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French President Positive for Coronavirus; Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) is Interviewed About Russian-Linked Hacks; Winter Storm From Pittsburgh to NYC; Putin Responds to CNN's Probe. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired December 17, 2020 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, expect her to also be messaging that as well when she gets her vaccine.

Jim and Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Jessica Dean, thank you for the updates.

Meantime, French President Emanuel Macron is self-isolating this morning after he tested positive for COVID.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, this is particularly concerning because he's met recently with not only his cabinet, but other European leaders.

CNN correspondent Melissa Bell following these developments.

And I wonder if right now at sort of high level contact tracing is going on.

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, pretty high level. You need only look at Emmanuel Macron's agenda for the last few days to realize how many people had to wonder whether they, too, might have been infected.

Now, you mentioned the cabinet ministers. He spoke with, met, received all of France's ministers yesterday. But what we're told is that they're not contact cases because of the social distancing measures that are in place inside the Elysee Palace.

He also, though, met with the prime ministers of Portugal and Spain and we're told that both of those will be canceling events for the next few days. Also the secretary general, the OECD, who is now having to quarantine. On the other hand, the president of the European Council, Charles Michel (ph), one of those important European leaders, he also received at the Elysee this week, has said that he's not having to isolate, again because of those social distancing measures. However, that he will be quarantining as a matter of precaution.

And you just saw Emmanuel Macron's wife, Brigitte, she too will be isolating, although she, unlike her husband, has not been showing symptoms, Jim.

HARLOW: OK, we wish for the best for all of them.

Before you go, Melissa, some big news on the announcement of a timeline for the European Union's vaccination campaign, is that right?

BELL: That's right. I mean the fact that Emmanuel Macron should have gotten sick is once again a reminder, Poppy, of the fact that these infection rates here in Europe have remained stubbornly high. What we've seen are those lockdown measures increased, further tighten rather than loosen as authorities have hoped, in a number of European countries. So at least, Europe, a glimmer of hope. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, tweeted earlier, it is Europe's moment. December 27th, 28th and 29th for the first time European Union citizens will get their chance to get the vaccine.

SCIUTTO: It's good news to see that there.

Melissa Bell from Paris, thanks very much.

Well, investigators are still trying to figure out, still trying the full scope and damage of an enormous apparently Russian-backed hacking campaign against a whole host of U.S. agencies and government. Next I'm going to speak to Illinois Congressman Mike Quigley. He's on the intelligence committee. He's been briefed on the attacks and what it means for our country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:36:54]

SCIUTTO: Well, overnight, the U.S. government confirmed that an unprecedented, widespread hacking campaign is underway and still underway against U.S. federal agencies. The attacks believed to be carried out by Russian military intelligence are so massive that federal officials are still trying to understand the entire scope.

To be clear, this hacking attack tied to Russia is unlike nothing the U.S. has ever seen. Critical government agencies remain compromised as we speak and it will take months, we're told, to know the full scale of the damage to America's cyber security.

Where is President Trump on this? He has said nothing about these attacks. His former Homeland Security adviser, Tom Bossert, in a "New York Times" op-ed says the current commander in chief has to act now. He writes, quote, President Trump is on the verge of leaving behind a federal government and perhaps a large number of major industries compromised by the Russian government. That's Tom Bossert. He was appointed by and served as president.

Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley of Illinois. He sits on the House Intelligence Committee.

Congressman, thanks so much for taking time this morning.

REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL): Good morning. SCIUTTO: You've been briefed on this. I will not pressure you to get

into classified areas. But big picture here, can we say confidently that this was Russia behind this?

QUIGLEY: Look, the Russians were responsible for the 2016 attack on our democracy and the entire intelligence community said so with a high level of certainty. Most intel officials under this president have said the Russians will be back and then they said they've never gone away. So they remain high on the list of those responsible -- who could be responsible for actions like this. We need to be vigilant against them and responsive to them and all who act like this.

SCIUTTO: Senator Dick Durbin, number two senator in the Democratic leadership on that side of The Hill, told me the following yesterday, and I want to get your reaction.

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): We can't be buddies with Vladimir Putin and have him at the same time making this kind of cyberattack on America. This is virtually a declaration of war by Russia on the United States and we should take that seriously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: If it is confirmed to be Russia, would you agree with that assessment, this is virtually a declaration of war given the scope of this?

QUIGLEY: Oh, absolutely. And, look, we saw these threats coming and not just from Russia. But, again, in 2016, when this happened, President Obama told Putin to cut it out and they put sanctions in place. That's the kind of thing, that's the kind of bold action that has to take place.

I don't expect it under this president. I do expect it under the upcoming administration. And I can see by the appointments that are being made so far that they're putting experienced, tough people in place who can hit the ground running to face this challenge because it is unprecedented, if not foreseen. And it's going to take us months.

