Return to Transcripts main page

The Lead with Jake Tapper

New CNN Reporting: Ukrainian Officials Disagree With W.H. Assessment That Russian Invasion Is "Imminent;" McConnell Warns GOP Candidates Who Don't Accept 2020 Results; Pelosi Announces She Is Running For Re-election; Study: IVF Patients' Fertility Not Affected By mRNA Vaccines; Israeli Health Officials Recommend Fourth Shot For All Adults; WHO Predicts "Emergency Phase" Of Pandemic Will End This Year; Prosecutors Union Sues L.A. District Attorney Over Reform Directives; SAT Exam To Go Completely Digital, Shortened To 2 Hours By 2024. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired January 25, 2022 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'll be completely honest with you, it's a little bit like reading tea leaves.

MJ LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Biden on high alert as tensions continue to simmer on the Russia Ukraine border. Visiting a clothing store in Washington, DC Tuesday, the President suggesting it is nearly impossible to predict whether and when Vladimir Putin might invade Ukraine.

BIDEN: There's been no change in the posture of the Russian forces. This is all Putin. I don't think even as people know, for certain, what he's going to do

LEE (voice-over): This as the Biden administration already has some 8,500 U.S. troops on heightened alert for deployment. The Pentagon now saying that number could increase in the coming days. But the President making this assurance.

BIDEN: We have no intention of putting American forces or NATO forces in Ukraine.

LEE (voice-over): A frenzy of activity this week, national security officials holding classified briefings with congressional staffers on the situation in Ukraine.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We're also working on all members briefings for the House and the Senate in the coming days.

LEE (voice-over): American citizens in Ukraine including nonessential staff at the U.S. Embassy urge to leave the country while the U.S. prepares to share its concerns with Russia in writing. And a warning from the Department of Homeland Security that, if provoked, Russia could launch a cyberattack against the U.S. PSAKI: Broadly, we are always preparing for any action that related to cyber, any other activity that any country could take.

LEE (voice-over): The President in close consultation with world leaders.

BIDEN: We're all on the same page. We're going to make it clear that there's no reason for anyone, any member of NATO to worry whether or not we would -- we NATO would come to their defense.

LEE (voice-over): The diplomatic push continues with Putin set to talk by phone with French President Emmanuel Macron this week. Ukraine's Foreign Minister telling CNN the readiness of American troops speaks volumes.

DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: I think it's a message to Putin that, listen, whatever you're trying to achieve you get the opposite.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LEE: So President Biden making clear that he's leaving many, many options on the table, including the possibility of personally sanctioning Vladimir Putin. And Jake, on the question of whether the President may be speaking again with Vladimir Putin, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki telling reporters today no announcement on that front, but that Biden is always open to engaging at a leader to leader level. Jake.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: MJ Lee at the White House, thank you so much.

Joining us live to discuss, Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance is in Kiev, International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson who is in Moscow.

Matthew, let me start with you. Today, the White House press secretary said that a Russian invasion of Ukraine remains, quote, "imminent." Ukraine disputes that. They say that that's not the case. What are you hearing?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. I mean, they're pushing back Ukrainian officials that I spoken to on that characterization that the threat is imminent. Saying that, look, you know, we've got defense officials here, intelligence assessors, looking at satellite photographs from the U.S. and from other Western intelligence agencies on an hourly basis. And they say they're not seeing Russia forces getting into combat mode or positioning themselves for an attack. And so, they really are pushing back and saying it's dangerous the situation rather than imminent.

Furthermore, the Ukraine official that I've spoken to said that, you know, according to the defense assessment here, the intelligence assessment here, no order appears to have been given to the Russian forces. And remember, there are 10s of 1000s of them that have masked near the border of the country across the other side of it, mainly on Russian territory. No order has been given yet. But even if an order comes down, it could take between one week and two weeks before those forces, as they're currently arranged, would be ready to actually move in and stage some kind of incursion or some kind of invasion.

