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At This Hour

White House to Announce 100 Million Adults Now Fully Vaccinated; Daily Beast: Gaetz Associate Wrote in Letter That GOP Congressman Paid for Sex with 17-Year-Old Minor; Giuliani Denies Wrongdoing After FBI Raids Home & Office; Crematoriums Overflow as COVID Crisis Gets Worse in India. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired April 30, 2021 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:06]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: The all new CNN original series "THE STORY OF LATE NIGHT" premiers Sunday at 9:00. It should be fun.

Thanks so much to you for joining us today. I'm Jim Sciutto. I hope you have a great weekend.

AT THIS HOUR WITH KATE BOLDUAN starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us.

At this hour, we're going to get an update from the White House on the fight against the pandemic. And by all indications, they should have good news. I know it feels rare that we're able to bring that to you many times. Good news.

There is major progress on all fronts in the fight against the pandemic here in the United States. Let me play for you how Dr. Ashish Jha described it this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: I think question confidently say the worst is behind us. Barring some crazy unforeseen variant that none of us are expecting to happen, we'll not see the kinds of sufferings and death that we have seen over the holidays. I think we are in a much better shape getting forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: The rate of new weekly COVID-19 deaths, look at the charts. It hit a record low for the year. The number of hospitalizations from this virus is also way down since January. And new cases are also dropping significantly across the country.

Most experts say this is largely thanks to vaccines. And at any moment, the White House is expected to announce 100 million adults in the United States are now fully vaccinated.

But just as the U.S. is beginning to breathe a sigh of relief, the situation in it India is the exact opposite.

This is the scene there right now. Bodies are piling up faster than workers can cremate them as the death toll is climbing there daily. Overwhelmed hospitals are running out of essential supplies. Down to oxygen and beds they're out of.

So what impact will that country's downward spiral have on the global fight against the pandemic and any hope of the world returning to normal? We're going to see if that is addressed in the COVID-19 briefing as well this hour.

Joining me right now in the meantime is Dr. Megan Ranney. She's an emergency room physician at Brown University.

Dr. Ranney, it's good to see you. Thank you for being here.

Let's start talking about India. I want to play for you what an ICU doctor in New Delhi told my colleague John Berman this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. FARAH HUSSEIN, ANESTHESIA SPECIALIST, LOK NAYAK JAI PRAKASH NARAYAN HOSPITAL: What we're seeing is nothing short of an apocalypse. We have patients are being rushed in. Almost ward is getting filled up overnight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: What is happening there in your estimation?

DR. MEGAN RANNEY, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY: So it's a combination of problems, Kate. First is that they released all of those policies that helped to keep COVID-19 at bay too early, things around masking, large social gatherings, indoor get-togethers. And they did that before they had rolled out vaccinations.

Vast minority of Indians received vaccines at this point despite the fact that India is one of the major producers of COVID-19 vaccines for the world through this perfect storm of relaxing masking and physical gathering restrictions with not enough people being vaccinated.

And then as we know from our experiences in it the United States, this virus spreads exponentially. Once it catches fire, it just goes. And because new policy restrictions are not put in place across the country, it continues to spread.

BOLDUAN: Look, comparing that to the United States, you've got the CDC director saying this week she is cautiously optimistic about the direction the United States is going. Dr. Jha, who you know very well, he says he is confident the worst is behind us.

Are you -- are you confident that this progress we're seeing here in the U.S. will stick?

RANNEY: I am 99 percent confident. Our vaccination rates are stellar, as you said, we're announcing later today that 30 percent of American adults have been vaccinated which is just a terrific number. Every vaccine that goes in an arm is an infection prevented not just for that person who got vaccinated but also for those around them.

There is that concern about new variants. And it is entirely possible that there will be a variant for which the vaccines are less effective at protecting us. And in particular with the global spread of COVID-19 with the low rate of vaccinations on an international basis as well as in parts of the U.S., I'm a little worried. I think that COVID-19 is not going to go completely away. But I am overall quite optimistic for our health care system and for our country as a whole.

But, Kate, there is one thing which is although I'm optimistic for the country as a whole, I will say any person in the United States that has not been vaccinated, is still at risk themselves of this horrible outcomes that we've been talking about for the last year, which is an important point, that although our country is likely going to be okay, those individuals may not.

[11:05:05]

Which is why getting your shot is so important.

