Return to Transcripts main page
Erin Burnett Outfront
Pompeo Ignores Biden Win: "Smooth Transition" To Second Trump Term; Sen. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) Is Interviewed About The Election; House Committee: Pennsylvania Postal Worker Recants Claim Of Voter Fraud Cited By Trump Campaign And Top Republicans; Biden's Lead Widens In Pennsylvania And Georgia, Race Narrows In Arizona. Aired 7- 8p ET
Aired November 10, 2020 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @WOLFBLITZER. Tweet the show @CNNSITROOM.
"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, Biden calling Trump's refusal to concede an embarrassment as America's top diplomat tonight sows doubt about the election results, even talking about a second Trump term as the transition near.
Plus, breaking mews, a shake up at the Pentagon, four senior defense officials who've been fired or resigned in the last 30 hours. What's at stake and what's going on?
And Biden's lead growing tonight in a crucial battleground state. John King standing by at the magic wall. The votes are still coming in every vote is and will be counted. Let's go OUTFRONT.
Good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
And OUTFRONT tonight, an embarrassment. President-elect Joe Biden addressing the President who is doing everything in his power to poison America's political system for the purpose of clinging to power.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, what do you say to the Americans that are anxious over the fact that President Trump has yet to concede and what that might mean for the country?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I just think it's an embarrassment quite frankly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, he is right about that. We are supposed to be the country of stable transitions. We are supposed to be the system of government most admired in the world. So just think about that, it is what we are and how we are defined. Think about that when you listen to what the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, our top diplomat, the face of America and all that we stand for on the ground around the world had to say today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is the State Department currently preparing to engage with the Biden transition team? And if not, at what point does it delay hamper a smooth transition or pose a risk to National Security?
MIKE POMPEO, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration. All right. We're ready. The world is watching what's taking place. We're going to count all the votes. When the process is complete, they'll be elector selected. There's a process. The Constitution lays it out pretty clearly.
I'm very confident that we'll count it and we must count every legal vote. We must make sure that any vote that was unlawful not be counted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And just moments ago, Pompeo, again sowing doubt in the election, implying that illegal things happened, which could change the outcome.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POMPEO: We need to make sure that every vote that was legal is counted and those that might not have been legal aren't counted unless they were. That's what we asked in countries all across the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: One thing we asked and countries around the world is for those who lose elections to respect the will of the people. But the Secretary of State of the United States of America tonight is sowing doubt in the will of the American people, refusing to accept that Trump lost saying a second Trump administration is in the offing, refusing to support the laws that define and govern a peaceful transition of power.
And I just want to be really clear here, this transition can begin even as the Trump administration exhausts all of its legal avenues as it has a right to do. It is a legal strategy that the Biden campaign is calling theater. And let's be clear about this, in the battleground state that clinched the presidency for Biden, Pennsylvania, Biden is head by more than Trump was when he won the state in 2016 and the votes are still being counted.
Now, the margin is getting wider and wider. Hillary Clinton did not contest it then. And so far as I speak, Trump has not put forward evidence of any fraud, any fraud, Pennsylvania or anywhere else in this country that would impact the results of this election, any. And yet, you have the nation's Secretary of State talking about a transition to a second Trump term as if it's funny or as if we live in some sort of a dictatorship. I don't know what he was trying to do there, but he does no better,
period, full stop. Mike Pompeo is a smart guy and he knows what's at stake. Just listen to Mike Pompeo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POMPEO: I tend to want to brag about the United States that, but this is a democracy that has withstood enormous challenges throughout its history.
As I've argued throughout my time in public service, if we do not lead for democracy, for prosperity, for human rights around the world, who will?
Well, I do not believe for a moment democracy is fragile. It does require careful stewardship and constant vigilance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: It does, careful stewardship and constant vigilance. What happened to Secretary Pompeo? If Pompeo somehow has evidence of widespread fraud that would cause multiple states to swing to Trump, he better share it because the world is watching and they are doing what Pompeo won't do, congratulate Joe Biden from Canada to France, to Germany, to the U.K., to Australia, to India, to Sweden, to New Zealand. The list goes on and on and on.
And yet just moments ago, Secretary Pompeo again speaking out dismissing all those calls from world leaders that Biden has received.
[19:05:03]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POMPEO: They're saying hi. I suppose that's not too terribly difficult.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Every day counts to getting this right and yet tonight, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is suggesting Americans wait up to another month before accepting the election results.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Until the Electoral College votes, anyone who's running for office can exhaust concerns about counting in any court of appropriate jurisdiction. That's not unusual. It should not be alarming. At some point here, we'll find out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And yet in the face of it all, Joe Biden does remain calm, saying that he still believes that GOP will accept reality and that when they do, he will then immediately reach across the aisle to them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you expect to work with Republicans if they won't even acknowledge you as President-elect?