So, you know, yet again, we've seen, well, on the one hand, publicly, Ukraine officials welcoming the support they're getting from the United States. In fact, one Ukrainian presidential advisor telling me this evening that, you know, United States has really been stepping up its military support and its diplomatic support for Ukraine over the past couple of days. And that's very welcome here in Kiev.

There is a difference of opinion when it comes to particularly the language and there's been some frustration expressed by Ukrainian officials about the way, for instance, President Biden suggested that a minor incursion may be met with a lesser response than a full invasion, although that language was massaged by the White House. And, of course, a decision earlier this week by the United States to allow diplomats to leave the country because of the security situation and to order families of diplomats out of the country. There's been some frustration, as I say, expressed by Ukrainian officials about that.

TAPPER: Nic Robertson in Moscow, the Kremlin is accusing the Biden administration of escalating tensions after Biden told the Pentagon to order at 8500 U.S. service members to be on standby to basically prepare for a possible deployment to Eastern Europe. How would Russia respond if they were actually deployed?

[17:05:21]

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: At the moment, they're really sort of holding their position. That is, they're going to negotiate with the United States and NATO on their key demands. They're waiting for their responses. Their diplomatic crack is open there, if you will, sort of on a pause waiting for those written responses to come in.

But yes, the Kremlin spokesman today said that that possible deployment would be a cause for concern. He also said a cause for concern is what he described as a Ukrainian military buildup of troops and military hardware close to the front line with this pro-Russian separatists in the east of Ukraine in the Donbass region. Although a Kremlin spokesman said that something that the President Putin's diplomatic representative from the Russian presidency will raise tomorrow in Paris with the Ukrainian representative and the German and French representative at the Normandy format talks.

This is talks that began seven years ago to get over the Russia's initial invasion of Ukraine back in 2014. It deals with the so called Minsk II agreement. But this seems to be an area where President Putin thinks that he might be able to get some concessions. And this is, you know, a potential opportunity because France and Germany, who will sit at the table as well, do not have quite a strong opposition on Russia as the United States does and as the U.K. does, for example. And again, Russia and Ukraine representatives, low level diplomats at the same table tomorrow, Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Nic Robertson in Moscow, Matthew Chance in Kiev, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

Joining us live to discuss, retired Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, former European Affairs Director for the National Security Council during the Trump administration.

I want to start, Lieutenant Colonel. with the report we just heard from Matthew Chance that the Ukrainians are not happy with White House comments that an invasion to them seems imminent. What's your reaction? What goes through your head when you hear that reporting?

LT. COL. ALEXANDER VINDMAN (RET.), FORMER EUROPEAN AFFAIRS DIRECTOR, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Well, there's -- I could understand from the Ukraine perspective why they might want to downplay it. Part of it is this idea that if they do, in fact, start to build up forces too early that could be -- that could precipitate the Russian aggression in their mind. They also want to keep their population calm.

But to me, the most important thing, it's not the words and the rhetoric certainly coming from the Russian side, but it's the deeds. They built up a massive force, they basically closed off all the possibilities of reaching a diplomatic settlement on this by sticking out such a hard position on what they want. They want a ironclad guarantee that Ukraine would not end up in NATO, they want to redesign the European security architecture.

And between leaving no door for diplomacy and this massive military buildup unprecedented, it seems to me clear that the Russians are on the cusp of taking action. I think it's going to be in middle of February. It's something that I've been watching, you know, since October, November. And this, I think, it's bearing out in fact now.

TAPPER: If you were advising President Biden today, what's the next move you would recommend?

VINDMAN: I think in terms of deterrence, we have probably little that we can do at this point. I think the things that are starting to come to bear some cohesion, coherence around sanctions, the forces that are being signaled that will go into Eastern Europe, the military equipment going into Ukraine, those will start to affect the Russian calculus, in some ways, complicated complicating it and maybe even locking in action now as opposed to in the future, right? We have 1000s of Surface to Air and antitank capability missiles going into Ukraine, it's just going to get harder as Ukraine integrates them. But it's all based off of this assessment that a -- offensive is all but certain to happen and this is not what precipitates it, this is what could deter it.

