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U.K., Germany, Italy And Czech Republic Confirm First Cases Of Omicron Variant; Israel Slaps Two-Week Ban On Entry For Non-Israelis Over New Variant; Federal Appeals Court To Hear Arguments On Release Of Trump Files; WAPO: Bannon Wants Contempt Case Documents Released; Even Non-Supporters Prop Up Trump's "Russian Hoax" Fantasy; Key Senate Race Opens Up After Trump-Backed Candidate Drops Out; Broadway Composer Stephen Sondheim Dies At 91. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired November 27, 2021 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: Today, confirming cases of a COVID variant that could be highly infectious and vaccine resistant. Now, Dr. Anthony Fauci says it may already be here in the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I would not be surprised if it is. We have not detected it yet. When you have a virus like this, it almost invariably is ultimately going to go essentially all over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The omicron variant, first identified in South Africa, is on the move. Within the last few hours, cases of the omicron variant have been identified in the Czech Republic, Italy, Germany, and the U.K.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson seemingly confirming what so many have feared could happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It does appear that omicron spreads very rapidly and can be spread between people who are double vaccinated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And this just in, Israel is barring foreigners from entering the country for two weeks in response to fears about the variant. The U.S. and other nations hope that restricting travel from South Africa and its neighbors will buy time as scientists race to learn more about this new variant.

CNN's Arlette Saenz joins me now from Nantucket, Massachusetts, where President Biden is spending the weekend.

Arlette, an ER doctor spoke to last hour said we just need to require vaccination for air travel at this point. What do you think? Do you think though the White House is in any mood for those kinds of restrictions?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Biden actually ignored a question kind of along those lines a short while ago while he was out shopping here in Nantucket. A reporter on a few occasions shouted a question asking whether more mitigation measures needed to be put in place in response to this variant, the President just kept walking by and did not offer his thoughts on that right there.

But the President was briefed earlier in the day by his team and senior health officials within the Biden administration have stayed in contact with health officials worldwide as everyone is trying to get a grasp on the impact of this omicron variant.

Now, Vice President Kamala Harris was also out a bit earlier today shopping in Washington, D.C., and she said that they are simply taking one step at a time when it comes to restrictions. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have been briefed, and as the President has said, we're going to take every precaution, and so that's why we've taken the measures we have.

QUESTION: Can you give any additional travel restrictions?

HARRIS: We'll take it one step at a time. But as of now, we've done what we believe is necessary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: So, so far, no indication from the administration whether they will be making any future announcements about travel or other mitigation measures that they might put in place, but officials are hoping that these restrictions that are set to go into effect on Monday that that will provide more time for analysis, time to review the data to see how exactly this new variant is going to act, whether it will cause severe illness or potentially evade vaccines.

One thing that the administration is pushing at this moment is vaccinations and booster shots. They argue that that is the way for Americans to become protected. Now, there has also been some diplomatic work done today. Secretary of State Tony Blinken spoke with a Foreign Minister in South Africa, and one of the issues that they talked about, he offered -- he thanked them for their quick identification of the variant and South Africa's government for its transparency and sharing this information.

Of course, South African has been irked by some of these bans that have been put in place not by just the U.S., but other countries, as well. But that's a significant phone call that the Secretary of State made to talk about that transparency that South Africa had when it came to the variant, but certainly we'll see what else the White House has to say about this in the coming days as the President returns to the White House tomorrow.

ACOSTA: All right, Arlette Saenz, thanks for staying on top of that. We appreciate it.

Italy confirmed its first case of the omicron variant today. CNN contributor, Barbie Nadeau is in Rome for us. Barbie, what do we know about this case? It's worrisome that it is just spreading everywhere now.

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: No, that's absolutely right. We know that this is a man who traveled from Mozambique into Italy, and tested positive at this airport upon arrival and then made his way to Campania, which is where Naples is, south of Rome. And when they analyzed his results, they've determined that it was the omicron virus.

He is isolating at home, we're told, which would imply that he's not in the hospital, or too sick. But it's interesting because if you look back to March 2020, Italy was very much in the same position that South Africa is in right now. Italy was the first epicenter outside of China and people were banning Italians and flights from Italy, and eventually all of Europe.

