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Erin Burnett Outfront
U.S. on Track for Another Record Day of COVID Deaths as Trump Focuses on Texas Lawsuit Challenging Election Loss; U.S. Hits Record 107,000+ COVID Hospitalizations Today as Trump Ignores Virus, Focuses on Bogus Election Lawsuit; Panel Recommends FDA Authorize Pfizer COVID Vaccine; FDA Advisers Pave the Way for First COVID Vaccine in U.S.; Biden to Civil Rights Leaders: GOP "Beat the Living Hell" Out of Dems by Using "Defund the Police" Against Them; Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) is Interviewed About Biden's "Defund the Police" Comment Let GOP "Beat the Living Hell" Out of Dems, and Calls for Governor Newsom to Pick Black Woman for Harris' Seat. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired December 10, 2020 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:00]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: She says her parents made the world a better place. Carolyn was 75. Arnold was 77. May they rest in peace and may their memories be a blessing.
Erin Burnett OUTFRONT starts right now.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, more than 100 House Republicans publicly supporting a bogus election lawsuit aimed at overturning the results of the election. Trump tonight obsessed with the last-ditch desperate effort, while ignoring another record day in coronavirus hospitalizations and likely deaths as well in these final hours of the day.
Plus, more breaking news, a key vote tonight paving the way for Americans to get the first U.S. COVID vaccine. We're going to talk to a decision maker in that meeting and the reason for her no vote may surprise you.
And breaking news, Florida police releasing video of the raid on a COVID data scientist's house. Does it though tell the full story? Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight the breaking news, the United States tonight is on track for another day of record coronavirus death. Another day and another record in death. The U.S. has already hit a record in hospitalizations today as the CDC Director, Dr. Redfield, gives us sobering warning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ROBERT REDFIELD, CDC DIRECTOR: We are in the timeframe now that probably for the next 60 to 90 days, we're going to have more deaths per day than we had in 9/11. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: A 9/11 every day for the next two to three months. And already more than five times the number of Americans have died from COVID than were killed on the battlefields of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan combined. And the President silent about it. In fact, he has not spoken publicly about the massive death toll of this virus and more than 50 hours he hasn't even mentioned.
Instead, right now he's actually about to have another holiday party at the White House. One where people will be close to him, they will mingle, they will be inside. There will be plenty of them and if past is precedent, they'll be unmasked. And topic number one on his mind is his increasingly nonsensical quest to overturn an election that has been very clearly decided.
Today the President hosting a group of Republican state attorneys general at the White House and among them was the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton. Paxton has filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court claiming that 'voting irregularities' in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin should be investigated before the Electoral College meets Monday to finalize and formalize President-elect Joe Biden's win.
What standing does Texas have over election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin? OK, this is all politics, 18 Republicans attorney general are now supporting that lawsuit. Tonight, more than 100 House Republicans filing a supporting brief with the Supreme Court.
The four states that have been targeted, though, all fighting back, of course, including the Republican Attorney General of Florida and the Democratic Attorney General in Michigan, Dana Nessel, who said the Texas lawsuit is without factual foundation or valid legal basis. And you see her, we'll speak with her in just a moment.
Because she is not alone, plenty of Republicans in Texas agree with her, Congresswoman Kay Granger telling CNN about the lawsuit, "I'm not supporting it. I don't think it's going to go anywhere and it's a distraction."
Sen. John Cornyn stating the obvious to CNN, "I frankly struggled to understand the legal theory of it. Number one, why would a state even such a great state as Texas, have a say on how other states administer their elections?"
Like I said, sometimes you just need someone to say the obvious. And then there's Congressman Chip Roy. His comment, "Respectfully, I will not join because I believe the case itself represents a dangerous violation of federalism and sets a precedent to have one state asking federal courts to police the voting procedures of other states."
OK. That's good. At least there are some Republicans who are willing to stand up for the longtime Republican priority of states' rights and federalism, which is at the entire core of the American political reality. But none of these matters to the President. Today, he actually sent out more than a dozen tweets and retweets with
known lies about the election and Trump's latest comments on tape last night at another holiday party of mingling and lots of people indoors and no masks. His comments weren't to honor or to lament nearly 300,000 Americans who have died so far this year from a virus. A number that's going to be going up 2,000 or more per day for the next 60 to 90 days.
No. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All I ask for is people with wisdom and with courage, that's all. Because if people ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're here, Mr. President.
TRUMP: ... certainly very important people, if they have wisdom and if they have courage, we're going to win this election.
[19:05:00]
And let me tell you ...
CROWD: Four more years. Four more years. Four more years. Four more years. Four more years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: This is blatant sycophancy and actually kind of insanity at this point, because they all know it's a lie. So why are 18 Republican attorneys general supporting this lawsuit? OK, here the answer, succinctly put by longtime conservative commentator Erick Erickson.
