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Twenty Five Dead After Blast Near Cairo Cathedral; Bipartisan Senators Sound Alarm On Russian Role In Vote; Trump: Claims Of Russia Hacking "Ridiculous"; Who Is Rex Tillerson, Trump's Top Pick For Secretary Of State?; Biden Keeps Door Open For 2020 Presidential Run; Senators Call for Russian Hacking Probe; Trump on Intel Briefing: "I Get it When I Need it"; McCain: "It's Clear the Russians Interfered"; Rex Tillerson, Exxon CEO, Leading Pick for Secy of State; Boeing Inks Biggest U.S.-Iran Deal Since 1979; Turkish President Vow Revenge After Twin Bombings; Deadly Terror Attack Rocks Christian Church in Cairo. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired December 11, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, Donald Trump blast American intelligence over its assessment that Russia interfered in the election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's ridiculous. I think it's just another excuse. I don't believe it.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, ARIZ.: It's clear the Russians interfered. They did hack into this campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Democrats and Republicans now calling for an investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, N.Y.: This cannot become a partisan issue. The stakes are too high for our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: NEWSROOM starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Thanks for joining us on CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Boris Sanchez in for Fredricka Whitfield. We stat with a group of high-profile senators this afternoon calling for an investigation into Russia's role into the U.S. election.

New York Senator Chuck Schumer says that disagreements among the intelligence community show the need for a bipartisan look at the claims that Russia worked to sway the election for Donald Trump. He held a press conference just a few hours ago, listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SCHUMER: The fact that the CIA and FBI disagree shows the need for a

bipartisan investigation that gets to the bottom of this. The investigation should be tough, strong and bipartisan and should have access to all materials, classified and not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: In a joint statement, Schumer along with Democratic Senator Jack Reed and Republican senators, John McCain and Lindsey Graham said, "Recent reports of Russian interference in our election should alarm every American. You can imagine president-elect Donald Trump dismissed those claims blaming them on Democrats still bitter over the outcome of the election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think it is ridiculous. I think it's just another excuse. I don't believe it. I don't know why. And I think it's just, you know -- they talked about all sorts of things. Every week, it's another excuse. We had a massive landslide victory, as you know, in the electoral college. I guess the final numbers are now at 306 and she, you know, down to a very low number. No, I don't believe it at all.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: You say you don't know why. Do you think that the CIA is trying to overturn the election results of the election or somehow to weaken you in office?

TRUMP: Well, if you look at the story and you take a look at what they said there's great confusion. Nobody really knows. And hacking is very interesting.

Once they hack, if you don't catch them in the act, you're not going to catch them. They have no idea if it's Russia or China or somebody -- it could be somebody sitting in a bed someplace. I mean, they have no idea.

WALLACE: So why would the CIA put out the story that the Russians wanted you to win?

TRUMP: Well, I'm not sure they put it out. I think the Democrats are putting it out because they suffered one of the greatest defeats in the history of politics in this country. And frankly, I think they're putting it out and it's ridiculous. We need to get back to making America great again which is what we're going to do and we've already started the process.

WALLACE: You said repeatedly you don't believe the intelligence community's analysis that the Russians were involved.

TRUMP: Take a look, they're not sure, they're fighting among themselves. They're not sure.

WALLACE: But the question is, these are the folks you're going to have to rely on to know what's going on in the world. TRUMP: (Inaudible) changes, you know, at the top. I mean, we're

going to have different people coming in because we have our people, they have their people and I have great respect for them. But if you read the stories, the various stories, there's disputing -- I mean, they're disputing and certain groups don't necessarily agree.

Personally, it could be Russia. I don't really think it is but who knows? I don't know either. They don't know and I don't know.

WALLACE: I just want to ask you about your skepticism about the intelligence community. You are getting the presidential daily brief only once a week.

TRUMP: Yes. Well, I get it when I need it.

WALLACE: But is there some skepticism?

