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More GOP Senators Distance Themselves from Marjorie Taylor Greene; Soon: House GOP Leader to Meet with Rep. Greene after McConnell Slams Her "Lonny Lies" as a "Cancer" on GOP; House Dems Say Trump's Blame for Riot "Unmistakable" as Defense Lawyers Claim No Senate Authority to Try Ex-President; 100,000 People In The U.S. Have Died Of COVID-19 So Far This Year; Study Suggests People Previously Infected With COVID-19 May Only Need One Vaccine Dose; AstraZeneca Vaccine May Substantially Impact Transmission Of Virus; Biden Signs Immigration Executive Orders As He Works To Undo Trump Policies; Hundreds Of Protesters Detained As Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny Sentenced To 2 Plus Years. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired February 02, 2021 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: What a heartbreaking story. And may J.J.'s memory be a blessing and a reminder of the cruelty of this pandemic.

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @JakeTapper. You can tweet the show @TheLeadCNN. Our coverage on CNN continues right now. I will see you tomorrow.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in the Situation Room.

We're standing by for President Biden to dismantle more of the Trump legacies. About to sign executive orders on immigration that included task force to reunite families separated under one of the former administration's most controversial policies. We'll have live coverage of that. That's coming up.

We're also following the growing infighting among congressional Republicans just ahead of a critical party meeting tomorrow. That comes amid questions, serious questions, about its future.

We've learned that House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy is expected to be tonight very soon, we're told, with Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who's under a lot of fire for spreading conspiracy theories and extremist social media lies and posts. Among those criticizing her Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who slammed what he called her "loony lies" saying there, "a cancer on the party."

Meanwhile, both sides have now filed pretrial briefings just to add a former President Trump's upcoming impeachment trial next week on the floor of the U.S. Senate. House Democrats say Trump's blamed for the attack on Capitol Hill is, "unmistakable." Trump's lawyers say the Senate has absolutely no authority to try an ex-president.

Lots going on. Let's begin with our coverage up on Capitol Hill. Our Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju is joining us right now.

Manu, Republicans, they are piling on Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene just ahead of her meeting, that's coming up we're told fairly soon with the House GOP leader.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Senate Republicans are piling on Margie Taylor Greene because House Republicans have been mostly silent including the House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, who has only said through a spokesperson so far that her views are deeply disturbing and said that they would meet one on one. Something that we expect to happen tonight.

The question will be whether or not he will take the steps to take her off key committees and whether she'll do anything to punish her because one republic -- Senate Republican after another said that she is not the face of the Republican Party. As Senator Joni Ernst told me just earlier, she does not represent the Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

RAJU (voice-over): Republicans now in a battle for the soul of their party. Facing a major test this week about whether they should purge a party of conspiracy mongering conservatives or punish Republicans who stood up to Donald Trump. Their first test Marjorie Taylor Greene, a freshman who dabbled in conspiracies, such as spreading falsehoods about whether the 2018 massacre in Parkland, Florida High School was staged.

With more of Greene's controversial views coming to light, and top Republicans staying silent, Senate Republican leaders finally had enough. With the top Senate Republican, Mitch McConnell, calling out Greene's, "loony lies and conspiracy theories." Saying they amounted to a "cancer" for the party.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: I think, adequately spoke out about how I feel about any effort to define the Republican Party in such a way.

RAJU: But McConnell would not say if we should have pushed back earlier against Trump's conspiracy theories.

Do you wish though you spoke out about Donald Trump's conspiracies about the election being stolen much earlier than you ultimately did?

MCCONNELL: Well, with regard to the former president, we're going into an impeachment trial next week.

RAJU: Senator John Thune, the number two Republican said today that House Republicans have to make a choice. "Do they want to be the party of limited government? Or do they want to be the party of conspiracy theories and QAnon? And I think that is a decision they have got to face"

Some Republicans aren't taking sides yet.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R-SC): Before I judge what to do about her I want to know what the facts are.

RAJU: But even close Trump ally said there's no room for Greene's views. But North Dakota senator Kevin Cramer telling CNN that he would support her removal from the House Education Committee, which House Democratic leaders are threatening to do this week if House Republicans don't do it themselves.

SEN. KEVIN CRAMER, (R-ND): The tent can only be so big. There has to be some sort of guardrails.

RAJU: All that comes as House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy has yet to weigh in publicly on Greene saying to a spokesman that her comments are deeply disturbing, and that the GOP leader plans to meet with her one on one.

Greene has fire back and McConnell calling him the real cancer in the party. And she has begun to walk back some of her conspiratorial views including over the horrific school massacres.