He says, "Some of you see a map of states participating in a lawsuit in the Supreme Court. Those of you who live in the real world see a group of politicians who intend to run for higher office and know they'll need to kiss Trump's ring plus one Texas AG who wants a pardon."
Thank you, Erick Erickson, for putting it so bluntly and again so clearly. And he's right about all his points, including the pardon. Take the man at the center of the whole thing, the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. I said he was at the White House today. He's the one who brought this whole thing.
Well, it's very possible he wants something from Trump, so let me just tell you a little bit about Paxton. He was indicted in the year 2015 by a grand jury on two charges of security fraud and a third felony charge. He pleaded not guilty, but his case has been delayed nearly five years because of disputes between his lawyers and prosecutors.
And finally, in October, Paxton was accused by seven top aides. Seven of his own top aides of bribery, abuse of office and other potentially criminal offenses. He's denied those allegations. But that could all be really bad for him, that's why Erickson brings up the pardon. Kaitlan Collins is OUTFRONT at the White House. And Kaitlan, you have
some new information on the lawyer the President has representing him in this case now filed by Mr. Paxton, the Texas Attorney General.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The President is now a party to that suit. And the person representing him is not someone you've seen in a lot of the legal action that the President has been taking over the last few weeks since the election. This is john Eastman, who you remember back in August, he was the person who wrote that column questioning whether or not Sen. Kamala Harris had the legal right to be vice president because her parents are immigrants basically pushing this birther conspiracy that you saw the President also later amplify.
But that's whose name was on this filing when the President intervened in this dispute in Texas. And I'm told that he is reporting directly to President Trump. He's not really working in tandem with the rest of the President's legal team and the Trump campaign has refused to answer questions today about when he was brought on to the team and who exactly it is that's paying him. Is it the President? Is it the campaign? Is anyone paying him at all?
So those are a lot of questions that have been left unanswered, but it does give you a window into how they're viewing this, where the President has kind of gone from different attorney to different attorney where you've seen some attorneys drop out of the President's legal pursuits here in the last few weeks as, of course, his cases have grown more desperate by the day. And this could be the most desperate chance yet that you're seeing from the President.
Because I think if you talk to people behind the scenes, they know that this really doesn't have a realistic chance of being heard by the Supreme Court. And so seeing those Republicans, those over a hundred House Republicans who've signed on to this brief in agreement with the President and with this lawsuit filed by the Texas Attorney General, Erin, it's really more of a loyalty test for them, because they don't actually think this is going to be legally successful.
But this is this President's last-ditch effort to try to overturn the results of the election, something he has failed to repeatedly so far, but now has gone from avenue to avenue to try to do so. But of course, they are going to face their biggest test yet Republicans that is on Monday after those electors meet and certify the votes for Joe Biden, because what do they say after that.
BURNETT: I mean, it is right, and they all know that this is a hogwash, to use the most polite term I can think of. Thank you, Kaitlan.
I want to go now to Michigan's Attorney General, Democrat Dana Nessel, who has joined the attorneys general in the other states that Texas has singled out, Republican and Democrat alike. And I'm saying that it is hogwash, as I mentioned.
Attorney General, you filed a brief with the Supreme Court today in response to the lawsuit and you say it is without factual foundation or a valid legal basis. Those are your exact words. So, in English, tell me why this is nothing.
DANA NESSEL, (D) MICHIGAN ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, Erin, I mean as most people have suggested, this lawsuit is really one of the more outrageous that we've ever seen in modern American history. Texas has absolutely no standing to disenfranchise the 5.5 million voters in the state of Michigan and our 10 million residents.
There's been no injury that's been demonstrated to the State of Texas. Our election has been certified. It's been upheld by every court in which it's been challenged both in the Michigan State courts and in the federal courts.
[19:10:05]
And in fact, Texas has failed to identify a single voter who voted in Michigan who should not have, let alone any evidence of widespread voter fraud. So, it's outrageous that they filed this and the thought that they would try to disenfranchise the 39 million people that live in these four states, it's really disturbing.
BURNETT: So let me ask you, because I know you heard what Erick Erickson said that the people who have signed on to this are group of politicians, I'm quoting Mr. Erickson, who intend to run for higher office and know they'll need to kiss Trump's ring plus one Texas AG who wants a pardon. And I went through Paxton's - his background and his aides who have accused him of bribery. He, of course, has denied it.
Why do you think the Attorney General of Texas is doing this?
NESSEL: Well, I would say this in terms of AG Paxton and the other 17 Republican AGs that signed on to support this lawsuit. I don't know what happens in other states but let me tell you about my office. I took an oath to uphold the Michigan Constitution and the United States Constitution to the best of my abilities so help me God.
I don't know what they did in these other states. I don't know what their oath was to, I don't know if they swore to uphold the tiny, fragile ego of a man who cares about nothing but himself, but they've sold their souls and I hope it was worth it to them.
BURNETT: Thank you very much, Attorney General. I appreciate your time.
