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New Day

U.S. Reports Third Deadliest Day of Pandemic; Russia Response to Navalny Investigation; QAnon's Lies Hijacking National Conversation. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired December 16, 2020 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Liberty Center for God and Country. He says he followed the victim for days, for four days, believing he was the mastermind of a voter fraud scheme with 750,000 fraudulent ballots in the back of his truck. The man, the victim, was actually an air- conditioning repairman with a truck full of tools and parts. Houston Police say an investigation found no evidence of voter fraud.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, look, I was telling you, I -- this is the real-world impact of this incredibly dangerous charade that has played out, led by the president, but enabled by Republicans around the country. And, yes, it's great Mitch McConnell finally came out and acknowledged the obvious, that Joe Biden won the president, but this is the impact of waiting so long.

CAMEROTA: It turns out what a president says matters and people believe the United States president when he speaks. And we have seen violence, obviously, as recently as this week, in Olympia, Washington, and then things like this.

OK, we'll stay on it.

Meanwhile, California activating the state's mass fatality program, investing in thousands of body bags as the hospitalizations there soar. We have the latest in the fight against the pandemic, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:35:18]

BERMAN: Developing overnight, we learned that the state of California has activated its mass fatality program, purchasing 5,000 additional body bags to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Joining us now, CNN political commentator, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, he's an epidemiologist and Detroit's former health director. Also with us, Dr. Michelle McMurry-Heath. She is the president and CEO of Biotechnology Innovation Organization and a former senior FDA official.

Dr. El-Sayed, you know, California purchasing 5,000 new body bags, putting refrigeration trucks in place around the state, as we're getting these new figures from around the nation. More than 3,000 new deaths reported. This is a grim place to be as we reach record hospitalizations again overnight, which indicates to me that we're not going to see this turn around anytime soon.

What are you expecting in the next few weeks?

DR. ABDUL EL-SAYED, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, these next two weeks are going to be harrowing. And this is chilling, the idea that the largest state in the country is investing in body bags and investing in refrigeration units. This is -- this is a moment that really should give us all pause and force us to ask, what can I do to do my part in my community, in my family, to prevent the spread of this disease?

Now, we've seen the vaccines rolling out. Help really is on the way. But let's not let our choices shape a month to come that could take yet more lives in record-breaking pace.

And the last thing I'll say is this, that as hospitals start to fill up, the miracles that doctors are doing every single day in saving lives from COVID-19, that is going to get harder and harder without the space and without the personnel to be able to do it. The choice is ours. We have a choice between a harrowing next couple of months or the ability to tuck in and say, look, help is on the way, we have a vaccine that -- multiple vaccines, potentially, that are safe and effective. Let's hold on. Let's do what we can. Let's mask up. Let's physically distance. Let's wash our hands and let's get there so that we -- we can get vaccinated and be done with this pandemic.

CAMEROTA: And, Dr. El-Sayed, one more question about this, this dramatic peak that we're seeing in lots of places. Is this the Thanksgiving aftermath now officially?

EL-SAYED: It is -- I think at this point, right, you're saying deaths are going to lag between case transmission, which could have happened at Thanksgiving by two to three weeks. And we're right there in that zone. And the worry I have is that it's not just Thanksgiving, right? We've got the holidays coming up in a short time now. And so, we don't want to come out three weeks after the holidays and be in a situation where our choices may mean that somebody we love in our family isn't going to be able to join us next year.

And so, yes, it's pretty safe to say that what we're seeing right now is a function of that and we've got another potential spreading event coming at us soon. We've got to do the things that we can to protect ourselves, our families.

BERMAN: So, Dr. McMurry-Heath, we have the Pfizer vaccine, which is going in people's arms, which is terrific news. We have the Moderna vaccine, which should receive Emergency Use Authorization within the next few days. That's also good news.

We're also learning from Moderna and the FDA data on it of some new claims and new possibilities with this vaccine. Moderna claims that not only does it keep people from getting sick with coronavirus, severe symptoms or even symptoms at all, but they have some data which suggests that it can prevent you from getting infected at all.

Explain what the difference there is and why that's significant.

DR. MICHELLE MCMURRY-HEATH, PRESIDENT AND CEO, BIOTECHNOLOGY INNOVATION ORGANIZATION: So both of the vaccines, which are, of course, very, very promising, the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccine, should protect people from infection at rates of 94 and 95 percent. So that is incredibly protective and much higher than the FDA was hoping for when they set a goal of 60 percent infection.

They both seem to protect individuals as well from developing severe symptoms of COVID. So after you get infected, if you escape in that 5 percent, and by some chance get COVID, the chances of you getting critically ill seem incredibly low.

What Moderna's also been able to show is that it looks like people aren't carrying asymptomatic levels of high virus production in their noses, which is actually how they spread the virus to others while they appear asymptomatic themselves. So they're trying to say that so far their data is saying that not only will you not get infected, not only will you not get critically ill, but the chances are you probably also won't pass it on to others, even if they haven't had a chance to be vaccinated.