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE, (R-GA): That's terrible the loss that these families go through.

[17:05:03]

RAJU: As House Republicans deal with one internal battle, another messy fight also taking shape. This over the future of Liz Cheney, the number three House Republican who joined nine of her colleagues last month to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting the deadly January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

On Wednesday, House Republicans will meet behind closed doors and what is expected to be a tense meeting, in part focused on Cheney's vote. McConnell and other top Republicans such as Lindsey Graham, have given cheney their full throated endorsement.

But as McCarthy has tried to get back into Trump's good graces after criticizing him on the House floor last month, House GOP leader has offered only a qualified endorsement of Cheney.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), MINORITY LEADER: Look, I support her but I also have concerns.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

RAJU: And it's still an open question about what Kevin McCarthy will say to Marjorie Taylor Greene. I'm told by sources familiar with the matter that he wants to see how that meeting goes. Will she offer remorse, contrition, walk back or conspiracy theories and other very controversial views?

And will McCarthy take steps to remove her from the House Education and House Budget committees. If he does not though, Wolf, House Democrats are prepared to move forward beginning with their first official actions in committee on Wednesday, potentially on the floor on Thursday to stripper from those committee assignments.

BLITZER: Yes. She's got a republic -- she got to apologize publicly to all of the American people for all of those lies, which were so, so horrible and disgusting. Let's see if she does that.

If she does that, maybe she has a shot. If she doesn't do that, publicly apologize to the American people, she's going to be in deep, deep trouble, I am sure, among her Republican colleagues.

Manu, as soon as you get word on how that meeting is going, we'll get back to you. Thank you very, very much.

Let's get the latest now on next week's Senate impeachment trial or the former President Donald Trump. Both sides have now submitted their pre-trial briefs giving us a clearer picture of what their arguments will be on the Senate floor next week. Let's go to our Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny who's working the story for us.

Jeff, the Democrats want to prove that then President Trump was responsible for the attack on the US Capitol. Is that right?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, that is what's laid out in the briefs. Now the Democratic House impeachment managers made their argument in 80 pages submitted today. And they say the former President Trump was singularly responsible for whipping supporters into a frenzy that led to the violent attack on the Capitol.

Now to back up the single article of impeachment incitement of insurrection, the House managers argued this, "President Trump's responsibility for the events of January 6 is unmistakable. President Trump's effort to extend his grip on power by fomenting violence against Congress was a profound violation of the oath he swore. If provoking and insurrectionary riot against the joint session of Congress after losing an election is not an impeachable offense, it is hard to imagine what would be."

Now the former president's own words are also being used to make their point. Particularly this memorable moment from that January 6, rally outside the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Now, the president's lawyers responded directly to that comment in a far slimmer 14 page brief of their own filed this afternoon, saying in part this, "It is denied that President Trump incited the crowd to engage in destructive behavior. It is denied that the phrase "if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore" had anything to do with the action at the Capitol, as it was clearly about the need to fight for election security in general, as evidenced by the recording of the speech." So that is part of their response filed this afternoon, Wolf.

BLITZER: You know, it's interesting, Jeff, because Trump's lawyers are arguing that Trump cannot be impeached because he's no longer a sitting president of the United States. So what are the Democrats saying about that argument?

ZELENY: Wolf, the president's lawyers are going directly after this constitutionality argument, spelling out their objections in part like this, they say "The constitutional provision requires that a person actually hold office to be impeached. Since the 45th President is no longer president, the clause shall be removed from office of impeachment for is impossible for the Senate to accomplish."

But Democrats object to all of this pointing to page after page of precedent that they say the Constitution does allow a former president to be convicted. Now in their brief, the House managers right in part this, "There is no January Exception to impeachment or any other provision of the Constitution. A president," they say, "must answer comprehensively for his conduct in office, from his first day in office through his last.

Now, Wolf, essential question hanging over all of this is how much of the Senate trial will be to litigate the inaccurate questions of election fraud. We know the President is intent on pressing that case. It's one of the reasons that led him to form a new legal team just one week before the trial is scheduled to begin. But in the briefs from the former president's lawyers, they do point to how he believes he won but can express his belief that these election results were still suspect. Wolf.

[17:10:11]

BLITZER: We'll watch it of course together with you every step of the way. Jeff Zeleny reporting for us. Thank you.

Let's get some more in all of this. Joining us now, our Chief Political Correspondent, Dana Bash and our CNN Chief National Correspondent, John King.