And I want to go now to Tom Rath. He is the former Republican Attorney General of New Hampshire and Abby Phillip, our Political Correspondent.
Atty. Gen. Rath, pretty powerful words there by the Attorney General for Michigan. As a former Republican Attorney General, let me give you a chance to say whether this lawsuit from Paxton has any merit.
THOMAS RATH, REPUBLICAN ATTORNEY GENERAL: But first of all, once we get elected or once we get nominated and appointed, we're Attorney General. We're not Republican Attorney or Democrat. What we have to do is apply the law faithfully and impartially and without fear of how hard you're going to fall. There's an old expression about it, again, if you have the law on your side, you pound the facts, well, if you don't have the law, you pound the facts, but if you have the law, you pound the facts, you pound that. But if you have nothing else on your side, you pound the table, and this is all about Donald Trump pounding the table.
This is a lawsuit which has no basis in fact, none whatsoever. It has a complete and total mistake by the (inaudible) consider taking this case. (Inaudible) jurisdiction we've seen very rarely anyways. This one I think is really off the charts and it's a sad commentary on where we are. That something like this even gets tried.
BURNETT: Abby, it is. I mean, that there's even a conversation about it, because when it first came out, I mean, it seemed absurd. Now you have all these people signing on to it. It truly defies reason. And among many reasons for that is that it goes against one of the core things that - well, it's core to our country, but it's also core to what many of the Republicans who say they support this lawsuit say they believe in which is federalism, they believe in States' rights.
And you heard that from Cornyn saying why does Texas have a say on other states' elections. I mean, some Republicans are standing up and saying that. The House Minority Leader today though, Abby, Kevin McCarthy was asked if he supports the President's efforts to overturn the election results. I wanted to play for you what he said. Here's Mr. McCarthy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): The President has a right for every legal challenge to be heard. He has a right to go the Supreme Court with it. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OK. So, Abby, it sounded there as if OK he's onboard with this. But then he did not sign on, more than 100 house Republicans did. Kevin McCarthy was not among them. Does he actually see the hypocrisy of this and just didn't feel like he could say it?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, to me it sounded like the opposite of a resounding endorsement of this kind of effort. He did everything and said everything other than saying I support this lawsuit. I support specifically the legal theory that is behind this lawsuit, which he ought to know would completely undermine the other Republican-elected officials who were elected down ballot in those very same states, where Ken Paxton is trying to throw out millions of ballots in. It doesn't make any sense at all that you would claim that there's such widespread fraud, that it would only affect the Presidential election and not any of the other elections down ballot.
Beyond that, I think that many Republicans right now are just trying not to poke the bear, poke President Trump.
[19:15:00] This is, as Kaitlan said, about showing their loyalty to Trump, but
it's also about Trump flexing his muscle as a political force in the Republican Party. Remember, he's trying to make a case that he should be the dominant force in the party for the next four years, potentially running for president again in 2024. The best way for him to do that in his mind is to show how many Republicans he can get to back him up on this fool's errand and he's showing that he's able to do that right now.
BURNETT: It's a really interesting point that you make, because you would think after a single term and you get defeated clearly, there'll be a lot of people moving in to take that position, so he's trying to solidify like I may be kicked out, but I'm still the guy.
Atty. Gen. Rath, the Arizona Attorney General, Mark Brnovich, who was at the President's lunch today, filed a separate friend of the court briefing that was 'respecting the Texas lawsuit'. That's as far as it went. It didn't fully sign on. But a month ago, he was on Fox Business News and he said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK BRNOVICH (R), ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL: It does appear that Joe Biden will win Arizona. There is no evidence, there are no facts that would lead anyone to believe that the election results will change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OK. So, given what he just said there that there was no fraud in Arizona, that Biden won, how in the world does he go along with this Texas thing?
RATH: Well, that's between he and his conscience. I can't speak to that. But it's clear that the lawsuit that was filed has no basis, either fact or law. It is strictly a political gambit. It has nowhere to go. I would be surprised if the court wasted 10 minutes on it and it just shows where we are as a country that something like this would arise and get people paying attention to it that is so clearly without basis and has no meaning either fact or law.
The election is over. Joe Biden won the election. Donald Trump will leave office whether he wants it or not on January 20th. This lawsuit is nothing but an attempt to I suppose raise money for some political event down the road, but there's no basis for it and I think that's how it's going to play out at the end.
BURNETT: And, of course, the President is raising a lot of money. We're now getting up to $200 million and just so people understand, he's got a lot of leeway on how he spends it. Thanks very much to both of you. I appreciate it.
And we do have breaking news coming up, the FDA advisory board paving the way for the first U.S. COVID vaccine and shipments literally could be ready to move within hours. So what does this actually mean for when you can get the vaccine?