And I suppose, if we learned anything from the first of now four waves of this pandemic is that these travel bans by the time they are put in place is too late. The virus is already moving around -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, Barbie Nadeau, thank you very much for that.

Now, let's bring in Dr. Rob Davidson. He's an ER physician and Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Healthcare.

Hey, Doctor, thanks so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

[18:05:03]

ACOSTA: Before we get to the dangerous COVID surge in your State of Michigan, which I mean, my goodness that is a huge story in and of itself. Let's get your thoughts on this new variant. How concerned are you?

DR. ROB DAVIDSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COMMITTEE TO PROTECT HEALTHCARE: Well, I think anytime a new variant pops up, we have to be concerned, we have to be vigilant. We have to continue to do the things we should have been doing all along, you know, wearing masks indoors and getting as many people vaccinated as possible, and then wait for the science to let us know how concerned we need to be.

You know, I agree with the restrictions, but as your last reporter said, you know, I don't know that it's on the move now that we're finding it. I think it's probably been on the move, and now we're just finding it, you know. So it's almost certainly here in some places. And again, those basic mitigation measures that too many people aren't doing is what we can do to protect ourselves.

ACOSTA: And Dr. Davidson, when it comes to the virus, we keep hearing that saying nobody is safe until everybody is safe. This variant emerged in South Africa, as far as we know, which has only vaccinated about 36 percent of adults and one-third of those have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Does this latest episode prove the U.S. needs to do more to get the rest of the world vaccinated?

DAVIDSON: Absolutely. And President Biden announced just the other day that he believes we need to encourage the lifting of the patent rights, you know, so we can get more vaccine manufactured in other countries that have the capacity to do so.

But I'm currently working in a county that's about 42 percent vaccinated, not a whole lot better than South Africa, and we're seeing a massive wave of COVID over the last month, and who knows where the next variant comes from. This one happens to come from South Africa. You know, U.S. is not immune to variants popping up here.

ACOSTA: And Dr. Davidson, you mentioned that that's an alarming statistic in terms of where you are. When you talk to people about why they won't get vaccinated. What are they saying? Are they still just -- you know, are they still just been misled by misinformation, and they're just, they've just been overcome by it?

DAVIDSON: They have. And you know, I had mentioned that somebody who wasn't there for COVID, and it was actually the spouse of a patient I had and I said, so are you both vaccinated? He said, oh, no, I've heard that the vaccine will kill you. And you know, I stopped dead in my tracks. I said, no, I've got three people on ventilators upstairs and four people on high-flow oxygen waiting for beds that don't exist, you know, the virus will kill you. The vaccine is what is going to get us out of this.

And we had a real conversation. Unfortunately, it may have been the first one that he's had with somebody outside of his own family doctor. And, you know, it's a very strange situation. As I talk to my staff all the time, you know, we are frustrated with our patients who are unvaccinated. We are really pissed at the people out there pushing the disinformation, like folks on FOX and groups on Facebook and America's frontline doctors.

But in the end, we need to take care of our patients and we need to maintain that compassion that makes us good at what we do. And, and that isn't hard to do when someone comes in and they're very sick. You know, whatever their choice was before they got there, we just keep doing the work.

ACOSTA: Right. I mean, they were misled. I mean, so it's tough to blame them. I get it.

Let's focus in on Michigan. What is going on in Michigan? My goodness, your state is approaching all-time highs for COVID cases and hospitalizations. The Federal government is sending in extra help. What is the scene like in your emergency room? I mean, I just feel like, you know, these are scenes that we should have seen like, I get it, six months ago, a year ago -- that sort of thing. Look at that map.

Coronavirus in Michigan, high level of community transmission all across the state. It's unbelievable.

DAVIDSON: It is unbelievable. I mean, I remember being so naive as to high five one of my partners after the last wave thinking we got out of this, the vaccines are here. But again, I'm in a part of Michigan that the vaccination rate is extremely low. You know, there has been discord in the state from the beginning. If you remember, our Governor here had death threats against her and some of those folks were being -- you know, we're working with members of the Republican Senate in Michigan.

So it's coming from political leaders, it's coming from social media, it's coming from media, and the low vaccination rate is absolutely the reason this is all happening. Our ER, constantly is about a third to a half full with patients waiting for beds, but the beds aren't there. You know, the beds don't exist. So we have to wait until someone else gets discharged.