So I think the things to do now to prepare for the day after to posture the United States to secure your U.S. national security interests, to secure NATO and be prepared to act when Russia conducts its offensive.

TAPPER: President Biden was asked today about the possibility of sending U.S. service members, not just into Eastern Europe -- Eastern European nations that are NATO allies, but into Ukraine directly even though Ukraine is not a NATO member state. Take a listen to what he had to say.

[17:10:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: We have no intention of putting American forces or NATO forces in Ukraine. But as I said, there's going to be serious economic consequences if he moves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What's your reaction to that? Do you think there's anything that Putin could do that would cause the U.S. to send service members directly into Ukraine?

VINDMAN: I think that's a quite a realistic possibility. Although, I think every intention is to keep us forces out. The nature of this this offensive that's about to take place, it will be the largest defensive in Europe since World War II. It's going to implicate Eastern European security, Eastern European allies of ours within NATO, the Baltic States, Poland or Romania are likely to provide support.

If the Russians decide to go for even beyond the kind of scary scenario that I've laid out, a all-out offensive, from the north, east and south and sees large portions of Ukrainian territory for some amount of time, I think there's a chance that the U.S. could ultimately get drawn in that's why I've been urging this administration to take action early to deter Russian aggression. I think we're likely beyond that point. We are now facing a geopolitical inflection point.

One of those relatively rare occurrences that will drive geopolitics in the coming years, maybe decade. And we need to be prepared to signal that this is not going to be tolerated. Russia is the largest military power in Europe. But in the big scheme of things, it's really quite small in terms of economic power. And we need to leverage all our tools to limit the fallout from these events that are about to unfold and ensure that the Western democratic order continues to persevere when this is going to be at a fairly significant impact on the Western liberal order with an attack on democracy, Ukrainian democracy.

TAPPER: Lieutenant Colonel Vindman, what would you say to somebody who's watching at home who says, look, I get that your family's from Ukraine, originally, you feel very passionately about protecting that democracy. But on the other hand, you served in Iraq and you still have shrapnel in your body from that war. And I'm speaking now for this hypothetical viewer, and I don't feel comfortable with one American service member getting injured or killed fighting this war. What would you say to them? What are your thoughts on that?

VINDMAN: Well, first of all, I think it's important to just knock down this idea of dual alliances. It's something that the far right has attempted to attack me with -- undermine my credibility during the first impeachment trial of Donald Trump. My concern is has always been for U.S. --

TAPPER: No, no, no. I'm not impugning. I don't mean to impugn you. I just mean, why just the large -- I apologize if you if you thought that I was suggesting that.

VINDMAN: I'm talking to -- Jake, I understand --

TAPPER: OK.

VINDMAN: -- where you're going, I'm just talking about hypothetical viewer that I --

TAPPER: OK.

VINDMAN: -- you're definitely not implying (ph) that. But that my concerns have always been U.S. national security interests above all else. I spent 21 and a half years in military service. And this is all about everybody that's, I think, the consensus view now that's assembling maybe a little bit late around what's going on is about protecting U.S. national security interests.

It's about making sure that this geopolitical catastrophe that looks like it's about to unfold does not further harm U.S. interest, does not further undermine U.S. standing, does not further undermined the Western democratic order that's been constructed and resulted in U.S. prosperity since World War II. It's intended to avoid dragging in the U.S. into another European conflict like it was twice into two world wars. That's what we're talking about here.

We're talking about taking the appropriate steps to secure the U.S. interest to prevent something that could end up becoming much, much bigger. That's what we're talking about. We're not talking about committing U.S. troops to combat in Ukraine.

TAPPER: Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, thank you so much. And as always, thank you for your service, sir.

Inside the terrifying executive order that could have ended America's peaceful transfer of power if Donald Trump had actually signed it.