Plus, the campaign to promote lies about voter fraud and stolen votes hyped in Georgia. Why? Well, because it appears it may be working.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you genuinely believe that he ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kicked Joe Biden's ass, yes I do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And a leaked tape reveals a candid admission by President- elect Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Because that's how they beat the living hell out of us across the country, saying that we're talking about defunding the police.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:21:51]
BURNETT: Breaking news, the first coronavirus vaccine for the United States gets a green light. Just minutes ago, an FDA advisory panel recommending that Pfizer's vaccine be granted emergency authorization. The conclusion is that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks for those 16 years and older.
Now, 17 members voted yes and four voted no, one abstained. OK. So, it was not unanimous, but it was a clear majority. A final approval from the FDA could come at any moment and a CDC panel is expected to hold its vote on Sunday. OK. So basically, once this committee makes its decision, usually those other things are green stamps, usually, which means we could be just days away from Pfizer beginning to ship the vaccine to states across this country.
This as the CDC Director, Robert Redfield, warns the next few months will be grim, 2,000 people or more dying per day for the next two to three months and that even a vaccine will not change that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REDFIELD: The reality is the vaccine approval this week is not going to really impact I think to any degree for the next 60 days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So that's a lot of death. OUTFRONT now, Pfizer's Principal Investigator for its COVID vaccine, Dr. Stephen Thomas. He was part of today's hearing. And Dr. Archana Chatterjee, she is a member of the FDA Advisory Committee that met today. She voted against approval.
So, Dr. Thomas, let me start with you and just get your reaction to this vaccine, getting the green light and how this went today, how the votes split, is this what you expected?
DR. STEPHEN THOMAS, PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR, PFIZER: My first reaction was one of hope, actually, because I feel that if the FDA issues an emergency use authorization, we have the potential to have a very significant and powerful tool to combat this virus. And, for the first time, we could actually significantly start to impact this horrible epidemic, which is occurring in the country and really is occurring uncontrolled.
In terms of the split of the vote, hearing a lot of the deliberation and hearing a lot of the comments. Clearly, there were some members of the committee who had concern about the amount of information in the lower age groups and so I was not surprised by a split.
BURNETT: So, one point of concern in today's hearing, in addition to that, and we will talk about that with Dr. Chatterjee in a moment. But Dr. Thomas to you, were the reports the two health care workers who received the Pfizer vaccine in the U.K., right when it came out they get it right away and then they had that severe allergic reaction, here's Dr. Paul Offit from the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia talking about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR OF THE VACCINE EDUCATION CENTER, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: I'm worried about the severe anaphylaxis reactions. There are 10s of millions of people in this country who carry EpiPens with him because they have peanut allergies, because they have egg allergies who are going to believe now that they can't get this vaccine. That's a lot of people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OK. So I know as part of the trial, you excluded people who had those allergic issues as part of your initial trial. But would you say those 10s of millions of people shouldn't get this? I mean, how big of a concern is this allergic issue, Doctor?
THOMAS: Well, we know that all licensed vaccines have the potential to cause these acute hypersensitivity reactions, which can be very severe.
[19:25:04]
It occurs in about one in every 1.3 million to 1.4 million vaccinations that occur and not all vaccine allergic reactions are created equal and it doesn't necessarily preclude you from getting vaccination. So my opinion is that before we make these very broadly reaching proclamations or before we start excluding groups from who could potentially benefit from this vaccine, I think those two cases in the U.K. need to be thoroughly investigated by the regulatory authorities.
Pfizer is, of course, going to relook at its safety information with the FDA. And then the FDA and Pfizer need to inform the public and health care providers about what they learn. But what's not going to change is that me as a physician, I always
have discussions with patients about their allergies, I have discussions with them about what their risk of disease and a bad outcome from diseases and we make a risk benefit decision together and that's not going to change.
BURNETT: So, Dr. Chatterjee, let me get to you now. Seventeen of your colleagues voted yes. You're one of the four who voted no. Tell me why.
DR. ARCHANA CHATTERJEE, MEMBER OF THE FDA VACCINE ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Well, first, Erin, thank you very much for the invitation to participate tonight. I want to make it very clear that I am fully supportive of the emergency use authorization of this vaccine for use in adults 18 years and older. I think we are facing a deadly pandemic and the vaccine in addition to public health measures are needed to try to control the pandemic. We need the science and the data.
The issue I had was with regard to the data as Dr. Thomas mentioned in those younger patients - excuse me in those younger participants where I felt like the data were limited. And since they are not a high-risk category at this point in time, they're not high priority for vaccination. I think it'll be a while before we will get to vaccinating them anyway. I believe we have time to gather and analyze more data.
And these are minors who are not making decisions about whether to participate in a vaccination program or not on their own. These decisions will be made by somebody else. So, for those reasons, I felt it would be important to vote no and bring that to the attention of the FDA.
BURNETT: OK. Which is interesting. I mean, because look I'm just thinking and obviously you made the point to Dr. Thomas, but when you look at the math and I know there's going to be a big public relations effort here to get people to take this, but certain number of people aren't going to take it. A certain number of people are allergic. And then you're going to take out this whole swath of population, possibly, who are younger who may not get sick, but certainly can transmit a lot.