And it's been about three to four weeks now of this. You know, we're at Code Red, they set different levels. We finally hit that number and our President of our hospital said, you know, we went to Red, but we're just worried, what's next? There's nothing after Red.

ACOSTA: Yes, and what do you do -- what do you do if on top of this, on top of what you're dealing with now, omicron ends up being a major public health crisis?

DAVIDSON: It is -- it is a crisis, you know, right now and people's care is being compromised in some way or another and not just COVID patients. We have ambulances driving, you know, two to three hours away to bring people the beds that pop up every once in a while and they're not there when someone else is having chest pain and calls for an ambulance or is having a stroke.

And so, unquestionably, there are people suffering who did get vaccinated, who don't have COVID, who have the other routine illnesses that we treat all the time. And so we just keep pushing forward, battling the disinformation, you know, taking care of the patients in a moment, but doing double duty, like folks with the Committee to Protect Healthcare other doctors around, you know, kind of chomping at the bit to get out there and get the word out, and that's what we'll keep doing and hang on for dear life hoping this wave eventually ends.

ACOSTA: Yes, and by the time they get to you, they're at the end of that disinformation wave. It has crashed over them and sent them to you.

Dr. Rob Davidson, thanks as always for the candid remarks and all of this. Keep it up. We appreciate you so much.

DAVIDSON: All right.

ACOSTA: Thanks for what you're doing, and your experience. Thanks a lot.

DAVIDSON: Thank you. Stay safe.

ACOSTA: You, too.

The economy is in good shape right now, but could this new COVID variant knock it off course? Plus, one TV doctor could be looking for a new title, U.S. senator. That's right. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:08]

ACOSTA: The new omicron coronavirus variant has scientists, doctors, and world leaders scrambling, but the fallout has gone far beyond public health. Investors were spooked Friday as travel bans began taking shape causing the Dow to fall more than 900 points, its worst performance since October 2020.

Also, oil dropped 13 percent for folks who are watching gas prices. That was the worst day for oil prices since April of last year.

Let's break it all down with CNN global economic analyst and "Financial Times" Associate Editor, Rana Foorohar.

Rana, great having you on with us. We appreciate it. We just learned Israel as boring foreigners from entering the country for two weeks in response to fears over the omicron variant. Are days like yesterday just a case of the market not liking uncertainty, or are we starting to potentially dip into something that is going to get ugly?

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: You know, it all depends on where this virus goes, Jim, whether it proves to be resistant to vaccines, how far it spreads, and how fast?

You know, over the last two years, it's always been about the trajectory of the virus and the vaccines, and that's a little bit unclear as of yet. So, I think that what you're seeing now are the states and cities and countries that have been through this two, three, four rounds are really erring on the side of caution. And so you're seeing, you know, travel stocks plunge, you're seeing some of the retail stocks down.

You know, interestingly, shopping on Black Friday was still pretty robust. Of course, a lot of that can be done online. But I expect to see a lot of market volatility next week as we get more information.

ACOSTA: Yes, I don't even want to look at what happens on Monday morning. But I guess, we'll all do it together. The fresh fears of this new variant come at a time when many large companies in the U.S., including ours are wrestling with when to bring the workforce back to the office.

The summer was supposed to be the time to come back, then came delta, now omicron. I mean, what are we -- is the office as we know it kind of over for the time being? I guess, again, it depends on what the science tells us in the coming days.

FOROOHAR: You know, I've got to say, Jim, I'm kind of short, as they say on the street on the office. Because you know, even before this variant, you know, reared its ugly head, we were seeing a lot of companies saying, look, we're never going back to the new normal. It makes sense for us to go back two days a week, three days a week.

It isn't the Wall Street banks, frankly, which are known for being really hard driving and wanting people to be in the office. They are saying you know what, it's just ridiculous to make people spend hours commuting in and this is only going to reinforce that.

I think it's also going to change the entire geography of work in the country and real estate markets. You know, you can see, two to three hours outside the major cities, some of the price increases relative to urban areas, that's only going to increase.

I think in two, three, five years, we're all going to look around and say, wow, this pandemic did a lot to change the look and feel of America geographically.

