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Brexit Deal Appears Close; Trump Issues Second Round of Pardons; UK Detects Second COVID Variant; Brexit Trade Agreement Expected in Coming Hours; Getting Even, Rewarding Loyalty, Testing Republicans; Another Round of Pardons for Russia Probe Figures; Trump Issues 26 New Pardons for Allies, Family; Massacre Survivors Slam Trump for Blackwater Guard Pardons; Will Vaccines Work Against New Virus Strains; Infection Surge Expected After Holidays; California First U.S. State to Top 2 Million COVID Cases; CDC Projects Up To 419,000 U.S. Deaths By January 16; Virus Strain Linked to South Africa Detected in UK; U.S. Orders Additional 100 Million Doses of Vaccine. Aired 1-1:30a ET.

Aired December 24, 2020 - 01:00   ET

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

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[01:00:00]

JOHN VAUSE, CNNINT HOST: Hello. Welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm John Vause. Coming up on CNN Newsroom, they're close -- apparently very close to a post Brexit trade deal with marathon negotiations between the U.K. and E.U. continuing well into the night.

Pardons dangled, pardons delivered with those closest to Trump who did not cooperate with the Russian investigation officially those who did, left out on the cold. And growing concerns that the coronavirus mutations might-- just might be able to outsmart the current vaccines.

We begin with very latest on a potential breakthrough in trade talks between the U.K. and E.U. Negotiations are said to be moving but not there yet. European commission spokesman tweeted, Brexit work will continue throughout the night, grabbing some sleep is recommended to all Brexit watchers at this point.

It will hopefully be an early start tomorrow morning. Many predicted economic catastrophe if both sides failed to reach an agreement on that post Brexit trade deal by the deadline New Years Day.

Live now from Paris and CNN to Cyril Vanier. So Cyril, very early in the morning, thank you for getting up. This is all about the fish now at this point and a few other regulatory issues. So what's the latest?

CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's about fish and it's about government subsidies to assure both by the U.K. and the European Union to their businesses when they start training with each other that there is a level playing field. Remember, john, the E.U. and the U.K. are now going to be economic rivals. They say they're going to be friends and parse as friends but they are going to be economic rivals. So how they trade and ensuring that they are able to trade fairly and that each side feels they get a fair deal when they do separate on December 31st that's what these negotiations have been about for the last nine months.

Now, the tone has dramatically shifted over the last 24 hours, and that is what this is giving everybody a great deal of hope this morning that there is indeed going to be a deal and that the no deal economic catastrophe is going to be averted.

You know as early as -- as late as Monday, I should say John, both sides seemed to be saying -- they seemed very pessimistic. You know no way there's not going to be a deal we're too far apart; the differences are going to be very hard to bridge. We've heard all those words from the negotiators and we were hearing them again on Monday.

all of a sudden the tone shifted yesterday and we started hearing more and more persistent what do I want to call them, not rumors but indications that we were nearing a deal and now CNN sources both on the European side in the U.K. side number 10 downing street saying they do expect a deal to be made on Christmas Eve. That's today, John.

VAUSE: OK. So let's see about the timing here because we've seen all the chaos at U.K. ports these last couple of days, it was caused by the pandemic. It was also a glimpse of a post Brexit world without a trade deal was that perhaps the motivation to get to this point?

VAINER: You know the thinking is that what we saw on Monday and Tuesday, the border closures between much of Europe in the U.K. that is something that focused minds. It's not something that played directly into the talks as far as we can tell.

And there's always a big caveat, by the way John, because only a few people really know what's going on inside these conversations, and it's the handful of people that are meeting around the clock in Brussels but the belief is that the scenes playing out in Dover with the truckers stopped there, the hundreds of trucks if not thousands parked, unable to cross the border, warnings from supermarkets on both sides that A, they may not get enough -- they may not be able to fill their shelves for Christmas Eve.

that some produce would go bad, all those things that we understand focused minds because this is essentially a dress rehearsal for what could find December 21st, January 1st, and moving forward 2021, if there isn't a deal, John

VAUSE: Cyril, thank you. We appreciate that. Cyril Vainer, live for us there in Paris. President Donald Trump using his final days in office to settle scores, reward loyalty and he's at odds with the leadership of the Republican Party.