Then, this is trapped from hundreds of packages stolen from trains in one of America's biggest cities. And it's just one of the crimes fueling outrage aimed at Los Angeles's top prosecutors. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:18:57]

TAPPER: In our politics lead. three pages, three pieces of paper that could have upended the long standing American tradition of separation between U.S. elections and the U.S. military. I'm referring to a draft of an executive order dated December 16, 2020 that went, thankfully, unsigned by then outgoing President Donald Trump. It would have directed the Secretary of Defense to seize voting machines in key states that President Biden won. CNN's Tom Foreman reports the origin of the draft order and how close it came to reality remain murky. But if it had been signed, it could have plunged the country into God knows what.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It reads like a fictional thriller, the inauguration post cone voting machines seized by the military and Donald Trump's presidential power extended by weeks while his handpicked investigators decide who won the election.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: We won this election and we won it by a landslide.

[17:20:00]

FOREMAN (voice-over): The December 2020 draft executive order could have triggered all of that if it had been signed and enacted before Joe Biden's win was certified.

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA), JANUARY 6 SELECT COMMITTEE: And it's a lawless document and really breathtaking in its approach to our American democracy.

FOREMAN (voice-over): So what's in it? According to Politico, the draft is a patchwork of conspiracy theories and dubious legal arguments previously pushed by team Trump. For starters, the paper claims President Trump had a constitutional right to declare an emergency and pull in the Pentagon based on probable cause the vote was rife with fraud.

TRUMP: And decertification of the election --

FOREMAN (voice-over): Court after court had already dismissed those claims.

CHRISTOPHER KREBS, PARTNER, KREBS STAMOS GROUP: The sheer brazenness and, you know, the illegality of it all is pretty shocking.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Chris Krebs once served as Trump's Cyber Security Adviser.

KREBS: This is a violation on its face of Posse Comitatus Act, which is a restriction on using federal troops for domestic law enforcement action.

FOREMAN (voice-over): But there is more, the paper cites a supposed forensic report that found Dominion voting machines used in several battleground states were intentionally and purposefully designed with inherent errors to create systematic fraud and influence election results. The draft falsely says Dominion is owned and controlled by foreign entities, adding multiple expert witnesses identified acts of foreign interference in the election.

But that report was soundly debunked by a much more comprehensive analysis by the state of Michigan. And while a judge cited in the draft did question whether Dominion machines might be subject to tampering, the paper claims it happened. Witnesses in Georgia have provided evidence of crashes, the replacement of a server impermissible updates, but the draft offers no proof. And Dominion officials are suing some Trump advisors for billions for defamation.

GEORGE CONWAY, CONSERVATIVE LAWYER: This was absolute banana republic stuff. No one writing this document or taking this document seriously, in my view, could have been of sound mind.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

FOREMAN: Jake, we don't know who wrote the draft executive order, though there were a lot of rumors. We don't know why it was never signed or if it was seriously considered, but it fits into the desperate maneuvers by team Trump to deny their unequivocal loss at the polls even if this paper was not worth the paper it was written on. Jake.

TAPPER: Tom Foreman, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Do Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and former President Trump want the same thing for the Republican Party in the midterms? CNN talks to Mitch McConnell next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:27:15]

TAPPER: In our politics lead, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, has the midterms on his mind. And while McConnell says he's mostly on the same page as former President Donald Trump, he does have some strong words for Republican candidates who are not embracing the 2020 election results, the reality of those results.

CNN's Manu Raju spoke with Republican leader. He joins us now live.

Manu, tell us about McConnell's strategy.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's trying to avoid nominating candidates he views as unelectable in a general election. And that had been the fear among Republicans that Donald Trump would choose candidates that he does not view as electable and ultimately, they would be left with a situation with a number of weak candidates in the general election. But that has not yet borne out according to McConnell, pointing out that in states like in Nevada and Georgia they are on the same page, noting in primaries like Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Ohio that McConnell is fine with all those candidates there.

