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The Situation Room

Interview With Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT); Biden Introduces Economic Team; Attorney General Bill Barr Finds No Evidence Of Widespread Voter Fraud; CDC Panel Votes To Recommend Health Care Staff, Long-Term Care Facility Residents Get COVID-19 Vaccine First; Georgia Election Official To Trump: Condemn Violence Or You Will Be "Complicit". Aired 6-7p ET

Aired December 01, 2020 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:16]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to the viewers here in the United States and around the world. I am Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. We are following breaking news.

Tonight, a major blow to the president's false claims about the election delivered by a powerful Trump ally, the attorney general of the United States, William Barr, telling the Associated Press that the Justice Department found no evidence of widespread voter fraud that would have changed the outcome in the president's favor, this as the president-elect, Joe Biden, continues to build his administration, introducing his new economic team and planning a new stimulus push and executive actions in the first 100 days.

Also breaking, a CDC advisory panel just voted to recommend that health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities should get COVID-19 vaccines first, the urgency for a vaccine clearly growing, as the U.S. death toll and the case count are soaring to new highs, with the number of COVID hospitalizations here in the United States now nearing 100,000. That's a new record.

Let's go straight to our chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, right now.

Jim, Bill Barr warned of possible fraud when I interviewed him before the election, but, tonight, he's not buying into the president's bogus claim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He's not saying that anymore. That's right, Wolf.

This may be the most official -- significant official contradiction of President Trump's cries that he was cheated out of a second term so far. Attorney General William Barr, who is very loyal to this president, has been up until this point, says federal prosecutors have not uncovered any voter fraud that's extensive enough to upend the election's results. Barr was seen entering the White House earlier this afternoon. He was

here for about two-and-a-half-hours, officials say, for a previously scheduled meeting. But it's hard to imagine Barr's comments won't come up, as Mr. Trump cannot be happy what his attorney general has just told the whole world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): Throwing a bucket of cold water on President Trump's bogus claims of election fraud, Attorney General William Barr says the Justice Department has found no evidence that would change the results of the 2020 race for the White House.

Before entering the West Wing earlier in the day, Barr told the Associated Press his prosecutors investigated a number of claims, but: "To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election."

Barr even dismissed accusations that voting machines were tampered with, saying: "There has been one assertion that would be systemic fraud. And that would be the claim that machines were programmed essentially to skew the election results. And the DHS and DOJ have looked into that, and, so far, we haven't seen anything to substantiate that."

Over the weekend, the president sounded frustrated the Justice Department hadn't found any widespread fraud.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Why isn't the FBI all over the place? They're not. They're not. It's an incredible thing. They're not. And it's an embarrassment to our country.

ACOSTA: In a strange twist, the Trump legal team is now slamming Barr, saying in a statement: "With all due respect to the attorney general, there hasn't been any semblance of a Department of Justice investigation."

Still, the president continues to tee off on Republican governors who are refusing to join his quest to cling to power. Mr. Trump pleaded to Georgia's GOP Governor Brian Kemp: "Do something. You allowed your state to be scammed. We must check signatures and count signed envelopes against ballots."

The president then said about the upcoming Georgia Senate run-offs: "Call off election. It won't be needed. We will all win."

LT. GOV. GEOFF DUNCAN (R-GA): I would urge the president, I would urge Republicans to redirect their post-election approach here.

ACOSTA: In Arizona, Governor Doug Ducey responded, appearing to not answer a phone call with a "Hail to the Chief" ringtone, the same ringtone Ducey said he dedicated to calls from the president.

Mr. Trump is slamming Ducey, who just went along with his state's certification of its results.

TRUMP: Arizona will not forget what Ducey just did. We're not going to forget the people of Arizona.

ACOSTA: But here's the deal. The president realizes his challenges are going nowhere, with one adviser telling CNN Mr. Trump knows he's lost, adding: "Yes, he does. The writing's on the wall."

The president's team has been busy raising money during Mr. Trump's cries of foul play to the tune of more than $170 million. One Trump, attorney, Joe diGenova, is doing damage control after saying the former head of the administration's Cybersecurity Agency, Chris Krebs, should be shot, after he said the election was secure.