Before leaving the White House for the holidays, Trump vetoed the sweeping bipartisan defense bill. Republican lawmakers will now have to decide if they'll override that veto, or they'll change their vote to support the president. And Trump continued to unravel the Mueller in investigation with another rollout of pardons.

Here's CNN's Pamela Brown.

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The president continues his revenge against the Russia investigation, rewarding to former advisers indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller, issuing full pardons to Paul Manafort, who was convicted for a slew of financial climbs and Roger Stone after commuting his a sentence earlier this week me this year.

[01:05:12]

Also on the list is Jared Kushner's father, Charles Kushner. Now let's tick through these, you have Paul Manafort and Roger Stone; they were indicted by special counsel Mueller, went to trial and convicted by juries of multiple client crimes.

Investigators say Manafort broke cooperation agreement by lying to them; Roger Stone never cooperated after lying to Congress to protect the president, and has never shown remorse. So now both men are being rewarded by the president with their loyalty.

The president has been long aggrieved by the Russia probe and has said he thinks his advisers were treated unfairly, but it's worth noting here the Mueller report detailed in the obstruction of justice part how Trump's team dangled pardons as a way to protect the president, how Trump himself did that.

And now we're seeing the president's plan play out with these pardons. Also Charles Kushner, the father of the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, he was convicted of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering and served a 24 month sentence.

A White House official said Jared to do not advocate for his father to get the pardon because it was the unspoken word between him and Trump that this would happen. This is what sources have told me and my colleague Gloria Borger, but overall the story emerging from these pardons is that the president is using his pardon power to reward those close to him, some of whom would likely not meet the DOJ criteria for pardoning.

Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO)

VAUSE: And then there are the presidential pardons for convicted war criminals. The four Blackwater guards who opened fire on a crowd in Baghdad back in 2007. Whatever justice was done for victims of families after the massacre has now been undone in an instant. Painful emotional wounds have also been reopened. Here's CNN's Arwa Damon.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The horror filled memories of that day in September 2007 still haunt those who survived. Whose physical scars may have healed but who grapple with the psychological trauma nearly every day.

I remember seeing a woman and her son, their car was in front, it was on fire. She was crying out until she burned to death with her son, Hassan (ph) Jaber Salman says. There was so much gunfire it wasn't normal. Bodies just fell in the street. I wasn't wounded yet. I move my car to get away, and I was shot multiple times.

It was a sunny day in Baghdad one where the population could almost pretend their country wasn't being ravaged by violence. But those illusions shattered quickly in Iraq. In an instant of busy Baghdad roundabout for square turned into a streak of blood. Alirab Razzaq (ph) was the youngest victim, just 9 years old, shot in the head in the back seat of his car as his father helped fully watched him die.

My son was the heart of our family, his father Mohammed told us years ago. The shooting rampage was carried about one by what was then Blackwater, a private security company notorious for its brutish and trigger-happy behavior.

Blackwater claimed it's personal though numerous eyewitness accounts said that that was not true. From his hospital bed at the time, Salman had described how Blackwater operatives opened fire indiscriminately at civilians.

No one fired at Blackwater. They were not attacked by gunmen. They were not targeted, he said. Salman traveled to the U.S. to testify, almost seven years after the massacre. In the end one of the black water operatives was sentenced to life in prison. Three others sentence from 12 to 15 years.

Salman, a lawyer himself felt as if there was a semblance of justice. It renewed his faith in American ideals. Not anymore. President Trump, the first recent U.S. President to pardon convicted killers, let the murderers, the man who destroyed his life, walk free.

I say your decision, you're going to have to face God on this, Salman says. You did not fulfill justice. You pardon the criminals and the killers. The blood of the dead and wounded is on your hands. Arwa Damon, CNN, Istanbul.