They are on the opposite sides in Alaska, where McConnell is trying to help incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski, Trump is going after her but that is a red state likely to stay in Republican hands.

That is concerned McConnell has about Missouri, a Republican primary that could potentially produce a weak candidate if the scandal prone former governor Eric Greitens emerges from that primary. But Trump so far has stayed neutral in that.

Now at the same time, Jake, McConnell is watching the messaging and language coming out of some of the Republican candidates who are embracing Donald Trump's lie that the 2020 election was stolen. He told me this, he said, "It's important for candidates to remember we need to respect the results of our democratic process unless the court system demonstrates that some significant fraud occurred that would change the outcome."

Now at the same time, Jake, McConnell led the fight against efforts by Democrat to expand access at the ballot box. But he is not concerned about that impacting their electoral chances this fall. He told me, "I think I can cop pretty confidently say, we won't lose any elections over that issue anywhere in the country. People are concerned about a wholly different set of concerns. Inflation, out of control border, Afghanistan, the controversy over COVID." He said, "the thought that a single Senate race in America would be decided over that issue strikes me as being wildly out of touch with what the American people are interested in."

And, Jake, it's remains to be seen if Trump and McConnell may be on opposite sides in two states, in Maryland and in Arizona, where McConnell is calling the governors in those days to run and Trump may not be happy if they agree to do so. Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Manu Raju, thank you so much appreciate it.

Let's discuss with our political panel, Quin Hillyer, Commentary Writer for The Washington Examiner and CNN Political Commentator Bakari Sellers, author of "Who Are Your People. Thanks so much to both of you for being here.

[17:30:00]

Quinn, let me start with you. Leader McConnell says he's mostly on the same page as Donald Trump but he did tell my new, quote, "We're going to be all in Alaska helping Lisa Murkowski, and that's one place where the former president and I have a disagreement." Obviously, it depends on the race. Generally speaking, do you think Trump's role in the midterm elections will help or hurt the Republican Party?

QUIN HILLYER, SENIOR COMMENTARY WRITER, WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Trump can only hurt the Republican Party if he makes the election about him. If the Republican candidates make the election about the issues that they have been running on, apart from Trump, if they make it about fighting against the perceived weaknesses in Joe Biden, then they will do well. But if Trump makes it all about him, Republicans are doomed.

TAPPER: Bakari, speaking of congressional leadership, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just literally a few minutes ago, tweeted, "While we have made progress, much more needs to be done to improve people's lives. This election is crucial, nothing less is at stake than our democracy. But we don't agonize we organize. I am running for re-election to Congress to deliver For The People and defend democracy."

She's turning 82 in March, the House Speaker. And when she won't -- I guess the -- when she last won the speakership last year for the fourth time, she promised that would be her last time. What do you think? Is it a mistake for her to run again or is there really no one else who can do the job she can?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, she didn't say that she was going to run for Speaker, I don't believe. I think she just announced she's running for re-election. I firmly believe that it's time for new leadership in the House Democratic Caucus. I think it's time for new leadership throughout the Democratic Party. Not only do we have to get younger, but we have to be more vibrant. And we have to have bigger and bolder ideas to bring in a new generation of voters.

Now, I will also say in the same breath, that Nancy Pelosi will go down in history is probably the greatest speaker of all time, whether or not you're talking about ushering a country through COVID or passing Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act. So her legacy is already written.

But there comes a time whether or not you're Nancy Pelosi, or whether or not you're, you know, Tom Brady, that sometimes you have to hang up the cleats when it comes to, you know, being leader of your particular party, a leader of your organization. And I think she recognizes that.

Part of being a great leader is knowing when it's time to turn the reins over. And I think that she, Steny Hoyer, Jim Clyburn all need to possibly usher in new leadership, not saying they shouldn't run for re-election to the House, but usher in new leadership to guide us into a new century.

TAPPER: Quin, I know you disagree with almost everything how Speaker Nancy Pelosi stands for, but it's hard to argue that she hasn't been effective as Speaker of the House on a tactical and political level in terms of getting what she wants passed through the House of Representatives. Is it bad news for Republicans that she's going to run again, or what do you think?

