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Florida Police Raid Home of Fired Data Scientist; White House Proposes $600 Stimulus Checks, No Weekly Unemployment Benefits; Hospitalizations Soar to Record Levels Ahead of the Holidays. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired December 09, 2020 - 07:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[07:30:00]

LAURA LIFFITON, NURSE WHO TRAVELS TO CORONAVIRUS HOT SPOTS: The contracts, they range from 4 to 13 weeks, and we basically were -- the hospitals put out a call to the agencies, and then the agencies list it on their website. And we kind of answer that call. So, we look to where we're going and we let our recruiters know, hey, this is where I want to move into.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And Laura, you do it at, you know, great personal sacrifice. I mean, you have two little kids.

LIFFITON: Yes, they -- I hope one day, they maybe see this and know that I do it for them.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I mean, but you're -- you can be away from them for many weeks. And I know that -- look, you're helping out all of these places that are not even under-staffed. They're just doctors and nurses who are exhausted. For instance, in April, you were in New York City. In July, you were in Arizona. You spent October in Wisconsin. You're now back in Green Bay. And I read that you said that you're still haunted by some of the things that you saw in New York City. What do you mean?

LIFFITON: There are stories, there are things that the virus does to your body that you don't forget. They stay with you. The people stay with you. And the face-time calls, their families, all of these things, they stay with you. If anybody needs to know anything, it's that we don't forget you after we're gone.

CAMEROTA: I mean, that's beautiful except that obviously, it takes a toll on you guys. I mean, not being able to sleep much because you're haunted by some of the things -- I mean, one of the things that I read is that, just the rows and rows of intubated patients stays with you.

LIFFITON: Yes, and that's not uncommon in the ICU, to have, you know, people are on ventilators --

CAMEROTA: Morgan, how about you? So, tell us what these -- this past -- these past ten months have been like for you? MORGAN FITZSIMMONS, NURSE WHO TRAVELS TO CORONAVIRUS HOT SPOTS: I

mean, it's been really interesting. I have been ER pretty much the whole time, and I was actually in Upstate, New York during the tail end of the Summer.

So, it was a very different picture, but things were definitely starting to ramp up with more COVID-positive people, right before I left in October before coming here. And then honestly, this is probably the most exposure that I've had to COVID-positive patients in the ER since everything has kind of begun.

CAMEROTA: And having exposure to people with a deadly virus, what does -- I mean, how do you do that every morning? What do you tell yourself about the risk that you might be taking?

FITZSIMMONS: I mean, I can comfort in the fact that I feel like my -- like I'm fairly healthy, I'm young, I don't have any comorbidities, and patients that are similar to mine are faring now decently well, but a lot of people are still having residual issues, and you know, I have friends who have had complications. So, just kind of keeping in mind to be mindful, like wash your hands, wear PPE, be mindful of yourself and the people around you.

CAMEROTA: And now that you're in Green Bay, I read that are you encountering some patients who are deniers?

FITZSIMMONS: Yes, I think there's a little bit of skepticism everywhere, which is really challenging because this is very real. I've been a nurse for five years in the ER, and can't say I've seen anything like it.

CAMEROTA: Right, when you say skepticism among these patients, what does that sound like? What do they say to you?

FITZSIMMONS: I had someone say to me that they couldn't wait until the election was over, for this to be over. And then I had some -- you know, you have people be like, so do you think this is like bio-made or do you think that it's like real? And I'm like, oh, goodness.

CAMEROTA: I mean, when somebody --

FITZSIMMONS: Yes --

CAMEROTA: If some -- and these are people who were sick, right?

FITZSIMMONS: Yes, not to say that all are sick with COVID, but yes, there are people who are being treated in the ER.

CAMEROTA: OK, so, these are people in the ER, and they come in and they thought -- or at least one of them, that it was all going to go away on election day.

FITZSIMMONS: Yes, man, I wish that was true. That would make our jobs a lot easier.

CAMEROTA: What do you say to them? FITZSIMMONS: You know, it's really interesting because you -- these

people are very in their mind-set, so, I'm like, no, you know, I can see what it does to people, I can see the lab work, I can see the x- rays, we can see the imaging. The positive tests, they're not fake. And people are like, no, it will be done. It will just be done. And like you know, a pandemic doesn't work that way.

[07:35:00]

CAMEROTA: And so Morgan, where do you get the strength to do this every day?