The dirty fact is, most entities don't know they've been hacked.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

QUIGLEY: They don't know they've been hacked for a long time.

SCIUTTO: This president has rarely, if ever, stood up to Russia on a whole host of things.

[09:40:01]

He has still not commented on this -- on this hack. As you know, he took the side of Vladimir Putin on Russian interference in the election as to whether Russia was behind that. He has still not commented publically on the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, which U.S. intelligence has assessed Russia was behind.

By that omission, did this president, in effect, invite an attack like this?

QUIGLEY: I think so. I think what's troubling is the fact that -- look, I was there from day one on the investigation of what Russia did and the president's involvement. And it's hard to point to anything particularly that we know about his relationship with President Putin. But he has certainly acted as if Putin has something on him. And it has always impacted our national security. Something we have to move beyond as soon as the next president is inaugurated.

SCIUTTO: What must President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris do to deter Russia? Because this administration did authorize more aggressive offensive cyber activity against Russia. Sanctions have been in place for years now against senior Russian officials with economic cost and yet Russia still acts. Clearly the policy is not working.

What must change?

QUIGLEY: I think first you need to put qualified people in place and let them do their job and trust them publicly. You can't trust Putin over them publicly. And you have to confront the Russian government and Putin.

As important as all this is, we need to reconnect with the rest of the world. We need to reengage. Nothing we do unilaterally will be nearly as valuable and effective than it would be as if we have a unified group of allies with us pushing back on this kind of behavior. It would make sanctions work far more effectively if we have all of our allies working in step with us.

SCIUTTO: Briefly on ongoing stimulus negotiations, Americans' heads are spinning, I'm sure yours is as well with the back and forth, hopeful and not hopeful, some setbacks in appears in the last 24 hours. Will a deal to help Americans who need it happen this week?

QUIGLEY: Look, it absolutely has to. There are those who are desperate in need. I've been to food pantries in my district in the last few weeks. The lines are -- go on for blocks and blocks of people who need food security, housing security. We simply can't leave Washington until we get something done. And my advice to the Biden administration is, we need to go big early. And whatever this deal doesn't do, we simply have to, to help the American people and small businesses everywhere.

SCIUTTO: Final question, some of your Republican colleagues on the Intelligence Committee are calling for your fellow Democrat Eric Swalwell to be removed from the committee following a report that he had been targeted a number of years ago, and granted he reported this to the FBI at the time, by someone now believed to be a Chinese agent.

What's your response to that Republican demand?

QUIGLEY: You know, it seems political in its thrust. The fact of the matter is, what we seem to know so far is that this was an attempt. That sort of attempt could happen to any of us. It was some time ago in which he reported it. If that's all that they have at this point in time, their attack is unfortunately political in nature.

SCIUTTO: Congressman Mike Quigley, we appreciate you coming on this morning and we wish you and your family the best for the holidays.

QUIGLEY: Thank you. Please be safe, everyone.

SCIUTTO: Will do.

HARLOW: All right, a powerful winter storm, as you can see behind us, has dumped more snow in parts of the northeast than this region saw during the entirety of last winter. The snowfall is creating some dangerous road conditions, including this close call -- oh, my goodness -- in Pennsylvania. Much more during a live update, next.

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[09:48:22]

SCIUTTO: Well, this will scare you. New pictures of a Spirit Airlines plane that slid off the runway at BWI Airport in Baltimore this morning. Snow on the taxiway caused the incident. Thankfully, no passengers were injured.

HARLOW: This is all because of a pretty dangerous winter storm that has hit the East Coast with heavy snow, gusting winds. Two people were killed and multiple others injured after a multi-car crash on Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania.

Let's go to our meteorologist, Derek van Dam. He joins us this morning in Boston.

That's a lot -- it's a lot of snow and it came fast with heavy winds.

What are you seeing?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, look at this, this accumulated overnight in a period of about eight hours. It's light and fluffy snow right now. But it wasn't that way earlier this morning. The National Weather Service was predicting accurately that a flash freeze would occur. That is when temperatures edge to close to freezing, about 32 degrees.

This is classic nor'easter stuff. And that makes the snow that did fall originally at the storm kind of slushy at the base and then the cold air wraps in behind the system, the winds pick up, the temperatures here in Boston in the north end where I'm located right now dropped 10 degrees Fahrenheit in just one hour. I mean, that is incredible. So it froze that slush that was on the ground that accumulated and created extremely slick spots on the roadways. There have been numerous accidents and several, 100, flights that have

been canceled out of the East Coast. Of course, another concern being power outages. You can see the snow piling up here. Winds have gusted 40 to 50 miles per hour. We're in a protected alleyway here, but pretty quintessential Boston in the middle of winter, right?