HILLYER: Well, I think it almost doesn't matter if she runs again, because unless there is a big swing back in the direction the electorate is heading right now, the Democrats probably will not hold the majority in the fall. And so she won't be Speaker either way. She has been effective at sort of short term tactical things getting legislation passed that she wanted.

The problem that she has had is that a lot of what she has pushed through has been made her party unpopular, and they've lost in the next election. So she's been both blessing and curse for the Democrats. And both blessing and curse for the Republicans.

TAPPER: Bakari?

SELLERS: I just -- yes, no. I just have to laugh. I mean, there's nothing short term about passing the Affordable Care Act. And although the messaging around it at the time, may not have been what we wanted. The fact is that Democrats across the country are still running on and winning elections on that. And we see that Republicans have been put in a box not being able to put up their own healthcare bill.

While I think there needs to be new leadership, I have to stop anyone in their tracks when they say that Nancy Pelosi has not been an effective speaker. She has been. And even more importantly, she's run circles around those individuals who've been in Republican leadership. And even if she is the Minority Leader, which I don't think she will be, but even if she is the Minority Leader, she's going to provide more than formidable opposition for Speaker McCarthy or whomever that is.

And so she has the right to choose what she does. But as someone who watches politics closely and who loves this party wants it to continue to succeed, I think we need new leadership in those roles.

TAPPER: Quin --

HILLYER: Can I just jump in and --

TAPPER: Yes, of course.

HILLYER: -- say that what I meant was that in terms of short term gains, she passed a very, very important bill in the Affordable Care Act, but largely as a response to that, her party got walloped in the 2010 elections and were in the minority for the next eight years.

[17:35:11]

So again, there's some given some take, she gets the legislation she wants, but it's not always popular with the public, at least, not, you know, not for several election cycles.

TAPPER: Quin, we only have about a minute left. I just -- I'm wondering what you think you've been very critical of Donald Trump, you've been critical of the lie, the big lie about the election. I'm wondering, assuming that Republicans do take control of the House in the fall, who your dream speaker would be of those individuals who are currently in Congress. So, do you like Kevin McCarthy or is there someone else, you know, that all things being equal you would prefer?

HILLYER: I'm not a big Kevin McCarthy fan. I also haven't really liked what Steve Scalise has said about the election, but I have known Steve Scalise as a very fine person going all the way back to 1989. I'd love to see him get a shot. Then again, right now, I'm a huge fan of Liz Cheney. I think she has shown incredible courage in principle. I would love to see her as speaker but that's not going to happen.

TAPPER: Bakari, I mean, what do you think in terms of who you would like of the Republicans in the House to be speaker, assuming they took over? Who is the least objectionable to you where that to happen?

SELLERS: I really don't care at this point in time. I just hope Chuck Schumer is still present of the Senate. That's about all the Democrats can hold on to. I think the House is gone. But, you know, Jim Jordan, Scalise, McCarthy, I think they, you know, all the same side of the same coin.

TAPPER: Bakari Sellers, Quin Hillyer, thanks to both of you. Really appreciate it.

Coming up, a newly released study looks at the impact of COVID vaccines on IVF. Stick around

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:41:03]

TAPPER: Just in to our health lead, the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines do not, do not affect the fertility of patients who are undergoing IVF treatments. That's according to a new study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology today.

Here to discuss, Dr. Chris Pernell, she's a public health physician. Dr. Pernell, thanks so much. There have been a ton of false claims circulating on the internet, that these vaccines affect fertility. What's your big takeaway from this new article?

DR. CHRIS PERNELL, PUBLIC HEALTH PHYSICIAN: The big takeaway from this new article is that we should believe and trust the science and not the disinformation in the misinformation. Unfortunately, that it's been circulated in a rapid fashion. Look, I hear practically on a daily basis from either expectant persons or those who are concerned about their future fertility, whether or not these vaccines are safe.