FITZSIMMONS: I mean, you've got to think that everyone is a loved one. You know, whether this is a pandemic or this is before or after, like we're in this to help people. And I would like the best care for my parents, I'd like the best care for my father, for my mother, for my sister. So, I would like to be able to provide that for people and their family members when they're feeling their worse.

CAMEROTA: Well, Laura and Morgan, thank you for all you're doing, at your own personal risk and sacrifice. I know that the doctors and nurses around you really appreciate you coming to their aid. So, thanks so much for sharing your stories with us.

LIFFITON: Yes, thank you.

FITZSIMMONS: Thank you for having us.

CAMEROTA: John?

BERMAN: We want to remember some of the more than 286,000 Americans lost to coronavirus. For the last 15 years, Melvin Falcon Lopez was a bus inspector in northern New Jersey. In his spare time, he played bass in a rock band, he DJ-ed events for family and friends, and most of all, he cared for his elderly mother, he was 47 years old. Staci Blakely taught elementary school in South Carolina for 28 years. Her family says she loved her students, the beach, and spending time with her two daughters. She was just 50 years old.

Doug Zubinski(ph) had been a junior firefighter as a teenager, then spent 30 years as an EMT in York County, Pennsylvania. A colleague called him the kind of guy who did every task well and to the best of his ability. His wife of 28 years told the "York Daily Record" he loved taking her on adventures, including his passion, scuba diving. He was 53 years old. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:00]

BERMAN: New fallout this morning after Florida police raided the home of the state's former top coronavirus data scientist Rebekah Jones was fired after accusing officials of trying to cover up the pandemic. Now she's the target of a hacking investigation, we will speak with her in just a moment. CNN's Drew Griffin joins us now with the details on what happened. Drew? DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: John, Democrats

crying foul over this. Congressman Charlie Crist wants an investigation. Keep in mind, what you're about to see, whatever it is, start it with an investigation into the illegal access of an in-house state of Florida messaging system.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Answer the door.

REBEKAH JONES, FORMER DATA SCIENTIST, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH: They have a gun out! They have a gun out!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Open the door --

GRIFFIN (voice-over): They came with guns drawn, a camera in the hallway showing the moment Florida Department of Law Enforcement officers raided Rebekah Jones' Tallahassee home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police! Come down, now! Search warrant!

GRIFFIN: All of this over an unauthorized text message allegedly sent through an internal system at the Florida Department of Health.

JONES: He just pointed a gun at my children!

GRIFFIN: The officers say Jones refused to open the door for 20 minutes. She says she was getting dressed. They did not make an arrest, but seized computers and phones and thumb drives that Jones says contained evidence of corruption at the state level.

JONES: On my phone is every communication I've ever had with someone who works at the state, who has come to me in confidence and told me things that could get them fired.

GRIFFIN: A search warrant affidavit obtained by CNN says someone accessed the state emergency planning system and sent a group text to more than 1,700 recipients, urging state workers to speak out before it's too late. The system uses an app called ReadyOp and everyone in the department just uses the same user name and password. Yet, according to the warrant, investigators traced the IP address of the message to Jones' house.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN: Did you send that text on that system?

JONES: No. I haven't had access to any systems at DOH for over six months. I'm not a hacker.

GRIFFIN: Jones claims the raid, the investigation, is nothing more than Governor Ron DeSantis using police to shut her up.

JONES: This is just a very thinly veiled attempt of the governor to intimidate scientists and get back at me while trying to get to my sources.

GRIFFIN: A spokesman for the governor insists the governor's office had no involvement, no knowledge, no nothing of this investigation. Jones, who helped build Florida's online coronavirus data dashboard, was fired in May, in what she argued was retaliation for her refusal to fudge the numbers and minimize the scale of the outbreak. State officials say she was fired back in May for insubordination and making changes to the state's COVID-19 dashboard without input or approval. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at the time said this.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): She was putting data on the portal which the scientists didn't believe was valid data.

GRIFFIN: Jones filed a whistle-blower complaint and launched her own online dashboard of Florida coronavirus data, a website that she says was operated from one of the computers officers seized Monday.

JONES: DeSantis needs to worry less about what I'm writing about, and more about the people who are sick and dying in his state, and doing this to me will not stop me from reporting the data ever.

GRIFFIN: Florida just reached a grim milestone of more than a million total coronavirus cases, a far cry from the governors boasting back in May.

DESANTIS: We've succeeded, and I think that people just don't want to recognize it.