But I'm just basically saying, when you do all that math, you need a certain number of people vaccinated for this thing to work. And if you take out that whole population, you may get below that threshold. Are you concerned about that, Dr. Chatterjee?
CHATTERJEE: It's a matter of timing, I think, Erin. You're absolutely correct that we need - it's estimated somewhere around 60 percent or 70 percent of the population to be vaccinated for the vaccine to have an impact on controlling the pandemic. That is true. However, we also know that we're not going to have that proportion of the population vaccinated right away and we have priority groups that have been identified who will be vaccinated first, giving us the opportunity to wait, gather those additional data, analyze them, and then make a decision about children who are younger than 18 years of age.
BURNETT: Dr. Thomas, I want to give you a chance to respond.
THOMAS: Well, I know that the majority of children who do get infected many of them are asymptomatic and another large group or just have mild illness. But the fact is, they can get infected, they can transmit to other higher risk people. The other thing that is concerning, especially working in a hospital where I know that we're at 110 percent capacity, they access the health care system and they create a huge drain on resources because of these illnesses even if they're not severe.
So the studies are ongoing, they're continuing to enroll people 12 years of age and up to 18 years of age and so the data is going to be there. To me, because they can have a place a burden on the health care system, if the safety database is convincing and clear, then I would personally be in favor of an EUA which includes 16 and 17-year- olds.
BURNETT: As well. All right. Thank you both very much. I appreciate your time, Dr. Thomas, Dr. Chatterjee.
And I want to go now to our Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Sanjay, what's your reaction to that? Obviously, this is moving ahead. It has the UAE. It is about to get - you're going to get the CDC and the full FDA, it's hours away from starting to go out the door. But what about that issue of younger people and the point I was making, which is that if it's a long time before they get it, it's a long time then before you get your population to a vaccine-induced herd immunity.
[19:30:04]
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. No, I think you're making the exact point and it was a good interview listening to Dr. Chatterjee talked about this.
I think what she was saying, listening to her closely, she was trying to make a statement with that. It was pretty clear that this was going to be recommended for emergency use authorization. She said that she essentially wanted to flag it for the FDA and, you know, there wasn't an option on the table to say, should this only be 18-year-old participants and older, this was for 16-year-old participants and older.
So, if the question at that point is yes or no, you know, you can't let perfect be the enemy of the good in a situation like this. I will say that the data that I think Dr. Chatterjee was talking about out of the tens of thousands of participants, I was just looking this up, Erin, there were 153 that were 16 or 17 years old.
So, it was a very limited amount of data.
BURNETT: Yes.
GUPTA: But the data will continue to be collected and they are going to be much later in the entire vaccine rollout because they're younger and far less likely to get sick. So, these things can happen simultaneously, I think the idea of voting no or not authorizing this on that basis would have been a mistake. And, by the way, the American Academy of Pediatrics just released a statement basically said the same thing, want more data, but this should go forward?
BURNETT: Right. OK, this all makes sense. But I have a bunch of questions just sort of as a layperson right here and I'm a person who vaccinates every time I can vaccinate my kids. But, you know, one of the things they said they're not sure at this point in this process whether the vaccine stops transmission and whether it simply makes it so you don't get sick.
In other words, you may get infected and just become asymptomatic mat ink. You don't get sick. This would be huge this, would be great.
However, what about these long-term things that are happening to people about COVID, heart issues, other issues? That have happened to some people who weren't very sick. So, do we really not know if the vaccine would prevent that sort of thing? You may never get it because you're asymptomatic but those other things could still happen down the line.
Do we know any of that yet?
GUPTA: No, we don't know the answer to that yet, Erin. I mean, that is one of the critical questions. First of all, what we know from the primary sort of end point of the study was when they say 90 percent, 95 percent effective, what they're saying is 95 percent effective at preventing COVID-19, the disease and the symptoms of the disease.
But you're right. People could still carry the virus in their nose and their mouth. They could still be infected essentially and still potentially transmit it so makes the case, first of all, that even after one is vaccinated they probably still need to wear a mask for a while until a significant chunk of the population is vaccinated and protected against COVID-19.
But, you know, as far as long hauler symptoms that you're describing, first, I don't think there's any evidence the vaccine itself can cause that because the vaccine itself isn't the virus.
BURNETT: Right.
GUPTA: Just a genetic code for a portion of the virus. But for people who just develop mild symptoms instead of more severe symptoms, that's obviously still very good but it doesn't necessarily prevent them from developing long hauler symptoms and, you know, as we see time go on, over the next couple of years.
BURNETT: So final question to you.
The director of the CDC saying, the vaccine approval this week, you know, you're going to start having it go to people in the next few days. But he is saying that would not change his forecast for 2,000 or more people to diaper day for each of the next 60 to 90 day, right? Another, you know, 100,000 or more people dying from this, even with this vaccine rolling out in the best-case scenario.