ACOSTA: Wow. That's interesting, and Americans have been hit hard by these rising gas prices, as you know. I mean, it forced the White House to take action in recent days. So, when they hear oil prices took a major tumble yesterday. I mean, what do you think? Is that going to translate into some slightly lower gas prices in the next week or so?

FOROOHAR: You know, I'm not holding my breath. It is interesting that, you know, just last week, we were talking about inflation and inflation fears. Now, it's all about, wow, oil is back down to where it was in 2018. Gas prices are probably going to follow.

I think, it is going to be very volatile. It's really hard to say because it could be that certain countries will do better managing this variant and then you'll get sort of mismatches in when certain countries are coming back and others aren't, and then that will fuel demand and supply mismatches, which could cause further inflation. It is just really hard to know, and back to your point about uncertainty, markets sure don't like that.

ACOSTA: Yes, and put putting the science aside. I mean, people want to argue over the science as to whether they should get vaccinated or not whether we should have vaccine mandates. Putting the scientific argument of that to the side for a moment, not to say that it's unimportant, but strictly from an economic standpoint, would it make sense for the airlines to adopt vaccine mandates, do you think?

FOROOHAR: I think it would. I think that particularly when it comes to business travel that would make companies feel a lot better, a lot safer. I think we're probably headed that way. You can also you know, already see in certain cities around the country and the world that you do have to show your proof of vaccine.

I can tell you, I went to get my booster today. There was a very long line out the pharmacy and I suspect it had something to do with this variant.

ACOSTA: I suspect you're right. All right, Rana Foroohar, thanks so much for your expertise. We appreciate it.

FOROOHAR: Thank you.

[18:20:01]

ACOSTA: All right, as people head back home after Thanksgiving, the T.S.A. expects tomorrow will be its busiest day of the Holiday travel period. The U.S. already hit a pandemic era air travel record on Wednesday.

CNN's Pete Muntean has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Now begins the process of everybody who left town for Thanksgiving coming home all at once, and the numbers have been really big. AAA projected that 48 million people would drive for the Thanksgiving Holiday. That number really not that far off from where we were back in 2019, before the pandemic, only about a three percent difference.

The bottom line here is the traffic is back, and so is the expense. The average price of a gallon of regular now around $3.40 nationwide. That's up about $1.30 from where we were this time last year.

But I talked to folks at the Maryland House Travel Plaza and they told me, the expense could not get in the way of their Thanksgiving plans because they shuttered so many of their plans last year.

Over to air travel now, the numbers there have also been really big, 2.3 million people screened by T.S.A. at airports across the country, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. That is a new pandemic era air travel record.

The T.S.A. projected a total of 20 million people would fly for the Thanksgiving Holiday and it seems like we're on pace to hit that. The T.S.A. says this Sunday after Thanksgiving will likely be the biggest.

Pete Muntean, CNN, Reagan National Airport.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Days from now, Federal Appeals Court will hear from the former President why his White House records should not be handed over to the January 6th Committee. Does Donald Trump have a case to keep the documents private? Our cross exam segment with Elie Honig is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:26:06]

ACOSTA: Donald Trump wants to keep many of his White House Records memos, e-mails, visitor logs, and other documents out of the hands of the January 6th Committee investigating the insurrection. Tuesday, lawyers for the former President and for the Select Committee will make their case before a Federal Appeals Court. CNN senior legal analyst and former State and Federal prosecutor, Elie

Honig joins me now to answer your legal questions. And Elie is the author of the great book "Hatchet Man: How Bill Barr Broke the Prosecutors' Code and Corrupted the Justice Department."

Elie, we always have to work that -- and it's a great book -- but let's jump right into this because this could be a pivotal week. A viewer is asking, "Does Donald Trump have any chance of winning his lawsuit seeking to block the January 6th Committee from getting those documents?" What do you think?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Jim, you never say never when it comes to the courts, but things are really not looking good for Donald Trump in this lawsuit.

Now, he lost at the first level. That's what we call the District Court. The Judge there famously said Presidents are not kings and plaintiff is not President, meaning executive privilege does not apply here, and even if it did, a former President like Donald Trump doesn't have standing to raise it.

Now, next up, we're going to have argument in the Court of Appeals. That argument is going to happen on Tuesday, November 30th. If you look at the arguments there, and you look at the three judges who are going to be sitting on that case, I think it's very, very likely we get the same result. Donald Trump loses, the Committee wins.

