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Trump Leaves Town after Vetoing Defense Bill, Upending Stimulus and Pardoning Allies; House Dems Set to Vote on $2,000 Stimulus Checks; Fauci: I Will 'Practice What I Preach' Over the Holidays; Trump Pardons Manafort, Stone, Kushner's Father. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired December 24, 2020 - 06:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[05:59:44]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Thursday, December 24, 6 a.m. here in New York. Alisyn is off. Erica Hill with me for another day of major breaking news.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Just trying to make these three hours fly for you, Berman.

BERMAN: I mean, it's Christmas Eve, but that doesn't even begin to tell the story.

HILL: No.

BERMAN: So if you are unemployed this morning, we can't tell you if you're going to get that next relief check. If you're a service member, that pay raise, maybe not.

But if you lied to the Mueller investigation or are related to Jared Kushner, merry freaking Christmas! And who knows what else is in store for the next 27 days. This political acid trip that kicks off this morning in Mar-a-Lago.

Overnight, President Trump pardoned his longtime allies, Paul Manafort and Roger Stone, both of whom refused to cooperate with the Mueller probe. He also pardoned Jared Kushner's father. Republican Senator Ben Sasse summed it up in one sentence, saying, quote, "This is rotten to the core."

HILL: The president didn't say much, leaving Washington without signing or vetoing the stimulus bill, although those actions, of course, speak volumes.

Today, House Democrats will try to pass legislation giving Americans the $2,000 stimulus checks President Trump abruptly requested this week. But the reality is, that's likely to fail.

And so Republicans are now forced to choose between backing the president or backing a bill they already voted in favor of, a bill they already supported. Nebraska Republican Representative Don Bacon telling his fellow Republicans, President Trump has thrown the GOP under the bus.

All this as unemployment benefits are set to expire in two days. A pause in student loan payments, paid family leave, eviction protections, they expire next week. And the government could shut down at midnight on Monday.

As all of this is going on, another 3,359 deaths reported just yesterday, due to coronavirus.

CNN's Joe Johns is live outside of Mar-a-Lago. He's traveling with the president. Joe, good morning.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Erica.

The president's spree of early Christmas gifts to cronies and criminals continues. Last night, he pardoned 26 people, and in the spirit of the season, with 27 days left to go in his administration, there's no reason to think he's going to stop there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS (voice-over): President Trump left the White House to spend the holidays in Florida before giving the gift of a pardon to a new wave of past associates. Among the recipients, former Trump campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and longtime ally Roger Stone. Their pardons in retaliation for Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election; and the manifestation of signals Trump and his team sent to some of his associates, according to the Mueller report.

Manafort, who is currently serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence in home confinement, was convicted of several crimes. And Stone for obstruction of Congress and witness tampering. Trump commuting his sentence earlier this year, just days before he was scheduled to report to federal prison.

REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D-TX): The president one by one wants to eliminate those who will provide testimony in other settings to get to the truth of what happened with the Russian investigation. It's sad that a commander in chief has taken his powers and used them in this manner.

JOHNS: Republican Senator Ben Sasse calling Trump's actions "rotten to the core."

The president also pardoning Charles Kushner, father of Trump's son- in-law and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner. He was convicted and eventually pleaded guilty to tax evasion, illegal campaign contributions, and witness tampering. Kushner served 14 months of a two-year prison sentence.

REP. JIM HIMES (D-CT): Donald Trump doesn't surprise us anymore. What he does is always and only in his self-interest. And so he is rewarding people who he regarded as being useful to him. That, of course, is legal under our Constitution. It's not even close to what the pardon power was designed to do.

JOHNS: Trump is also using his final weeks in office to try to derail a crucial piece of congressional legislation, now vetoing the defense spending bill for next year, which passed through both chambers of Congress with veto-proof majorities.

The president, among other things, rejecting the bill's requirement to change the names of military bases named after Confederate generals.