BOLDUAN: First (ph) it's effective, as Dr. Jha (ph) pointed out, 30 percent of Americans will have -- are now fully vaccinated. Compare that to where they are in India, 2 percent of the population in India is fully vaccinated. You can see that is just one of the vast disparities that we're looking at here.

And with that in mind, what do you think of travel restrictions through the United States at this point? They are currently in place. Travel restrictions preventing people from coming from other countries into the United States like Brazil is one example of, you know, where there are travel restrictions. Yet, there is currently no travel restrictions on people traveling in from India.

I mean, should the United States stop travel from India?

RANNEY: So stopping travel from one country is really, really difficult to do. We saw that as we go back 15 months, we tried to stop travel from China. People just flew to other countries and then came into the United States.

The far more important thing is having good border controls to make sure that first people have had a negative test before they come into the United States. And, second, making sure that they actual quarantine and get a second negative test before they go out and mix in society.

Stopping people from any individual country from coming in is nearly impossible. The important thing is what to do once you get here, which is make sure you quarantine and have a negative test.

BOLDUAN: One more thing on masks. I want to play for you what President Biden said in an interview. He was asked about continuing to wear a mask outside even though he is vaccinated. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH R. BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The likelihood of my being able outside and people not come up to me is not very high. So it's like, look, you and I took our masks off when I came n because look at the distance we are. But if we were in fact sitting there talking to one another close, I'd have my mask on. I imagine you would have a mask even though we've both been vaccinated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: He said it is still your responsibility. But when you consider the science we have now and guidance from the CDC, does the president's answer make sense?

RANNEY: It does. I think that here's the important thing is each individual person can make the choice to wear a mask themselves when they're outside.

The biggest risk is when you are close to someone. Right, when you think about how this virus spreads, Kate, it spreads through the air and it spread through plumes of virus. Just like how cigarette smoke spreads from one person to the next.

And if you're sitting close to someone, the chance of you smelling their cigarette is high. Similarly, if they're infectious, the chance of them graving the virus on you is also high.

Now, if both people are vaccinated, that risk is almost zero. And that's where removing masks sense even if you're close together. But if you don't know if the person close to you is vaccinated or not, then wearing a mass is a fine thing to do.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, it's good to see you, Doctor. Thank you so much.

We're going to have much more ahead on the COVID surge sweeping across India. Our colleague Clarissa Ward is there, and her reporting is nothing short of devastating. You do not want to miss this. We're going to bring to you and we're going to take you there in just a moment.

But also new this morning, the problems for Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz are mounting. Important reporting out now from "The Daily Beast" that says Gaetz's associate Joel Greenberg wrote a letter admitting he and the congressman paid multiple women for sex including an underage girl of 17 years old.

CNN has not seen that letter. This is from "The Daily Beast", and so has not able to independently verify these details yet.

Joining me right now for more on this, though, is CNN's Paula Reid.

Paula, can you walk us through this letter? It's pretty devastating.

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: It is devastating, Kate. Joel Greenberg reportedly wrote a letter admitting that he engaged pay for sex with multiple women, including a minor who was just 17 at the time.

Now the letter was drafted after Greenberg reportedly asked Roger Stone, a close ally and president of former President Donald Trump for help in obtaining a pardon in the final months of the Trump administration.

Now in an earlier draft of this letter obtained by "The Daily Beast," Greenberg claims he engaged and thought one of the women was 19 years old but later learned she was actually under age. Now, Greenberg reportedly claims that when he learned of this, he immediately called the congressman and warned him to steer clear.

Now CNN has not seen this letter and cannot verify the details of "The Daily Beast's" story. But we have spoken to several women involved with these two men and we have reported that Greenberg paid women on behalf of Congressman Gaetz after some sexual encounters.

Now, CNN's own Chris Cuomo spoke with Roger Stone last night. Stone says he doesn't recall any letter. He says he never heard Greenberg implicate Gaetz and that he never tried to get Greenberg a pardon. Stone also said he never asked nor received any money from Greenberg.

BOLDUAN: All right. Paula, thank you very much. Appreciate.

So, from Matt Gaetz to another close friend of Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, facing new problems of his own with the Justice Department and the FBI.

"The Washington Post" is now reporting Giuliani once was warned specifically by FBI officials back in 2019 about Russia's disinformation campaign against Joe Biden, that he was a target of Russia's efforts.

