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COVID-19 Cases Down; Trump Faces Legal Trouble; Cuomo Accepts Some Blame; Williams Advances to Semifinals. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired February 16, 2021 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Us now, Dr. Paul Offit. He is the director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of the FDA's Vaccine Advisory Committee.

Dr. Offit, it is a pleasure to get to ask you this question this morning, and that question is, why are the numbers going down? Because you look at it and you see this as a possible breakthrough moment.

DR. PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR, VACCINE EDUCATION CENTER, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: I mean it's mid-February. This virus, SARS- CoV-2, is at its heart a winter respiratory virus. We're in the heart of winter. It should be raging. I mean we're largely inside. It's spread by small droplets. The weather's not humid.

Nonetheless, we have a drop in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Why? I mean one possibility is that you're starting to see some evidence for herd immunity or population immunity. And here's why I say that.

If you look at -- on your -- on your screen, usually you have 28 -- roughly 28 million people who have been infected in the United States. But that's just people who have been tested and found to be infected. There were a lot of people out there who were either asymptomatically affected or mildly -- have mild disease that never get tested. So the only way to really know how many people in this country have really been infected is to do antibody surveillance studies, that way you can see who's really been exposed to the virus and who hasn't.

When those studies were done in November, it showed that that number that we list as the number infected was probably off by a factor of four. So it's probably closer to at least 80 million people in this country who already have been exposed to this virus and are likely immune, at least from moderate to severe disease. That's 25 percent of the country.

Plus, we're starting to get vaccines out there. We now have more than 50 million doses that have been administered, about 12 million people who have received two doses. That's another 10 percent. So now you're roughly 35 percent.

And the people that have been infected are the people by definition who have been most likely to be infected and most likely to be hurt by this virus. It's hard to know, but I do think that one possibility you're starting to see, the first evidence of herd immunity, although know this, the only way to get out of this pandemic, the only way to achieve true population herd immunity is with a vaccine. We have to get a vaccine out there. We have to get about 3 million doses a day out there and then, and only then, I think will we be able to end this pandemic.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Dr. Offit, I so want to believe you. I like your version. I like your philosophy on this. But as you know, it's at odds with folks like Michael Osterholm who think that we are in the eye of the storm and that we are experiencing sort of an artificial lull and that the dark storm clouds are on the horizon with the variants.

Let me just play for you what he told us on February 4th.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: These variants are going to blow right by us. I think right now the B117, or the U.K. variant, surely could cause a major surge in cases over the next 12 to 14 months.

The bottom line is, it's going to take much more than vaccine to keep this variant at bay and not to have potentially a major surge in just the weeks ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: He has predicted that the next 14 weeks could be the worst of the entire pandemic.

OFFIT: That would surprise me. I mean we're getting more vaccine out there. The weather's going to get warmer. And as far as the variants are concerned, the B117 variant, otherwise known as the U.K. variant, is not going to resist either the immunity that's been induced by a natural infection or the immunity that's been induced by the vaccine. That variant is close enough to the virus that was originally circulating in this country that I don't think that's going to be a problem.

From the critical question of will it -- will it evade vaccine or induced immunity or natural immunity, no. I think the other variant that's out there, this so-called South African variant, B351 variant, I mean that is less susceptible to immunity induced by natural infection or immunity induced by our current vaccine.

But know this, their -- that virus has not been able to infect people who were either naturally immune or vaccinated and caused them to be hospitalized. That hasn't happened. I think once that happens, once you find people who were fully say immunized, that, nonetheless, when infected with this variant are hospitalized, that's when a line has been crossed. And that line hasn't been crossed. So I still try and be optimistic here.

But you -- the very -- or the wild card -- the other wild card is sort of the anti-vaccine activity. I mean if enough people say -- choose not to get a vaccine, that would be a problem. But we're not there yet.

BERMAN: Well, I think one of the important things is that whether or not you have the glass half full view that you have or the glass half empty view that Professor Osterholm has, the solution is exactly the same. The approach that the country needs to take is actually the same coming from both of your perspectives, which is what, exactly, Doctor?