Trump: First of all, these are very good people that are giving me the briefings. And I say if something should change from this point, immediately call me, I'm available on one minute's notice. I don't have to be told.

You know, I'm like a smart person. I don't have to be told the same thing and the same words every single day for the next eight years, it could be eight years but -- eight years. I don't need that.

But I do say if something should change, let us know. Now, in the meantime, my generals are great, I'm being briefed. And Mike Pence is being briefed, who is, by the way, one of my very good decisions, he's terrific and they're being briefed. And I'm being briefed also.

But if they're going to come and then tell me the exact same thing that they told me that -- you know, it doesn't change necessarily. Now there will be times where it might change, I mean, there'd be some very fluid situations, I will be there not every day but more than that.

But I don't need to be told, Chris, the same thing every day, every morning, same words. Sir, nothing has changed. Let's go over it again. I don't need that.

WALLACE: President Obama just ordered a full review of Russia's involvement, hacking in the election. And Democrats are now calling for hearings. Do you think this is part of an effort to undercut you?

Trump: Well, it could be. I think President Obama has been terrific. He's been, you know, very respectful of the process and everything else so I saw that. And I want it too; I think it's great. I don't want anyone hacking us. And I'm not only talking about countries, I'm talking about anyone, period.

But if you're going to do that, I think you should not just say Russia, you should say other countries also and maybe other individuals. It's not necessarily --

WALLACE: If you (ph) said this is a political effort here. TRUMP: It could be. I mean, it could be. Look, many people were

saying one of the great victories of all time. They're very embarrassed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: CNN's Ryan Nobles is following the story, he joins us now live from outside of Trump Tower in New York. Ryan, a controversial campaign now becoming a very controversial transition process, right?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris and good afternoon from Fifth Avenue. It's pretty clear when you listen to Donald Trump there that he doesn't even want to open the door to the idea that the Russians were involved in this election in some way that could undercut his victory.

But it's important to point out that no one is suggesting that if the Russians did attempt to interfere that that interference ultimately led to the outcome. No one is suggesting that Donald Trump didn't win this election.

And that's setting up a pretty interesting showdown between Trump and not just Democrats in the United States Senate but also this group of moderate Republican senators like John McCain and Lindsey Graham who have a long-established record in the senate. They're part of this bipartisan group asking for this investigation.

They want to know more about what happened because they're saying that if it were Democrats today, it could easily be Republicans in the future. And this also leads to a broader discussion about Russia's connection to the United States and what it's going to look like in an incoming Trump administration.

As you heard in that interview with Chris Wallace, the president-elect completely rejected the notion that Russia was involved in this hack. He's saying that the intelligence community simply doesn't know.

And obviously, with the thoughts about who the next secretary of state could potentially be Rex Tillerson, there's a deep connection there to Russia. And you've got senators like McCain,like Lindsey Graham, like Marco Rubio this morning, who are big critics of Russia and are concerned about what that could mean going forward.

So as you mentioned, Boris, it's a controversial campaign. Now a lot of drama in the transition as well and we're adding a new layer here with a small group of Republican moderate senators that could cause trouble for Donald Trump especially when this confirmation hearing start for his incoming cabinet.

SANCHEZ: What a divide among senators -- Republican senators about how to approach Russia is certainly fascinating. Ryan, any idea when we might get the secretary of state announcement? It could come at any minute obviously?

NOBLES: Well, the transition tweeted out this morning that it's not going to come until next week. Now we believe that this coming week, starting on Monday, but I guess there's a chance that it could be the following week.

And, you know, there are many reports out there and we believe that Rex Tillerson is the leading candidate but we're being cautioned not expect anything until Donald Trump announces it himself.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Well, his tweets certainly confusing and perplexing. Ryan Nobles, thank you.

So let's talk about what this means heading into a new administration. I'm joined by CNN Senior Political Analyst David Gergen and a historian and professor at Princeton University, Julian Zelizer.

