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President-Elect Biden Reaches Out to Health Care Workers; Georgia Recount Results to be Certified Today Confirming Biden Win; Congress Racing to Pass Defense, Spending and COVID Relief Bills. Aired 11:30-12p ET

Aired December 07, 2020 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

DR. CLEAVON GILMAN, TOOK CALL FROM BIDEN THANKING HIM FOR TREATING COVID PATIENTS: And they're being admitted to the ICU and into the floors. They're not getting outside the hospital.

And a big problem, the big problem here in Arizona is that our governor fails to help us. Everything is open. There's no mask mandates, schools are open, indoor dining, there's large gathering sizes, Trump rallies. From the standpoint of the hospitals, I think like all around in Arizona, we're hearing the same thing, lack of PPE. We have people who have on N95s for a whole week, increased nursing ratios, can't transfer sick patients to the ICUs. We have had over 2,000 health care workers who have been killed by this virus.

And, you know, the big problem that we are having on the frontlines, if you say anything, if you speak out, your job with likely fire you. And then, after you're treating the patients, intubating them, seeing loved ones die, you get to drive home, pass the gym that's crowded with people, people eating inside maskless. It's just a slap in the face here over and over again.

And that's how come it's important to support frontline health care workers. We are trying to pass an act called the Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act. Lorna Breen was a colleague of mine in New York who died on the frontlines, committed suicide. So we are really trying to support our frontline health care workers.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Can you talk to me quickly about the call that you had with the president-elect? What did you want to tell him and do you think that you were heard?

GILMAN: No, yes. Look, I love President-elect Joe Biden. He is an excellent man. We just kind of talked about the lack of support here. And we talked about implementing a unified planning, a unified message, wear masks, avoid large gathering sizes. And he truly supports health care workers. He gets it.

You know, on the other hand, you know, we talked about Trump holding these rallies as well, a kind of -- also increasing PPE and N95 masks for everyone.

BOLDUAN: The needs that you're going to have on the frontlines is not going to magically go away when the Biden administration comes in. But thank you so much, Doctor, for coming on. Thank you for what you're doing day in and day out.

GILMAN: I really appreciate it, thank you so much.

BOLDUAN: Thank you so much.

Coming up next for us, the one question Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler repeatedly dodged and its impact on Georgia's Senate runoff races, why Georgia Republicans are worried.

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[11:35:00]

BOLDUAN: Georgia has now counted the ballots from the presidential election three times. And later today, Georgia's secretary of state is set to recertify the result after the second recount. And the results remain unchanged. President-elect Joe Biden beat President Trump by 12,000 votes in Georgia. So there is that.

This is also the last day for Georgia residents to register to vote in the upcoming runoff Senate election. And last night, the candidates mostly faced off. I say mostly because Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff faced an empty lectern as Senator David Perdue refused to debate him. Republican incumbent Senator Kelly Loeffler and Democratic challenger Reverend Rapahel Warnock, they also debated.

On the sadly expected question of if Loeffler believes the results, the senator sadly dodged it repeatedly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you stand by his narrative that the election was rigged and do you support his demand that Governor Kemp to call a special session to seek to overturn those results.

SEN. KELLY LOEFFLER (R-GA): It's vitally important that Georgians trust our election process. And the president has every right to every legal recourse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator, do you believe the election was rigged?

LOEFFLER: Look, Greg, it's very clear that there were issues in this election. There are 250 investigations open.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you concerned his comments could alienate some Republicans in Georgia ahead of the runoffs?

LOEFFLER: Well, the president has the right to pursue every legal recourse to make sure that this was a free and fair election in Georgia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Now in terms of dodging, she's not alone. The Washington Post surveyed all 249 Republicans in Congress and only 27 acknowledged Joe Biden's win. A vast majority wouldn't even respond to The Post's requests. That's an important perspective.

This isn't a hard reality to acknowledge, of course, but what is this denial of reality actually doing to the Republicans' efforts in the state of Georgia?

Joining me right now is former Republican State Representative in Georgia Buzz Brockway.

[11:40:01]

Thank you for coming on. I really appreciate it.

So, Loeffler made it clear that she's going to be sticking with President Trump on this one. What do you think this is doing to Republican chances in this race?

