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Trump Rumored To Be Issuing 100 Pardons Tomorrow; Coronavirus Prediction 500,000 Deaths By Mid-February; Alexei Navalny Under Arrest Back In Russia; Palestinians Not Given A Place In Israel's Vaccine Program; Europe Tightens Travel Corridors And Enforce Curfews; Jay Y. Lee Returns To Jail; Kremlin Critic Detained on Return to Moscow; Biden to Sign Executive Orders on First Day in Office; China's GDP Grows 2.3 percent in 2020, Defying Expectations; 72 Players in Quarantine Ahead of Australian Open. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired January 18, 2021 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

MICHAEL HOLMES, ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: With the U.S. capital on lockdown and Donald Trump locked out of social media, the president about to give away 100 pardons before he leaves office.

The Kremlin's biggest critic back to Russia, and back to jail.

And cracking down on COVID-19 in Europe as travel corridors close and national curfews take effect.

And welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Appreciate your company.

Now the U.S. President Donald Trump has only two days remaining in office and before he leaves he is expected to use his clemency powers one last time.

Sources telling CNN that he's preparing to issue around 100 pardons and commutations on Tuesday, among them white-collar criminals and some high-profile musicians.

But, at least for now, he doesn't plan to pardon himself, we're told.

In the course -- in the past, of course, Mr. Trump has used his powers to commute or pardon a number of associates including Roger Stone and Michael Flynn. And in recent weeks he has received pardon requests from other allies.

Sources say he's still finalizing his list and note that anything could change between now and Wednesday when Joe Biden, of course, is inaugurated and becomes president.

Now all of this coming as officials across the country are trying to ensure a peaceful transition of power.

In Washington, authorities have further ramped up security to deter violence on inauguration day -- extraordinary that we have to say that.

The U.S. capital now surrounded by barriers and fences and patrolled by roughly 17,000 National Guard troops, and thousands more on the way.

Police presence at the Capitol is, of course, greater than it was on January 6th when rioters stormed the building with little resistance.

And now, a new video from "The New Yorker" magazine giving us a fresh look at the deadly attack.

A warning, we have not censored the language and some of the images you are about to see are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: (Shouting)

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Go, go. Go. Go, let's go.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Whose house?

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Our house.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Do not stand there. You're outnumbered. There's a fucking million of us out there. And we are listening to Trump, your boss. He said, he said -- he told us to come here.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Let us through.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: We're peaceful.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Let the people in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now President Trump is accused of inciting that deadly insurrection and was impeached last week but house of Representatives on the very charge.

The Democrat's lead impeachment manager who recently went through a family tragedy spoke about why it was so important to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD.): I'm not going to lose my son at the end of 2020, and lose my country and my republic in 2021. It's not going to happen.

And the vast majority of American people, Democrats, Republicans, independents, reject armed insurrection and violence as a new way of doing business in America. We're not going to do that.

This was the most terrible crime ever by a president of the United States against our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And returning now to our breaking news. U.S. President Donald Trump apparently planning to make some big pardons in the next few days.

Jeremy Diamond with those details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump is expected to issue around 100 pardons on Tuesday. That will be his final full day in office.

The pardons we're told are expected to include a mixture of some more controversial pardons to white-collar criminals, some high-profile rappers as well as potentially some of the president's political allies.

But there will also be in this batch several pardons that are more criminal justice reform minded.

Pardons that would be more akin to the one that the president gave to Alice Marie Johnson who herself has been advocating with the president for pardons for other individuals who have been incarcerated for a long time.

[01:05:00]

Now this final batch of clemency actions comes -- will really cap off weeks of a scramble by the president's political allies to try and secure pardons either for themselves or for other people.

In fact, "The New York Times" is reporting today that some of the president's allies have been paid tens of thousands of dollars to secure pardons or to at least to lobby the president to try and secure pardons for certain convicted felons.

As of now, though, our sources are telling us that a pardon, a self pardon for the president, is not expected at this time or at least that the paperwork for a self pardon has not yet been drawn up.

That is something that we are told President Trump has been access considering in recent weeks asking some of his allies and advisers whether or not it would be wise for him to do that.