JOE DIGENOVA, ATTORNEY FOR DONALD TRUMP: Anybody who thinks that this election went well, like that idiot Krebs, who used to be the head of cybersecurity...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, the guy that was on "60 Minutes" last night.

DIGENOVA: That guy is a class-A moron. He should be drawn and quartered, taken out at dawn and shot.

ACOSTA: DiGenova later said in a statement: "It was obvious that my remarks were sarcastic and made in jest. I, of course, wish Mr. Krebs no harm. This was hyperbole in a political discourse."

[18:05:00]

That came after Krebs hinted at legal action.

CHRISTOPHER KREBS, FORMER DIRECTOR, CYBERSECURITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY AGENCY: I have got an exceptional team of lawyers that win in court. And I think they're probably going to be busy.

ACOSTA: There was one other notable visitor at the White House, the head of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Stephen Hahn, who was summoned to explain to Mr. Trump why a coronavirus vaccine is taking so long.

Up on Capitol Hill, some movement on a COVID relief bill and an acknowledgement a new administration is coming soon.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): After the 1st of the year, there's likely to be a discussion about additional -- some additional package of some size next year, depending upon what the new administration wants to pursue.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: As for the attorney general's assessment that there was no widespread fraud in the election, some top GOP lawmakers like Senator Lindsey Graham are expressing confidence in William Barr, but it's not their confidence in Barr that counts. It's the president's.

And we should also note, Wolf, on a related front, CNN has confirmed that some Trump associates are appealing to the president for pardons, presidential pardons, before Mr. Trump leaves office. Among those associates we are hearing about includes the longtime

personal attorney to the president, Rudy Giuliani, who also, as we have been noting for days and days now, is assisting the president in his efforts to overturn the election results -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, I think everybody assumes the next 50 days until the inauguration, there will be more pardons.

Jim, stay with us. We have more to discuss.

I also want to bring in our senior commentator former Ohio Governor John Kasich and CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers. He's the author of the new book "My Vanishing Country."

Bakari, so you heard the attorney general of the United States, Bill Barr, very proven Trump loyalist, now say there's no evidence of fraud that would actually change the outcome of this election. Does this development remove any shred of hope that the president had left as he tries to fight the results of this election?

BAKARI SELLERS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I mean, I don't know who would remove would remove that shred of hope from.

Joe Biden and Democrats and those Republicans who are of good sense have moved on and tried to figure out how they're going to bring a new administration in come January 20 at noon.

Bill Barr's comments, to me, actually look like the legal practice where you try to save yourself. To me, it looked like he was trying to save his own reputation going forward by doing some cleanup here for a lot of the damage that he's done to the Department of Justice.

So, Bill Barr doesn't get any credit for a revelation for something that we all knew to be true coming into today. It seems as if this may have been for an audience of one. And it looks as if Bill Barr was sent out by some Trump associates to go out and speak to Donald Trump, telling him that this game is over, that this charade is over, that, whether or not he concedes or not, he is no longer going to be the president of the United States.

That meeting today after this statement was probably really tense. But that was a message that was sent to one person. And that was Donald Trump.

BLITZER: Yes, it was a very, very powerful message.

Governor Kasich, the president's legal team, though, including Giuliani, is pushing back on the attorney general, saying -- and I'm quoting now -- "His opinion appears to be without any knowledge or investigation of the substantial irregularities and evidence of systemic fraud."

Of course, the president's legal team has not been able to produce any evidence of systemic fraud. And Barr in his statement said it's not just the Department of Justice that has found no such evidence. He also cites the Department of Homeland Security. JOHN KASICH, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, Wolf, look, the

good news about Barr saying this is we're going to continue to see movement in the polls among Republicans who now have said, yes, I guess the election wasn't ripped off.

We began to see that. I have been become privy to a poll that's indicated that, in fact, Republicans now are beginning to say, yes, the thing was fair and square. And what Barr does here is, he adds to the credibility of the fact that it was a fair election.

And it's just unbelievable that we keep talking about this.