BIDEN: They will. They will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Arlette Saenz is with President-elect Biden in Wilmington, Delaware and Boris Sanchez is at the White House.
So Arlette, let me start with you. What is the Biden team's latest thinking on how to handle this, especially as you see Mike Pompeo come out and talk about transitioning to a second Trump term.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, Erin, President-elect Joe Biden and his team are making it clear that they are simply moving forward with their plans even as you have President Trump and some of his Republican allies refusing to acknowledge the reality that Biden has won this election.
What you are seeing from Biden is someone who is trying to project some steady confidence and insists he's not going to play President Trump's games and will continue moving forward with his transition, even if the administration is withholding some of those resources that he needs to get underway.
We saw that today when the Biden team rolled out their transition agency teams which will start to work towards that goal of what the agencies will look like. And they'll talk to outside experts and past agency officials to try to get that lay of the land even though they are not on the ground in those departments and agencies. And what Biden is making clear right now is that he is not going to allow President Trump to derail any of his plans.
BURNETT: All right. Arlette, thank you very much. And let's go to Boris Sanchez, he is OUTFRONT at the White House tonight. And Boris, Pompeo reflecting the boss and the President not showing any signs of giving in. How long is he planning on taking this fight?
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's not planning on conceding anytime soon, Erin. In fact, the President's latest actions indicate that he is not going to go gracefully. Multiple sources across federal government agencies have told CNN that they've gotten the word from the White House through the President's staff.
The President does not want any of these agencies cooperating with President-elect Biden's transition team. He doesn't even want them to do anything that would imply that Biden won the election. Further, we're learning that the White House is pressing these agencies to come up with a budget for next year. One official actually telling CNN at the White House is quote, "Going forward assuming a win."
I can't believe I have to say this, but President Trump did not win and has not gripped reality. Clearly the President angry about this, still in denial. We have not seen him do a public event since Thursday when he got up to the podium in the pressroom and spouted a ton of conspiratorial nonsense, frankly. The President has been very active on Twitter though continuing to claim that the election was stolen from him, even as many of the accusations and allegations that he's presented and other Republicans are falling apart, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Boris. And I keep emphasizing this, they have not put forward any allegations of fraud which would impact the outcome of this election, which of course is clear and is becoming clearer and clearer as every vote, legal vote, is counted as they should be.
OUTFRONT now, one of the nation's preeminent constitutional scholars, Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe. He was part of Al Gore's legal team during the 2000 election recount. Professor, thank you very much for your time.
So you hear Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the highest diplomat in the land, the one who is responsible sort of the face of American democracy around the world says quote, "There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration, all right? We're ready." What's your reaction?
LAURENCE TRIBE, HARVARD LAW PROFESSOR: My reaction is that it isn't funny, it's disgraceful. I think the President-elect Joe Biden has been very clear that it's an embarrassment.
[19:09:58]
But there's nothing that Pompeo or Trump or any of those guys can do to prevent Biden from becoming the President on January 20th at high noon, he becomes President of the United States when he takes the oath. And any Trump administration official, including the President himself, who pretends to have power under the executive branch after that point is committing a federal felony punishable by imprisonment, in addition to whatever other crimes they might have committed.
It's as though he's going to build an alternative White House down there in Mar-A-Lago, presumably with rubber padded cell walls and he's going to pretend to be president, but he won't be President of the United States.
BURNETT: And yet, Professor, I know he's mounting these legal challenges and, of course, he has the right to mount every legal challenge that that he can and see if they stand in a court of law. Thus far he has not been successful, but many Republicans are still backing him. Here they are.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it time to acknowledge that President-elect Biden won the election?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump is looking at his options.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator, have you congratulated Vice President Biden yet? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why not?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing to congraulate him about.
MCCONNELL: Trump has not lost. Do not concede, Mr. President. Fight heart.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that is way premature. At this point, we do not know who has prevailed in the election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think the President has any reason to just walk away, throw up his hands and say that's it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Professor Tribe, you hear all that. Let's just be clear, when you have looked through all of these cases that they are mounting, any spaghetti being thrown at the wall, every challenge out there, do you see any legal challenge that the President could pursue right now, that would change the outcome of this election?
TRIBE: Absolutely not. And to say that he hasn't succeeded is an understatement. He's O for 12 in the cases that I've counted. I've read the complaints. There's nothing there. There's no there there. And if there were, then among other things, McConnell wouldn't be the majority leader because the ballots that they say were fraudulent without any evidence of the very ballots that have elected the Republicans to the Senate, so they can't have it both ways.