[06:40:01]

So this is incredibly promising news and we're all looking forward to the public advisory committee meeting at FDA where we'll get a chance to see all the data in detail, but it looks very promising.

CAMEROTA: Dr. McMurry-Heath, another question about a promising development. The FDA has just green lit another at-home kit -- testing kit. And this one you don't even have to send away for the results. This one, it's just all one-stop shopping. You administer it yourself. You find out whether you're positive. I mean this is a game changer.

MCMURRY-HEATH: Of course, this is the holy grail of COVID testing. We're trying to get to point of care testing that people can do in their own homes and be able to tell hopefully at a very low price point if they're infected with COVID, because we know that people are spreading COVID before they even perhaps know or recognize that they're sick themselves. So testing has been key.

It's also key for the therapeutics that we're seeing. You know, we have some very promising therapeutics that have been granted Emergency Use Authorization. One by Regeneron, one by Lilly, but reports are that they're being used at pretty low levels because they need to be used soon after you have been diagnosed, but before you're very, very sick. And so having this ability to do early testing, perhaps at home, could increase the uptake of these very effective therapeutics.

BERMAN: Dr. McMurry-Heath, Dr. El-Sayed, thank you both for being with us this morning, helping us understand what we're seeing. Getting a lot of new information in.

All right, we do have breaking news, Russia just responded into CNN's exclusive investigation into what appears to be an attempted assassination. Clarissa Ward joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:43]

CAMEROTA: OK, we have breaking news.

If you watched NEW DAY yesterday, you saw Clarissa Ward's extraordinary investigation, along with Bellingcat, into the -- an assassination attempt in Russia. Well, this morning, the Kremlin just responded.

CNN's exclusive investigation uncovered evidence that Russia's security service, the FSB, formed an elite team specializing in nerve agents that trailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny for years. Navalny was poisoned with Novichok in August and nearly died.

CNN's chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward joins us now with all of the breaking details.

What's happened in the past 24 hours, Clarissa?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Alisyn.

Well, it had been absolute radio silence. Two days and not a word from the Kremlin. Not a word from security services. Now we're starting to get the first samplings of what kind of a reaction we might expect. And, essentially, it's sarcastic.

Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, talking to journalists in Croatia, saying that the report was, quote, funny to me. Also saying, we're used to this coming from the west, implying that it was unethical and possibly in contravention of international legal norms, though not clear exactly what he means by that.

He also lashed out at people who have been trying to interpret the two-day silence from Moscow and the Kremlin, saying that the assumption that silence somehow means guilt is, quote, a flawed approach which is obvious to any sane person. Still, though, Alisyn, not getting to the meat of the issue, which is, in fact, what is the response to our reporting and what will be done about this unit of FSB operatives?

BERMAN: We call that in the business a non-denial denial. They didn't address the substance of your report really at all there, Clarissa.

We've also been waiting for a response from the Trump administration. And we did get that overnight. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in an interview, this is what he said. Quote, we recognize and were among the first to call out this unbelievably maligned activity and demanded that the Russians explain to us precisely how this happened, who did it. They're talking about the poisoning of Alexey Navalny. We're still waiting on those answers. But we, frankly, along with our European partners who have been good on this too, have begun to impose real costs on the Russians for this kind of activity.

So that from the secretary of state, Clarissa, what do you think?

WARD: Well, I think that the U.K. and the European Union have come out and singing from the same song sheet, have said that this was an assassination attempt. They have gone so far as to sanction very senior leaders in Russia's security services, but also aides and people working within the Kremlin. So they have delivered a much more stern tone than anything we have heard from the White House so far. Essentially, President Trump largely ignored this, other to say -- other than to say that they were looking into it. But we have not seen anything like the robust response that we have seen from Europe.

But let's remember, this isn't just about, you know, Alexey Navalny, Russia's top opposition leader, a big critic of President Putin being targeted. This is about the use of chemical weapons, which is in contravention of international law and U.S. law.

CAMEROTA: Clarissa, we are also hearing the first response from Congress. The ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Mike McCall, released a statement saying, quote, this new reporting uncovers truly disturbing information about the Putin regime's culpability in the poisoning of Alexey Navalny. The administration must complete the investigation Chairman Engel and I requested and release its findings immediately so the United States can hold those responsible to account for this inexcusable behavior.

OK, your reaction?

WARD: Well, I think Alexey Navalny's reaction, because I asked him about this topic, I mean he will be heartened to see that some senators are taking note of this investigation and want to see more action. But he's of the firm opinion that the U.S., at this stage, is not on the right side of history on this and that they need to take a much firmer response.

[06:50:01]

They need to, in unison, on both sides of the political aisle, condemn the use of chemical weapons. He would also like to see punitive sanctions, not just against leaders of the FSB and the Kremlin, but also against some of the wealthy elites around Putin who allow money in and out of this country.

BERMAN: (INAUDIBLE).