On a really positive note, this bipartisan gathering of senators and House members trying to come up with some sort of a compromise COVID relief plan is, I think, really, really significant. See, it kind of shows that once all this craziness passes, it is possible people of goodwill to be able to join together.

You have this Problem Solvers Caucus out of the House, Tom Reed and his colleague, I think it's Gottheimer from New Jersey. And then you see Republicans and Democrats, Manchin, of course, from West Virginia, who's a -- he's a real pro, and got Mitt in the middle of this.

I don't know where this is going to go. But it shows that there's an ability for people to work together in a constructive way. So, things are moving in the right direction.

Now, we're going to have -- Biden's appointments are going to have to be confirmed. And one thing that I would say about them and one thing about the Biden administration -- and I hope Bakari will agree with this -- is, they have to have absolute transparency when they get up there.

A lot of them have come from the private sector, which is, I think, fundamentally a good thing, but they're going to have to talk about what they have done and who they know and all those kinds of things, because you don't want the administration to get caught in a battle about transparency. That's never a winner.

[18:10:11]

BLITZER: I'm sure the confirmation hearings will be rather intense with the Republicans, if they're still the majority after the run-offs in Georgia. If they're still a majority, I'm sure that the confirmation hearings will be intense.

Jim, you reported that the president sees -- now sees the writing on the wall, now that the attorney general has made this new very public statement today. Several Republican lawmakers are standing by the attorney general.

So, where does the president actually go from here?

ACOSTA: Yes, well, I think that John Kasich really got to an important point, in that the president was not only speaking -- or that the attorney general was not just speaking to the president in these comments to the Associated Press.

He was providing some cover to some lawmakers up on Capitol Hill on the Republican side who have been reluctant, hesitant to recognize Joe Biden as the president-elect.

And I will tell you, this has not gone unnoticed inside the president's team of advisers. I talked to one White House adviser, longtime adviser to the president, who said he's never seen anything like it, in terms of these Republican lawmakers up on Capitol Hill in not recognizing Joe Biden as the president-elect, in the way that Donald Trump still has such a grip over this Republican Party.

And it is one of the reasons why you have the president and some of his advisers talking about this possibility that the president could announce some kind of intention for running in 2024 on Inauguration Day or around Inauguration Day.

We're doing some reporting on that front as we speak, Wolf. So the president is going to hold his cards close to his vest, but I think Bill Barr's announcement today, while the president might take that to heart and say, OK, my own attorney general is saying this, he is still making plans, raising money, and making some moves behind the scenes that he sees that might be beneficial to him down the road in the future, Wolf.

BLITZER: It's 50 days until the inauguration, 50 days to go. We will see what happens.

All right, guys, thank you very, very much.

Just ahead, a Biden ally is reacting to the attorney general contradicting the president's ruse about a rigged election.

Senator Chris Murphy, there you see him. He's standing by live. We will discuss.

Also, we will break down the CDC's new vaccine recommendations with the head of the panel that just voted on who should get inoculated first.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:16:51]

BLITZER: We're following the breaking news on the attorney general of the United States publicly contradicting President Trump's false claims about widespread voter fraud.

Let's go to our senior Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny.

Jeff, Barr is tacitly acknowledging that Joe Biden is president-elect, and the transition clearly, where you are, is moving forward.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the transition is moving forward. And, so far, president-elect Biden has not had a comment about this

report from the attorney general, William Barr. But one thing was clear today, that the economic team and the agenda is at the centerpiece of Mr. Biden's plans for his first 100 days in office.

And at the center of that is Treasury secretary nominee Janet Yellen. She said the economic challenges and the pandemic are an American tragedy. She said action is urgently needed now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our message to everybody struggling right now is this: Help is on the way.

ZELENY (voice-over): With a pandemic deepening and economic pain intensifying, president-elect Joe Biden presented his economic team tonight as a new lifeline for struggling Americans.

BIDEN: From the most unequal economic and job crisis in modern history, we can build a new American economy that works for all Americans, not just some, all.

ZELENY: Biden formally introduced Janet Yellen to be the first woman to serve as Treasury secretary.