They can't claim that they retook the Senate and that the whole election was a fraud. It is the arguments that they're advancing that are fraudulent. And yes, they have a theoretical right to go to court to waste money going to court, but it's not going to get anywhere. I think the reason that all of these Republicans are going over the cliff like Lemmings (ph) is that they seem to think that even out of office Trump is going to have some holdover them.
Maybe he's going to start a new network and they want to be guests on the Trump show, who knows, but they certainly are not going to have any influence over what actually happens. Trump is simply like a petulant child. He refuses to admit he's lost.
BURNETT: And as you say O for 12 and they can spend their money however they want to spend it, but there has been no evidence put forward in any way that would that would support these claims. So the GSA, the General Services Administration chief is a Trump-appointee and the GSA is really important here, because they have the formal ability to allow a transition to begin. It's not just a paper-pushing thing, obviously, Professor, it is essential to the rule of law and the transfer of power.
And you saw it firsthand the bipartisan 9/11 report concluded that the abbreviated transition period after the Bush-Gore fight contributed to a lack of security preparedness ahead of 9/11. So when you look at the situation now and you people saying, OK, well let's just wait till mid-December when the Electoral College does this whole month before anything is actually allowed to go forward, how harmful is that delay?
TRIBE: I think it does harm National Security. It is clear that because the President-elect having been Vice President for eight years has plenty of experience in all of the people who are helping him that the Trump people might not be able to help very much. But underneath the political appointees, there is a whole bureaucracy that is sitting on top of a pile of information, some of it dealing with our nuclear readiness, some of it dealing with our foreign affairs that's simply going to make it more difficult for the Biden administration to hit the ground running.
But given all of the experience, both of the Vice President and of the people on the team and many of us who are advising him, given all of that he's not going to be stymied very much.
[19:15:02]
But I do worry that in the interim, Putin and other dictators around the world is going to take advantage of the fact that we are creating confusion and there are millions of people.
BURNETT: Yes.
TRIBE: Certainly many who voted for Trump who are confused to wonder what's going to happen and I'm sorry about that.
BURNETT: Right. Well, Professor, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much.
TRIBE: Thank you.
BURNETT: And laying it out clearly, O for 12 on legal challenges.
OUTFRONT now, former Secretary of Homeland Security under President Obama and the former Democratic Governor of Arizona, Janet Napolitano, who served on Obama's transition advisory board and retired Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to then Secretary of State, Colin Powell, now a member of the National Task Force on Election Crises. I appreciate both of you being with me.
So Sec. Napolitano, what are the risks posed here by what you hear out of not just Mitch McConnell, but out of the face of American democracy around the world, Mike Pompeo, saying he's prepared for a second Trump administration, these delays and these words?
JANET NAPOLITANO, FORMER SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY UNDER OBAMA: Well, I think words matter and to the extent that they're casting aspersions on the American electorate and the American election, those words get shared around the world and cast out from other countries a doubt that is well deserved. Because as you've been saying, there are no facts underlying these contentions that the election somehow was stolen or that there was widespread fraud. Despite all of these cases that have been kind of thrown at the wall. The facts and the law don't support them and Vice President Biden is
the President-elect. We are fortunate that he has much experience and his team has a lot of experience, so that they can manage their way through this and they will. But it doesn't help the security of the country and it certainly doesn't help our image around the world.
BURNETT: So Col. Wilkerson, to that front, you're on the National Task Force on Election Crises, so I want to play for you again the crucial words from Secretary of State Pompeo today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POMPEO: There will be a smooth transition to second Trump administration, all right? We're ready. The world is watching what's taking place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Colonel, you gained out a lot of crises scenarios for this election and its aftermath, did you ever imagine hearing something like that from the Secretary of State?
COL. LAWRENCE WILKERSON (RET), FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN POWELL: Not from the Secretary of State. I mean, yes, he's right. The world is watching. We've had secretaries of state from Thomas Jefferson, William Jennings Bryan, John Kerry who wanted to run for president, but they didn't do it from the podium of the Secretary of State and that's what he's doing.
He's trying to capture that little kernel of Trump space and by implication, the larger group that voted for Trump for the next presidential election and it's just egregious that he's doing that. Imagine him facing Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister now or facing the real Foreign Minister for China, Wang Yi, or any of our allies' foreign ministers, what's he going to say? How's he going to act? They're going to be laughing at him or scared of him.
BURNETT: So Sec. Napolitano, what game is Secretary Pompeo playing?
NAPOLITANO: I don't know what's in his head. Maybe his statement was just a bad joke, but we're not preparing for a second Trump term. We are preparing for the Biden-Harris presidency and vice presidency. The electorate has spoken. The voters have cast their ballots in huge numbers and the results are the results.