Is that right?
GUPTA: Yes, I mean, you know, we've looked at all these models pretty extensively, including the IHME models, and I think Dr. Redfield was referring to the CDC model that came out, the forecast, the vaccine is a very powerful medicine. It takes a while to work. I think that's the thing.
It's not surgical sort of in its approach or how quickly it will work. Masks as it turns out are surgical because they can either greatly reduce or stop transmission immediately. If you wear a mask, you have the virus, you're not going to spread it to other people.
The vaccine is going to take a lot longer. When we sort of look at these models first of all because it largely prevents severe illness, you may see death rates sort of improved first even before you see hospitalizations or overall infections. That's around 30 percent of the country being inoculated, and then when you start to see the really massive sort of impact of vaccines is probably when we get to 60 percent or 70 percent, and when we look at the rollout, if everything goes well, that's sort of summer, mid-summer of next year.
BURNETT: All right. Sanjay, thank you very much. Appreciate it.
GUPTA: You got it.
BURNETT: Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
And next, Rudy Giuliani Zooming into a Georgia legislature meeting because he has coronavirus, spewing widely debunked claims of voter fraud he knows are lies. But is the message working? Working with the very people that they are trying to lie to?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[19:35:02]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump is my president.
REPORTER: He won't be president next month.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't know that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And President-elect Biden speaking frankly and privately about the election in a meeting with civil rights leaders. What he blames for Democrats' losses in Congress.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Tonight, Rudy Giuliani zooming into the Georgia statehouse after being sidelined for days with coronavirus and why did he Zoom in? Well, because he wanted to put out there lies about voter fraud
relying on a widely debunked video that I will not waste my time, or your time shows you because it is a lie and he knows that. But it allegations election workers were mishandling ballots for the purpose of stealing votes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, ATTORNEY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP: You have live from Atlanta, you've got voter fraud right in front of people's eyes, blatant, clear, obvious. You have to be a fool to ignore it or worse. It is quite clear they're stealing votes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUIRNETT: OK. Here is the person in charge, Georgia's election chief Gabriel Sterling who has knocked this down again and again and again with the facts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GABRIEL STERLING, GEORGIA VOTING SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION MANAGER: The secret suitcases with magic ballots were actually ballots that had been packed into those absentee ballot carriers by the workers in plain view of the monitors and the press.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OK. Don't let the facts get in the way of a grand conspiracy, Rudy.
The lead investigator for Georgia's Republican secretary of state has now signed a sworn affidavit in federal court also saying that what Rudy Giuliani is saying is a lie.
Quote: Our investigation and review of the entire security footage revealed there were no mystery ballots that were brought in from an unknown location hidden under tables as has been reported by some.
OK. It's all complete bunk. But the reality of it is, it's unfortunately that some people believe it.
CNN's Donie O'Sullivan is on the ground in Atlanta.
And, Donie, and you have been talking a lot of people there despite Sterling and other top Republican officials in Georgia putting out the facts, laying it out, showing the video.
[19:40:08]
You're talking to a lot of people who believe what President Trump and Rudy Giuliani are saying.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Erin. Those videos are really, really resonating with some Trump supporters in Georgia and all of this, of course, just a few weeks before critical Senate runoff elections that will decide who controls the U.S. Senate. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jesus is my savior. Trump is my president.
O'SULLIVAN: He won't be president next month.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't know that. You don't know that you're assuming that because you're a news media outlet and y'all think you have the power to call the election but guess what, you don't. You're a news media outlet. Y'all don't call the election.
O'SULLIVAN: Do you genuinely believe that he --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kicked Joe Biden's ass? Yes, I do. Yes, obviously.
O'SULLIVAN: Do you believe that something was wrong with the presidential election here in Georgia?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think that there was a lot of misconduct going on.
O'SULLIVAN: Do you think Biden still won?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Not at all.
O'SULLIVAN: Do you think Trump won?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Trump won.
O'SULLIVAN: They've recounted the votes it's been three counts now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe so.
O'SULLIVAN: But you don't trust it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't trust the system.
O'SULLIVAN: Do you accept that Trump lost Georgia?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump didn't lose anything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. Yes, no.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't see how anybody can honestly -- I know you guys don't report it but when you look at video, all the testimonies of dead people voting, the videos of people running ballots through right there in Fulton county.
O'SULLIVAN: Do you think that the runoffs here could also be fraudulent?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tampered, yes, they could be. If nothing gets straightened out, if we don't demand to have poll workers that allowed from both parties --
O'SULLIVAN: I take it you're not big CNN fans. Where do you get your news and information, online, TV?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, mostly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Different places.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, different places.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Newsmax now, though, because we don't trust Fox News and definitely not CNN. It's nothing personal against you guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'SULLIVAN: Erin, it is quite telling Fox News is now not pro-Trump enough for some -- for many supporters actually that I've been speaking to.