BIDEN: No one is better prepared to deal with these crises.

ZELENY: A former chair of the Federal Reserve who also led the Council of Economic Advisers in the Clinton administration, Yellen pledged to help rescue families from a one-two punch of coronavirus and unemployment.

JANET YELLEN, TREASURY SECRETARY NOMINEE: The pandemic and economic fallout fit together have caused so much damage for so many and have had a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable among us.

ZELENY: Yellen offered a stark policy contrast from the Trump era, saying structural changes to the economy are needed to address the urgent crisis of income inequality.

YELLEN: It's a convergence of tragedies that is not only economically unsustainable, but one that betrays our commitment to giving every American an equal chance to get ahead.

ZELENY: Joining Yellen is Wally Adeyemo as the deputy Treasury secretary, along with Neera Tanden at Office of Management and Budget, and Cecilia Rouse leading the Council of Economic Advisers. They did not mince words about the daunting challenges ahead.

WALLY ADEYEMO, DEPUTY TREASURY SECRETARY NOMINEE: The American people can do anything when given a chance.

CECILIA ROUSE, COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS CHAIR NOMINEE: This is a moment of urgency and opportunity unlike any we face in modern times.

ZELENY: These barrier-breaking nominees face confirmation, which means, if Republicans retain control of the Senate, at least some bipartisan support will be needed.

Tanden already drawing fierce opposition.

SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): She's just been a -- most of her professional life a hard-edged partisan.

ZELENY: For now at least, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will play a key role on who makes it into Biden's Cabinet. And, today, one month after the election, Biden said this when asked whether he's spoken to McConnell:

BIDEN: Not yet.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY: So, one month after Election Day, Wolf, those two gentlemen still have not spoken.

[18:20:00]

But Mr. Biden did today urge Congress, even in the lame-duck session, to pass some type of economic relief bill. He said that will just be the beginning.

We are learning tonight that that is a key part of his plan in the first 100 days of his agenda, a much larger economic relief bill.

Wolf, there's no question the looks on the faces of the economic team today showed how daunting those challenges are -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, they will be enormous, those challenges.

All right, Jeff Zeleny reporting for us, thank you very much.

Joining us now, Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut. He's a key member of the Foreign Relations Committee as well.

Senator, thanks so much for joining us.

I want to get to the Biden transition in just a moment, but let me get your reaction to the attorney general of the United States now saying the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security have not found any evidence of widespread fraud in the election.

And he told the Associated Press this -- and I'm quoting now, and this is a direct quote -- "There's a growing tendency to use the criminal justice system as sort of a default fix-all and people don't like something, that they want the Department of Justice to come in and investigate."

It certainly sounds, Senator, like he's describing President Trump. How significant is this very public rebuke?

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): I mean, I don't know how significant it is. I mean, it's not shocking to anyone that the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security have found no evidence of widespread voter fraud, because there's no widespread voter fraud.

And I don't know how many more people have to say that before the American people believe it.

The problem is, the base of the Republican Party today doesn't listen to Bill Barr. They listen to Donald Trump. And Donald Trump's assault on the rule of law, the assault on the sanctity of elections is going to have an effect in the long run.

The Republican Party now believes that, if Democrats win elections, it must be because of fraud. And so I'm not sure why any commonsense middle-of-the-road Republican is going to ever run to be secretary of state or -- of a state like Georgia or run to be on an elections board.

It's going to be QAnon Republicans that are going to now populate those positions, who all believe that Democratic victories must be due to fraud.

So, I'm glad Bill Barr said it, but I'm not sure it has much of an impact, so long as Donald Trump continues to make up these stories about the election being rigged. That's who his followers listen to.

BLITZER: But, on that point, is it likely this public statement from Bill Barr to stop the president from spewing these conspiracy theories, or his campaign, for that matter, for pursuing them in court?

They have failed time after time after time.

MURPHY: Yes, I mean, I don't think he's going to stop them from continuing to pursue cases in court.

The president hasn't been scared off by losing 30 cases. Why would he care if he loses 12 more? And he's certainly not going to stop the president from making these claims.