David, let's start with you. Trump said this could be a political effort by the Democrats because they're embarrassed about losing what he calls a historic election that he won. But by going after the CIA so aggressively, discrediting them, doesn't he stand to hurt his relationship with them?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITCAL ANALYST: Is that directed to Julian?

SANCHEZ: David, that was for you.

GERGEN: I'm sorry. OK. Listen, I think there are two serious issues that are immediately at hand before we even get to the secretary of state question. And that is, first and foremost, you know, are we going to have a serious investigation?

These are extraordinary serious charges that the government of Russia actually tried to tilt the election toward Donald Trump. Not that they succeeded, not that they made a big difference but that they tried and that all of these e-mails were released after they were hacked into at the DNC and John Podesta's offices., that's a big, big deal.

And to have now a bipartisan group of senators pushing for an investigation to get to the bottom of this, especially with and John McCain and Lindsey Graham, that's a big, big deal as well. So that's one area where I think we're going to see a lot of controversy in the days a ahead.

But the second area, Boris, I must tell you is equally important and that is, we've never seen a president-elect have this kind of breach with the intelligence community, you know, shortly before taking office. That's unprecedented.

We spent $70 billion a year is estimated on intelligence and right now Donald Trump doesn't seem to believe it's anywhere worth the effort; he's very dismissive.

SANCHEZ: Right. David, sticking with you. Some of our experts have called this a constitutional crisis. Bob Baer former CIA analyst yesterday said that we should eventually have a do over, have the election all over again.

If this election investigation comes back with hard, indisputable evidence that Russia interfered in this election, what do you think should happen next?

GERGEN: Well, I think we should be very, very cautious about calling for another election; I just can't see that happening.

Listen, there is no evidence that the agencies have come forward with so far that say that this actually -- even though the Russians, you know, by consensus did interfere and try to win it for Trump, there's no indication that they actually did win it for trump.

And under those circumstances, I think it's just very premature to be talking about some sort of new election, I just don't think it's going to happen. But I think it's extremely premature to be reaching that conclusion.

SANCHEZ: Certainly far fetched. Julian, getting to you now. Senator McCain was on CBS this morning. He reinforced his support for an investigation. I want you to listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: It's clear the Russians interfered. Now whether they intended to interfere to the degree that they were trying to elect a certain candidate, I think that's a subject to investigation.

But the facts are stubborn things. They did hack into this campaign and they did it, I think, with some of -- at least, what seemed to be effective, sort of every week or so there was new information. And were they hacking the Republicans the same way, the Republican National Committee? And if so, why didn't they -- there's a whole lot of issues out there, it requires an investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Julian, he's saying facts are stubborn things. Regardless of the results of this upcoming investigation, could this wind up being a sort of black eye on the start of Trump's presidency?

JULIAN ZELIZER, HISTORIAN AND PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Absolutely. Already the question has been raised of why he seems to be defensive about an investigation into another government interfering with our election. That's not about the outcome as David said, it's not about any kind of coordination. It's simply something that I think many Americans would find to be shocking and not to be the right thing to have happened.

And so, already there is a question of why isn't there more outrage from President-elect Trump. And obviously, the second part of this circulated during the campaign if there was any kind of coordination, if there was any impact on the election, that's an issue. There's no evidence of any of that at this point. But if the investigation goes that way, it could obviously be a problem for the incoming administration.

SANCHEZ: David, the same question to you. What kind of problems does this present for Donald Trump moving forward if there are questions about the potential, you know, legitimacy of his win? GERGEN: Well, I think his opponents are obviously going to seize on

that; Democrats will see a cloud over his presidency and they will question his legitimacy just as, by the way, for a long-time question, legitimacy of Barack Obama that serve as president of the United States; (inaudible) put that parenthetically. But I don't think it's going to derail the transition and the inauguration and the getting forward and moving forward the upon its process and the likes.

We simply aren't at a point to say that everything to stop (ph) and we all have a new election, I think that's a wholly different question and a whollier (ph) ballpark (ph) for where we are right now.