And we're told that the idea of a self pardon really has -- the chances of that have really gone down in the wake of these riots that took place on January 6th. Because of the optics of the president pardoning himself potentially for something potentially that he is now being impeached for.

So again, more than -- about 100 individuals expected to see pardons or commutations from the president of the United States on Tuesday as the president winds down the final days and hours of his presidency.

DIAMOND (On Camera): Jimmy Diamond, CNN, the White House. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: I'm joined by CNN White House reporter, Stephen Collinson, live in Washington.

Before we get to some other issues, I want to get your thoughts on those pardons coming soon. We did expect them, but what are the perils for the president in terms of who he pardons and why?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Michael, this is what Donald Trump loves to do. He's long been fascinated by the almost absolute pardon power that a president possesses.

And, as you say, he's pardoned in the past a number of allies especially people who were caught up in the Mueller investigation over Russian intelligence interference in the 2016 election.

He's used the pardon power in fact to kind of unravel special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and the price that some people paid when they were caught up in that.

I think what we're looking at in the next few days is pardons of white-collar criminals, people who could be helpful to the president down the line. I think there'll be some criminal justice pardons, people who may actually deserve clemency from the outgoing presidency.

But largely this is a transactional exercise by the president. He's looking to people who can help him down the line in post-presidency, and he just loves wielding the special power that he has as president.

HOLMES: It does seem to be the theme overwhelmingly, those who have helped him or those who might be able to in the future.

We had Representative Jamie Raskin who will be an impeachment manager today. He said that the president's actions were the most terrible crime ever by a president of the United States against his country.

And there will be a impeachment trial, almost certainly. But what do you see as the political risks of that both in terms of keeping tensions bubbling along, but also sidelining new President Biden's agenda?

COLLINSON: Right. So when new presidents come into office they have very limited time when their power is at its apex and they try to use that, obviously, to get their most key priorities passed, to get their cabinet confirmed through the senate.

The danger of an impeachment trial is it consumes the senate for the first two or three weeks of Biden's presidency and that just slows everything up.

He has a 1.9 trillion dollar pandemic relief plan that he wants to get through. That includes money for things like speeding up the faltering vaccine rollout, getting kids back to school. That's clearly a huge priority for his presidency. Unlike many presidents, he'll take office with many of his cabinet

appointees not yet confirmed because the Republican Senate has dragged its feet on that so far. So that's going to be a huge problem.

You need your treasury secretary, your secretary of state -- in this circumstance, of course, the Health & Human Services secretary in the middle of a pandemic. You want people in those positions as quickly as possible.

HOLMES: Yes.

COLLINSON: And then, of course, as you say, there's a danger this could further sour the already very poisoned atmosphere in Washington and Biden needs Republican help to get a lot of what he wants to get done done.

HOLMES: We've only got a minute or so left. I did want to ask you quickly -- one of the most disturbing aspects of the Trump Presidency is how the party and a movement coalesced around one individual who said I alone can fix it, (inaudible), in spake (ph), I can be trusted, no one else.

How dangerous is that -- we know how dangerous it's been for the country -- how dangerous has it been for the Republican Party going forward? They have to regroup.

COLLINSON: Well, it's pulling the Republican Party apart but it's also soured millions of people, Trump supporters, on the U.S. system of government itself.

Only 19 percent of Republicans in a CNN poll that was released this weekend said that Biden was elected legitimately.

[01:10:00]

So that is not just a problem for Republicans who are going to have to deal with Biden to some extent, it's a huge problem for the country and makes it very difficult for Biden to have a successful presidency.

Especially one which he's basing on the need for national unity, for Americans to pull together, to finally get rid of this pandemic.

HOLMES: Always great to get you on and your analysis, Stephen Collinson. Thank you.

COLLINSON: Thanks.

HOLMES: Now when Joe Biden is sworn in this Wednesday, the National Mall in Washington will look a lot less festive than it has during previous inaugurations, for obvious reasons.

The giant park in front of the capital is usually used as a viewing area for the inaugural ceremony but this year it will be closed to the public due to security concerns.

One official says seeing the empty mall is surreal but acknowledges it is necessary to ensure a peaceful transition of power.

Don't forget to join us for extensive live coverage of the Biden inauguration this Wednesday, January 20. All day.