[09:50:02]

SCIUTTO: So timing wise, Derek, unfortunately, this is just as vaccine distribution is getting underway. Do we know how the storm has been impacting that?

VAN DAM: You know, I talked to the global communications adviser from FedEx, actually, early this morning and she talked to me about some of the contingency plans that they have in place because you know they're responsible, among other distribution companies, to distribute the Pfizer vaccine across the country and they have what is called a sense aware ID tag that they place on all of the packages that distribute the vaccines to the East Coast and now 2020 bringing its latest hurdle, trying to get these vaccines to some of the most populated portions of the eastern seaboard during the middle of a nor'easter. A true, logistical challenge.

But she assured me that they were not anticipating any problems and their contingency plans, like the sense aware ID tags that give precise locations of their packages, not just the COVID vaccines, but also the Christmas presents that are being delivered right now, they know exactly where they are and they know if there are any concerns or delays in the shipments and they can address it immediately. They've got 15 meteorologists on staff working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, over 180 personnel that are helping coordinate those logistics as well. So, lots in place and they are on top of it for sure.

Jim. Poppy.

SCIUTTO: Yes, relief -- relief for health care workers and for a lot of kids out there.

Derek van Dam, thanks very much.

VAN DAM: Absolutely.

SCIUTTO: Well, Russian President Vladimir Putin on the defensive to some degree, now publically responding to CNN's exclusive investigation with Bellingcat into the assassination attempt, poisoning, of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny. We're going to go live to Russia, next.

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[09:56:07]

HARLOW: Well, this morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin is finally publically responding to CNN's exclusive investigation with Bellingcat into an assassination attempt against opposition leader Alexey Navalny. The probe revealed evidence that Russia's security service formed an elite team specializing in nerve agents and trailed Navalny for years.

SCIUTTO: He was poisoned in August. He very nearly died.

CNN's Clarissa Ward helped lead that investigation. She's in Moscow now.

And, Clarissa, President Putin had his news conference today. And, I mean, he loves to hold court in these things and these are propaganda events. Tell us what his response was to your reporting.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, after really more than 48 hours of pretty much radio silence, Jim, finally President Putin did respond to our investigation. And what was extraordinary was that he didn't really deny any of what we had suggested in terms of specifically this elite team of operatives following around Alexey Navalny. He said it would be normal for FSB operatives to follow around Navalny because he claims Navalny is working with U.S. intelligence services.

Now, what he did say, though, which is crucial, was that if we had wanted to kill him, we would have. And what he -- what his exact words were, our -- of course our special services need to keep an eye on him, but that doesn't mean he needs to be poisoned. Who needs him anyway? If they wanted to, they would have probably finished it. So that is a somewhat ominous way of saying basically that the nub of our reporting was absolutely correct.

What he doesn't address, though, which is the crucial question here, is why Navalny was being followed not just by FSB operatives, I'm sure we could all understand why that was happening, but by FSB operatives who were skilled and knowledgeable in the use of poisons, who were making frequent phone calls to the Signal Institute here in Moscow that has been directly involved in the development and research into Novichok. That part of the question, he just did not answer at all.

HARLOW: And we're watching footage of you speaking with Navalny here just days ago. Have you heard from him after hearing what Putin said? I mean, like, we could have killed him if we wanted to. And, by the way, of course we have to keep a close eye on him. My goodness.

WARD: Yes, I mean it's pretty chilling stuff. And he did actually just post something on his FaceBook page recently.

I think that he feels, judging by this post, that this was almost something of a triumph because it's a partial confession. He calls it a partial confession. President Putin is not really quibbling with any of the substance of our investigation in terms of the names of these operates, the facts that they were traveling, flying, crisscrossing across the country on more than 34 trips over a period of near to four years.

The only thing that seems to be in question, according to President Putin, is the issue of whether or not these operatives were the ones who were responsible for poisoning Navalny. And that, he says, I think Navalny is confident at some point will be proven, will come to light.

HARLOW: Well, it's -- yes.

SCIUTTO: Yes, and it's -- it's not the first time they did it, either, right? I mean Litvinenko, Skripal. This is a tactic that Russia uses and U.S. intelligence has assessed that in the past.

HARLOW: It's remarkable reporting, Clarissa, to you and the whole team, hats off and thank you.

WARD: Thank you so much.

SCIUTTO: A very good Thursday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto.

HARLOW: And I'm Poppy Harlow.

Another really big morning on the health front. The FDA is meeting right now to possibly authorize emergency use of a second COVID vaccine.

[10:00:05]

Moderna says millions of its doses are ready to go.