[11:10:10]

At the same time, in a separate investigation, Giuliani is defending himself now and promising to fight after his home was raided by the FBI.

CNN's Kara Scannell is standing by. She's got more on this.

Kara, start with "The Washington Post" reporting. What exactly are they saying?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN REPORTER: Hi, Kate.

Yeah, "The Washington Post" reporting last night that in 2019, the FBI counterintelligence division, agents from there, had given Rudy Giuliani what's known as a defensive briefing, telling him he is targeted by Russian misinformation. That Russians were trying to give him false information relating to Joe Biden that could be politically damaging to Joe Biden.

Now, CNN had previously reported that the White House and Congress had been given these kinds of defensive briefings about misinformation coming from foreign officials. But this new reporting from "The Post" says that Giuliani was briefed in 2019 and then following that briefing, Giuliani then went on a trip to Ukraine and met with some of the officials who were later identified as being actors of Russian intelligence.

Now, Giuliani's attorney has not responded to our request for a comment. Giuliani had previously told CBS though that never receives such a briefing -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: So what is Giuliani now saying about this investigation and the raid?

SCANNELL: Yeah. So, last night, Giuliani was on Fox. He gave the first interview about the FBI raid at his apartment just behind me on Wednesday. And Giuliani said that the officials there had seized seven or eight electronic devices. They came banging on door first thing in the morning.

Now, investigation into Giuliani's efforts in Ukraine where he was looking for dirt on Joe Biden and where he was pushing for the removal of the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. The question that prosecutors are looking at was that part of the effort that Giuliani was undertaking on behalf of his client, then President Donald Trump, or was Giuliani working for Ukrainian officials who were wanting Yovanovitch's removal?

Giuliani last night addressed this. He said that the evidence the FBI seized would be exculpatory and he never represented a foreign agent. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP'S PERSONAL ATTORNEY: The evidence is exculpatory. It proves that the president and I and all of us are innocent. They're the ones committing -- it's like projection. They're committing the crimes, the search warrant is purportedly based on one single failure to file for representing a Ukrainian national or official that I never represented. I've never represented a Ukrainian national or official before the United States government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL: Now Giuliani is also teeing up a potential legal fight here, saying that his constitutional rights were violated because the FBI and prosecutors had obtained information from his iCloud account in 2019 when working with then President Trump on the impeachment -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Kara, thank you very much.

Coming up, Donald Trump won Florida in 2020. But still Republican lawmakers are changing the laws there to make mail in voting harder. Why?

Plus, we're going take you to India, where the COVID-19 surge there is being described at this point as apocalyptic.

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[11:17:43]

BOLDUAN: Nothing short of an apocalypse, that is how an ICU doctor in India describes the horrifying scenes that she's seeing in her hospital and community right now. The official number is more than 380,000 new coronavirus infections there. That is just today, that is a record for any country across the globe.

Dead bodies are piling up so fast there that crematoriums are now forced to operate around clock.

CNN's Clarissa Ward is on the ground in New Delhi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Delhi now, you're never far from heartbreak. Almost everyone in the city has been visited by grief.

At this Seepamuri crematorium, the loss weighs heavily in the smoldering air, and the dead are piling up.

There are bodies literally everywhere you turn here. I have honestly never seen anything quite like it. And the organizers say that pre- COVID, they might cremate 7 or 8 people a day. Today alone, they have already cremated 55 bodies, and it's not even lunchtime.

Just months ago, India's leadership boasted that the country had effectively defeated COVID. Now, it has set global records for new cases as a terrifying second wave ravages the country.

Yutander Singh Shante (ph) says he and his men don't even stop to take breaks, and still, they can barely cope with the flow.

A volunteer approaches. They've run out of tables for the bodies, he says, then adds that his mother died from COVID the night before.

You must be tired?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very. But this is not the time for the rest.

WARD: Do you believe the government figures, the death tolls, the COVID figures they are giving, or do you think the real figures are much higher?

The numbers that you're seeing on television are the numbers of people who are dying in hospitals, he says. They're not factoring in the people who died at home in isolation. If those numbers are added, the actual number will go up by three times.

[11:20:04]

To keep up with the mounting numbers, the crematorium has been forced to expand, creating an overflow area in a neighboring car park.