The big question, then will be will the Supreme Court take the case? Trump, if he loses, certainly will try to get the case to the Supreme Court. Now, nobody has a right to get a case to the Supreme Court. It's up to them.

You need four of the nine justices to say, we will take that case. On the one hand, Jim, the Supreme Court Justice has tried to stay out of political disputes. There clearly is a political angle on this.

On the other hand, we are talking about a brand new area of law, a fundamental constitutional showdown between the executive and legislative branch. That's the kind of case that the Supreme Court is there for.

So we're at step two here this week, and we should get more clarity where this is going to go when we hear those arguments on Tuesday.

ACOSTA: Yes, one would think that the Supreme Court Justices would understand the gravity of this situation, I mean, and that would hopefully override everything.

The January 6th Committee is continuing to issue subpoenas to members of Trump's circle. But not everyone is cooperating. One viewer wants to know, "The January 6th Committee has now held Steve Bannon in contempt. But what about the other people who have refused to testify?" Mark Meadows, for example.

HONIG: You know, Jim, I read every one of these viewer questions that comes in every week, and sometimes I'll get one like this, and I just nod my head and say "amen," because I think his viewer is really onto something here.

Now, Steve Bannon has already been held in contempt. He's been charged criminally with contempt. But the thing is, Bannon is the easiest case. The question is, what else is the committee going to do? Now, two weeks ago, Adam Schiff went on the Sunday shows and he said he is quote, "confident" that the Committee will move very quickly to hold Mark Meadows in contempt.

In the two weeks since then, though, remember, very quickly, what has the Committee done on contempt for Mark Meadows? Nothing. They wrote him a sternly worded letter. Big deal.

And I think the question this viewer is getting at is, what is the Committee going to do with Mark Meadows, with Michael Flynn, with Kayleigh McEnany? All these people who seem very unlikely to comply, and I think the concern the Committee may have here is, is D.O.J. going to have our backs? Yes, they charge Bannon, but are they going to be really willing to charge five, ten, twenty people -- and I think there's a real concern there.

On the flip side, though, Jim, if the Committee and D.O.J. are not willing to back up these subpoenas, we're going to have a floodgate of people not testifying and having no consequence.

ACOSTA: Right. At some point, you have to ask the question, you know, is the subpoena just, you know, meaningless now?

HONIG: Exactly.

ACOSTA: You know, depending on how this plays out, and "The Washington Post" is reporting that Steve Bannon's lawyers ask that all documents in his contempt case be released publicly. A viewer -- and which I find to be confusing, but a viewer asks, "How will the criminal process play out for Steve Bannon and does he have any chance to beat the case?"

HONIG: So he does have a chance. He will be fighting this.

[18:30:13]

But look, this is a criminal case right now. It's United States versus Steve Bannon. Next step is he's going to make a motion to dismiss. He's going to say, I have executive privilege. That's a reason for me not to testify. Throw this out. I think that is a stretch to say the least. Then, we'll have a trial.

Now, there's an interesting twist here, the judge is a 2019 Trump appointee, who previously has written very broadly about his view of executive privilege. So Bannon and may try to get that case heard by the judge, rather than a jury. There's a little bit of a legal dance that will happen there. But he can try to get the judge to hear this case, rather than a jury and then ultimately, there will be a verdict, guilty or not guilty.

Important thing to keep in mind, if Steve Bannon is found guilty, if he's convicted, he has to serve at least one month in prison, no matter what. But that does not compel his testimony. That does not force him to testify. This is meant to be punishment. This is meant to be deterrence, but it doesn't force the testimony.

Jim, as you said, though, it's all going to be a question of how much political will, how much will does the Committee have and does DOJ have to really fight for these subpoenas?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: And we're going to find out very soon what is the answer to those questions.

Elie Honig, thanks so much. We appreciate it. Great to talk to you.

HONIG: Thanks, Jim. Good talking to you.

