trump administration. The White House removing nine members of the Pentagon's Defense Business Board. Why are they doing this? You know, we've just a few days until this all switches. So, they just remove them and they replace them with people loyal to President Trump.
Corey Lewandowski, David Bossie on that list, trying to mark the latest effort to clean up the Defense Department in the final weeks of the president's term.
And Ryan Browne joins me now.
So, Ryan, tell us what's behind this. We understand the sort of get rid of the defense secretary because he didn't like the guy who is weighing in and buying his time. But this is aboard with a specific function, they purge the whole thing, they put in loyalists, even at this moment.
Any insight on why and what they are planning?
RYAN BROWNE, CNN PENTAGON REPORTER: There is not much insight as to why they are trying to do here. It is the latest purge in a series of moves the Trump administration has kind of taken in this lane duck period in final weeks. You mentioned they fired the secretary of defense. They've also fired the top policy and intelligence officials, installing loyalists in their place. Several other positions people have been removed from, with loyalists kind of gaining those powers of authority.
It's unclear what the end goal here. There was another board that was also similarly purged, a policy board, people like Henry Kissinger were kicked off of it.
So it's unclear what they are doing. Obviously, there's a resume padding going on here, folks are adding to their CVs and the kind of final weeks of the administration. But the Defense Business Board, it does advise, it does council, it's not a paid position.
But again, the people who were removed from it, many of them were former military officers with deep experience in the defense industry, kind of world being replaced with arched partisans, campaign officials, people who don't really have that expertise, so it definitely has raised a lot of eyebrows as to what exactly do they see here that would merit kind of this jettisoning of all this experience and replacing it with these partisan folks.
Now, of course, President Biden could remove them in turn, traditionally, the board is carried on through administrations. So, now, President-elect Biden is faced with a decision of what he has to do when he comes in.
BURNETT: Right, he's not going to keep Corey Lewandowski. But, I mean, nor can I imagine anyway that's going to help Corey Lewandowski's resume. I don't know, as you point, out there's a lot of things we don't know here.
All right. Ryan, thank you very much.
And next, our Drew Griffin confronts Trump's allies. Some of them are profiting from the stop this deal movement.
And Vice President-elect Kamala Harris playing a major role in the transition, something not always seen. What does it reveal about her growing relationship with Joe Biden?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:46:48]
BURNETT: Tonight, President Trump, and his allies, raising cash, lots of it, over lies about a fraudulent election. But is this so-called "stop the steal" movement that has grown out of this deception just a way for the president and others to make a buck?
Drew Griffin is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWD: Stop the steal, stop the steal!
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They believe the election was stolen, and believe their protests can stop it, and Donald Trump can stay in the White House.
And amidst the political fury, fueled by lies and disinformation, is an opportunity to make a buck.
Conspiracy theorist, Alex Jones, who showed up at a recent rally in an armored car, is just one of the stop the steal promoters embracing the chance to cash in, using the slogan to help sell male enhancement supplements, and Armageddon survivor supplements. Others asking for money are much more direct.
Drew Griffin with CNN, how are you doing?
ALI ALEXANDER, PROTEST ORGANIZER: Get out.
GRIFFIN: That's Ali Alexander, I called him a Roger Stone wannabe in the past story about how Trump's ally, Roger Stone, begin stop the steal back in 2016. Alexander has launched a stop the steal website, seeking donations, and claiming he doesn't have time to start a stupid nonprofit, or LLC, so just send him the money by bitcoin, likecoin, Paypal, Cash App, to be used, he says, organize protests across the country like this one in Atlanta.
How much money are you making on all of this?
ALEXANDER: Zero, zero. I'm dedicating my time and my company's --.
GRIFFIN: How do we know that with all the money that's going to your private account?
ALEXANDER: They're not donors. Are you from the Democrat Party, Drew? You called me a wannabe like a racist mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED). You're a racist mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
GRIFFIN: Since Alexander's money is going to, him he doesn't have to report how he spends it, but whatever he is collecting pales in comparison to the tens of millions being raked in by Donald Trump from these true believers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I donated to the Trump campaign.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Directly to Trump, to defend, him yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, I donated money to Donald Trump.
GRIFFIN: Since election day, Republicans, and the president, have taken in $207 million according to the Trump campaign, fueled by a fraudulent belief that the election was stolen.
All of it, being egged on, by an aggressive outreach campaign to supporters who received more than 420 emails since election day alone, purportedly from the president, and his family, with messages like, my team has given me a list of patriots who have stepped up to help us. I noticed your name is still missing. My father wants to know is who is standing with him. Democrats are doing everything they can to steal the election.
Have you ever seen anything quite like this before?
LARRY NOBLE, FORMER GENERAL COUNSEL, FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION: I've seen people trying to raise money off of all sorts of crises, all sorts of problems both fake, and real, but I have never seen one like this, connected to our elections, and, basically, challenging the legitimacy of our elections and our democracy.
GRIFFIN: The emails say the donations are being solicited for the official election defense fund. But, read the fine print, and you see 75 percent of the money goes to Save America, a type of PAC with such loose rules, the president can spend it on personal expenses.