Sham Sharma (ph) is saying goodbye to his 45-year-old younger brother.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last night, I was thinking his health was improving, but suddenly, the doctor called my mobile phone that your brother has expired.

WARD: Do you think his death could have been prevented?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes. I think we can save -- we can save him with better health hospital.

WARD: India's health care system is at a breaking point, unable to cope with the scale of the crisis, its people are left to fend for themselves.

This crowd has been waiting for 6 hours to the chance to get some oxygen. They can't rely on the state.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mother --

WARD: Your mother, how old is she?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Forty-seven.

WARD: Is her oxygen very low?

[10:10:01]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's in very critical condition.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifty-eight percent and we are trying since morning, but we are not getting the oxygen anywhere.

WARD: How many places have you've been to?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nineteen.

WARD: Nineteen?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, since morning, since 6:00 a.m.

WARD: Have you tried taking her to the hospital?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are no beds.

WARD: There are no beds?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before four days, we have tried to so much, but we didn't get any beds.

WARD: Freah Shevastriva (ph) was lucky enough to find her mother a place in a hospital, only to find out there was no oxygen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) What should I do? I am so scared of what will happen with my mom.

WARD: Are you angry? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am so angry because the disorganization. Our

government is so careless. They even don't care about what public is suffering. They don't know from which thing we are suffering. There are so many people standing over there and fighting for this thing.

WARD: Her mother is now in critical condition. Like many here, she feels completely overwhelmed.

For those who can't source their own oxygen, this is the only option, a drive-in oxygen center by the side of the road. A woman arrives unconscious in a rickshaw. Several hospitals have already turned her away. They simply didn't have the beds.

Now, she is relying on the kindness of strangers. Her sons work desperately to try to revive her.

This isn't a hospital or even a clinic. It is a Sikh temple, but for these people who have already been turned away from so many hospitals, this is their last chance at survival.

The leader of the Sikh charity that runs this facility says it gets no support at all from the government. He says he already had COVID twice, but he and his volunteers continue to work 24 hours a day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to save their lives. This is our heart's voice.

WARD: It must hurt your heart to see the way your people are suffering?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, madam. Many times, we cry also at what is going on.

WARD: It is impossible to escape the tragedy of this vicious second wave. Coronavirus is ravaging the old, but it has not spared India's young.

The prime minister has announced that everyone over the age of 18 can get the vaccine, but with less than 2 percent of the country inoculated, that offers only a distant hope.

So, India's capital continues to burn, suffocated by the rampant spread of this deadly virus, a city and a country brought to its knees, praying for respite.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Clarissa is joining me now.

I mean desperation, Clarissa. That is the only thing I keep thinking when I watch your reporting here.

[11:25:01]

You've seen so many tragedies in all of your reporting trips. But can you put some context around what you're seeing there? WARD: You know, I mean, you're right. It's utter desperation. And the

thing that just makes the mind boggle, Kate, is that India hasn't even hit the peak of this wave yet. Scientists are saying that could be another two or three weeks.

How are these people expected to continue like this? How are those people you saw every day out there in those lines waiting for oxygen sometimes for eight, nine hours on end with no guarantee that they will even get to receive something that, frankly, in much of the world we take for granted? Something like oxygen.

The idea that this has become such a precious commodity really underscores just how dire this situation is. How huge this tragedy is. And really, the sense of impotence and despair and frustration and fear that so many people feel in the face of it.

BOLDUAN: What is the government doing?

WARD: So they've announced a number of initiatives. We mentioned they said that they're going to open vaccinations now as of tomorrow to anyone over the age of 18. Well, Kate, guess what? A number of states have already come forward and said, please don't all come. Try to get your vaccine as of once as of tomorrow, because we don't have the supplies to make that happen.

The government also announced this program called oxygen -- Operation Oxygen Express, essentially trying to move liquid oxygen around to the hardest hit areas of the country, using this country's railway system. That's been in effect for over 24 hours. Frankly, we have not seen any substantial difference yet on the ground -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Still pushing people to go out to the polls and vote in the election. This is a failure in leadership, at its most horrific level.

Thank you, Clarissa. You're doing an amazing job.

Coming up for us, an important swing state that Donald Trump won in 2020, now close to big changes and making it harder for people to vote, the change that's Republican lawmakers are trying to make, we're going to explain it next.

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