OFFIT: That we need to mask, we need to physically distance, we need to get a vaccine when we can to mass produce the vaccine, mass distribute it, mass administer it. We need to do all those things.

I'm arguing that I think we're starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. But at best we're just -- it's a start. And I think we're a long way from the finish line and we need to be careful until we get there.

BERMAN: Wear your mask. Double mask. I mean all this stuff more important than ever. Keep pushing it down. Get the cases below 10,000 or 20,000. Get the hospitalizations down to 10,000 or 20,000. We can do it if we keep at this.

Dr. Offit, as always, thank you so much for being with us.

[06:35:02]

OFFIT: Thank you.

BERMAN: Legal experts say the investigations that the former president is facing in New York might pose the biggest threat to him. Why? How much of a threat? What is the likelihood of conviction? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: So, this morning, Ross Garber, who has defended all kinds of politicians in investigations and impeachments, says the former president's legal jeopardy in terms of investigations is a 10 out of 10. And the financial investigation here in New York might be the most treacherous of all.

Joining us now, CNN legal analyst Elie Honig.

Elie, walk us through why this is so treacherous, what the political charges are here.

ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, John, so the office that's investigating this case is the Manhattan District Attorney. The head of that office, the district attorney, is Cy Vance. Now, this is not a federal prosecutors office. They're not part of the Justice Department. They're a state level prosecutor that charges violations of New York state law.

[06:40:00]

Now, the core theory of the case is that the Trump Organization would falsely inflate or deflate the value of their assets depending on the situation. For example, when they were applying for a large bank loan the theory is they would falsely inflate the value of their assets so they could get bigger loans, but when it came time to pay taxes, they would falsely deflate the value of their assets because they didn't want to pay as much taxes.

Now, the star witness here could be Michael Cohen. Yes, that Michael Cohen. We know he's talking to the Manhattan D.A. He spoke to them as recently as last month, January of 2021. And we have an idea of what he might be telling them because he testified about this in Congress back in 2019.

Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER ATTORNEY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP: It was my experience that Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, such as trying to be listed amongst the wealthiest people in Forbes.

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): To your knowledge, was the president interested in reducing his local real estate bills, tax bills?

COHEN: Yes.

OCASIO-CORTEZ: And how did he do that?

COHEN: What you do is you deflate the value of the asset and then you put in a request to the tax department for a deduction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HONIG: So, if this is proven out, we could see New York state level charges for falsifying business records, for tax fraud and potentially other crimes as well, John.

CAMEROTA: Elie, how about those tax returns, Trump's tax returns, are we going to see those?

HONIG: Yes, so this could be a really important piece of the case. Of course, this is a long-running legal saga. Now, the Manhattan D.A.'s office tried to subpoena these tax records from Mazars USA, which is a financial institution. But Donald Trump and his legal team jumped in. They said, no, no, no, we have what's called absolute immunity, meaning, you cannot even investigate, you cannot even subpoena my records while I'm in office as the president.

Now, the federal courts have roundly rejected that, including the Supreme Court, which last year rejected Donald Trump's argument. They held that no citizen, not even the president, is categorically above the common duty to produce evidence when called upon in a criminal proceeding.

However, the Supreme Court did say, if you want to try again, you can, with different arguments. Donald Trump is trying to argue now that the subpoena is too broad or it's just intended to harass him. He's lost already in two more federal courts. He's now trying to get it back in front of the Supreme Court. I think he has very little chance of success. We could hear that ruling very soon. And, if so, those tax returns will be in the D.A.'s hands.

BERMAN: He's also no longer president, which could play into the whole thing as well.

Elie, in terms of what he could use as a defense, there are possibilities here. There are traditional defenses in cases like these.

HONIG: Sure. You know Donald Trump is going to raise a defense. So the first thing he's going to argue is essentially, look, this was a large organization. We had all sorts of lawyers and accountants. I don't know what's going on. They signed the paperwork.