And so at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later, President Trump and his team including Secretary of State Pompeo are going to have to get through it and acknowledge that Vice President Biden is the President-elect.
BURNETT: So Col. Wilkerson, among the scenarios that you gained out, what do you think the biggest risk is right now, given what you just heard Boris reporting from the White House, which is that the President is trying to go ahead with budgets for next year. He's saying don't give any money to anybody who's trying to do any kind of a transition that he is, to everyone around him, completely refusing to accept what has happened?
WILKERSON: Well, in our simulation results, the Trump team did exactly this and more. They ransacked the White House. They stole paintings off the wall. They took the Secret Service and went to every Trump hotel on the face of the earth stayed forever.
[19:20:02]
They camped at Mar-A-Lago. They did all manner of things to include making it impossible to act swiftly in terms of the Biden transition team. But like Professor Tribe said, I think this man is one of the most experienced people, certainly in security and foreign policy when it comes to the White House in a long time.
So I don't think it'll be as injurious as it was to us, for example, when we had a truncated transition process in the George W. Bush administration, because George W. Bush was one of the most inexperienced men that ever walked into the White House.
So I think that's a safeguard here. I look for more. I look for a lot more from this team, because we saw it in the simulation.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much. Words of warning there. Thank you. I appreciate both of you taking the time, Secretary and Colonel.
And next breaking news, major changes at the Pentagon tonight. Other top intelligence official is out, that is for senior officials to leave in just over 24 hours.
Plus, breaking news this hour, a postal worker who the Trump campaign and top Republicans claimed had proof of voter fraud is now changing his story according to a House committee.
And I'm going to talk to one of the Democratic Party's new rising star, she flipped a Republican seat in Georgia trying to tie her opponent to Trump and COVID. Is that the playbook to win in what is now the center of the American political universe, the state of Georgia?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:25:15]
BURNETT: Breaking news, another Pentagon official leaving his post. Top intelligence official Joseph Kernan resigning tonight. Four senior officials at the Pentagon now had been fired or resigned in just over the past 24 hours including the Defense Secretary, the person at the top of the entire chain, Mark Esper.
Also breaking tonight, CIA Director Gina Haspel meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as her fate hangs in the balance. Barbara Starr is OUTFRONT from the Pentagon.
Barbara, what are your sources telling you about the shake up? I mean, four senior people gone in just a day. BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good evening, Erin.
All indications are these four officials basically, the victims, if you will, the recipients of the White House deciding to clean house for political reasons. There seems to be no other explanation at the moment.
In fact, the Policy Chief now being replaced by a Trump loyalist who has advocated conspiracy theories in the past. So there is a lot of dismay and outright anxiety up and down the Pentagon hallways right now. One official saying they believe the beheadings, that's the word they're using, the political beheadings, obviously, are done for now.
Another official telling me that it's scary, that it's unsettling that these are dictator type moves. That's the kind of language we're hearing from people tonight here in the Pentagon. And one of the reasons is because there's just not a clear understanding of what the President intends to do next why is he really replacing all these people and does he have some sort of agenda to use the military to use the Pentagon that nobody understands it has not been made public yet. Anxiety that I just haven't seen this type of thing here in the past, Erin.
BURNETT: Well, all right, Barbara. And obviously the implication of what Barbara is saying there that such thoughts are even going through people's mind is a pretty stunning thing to even contemplate.
OUTFRONT now, Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, also former presidential candidate. Sen. Klobuchar, two top Pentagon officials resigning today after Esper was fired. So you've got four now in 30 hours. Your reaction to this sudden exodus?
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): My first reaction is that it's Veterans Day tomorrow and in our military as much as we can have differences on policy, when our soldiers sign up to serve, they don't ask the guy or woman next to him is a Republican or a Democrat. And I just can't stand that this is happening at the end, when administration and sure some people leave at the end of December, something like this, but he literally fired the Defense Secretary by tweet and now you have these top officials dealing with intelligence policy, that chief of staff to Esper leaving.
And I guess my second reaction is this, you can't have a better contrast with Joe Biden, Erin. You've got Donald Trump firing his Defense Secretary by tweet and then you have Joe Biden announcing a 13-member distinguished panel of experts to deal with a pandemic, the issue of our time. And to get through this, I think it's very important that President-elect Biden do what he did today and that is show his plans, show the calm and the competence and get us through this time.
He can't be the President right now, but he sure acting like one.
BURNETT: So sources are telling CNN they expect Trump to fire CIA director Gina Haspel, that's what he wants to do. We'll see what he does. But we know sources say he's angry, because he said that she didn't help with his desire to investigate the origin of the FBI Russia investigation. She did meet with the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell today who has long been a backer of hers. Do you think she really could be fired next? Do you think the President can be stopped?