This coming after Trump demanded Congress amend a $900 billion coronavirus stimulus relief package that lawmakers passed after months in gridlock.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): It's a blunder, deeply dangerous, and self-destructive. Pathetic, sad, crazy. And my hope is that it will be overridden by the same kind of overwhelming bipartisan majority that both measures, the national defense budget and the pandemic relief bill, passed by both houses of Congress, overwhelmingly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: So now, with even more legislation affecting the lives of millions of Americans hanging in the balance, the president flew down here to his Mar-a-Lago estate in south Florida, which means he's not back in Washington, trying to work things out with Congress.

[06:05:10]

White House staff is aware of the optics, and they said last night that he will be taking meetings and calls.

Back to you, Erica.

HILL: All right. Joe Johns in Mar-a-Lago for us.

Meantime today, House Democrats are attempting to satisfy President Trump's demand for those $2,000 relief checks by passing a bill by unanimous consent. That effort, however, is likely to fail.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is live this morning on Capitol Hill with more.

Suzanne, good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Erica.

Well, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says that House Democrats will be here, that Congress will be in session. They'll introduce that increase in the direct payments from $600 to $2,000, as President Trump had requested, by unanimous consent.

But make no doubt about it here, I mean, no question, it is not going to pass. And they know that. They might actually punt it to Monday for the full floor House vote, just to put Republicans on record.

Republicans against the $600 figure to begin with. And many Republican lawmakers expressing frustration with the president that they're in this bind, that they signed off on this legislation with the blessing, what they thought, the blessing of the president. Some of those GOP lawmakers saying quietly and publicly that Trump's ego always comes first. Another one saying, he's coming unhinged.

This while the president vetoing that Defense Authorization Act. There's very little time to deal with that.

In the meantime, you're also talking about COVID relief expiring. So just within days, the days after Christmas, unemployment benefits, you also have student loans impacted, evictions on their way, as millions of Americans simply wait to see if the president will sign this legislation -- John, Erica.

BERMAN: Suzanne, we are all watching. Honestly, this is uncharted territory. We just don't know what's going to happen next. Thanks so much for being with us. Please keep us posted.

So on this Christmas Eve day, nearly 120,000 Americans are in the hospital with coronavirus. That is a record. Three thousand, three hundred and fifty-nine Americans reported dead. Look at that number.

Despite that, the TSA says millions of Americans are traveling for the holiday, ignoring pleas from health officials to stay home.

CNN's Elizabeth Cohen spoke with Dr. Anthony Fauci. She joins us now with part of that interview.

What'd you learn, Elizabeth?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: John, I spoke with Dr. Fauci on the occasion of his 80th birthday, which is today. And I asked him, what will you be doing for your birthday and for Christmas? And he said that he will be at home. He will not be with his -- his daughters. And he said, it's tough, but he said he has to practice what he preaches.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I definitely feel sad. I have three daughters, ranging in age from late 20s to early 30s. This is the first holiday season of Christmas and my birthday that I have not spent with my daughters since they were born.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: So Dr. Fauci told me that he'll be at home with his wife. He urges other Americans not to travel. He says he knows that this is tough, but he said that there is an end in sight -- John.

BERMAN: So, Elizabeth, Dr. Fauci got his vaccine earlier this week. What do we know this morning about how many doses have been administered?

COHEN: Let's take a look at this. Just over a million doses of vaccine have been administered in just the first ten days of having a vaccine available.

But I want to draw your attention to the number at the top on the left of the screen. More than 9 million have been delivered. So more than 9 million delivered but just about 1 million given.

And the reason for that, we're told, is that these vaccines are going to two groups of people: Nursing home residents and healthcare workers. The nursing home, the federal nursing home program to vaccinate these folks, that just began this week.

As far as healthcare workers go, we're told that it can take a while. This isn't all going to be done at once. Also, these vaccines can have side effects. And so you want to be careful. You don't want to vaccinate too many healthcare workers at once, in case some of them feel sick the next day -- John.

BERMAN: Yes, there's a big difference between allocated and administered.

COHEN: Right.

BERMAN: We are learning that. Not as many have been administered as we were initially told would be by the end of the year. But they are proceeding, and hopefully, it will speed up.

Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.

COHEN: Thanks.