BUZZ BROCKWAY, FORMER GOP GEORGIA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Well, I think it's sending mixed messages. You saw the president came to town and he, among the many, many things he said, one thing he said was that all Republicans should go vote and go vote for Loeffler and Perdue. But this undermining of the election results sends a contrary message to people.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. I mean, you actually even heard from Republicans that they're not going to vote because they've bought into or just have been inundated with this message that we're hearing from the president about a rigged election?

BROCKWAY: Yes, I have. And I think it's getting a little better and I'm hopeful that the president's comments Saturday night will help with that, but it is very contentious out there. And there are a lot of people who are saying, well, if it's rigged, why should I bother?

BOLDUAN: Doesn't that get to the core of it? I mean, how do you square those things? If it's rigged, but it's only rigged for one thing, that can't make sense to anybody in Georgia.

BROCKWAY: Well, yes. I mean, unfortunately, this is now -- we -- two years ago here in Georgia, we had a hotly contested governor's race and Stacey Abrams became nationally famous for saying that she didn't accept the results of the election. While she acknowledged Brian Kemp was ahead, she felt like she was cheated through suppression. And now, we have this where Republicans are saying, well, elections were stolen through fraud. So this constant undermining of elections results, I believe, is very, very dangerous to our country.

BOLDUAN: What kind of damage does it do, right? The president's message on Saturday, part of his message when he visited the state was he directly attached the Republican governor. He directly attacked Governor Kemp. And he also continued to do so on Twitter this morning. And CNN is reporting that he actually called the governor to try to force him to help and try to bring back the legislature to overturn the vote in Georgia. This is real. This isn't just theoretical talking points of what he's doing.

How worried are you what this means in Georgia?

BROCKWAY: Well, I'm hopeful that once the legal process winds down, which just moments ago a federal judge tossed out Sidney Powell's lawsuit here in Georgia, so that's one fewer lawsuit to worry about challenging the election results here in this state, I'm hopeful when that all winds down and the Electoral College votes next Monday that things will calm down.\

But this really worries me. I think, quite frankly, the calls for a special session in Georgia and other states to toss out the election is a very dangerous thing. You know, you want people marching in the streets, that's a way to get it. So this needs -- we have court processes to handle these things, fight it out in courts.

BOLDUAN: Look, you ran against the secretary of state for the job back in 2018. You and Raffensperger were up against each other. You did not win that race. I'm curious, is there a -- I don't know, is there a part of you that maybe for the first time in your entire career are happy you lost a race? Because -- I mean, I say that, but also he's facing very real threats to him and his family. He's now faced these multiple recounts. I mean, are you proud of what you're seeing from Republicans in the state?

BROCKWAY: Well, you know, I joke with folks that I thank the Lord I lost. You know, God spared me being in this position. But I've texted with Secretary Raffenspegerg a few times to let him know I support him. I think he's doing the right thing. And anybody can sit back and throw stones at this decision or that decision that he made. But the bottom line here is, this was a very close election here in Georgia. This was a close election across the country, and people are upset about it. And that's the bottom line.

And what --

BOLDUAN: But, Buzz, one more thing just on that -- I just wanted to ask you really quick. Because, as you're saying, like Raffensperger is doing his job, but what Kelly Loeffler did last night, where is the spine there?

BROCKWAY: Well, she's in a tough spot, politically. Because she sees the polls and she's hearing from people, I mean, I've never seen anything like this. The outrage that people, supporters of President Trump are directing at anyone who dares suggest that there was -- that this was not a fraudulent election. So she's trying to thread that needle hoping that, as I mentioned before, maybe after the Electoral Colleges votes, things will calm down, that's what she's hoping. So it's really unprecedented, really, what's going on.

BOLDUAN: Buzz, thanks for coming on. I really appreciate it.

BROCKWAY: Thanks for having me. BOLDUAN: Coming up next, new reports on the assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist. We're live in Tehran where CNN has rare access to the site of that killing.

[11:45:03]

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BOLDUAN: Investigations are still ongoing into the assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist last month. CNN though has gained rare access to the site of the killing. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice over): Amid Tehran's holiday homes by the snowy roadside is where the man whose work Iran says must go on was fatally shot reportedly in front of his wife. Nuclear Scientist Dr. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was Iran's repository of nuclear bomb knowledge, Israel has claimed, while not saying they were behind the assassination.

[11:50:02]

A lot of the debris is being cleared away here, but you can still see the soot from the explosion on the curve and the damage done to the road below. There are still so many different versions of events of what happened here, but one witness we've spoken to says, first, they heard an explosion, a wood truck, they say, that detonated here. And then there was exchange of gunfire that lasted eight to ten minutes. You can see over here the damage still done to the side by the bullets.