GRIFFIN: DeSantis has been wildly criticized for his handling of the virus and downplaying of the numbers. He failed to hold a press conference for weeks, instead doing pre-recorded videos that ignored the rising cases. He signed an order limiting enforcement of mask mandates across the state and opening bars and restaurants at 100 percent capacity. And just like President Trump says anyone who criticizes him is playing politics.

DESANTIS: Obviously, they have an agenda, very partisan. I think it was an election year, and I think the fact that Florida was considered a key swing state had a lot to do with it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[07:45:00]

GRIFFIN: John, there is a new development this morning, both the "Tampa Bay Times" and the Tallahassee Democrat newspapers are reporting that the judge who signed that warrant is a very recent appointee, appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis. John?

BERMAN: Interesting. Drew Griffin, thank you so much for that report. And joining us now, Rebekah Jones; former Florida data scientist and a vocal critic of the state's pandemic response. Thanks so much for being with us. Look, the raid happened in your house on Monday. What new have you heard from investigators or police since then?

JONES: Nothing. There's nothing to find, so they're not going to tell me what's going on. I'm not worried about them finding anything on my computer. When I found out about the judge being sworn in less than a month before he signed the warrant, and it being one of the first things that he did on the bench, appointed by Governor DeSantis, it became very clear that despite all of his protesting, that he's got his hands all over this.

BERMAN: DeSantis' office claims they had no knowledge of the raid and no involvement in it. How much faith do you put in that statement?

JONES: None. They are the state police. They report directly to the governor. And as he's made it clear over the last six months, I have been a -- somewhat thorn in his side because I refused to stay quiet. And I've continued to report the numbers, and there's no way they'd go after somebody like me and not tell him about it. And that was actually relayed by one of the guests last night on Chris Cuomo's show as well.

BERMAN: You said that you have concerns now, that many people, Florida state workers, have sent you information over the last several months that could be on the devices that were seized. What have you heard from people, those people who have sent you things over the last few days, and what's your warning to them?

JONES: So, I have made it very clear and made it a point not to call those people one by one to let them know that this happened just because they might be waiting to see who I reach out to. And I want them to know, I made all of my best efforts to protect their information. Some of them have been brave enough to actually reach out to me since this happened, and ask if I'm OK, and you know, provide any information that they can. And talk about heroes. Those are the real heroes, not me. It's never been me. I'm just -- I'm a scientist just doing my job.

BERMAN: So, you deny that you sent this text message, which was the cause for the entire raid to begin with. How do you explain that investigators in this affidavit say that the message was sent from an IP address in your house?

JONES: Well, the investigators told me, and if you read the affidavit, it clearly says that the Department of Health provided the IP address of where they said this text came from, and then the police verified who that IP address belonged to. So, the former employer that I filed a whistle-blower complaint with and have been in legal battles with for the last six months is the sole evidence right now that, this mysterious text message came from me.

BERMAN: So, you think that they are spreading lies about you?

JONES: Well, they've been doing it for six months. Why stop now?

BERMAN: Are you afraid -- you just suggested that you think that -- you've been hesitant to call other Florida workers, people that you've been in contact with because you're afraid that it might tip off authorities. Do you think you're being watched right now? Do you think you're being monitored? How afraid are you for your own safety?

JONES: I've been expecting to have the governor come after me ever since all this happened. When I opened that door, I was fully expecting to go to jail. I put my hands up. I thought, OK, they're going to take me outside, they're going to handcuff me, they're going to take me to jail. I did not expect them to come inside my house, I didn't expect it to be a raid with a dozen cops outside and armed policemen with guns that are bigger than -- I've ever seen in a movie, you know, pointed at my kids. This -- it was very terrifying for my family.

And I always thought I'd be more afraid to have a gun six inches from my face, but all this has really done for me is made me more resolute in how important it is that people get information. All the silencing at DOH up to the election, everything that's happened afterwards, things are worse right now in the country than they've been at any other point. There are more than 300,000 confirmed COVID cases in K through 12 schools in this country.

It is more important now that I keep doing this. For my family's sake, we're thinking about having them stay with family for a while. But for me, I have to keep doing this. This is just more proof that this is important.

[07:50:00]

BERMAN: You talk about Florida County health officials. The Florida "Sun Sentinel" put out an investigative piece last week which said they've been basically muzzled. They've been ordered not to talk about coronavirus in the months leading up to election day. You talk about yourself, that you think this is an effort to silence you, you will not be silent. So what do you want to say? What's the message that you think they are trying to keep you from saying out loud, please say it this morning.