BERMAN: So confessed liars, corrupt congressmen, convicted murderers and Jared Kushner's dad. The list of pardons keeps growing. The big question now is who is next? Because the signs are the president is not about to stop now. Much more, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:12:23]

BERMAN: Breaking overnight, President Trump issuing this next round of pardons, rewarding his allies Roger Stone and Paul Manafort, both of whom refused to cooperate with the special counsel investigation into Russian connections.

The president also pardoned his son-in-law's father, Jared Kushner's dad, Charles Kushner, who pleaded guilty to witness tampering, tax evasion, lying to the FEC, in a crime that Chris Christie called one of the loathsome he's ever prosecuted. You'll hear from Chris Christie in just a moment.

Joining us now, CNN correspondent Josh Campbell. Josh covers law enforcement and national security for CNN. He was previously a supervisory special agent with the FBI.

Also with us, Anna Palmer, senior Washington correspondent for "Politico." And Josh, just big picture here. You have now two more people, part of

the Russia probe, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone. Of course, Paul Manafort, part of his investigation, part of the crimes he committed were having not cooperated with the special counsel, with that possibility of a pardon hanging over it all. What's your major takeaway this morning?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is part of this wave now, and there will be more, as you mentioned. I mean, we can expect that coming down in the president's final hours here.

But I think the main takeaway is, we have to call this for what it is, an abuse of the pardon powers. And that's not a political statement. We're not talking about policy; we're not talking about ideology. We're talking about the president using this sacred power that only the president has in order to reward his criminal allies.

And we know this is an abuse, because what the founders did, you know, their whole intention was to create a chief executive who was not an all-powerful king. Yet, what we see is the president using that power, as you mentioned, as we've been talking about, to basically reward his political allies, some of which did not cooperate with federal investigators during their investigation.

I think it's also important to note that, you know, for a pro-law enforcement president, he used to call himself that this entire time, and while he's been in office, I can tell you, since this pardon spree began, my phone has been blowing up from law enforcement sources, just enraged and incensed, because basically, what he is doing is overturning years of work that these investigators have done in order to hold these criminals accountable. With the stroke of a pen, he is making that go away.

And it's important to note that that morale problem that now we're hearing about in law enforcement at these agencies, that's something that Joe Biden is going to have to contend with, because right now, as we speak, you know, these law enforcement agencies have seen themselves hollowed out; and now they're seeing their work overturned by a president who is abusing the pardon power.

HILL: He's talked a lot about law and order. He's also talked about draining the swamp. I just want to play a few of those moments so we can remember how the president feels about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[06:10:00]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you look at drain the swamp, I am draining the swamp.

We are going to drain the swamp.

Drain the swamp. We're going to drain the swamp of Washington.

It is time to drain the damn swamp.

You know that I'm draining the swamp.

We're going to drain the swamp of corruption in Washington, D.C.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Yes, so, news flash: swamp not drained. Definitely not. And further evidence of that is what we've seen over the last couple of days, Anna. What's interesting is what it sets up as we move forward. And as we wait for what's coming next.

ANNA PALMER, SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, "POLITICO": Yes. I think we're all just waiting for what's the next shoe to drop. There's 27 days left of the Trump presidency, and he clearly hasn't drained the swamp.

And frankly, what we're really seeing is this loyalty test that the president time and time again has gone back to. Who are his allies who are loyal to him? Those were the first kind of round of pardons. And I think there's been a lot of, maybe surprise is the wrong word, because with this president, it's hard to be surprised anymore. But certainly frustration.

This is not the party that the Republicans want to be a part of going forward, known for letting off criminals and people that are doing bad things. And that there's no -- there's no consequences for them.

So I do think there's going to be a ripple effect. We've started to see that with Ben Sasse. It will be interesting to see whether any other Republicans come out against some of these pardons.

BERMAN: Yes. Rick Santorum was on with me last night, and he was squirming over these pardons. He said he didn't like them one bit. This is not something Republicans, by and large, except maybe the FOX TV crowd, are rallying around.

So what did Charlie Kushner, Jared Kushner's dad do, you might be asking this morning. Well, allow me to have Chris Christie, former governor of New Jersey, former U.S. attorney who prosecuted Charles Kushner, explain. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CHRISTIE, FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: I just think that it was so obvious he had to be prosecuted that -- I mean, if a guy hires a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law, and videotapes it, and then sends the videotape to his sister to attempt to intimidate her from testifying before a grand jury, do I really need any more justification than that?