Now Russia's outspoken Kremlin critic is back in Moscow and back in police custody.

Top European diplomats and the U.S. secretary of state are condemning Alexei Navalny's detention and demanding his release.

Navalny was returning from Germany where he has spent months recovering from the poisoning that nearly killed him last summer.

Here's CNN's Fred Pleitgen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A final kiss, a final hug, with his wife, Yulia, and then opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, is led away by Russian security forces, detained shortly after landing at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport.

His first time back in Russia in five months since he was medevac'd to Germany in a coma after he was poisoned by the chemical nerve agent, novichok.

Shortly before his detention, Navalny saying he's not scared.

ALEXEI NAVALNY, RUSSIAN OPPOSE LEADER (Through Translator): Everyone is asking me if I'm scared, he says. I'm not afraid. I feel completely fine walking towards the border control.

I know that I will leave and go home because I'm right, and all the criminal cases against me are fabricated.

PLEITGEN: When Alexei Navalny boarded the plane hours earlier in Berlin, Germany, he was still joking when addressing reporters.

"Me, arrested? That's impossible," he joked.

But the events that then unfolded were remarkable. As Navalny was in the air, hundreds of his supporters and many journalists gathered at the airport where his flight was initially supposed to land. Scuffles broke out and riot police arrested several people.

Minutes before landing, the flight was diverted to another airport. Navalny saying he believes that the move shows that President Vladimir Putin was afraid of his return.

"This is not just the power of some despicable crooks," he said, "but the power of absolutely worthless people that are doing some nonsense. They are jeopardizing the air safety of a wonderful, big city; why? Just so Putin can say who needs him?"

An exclusive CNN investigation and Bellingcat investigation implicated Russia's intelligence service, the FSB, in the plot to poison Navalny. The Kremlin denied involvement.

CNN chief international correspondent, Clarissa Ward, even confronted one of the agents alleged to be in the plot.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (In Russian): My name's Clarissa Ward, I work for CNN.

PLEITGEN: After he recovered, Navalny said he wouldn't give Putin the satisfaction of keeping him out of Russia and he decided to return knowing the threat of arrest was real as Russian authorities said that he violated the terms of his probation in the 2014 fraud case. Which Navalny says is politically motivated.

Alexei Navalny never made it out of the airport. He will now remain in custody until at least the end of January, Russian authorities say.

PLEITGEN (Voice Over): Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now we'll take a quick break.

When we come back. The U.K. rolls out new travel restrictions as other parts of Europe say enough is enough.

More on the public frustration as lockdowns extended. That's when we come back.

And also a disagreement over who should be responsible for vaccinating the Palestinian Territories. How Israel's stance differs from that of the United Nations.

We'll be right back.

[01:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DR. JAMAL AL KAABI, UNDERSECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, ABU DHABI: Development of the vaccine itself is a worldwide challenge, but transporting the vaccine is an equal challenge.

This is why we developed in collaboration with other parties here in Abu Dhabi and worldwide of what we called the Hope Consortium. It represents a complete supply chain solution to address vaccine transport.

Well, the Hope Consortium has pooled its collective expertise to gather a multi-facet capability whether it's single or multi doses in cold and ultra-cold conditions in 2021 which will be the largest capacity and capability, originally, and one of the largest globally.

This will position Abu Dhabi as the global logistic hub to facilitate COVID-19 vaccine distribution across the world.

CNN VOICE OVER: This is the 100 Club. Our look at companies that are 100 years old or older.

NARRATOR: The dark, cramped archives at Encyclopedia Britannica feel like hallowed ground.

THEODORE PAPPAS, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA: We have business records and logs, minutes of boards' meetings going back to the late 19th Century. So it's really quite an array of -- a mirror, in essence, of the history of the West.

Encyclopedia Britannica was founded in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1768.

NARRATOR: In 2018, Britannica celebrated 250 years in business with a special anniversary edition honoring the past, but still looking far to the future.

PAPPAS: We feed off of our past in order to get a momentum for the future. And that's very exciting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Breaking news out of South Korea. The Seoul high court has ruled that Samsung heir, Jay Y. Lee, must serve two and-a-half years in jail for embezzlement and bribery.