What I do think actually is also serious is that, if the president- elect may have goes forward with Rex Tillerson, that's going to play right into the middle of this controversy because of his close relationship with Putin and with the Russian government, getting these orders and so forth.

Now I want to say in due to Rex Tillerson's behalf, there are reports that he was recommended to Donald Trump by some very highly respected people, Bob Gates and Condi Rice among them. So, you know, I think we ought to be also cautious about just sort of reaching dramatic conclusions about any of this until we know more.

ZELIZER: I could say the rift with the intelligence community is important. This is a president that doesn't have great expertise (ph) and I think it's worrisome if from the start there is this separation with the kind of intelligence that can be extraordinarily helpful to the administration. We can't afford to have that in the first few months.

SANCHEZ: All right. Julian Zelizer and David --

GERGEN: If I may, Boris, let me add on to that because Julian is absolutely right.

SANCHEZ: I'm sorry, we are totally out of time here.

GERGEN: Every president I know has depended upon the daily briefing from the intelligence community is invaluable to the president. There's a reason you start every morning with that intelligence briefing.

And for this incoming president to refuse for intelligence briefing six days out of seven is extremely disturbing. The world is changing a lot faster than his remarks suggest. The world is volatile right now and it's extraordinarily important. It's part of the job of the president of the United States and essential part of the job to keep up with that and stay on top of it.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it's fascinating. He response, of course, he said that he's a smart guy and that he doesn't need those briefings every day. David and Julian, thank you so much for the time on this Sunday.

GERGEN: Thank you. SANCHEZ: Well, it is the biggest deal between the U.S. company and

Iran since 1979. Boeing inking a massive $16 billion deal to sell dozens of jets to Iran. And yes, the same Boeing company that Donald Trump just blasted over the price tag of a new presidential jet. The details on the deal and more, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: It is a historic deal. Boeing has finalized an agreement to sell 80 airplanes to Iran. The deal is valued at more than $16 billion. But it faces some stiff opposition from many lawmakers including President-elect Donald Trump who's repeatedly said that he will undo the deal that President Obama made with Iran.

And Trump has already had Boeing in his crosshairs. In case you missed it, he sent out this tweet earlier this week about a different deal saying, "Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents but cost are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order."

Joining me now on the phone to discuss this is CNN's Aviation Editor Jon Ostrower. Also with me is Christian Davenport, he's the aerospace industry reporter for "The Washington Post".

Jon, let's start with you. Boeing has set its contract with the Iran Air was done with government approval but we know that Trump has been highly critical of the Iran nuclear accord, the deal that allowed this to happen. Is Boeing concerned at all that trump might just doom this deal?

JON OSTROWER, CNN AVIATION EDITOR: Well, as far as Boeing's relationship with the president-elect right now, it is a bit all over the place. I think Boeing is wondering what President Trump is going to actually govern, whether it's a pragmatic Trump looking out for U.S. interest industry and U.S. industry or more populous Trump responding to the geopolitical link to the domestic political sentiment around trade and around their relationship that that Boeing and the U.S. has with trading partners.

As far as this deal goes, it is been of huge priority for the Obama administration and really kind of the crown jewel of the economic component that was really the carrot to get this deal over the line and get Iran to play ball on this.

As far as President Trump's attitude toward this, clearly nothing is clear. You know, we've seen President Trump take actually a varied line on this; he criticized the deal. Earlier in the year saying Boeing didn't have the chance to get a big enough piece of it when the Airbus deal was announced and, you know, when we hear that the deal itself was bad. So, exactly what and how that manifests itself for Boeing and for U.S. industry is really a massive open question head long into January 20th.

SANCHEZ: Yes, one of many moving forward. Christian, Trump was very critical about Boeing's Air Force One price tag. How's the aviation industry as a whole reacting to him singling out companies like this? I mean Boeing's stock price dropped nearly $2 a share after that tweet. It bounced back up but this has to be concerning for the aviation industry.