John, let's begin with the fracture within the Republican Party as we see it right now. We just heard a top Republican senator described this as a choice between conservative basic principles and conspiracy theories. That might sound simple, but this is a pretty polarizing rift, isn't it?

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: It is. It's a polarizing rift and a defining moment now for the Republican Party. And Wolf, this is a ditch, they dug themselves, all of them, no matter which side you're on right now, because of the conduct during the four years of the Trump administration.

Some of this is generational, the older guard versus newer members like Marjorie Taylor Greene or Matt Gates, the sort of pro Trump House Republicans. Some of this is House versus Senate. Senator McConnell has a very different view than many House Republicans do. Most of this is the establishment versus the green light that the former President Donald Trump gave to these people as he invited them into his coalition and into the party. And Mitch McConnell would not stand up to President Trump's conspiracy theories about illegal people voting didn't happen in the 2016 election. We could get a long list through those four years, and now he's dealing with Marjorie Taylor Greene. So it is a defining moment for the Republican Party.

And we're watching people take sides. But Wolf, we're also watching some people refuse to take sides. We will see what Kevin McCarthy does. But you just heard Lindsey Graham there, I want to wait to see what the facts are.

Lindsey Graham can read. Lindsey Graham's on television a lot, I'm sure he watches television a lot. This record is available to him about what Marjorie Taylor Greene has said and done. That's a cop out because he doesn't want to get on the wrong side of Donald J. Trump.

BLITZER: You know, it's interesting. Dana, the husband already there. Kevin McCarthy's actually considering, I guess, various options as he prepares to sit down with this congresswoman tonight. What are some of those options?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Some of the options are, you know, a slap on the wrist, not much or going as far as to say that she will be removed from her committees. You know, the one that we've been talking about is that since she's new, she was just appointed to the House Education Committee, which has caused a lot of controversy since several of her conspiracy theories have been about questioning whether the Parkland shooting happened, questioning whether the massacre at Sandy Hook should happen.

But what I was told tonight by a Republican source on Capitol Hill is to essentially look to what happened to Steve King as a roadmap and as some guideposts. And what happened when he met individually with him, the now former congressman from Iowa who made lots of inappropriate comments, the last one was and basically endorsing white supremacy.

And what McCarthy did is he met one on one with him. And it obviously didn't go well, meaning Steve King didn't show remorse, wasn't contrived, nothing of the sort. And so McCarthy left that meeting, went to the steering committee in the House and said, let's move to strip him of his committees.

So, we're going to get a sense of what Kevin McCarthy wants to do following that meeting, based on his experience with Steve King. It doesn't mean that he's the only decider, but it's going to be the first move that we're going to potentially see made.

BLITZER: Yes, right now she's on the Education and Labor Committee as well as the Budget Committee. We'll she -- see if she remains on those committees following this meeting. We'll stand by for that.

I want to bring in Norman Eisen right now. He served as impeachment counsel for House Democrats during the first Trump impeachment trial about a year or so ago. He's a CNN Legal Analyst. Norman, just gotten our first look at the Democrats impeachment brief. I have it right here. It's 77 pages pretty long. We've got the Republican brief, only 14 pages, a lot tighter.

The Republicans are arguing -- the Democrats I should say are arguing that Trump is singularly responsible for that deadly violent attack on the Capitol. Lay out the case they're making.

NORMAN EISEN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Wolf, thanks for having me back. The Democrats argue I think powerfully and convincingly, Trump incited the mob with a long pattern of lies that the election was stolen. He used fighting words, directing them at the Capitol on January 6.

And then when they attack the Capitol, he was derelict in his duty to defend co equal branch of government, Congress and his own vice president, Wolf, who was in the building. They make clear in their pleadings that the founders of our country and the framers of the Constitution would have aboard this incitement of mob violence for corrupt purposes, to hold on to political power and upset the counting, final counting of the electoral votes. So it's a very strong case as a matter of fact, and law that they lay out in their opening trial brief, Wolf.

[17:15:15]

BLITZER: That's the Democratic case against Trump. But John, Trump's legal team is focusing in its defense on the constitutionality of the impeachment trial. What is -- what does their decision to pursue that defense tell you?

KING: It tells me that they're focused on the Senate Republican math, and they know the math is in their favor right now. And they're just trying to give enough Republicans a place to go to say what -- you'll watch and watch this play out.

You're not going to see Senate Republicans running to the floor or running to the T.V. cameras after the trial. They don't get to talk much during the trial. But you're not going to see them running in any venue to support what the President did, to defend the President's conduct.