The president is making a ton of money by making these claims. He's raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for his political operation by continuing to make his supporters believe that the election is illegitimate. He is going to use that as the basis for his ongoing political operations for the next four years.

So, again, I just don't know what the impact of this is. Donald Trump is going to continue to be Donald Trump.

BLITZER: Yes. When you say hundreds of thousands of dollars, since the election exactly four weeks ago, his campaign has now raised more than $170 million for various political purposes that he wants to do with in the coming years, whatever that may show.

I want to quickly get to the COVID relief talks that are so critical right now. It looks like there's some renewed momentum going on. Yet the Senate majority leader, the House speaker, a separate bipartisan group of senators, they're all on different pages right now.

Are you optimistic at all, Senator, that the Congress can reach a deal before Biden's inauguration on January 20?

MURPHY: Well, let's just be crystal clear. Congress has to reach a deal.

We should not and cannot go home for Christmas unless we have delivered relief to the millions of desperate families out there who are running out of money.

In Connecticut right now, people are desperate. They are running out of unemployment benefits. Their eviction protections will end by the end of the year. Businesses are closing up because they're running through their federal assistance. We need an assistance package.

Good news today that a group of Republicans and Democrats came together on a package worth about a trillion dollars. That certainly is enough money to be able to get us through the worst of the winter.

But until Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump actually gets serious about bipartisan talks, I'm not sure how hopeful I am.

Mitch McConnell ultimately has to decide to sit down with Nancy Pelosi. And he's refused to do that. He's refused to enter that negotiating room, I think because he's got about 20 Republican senators who don't want to appropriate a single additional dime for COVID relief. And he doesn't really want to split his caucus.

[18:25:00]

So, good news today. We have to get something done, but Mitch McConnell sitting on the sidelines day after day is not good news for the country.

BLITZER: What is some good news, he finally today said that a lot will depend, in his words, upon what the new administration wants to pursue in January.

So, he's now speaking, finally, about the new administration. That's at least some step forward, a modest step, but at least some step.

Senator Murphy, thank you so much for joining us.

MURPHY: Thanks a lot.

BLITZER: All right, there's more breaking news just ahead.

A group of CDC advisers now recommending who should be first in line to get COVID-19 vaccines. I will speak to the chair of the panel, Dr. Jose Romero.

There you see him. He's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

BLITZER: We're back with breaking news on plans for distributing coronavirus vaccines. A CDC advisory panel voting just a little while ago recommending that health care staff and long-term care facility residents get vaccinated first.

CNN National Correspondent Erica Hill has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A critical recommendation about who will receive the first doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

DR. AMEESH ADALJA, INFECTIOUS DISEASES EXPERT, SCHOLAR JOHN'S HOPKINS CENTER FOR HEALTH SECURITY: If you want to end this pandemic, get back to normalcy, you have to use the vaccine strategically.

HILL: A CDC advisory panel recommending frontline health care workers and nursing home residents get the first vaccinations.

DR. ALLISON ARWADY, COMMISSIONER, CHICAGO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH: We are ready to accept whatever amount of vaccine we receive. We have plans that will start with all 37 Chicago hospitals.

HILL: Two companies have requested emergency use authorizations for their vaccines. An outside advisory FDA panel meets to discuss Pfizer's application on December 10th, Moderna's is schedule for consideration December 17th. Once okayed, states will distribute the vaccines. There plans are due Friday.

DR. PETER HOTEZ, PROFESSOR AND DEAN OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: And there are may be certain groups that they tailor specifically, poultry in Arkansas or some of the meat-packing plants in the Midwest, or in the panhandled. There's going to be this balance between, one, trying to save as many lives as possible but also stabilize the health system.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: If you want to be part of the solution, get vaccinated.

HILL: Nationwide, COVID hospitalizations doubled in November.

DR. KELLY CAWCUTT, INFECTIOUS DISEASES CRITICAL CARE PHYSICIAN, NEBRASKA MEDICINE: We can only handle so much of the surge. The system is only made with so much capacity.

HILL: All but three states reporting an increase in new cases last month.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the worst spot we've been in since March.