He had previously been found guilty of bribery and other charges back in 2017 but that sentence was reduced and then suspended after appeal.

CNN's Paula Hancocks is in Seoul, South Korea and joins us now with the latest.

This new sentence, tell us about it. It was less than prosecutors wanted.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Michael, yes. Prosecutors were actually asking for nine years so certainly two-and-a-half years is a long way off of that.

Now this is a real long-winded case that has been going for a few years now. It's a huge influence peddling case that actually brought down a president here in South Korea, the former president Park Gyun- hye, implicated in this as well.

So, as you say, Jay Y. Lee, the vice chairman of Samsung, he was found guilty back in 2017 of bribery. He was sentenced to five years in prison back then.

But as you say, his sentence was reduced, he ended up only spending a little less than a year in prison but then the supreme court sent him back to the appeals court and said that they had undervalued the amount of bribes that he was implicated in.

So today they have found that he does need to spend more time in prison. He was remanded in court straight after the verdict went down but the year that he has spent in prison will go towards that two and- a-half years.

[01:20:00]

But this is really part of that bigger massive court case that at the time, in 2017 was dubbed the "Trial of the Century" here in South Korea.

Now there were supporters of Jay Y. Lee, there were also some corporate supporters who were asking for him to have a lenient term, a lenient prison term, or even a lenient suspended term because they believe that he was putting so much into the economy and helping the economy recover after COVID.

But what we heard from many of the activists who do not like the cozy relationship between business and some of the political elites in the past in this country will certainly welcome the fact that he has gone back to prison.

Michael.

HOLMES: All right. Bringing us the latest there, Paula Hancocks in Seoul. Thank you.

Well, the world has just hit another horrifying number in the coronavirus pandemic.

John Hopkins University reporting that the known number of COVID-19 cases globally has surpassed 95 million a few hours ago.

And the outlook in the U.S. is dismal. Nearly 400,000 people have died of the virus thus far.

And on Sunday, the incoming CDC director offered this staggering prediction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, INCOMING CDC DIRECTOR: Nearly 4,000 deaths a day, almost 400,000 deaths total. By the middle of February, we expect half a million deaths in this country.

That doesn't speak to the tens of thousands of people who are living with a yet uncharacterized syndrome after they've recovered.

And we still yet haven't seen the ramifications of what happened from the holiday travel, from holiday gathering in terms of high rates of hospitalizations and the deaths thereafter.

So yes, I think we still have some dark weeks ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And Americans are dying of COVID-19 faster as well. It took 117 days to go from 100- to 200,000 deaths, 117 days; 84 days to go from 200- to 300-- and just 35 days to get where we are now, at nearly 400,000.

That is just staggering. And it should frighten everyone. Now turning our attention to Europe where the U.K. is requiring any

visitors to provide a negative test for COVID-19 and self-isolate upon arrival. The latest measure to slow the spread of the virus while the government distributes as many vaccine shots as possible.

Here CNN's Scott McLean.

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The bells are ringing in this cathedral in England.

But this is not a traditional service.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: A sharp scratch.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Oh.

MCLEAN: High ceilings and open layout make it and some other cathedrals across the country a perfect space for makeshift vaccination centers.

So far, a good turnout. The U.K. government says around 45 percent of people 80 and over have been vaccinated.

STELLA BENNETT, VACCINE RECIPIENT: I feel a bit safer, I do feel a bit safer. I live on my own so it's important.

MCLEAN: So important that Britain's foreign secretary says the goal in the U.K. is for every adult to be offered a first dose of vaccine by September.

As shots go into arms, the U.K. is also taking tougher measures to try to stop new variants of the virus from entering the country.

Starting Monday, all travel corridors are temporarily closed and all incoming travelers must have proof of a negative COVID-19 test and quarantine upon entry.

Austria is also extending its current lockdown until February 8th over fears of new variants. Even though thousands of people rallied in Vienna on Saturday calling for the government to resign, to protest the third round of closures since March.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER (Through Translator): It can't go on like this, the measures are simply too much. From all sides.

MCLEAN: Riot police used water cannons on thousands of protesters in Amsterdam who gathered in a similar protest after the Dutch government extended its closures of schools and most shops.