ACOSTA: Former President Trump's big lie echoes from the halls of Congress to the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can say Biden won the presidency kind of like OJ's innocence. It's the same kind of ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is not right. There are hundreds of thousands of votes are allowed to consider as lawful votes and we know they're illegal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By removing the fraud Donald Trump won.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We know there was fraud. This election was stolen. Donald Trump is our president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Makes your brain hurt, doesn't it? Whether seeking office or simply approval, Trump loyalists have made a mantra of the election being stolen. But that big lie has a companion, let's call it the big hoax. It's a separate fantasy that Trump is the victim of a Russian hoax because the infamous Steele dossier has been somewhat discredited. And it's not just pro-Trumpers propping up that illusion.

Under the title It Wasn't A Hoax in The Atlantic, our guest writes, "Instead, at almost every turn, Trump was helped by people who had little liking for him as a human being or politician, but assess that he could be useful for purposes of their own."

Yes. There should have been an exclamation point at the end of that sentence. David Frum is the author of that article. He is a staff writer at The Atlantic, was a speechwriter for former President George W. Bush. David's with us now. I mean, let's start with this. Who are these Trump non-loyalists who are doing his bidding?

DAVID FRUM, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: Well, President Trump is gone and a lot of people think that means he's forgotten. And that means there a number of people in the media world, some of them working at prestigious places like the New York Times, some of them working in the new media, substack and podcast who say that the Trump story without justifying him can be used to score points of people I don't like, people like you, television hosts, they don't like, media persons they don't like, politicians they don't like, like Hillary Clinton or Adam Schiff. And they don't like them for other kinds of reasons, not Trumpy reasons, reasons of their own.

And so they focus very specifically on the defects of the Steele dossier, and leave many people with the impression that if the Steele dossier turned out to be kind of soggy, as it was, is it immediately as we said at the Atlantic, as it was, I never wrote about it. If that turned to be soggy, then everything, all the other evidence about something untoward in the Trump-Russian relationship that goes away.

ACOSTA: Well help us walk through this, David. I mean, I read your piece and I saw your Twitter thread about this. Help us walk through some of the various items that still hold up to this day as being very big problems for Donald Trump and Russia.

FRUM: Well, let's start with the trigger of the investigation.

ACOSTA: Yes.

FRUM: And this information all comes from the Senate Intelligence Committee, which at the time had Republican chair, Richard Burr of North Carolina. And at the time, who's leading spokesman was Marco Rubio. So the Senate Intelligence Committee confirms what many reporters knew, which is the investigation, the FBI investigation of Donald Trump began when one of his aides, a man named George Papadopoulos sought out the Australian High Commissioner to London, a man named Alexander Downer, took him out for drinks, had a few drinks, and then told Commissioner Downer that he knew that the Russians had hacked Hillary Clinton and democratic emails and would be using these to Trump's advantage.

This was in the early spring of 2015, sorry, 2016. I beg your pardon. Downer wrote a report to his own Australian government about this important conversation and the Australian government, a member of the Five Eyes group that shares intelligence forwarded this information to the U.S. government and that is what began the FBI investigation.

ACOSTA: But there's more than that. I mean, the one that I come back to is Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting at Trump Tower with a Russian attorney who said she was there on behalf of the Russian U.S. Government, Paul Manafort there as well, Jared Kushner there as well.

[18:35:05]

They admitted to it.

FRUM: Yes. Well, let's take a macro view now. I told you what the trigger. Let's think about this, here's the question and I don't claim to have an answer to this. Through 2016, if you're a gambling person, if you want to make book, most of the bookies will tell you, Hillary Clinton is probably going to win. The Democrats are probably going to win, Hillary Clinton's probably going to win.

Russia is a country with an economy about the size of Italy. It is an enormous risk for the Russian state to intervene in the extreme way, in an American election against the person who's probably going to win. Why did they do that? They had never done anything like this before.

I think in the communist days, they would do little espionage, never so much against one candidate for another in the face of negative odds. Why? Why? Why? That's the question. And then you look at the long history of financial relationships between Trump and bad actors in Russia and you think, maybe the answer is there.

We not don't know, because when Robert Mueller was charged to go investigate this, he was told at the beginning, one thing, one place you mustn't look is at the financial record. It's like one of those episodes of Columbo where you're told, look, you can go anywhere in the house, but not that closet, the one with the bad smell coming from it. Don't look in the bad closet.

And by the way, everyone in the house when you ask them about the bad closet lies about it.