CAMEROTA: Clarissa --

BERMAN: I'll let you do it.

CAMEROTA: No, both of us want to get in here and say, thank you very much for the excellent reporting and the exclusive and for bringing it to us and, obviously, this is far from over, so keep us posted on what happens next.

BERMAN: What she said.

CAMEROTA: Coming up, new details about how conspiracy theories feudal by QAnon are making their way to President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DENVER RIGGLEMAN (R-VA): I think the technical term is bat-shit crazy, but that's what it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: I should have warned you for that. A CNN investigation, next.

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[06:55:01]

BERMAN: This morning, a new report shedding light on the controversial conspiracy group QAnon.

CNN's Drew Griffin investigates how QAnon's lies are hijacking the national conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A new report released first to CNN shows what researchers claim is a frighteningly quick pipeline of lies, initially pushed by QAnon communities that have become part of the mainstream, with help from one big supporters.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've heard these are people that love our country.

GRIFFIN: Donald Trump has retweeted QAnon influencers and followers dozens of times in his presidency, an amplification that brings the diluted and dangerous collection of bizarre conspiracy theories into the highest levels of government. Researchers at the Network Contagion Research Institute, which investigates deception and hate in social media, found QAnon's disinformation operations attack specific pillars of democracy at strategic moments and hijack the national conversation.

JOEL FINKELSTEIN, DIRECTOR, NETWORK CONTAGION RESEARCH INSTITUTE: It's my opinion that QAnon is amongst the most dangerous groups we study, if not the most dangerous.

GRIFFIN: Joe Finkelstein, who directed the research, says the capacity for violence in some of its followers is a public threat. Extremism expert Cynthia Miller Idriss, who collaborated on the study, says much of the alarming spread of QAnon is tied to President Trump.

CYNTHIA MILLER IDRISS, EXTREMISM EXPERT: For many of them, they do believe that Trump is the messianic figure. A lot of people start to believe in some components that are promoted in QAnon disinformation networks without believing the entire conspiracy theory.

GRIFFIN: Among the beliefs, Trump is fighting a cabal of Satan- worshiping elites that practice pedophilia and child sacrifice. That George Floyd's death was staged. That the pandemic is fake, created solely to inject us with vaccines containing radio frequency identification chips. And perhaps most damaging of all, that the election was stolen.

FINKELSTEIN: QAnon, as a disinformation network, has grown like a virus.

GRIFFIN: QAnon conspirators have also learned how to influence the president's thinking, conspiracy theories, started by or pushed by QAnon and its hashtags have been retweeted by the president, including Dominion voting, that somehow millions of votes got switched, Obama- gate, that the Obama administration spied on the Trump campaign. Then there is subpoena Obama. On May 13th, a tweet from @followthe17, as in Q, the 17th letter of the alphabet, shows just how quickly a conspiracy can go from the dark corner of the Internet to the White House.

FINKELSTEIN: If we all put out "Subpoena Obama" as a hashtag, he essentially said good things will happen if we did this.

GRIFFIN: Use the hashtag everywhere, the tweet said, and they did. "Subpoena Obama" went viral, at times tweeting 4,000 times an hour. Right wing media picks it up. One day later, Donald Trump weighs in. In a tweet to Sen. Lindsey Graham saying, the first person I would call to testify about the biggest political crime is former President Obama.

In other words, "Subpoena Obama." Success for the QAnon crowd. @followthe17 would retweet Trump's post with a wink. Trump then tweeted, thank you to all of my great keyboard warriors. You are better and far more brilliant than anyone on Madison Avenue.

REP. DENVER RIGGLEMAN (R-VA): I think the technical term is bat-shit crazy, but that's what it is. But people are starting to believe this.

GRIFFIN: Outgoing Republican Congressman Denver Riggleman is planning to read the NCRI report findings into the congressional record. He's in the minority of Republicans willing to stand up to Trump and QAnon and says most of his fellow Republicans say nothing because of money.

RIGGLEMAN: They're willing to do it. If they want to get re-elected, I think some of them think we have to say that this election was fraudulent, we have to go along with President Trump based on the fundraising.

GRIFFIN: Republicans are raising hundreds of millions of dollars since the election, but Riggleman says at a cost, a rapidly spreading movement based on dangerous lies.

RIGGLEMAN: I just can't seem to get people to understand that this is the language of radicalization.

GRIFFIN: Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BERMAN: Let me tell you something, they know and they understand and still people like Vice President Mike Pence come on this show and say, oh, I really don't know much about it.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I don't know what you're talking about. QAnon, what is -- what is that?

BERMAN: Come on.

CAMEROTA: I mean just hideous.

BERMAN: NEW DAY continues right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

BERMAN: All right, welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY.

And breaking this morning, congressional leaders from both parties expressing growing confidence that they will strike a deal for coronavirus relief before going home for the holidays. That could come as soon as today. This would be a huge development for the millions of Americans who are struggling.

[07:00:04]

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says there's been significant progress.