In France, only melting snow on some city streets as a curfew from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. went into effect over the weekend.

In Norway, health officials are looking into the cases of 23 elderly people who died after receiving the vaccine.

The public health institute says it can't rule out that common reactions to the vaccine like fever or nausea may have contributed to the deaths of elderly, frail people with underlying disease.

MCLEAN (Voice Over): Scott McLean, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now Brazil has given a emergency use authorization to two coronavirus vaccines.

[01:25:00]

The Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine as well as the Coronavac vaccine from the Chinese pharmaceutical company, Sinovac, will be used to help slow the spread in the worst hit country in Latin America.

Healthcare workers gave the first dose of the Coronavac vaccine to a nurse in Sao Paulo on Sunday despite that vaccine only having a 50 percent effectiveness in phase three trials.

Brazil's health agency regulator noted it was given approval due to the rise in COVID-19 cases and lack of therapeutic alternatives.

Now Israelis are getting vaccinated against the coronavirus at a record rate; more than 20 percent of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.

The U.N. says, though, Israel has obligations to vaccinate Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza as well. Israel says that's the job of the Palestinian Authority.

With our report, Sam Kiley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAM KILEY, CNN SNR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This Jewish man and this Arab resident of Jerusalem have something life-saving in common. They've both got Israeli I.D. cards and can therefore benefit from Israel's world leading anti-COVID vaccination program.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on track to meet his claim of inoculating Israel's entire 9 million population by the end of March.

But that, ?ays the United Nations, isn't good enough. The U.N. insists that Israel as the occupying power is responsible for ensuring that more than four-and-a-half million Palestinians also get vaccinated.

"Morally and legally, this differential access to necessary health care in the midst of the worst global health crisis in a century is unacceptable," U.N. experts said.

A recent study produced by B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights group, says that the treatment of Palestinian groups is under Israeli control is so unequal, they've labeled it "apartheid."

Israel's embassy in London dismissed the report as "not based in reality but on a distorted ideological view." Israel also rejected claims that it was responsible for the health of Palestinians, insisting that the Palestinian Authority was in charge.

YULI EDELSTEIN, ISRAELI MINISTER OF HEALTH: We're trying to get as much vaccines as possible, but our calculation was based on Israeli citizens.

If we get to a situation where the -- all those in this country who want to be vaccinated will be vaccinated, we will be more than ready to share the vaccines with our neighbors. At this stage we are talking about Israeli citizens.

KILEY: This is Kafr 'Aqab, a Palestinian town annexed illegally, according to international law, to Jerusalem by Israel. It's cut off from the city by a security wall.

Some Palestinians here like Anan (ph) on the right can get the COVID vaccine with their Israeli IDs; others, like Mahmud (ph) on the left cannot.

"It's racist," Mahmud says. Anan says, "Half of the people here cannot take it and also I'm not going to take it. I'm not going to take it when they can't? I won't."

The Palestinian Authority hospitals are struggling for funds after Donald Trump cut U.S. aid of 200 million to the Palestinians in 2018.

Still, the Palestinian Authority says it's hoping to import vaccines soon but is struggling amid a worldwide shortage.

The percentage of Palestinian patients infected with COVID-19 who die is about 1.1 percent. Israel's is 0.7 percent but worse is the U.S. at 1.7 percent or the U.K., 2.6 percent.

Yet infection rates are climbing. And medics here cannot get vaccinations.

WAFA SHIHADEH, RAMALLAH CENTRAL HOSPITAL: We are starting to feeling -- get depressed. Because we are not getting the vaccines here in Palestinian Territories, in Palestine.

And we are seeing our -- at the borders, the other side of the borders, Israel are getting -- I think three days ago, 1,600,000 people got vaccinated. And here, in Palestine, the number of vaccinated people is zero.

KILEY: A statistic that shocks few Palestinians but is certain to add to the bitterness so many already feel towards their efficient and powerful neighbor.

KILEY (Voice Over): Sam Kiley, CNN, Ramallah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: We're going to take a quick break here on the program. When we come back. Police detained Alexei Navalny as soon as he

returned to Moscow. Coming up, a look at where Russia's opposition stands now that he's back.

We'll be right back.

[01:29:52]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: And welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM everyone. Appreciate your company.