ACOSTA: Right. Well, I mean, and you also had Michael Flynn, the very first National Security adviser for Donald Trump fired for lying to investigators about his contacts with the Russian ambassador. I mean, the thing that I come back to, David, and please go in any direction you want with this, is that it would have been law enforcement malpractice for any of these items individually not to be investigated.

FRUM: Well, the thing that is so fascinating about the Flynn deception is Flynn was involved in many things he should not have been involved in. But he was not part of the Trump Russia. He wasn't at the meeting at Trump Tower. He had nothing you would think to be afraid of.

Jeff Sessions, the former senator who became Trump's first attorney general who lied to Congress. He wasn't compromised in any way. So why did they lie?

ACOSTA: I don't get it. Till this day (inaudible) ...

FRUM: It's like an episode of Columbo. They know.

ACOSTA: Yes.

FRUM: There's something bad in this closet. We don't know what it is. Trump knows what it is maybe. We don't know. But what we know is when Columbo comes and says, what's in the closet, you say what closet. I have no idea. So I mean, it's hazardous to lie to the FBI. It's hazardous to lie to the Senate and yet Trump people did it, why? What were they afraid of? They weren't implicated. They weren't protecting themselves. They are protecting Trump.

ACOSTA: Yeah, over and over and over again. And before I let you go, I do want to talk to you about House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, he's reacted to these horrific and Islamophobic comments made by Congresswoman Lauren Boebert. She suggested that Ilhan Omar was a suicide bomber, because she's Muslim. McCarthy, we understand now here at CNN says he spoke to Boebert on

Friday and encouraged her to meet with Ilhan Omar. How do you think Kevin McCarthy is handling - I mean, I was talking about this earlier in the show, handling this freak show caucus? It seems to be a strategy of appeasement in the hopes that someday he will still get to this promise land of being speaker of the House. And at the same time, he has to almost humiliate and embarrass himself every step of the way by appeasing these people he knows have no business being in Congress.

FRUM: Well, look how Nancy Pelosi behaved when she was confronted with behavior she thought was unacceptable from members of this famous squad the beginning of her speakership. And she sat them down and said, you're not going to do this or that. And she told them, by the way, you have certain aides, I don't want them working for you anymore. And she enforced the departure of aides that she thought were inappropriate.

That's how you act when you have control over your caucus. McCarthy is acting like a man who is afraid. He's not acting like the speaker of the House. He's acting like the concierge of the House. Like it's going to be his job should he get a majority to placate these weirdos rather than read them the Riot Act. You're the speaker, it's a really important job and they're not senators. They can't disrupt the proceedings.

You can talk to them and tell them what's what. Nancy Pelosi did, why can't Kevin McCarthy.

ACOSTA: That is a question. All right. David Frum, thanks as always. We appreciate it. And please read David's article in The Atlantic on this Russia stuff. It is so, so important.

Coming up a scramble inside the Republican Party. Wildcards and political newcomers including a TV doctor now considering a run for a critical Pennsylvania Senate seat. Plus, joined Fareed Zakaria for an in depth look at China's leader, China's Iron Fist: Xi Jinping and The Stakes for America begins tomorrow night at nine.

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[18:44:19]

ACOSTA: A TV doctor could emerge as the top Republican candidate in a crucial Senate race. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN PARNELL: Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT(voice over): Trump-backed candidate Sean Parnell suspending his campaign for Pennsylvania's open Senate seat, scrambling the GOP field, creating a new opening for others to get in. In a seat, a Republican has been elected to going back five decades and crucial for Republicans to keep in the midterms as the party seeks to win the Senate majority.

In addition to those candidates who have already declared the race could see political newcomers and wildcards like hedge fund millionaire David McCormick, the husband of former Trump official Dina Powell.

[18:45:04]

A source close to McCormick telling CNN, "The Parnell departure has clearly created an opening where he seriously considering it." Saying there's been accelerated outreach from GOP leaders within Pennsylvania and nationally. And another possibility, daytime TV talk show host, Dr. Mehmet Oz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEHMET OZ, DAYTIME TV HOST: So let me ask you, if your health is as strong as it seems from your review of systems, why not share your medical records?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY(voice over): In 2007, Oz was saying he'd consider running for office someday calling himself a moderate Republican. But a potential Oz's candidacy wouldn't come without controversy. Earlier in the COVID pandemic, he initially advocated for hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for coronavirus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OZ: It's believed to be very safe.