CHRISTIAN DAVENPORT, AEROSPACE INDUSTRY REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Yes, absolutely. I mean that was a clear shot across the vow (ph) and got everyone's attention, not just at Boeing but throughout the whole defense industry.

Look, it's extraordinary for a president to single out a single program and a single company like that. So you can be sure that everyone paid attention. Certainly, this is a very high-profile procurement, not just because it's a big, expensive one but because it's a symbol of the prestige and power of the presidency.

But what you're seeing here is really sort of unprecedented in the sense that he will go out even before he's president and single out a procurement like this. You did have, in the Obama era, when he first became president, he singled out or John McCain first brought to his attention some of the cost over-runs with the marine one program which had really gone off the rail at the time. And the president then took a hard look at that and and ended up killing that deal and renegotiating it and rebidding it. this

But this deal is different because it has only yet just beginning as one defense analyst told me, it hasn't really even had the chance yet to go over budget.

SANCHEZ: Yes. It certainly is a historic deal if it goes through. Chris davenport, Jon Ostrower, thank you both so much.

The president of Turkey is now vowing revenge after twin bombings killed dozens of people outside of a soccer match. Most of the victims, police officers. More than 100 others were hurt. We have a live report from Istanbul.

Plus, Egypt is calling for three days of mourning after a deadly terror attack, lost a Christian church in Cairo. We have details on that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We're following two major international stories this hour. Explosions, devastating parts of Turkey and Egypt. Twin bombings in Istanbul killed at least 38 people, most of them police officers. The first blast was caught on surveillance camera. Watch this.

At the moment, a car explodes outside of a heavily populated soccer arena. Shortly after, a suicide bomber blew himself up less than a mile away. Thirteen people have been arrested in connection with the terror attacks.

Meantime in Cairo, local medias reporting that at least 25 people were killed, dozens more injured after an explosion in a small church that was attached to a Christian cathedral. It's still unclear who or what cause that blast though. We've got reporters on the ground covering both of these stories. Let's start with CNN Correspondent Muhammad Lila in Istanbul for an update. Muhammad, what are you learning about that attack?

MUHAMMAD LILA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good afternoon, Boris, we're learning that a Kurdish group by the name of the TAK, that's the Kurdish Freedom Hawks, they're a splinter from another major Kurdish militant group.

While TAK has claimed responsibility for this attack, they've said they weren't directly targeting civilians, that their target were the police. But we know that of the 38 people killed, a number of them were civilians. And of course there are a lot of civilians amongst the 155 who were injured as well.

Now all of this has prompted a very fiery backlash from the Turkish government. This is what Turkey's President Erdogan had to say today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, PRESIDENT OF TURKEY (narrator): They are traitors and cowards that attacked these young men at a police department. They attacked with heavy-loaded explosives at two locations while they were all getting ready to work and left us with a heavy tragedy. They need to know that we will not let this go unpunished and that they will pay a higher price for which they need to understand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LILA: And Boris, you just heard some very strong words there from the Turkish leader and also other Turkish senior officials have been saying that this is part of a campaign of terror that's been targeting Turkey and they are vowing to exact revenge on this group.

SANCHEZ: All right. Muhammad Lila reporting from Istanbul. Thank you, Muhammad.

CNN'S International Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh has more on the explosion in Egypt -- Nick.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this blast and it stays unclear who is behind it but some reports suggest maybe TNT, pretty serious explosive was used. So that's denied by one police source, targeted the real symbolic heart of the Christian Coptic place in Egypt St. Mark's Cathedral.

The cathedral itself where, in fact, Pope Tawadros II actually has his headquarters, he received many condolence messages today, but in fact targeted St. Peter and Paul's Church just adjacent to it.

Now we understand the device was inside the church itself. We don't know how it got in there at this point but harrowing still images and video from inside sadly show people actually having to elect body parts because of the intensity of the blast. Substantial damaged done to that ancient building itself and real a blow to the Christian corps of Egypt. They are minority often persecuted and have perhaps felt that President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi might grant them some extra level of protection after a very hurried past, but now it appears they are very much on edge.