I'm Michael Holmes.

And returning now to Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's detention on his return to Moscow. Navalny was arriving from Germany where he recovered from a nearly fatal poisoning last year. Police took him into custody as soon as he arrived, accused of violating a suspended prison sentence in connection with an alleged fraud case.

U.S. and European leaders are condemning Navalny's detention and demanding his immediate release.

Jill Daugherty is a fellow at Georgetown University. She joins me now from Washington D.C. She's also a former CNN Moscow bureau chief and a valued colleague of ours.

Great to see you, Jill.

Vladimir Putin has dismissed Alexei Navalny as merely a blogger but these actions suggest otherwise. What is it Vladimir Putin is afraid of when it comes to Navalny?

JILL DAUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, I think there are many different factors, but obviously, Alexei Navalny at this moment really is the opposition leader. If there's any leader of the movement he is it.

He's also a very intelligent and a very canny person. You know, when you say blogger, or he's been described as a blogger as well, but that really kind of puts -- it kind of demeans what he actually does. He is a very canny communicator.

[01:35:02]

DAUGHERTY: And so he actually -- you know, he's run for government before. He has ran for the mayor of Moscow and actually did quite well.

So he's is a political leader and then he is also able to talk to people, his supporters, in a very interesting way.

And I have to say Michael, on this return to Russia, you could see this kind of trolling of the Kremlin, you know. When they asked him, you know, what are you expecting back in Moscow, and he said temperatures minus 23 and a warm welcome.

You know, it is -- there is a modern edge to him that communicates with young people and with people who are kind of disaffected and increasingly, unhappy with what Vladimir Putin is doing.

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: I was going to say, I mean obviously he threatens Putin with his popularity. What then can the international community do? What should it do? And what are the risks to Putin if he moves too harshly on Navalny?

DAUGHERTY: Well, that is the problem right now because, you know, I think they probably expected that once Navalny was out of the country, let's say he'd stay in Germany or whatever.

But staying in Germany diminished his impact in Russia. You really have to be on the ground in Russia in order to do what Navalny does. So all of a sudden, he is back. So the Kremlin is trying to figure out what to do.

And Putin's dilemma right now is if he does something that is very, very harsh -- you already have the supporters who are going to be protesting. There are indications there that they will definitely be pushing it to the limits as much as they can, you know, to support him.

And then also, if they do something they have already tried, at least we understand, that the Kremlin did want him poisoned then, if that is the case, what is next?

I mean if they'd gone that far, could he -- if he's in detention because hurt, injured, murdered? It's very dangerous I think?

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: You would think he'd be -- that would be a risky thing to take.

We are nearly out of time but I wanted to ask you in a broader sense how you would characterize the opposition movement in Russia. Is it united? Does it have any real power? Can it achieve anything given Putin's many crackdowns?

DAUGHERTY: It's very difficult, Michael because basically, it's been -- I would call it almost emasculated in some traditional way. It is unable, -- people from the opposition find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to run for office and be elected.

That said, there have been protests across Russia for at least the last year, actually a couple of years, and there is discontent growing, you know, with sanctions and the economic situation. So I think the Kremlin is genuinely worried.

And now he's back. And they are trying to figure out exactly what to do. HOLMES: Yes. Always good to have your analysis. You know the country

well. Jill Daugherty, great to see you. Thanks, Jill.

DAUGHERTY: Thank you, Michael.

And when we come back on the program, the Biden team has an ambitious plan to boost the struggling U.S. economy. Allies reacting with hope, but also, some demands. That is coming up next.

And China's economy beats the predictions. The latest GDP numbers ahead.

[01:38:34]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: And more now on the breaking news story.

The White House, apparently spending the last few days of the Trump presidency putting together a list of pardons and commutations. Sources telling us, that President Trump plans to issue around a hundred of them on his last full day in office.

There are still names that could be added or taken off that list up until the last minute, of course. "The New York Times" reporting that some Trump allies are charging tens of thousands of dollars to help felons secure pardons -- extraordinary.

And with just days left before his inauguration President-Elect Joe Biden preparing to hit the ground running when he takes office. He's already got his first signature legislation announced, the $1.9 trillion relief package meant to help the U.S. economy ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden's team has also announced about a dozen executive orders that he plans to sign on the first day including orders to pause evictions and student loan payments during this pandemic.