But they will say, well, it was reprehensible, but he's gone now. He lost the election. He's gone now. And I don't think it's constitutional to have a trial for a president who's left office.

So they -- essentially the -- it's a very political argument. They do bring up some of that the president had the right to talk about election fraud, he has a First Amendment right to be suspect about the election. That's dangerous for the Trump defense team.

If they bring that up in the Senate, they may annoy some of the Republicans. But basically, their document is a political argument to give Republicans, especially Republicans who are safe back home a place to say I don't like what the President did. I just don't think he should be convicted. BLITZER: You know, it's interesting, Dana, that the brief from the House impeachment managers, the Democrats also makes the case for the Senate to prevent Trump from ever again holding any office. Is that a likely outcome? You know, the math in the Senate.

BASH: No, it's not a likely outcome. And the reason is because the prevailing view, because this is all unprecedented, so there's no real hard and fast rule. But the prevailing view is that they can't remove him from, excuse me, they can't prevent him from ever running again, unless he's actually convicted in the trial.

It's not to say somebody won't try, but it's very unlikely that the -- that the former will happen, given the math that you just talked about, nevermind, the ladder.

The other thing I just wanted to add to what John was saying, he was talking about the political arguments, their process arguments, not on the substance. There's a little bit of an argument so far in this brief on the substance saying that he's not responsible, but for the most part, they're making a process argument, which is where the most of the Republicans are, you know, are hiding in the process realm as opposed to the substance realm because they were all there.

They're all witnesses to this. They're there -- many of them are victims of this. Nevermind the fact that they have seen the videotape and they understood even leading up to January 6 and that rally on January 6, what the President was up to.

BLITZER: Yes, January 6, that's going to be a day that a lot of us are going to remember for a long, long time. History books will be written about that day down the road as well.

Everybody stand by. We're standing by for President Biden. He's about to sign executive orders undoing some of his predecessor's most controversial immigration policies.

Plus, new questions emerging right now about whether you could be infected by the coronavirus twice. We'll talk about that with our medical experts, standby. Lots going on right here in the Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:22:10]

BLITZER: Once again, we're standing by to hear directly from President Biden who's getting ready to sign executive orders addressing some of the Trump administration's harshest policies when it comes to immigration. Let's set the scene. Let's go to our senior White House Correspondent Phil Mattingly who's joining us right now.

So set the scene for us, Phil. What is the President about to sign?

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, President Biden set the tone on his administration's immigration policy on day one in the White House laying out several executive orders and they will follow up on that today with three executive orders. And these orders underscore with the priority that immigration is inside the administration but also the issues that they're encountering now that they're in office that were put in place by their predecessor.

Now one of the first executive orders will be setting up a task force for family reunification. This goes back to President Trump's zero tolerance policy which separated 1000s of children's from their parents. Currently, according to court filings, there are still 600 children that have not been able to connect with their parents.

This taskforce will largely be about trying to identify those parents, trying to reunite those individuals and also through reporting requirements keep the administration apprised on how that process works out. They will also review the remaining Mexico policy President Trump -- former President Trump put into place related to asylum seekers. Also try and reengage in Central America with aids from nongovernmental institutions as well as USAID as well.

What you're seeing, Wolf, is really a review process and in depth review process as they try and work through many of the rules that were put in place by their predecessor and reverse them at some point.

And Wolf, this all comes as the administration is still also keeping their focus keenly on their number one legislative priority. That's that $1.9 trillion COVID relief package. And they made clear, even though they had an amicable meeting with 10 Senate Republicans last night, they are very set on that $1.9 trillion top line, which raises the question, what would the negotiations with Republicans actually bring? It's something I asked Press Secretary Jen Psaki today, take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Your guy's position is firm. And so I guess my question is, you're talking about staff talks on technical details. Is that basically the ball game right now, in terms of bipartisan talks?

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, I think the President's commitment is to urgently deliver relief to the American people. And that is what he has conveyed in every meeting he's had or engagement he's had with Democrats and Republicans.

And as we've just talked about, there's a process that's just in the early stages that's beginning on Capitol Hill to do exactly that. But there are also steps that can be taken or changes that can be made through negotiations that also, through the legislative process have to happen between the House and Senate. There are amendments that can be proposed and voted on, and we're going to see that process through or allow that process to go through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: And Wolf, a Democratic official tells me that today when President Joe Biden briefed Senate Democrats about this plan in a private conference call, he made clear the Republican proposal was too small. And you can tell by that exchange, the administration is willing to negotiate but not on the big things, not on the core tenants of their proposal and right now it doesn't look like on the top line of their proposal, more on the minor side of things. And that likely means that Democrats are going to be doing this pretty much on their own when they move through Congress over the course of the next several weeks.