About 10 percent of the population and scenes of anger outside of that church itself. Even pro-government TV anchors were in fact targeted by the crowd. As I say, it is unclear who's responsible for this.

In fact, one potential candidate for the blame has released a statement condemning the blast. You have heard condemnation from leading Sunni religious authorities saying how this is an attack on all Egyptians and the Egyptian (inaudible) called it a deplorable act of terrorism.

That's been echoed by Egyptian President Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi and he's declared three days of mourning. But yet again, at the heart of Christian cox and the Egyptian capital a deadly blast. Questions about security and real fears for ordinary Egyptian Christians tonight. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Beirut.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: Nick Paton Walsh, thank you.

Ahead, Marco Rubio taking aim at Trump's potential pick for secretary of state. The Florida senator calling the Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson, quote, "a friend of Putin." So what do we know about the man who is reportedly leading Mitt Romney in the race to become America's top diplomat? Details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: This is CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Boris Sanchez in for Fredricka Whitfield. Thank you so much for joining us.

We should be alarmed, that's the message from a bipartisan group of senators today, after learning that the CIA has evidence that Russia interfered in the U.S. election in order to benefit Donald Trump. Among those senators, Chuck Schumer who will serve as the Senate's top Democrat in the Trump era.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: A lot of this is now it seems is done by governments, foreign governments and that raises things to a much higher level and the fact that they hacked and may have tried to influence an election is even more serious still. Our election process should be sacrosanct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:35:00]SANCHEZ: But Donald Trump says he doesn't trust the reporting on Russia's involvement or the sources providing that intelligence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: If you read the stories, the various stories, they are disputing and certain groups don't necessarily agree. Personally, it could be Russia. I don't really think it is but who knows? I don't know either. They don't know and I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Meantime back at transition headquarters, sources say that Donald Trump is closer than even to choosing his secretary of state and the likely pick is ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson.

Trump tweeted about him this morning, writing, quote, "Whether I choose him or not for state, Rex Tillerson, the chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil is a world class player dealmaker. Stay tuned."

Even before making it official, critics are already expressing outrage particularly over Tillerson's relationship with Russia. Florida Senator Marco Rubio tweeting out, quote, "Being a friend of Vladimir is not an attribute I'm hoping for from a secretary of state."

It's worth noting that in 2011, Exxon signed a deal with a Russian oil giant whose larger shareholder is the Russian government. Soon after the signing, Putin awarded Tillerson the country's Order of Friendship. So how close are Vladimir Putin and Rex Tillerson? CNN's Rachel Crane takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REX TILLERSON, CEO, EXXONMOBIL: When I was a brand new engineer with Exxon in 1975 --

RACHEL CRANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He runs one of the world's biggest companies, Rex Tillerson, CEO of ExxonMobil has spent his entire career at the oil giant.

TILLERSON: We are the largest American oil company --

CRANE: Born in Wichita Falls, Texas, and a lifelong boy scout, Tillerson joined Exxon fresh out of the University of Texas in 1975 starting as a production engineer. He worked his way up the ranks and became CEO and chairman in 2006 and has amassed a fortune, estimated to be over $240 million, according to executive data provider, Equalar.

Tillerson has no experience in the public sector but his work at Exxon has taken him all over the world and he's forged close ties to Russia.

REINCE PRIEBUS, INCOMING WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: This is a guy who has business relationships in every continent in the entire world.

CRANE: Tillerson received the distinguished Order of Friendship Award from Vladimir Putin in 2013. He describes his nearly two decade-long relationship with the Russian president as, quote, "very close."

TILLERSON: He understands that I'm a businessman. I've invested a lot of money -- our company has invested a lot of money in Russia, very successfully.