I mean, it's one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted when I was U.S. attorney. And I was U.S. attorney in New Jersey, Margaret, so we had some loathsome and disgusting crime going on there. But I just laid out the facts. And any objective person who looks at

the facts knows, confronted with those facts, I had a moral and an ethical obligation to bring that prosecution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: I don't think there's anything more to add to that, Josh. That sort of sums it up when it comes to Charles Kushner. So I want to turn a focus on what is coming next.

Maggie Haberman all night, and if anyone's connected, it's Maggie says, don't think for a second this is it. I mean, this is the appetizer to what is coming in the pardons sphere.

So who does this leave at this point? There's Rudy Giuliani, who we know is being investigated by the Southern District. There's Steve Bannon, who's been indicted, right, by -- by federal prosecutors. I don't know who else could be on that list? Edward Snowden, Julian Assange? Then, of course, the president himself, his family. We could be in store for really a lot more here.

CAMPBELL: Yes, absolutely. There's no question that there will be more -- obviously, the main question is, how long is that list? You mentioned Bannon, obviously, Giuliani. There's this question about whether the president may try to preemptively pardon members of his own family. There's a question about whether he'll try to pardon himself.

And I think what we're seeing is this pattern throughout the Trump administration is to try to wear people down and to numb them to outrage. This is kind of testing the water. You know, everything from these Blackwater war criminals to members of Congress who were convicted. Now, obviously, we're seeing more people in the president's orbit.

This is trying to get this -- this pardon fatigue going, so that once it finally happens, that he gets to the big names -- this is my estimation -- you know, folks already feel worn down.

But we can't lose sight of the fact that, regardless of what he's going to do, we have never had a president that has had so many criminals in his orbit. I mean, that's a matter of fact. You look throughout history.

And now, again, the president is using that pardon power to try to reward those around him. It's just something that, you know, flies in the face, I think, as I mentioned, the founders intentions. You think about all the people that may be sitting in jail right now who were perhaps wrongfully convicted. Maybe their sentences were over the top. And they're saying, you know, Jared Kushner's dad is at the top of the list of getting a pardon? I mean, obviously, you know, many questions there.

And then the last thing, which I just kind of find baffling. We know that Donald Trump tends to live in the moment. I don't think that he's, you know, worrying about his legacy. But I don't envy the historians that are going to have to look back on this time, because he's continuing to give them more of a challenge.

What do they lead with when they tell the story of the Trump presidency? Is it the impeachment? Is it his bungled handling of the pandemic that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths? Is it his attempt to undermine an election and to cast doubt on American democracy? Or is it going out the door and rewarding his criminal friends with pardons?

[06:20:00]

That is quite a collection to choose from. But I think, you know, one or many or all of those issues will be at the top of the list when people write the history books on the Trump presidency.

Berman: Eventually, someone will get around to writing a book on the Trump presidency. Josh Campbell, thank you very much. Thanks for being with us this morning.

Anna, stick around. More for you in just a moment.

HILL: And part of what we're going to tackle within the coming up is the fact that millions of Americans are in limbo this morning. And that's thanks to President Trump, who left town without signing or vetoing a stimulus bill. Why? What one GOP official says is motivating Trump to cause chaos on his way out the door.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: Developing overnight, President Trump leaving town without signing or vetoing the massive stimulus bill passed by Congress this week. That leaves the status of critical aid for millions of Americans in jeopardy.

Anna Palmer is back with us. Also joining us, CNN political commentator Errol Louis, political anchor for Spectrum News.

Anna, as we look at this, I -- I was really struck by playbook this morning, some people in touch with the president say he thinks this is playing well with Americans.

[06:25:03]

Who are these Americans? They're clearly not the millions of Americans who are now in limbo even longer, as they wait to see if they're going to get any sort of relief or if everything just expires this weekend, and they're out of luck.