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SERFATY(voice over): And its unproven benefits.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OZ: It turns out that it might have an effect against this virus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY(voice over): He later said not enough was known about the drug and caused an uproar with these comments pushing for schools to reopen in April of 2020.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OZ: We need our mojo back. I just saw a nice piece in The Lancet arguing that the opening of schools may only cost us 2 to 3 percent in terms of total mortality.

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SERFATY(voice over): The backlash prompting him to later apologize.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OZ: I've realized my comments on risks around opening schools have confused and upset people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY(voice over): In the past, Oz has been fiercely criticized for promoting unproven products on his show like certain diet pills.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't get why you need to say this stuff because you know it's not true.

OZ: So if I can just get across the big message, I actually do personally believe in the items that I talk about in the show.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY(voice over): In 2015, a group of doctors sent this letter to Columbia University, calling his faculty position there unacceptable, accusing him of promoting quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OZ: We will not be silenced. We will not give in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Our Sunlen Serfaty with that report.

Coming up, remembering a titan of American theatre who brought unforgettable music into our lives.

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[18:51:32]

ACOSTA: Broadway is mourning the loss of a legend. CNN's Stephanie Elam looks back at the life of Stephen Sondheim.

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STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT(voice over): Stephen Sondheim was one of musical theaters most prolific and successful writers, winning eight Tony Awards, eight Grammy Awards and Academy Award, a Pulitzer Prize for Drama and in 2015 the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Sondheim was born on March 22, 1930, in New York City. His parents divorced in 1942 and he moved to Pennsylvania with his mother. In Pennsylvania, he became friends with James Hammerstein, the son of lyricist Oscar Hammerstein. Throughout his teen years, his relationship with his mother deteriorated and eventually the two became estranged.

But Oscar Hammerstein was a constant figure, encouraging Sondheim's musical talents throughout high school and college.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN SONDHEIM, TITAN OF THE AMERICAN MUSICAL: If it hadn't been for the Hammersteins, I really don't know where I would be, if I'd even be alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM(voice over): Sondheim's big break came when he wrote the lyrics for the Broadway show, West Side Story in 1957. Then in 1962, he expanded his repertoire, and for the first time he wrote the lyrics and compose the music, for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. In 1970, Sondheim began a collaboration with theater producer Hal Prince that lasted more than a decade.

Their 1973 play, A Little Night Music, was composed mostly in Waltz time and became one of their biggest commercial successes. It feature the hit Send In the Clowns, one of Sondheim's best known songs.

In 1979, Sondheim wrote what was probably Broadway's first musical thriller, Sweeney Todd. The story of an English barber and serial killer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SONDHEIM: What's great about the theater is it's a living organism, whereas movies and television are as if in ember. It's not that they're dead, but they're only alive in one shape, form and tone. Every time you see a movie, they're giving the same performance as they did the last time you saw them. Not true (inaudible) ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM(voice over): Inspiration was everywhere for Sondheim. And in 1984, moved by a famous painting by Georges Seurat, he penned the lyrics for Sunday in the Park with George.

For that inventive stagecraft, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In 1987, he wrote the Broadway hit Into the Woods, based on the fables of the Brothers Grimm.

Late in Sondheim's career, Lin-Manuel Miranda approached him with something he was working on. A musical then called the Hamilton Mixtape. Sondheim mentored Miranda just as Hammerstein had done for him. From Waltz to rap, inspired by everything from serial killers to fairy tales, Sondheim's impact on American musical theater spanned decades and created some of the world's most popular musicals.

[18:55:11]

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And finally, tonight, we'd like to welcome the newest member of our CNN NEWSROOM family, our producer Alex and his wife Juliana welcome their daughter, Charlotte Amelia last week. She weighed seven pounds and one ounce she joins big sister two-and-a-half-year-old, Victoria, who we're told is loving the new addition. And it means Alex is officially surrounded by all women these days. Good luck, buddy. She is a cutie and congratulations. She is so beautiful.

That's the news reporting from Washington. I'm Jim Acosta. See you back here tomorrow at 4 pm Eastern. Have a good night, everybody.

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