CRANE: His business acumen and extensive work overseas has caught the attention and gained the respect of President-elect Trump. TRUMP: In his case he is more than a business executive. I mean, he is a world-class player. To me, a great advantage is he knows many of the players and knows them well. He does massive deals in Russia. He does massive deals for the company, not for himself, but for the company.

CRANE: Under Tillerson's leadership, the oil became softened its stand on climate change, publicly acknowledging its existence and potential risks.

TILLERSON: I'm not disputing that increasing CO2 emissions in the atmosphere will have an impact. It will have a warming impact. How large it is, is what is hard for anyone to predict.

CRANE: Tillerson, who is 64, is expected to retire as CEO of ExxonMobil when he turns 65 in March, the mandatory retirement age at the company. Rachel Crane, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: All right, let's chat about this with CNN senior law enforcement analyst, Tom Fuentes. He is also the former assistant director of the FBI.

Tom, we have to take a step back and start with the accusations against Russia for allegedly trying to influence the outcome of the election. Donald Trump has said that it is impossible to tell if it was Russia.

He said it is possible it is Russia or possible it was China or somebody in New Jersey. In your experience, is it really possible to find a smoking gun in this scenario?

TOM FUENTES, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I think, Boris, at this point there has not been enough information released to really make that judgment call. I think that we had these allegations surface, long before the election, that the Wikileaks and other postings that were going out were the fault of the Russians.

That the Russians were trying to discredit the Hillary Clinton campaign, and they were responsible for providing these presumably to Wikileaks so that Wikileaks could release it.

We heard nothing at the time and President Obama said nothing at the time. There was no outrage at the time. Just the Russians are hacking in to e-mails and putting information out.

Now as far as the election itself, the Russians are not in a position to hack in to the voting machines because they are not connected to the internet. They are only connected to an electrical outlet so they can operate.

[14:40:02]So, really the allegation is that the information went out, that no one is disputing the truthfulness of it just that the information went out and was extremely critical of a number of people in the Clinton campaign. And therefore was an embarrassment both to the DNC and to the people closest to Clinton including John Podesta. We haven't seen any direct evidence yet to say that it is -- you know, that it is directly linked to Russia.

SANCHEZ: Interesting. Senator Chuck Schumer admits that he will not get classified briefings until early January. The inauguration is January 20th. Is that enough time to conduct an investigation like this?

FUENTES: Well, it's a good question. I think that there's been, as I said, there's been enough alleged already for several months that they should already have a great deal of the information.

But I just find it interesting that President Obama didn't call for an investigation of this prior to the election, waits until a month after it and wants it done right away so we have the results before inauguration day. So to me it is rather puzzling how they are going about this.

SANCHEZ: Yes, certainly a lot of anger among Clinton supporters that the administration didn't go after Russia more aggressively. So let's say that this investigation yields something nefarious. That ultimately we come up with indisputable evidence. What does the U.S. do then? Can they bring charges against Russia, would Obama impose sanctions? What do you think?

FUENTES: Well, he could. I mean, he could impose sanctions, but we have had so many government systems hacked into during the last couple of years during this administration that we don't know what exactly happened after.

Where the allegations against North Korea in the Sony attack, allegations against China where members of Chinese military were charged with hacking in to our systems, the hacking in to OPM, releasing thousands of personal files belonging to current and past government employees.

So this has been basically a drum beat of steady hacks into U.S. sensitive systems. We haven't heard a whole lot being mentioned about what was being done, what kind of sanctions and retaliation. Now all of a sudden we are going to do something and it's after the election.

SANCHEZ: We have to ask about Rex Tillerson. Our sources telling us that he is now the frontrunner for secretary of state. He has some overseas experience, mostly in a business capacity. He is not really a diplomat. Are you comfortable with his closeness with Russia if he becomes secretary of state?

FUENTES: Well, the question when we say closeness, yes, they do deals. He is operating that company in 50 other countries around the world and there will be a certain amount of negotiation and give and take and trying to pat each other on the back in terms of these deals.