[19:50:04] John Scott-Railton has been tracking the bogus "stop the steal" messaging and says there may be lasting impact here beyond money. The conspiracy, organized, and motivated by lies is turning out to real protesters. The potential beginning of a new, powerful, and easily manipulated political movement.
JOHN SCOTT-RAILTON, CITIZEN LAB, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MUNK SCHOOL: I think it represents an interesting core of people, and true believers. And the real question is, what's going to be the pivot? What are they going to be fed next us calls to action? And what's going to happen with those contact lists?
GRIFFIN: A disgruntled Trump leaving office with piles of political cash, maybe just the catalyst they need.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: And, Drew, it's stunning reporting, you are even laying out how much the president can be used for things like personal expenses, but the amount of money pouring in is stunning, right? You pointed out, more than $200 million.
It suggests, this is not going away on January 20th.
GRIFFIN: And there is a lot of concern, and I've been talking to many people about this on both sides of the aisle, and some experts too, that he is not going away. That the president, with all of this cash, which is power in politics, the leaves to become a president elect of the alternative universe of people who believe he did not lose this election. And the concern is what does Trump do with all of that money, and all of the supporters when Joe Biden becomes president?
BURNETT: All right. Drew Griffin, thank you very much. Incredible report there.
And next, inside a close relationship between Joe Biden, and kamala Harris.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: Look, there's not a single decision I've made yet, about personnel or about how to proceed that I haven't discussed with Kamala first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:55:49]
BURNETT: President-elect Joe Biden, and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris talking about their closest relationship in a exclusive interview with CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: Whatever the most urgent need is that I'm not able to attend to, I have the confidence to be turning to her. Look, there's not a single decision I've made yet about personal or about how to proceed that I haven't discussed with Kamala first.
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: That's true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURENTT: This Saturday, the CNN film "PRESIDENT IN WAITING" digs deeper into president and vice president relationships.
OUTFRONT now, presidential historian Doug Brinkley.
So, Doug, what strikes so far about Harris and her relationship with Biden? Which, of course, you know, there is a long time link. She knew his son. There was, of course, that many times played moment in that debate, right, where she called him to account, right, that little girl was me.
And yet now, they really do seem to be building a very deep and personal relationship.
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Yeah, the chemistry between them is palatable. I think it comes with plenty of talking, and sharing of values, and a determination of how to lead in 2021. But they genuinely seem to like each other.
Now, remember, everybody likes Joe Biden, but Kamala Harris is a phenomenal woman. I mean, the job that she did in California as attorney general and U.S. senator. She's both tough, but also, warm- hearted. In many ways, she is like Joe Biden, in those regards.
And I think what's really at play here most, Erin, is that Biden liked the way he was treated by Barack Obama, they became such close friends, and working partners. I think he wants to do the same thing with Kamala Harris.
So, there is just plenty of goodwill going on between the both, and it's coming across on screen, on interviews.
BURNETT: Yeah, it is.
Now, when Biden and Harris take office, they will make history, one of the few vice presidents to become commander-in-chief, right? The vice president trend to become president is not unusual, and, of course, the first woman ever, right, ever to become vice president.
"PRESIDENT IN WAITING" offers a rare glimpse into that process, here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: As we went through that process, we spent a couple of months, with a lot time talking about what he is looking for an vice president. And what I was struck by is the effort he devoted to it.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: During the process, I came to the conclusion that the selector was the best person to be selected.
CHENEY: And he said, you know, you're the solution of my problem.
BUSH: And I need your help. And the country can benefit from your experience.
CHENEY: At that point, it dawned on me, I was a lousy head hunter. I hadn't found a good one, or he was satisfied with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, you know, when you look at the ticket now, Harris is representing women for the first time ever on the position. How does this change how people see this and this relationship? I mean, I know it's very hard, because, you know, we don't know what we don't know at this point, but it is different, Doug.
BRINKLEY: You know what, Erin? What a big deal. All we've done through 2020, not the least of Ruth Bader Ginsburg dying, and somebody -- Justice Ginsburg fighting for women's rights so ferociously for decades, now, we can finally have a woman as vice president of the United States. There's going to be a woman as her chief of staff, it's historic, it's a big deal, and one can only wish Kamala Harris the best.
She's always on my mind somebody who is so smart, but as we saw hen she goes after people in a prosecutorial zeal, she is not a timid person, but she has to know she's number two, and Joe Biden is number one. It's not a co-presidency, but it's going to be awful close to that.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Doug, I appreciate your time, thank you so much.
It's going to be a great show. I want everyone to watch, it because it's so interesting when you hear people like Cheney talking about that relationship. These moments that you don't really notice people talking about it, the most crucial of relationships.
It is a new CNN film "PRESIDENT IN WAITING", and it is tomorrow night at 9:00 Eastern. Really eager to watch this. That's such an important role.
And thanks very much all of you for joining us, I hope you have a good weekend, and don't forget, you can watch OUTFRONT anytime, anywhere. Just go to CNN Go.
"AC360" with Anderson begins right now.