And this is just proof yet again, science on top of science, that these vaccines are safe and effective, whether you are pregnant, or whether you are considering getting pregnant in the future. This is very lacking news.

TAPPER: So if a patient came to you and said, look, this is still a relatively new vaccine, I'm just not 100 percent confident that will -- that it will not affect my fertility, what's your message?

PERNELL: My message is that you actually can be reassured that you will be safe and that you're taking a greater risk. If you don't get protected with the vaccine, should you become pregnant? We know that those persons who are pregnant have more severe complications and outcomes due to coronavirus infection.

Look, we're seeing mothers who are dying and leaving children behind orphan. We're seeing mothers and pregnant persons experiencing stillbirth and things of that nature, none of which can has to happen. And so, again, I would (INAUDIBLE) let people know that we are winning with the science and we can continue to win with the science.

TAPPER: Dr. Pernell, today Israel's COVID advisory group recommended a fourth COVID vaccine dose for everyone in Israel who was 18 years old or older. Do you think that could happen here in the United States? And if so, how soon?

PERNELL: Jake, you know, I don't see that happening in the United States. One, we have not been as aggressive as have some others have been, such as Israel around applying the science in new scenarios. We don't know definitively whether or not those higher antibody levels will necessarily reduce severe disease, meaning reduce hospitalization and mortality.

And because of that, I believe we're going to focus on getting as many Americans vaccinated and boosted as possible. That doesn't mean that we will continue to watch with vigilance and it doesn't mean that those who are immunocompromised, meaning that their immune systems didn't mount a proper or a robust response the first time that they won't be counsel or advise to get a fourth shot.

TAPPER: So a World Health Organization official said that he hopes we can end the emergency phase of the pandemic this year. What exactly does that mean? And what would the next phase of this all look like to you here in the U.S.?

PERNELL: Well, right now we're in the throes of an Omicron surge. So an emergency phase is when you have these variants of concern, you see rapid spikes in infections, you see staggering death tolls in a daily basis. Whether or not, we will normalize and stabilize once we get past this peak fully in the United States and once other parts of the globe get past the peak, is something that remains to be seen.

What I don't want to see happen is that we let our guard down. As long as the coronavirus pandemic continues to surge, continues to flare its horns, we should never be caught asleep at the will. The likelihood that new variants could emerge will always be there as long as a significant portion of the global population is unvaccinated.

And we don't know whether or not immunity to Omicron will sustain. Perhaps, it will wane just in a similar fashion as has immunity to pass strings and also we don't believe that immunity to Omicron will necessarily portend to immunity against new variants.

[17:45:09]

TAPPER: Dr. Chris Pernell, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Good to see you as always.

Train tracks littered with thousands of empty shipping boxes torn open by thieves. Why this is fueling criticism of the top prosecutor in Los Angeles County? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: In our national lead, four people killed and one wounded when multiple shooters opened fire on a house party near Los Angeles over the weekend. Last year, the city recorded its highest homicide total since 2007.

[17:50:03]

Amid the increase, CNN's Nick Watt reports, L.A. County's new district attorney is now facing a wave of criticism from police, from businesses, from citizens and from even his own prosecutors for policies they say are not tough enough on criminals.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Downtown Los Angeles, packages are being stolen from trains. That trash is the aftermath. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the hell is going on? I mean, look like a third world country.

WATT (voice-over): What the hell is going on? Well, Union Pacific blames in large part L.A.'s newish wokish District Attorney elected in the wake of George Floyd's murder and flank for his one-year anniversary presser by progressive D.A.s from around the country.

GEORGE GASCON, LOS ANGELES COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We have set a path for ourselves to turn around the criminal legal system in this country.

WATT (voice-over): Gascon has grown has ordered his deputy D.A.s, no under eighteens charged as adults, no more three strikes, and in many cases, do not even prosecute most misdemeanors like trespassing, and don't seek more prison time if guns or gangs are involved. All he says to make the system --

GASCON: More humane, more equitable.