Let's talk now about how the global economy could react to the future Biden presidency.

John Defterios joining me now from Dubai. Good to see you, John.

President-Elect Biden pledging to hit the ground running in his first hundred days. What do you make of his agenda? Ambitious, too ambitious?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, I think there is a danger that the bar is set too high because he made those pledges campaigning and as soon as he was elected, and that was verified, Michael and especially if you combine the domestic and international agendas.

You pointed to this and I think we can take a look here with our pilot. The priority has to be this $1.9 trillion stimulus package here. It is ambitious. It's probably going to end up something little lower than that, depending on how he does with the Senate Republicans in terms of negotiations.

He has pledged to vaccinate 100 million Americans in the first hundred days. That is a very tough agenda to deliver upon but he says is necessary, wants Americans to wear masks for 100 days, something that is very controversial under the Trump administration and his base pushing back against their free liberties here not to wear a mask.

And then finally the $1,400 dollar stimulus checks, if you add it on to what we saw at the end of 2020 that takes it up to $2,000.

And this is where the finesse comes in with Joe Biden and his experience in the Senate. Getting the collective support within Congress and also, pleasing the left side of the Democratic Party. This is a progressive package but it's not one that offends the business community, if I can put it that way.

We've heard from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce which is very powerful in the senate. They are willing to work with the Biden administration, look forward to doing so to make sure that the package is efficient.

I thought it was also interesting that the business roundtable, which is kind of an elite group of the top CEOs in the United States all said the same.

I believe Donald Trump is very erratic. They like the lower corporate taxes but everything else when it came to sanctions and relations with transatlantic partners is very different.

The tone from Joe Biden will be very different going forward as he sets in to his first hundred days.

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HOLMES: Yes. Tariffs as well, there' a whole raft of things.

I want to ask you about the international agenda for the President- Elect. I mean, you know, what can we expect first in that vein? And you were touching on some of this. And what sort of demands are being made by the long-term allies that you've been hearing?

DEFTERIOS: Yes. It is an important point though here Michael. Let's call it the great American Reset because that is what it's going to require.

We have a short list here. You talked about it just briefly, but the Paris climate agreement pretty extraordinary as the world's largest economy that the U.S. is not part of it. It is a priority for Joe Biden so much so it's putting John Kerry, the former secretary of state, as the special envoy and putting him on the National Security Council.

Everybody is concerned about the shift in climate change, the rising temperatures, forest fires, the hurricanes that we saw and he wants to address that. He will eliminates this Muslim travel ban which is up to seven countries that Donald Trump put into place in 2017. And then then this third item I think is quite important. It's that we already see the demands, people pulling at Joe Biden saying let's reset trans-Atlantic relations. The French Foreign Minister said we have to pause the U.S. sanctions on the European Union, something you don't do to your allies.

That will be a strength of Joe Biden if he can get this done. And now the giant elephant in the room is China because as you know, Donald Trump was slapping sanctions of to China. President Xi and he had a good relationship with the start of the Trump Administration that deteriorated rapidly in this tit for tat sanctions.

And again, this is a delicate balancing act for Joe Biden. He doesn't want to look soft on China but everybody was saying we are trying to recover from the pandemic, you can't have tattered relations with the second largest economy in the world, Michael.

HOLMES: Yes, good point.

Great analysis as always. John, thank you. John Defterios there in Dubai.

Well, China's economy grew beyond expectations last year. The government reported the economy expanded 2.3 percent, while the rest of the world, of course, struggled through the pandemic.

Beijing defied the International Monetary Fund's prediction of 1.9 percent growth. The world's second largest economy surprising many people with the speed of its recovery.

Let's talk a little bit more about this with Steven Jiang. He joins us now from Beijing.

Slowest growth rate since 1976. But it's about perspective, isn't it during a global pandemic, other countries plunging into recession.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: That's right. It is about perspective. As you mentioned, that's one aspect officials announcing this growth figure. Emphasized that despite the 2.3 percent to figure this still makes China the only major world economy that saw growth in 2020.