VAUSE: Harry Litman is a former U.S. Attorney and legal affair columnist for the Los Angeles Times. And he is live with us from San Diego in California. OK, Harry, thank you for taking the time. Good to see you

HARRY LITMAN, LEGAL AFFAIRS COLUMNIST, LA TIMES: You too. Hi, John.

VAUSE: I want to know if you're picking up on a pattern here. So last month Trump pardoned the disgraced national security adviser Michael Flynn as of Wednesday, so too his close friend and 2016 campaign adviser Roger Stone.

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Also pattern campaign Chairman Paul Manafort, and campaign advisor George Papadopoulos. Not receiving a pardon, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and

Manafort's former deputy Rick Gates. Keep in mind during the Russian investigation Trump floated the promise of a pardon to those who did not cooperate with federal prosecutors. So look, if you just take that heading on each least and change it, well then we find out what actually has happened here.

So those who did not cooperate, look at that, it's the same as the list who got pardoned. What a coincidence aye? So it was basically a case of pardons sort of dangled and now pardons delivered and obstruction of justice is now complete.

LITMAN: Well, so let's see, yes, there of course of pattern but there is -- there's much more, John. But as you say, everyone who shutdown, who obstructed the Department of Justice's investigation, and mind you now this is the president of the United States is ultimately responsible for taking care that that function forward faithfully.

All of them get passes and get rewarded specifically for not playing ball. That's all true and of course as you say about Cohen and Gates.

But it really has gone farther. There were, in addition, pardons -- willy-nilly pardons of three Republican congressmen and of the Blackwater guards. Those were Hallmark prosecutions of the Department of Justice.

It's central to their integrity to be able to undertake them. So we've gone beyond simply -- and of course it was already quite serious. The obsession with trying to rub out the Mueller probe and now gone to basically a demolition job on institutions of justice.

If you think about the labor and the -- and the credibility put on the line of these different prosecutions than have now been rubbed out in the stroke of a pen, it is a step farther and a real abomination.

VAUSE: Well, one of those, you know cases which is being rubbed out is the case of Charles Kushner, real estate developer confessed tax cheat and father of Jared Kushner. Listen to the former governor, Chris Christie who was Kushner's trial prosecutor.

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CHRIS CHRISTIE, FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: I just think that it was so obvious he had to be prosecuted that -- I mean if a guy hires a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law and videotapes it and then sends the videotape to his sister to attempt to intimidate her from testifying before a grand jury, do I really need any more justification than that?

I mean it's one of the most lonesome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted when I was U.S. attorney.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

VAUSE: To say the least. You know only five of the top pardons in total appear to meet the Justice Department guidelines. I'm betting that Charles Kushner is not on -- well, not one of the five. Do we now officially have a two tier justice system?

If Trump gets away with this there's a justice system for friends of the president and there's a justice system for those who are not.

LITMAN: Yes. And -- and of course even worse in some instances but Christie is the perfect example. How do these things work? Even controversial partisan in the past, Mark Rick (ph) et cetera, you can't Casper Weinberger, you canvas the departments views, you ask for institutional stake holders.

All of that he has simply run rough shot over, ignored completely guidelines, which require, by the way, that someone have -- become repentant, return to a productive life. All that's out the window. It's just complete are you is my guy (ph). It's just true kind of mob rule. It is repugnant and I -- I -- I think certain what -- with respect with the pardon power, maybe with respect to any executive power in history, there's never been anything quite so vile.

VAUSE: Harry, we are out of time but there also is this trend of overturning the will of the people be by it by a jury decision or an election, that's been ongoing as well. But thank you very much for being with us and happy holidays. Thanks for your time.

LITMAN: Thank you, John. Good to see you.

VAUSE: Be well. Well, still to come, the U.K. detects another variant of the coronavirus. So how transferable is this mutation and will vaccines still be effective. A health expert weighs in a moment. And as millions travel for the holidays, experts are warning of a surge on top of the current pandemic surge.