KLOBUCHAR: Perhaps, Mitch McConnell is stepping in as a backer of hers. I just don't think you want to lose these career people right now. Democrats may have had issues with a number of these officials in the past, but the point is you want some people that are still in charge. It makes the transition so much better.
As Laurence Tribe and Sec. Napolitano pointed out, Joe Biden's coming in with a lot of National Security experience, so that's a good thing. But to make this transition better, you need a transition team that is talking to the past administration as we have done so often in the past. And remember, what's been stopped right now is things like space and funding for the transition and being able to vet people and get National Security clearances and the like.
And so it really, really it's heartbreaking to me for our nation after Joe Biden - this incredible speech Saturday night talking about how the grim era of demonization should be behind us and how addressing directly Trump voters and saying to them, look, I've lost before.
[19:30:09]
I know it's disappointing. But I'll give you a chance, if you give me a chance.
I still think that's where a lot of people are right now, regardless of how Republican officials are acting in Washington for their own personal reasons.
BURNETT: Yeah.
KLOBUCHAR: So -- go ahead.
BURNETT: So, I wanted to get -- I want to ask you one other thing today, Senator, while I have you, though. And that is the Supreme Court, which appears to be ready to uphold much of the Affordable Care Act, which, of course, is facing a challenge.
The president-elect forcefully defended the healthcare law today. Here is President-elect Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: This argument will determine whether health care coverage of more than 20 million Americans who are covered will be ripped away in the middle of the nation's worst pandemic in a century. We're going to do everything in our power to ease the burden of health care on you and your families. I promise you that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, today, the chief justice, John Roberts, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh have signaled they will not strike down the Affordable Care Act.
I mean, what's your reaction to that? Does that prove a nonpartisanship that many alleged was not there in the court?
KLOBUCHAR: Well, I sure hope that that's the result. That's my first reaction to this. We can't afford in a middle of a pandemic to do what this administration wants right now.
I'm talking about the Trump administration. They're the ones bringing the case to throw people off of their insurance if they have pre- existing conditions, and throw out the Affordable Care Act.
So, it doesn't surprise me, only because I have said this before, there are some real issues with that case. That being said, we know there's a number of other cases coming down the pike right now, about LGBTQ parents adopting kids, about the census, about voting.
BURNETT: Yeah.
KLOBUCHAR: As we've seen in number of cases come down. So I don't think simply about because of the words of two justices, you see -- think that the world is going to suddenly see a change in this very conservative court, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Senator Klobuchar, I appreciate your time. Thank you.
KLOBUCHAR: Very good. Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, breaking news, a Pennsylvania postal worker whose claims about voter fraud that's been pushed by Republicans now changing his story. What he's saying now.
Plus, she was 1 of 3 Democrats who flipped her district in the election, district that had been held by Republicans since 1995, in Georgia. What's happening in Georgia? How did she win? She says it was this message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today, we're in this crisis because of politicians who have given up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Will that work for the Democrats running in the Senate runoffs?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:36:37]
BURNETT: Breaking news, a postal worker in Pennsylvania recanting allegations of voter fraud, allegations that have been cited by top Trump campaign and top Republican officials. Now, this is according to a statement from Democrats in the House Oversight Committee who've been interviewing this postal worker.
The person had claimed workers were ordered to backdate ballots mailed after Election Day in Pennsylvania. It turns it's just not the case.
Kristen Holmes is OUTFRONT.
So, Kristen, tell us what you're learning.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Erin. I mean, look, this is a big deal for one reason. It's a big deal because of what you said, that Republicans have been citing this as evidence of massive widespread fraud. Even Lindsey Graham put this in his letter to the Department of Justice asking for an investigation. Now, we're hearing it's simply not true.
Now, Richard Hopkins, he was a Pennsylvania postal worker, is, and he reported that the postmaster in Erie, Pennsylvania, one of the most critical swing districts and a critical swing state, was instructing postal workers to backdate ballots.
Now, why does that matter? Well, of course, as we know, Pennsylvania officials allowed for three extra days to count absentee ballots. But when the Supreme Court saw this, they left the door open to potentially litigate these ballots that came in after election day at 5:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m., excuse me, through November 6.
So these were up in the air anyway. So, this huge question here as to what exactly was going on. But now, we're learning that he's recanted his statement in full to the postmaster inspector general. And as you said, we're learning this from House Democrats on the oversight committee, who had tweeted out that the whistle-blower completely recanted.
And, again, Erin, we cannot stress this enough, this was the big, you know, firecracker as to what the fraud was in the electoral, at least one of them cited by top Republicans. So, looking at this, this is really going to wipe out that argument and leave questions as to what happens next.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Kristen, thank you very much.