PALMER: Yes, I mean, this is really what -- what the president is taking some of his cues from is talk radio. It's some of his allies who are hampering this COVID relief bill and the omnibus bill. And so he's now getting some support from them.

And that is clearly not the millions of Americans, as you put it, who are waiting. Their -- their checks, unemployment checks aren't going to come through. They -- that ends on Saturday. The benefits that a lot of Americans are counting on to help them get through this really tough time are now in limbo.

And there clearly is no strategy here. I mean, I think that is the important point. As somebody who's covered Congress a very long time, and there's often disagreements with an administration and Congress, and they kind of have to duke it out. But nobody, Republicans in Congress, do not know what the end game is for Trump. Whether he's actually going to veto it, and/or whether they have the ability to override that veto.

BERMAN: Yes. I think two things are crystal clear this morning. No. 1 is we have no idea what's going to happen. We may have no idea what's going to happen.

And the other thing is, is this is a huge kick in the ornaments, right, to Republicans. I want to read what Representative Virginia Fox, Republican of North Carolina, said and is quoted in "Playbook": "I don't know if we recover from this," Errol.

The bind he has put in Republicans as he goes to Florida for Christmas, it is really astounding.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, no, it really is. I mean, and look, this is the final stage of Trumpism. I think the drama is now revealed for all to see. He's literally forcing Republican followers to choose between food and medicine and shelter, and the grievance and resentment that are the driving fuel of Trumpism.

He'd rather sort of play out this kind of game show, this kind of reality show, in which he comes in and, at the last minute, turns everything other. That's the essence of Trumpism, is to come in and fix everything that's broken. And frankly, to break it if it's not broken, and then come in to try and fix it.

And if that kind of entertainment is more important to people than dealing with the pandemic, stopping the coming eviction crisis, making sure that those food lines go down and possibly away; if that's what's more important to people politically, you know, he's made it as starkly clear as possible, that's what you have to choose.

And so, I don't particularly feel sorry for the Republican members of Congress, who made this possible. But they're in a real bind right now.

HILL: Yes, well, I mean, look, it's been going on for four years. Right? This is the culmination of it.

And to your point, Errol, people who have made that decision, this is now where they're at. And this is the choice they really need to make now.

As we look at this, though, I'm struck by some of our own CNN reporting. One official telling CNN, Trump's "ego always comes first." We know that. Right? I think we've all figured that out by now, even before he was elected.

Also, an aide telling CNN, "He's coming unhinged." He doesn't have a lot going on today. According to his schedule, Anna,

quote, "His schedule includes many meetings and calls." Probably could be a little bit more vague. I'm not sure how.

But to your point, there's no strategy; there's no plan. It's utter chaos. Millions of Americans are hanging in the balance. And for the president, it's just Festivus every day.

PALMER: Yes, that schedule really caught my eye this morning. I look at it every day, and the fact that they just didn't want to have the optics of having no public events. They put that kind of weird addendum that he was making calls.

But I'm not clear who he's making calls to. Republicans don't know what the president wants. He says this is about $2,000, but this isn't a public policy fight, right? If he wanted to have gotten in the game on COVID relief, he could have done that for the last several weeks, instead of trying to, you know, make false claims about the election fraud.

This is really about the fact that Republicans in Congress are ready to move on and aren't going to challenge the results of this election. They are seeing Joe Biden as the next president. And that there's 27 days left of Trumpism.

The real question is, though, I mean, we are hurtling towards a shutdown. Make no bones about it: like, this is serious, and we are in very unchartered territory. So I think that's the thing that -- that we really need to focus on, is what is going to happen next? Is Congress going to try to find a way to fund the government for a couple more days? Is there a way for them to forge a pathway forward with the president?

So far, he's even now shunning his allies. He's railing against Mitch McConnell. He's railing against, you know, John Thune, the No. 2 Republican and No. 1 Republican in the Senate. He's really only got Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, in his camp still. He's a man without a lot of allies. And I think one of the things we're watching very closely is, what happens next?

BERMAN: I hope people are paying attention to the words and tone you're using here, anna, as someone who covers every nook and cranny and corner of Capitol Hill, just the uncertainty in your voice and in your projections here.

We don't know if the government is going to shut down in a few days. It might.