WATT (voice-over): But Union Pacific is now actually asking the D.A. to rethink his reforms because of this. They claim more than 100 arrests to be made but apparently not one prosecution.

GASCON: They have not presented 100 cases, OK? They have not present 100 cases to us. That's misleading.

WATT (voice-over): Gascon also taking heat after a spate of smash and grab robberies before Christmas.

PROF. LAURIE LEVENSON, LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: Whether it's fair or not the point the finger at him, the finger is being pointed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The incident follows a string of what police called follow home robberies.

WATT (voice-over): Gascon also taking heat for some headline making murders. Well-loved Beverly Hills philanthropist shot dead in her own. A 70-year-old nurse murdered at a bus stop. A young clerk stabbed to death in a furniture store.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You really got to wake up to what's happening all over Los Angeles.

WATT (voice-over): The D.A. easily survived one recall attempt last year but now faces another.

DESIREE ANDRADE, MOTHER OF MURDER VICTIM: He has abandoned all of us victims in favor of criminals.

WATT (voice-over): The union that represents Gascon's own deputy D.A. is suing him.

ERIC SIDDALL, V.P., ASSOCIATION OF DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEYS FOR LOS ANGELES COUNTY: Yes, it is rare.

WATT (voice-over): Claiming the directives are not merely radical, but plainly unlawful.

SIDDALL: He has created this environment where there's no accountability. Criminals are arrested and within 24 hours, they're back on the street committing crime.

ANDRADE: I don't think we have the statistics to show how these new directors are really impacting what's happening on the streets of L.A.

WATT (voice-over): Latest stats from the sheriff show robbery, burglary and arson have actually fallen since Gascon took office. Unclear why it could be COVID. But like many places, murder is way up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most crime is down except for homicide.

GASCON: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a pretty big exception.

GASCON: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are scared out there.

GASCON: Yes.

WATT (voice-over): The sheriff calls Gascon's 10-year got awful and --

SHERIFF ALEX VILLANUEVA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY: Well, I can say it's been absolute disaster for the community.

WATT (voice-over): Gascon's comeback.

GASCON: My dad used to say that when you wrestle with a pig, you both get muddy and the pig likes it.

WATT (on-camera): What is going on with you and Sheriff Villanueva?

GASCON: He's running for election. He's got the very strong opponents. I think it's important for the public to understand that his fight is not just with me. He's got a fight with every elected official other than Donald Trump.

WATT (voice-over): For now, Gascon's reforms roll on.

GASCON: If, at some point, the voters decide that this is not the direction that they want to go, and they want to go in a different direction, that's what the democracy is all about.

WATT (voice-over): By the way, he just wrote back to Union Pacific about all those stolen packages, passing the buck back to them. "U.P. does little to secure or lock trains," he wrote.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: So Gascon's approach to most misdemeanors is if it's a non- violent crime, and if the perp has mental health or substance abuse issues, Gascon would rather that person be diverted towards rehabilitation rather than punished, thrown in jail, thrown in prison, which could end, he says, in an endless cycle of recidivism. But as that Deputy D.A. told me, he says, these are social experiments not grounded in reality. Jake?

TAPPER: Nick Watt in Los Angeles, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Put down your number two pencils forever. The SAT is making major changes to the college entrance exam. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:59:24]

TAPPER: In our national lead, high school students will soon be able to say goodbye to those sharpened number two pencils. The SAT exam taken by prospective college students across the country will go all digital starting in 2024. The change comes as the College Board, which developed the tests, has faced extensive criticism about the SAT's fairness and relevance.

And as colleges and universities have increasingly made the test optional, with more than 1,800 dropping it from their admission requirements. And another change students are sure to love the exam will be an hour shorter and calculators will be allowed for the entire math section.

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the TikTok at JakeTapper. You can tweet the show at TheLeadCNN. Our coverage continues now with one Mr. Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM."