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U.S. Begins Restrictions on Travel From South Africa, Seven Nations; U.S Markets Up This Morning After Falling on Friday; Decision on Contempt Charges For Meadows Could Come This Week. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired November 29, 2021 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

ERICA HILL, CNN NEWSROOM: There are a lot of questions about the new coronavirus variant, omicron.

And while we wait for some of those answers hoping to mitigate the spread with a new travel ban. So, starting today, all non-U.S. citizens are permanent residents traveling from South Africa and seven other neighboring countries, they are now barred from entering.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEWSROOM: Yes, a lot of protests from those countries there. Big questions around the new variant, they include, is it more transmissible? Is it more dangerous? And how much do existing vaccines protect against it? We don't know now. It is early. It's going to take some time, they say perhaps weeks before we know answers. But do we know a few things. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. FRANCIS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: What we do know, it has a lot of mutations, more than 50. That's a new record, and some of those we've seen before and some we haven't. So, this certainly suggests that this is a new kind of virus that we have to take very seriously.

If you needed one more reason if you're eligible to get that booster right away, this would be it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: So, as of right now, important to point out, no cases have been identified in the United States. The reality, though, Dr. Anthony Fauci says, it's inevitable. The White House says federal officials bracing for it, they're doing their best to prepare for it. Some health officials, again, believe that the variant is likely already in the U.S.

CNN Correspondent John Harwood is at the White House. Nick Valencia is at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

John, I want to begin with you. We know that the president will be receiving a briefing from members of the COVID-19 response team. We're set to hear from the president in the next hour. What are we expecting him to say?

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think what we expect, Erica, is a variant of what he said yesterday after he got his initial briefing on omicron, which is that, above all else, this is a cue to the American people who have not been vaccinated to get vaccinated and those who have not gotten their booster shot to get booster shots. Because for all the unknowns about omicron, exactly how transmissible, how serious it is, if you do get it, how resistant you are, if you've had COVID-19 or if you've had boosters. Everyone agrees that the more vaccination that you've had, the better off you're going to be.

What we heard from the president yesterday before the briefing that he's going to get this morning was that he had, as a precaution, limited travel to South Africa and a number of other countries in Southern Africa where the omicron variant was discovered, and trying to figure out as a buying time measure for scientists to figure out what the next steps are and exactly whether drug companies, for example, are going to have to change their vaccine regimen in order to respond to this variant.

A lot of unknowns there, but one thing we know is that the administration, its paramount goal is to get a handle on this pandemic. That's the principal source of its political problems in the second half of this year since the delta variant surge. We began to get in recent weeks positive news on the trajectory of the pandemic. Some hope that by the middle of next year, this would be largely in the rearview mirror. Now, omicron has thrown up a big question mark. That's important as a matter of public health. It's important for the health of the U.S. economy. And, of course, it's very important for the political health of Joe Biden and the Democratic Party.

So, we will hear what he has to say at 11:45, but we know that caution and aggression on -- an aggressive approach to vaccinations is the principal response that we're going to hear.

SCIUTTO: That's right. That's what Dr. Francis Collins told us last hour, and I'm just going to quote so it's clear. He says, we do believe that this new variant, which will probably come to our shores, will also be something vaccines and boosters can help you with, that is existing vaccines and boosters. That's the clear guidance.

Nick, the U.S. Travel Association says the Biden administration should reconsider these travel restrictions as a response. I'm curious what case they're making.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've heard that from South African officials saying that they feel that they're being unjustly punished for notifying the world of this new variant strain that was first spotted earlier this week in South Africa. What I can tell you here at the Atlanta Airport is those flights are continuing to arrive here in Atlanta as expected. We heard over the weekend despite the anticipation of the travel restrictions that are now in place, the hometown airline here, Delta, said that they were going to go forward business as usual and continue those flights that were scheduled.

Earlier this morning at 8:15, a flight did arrive from Johannesburg, but just as of about five minutes ago, I went down to check, and there are still no passengers at the arrival gate. We don't know exactly what the holdup is or whether or not they are going to be subjected to additional screenings, but what I can tell you from a conversation I had earlier with a customs and border protection official, they say that they're going to be looking at travel documents, as is customary, travel documents, things like recent PCR tests, vaccination cards.

They say the CDC will be the lead in the health screenings.

[10:05:03]

But, again, we reached out to the CDC to see if anything is different now versus the 24 hours ago. And now that the travel restrictions are in place, of course, there are exemptions, U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, spouses and children of those groups, among others.

I mentioned though the screenings here, we reached out to the airport. This is what they're telling CNN here this morning. They say, as was the case with prior health-related travel bans, Hartsfield-Jackson is working with the CDC, the CBP and the State Department of Public Health to prepare inbound flights from nations impacted by Monday's expected travel ban announcement. They went on to tell told passengers to check their airlines for the latest flight information.

That airport officials adding that they've been through this before, years ago with Ebola, at the start of the pandemic, with the emergence of the variant, delta variant, and now here with omicron, they believe they're ready, and they're going to have to be, because, as I mentioned, delta is going to continue with those flights to South Africa. Jim, Erica?

HILL: Nick Valencia and John Harwood, I appreciate the reporting. Thank you both.

SCIUTTO: Well, this morning U.S. markets are rebounding after falling sharply on Friday. Global markets still reacting to concerns surrounding the omicron variant, but today way different than it was on Friday.

HILL: Yes, it certainly is. CNN Business Reporter Matt Egan joining us now with more.

So, things decidedly more positive in the early first half an hour or so of trading this morning.

MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Well, Jim and Erica, yes, the good news is the selling has stopped and markets are rebounding. I think the bad news is this rebound is pretty tepid and it's losing a lot of momentum. Now, the Dow opened up almost 400 points higher, but as you can see, it's now only up about 100 points. And given that the Dow lost 900 points on Friday, worst day since October of 2020, this rebound is really not all that impressive.

Now, we have to look at what's going on in the oil market because the roller coaster ride has even been more extreme there. As you know, oil is a key proxy for confidence in the economy, and oil collapsed by 13 percent on Friday, worst day since April of 2020, it's up this morning, up about 4 percent this morning.

Another key focus is the travel sector, which is really exposed to omicron. And we've seen that some of the travel stocks are rebounding, Expedia, United Airlines, Hilton, Carnival all up. But, again, given that they were down really dramatically on Friday, I don't think this is a really strong rebound.

You know, market experts I talk to, they're urging people not to panic. They say, we just don't know enough information to make any dramatic changes to your portfolio at this point. And there's a couple of key questions facing both the market and the economy. One, how dangerous is the omicron variant? How contagious is it? How severe are the symptoms? Two, how effective are these vaccines and how quickly can they be updated?

Also how are governments going to react? How are these health policies going to change? We know that that's going to vary in different places, but tougher restrictions could deal a blow to the recovery. Also even if governments don't change, consumer behavior could. That's another risk to the recovery.

And the other big question is what does all of this mean for the Fed's policies? The Fed has been planning to unwind some of its emergency programs, and you wonder if this could maybe change the Fed's plans. Erica and Jim, I think that, big picture, it feels like there is a lot more unknown than known at this point, and it's going to take some time to get the answers to those questions. Until then, I think we can expect more market turbulence ahead.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Markets would love the continuation of easy money from the Fed. We'll see if that's in effect. Matt Egan, thanks very much.

HILL: Joining me now, Dr. Carlos del Rio, he is the executive associate dean of Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. Dr. del Rio, great to have you with us. There are -- as we've been talking about all morning long, there a lot of questions this morning that we simply will not have answers to for the next two, maybe three weeks. That's not a bad thing. This is science at work. But it can understandably, for some people, maybe be a little bit disconcerting that they have to wait. So, bottom line this morning, how concerned are you? How concerned should someone at home be if they're watching about the omicron variant?

DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, EXECUTIVE ASSOCIATE DEAN, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT GRADY: You know, Erica, I think that we need to have a cautious concern. I think that this variant is of significance and something we need to be worried about. But we also need to be aware that the best defense we have is vaccination, and we have seen continued spread of delta, even without the omicron, with the delta variant in our country, primarily among unvaccinated individuals. And my biggest concern is not necessarily omicron, is the fact that only 58 percent of Americans are actually fully vaccinated.

So, I would encourage people to get vaccinated and get boosted. That is the best source of defense. So, if you're concerned, get vaccinated, get boosted and don't worry about it.

HILL: In terms of that booster, we actually heard from Dr. Collins who told Jim earlier this morning that the variants have all responded, or I should perhaps -- I should say the vaccines have responded well to any previous variants, and that's especially true when it comes to boosters.

[10:10:00]

So, that boost really does improve your protection for anybody who may have been thinking, I already have my two shots, I'm good.

DEL RIO: Yes, absolutely. I think what we see when we get a booster is you actually get a very enhanced response. You get more antibodies and more protection than just after two doses. So, it's not only do you recover any loss of immunity, you actually way overshot that immunity. So, my recommendation is definitely get a booster. I've certainly gotten mine and I recommend it to my family, my patients and my friends to do the same.

HILL: When we look at some of the efforts that are being put into place, the travel ban here in the U.S., to buy a little bit of time, is that an effective mitigation effort? Does the science support that plan, especially when U.S. citizens and permanent residents are going to be allowed in?

DEL RIO: You know, again, travel bans have little impact in a pandemic and frequently we're doing it, you know, when the cat is already out of the bag. I think it's very important that we do other things. And I think, for example, testing is critically important, testing before you get on a flight. The U.S. continues to request testing before you get on a flight.

You know, one of the things we saw on the KLM flight that went to Europe, where 10 percent of the passengers were infected. The European Union has -- did away with testing before flights and just relied on vaccine passports. That clearly is an example that that's not enough.

So, vaccination, testing, testing before you leave, testing after you arrive, quarantining after you do an international trip, there are many strategies that you can implement to limit the entry of a virus into a country, but travel bans don't make a difference, quite frankly.

HILL: And even locally. I've heard other experts say, look, start wearing masks again more here in the United States, work on that distance.

When you talk about vaccination rates, we know that the vaccination rates in South Africa specifically are much lower, for example, than they are in the U.S. and a number of European countries. Do other nations need to do more to improve those global vaccination rates? Is that perhaps a more effective tool at fighting these variants and the spread than, say, a travel ban?

DEL RIO: Well, without doubt. If we don't improve global vaccination, we will continue to see variants emerge in different parts of the world. We saw the delta variant emerged in India. We now see this new variant, the omicron variant, likely emerged in South Africa. If we don't improve global vaccination, variants will continue to emerge in different parents of the world, so we have to do something about this. This is not a matter of charity. This is really a matter of health and global security.

HILL: And as we're all waiting to learn more, really, the world is waiting to learn at this point, but do you feel, you know, there at Emory, are you getting the guidance that you need, whether it be from the CDC, the NIH, are you getting the information that you need this morning?

DEL RIO: One of the things that we've seen is how quickly information is flowing. I'm not only getting information from CDC and from the NIH. I'm getting almost continuous information from colleagues in South Africa, in Europe and many other places. The global community is really connected in this pandemic. And I think the way we're sharing information is really unprecedented and is something that is a great example of how the global community can work together to defeat a virus.

HILL: Well, if there's a positive, then that is certainly a good one to focus on. Dr. del Rio, I appreciate it, thank you.

DEL RIO: Take care, Erica.

SCIUTTO: Still to come, Congress could issue criminal contempt charges for Mark Meadows as soon as this week. We'll have the latest from the January 6th committee.

HILL: Plus, we're learning a second case of the omicron variant confirmed now in Israel. As we know, all foreigners have been banned from entering that country. The government though says the Miss Universe Pageant, that's still on.

SCIUTTO: Okay. And the trial of Jeffrey Epstein's longtime companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, begins. We're going to be live just outside the courtroom.

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[10:15:00]

SCIUTTO: The House committee investigating the January 6th insurrection could make a decision this week on whether to seek criminal contempt charges against Mark Meadows. Meadows, the former chief of staff to former President Trump, also a former sitting member of Congress, has so far defied a subpoena from the panel and also did not show up for his deposition.

HILL: Earlier this month, former Trump Adviser Steve Bannon became the first person criminally charged for defying a subpoena issued by the January 6th committee.

CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju joining us now. So, we hear there could be some movement with Meadows, but it is important to point out Meadows and Bannon are not exactly the same when we're looking at the facts that we're dealing with here.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and that's exactly why the committee has been grappling with the decision to move forward. Some have believed that they would move forward, the referral for criminal contempt charges, weeks ago. But because of the fact that Mark Meadows was in government at the time, he was a former chief of staff, at the time chief of staff to then-President Donald Trump, that is different from Steve Bannon, outside adviser, who has since been indicted on two counts for defying that congressional subpoena and the aftermath of the House referring him to the Justice Department on criminal contempt charges.

But in talking to the members of the select committee they say a decision will be made imminently, potentially this week, to refer Meadows' case to the whole full House on criminal contempt charges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): I can't go into what communications that we're having or haven't had with particular witnesses, but we are moving with alacrity with anyone who obstructs the committee. And that was certainly the case with Mr. Bannon, it will be the case with Mr. Meadows and Mr. Clark or any others.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:20:04]

RAJU: So, Schiff also referring there to Jeffrey Clark, a former Trump Justice Department official, who did come before the committee but did not answer the committee's questions. It had been uncertain how the committee would deal with him as well. But all these officials who have refused to answer questions say they are protected by executive privilege, point to ongoing litigation in a separate court case over that issue, as Donald Trump is trying to prevent the committee from receiving any records and shield his former officials from providing any information to this committee, investigating Donald Trump's role and everything that happened on January 6th.

So, the question ultimately here is what decision did they make, will they refer this to the House? And if the House does refer Mark Meadows in particular on criminal contempt charges, will the Justice Department act? That is another question also that is not known at this point. Guys? SCIUTTO: Manu Raju on the Hill, thanks so much.

So, let's bring in Jennifer Rodgers, former Federal Prosecutor, CNN Legal Analyst. Jennifer, good to have you there.

To Manu's question, DOJ did charge Steve Bannon. Do you expect them, given the differences in their cases, to do the same to Mark Meadows, that is if the committee, as expected, goes forward and declares him in contempt?

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Jim, this is a much tougher call for the Justice Department, and in the past, they have chosen not to charge with criminal contempt folks that have been referred by Congress when the person was at the time sitting executive branch official, like Eric Holder and Bill Barr. So, it remains to be seen. It is a tougher case. And also Steve Bannon completely thumbed his nose at the committee. He didn't show up, he didn't negotiate, he didn't do anything. Mark Meadows did at least some of that, so there is a better argument that he acted in good faith.

So, it's a really tough call for DOJ. I think they're going to take some time to sit with this and figure it out. But I really don't know what they're going to do.

HILL: In terms of the committee, what do you think the chances are that the committee is also waiting to see what plays out in this next legal battle, right? This three-judge panel is going to be hearing the latest arguments from former President Trump that he does not want those documents released by the National Archives. Do you think they could be waiting that out?

RODGERS: I think that's right, Erica, at least as to what happens tomorrow. I don't know that they would wait for an appeal to the Supreme Court. But tomorrow, we may know, or within a few days after tomorrow's hearing, we may know what the circuit is going to do with this. And if they decide not to block the release of the documents from the National Archives, that may inform the decision of the committee wants to do with this, for sure.

SCIUTTO: One sort of consistent feature of all this, right, and this goes back to the way Trump has dealt with courts for years, even before he was in government, which is to delay, delay, delay, sort of run out of the clock, in effect, I mean, all of these things are moving frustratingly slowly for some people. And, of course, you have a political clock here in Washington with the midterms. Democrats may very lose majorities and, therefore, committee chairmanships with the midterms. Is the court system keeping up with this? I mean, can Trump run out the clock on these various issues, including executive privilege?

RODGERS: Yes, that's exactly right. And it's not just Trump. All of his followers seem to have learned the same lesson. Look, the courts are frustratingly slow. If this does go to the Supreme Court, it's something that they shouldn't hear. They should not get four votes to hear this matter. And if they refuse it, then that will move things along more quickly. But you're right, the courts really aren't set up for this. There's pending legislation that would cause them to move faster. That would be a good fix for this. But our system right now, you're right, it's broken in this way. The courts do not move fast enough to keep up with what needs to be done.

HILL: And real quickly, when we look at where we're at, even with Steve Bannon, I mean, he's really used this. He's loving this moment, I think we can say, pretty effectively. The chances of him ever talking are slim to none at this point. So, given what folks are seeing from his efforts and how that's paying off for him, in his own mind, I mean, is there concern too that that is further influencing perhaps others who the committee would like to talk to?

RODGERS: It could be, although he's differently situated, right? Steve Bannon now has his radio show. This is kind of his personality, this is feeding his fans, if you will. I'm not sure that Jeffrey Clark and Mark Meadows and others really want to be charged with a crime and face the prospect of going to prison. They don't have that same kind of public face to put out there.

So, you know, I don't know that they will view it in the same way, but you're right. I mean, the criminal charges joust punishment for the refusal to cooperate, it doesn't force them to do anything. If Congress wants to force them to do it, they need to look at a civil contempt charge to put them in prison until they cooperate, and they have not been willing to go there yet.

SCIUTTO: Interesting.

HILL: Jennifer, I appreciate it. Good to see you. Thanks.

Just moments ago, the Miss Universe Pageant confirming one of its contestants who had already arrived in Israel for event has tested positive for coronavirus. Now, it's not clear yet whether this is a case of the new variant, officials though under fire for moving ahead with that event.

[10:25:06]

We're going to take you live to Jerusalem, next.

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SCIUTTO: Well, just minutes from now, President Biden will be briefed on a newly detected variant of the coronavirus known as omicron. The president will then address the American public on the variant within the next hour.

[10:30:01]

HILL: World leaders are working to contain the spread of that variant. In Israel, we're learning there's now a second confirmed case. Travel restrictions are in --