As we said, right now Republicans are 0 for 12 on these cases. That's something they had been citing, and it turns out the postal worker has recanted it.
OK. It now comes as we have new results from the state of Pennsylvania which show Joe Biden widening his lead.
John King, OUTFRONT at the magic wall. He's still there.
Okay. So what is the very latest?
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Let's walk through some of the states in the context of what you were just talking about with Kristen and other guests early in the program. You mentioned Pennsylvania, since we called the race, projected the
race at about noon on Saturday, Joe Biden's lead is now 45,000-plus. That is up 11,000 since Saturday as they continue to count the mail-in ballots. His lead is going up in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, up 11,000 since we call the race on Saturday.
Georgia, it's a more narrow lead, 14,149. But that is up a net 5,000 votes since we projected the race for Joe Biden on Saturday. In Georgia, they're counting mail-in ballots. Biden's lead is going up.
Let's move west. Out in Nevada, we've projected the state for Biden. They're still counting some votes, but since we've projected it Saturday, a 36,000-vote lead right now. That is up 14,000 since Saturday.
And one more I want to show you is Arizona, which is still in play here. This is the one state, this is the one state, Biden leads now by 13,766. That lead is down, it's down. The president has made up about 6,000 votes since Saturday. So, Arizona shrinking a little bit. Biden still in charge.
One more state I want to show because the Trump campaign had a call today and they said they're going to file a federal fraud suit in Michigan, Michigan -- 148,000-plus vote lead, 148,000.
[19:40:07]
Donald Trump won the state by 10,000 votes four years ago.
I've been doing this for 35 years. You're going to flip -- you're going to say it was fraud to flip 150,000 votes, Erin? Not happening.
BURNETT: No.
KING: Just not happening.
So, let me just go to this map. I want to put this into context for you real quickly. Why are they doing this?
This is where we are right now, right? Let's just say the president picks up North Carolina, we haven't called that yet, and Alaska, they're still counting votes. And Joe Biden holds his lead in Georgia, move that over, and in Arizona. That gives Biden 306. Even if -- even if President Trump were successful with a challenge in Pennsylvania, Joe Biden still is the president of the United States. Even if he was successful with a challenge in Pennsylvania and in Georgia, Joe Biden is still president of the United States.
So even if they flip two states, it's not enough. And those are the two biggest states on the board that are quote-unquote still in play. They're not still in play. So, this is -- that just highlights the ludicrous nature of this, that if Joe Biden can hold Pennsylvania, Donald Trump can flip the others, he's still be president of the United States. The math here is just not there.
BURNETT: The math is insurmountable. And as you point out with Michigan, Clinton didn't contest this, a 15 times greater margin of victory, 150,000 votes. That is just not going to change.
KING: The average -- the average swing in a recount is maybe 500 votes.
BURNETT: Right, right. I mean, just to give people a sense of what we're really talking about here.
And North Carolina Democrat Cal Cunningham, you look at the Senate races, these are really crucial, obviously, now, we're going to be all looking at Georgia, but conceding that Senate race today. Obviously, we haven't called that state's winner in the presidential race formally yet. But what is latest there?
KING: Well, they're still counting votes there, like everywhere else. As you note, Cal Cunningham decides to concede today. He's at 47. Thom Tillis is at 49, if you round it up.
Look, the state campaigns, they understand what votes are coming in. And Cal Cunningham making the conclusion, they may keep counting, I may get a little bit closer, we're not going to make it.
This is the Senate race. So, let me flip over to the presidential race now.
We haven't projected this either because they are still counting votes, mail-in ballots, but there's no expectation in the Biden campaign they're going to win the state. The president here is up 74,000 votes. That's 50 to 49.
The Biden campaign, they'll wait to see the results, but they fully expect President Trump will hold the state. And, Erin, as they fully expect that, guess what they're not doing? Screaming fraud.
BURNETT: Right, right. Well, that's -- and that's the thing here. You know, just make the point, John, they are counting and taking time, because the ballots that are left, we want to make sure, in case was folded, wrong or needs to be looked at. That's a whole point, to get it right.
KING: We're talking about this earlier. Just let me say this quickly, I've been doing this for 35 years. If you see fraud in an election, you see at the days before the election, on Election Day, and in the immediate time after. If they had documentation of this, we would see it by now.
BURNETT: They do not have it.
All right. Thank you very much, John King.
And this does come as President-elect Joe Biden says Republican lawmakers are too afraid of Trump, to see the writing on the wall into admit that Joe Biden is the next president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that the whole Republican Party, has been put in a position where the few notable exceptions of being mildly intimidated by the sitting president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, Republican Congressman from Virginia, Denver Riggleman.