HILL: Daily average cases surged from 82,000 to 160,000 in November, an increase of more than 95 percent. Average daily reported deaths rose more than 78 percent.

LIZANNE JENNINGS, ICU REGISTERED NURSE: Sometimes I'm grieving for my husband and then and realized my mom is gone, you know, that I'm grieving for my mom.

HILL: Florida just became the third state to log more than a million cumulative cases. California crossed that milestone November 12th. As its ICUs fill, the governor is now warning a new stay at home order may be next.

Meantime, the economic toll is growing.

DYLAN GARCIA, TEXAS RESIDENT: And what is the bigger risk, me going to work or us losing our house sort like what?

HILL: Millions of Americans struggling as Amazon reports record sales, a reminder of the sharp divide between Wall Street's gains and Main Street's reality.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going from pantry to pantry trying to get something.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL (on camera): The reality in the number of states night, Wolf, is that more restrictions are being added. Nearly 2/3 of the counties in Mississippi now under additional restrictions and a number of rural counties added today as cases and hospitalizations rise in that state.

And in San Francisco, Mayor London Breed said they are in the worst period of this pandemic, outdoor dining may soon close there as the city deals with its third surge, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, awful indeed. All right, Erica Hill, reporting for us, thank you very much.

Joining us now the Dr. Jose Romero, Chair of the CDC's Advisory Committee Immunization Practices that voted on all of this just a while ago. Dr. Romero, thank you so much for joining us, thanks for everything you are doing.

As expected, your committee is recommending that health care workers should be part of the first group to get access to these vaccines. Can you walk us through your thought process as you determine these new recommendations?

DR. JOSE ROMERO, CHAIR, CDC'S ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON IMMUNIZATION PRACTICES: Yes. So the committee has been deliberating for several months now. What we are looking to try to do is to mitigate and alleviate the load of COVID disease in the United States by targeting these two groups, so health care providers by large. And so we're talking not just about the frontline physicians but also those ancillary personnel that are necessary to keep the system running, so food deliverers, housekeeping. Those individuals would be prioritized in this first tier. That will keep the system running so that the health care providers do not become ill.

And then at the same time, looking at the high risk groups, the committee has felt that individuals living in long-term congregate facilities would benefit most from this vaccine in terms of death and morbidity. So it's because of these two groups that we're focusing on at this time, we're recommending initial prioritization of vaccine.

[18:35:04]

BLITZER: Because you voted, as you pointed out, that residents of long-term care facilities are part of this first group to get vaccinated. There was some disagreement among board members about that. Why, in your view, is it critical for a long-term care facility residence to get vaccinated so quickly? Apparently, some were concern about side-effects for these elderly people.

ROMERO: There was a concern about side effects. The data that we saw today indicated that the vaccine, although reactogenic, seems to be less so in adults. And as was pointed out by one of our members on our committee, that decreased reactogenicity may actually mean that they're not going to respond as well to the vaccine and develop immunity.

That being said, we still think that based on our analysis of data that was presented to us that we ask for that we will be able to significantly impact on mortality in this population. They are extremely fragile. And we hope to, in that matter, decrease the amount of deaths and at the same time also decrease the burden on the health care system by not have them coming into the hospital.

BLITZER: What about other high priority groups, including people with underlying medical conditions, essential workers such as police officers, firefighters, grocery store clerks, public transportation workers, how long will those individuals have to wait to get vaccinated?

ROMERO: I think a lot of that is going to depend on how fast we can get vaccine. So, clearly, those groups, that is the essential workers, those individuals over 65 and individuals with multiple coronary conditions that are associated with bad outcome with COVID infections are on our list to prioritize. We still have yet to talk about what those groups will be and how they will be allotted the vaccine with regards to rank.

But, again, I think one of the things that we're looking at primarily is when and how much vaccine are we going to be receiving in the next few weeks.

BLITZER: Well, we're grateful to you for all the work your doing, Dr. Romero, thank you so much for joining us.

ROMERO: Thank you for having me, sir.