And, you know, all of this misinformation could really blow up in Republicans' faces here in Georgia. Some Trump supporters I have spoken to said they're considering not even voting for the Republican Senate candidates here next month because they don't think those candidates are standing up enough for Trump -- Erin.
BURNETT: Wow. All right, thank you very much. Donie, pretty incredible. Riveting and important for everyone to hear. Thank you.
So much for that report.
I want to go to Georgia Republican State Senator Chuck Hufstetler. He was one of the first Georgia Republicans to acknowledge President- elect Joe Biden's victory, which, of course, had been affirmed now with recounts in your state.
Senator, I appreciate your time.
So, you just heard like I heard from some of those voters in Georgia, just a sampling of similar sentiments that Donie and other of our reporters have heard in your state in the past few days. What's your reaction to all of this, Senator?
CHUCK HUFSTETLER (R), GEORGIA STATE SENATOR: Well, it's disappointing that have you fake one story debunked after another and when one is gone two take its place and many are saying some of the same stories have been debunked.
You know, Georgia, unfortunately, for me and for Republicans lost that election. Georgia Senate Republicans did great. The highest vote getters at 57.7 percent but Fulton County is not even where he lost it. He lost it among white college educated voters that only went 21 percent for Hillary Clinton but went 40 percent for Joe Biden and the metro suburb communities he lost about 5 percent or 6 percent even for south county that is solidly Republican at 71 percent four years ago dropped to 65 percent. That's where he lost the vote. You know, my district, I was the highest vote getter. Trump got most
all the votes I did but 1 out of 20 didn't vote for him for various reasons, and that's 5 percent and that's the margin of -- that he got and why we lost the election here.
BURNETT: So, you know, you go through the numbers and I think it's important to do that. I think it's important when you do it and important when Gabe Sterling does it or when Brad Raffensperger does it, support when you all do it, because those are the facts because it's not just the voters that you just heard as I said there have been others, but here's, you know, as you know there was a Pence rally in your state earlier today and here's a few more voters who attended the vice president's rally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, a lot of people want to brush it under the rug, that there wasn't any fraud that happened.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the whole election was -- the count was fraud. The systems were rigged.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Senator, as I said, you're one of the first to speak out and say the results in Georgia even though you're a Republican and were a Trump supporter. Why is it so important for you to speak out --
[19:45:03]
HUFSTETLER: Well --
BURNETT: -- and risk the ire of many voters by telling them, guys, this is reality? Biden won?
HUFSTETLER: Well, I am the finance chair and I believe in numbers and data and it's important that we speak the truth, it's not, you know, pleasant and it certainly politically -- my district I won with 77 percent is not politically good for me, but it's important that we uphold the integrity of elections whether the other side was saying it two and four years, or this year, his own cybersecurity said it was secure, his attorney general, all the data I've seen show that many of those ballots, particularly those in the medical field like I am voted Republican except if that one place because they didn't like his mockery of science, or they didn't like his Twitter or personality, different things.
And all you have to do is lose 1 out of 20 and that's the margin of defeat. And, you know, I don't want to be one because it's not good to say it politically doesn't say the truth. I mean, this is history being made. We all want to be on the right side of truth, I think.
If you've got integrity, Brad Raffensperger certainly has it. He and I were five of the 236 legislatures that got 100 percent rating from Faith and Freedom, a very conservative group when he was in legislature in '18. We're both conservatives, but we also believe in following the rule of law and the oath to our state and our country.
BURNETT: I appreciate your time, senator. Thank you.
HUFSTETLER: Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, Joe Biden speaking privately to a group of people, he thought it was private but then this tape of his conversation was leaked.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: I also don't think we should get too far ahead of ourselves on dealing with police reform.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BURNETT: And then the other side of the story. Florida law enforcement now releasing its footage of the moments before the raid on that former COVID data scientist's home. You'll see.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:50:01]
BURNETT: New tonight: leaked audio of a virtual meeting between President-elect Biden and civil rights leaders, revealing why Biden believes Democrats failed to win control of the Senate and have a razor thin majority in the House after losing 12 seats.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
BIDEN: I also don't think we should get too far ahead of ourselves on dealing with police reform in that, because they've already labeled us as being defund the police, because that's how they beat the living hell out of us across the country, saying that we're talking about defunding the police. We're not. We're talking about holding them accountable.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BURNETT: The transition team responded to the leak saying in part, quote, President-elect Biden is the same person behind closed doors that he is in public, honest, direct, and realistic about the challenges facing our nation today he is sworn in.
OUTFRONT now, Democratic congresswoman from California, Barbara Lee.
And, first, Congresswoman, I want to give you a chance to react to President-elect Biden. The quote he said is Republicans, quote, beat the living hell out of us across the country, he says, because of the "defund the police" movement, because of those words, and he says that is not what Democrats are talking about.
What's your response? What do you say?