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VAUSE: We have this just in to CNN; California is the first U.S. state to record more than 2 million cases of COVID-19. ICUs statewide are at or close to full capacity with COVID patients. California reached a million cases back November 12, roughly nine months into the pandemic. It has taken less than six weeks to add another million cases.

Nearly 120,000 Americans are in hospitals with COVID-19. That's a record high and about 40 percent higher than it was a month ago. And a surging number of infections has the CDC projecting the U.S. death toll reaching beyond 400,000 by mid next month, meaning almost 100,000 more lives would be lost in less than a month.

Now a second variant of the coronavirus has been detected in the U.K. It's believed to come from South Africa. And as CNN's Lucy Kafanov reports, it could be even more contagious than the first.

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LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a holiday gift no one wanted. The U.K. detecting two cases of yet another variant of COVID-19, this one originally identified in South Africa.

MATT HANCOCK, BRITISH HEALTH SECRETARY: This new variant is highly concerning because it is yet more transmissible and it appears to have mutated further than the new variant that's been discovered in the U.K.

KAFANOV: Experts say the current roster of vaccines should work against it. And across the pond the Trump administration buying 100 million more doses of Pfizer's vaccine.

WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: The more vaccine we have, the more quickly we can protect more people.

KAFANOV: Nearly 9.5 million doses distributed so far and just over one million administered.

FRANCIS COLLINS, NIH DIRECTOR: It may take months for us to get that supply.

KAFANOV: And more concerns about that new variant.

COLLINS: It appears to be more transmissible.

KAFANOV: The director of the National Institutes of Health warns that because the U.S. doesn't have a rigorous enough surveillance system, health experts face greater obstacles when attempting to identify new variant of COVID-19.

COLLINS: It would be surprising if it has not arrived on our shores.

KAFANOV: At least 40 countries have now halted or restricted travel from the United Kingdom, some states are taking action but want the federal government to do more.

BILL DE BLASIO, NEW YORK MAYOR: Effective immediately, all travelers, literally every single traveler coming from the United Kingdom will receive a Department of Health commissioners order directing them to quarantine.

KAFANOV: New York's mayor announcing the city will enforce a quarantine order with home visits.

BLASIO: If you don't comply with the quarantine that's a $1,000 fine.

KAFANOV: Despite warnings, nearly a million passengers flew through U.S. airports yesterday, a recipe for a holiday disaster.

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, INCOMING U.S. CDC DIRECTOR: We have been saying loud and clear to the entire American people we need to be limiting our mobility, period.

KAFANOV: Staying home is the safest bet. Cases on the rise across nine states nationwide, more than 195,000 new cases reported yesterday and more than 117,000 hospitalizations. Yet, another new record.

And California, too many coronavirus patients, not enough resources. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very exhausting, you know. It's really like a never ending struggle. It's really tough right now.

KAFANOV: Southern California has run out of ICU beds.

DR. NANCY BLAKE, CHIEF NURSING OFFICER, HARBOR-UCLA MEDICAL CENTER: It's the worst I've ever seen, I've been a nurse for 40 years and it's the worst I've ever seen. And some of the things these nurses are seeing whether patients are dying, there's no family members so they're holding that patient's hand or they're on the other side of an iPad where the family's crying.

KAFANOV: Lucy Kafanov, CNN, Los Angeles.

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VAUSE: And let's got California now. Dr. Jorge Rodriguez is a CNN medical analyst and a viral infection specialist. He's live for us in Los Angeles. He's essentially ground zero right now. Dr. Rodriguez, good to see you.

DR. JORGE RODRIGUEZ, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Thank you, John. Thank you.

VAUSE: You know there hasn't been just one mutation of the coronavirus but there's been thousands and that's to be expected. But it includes 17 unique mutations and that's not what has been expected. And this is what a number of scientist told CNN.

One said, "this is the first variant I've seen during the whole pandemic where I took a step back and said, whoa." Another told us, "we shouldn't immediately jump to the conclusion as many have done that it is not a concern."

And a third said this, "the mutations are indeed worrisome, they all need to be tested." There does seem to be now this sort of growing concern that the new vaccines, while still effective for COVID may not be as effective as they are right now, around that 95 percent mark when it comes to these mutations. And that may be the best case scenario.