It also tells you that that is 50 other countries that he's intimately aware of their culture, of what the country's aspirations are, what they want to do, what they want from U.S. companies and vice-versa.

So, it's hard to tell how friendly and I know the Russians have given him some award and all of that, but those kind of things are usually superficial any way. So the fact he is knowledgeable of how to do business around the world is a pretty significant achievement on his part and qualification.

SANCHEZ: Donald Trump calling him a player, a world player. Tom Fuentes, thank you so much for your perspective.

Ahead, Vice President Joe Biden keeping the door open for a run in 2020. In an exclusive interview with CNN, Biden discusses everything from a potential White House bid and to what he thinks of the state of the Democratic Party in the wake of some big election losses. That story next.

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[14:47:37]

SANCHEZ: Vice President Biden is downplaying speculation that he could have beaten Donald Trump had he been the Democratic nominee this year. He spoke exclusively on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning with Jake Tapper. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": You told Stephen Colbert that in 2020, you'll be 78, but Donald Trump will be 74 so age isn't going to be an issue, I suppose?

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, look, age could be very much an issue and it might not be. It depends on the state of my health and the health of whomever is running. But look, as you know, Jake, four years is a lifetime in American politics. I think that nominees are determined by their parties based mostly on what skill set is most needed at that time. Who knows where we will be four years from now when people really start looking seriously what they're going to do?

TAPPER: Millions of jobs have been created since you and President Obama took office. Hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs have disappeared. A lot of voters feel that Washington, D.C. has sold them out. Do you understand why they feel that way?

BIDEN: Yes, I do. Look -- first of all, we brought back a lot of manufacturing jobs. Had we not rescued the automobile industry we'd have a million fewer manufacturing jobs out there. But what they didn't see us focusing on because we were trying to keep the car from going off the cliff was how do you -- what do you do to help me deal with how fundamentally manufacturers change.

TAPPER: You don't think that Hillary Clinton said?

BIDEN: She said it but she never got a chance to say -- if you know this, and I know you know this, you can't find -- I bet 10 percent of the people can tell you what Hillary's plan was how she's going to provide free education.

It got drowned out by the most vicious campaign and craziest campaign I've ever witnessed in the last since I have been involved. It's either the bulk of the debate was about e-mails and/or his boorish behavior.

TAPPER: He did say a lot that the trade deals sold out the American people and that he was going to bring those jobs back and he was going to fight for the American worker. That did cut through.

[14:50:05]BIDEN: That cut through but there was no detail about anything.

TAPPER: Do you think you could have done a better job?

BIDEN: I don't know. They may have beaten me alive. Who knows what would have happened? And I really mean that. I don't know. I learned how to become popular. Running for president you are the most popular guy out there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: A Democratic lawmaker is sending a controversial message to the Electoral College -- consider Russia's hacking when casting your votes. We will talk to him coming up.

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SANCHEZ: We are just few hours away from a star-studded event tonight, "CNN Heroes, An All-Star Tribute" with Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa. It starts tonight at 8:00 and we have a look at one of CNN's ten heroes, Becca Stevens is a survivor of sexual abuse and dedicated her life to helping women escape prostitution, trafficking and addiction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECCA STEVENS: All I wanted to do is open one house and invite five women to come in who all had been survivors of trafficking addiction, prostitution and say come and stay for two years. No cost, no authority in the house. Just come and be together.

When a woman comes in, we give her a key. This is your beautiful home, this is your place to be. That's the mindset. It can be lavish and economical. You can do all of this and you can house people for half of what it costs to house them in prison for a year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:55:09]SANCHEZ: Worthwhile cause and you can donate to Becca's nonprofit along with the other nine honorees organizations online. Starting tonight at 8:00, all donations will be matched up to $50,000 per hero. Here's a preview of what is in store for tonight.

(VIDEO AD CLIP FOR CNN HEROES ALL-STAR TRIBUTE)

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SANCHEZ: This is CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Boris Sanchez in for Fredricka Whitfield. We start today with a bipartisan group of high profile senator --