JONES: Information is the most powerful resource that we have on this planet as human beings, and any attempt to stop that source out should never be tolerated.

BERMAN: And the pandemic this morning in Florida, please give us a sense of where it is.

JONES: Not good. It's like everybody else, you know, we're seeing upward trends, especially in the under 18 age group, more than 25,000 school cases just in Florida alone. We're nearing 20,000 official deaths right now, and the CDC estimates somewhere between 6,000 and 8,000 that aren't reported because Florida has never tracked or recorded probable cases and deaths. So we're in for a ride.

BERMAN: Rebekah Jones, we appreciate you being with us, sharing your story. Thanks so much for being here. Please keep us posted when you hear --

JONES: Will do, thank you --

BERMAN: More from the investigators. Coming up in just minutes, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar joins us. Also a new proposal from the White House threatens to derail relief for millions of struggling workers. It's the latest on the stimulus talks next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [07:55:00]

CAMEROTA: Time for CNN business now. A new offer from the White House has thrown stimulus talks into turmoil. CNN's Alison Kosik is live at the New York Stock Exchange with details. What do we know, Alison?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. So, there is new hope once again that Washington will agree on more government stimulus before the holidays, but the latest plan may actually wind up going nowhere. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, he did offer up with $916 billion proposal to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. This is the first move by the Trump administration since election day to end this stimulus standoff, and it includes a $600 one-time stimulus check.

Here is the catch with it, though, it would not include a $300 enhanced unemployment payment where the beneficiary would get this extra $300 every week, and Democrats say that is a nonstarter. Another curveball in a tweet, Mnuchin says the deal also includes liability protections and funding for state and local governments. But Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell had already proposed dropping those two sticking points in an effort to create an opening that both sides can agree on.

Now, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, they worked last night on a potential deal, they are expected to release a summary today of where things stand. So we shall see. Investors here on Wall Street meantime, they are keeping an eye on what happens with this. Stock futures right now are pointing to a mixed open after we saw the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq close at fresh record highs, John, incredible when you think about how much Americans are struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table, we are seeing fresh record highs in these indices. It is that disconnect between Wall Street and main street.

BERMAN: All right, Alison Kosik at the Stock Exchange, we will wait and see what happens with that stimulus today. Millions of Americans counting on it. Thank you so much.

KOSIK: Sure.

BERMAN: And NEW DAY continues right now. And welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world, this is NEW DAY, and what we do now will be a matter of life and death. That's the warning from the governor of Washington state as more states tighten restrictions ahead of the holidays with the pandemic raging out of control.

The U.S. is now averaging more than 200,000 new cases a day. This is the first time that's happened. There was a big jump in hospitalizations overnight, more than 2,000 new ones recorded, now we have 105,000 people hospitalized in the United States, and more than 2,500 new deaths recorded overnight.

This week marks the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, that's more than died in the attack on Pearl Harbor, and we're now seeing that every single day. CAMEROTA: Tomorrow, the FDA considers the approval of Pfizer's

coronavirus vaccine. And breaking this morning, regulators in the U.K. are warning people with a quote, "significant history of allergic reactions to food and medicines not to get the new Pfizer vaccine after two healthcare workers there suffered allergic reactions to the shot. We'll find out what exactly that means. But joining us now is Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. Good morning, Mr. Secretary.

ALEX AZAR, SECRETARY, HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: Good morning. Good to be with you.

CAMEROTA: Good to be with you as well. Does that breaking news out of the U.K. of two people, healthcare workers out of tens of thousands who got the shot of them having allergic reactions to the vaccine, apparently, they also had EpiPens with them, so I suppose they were used to having allergic reactions to things. Does that change, do you think, anything here including the FDA approval that's expected tomorrow?

AZAR: So learning of this just with you right now, and so I want to make sure the FDA has an opportunity to look at that data. I'm sure that they'll be speaking with the U.K. regulators as we always do. You know, FDA is going to not cut any corners. They're looking at the data, they're looking under the hood at everything. So, I'm sure that will be something that the FDA looks at here because we want to make sure that any vaccine that comes out in America has the full gold standard stamp of approval of the FDA career people.

CAMEROTA: If all goes well, and if the FDA does approve this for emergency authorization tomorrow, what happens next? Can you just --

AZAR: Yes --

CAMEROTA: Help us understand which Americans will be vaccinated first, how many people can be vaccinated in December, this month, and where will they go to get vaccinated?

AZAR: So, we have the Pfizer Advisory Committee tomorrow.