REP. BARBARA LEE (D-CA): Well, it's not. Yes, it's not and President- elect Biden is absolutely correct. The Republicans in many ways weaponized police reform policies, and that is what they did in their ads, and that is the misrepresentation of what police reform is about.
We've passed the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act. It is a bill that speaks to criminal justice reform, police reform. This bill has been sitting on Mitch McConnell's desk for months.
BURNETT: Yes.
LEE: So just like our COVID negotiations have been dragging on, in terms of delivering care and economic relief to the American people.
So the Republicans have this way of just trying to misrepresent what we're doing, so we move forward on our police reform efforts, and I believe that we're going to be successful with the Biden-Harris administration.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: So, I understand exactly what you are saying, and I do want to make this point -- Congressman Clyburn has said the "burn baby burn" really hurt the civil rights movement, and he said "defund the police" is the same thing.
I've talked to others like Congresswoman-elect Cori Bush, she wants to own that term. She believes in it and she believes in what it means.
So, I just want to kind of push you a little bit more here. I understand your point about Republicans, but it isn't just Republicans. There are Democrats who are saying that, too, and it appears that the president-elect is going to take them on.
LEE: Most Democrats want to hold the police accountable. Most Democrats know that the police should not be delivering mental health services. Most people know that the black and brown communities want public safety and that we have to restructure our funding priorities in terms of how we make our communities safe.
And so, most Democrats understand the need for accountability, and they need to make sure there is justice in our criminal justice system.
BURNETT: Your governor, California Governor Gavin Newsom, is facing pressure to pick a black woman to fill the vice president-elect spot, Kamala Harris' Senate seat. Jim Clyburn I mentioned him, the influential Democratic congressman, he says that Governor Newsom should do that.
According to "Politico", more than 100 black female leaders also sent Newsom a letter, saying not just that he should do that, but that he should specifically pick you or Congresswoman Karen Bass.
Would it be a mistake if Governor Newsom did not do that?
LEE: Let me say first, I am honored to be on the list. We know that a black woman's voice will be nonexistent in the Senate. There have been no more than 10 years and total since the first Congress in 1789 met.
And I will respect the decision which Governor Newsom makes. He's got many, many issues, many decisions that he's thinking about now.
And so, I think in California we, he has many choices, and again we, I am just very honored to be on the list and I do recognize that and we know black women have many experiences and many issues that they bring to the table, not only to solve problems and minority communities of color, but will help solve the entire problems of the entire country. It's the governor's decision, and I will respect his decision.
BURNETT: Congresswoman Lee, I appreciate your time very much.
LEE: Thank you.
BURNETT: And next, breaking is about the raid on a former COVID data scientist's home. You saw her on this program last night and she told you her side of the story. Now, the Florida law enforcement is putting up a body cam video tonight. What does it show, and why are they doing it?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:57:31]
BURNETT: Breaking news, and a rare move. Florida police just releasing body cam video of their raid on the home of a former state coronavirus data scientist. Rebekah Jones says the search warrant at her home as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis trying to silence her. Jones claims she was fired from the Florida Health Department in May for refusing to manipulate coronavirus data.
Drew Griffin is OUTFRONT.
You've been covering this story since the beginning, Drew. And now, this body cam video coming out is days after Jones released her video of what happened, and in her video, you see police aiming weapons up the stairs, young children crying from the top of the stairs. So, now, we see their side of it.
Tell me what we see and but they are trying to do.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, what they're trying to do is basically tamp down some of those criticisms against that they came barnstorming in, and were pointing guns, as you say, at her family, and basically making those raid much more physical and threatening than they say it was. In fact, in a statement, the commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said just over the recent few days, his agents have been vilified and says this video demonstrates the FDLE agents exercised extreme patience.
What it does show is officer standing outside her door for a good 23 minutes, trying to get someone inside to actually answer the door. Fifteen minutes after they actually knock and say they are the police, is when she does open the door. They asked her to come out, she has her hands up, and it does seem rather calm. We only see the video from the outside, we don't see the video that
the body cam of the police who actually entered to the home, so we don't see that point in her video, where the police officers point a gun upstairs, where she says her children were.
Again, this is an attempt by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to try to calm down and to defend its officers. They said it exercises extreme caution and patients in this raid.
BURNETT: And, obviously, what we saw last night when she was on last night on the show, she described police pointing guns at her face, and you saw one of them with a gun pointed up the stairwell where she said her kids are at the top of the stairwell, this is new video shed light on those moments, which give a very different picture than what you just showed?
GRIFFIN: Yes, because we don't have all the video, nothing is conclusive, we do see at one point an officer pointing a gun in her general direction, but we don't see any officer pointing a gun within six inches of her face, which she also claims.
So, I mean, it shows the officers were outside for several minutes waiting for him to come to the door, that's what it shows and it shows that they were polite to her when she came out.
BURNETT: All right. Drew Griffin, thank you very much.
And thanks to all of you.
Anderson starts now.