However, Michael Cohen testified about that as well when he was in front of Congress.

Here's what Michael Cohen said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER ATTORNEY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP: There was nothing that happened at the Trump Organization that did not go through Mr. Trump with his approval and sign off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HONIG: Rest assured, Donald Trump will attack Michael Cohen. He already has. He routinely has called him a liar who holds a grudge in the media.

Also, I think it's a safe bet, Donald Trump is going to claim this is yet another politically-motivated witch hunt.

On the day he lost the Supreme Court decision last year, he tweeted, the Supreme Court sends case back to lower court, arguments to continue. This is all a political prosecution. I won the Mueller witch hunt and others and now I have to keep fighting in a politically corrupt New York.

So, we know Donald Trump is not going to take this case lying down. We know he's going to raise his defenses. It's a strong case overall but expect it to be a fight.

CAMEROTA: Elie, what do we need to know about Cy Vance, the D.A.?

HONIG: Yes, so here's another wrinkle. Cy Vance, that's an elected position. He's up for re-election this year and all indications are he's not running for re-election. There's already a group of ten or more people who are vying to win that position.

So what does he do? Does he charge the case or decide not to charge the case before he leaves? Does he leave the decision for his successor? So just in case there wasn't enough sort of politics flying around all this, there's one more wrinkle to think about.

BERMAN: All right, Elie Honig, thank you very much for walking us through the case. Appreciate it.

HONIG: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo finally responded to critics who allege his administration tried to cover up coronavirus deaths in nursing homes. Not everyone's satisfied with his explanation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:48:20]

CAMEROTA: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is defending his administration's delay on reporting of coronavirus deaths in long-term care facilities. And this morning state lawmakers are considering their response.

CNN's Athena Jones joins us now with the latest.

What's happening, Athena?

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

Well, those state lawmakers, Democratic state leaders to be precise, spent this past weekend in discussions about a bill to strip Governor Cuomo's pandemic emergency powers, with one source telling CNN, it's definitely going to happen.

This as the governor makes his first public comments in days, pushing back on allegations of a cover-up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): We made a mistake.

JONES (voice over): Days after his top aide admitted their office withheld data for months about COVID-19 deaths of nursing home residents, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo finally speaking out. Cuomo acknowledging on Monday that the data was not provided quickly enough.

CUOMO: In retrospect, should we have given more priority to fulfilling information requests, in my opinion, yes.

JONES: But maintaining that his administration provided accurate data.

CUOMO: To be clear, all the deaths in the nursing homes and in the hospitals were always fully, publicly and accurately reported.

JONES: Approximately 15,000 long-term care facility residents have died in New York. That's about a third of all COVID deaths statewide according to the Department of Health. But until late last month, New York only accounted separately for people who died from COVID-19 in long-term care facilities, like nursing homes. The data didn't include the number of residents from those facilities who died after they were transferred to a hospital or elsewhere.

CUOMO: I understand the public had many questions and concerns and the press had many questions about nursing homes primarily.

[06:50:08]

And I understand that they were not answered quickly enough.

JONES: The tipping point came during a private video call between the governor's top aide, Melissa DeRosa, and Democratic state lawmakers. DeRosa told the state lawmakers that the governor's office delayed giving updated information to them after then President Trump's Department of Justice sent an inquiry about nursing home deaths in the state because, quote, basically we froze because then we were in a position where we weren't sure if what we were going to give to the Department of Justice, or what we give to you guys, what we start saying, was going to be used against us.

Her words and admission that the administration stalled on showing a true picture of just how many nursing home residents died, just as the governor was lauded globally for his pandemic response.

EMILY MUNSON, REPORTER, "ALBANY TIMES": Between his Emmy for his coronavirus press briefings, to Governor Cuomo's book, to his speech at the Democratic National Convention, Governor Cuomo has been held up as the model governor in his coronavirus response, even though New York was so hard hit by the virus early on.