BLITZER: Just ahead, with the first coronavirus vaccinations now on the horizon, we'll take a closer look at some of the important things you need to know.

Well be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00] BLITZER: With the first doses of the coronavirus vaccine now likely in just weeks, let's get some answers to some of the most frequently asked questions we're getting about the vaccine.

Joining us now, the former Baltimore City Health Commissioner, the Emergency Room Physician, Dr. Leana Wen. She's a CNN Medical Analyst. Dr. Wen, thank you so much for joining us.

What's the most important thing you hope Americans fully understand about the coronavirus vaccine development process and all of the safety and efficacy steps along the way?

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: I think the single most important thing for people to know is that there are no short cuts being taken on the science. That as soon as the FDA gives the green light, I know that I will be ready to take the vaccine, that I would want my family to take the vaccine as well. Things are expedited, but they are -- but the parts that are cut out are not the science and the strict regulatory processes will be followed.

I also hope that people remember that as good of news as the vaccine is, we still have to get through this winter. And so it's really important for us to keep on wearing masks, practicing social distancing until we get the vaccine, and that will most likely be for most Americans in the late spring.

BLITZER: Are there side effects from the coronavirus vaccines that we should be concerned about?

WEN: There are side effects, and I think it's important for us to talk about them and be transparent about them, rather than to minimize them. Two types of side effects, one is at the injection site. So you can have swelling, pain, redness at the injection site. And then the other is overall, systemic symptoms.

That means you could get a fever, fatigue, body aches. These are normal. And I think that's important for us to talk about that these are expected side effects. And just as you would have side-effects from taking other vaccines, these are expected. It does not mean that you're getting the coronavirus. It means that these are expected side effects.

And we should also be training providers who are going to be counseling patients on how to speak to patients about these expected side effects, because, as you know, with these two vaccines, you have to get two doses. And so we need people to be coming back for that second dose even if they have some side-effects to the first dose.

BLITZER: Yes, whatever side effects you have, it will be a lot less serious than coronavirus, COVID-19, if you, God forbid, wind up getting that.

Should someone get vaccinated, Dr. Wen, if they've already had the coronavirus? And what if you suspect that maybe you had COVID-19 but you weren't able to get tested? WEN: Yes, this is a good question. And it's certainly something that's still being studied in the clinical trials. There are people who are enrolled who've had coronavirus already and have gotten the vaccine rather versus the placebo.

Right now, there is no reason for us to believe that if you had coronavirus, you shouldn't get the vaccine. In fact, you should because we don't know how long natural immunity lasts. And so getting the vaccine will be important too.

BLITZER: There are several vaccines going through the approval process right now. Will people need to choose which vaccine might be best for them?

WEN: Initially, there is not going to be a choice. It's basically you get what is available to you. There aren't nearly enough vaccines that are being produced. And so, initially, you will get what's available to you in that area.

At some point, we may have four or five different vaccines. At some point there may be a choice. But also it depends on the clinical trials.

[18:45:01]

It may be over time, but we find out, for example, that people of a certain age with certain underlying conditions may benefit most from a certain type of vaccine, but of course, we don't have the information yet.

BLITZER: Dr. Wen, as usual, thanks so much for joining us.

WEN: Thank you Wolf.

BLITZER: Just ahead, we'll have more breaking news. A top Republican election official with very harsh words for President Trump and his continued false claims about voter fraud. I'll discuss that and more with the former CIA Director John Brennan. He's standing by live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:10]

BLITZER: There's breaking news we're following. A top Republican election official in the state of Georgia is making an emotional appeal to President Trump to condemn violence after multiple death threats against election workers, including from a Trump campaign lawyer who called for a top federal, a former top federal election security official actually to be shot.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GABRIEL STERLING, GEORGIA VOTING IMPLEMENTATION MANAGER: Joe diGenova today asked for Chris Krebs, this patriot who ran CISA, to be shot. A 20-something tech in Gwinnett County today has death threats and a noose put out saying he should be hung out for treason.

Mr. President you have not condemned these actions or this language. Senators, you have not condemned this language or these actions, all of you who have not said a damn word are complicit in this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's discuss with the former CIA director, John Brennan. He's the author of the important new book entitled, "Undaunted: My Fight Against America's Enemies at Home and Abroad".