And I should point out, the unlike the majority of Republican lawmakers, he has acknowledged Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won this election.
I appreciate your time, Congressman.
So, you're leaving Congress in January. Why do you think it is that so many of your Republican colleagues, are either completely silent here in avoiding it, or going further, right, echoing and amplifying President Trump's claims of election fraud?
REP. DENVER RIGGLEMAN (R-VA): I'm not quite sure, and thanks for having me on, Erin.
I think part of it is that, you know, when you have a constituency and you have these sort of swinger or these votes that you have to get, maybe they're afraid to go out and say something against a president where they could lose those votes. I'm not quite sure.
And sadly, it's my way of speaking out, that has got me here today. I'm leaving in January. And I find it amazing that a lot of people put the man or the woman above the institution. I have no boss. And these representatives have no boss, except for the constitution or constituents.
So I think the best thing to do is just spit facts, you know? And that's what I try to do, is, you know, spit facts, say exactly what I mean, exactly what I feel, and I think a lot of that has to do with my military background. The fact is, I didn't need this paycheck.
So I think I have a little bit more freedom, than other people to say what I feel. And, you know, in two months, we're going to have a new president. I think that's the fact.
BURNETT: Yeah, it is a fact. Now, some of your colleagues have admitted Biden is the winner, some. In the Senate, there are only four -- Senators Collins, Murkowski, Romney, and Sasse. Only four.
Democratic Senator Chris Coons, obviously, is a close ally of Joe Biden's, and said this today about his GOP colleagues. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): They call me to say, you know, congratulations. Please convey my well-wishes to the president-elect, but I can't say that publicly yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: So, Congressman, have you heard similar sentiments where, you know, sort of in the private conversations you are having with people, everybody knows what's happening here, but just publicly they just aren't saying it?
[19:45:07]
RIGGLEMAN: Yes. And I know that's a very blunt answer, but yes. You know, it's like hey, you know, thanks for being out there, thanks for doing this. We are even getting calls from Republicans to our office, you know, saying thank the congressman. I can't really say much out here but thank him for just doing the right thing.
And, again, when it gets down to, Erin, I just don't understand why we can't just state a fact. And I know a lot of it has to do with elections and we have this duopoly, this two-party system --
BURNETT: Yeah.
RIGGLEMAN: -- where everybody is so worried about someone is gong to work -- you know, say about them.
You are elected to do the right thing. You are elected to serve. You are not elected to always try to pander, I think, just to get reelection and make this a career field.
And it's something I've been talking about that since the beginning. I know about making this a career. But I think -- I just think we are to a point now where we just acknowledge facts. It's not -- it's not that big of a deal to say we have transitioned to another president. I just don't understand it.
BURNETT: I don't either. You've got Trump with the new super PAC and now we have this reporting that Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle, his girlfriend, are making moves to expand within the RNC, right? That they would maybe an eye to take over.
I mean, do you really believe, Congressman, that so many of your colleagues are afraid, that they think somehow when Trump leaves office, he's still going to be able to control their fates?
RIGGLEMAN: Yes. And I think that's ridiculous.
And I would humbly submit this if I were ever to run for office again, I can't imagine being sort of kowtowing to a certain group of people who want to take over a party. I am very difficult to bully and I think people need to step up and say we're not going to be bullied. We serve the Constitution. We don't serve a few. The Constitution is bigger than any individual.
We've been doing this for a long time. I think we've had a lot of presidents and a lot of transitions. Let's transition peacefully, let's go forward as Americans and let's stop this sort of brouhaha. You know, by the way, there is no sharpie-gate, there is no watermarks, there's no ballots being burned.
We got to stop the conspiratorial thinking, Erin. It's just out of control.
BURNETT: Oh, it's out of control, and it's not something that should be happening in this country. So many people from other countries where that sort of thing happens have talked to me in recent days and said, wow, we just didn't think it could ever happen there. Do you guys understand how much is at stake? They want to make sure we understand, right, that this is not the way you want to be.
All right. Thank you so much, Congressman. I appreciate your time.
RIGGLEMAN: Thanks, Erin.
BURNETT: Congressman Riggleman.
And next, a professor pulls up an upset in Georgia, flipping a seat that had been in Republican hands for 25 years, now that the Senate rests upon Georgia, what does she say on those runoffs? She's my guest.
And breaking news this hour, the U.S. getting a grim milestone tonight. We can tell you at this hour that more people are hospitalized with coronavirus than at any since this pandemic began.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:50:48]
BURNETT: Tonight, President-elect Joe Biden vowing to do whatever he can to help Georgia Democrats. Basically, he needs this, right, because he wants to flip these states to U.S. Senate seats and runoffs. That could give Democrats power, the balance of power in Washington, the legislative authority.