RODRIGUEZ: Well, possibly John. But we -- we don't know that and actually it isn't very likely that that's the case. Experts, which's (ph) actually here in Scripps Institute in California that -- that help the mapping mutations think that -- and actually pretty well know that the vaccines are still going to work and probably still going to be very highly effective.

What leads us to be even more concerned is the fact that these mutations, which happen every second, every day, are occurring in the area called the spike protein of the virus where, for example, the Pfizer vaccine and the Moderna vaccine are -- are gearing toward antibodies being created.

Now, what I want people to understand is that a virus is almost like a beaded necklace with many different colored beads and there's a sequence of -- of those colors if when the virus replicates one of those colors gets replace by another color, it can change the whole composition of the virus but what is necessary for that happen is replication, is virus spread.

So as important as mutations is the fact that the more we spread the virus, the more virus there is in a community, the more likely that mutations will happen.

VAUSE: So with that in mind, the cases are soaring around the world not just in California but many countries now see a vaccine, any vaccine, as their only solution. Listen to the British health secretary. Here he is.

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HANCOCK: The vaccine is our root out of all this. And however tough this Christmas and this winter is going to be, we know that the transforming force of science is helping to find a way through.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

VAUSE: You know this is partly right. You know the vaccine alone, that won't end this pandemic, will it, especially if the virus continues to mutate and we still refuse to wear face masks and keep our distance.

RODRIGUEZ: I agree. I mean a vaccine is going to put -- the vaccines, I should say plural, are going to put huge dents in the transmission of the virus. But the second most important part after the vaccines is the human element and our ability to not transmit it.

So yes, we definitely have to get very serious now, even more so about mask and about hand washing. So it's going to take at least these two pronged approach to stop the spread of the vaccine. I mean excuse me, of the virus.

VAUSE: I want to finish up with the reports we have of the two allergic reactions to Pfizer's vaccine. The head of Operation Warp Speed says that the number of severe reactions is a lot higher or considerably higher than expected. And now the drug maker is considering clinical trials, this is Pfizer, for those who are very allergic, like they have to use a EpiPen, for example. Do you think that should start sooner rather than later?

RODRIGUEZ: Absolutely it should now. Again, let's keep in mind that there've only been around eight allergic reactions when over 800,000 vaccines had been given in the United States. It's less than .0001 percent of them.

However, you don't want there to be any reactions, you don't -- certainly don't want there to be any deaths, which there haven't been. So the sign -- the time to do clinical studies on that, I agree with you, is now.

VAUSE: Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, thank you so much and thank you for being with us for much of this year. We appreciate your insights.

RODRIGUEZ: Thank you. Thank you, happy holidays.

VAUSE: Merry Christmas. Thank you, sir.

Well, with the U.K. facing tough restrictions to try and contain the virus, British royals are finding ways to help those reeling from the pandemic regardless. We'll show you how.

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PRINCE CHARLES GEORGE OF WALES: 'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

CAMILLA SHAND, DUCHESS OF CORNWALL: The stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The children were nestled ...

(END VIDEOCLIP)

VAUSE: The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall there with a reading of a traditional favorite, "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." Prince Charles actually came up with this idea after he was approached by the Actors' Benevolent Fund and was told about the many difficulties the theater and film industries have faced this year because of COVID-19. This was done to support them.

Well, in case you are still looking for that last minute holiday gift, how about a face mask, one made with pure gold. A Turkish craftsman is selling masks made of gold and silver hoping to cater to those who want something a little more glamorous than the old N95 or surgical masks.

One of the gold masks actually weighs anywhere from 25 to 30 grams. It's pretty heavy. It's pretty heavy on your wallet as well, 2,600 bucks. Now whether the coverings can actually protect anyone from the coronavirus remains uncertain but they do look pretty good, look at that. Wow, spectacular. Maybe just have it as a decorate thing.

I'm John Vause. Another half hour of CNN Newsroom in a moment. Up next, though, (inaudible).

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