Director Brennan, thank you so much for joining us.

That Georgia official went on to say someone's going to get killed. What do you make of that emotional plea?

JOHN BRENNAN, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: Well, I say that it's about time that officials speak out and speak up about these very reprehensible threats that are directed against dedicated Americans -- Chris Krebs who is doing everything possible to ensure that this election was going to be free of interference, and he did an admirable job. But, unfortunately, because of the types of comments that Donald Trump and others make, I think this is just fueled this type of animus being directed against our public -- our officials.

And so, therefore, I'm glad that the Georgia official spoke out so strongly because I think everybody needs to say what needs to be said, which is that there is no place in our country for this type of threats as well as violence.

BLITZER: I want you to listen to exactly what that Trump campaign attorney, Attorney Joseph diGenova, former U.S. attorney, by the way, here in Washington, D.C., said about former Trump election security official Chris Krebs. Listen to this.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

JOE DIGENOVA, TRUMP CAMPAIGN LAWYER: Anybody who thinks that this election went well, like that idiot Krebs who used to be the head of cyber security.

HOWIE CARR, RADIO HOST: Oh, the guy was on "60 Minutes" last night.

DIGENOVA: That guy -- that guy is a class a moron. He should be drawn and quartered, taken out at dawn and shot.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BLITZER: Now, diGenova says he was simply being sarcastic. But that type of rhetoric actually puts people's lives at risk, doesn't it?

BRENNAN: Oh, absolutely. DiGenova has for years been talking this type of, you know, trash against individuals and he wasn't be sarcastic. This is the type of venom that diGenova and other people just spew out. And, unfortunately, a lot of people take their words seriously, and so, I think, you know, these types of public figures, whether the officials or not, really have a responsibility to be rather measured in their terms.

You know, I speak out stridently. I try not to at all incite any type of, you know, aggressive activity, but I do think it's important for, you know, calmer heads to prevail right now, and I wish that the White House would be able to speak out in very, very unambiguous and clear terms denouncing these types of comments.

BLITZER: If President Trump, Director Brennan, doesn't change his tune, how important is it for other top Republican leaders to publicly condemn these wild conspiracy theories and lower the temperature right now?

BRENNAN: Well, I think it's important for them to do, and, unfortunately, I think they are waiting to hear or to get the green light from the White House. They shouldn't do that. They need to speak out now. If they're waiting for Donald Trump to take the appropriate actions, they'll be waiting forever.

And so, whether or not you're the member of Congress or Senate or wherever, I think they have an obligation because of their public profiles to speak out and again, in very clear terms, denouncing these types of threats and these types of comments because I think the nature of the sentiments right now is such that they're on a hair trigger, and any of these incendiary comments really could just I think tip the balance.

BLITZER: Very quickly, I only have a little time left. What did you think of the attorney general's comments today?

BRENNAN: Well, I think he's -- you know, I'm glad to see that Bill Barr even acknowledged that there was no fraud in this election, and Bill Barr knows that in a little over seven weeks, he's going to be a private citizen. And I'm sure that the DOJ professionals, as well as FBI professionals have told him that there is not -- no "there" there, despite the specious claims that Donald Trump continues to make.

BLITZER: Director Brennan, thank you so much for joining us, thanks for your service over the years. Appreciate it very much.

BRENNAN: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: We're going to have more news just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:59:21]

BLITZER: Finally, our nightly tribute to some of the people we have lost to coronavirus.

Giuseppe Scibilia of Michigan was 75 years old. His daughter says he lived the American dream, coming to the U.S. from Italy when he was 26, building his own cement and trucking business. He loved to share homegrown tomatoes and grapes with his family.

Ramash Quasba of Maryland was 67. Originally from India, he worked as a chemical engineer for 30 years. His daughter says he loved to dance and he was a fan of cricket and was very active with his two grandsons.

May they rest in peace, and may their memories be a blessing.

Thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @WolfBlitzer, tweet the show at @CNNSitRoom.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.