And of course, for China that's almost unprecedented. As you mentioned, the last time they saw a year this bad was when Chairman Mao was still the ruler of this country.

But officials are obviously focusing on the positive saying this growth figure not only pointing to how they recovered very quickly because they said back in 2020 the first quarter they actually saw the economy contract or shrink by almost 7 percent.

And the economy has since gradually bounced back and has picked up pace every quarter since then. The las quarter in 2020, the economy actually grew by 6.5 percent. And then of course, they're pointing to the fact that their stimulus policies including pumping money into big infrastructure projects as well as offering citizens cash handouts to stimulate consumer spending, that has all been working and working well.

Even on the international trade front, they have seen some really positive figures with the country actually recording a record trade surplus over its trading partners, including against the U.S., despite the trade war Mr. Trump launched back in 2018.

So there's a lot of positive they are pointing to and they're trying to maintain this momentum as now we are in 2021. But they are obviously still facing some challenges ahead, including these recent outbreaks, localized outbreaks in several provinces throughout China.

And that already in a way was reflected in the December figure when consumer spending was actually growing at a weaker than expected rate because of these localized outbreaks as officials especially local officials starting to reimposed some of the more draconian containment measures we hadn't seen since the days of the Wuhan lockdown.

That's why I think for the central leadership here they're trying to really strike this very delicate balance while we are containing this virus within its borders but also trying not to stifle the economic recovery and growth especially when the global environment remains unstable, Michael.

HOLMES: All right. Steven Jiang, thank you so much. Good to see you.

Well, the Australian Open is set to begin in a few weeks, but many players are finding themselves locked in quarantine. The frustrations they are facing, as well as the unusual practice methods.

Our live report is next.

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HOLMES: Welcome back.

72 players are now in quarantine ahead of the Australian Open after a positive test on board three flights. And we are just learning that nine people linked to the tournament have now tested positive for COVID-19. That does include one unnamed player who's currently in quarantine.

Now despite all of this, the tournament will go ahead as planned.

Let's get to Sydney live with journalist, Angus Watson.

I mean quarantine is not the ideal sort of preparation for an elite sport. Where do things stand for the players and the event itself?

ANGUS WATSON, CNN JOURNALIST: Absolutely. So as you said, Michael, these 72 players are going to be at a severe disadvantage. Everybody who (INAUDIBLE) -- all of the players knew that they were going to have to quarantine (AUDIO GAP) for two weeks on arrival and that's why the organizers (INAUDIBLE) worked so hard to (INAUDIBLE) to get a start date and to push that start date by two weeks to allow for (INAUDIBLE).

But because 72 of these players may have been exposed to the coronavirus (INAUDIBLE), they have to go into quarantine and they can't practice while they're there.

One of the stipulations was quarantine in place will be allowed to play tennis for five hours a day to get themselves ready for the tournament but these 72 players won't be able to do that.

[01:54:59]

WATSON: So it does put some players at an advantage, you would say, if they can get that time on the court.

And Australia's own number one, Ashleigh Barty, being already in the country doesn't have to quarantine at all, Michael, so it's a strange way to start the tournament indeed.

HOLMES: Yes. It's sort of -- your signal is going in and out a little bit but we'll persevere and try one more question.

I mean what is interesting here is this is a sign that Australia isn't messing around with coronavirus protocols whether you're a tennis player or not. Just really quick.

WATSON: Absolutely, Michael. So Australia didn't have any cases of COVID-19 in the country over the past 24 hours. And that seems like a great place to have a tennis competition in an age where the rest of the world is doing not as well as Australia might be.

But these are hard fought gains that Australis has made. Lockdowns, quarantines, contact tracing -- that is how Australia's been able to do this and these rules can't be bent now. The organizers accept that the government has ruled and you know, it's not fair that much of this (INAUDIBLE) has been terrible, Michael.

HOLMES: Yes, indeed. I mean it is a sports-mad country as I know well but also from talking to my own friends down there, they back these precautions. They do not want COVID to come back after what they have gone through.

Angus Watson, appreciate it there in Sidney. Thank you so much.

And thank you for watching. I appreciate the company.

I'm Michael Holmes.

My colleague Robyn Curnow is up next with another hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

Stick around for that.

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