JONES: Cuomo arguing Monday, much the same as his top aide, that the request for data at the time was politically motivated and came amid many other competing priorities as the state was struggling to contain the virus.

CUOMO: There was a lot going on. Everybody was working 24 hours a day. Everybody was overwhelmed. We were in the midst of dealing with a pandemic and trying to save lives. They were answering DOJ.

JONES: But now he's taking heat from both sides of the New York legislature. You're only sorry that you all got caught, tweeted Democratic State Senator Alessandra Biaggi. Other Democrats are actively discussing drafting a bill to strip Cuomo of his emergency powers. And Republicans in the state going even further, declaring Cuomo should be investigated.

NICK LANGWORTHY, NEW YORK GOP CHAIRMAN: The gravity of this cover-up cannot be overstated.

JONES: And using the word "impeachment."

LANGWORTHY: Andrew Cuomo must be prosecuted and Andrew Cuomo must be impeached if this evidence exists.

(END VIDEOTAPE) JONES: Now, state Democrats say that bill to repeal the governor's expanded executive powers will likely be introduced this week and voted on early next week. They have also discussed an inquiry into why this happened and how to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Athena, thank you very much for all of that reporting.

At least three people are dead in North Carolina after an overnight tornado. Search and rescue workers digging through the rubble to find victims. We have the breaking details for you coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:57:02]

BERMAN: So, you know, you all know how much I love Tom Brady, right? Tom Brady is very good at football. But in many ways he's basically a JV version of Serena Williams.

Andy Scholes with more in the "Bleacher Report."

What she continues to do, Andy, is mind blowing.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: At 39, yes, it's so impressive, John.

And, Serena, she's still looking for that elusive grand slam title number 24. She hasn't won a grand slam title since winning the Aussie Open back in 2017. But she is still looking good in this year's tournament.

This morning, in the quarterfinals, Serena easily taking care of second seed Simona Halep, winning in straight sets. So next up for Serena now, a semifinal showdown against Naomi Osaka. The 23-year-old, meanwhile, cruising to her 19th victory in a row this morning. Osaka's winning streak includes a U.S. Open title back in September, which was her third grand slam championship. So, Osaka and Serena, they've met four time. Osaka won the first two matchups, including that 2018 U.S. Open title. Serena has won the last two matchups. These two are going to square off tomorrow night, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, with a spot in the title match on the line.

All right, Michael Jordan, meanwhile, continuing to give back to his home state of North Carolina. The Hornet's owner donating $10 million to open two new health clinics near his hometown of Wilmington. The Novant Health Clinics are set to open early next year. Back in 2017, Jordan gave $7 million to open Michael Jordan Family Clinics in Charlotte. John, those clinics have seen more than 4,500 patients and have administered nearly 1,000 COVID-19 vaccines. So, props to Michael Jordan for continuing to do good in his hometown.

BERMAN: Yes, what a great way to give back, especially now.

Andy Scholes, thanks very much. SCHOLES: All right.

CAMEROTA: Is he almost as good as Tom Brady?

BERMAN: I mean he won one fewer championship. He has six. Tom Brady has seven. And Bill Russell has 11. So, you know, Michael Jordan, he can come to --

CAMEROTA: He's OK.

BERMAN: You know, he can go and sit at the table, but, you know, Tom Brady and Serena Williams, Bill Russell.

NEW DAY continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Biden returned to the White House with one item at the top of his list, getting his COVID relief bill through Congress.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's urgent that we get it done. A lot of the current relief will expire in the middle of March.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The American people want Republicans, Democrats, independents, they want to raise the minimum wage to a living wage. It's what the people want. It is what justice demands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no question that Donald Trump remains the dominant figure in the party.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's strange to hear Republican organizations complain about cancel culture and yet they're seeking to censure Republican elected officials who have done nothing more than told the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

BERMAN: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY.

A series of firsts for President Joe Biden.

[07:00:01]

And it's happening right here on CNN. His first town hall. His first real trip outside of Washington as he heads to Milwaukee to answer questions