From the orchard nearby, possible vantage points for a low tech ambush, even though Iranian security officials are telling state media this was a high tech plot, involving an A.I.-powered facial recognition satellite-controlled robot machine gun into whose bullets Fakhrizadeh stepped when he got out of his bulletproof car.

One of the many reasons offered for a lapse insecurity in this neat (ph) backwater. Fakhrizadeh's son told state media his father ignored warnings from his security detail the day before. My father said he had a class, the son says, one he could not teach virtually and an important meeting, so they could not persuade him to turn back.

Deep inside the defense ministry Sunday, they remembered him, again, at the highest levels. Among Iranian's critics louder and louder the question does this, another lapse in security, make a race towards a possible nuclear weapon a good idea or a worse one. Officially, Iran says it does not want the bomb, but its parliament last week demanded Iran enrich uranium to 20 percent in the first weeks of the Biden administration. That could make a weapon a lot closer.

Yet there remain two versions of Iran, both a bit visible here, it's hard hit by sanctions and wants to talk or has resisted and will hit back. MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: We know our campaign is working because now the Iranians are desperately signaling their willingness to return to the negotiating table to get sanctions relief.

PROF. SAYEED MOHAMMED MARANDI, UNIVERSITY OF TEHRAN: The Israeli regime if it feels that it can continue carrying out acts of terror, Iranians will pay an unnecessary price. The only way to stop these acts of terror is for them to pay a price that makes it not worthy. I have no doubt that the Iranians are going to respond.

WALSH: Iran has been here before a lot at this museum of blown up cars, tests all Persia models going back in the ages, or nuclear scientists assassinated in Iran's pursuit of what it says is peaceful nuclear technology that it needs alongside its huge oil reserves.

We may never know what knowledge perished with Dr. Fakhrizadeh or what impact that will have on Iran's critics, the hawks who claim that it could be as little as four months away from a possible nuclear weapon.

Deals, scientists, assassins, all have come and gone, with the mounting tension, which Joe Biden has a huge diplomatic task to ease in a matter of months, has about 40 days left to build.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALSH (on camera): Another wrinkle in diplomacy here over that nuclear deal, Kate, the European Three, France, Germany, United Kingdom, expressing their deep concerns today, reports that Iran is putting new centrifuges into its Natanz facility.

The bottom line, really, is that Joe Biden, the president-elect, and it seems Germany too, want a slightly bigger deal than that 2015 nuclear package, they wanted to include missiles and other things. Iran says simply, no. It is the old deal or nothing. But a lot of that is bluster, certainly, but there's a lot of a clock ticking. They have got really a couple of weeks into their administration until the Iranian hard liners want sanction relief or becomes harder to see how negotiations go forward, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Great reporting, Nick, thank you so much for being there and bringing this to us, I really appreciate it.

Turning now back to the United States to Capitol Hill, lawmakers face immense pressure right now to pass three critical bills before leaving town, defense authorization bill, a bill, critical bill to keep the government funded and also, of course, the long awaited next round of COVID relief.

CNN's Lauren Fox is tracking all of this. Lauren, what is going to happen?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Well, Kate, I mean, it is December on Capitol Hill, which means that lawmakers are running up, like you said, against three critical deadlines.

First, the NDAA, that's the bill that sets Pentagon policy for the next year. Essentially, we expect that the president is going to veto what is a bipartisan bill on Capitol Hill. Then we will wait and see whether or not Congress can override it.

We also have a government spending deadline coming up on Friday. We expect a one week extension of that deadline with a continuing resolution as lawmakers try to get a bigger omnibus deal for the end of the year.

And, of course, we are all watching whether or not this bipartisan group of lawmakers can come up with any agreement on an economic stimulus proposal to help families and businesses that have been affected by coronavirus.

[11:55:00]

We were expecting some ledge (ph) text today. We're learning that we probably aren't going to see final bill text, but we will be watching up here on Capitol Hill whether or not they can get those three things done in the next few weeks. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Yes. And considering what you're looking at, that's a lot of legislative text to be reading for you or anyone even with your level of expertise. It's good to see you, Lauren, thank you so much, a huge week on Capitol Hill.

Coming up, still, as the federal government is about to authorize a COVID vaccine, CNN analysis finds the first shipments will fall short.

I'm Kate Bolduan. We'll be back.

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