One bright spot there for Democrats is a flipped House seat, which is just one of 3 seats Democrats flipped in a Georgia congressional district held by a Republican for 25 years.
OUTFRONT now, Congresswoman-elect Carolyn Bordeaux of Georgia.
And, I appreciate your time, Congresswoman-elect.
So, you know, people look at Georgia, how this is going to go. They look at districts like yours where you are able to flip. What do you credit as the reason your seat was successful and turned to blue?
CAROLYN BOURDEAUX (D), GEORGIA, U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN-ELECT: Thank you for having me.
We worked very hard on messaging and making sure that we were really talking to people about their needs. Of course, COVID is really front and center for folks, but also health care reform.
And then we put together a formidable field operation to reach out to people. There were 800 volunteers that worked very hard sort of carrying the message with a ferocious campaign. BURNETT: So, you mentioned COVID. You actually ran against an ER
doctor, and you made an effort to tie him to President Trump's coronavirus response. Here is a TV ad that was played again and again to make the case. For our viewers to understand the argument, here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOURDEAUX: In a crisis, leaders have two options, give up or step up. Today, we're in this crisis because of politicians who've given up.
AD ANNOUNCER: McCormack claimed the virus was media hype, commended Trump's response, and even said the death figures are inflated, and masks aren't proven to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Should this be the playbook for the Democrats in your state who are now in these Senate runoffs? Especially and I think context here, is going to become crucial in light of the Pfizer vaccine news.
BOURDEAUX: I think absolutely. This is mismanagement of the crisis, and it's had catastrophic effect on people across Georgia. And our senators, they both knew about the crisis early on. And instead of warning people about what was coming and helping and get prepared for it, instead they rebalance their stock portfolios and make profits off of it.
So I think that is absolutely going to be front and center, and it's front and center in everybody's minds.
BURNETT: So, you know, viewers are saying there's going to be, you know, the most expensive runoffs we've ever seen in the state of Georgia. And Republicans are making the argument that a vote for them in these runoffs will be a check on Joe Biden's power in Washington.
And, you know, to make that case, they're actually using the words of Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer.
Over the weekend he said, quote: Now we take Georgia, then we change America.
He's making clear, give us Georgia, and they're going to go ahead and run -- and run ahead with a legislative agenda.
We know a lot of Americans and other states did choose to vote Biden at the top, Republican on the Senate level.
Do you think Schumer's words hurt the chances for Democrats in your state?
BOURDEAUX: I think we need to get things done on behalf of the American people, and having a Senate that will work and actually cooperate with the House, and with the president. This is going to be so important. We need health care reform. We need to make sure everyone has quality,
affordable health care, particularly in this pandemic. We need a cooperative effort to get the economy back on its feet, to get our children back in schools.
And the Senate race is very important to being able to address these really basic needs of people in Georgia and of America.
BURNETT: So, Georgia Republicans have now actually been turning against the Republican secretary of state. Both the senators calling for the resignation of Brad Raffensperger who is your Republican secretary of state. He is resisting, saying no way.
Now, you actually are on the same page as Senators Loeffler and Perdue. You called for Raffensperger's resignation this summer. You were frustrated with his handling of the state's primary. People had to wait a long time in line.
So, are you on the same page as the Republicans running for Senate? Do you still think he should resign?
BOURDEAUX: I am very, very frustrated with the administration of the elections here in Georgia.
[19:55:02]
In the primary on June 9th, I woke up that morning and over a dozen precincts in the south district didn't even have voting machines when people showed up to vote.
So, we had a lot of problems with the administration of the election. And I would say there's a big difference between myself and Democrats in that we want more people to vote and we want more votes to be counted, whereas the Republicans are concerned about is throwing votes out.
BURNETT: All right. Congresswoman-elect Bordeaux, thank you very much for your time. I appreciate. It
BOURDEAUX: Thank you for having me.
BURNETT: And next, breaking news, Dr. Anthony Fauci tonight, a warning as more Americans are now hospitalized with coronavirus than ever before.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Breaking news, more people are now hospitalized in the United States with coronavirus than ever before, 62,000. The nation has never before topped 60,000. So, it comes as the United States death toll tonight is ahead of -- above 239, 000, more than 10 million Americans have now been infected with the virus.
There are zero, exactly zero states going in the right direction when it comes to new cases, 44 states, 44 states seeing an increase over the past week. And Dr. Fauci says it could get worse. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We could get into a lot of difficulties if we don't adhere to the public health measures.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: As more states are tightening restrictions tonight, Dr. Fauci says wear your mask.
Thanks very much for watching.
It's time now for Anderson.