[17:25:17]

BLITZER: Yes, that's very, very important development, indeed.

As you know, Phil, two key members of the Biden cabinet were confirmed by the Senate today. Tell us about that.

MATTINGLY: Yes, slowly but surely President Biden building his entire team. Pete Buttigieg, who's now the Secretary of Transportation, he was confirmed by the United States Senate earlier today. And also Alejandro Mayorcas.

And this is an incredibly important cabinet official, not that any of them aren't. But you will see him tonight, he is a key piece of their immigration efforts. Has a lot on his plate based on what we're seeing from these executive orders will be ceremonial -- ceremonially sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris in just about 10 minutes times over at the White House.

He will be deeply involved in everything you hear the President lay out today. He was confirmed as well. So slowly, but surely, President Biden is getting his team in place. A couple more to come over the course of the next several days and weeks.

But Wolf, keep in mind, the Senate more or less shuts down come Monday when they start that impeachment trials. The Democrats have been trying to get as many of these cabinet officials through before that trial actually launches.

BLITZER: Yes. We're going to speak about all of the above with Kate Bedingfield, the White House Communications Director in the next hour. She's going to be joining us live here in the Situation Room.

All right, Phil, I like the American flag on that mask of yours, as well. Very patriotic and a nice gesture indeed.

Meanwhile, we're following lots of developments over at the White House where President Biden is about to sign executive orders, important ones on immigration, undoing more of the Trump legacy. Standby for that.

Plus, details of a new study suggesting people previously infected with COVID-19 may need only one, one vaccine dose, not two. Our medical experts standing by. We'll discuss when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:31:20]

BLITZER: In one year, the coronavirus pandemic has now claimed more than 446,000 American lives and the country is facing more than 26.4 million confirmed cases. Amid concern about the pace of vaccination, the CDC just announced that as of tonight, some 32 million doses have now been administered.

Let's go to CNN's Nick Watt, he's joining us so with the latest developments from Los Angeles. Nick, there's another very disturbing, extremely disturbing new statistic just out.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. So far in this year 2021, we have now lost more than 100,000 people to this virus and our number one way out of this, vaccines.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATT (voice-over): Vaccination Texas style, a 16-lane mega site capable, they say, of 1,000 shots an hour.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These people have really got it down.

WATT (voice-over): Early January, the nationwide seven-day average was under 700,000 doses a day in arms. That average is now around 1.3 million per day. The pace needs to pick up even more.

DR. PETER HOTEZ, DEAN, NATIONAL SCHOOL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE, BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: We have to deliver 500 million immunizations between now and late spring, early summer to get ahead of these variants, it's going to be tough.

WATT (voice-over): The variant first found in the U.K. has developed another mutation that might make vaccines less effective. Plus, past infection might not protect you against the variant first found in South Africa.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER ON COVID-19 TO THE PRESIDENT: The experience of our colleagues in South Africa indicate that even if you've been infected with the original virus, that there is a very high rate of reinfection.

WATT (voice-over): The feds will start sending doses directly to local pharmacies, eventually, up to 40,000 pharmacies.

JEFF ZIENTS, COORDINATOR, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE: The CDC will monitor the data on an ongoing basis to make sure that pharmacies are efficiently and equitably administering vaccinations. This initial phase of activating local pharmacies will get more shots in arms.

WATT (voice-over): Moderna might now put 15 vaccine doses in each vial up from 10 to speed production, clear a bottleneck if the FDA signs off. Pfizer confirms it expects to deliver 200 million doses total by end of May, two months early. And there's this. If you've had the virus and one vaccine shot, you might not need a second shot, your antibody levels which protect you could be higher than people who've had two doses, but never infected. This according to a study that is not yet peer reviewed. But --

HOTEZ: If you have to pretest to see who's had the infection before and who hasn't, then it becomes logistically very complex.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: Now, one of the big open questions has always been, do these vaccines stop you getting infected but also stop you from spreading the virus around? The fear is that, you know, even after vaccination, you might have the virus in your nose and you still might be able to transmit it. Well, early results on the AstraZeneca virus -- vaccine, I'm sorry, done in the U.K. suggest that that vaccine might indeed stop you from spreading this virus around. And, Wolf, if that is true, that is very good news. Wolf?

BLITZER: It certainly is. Nick Watt in L.A. for us, thank you.

Let's get some more in all these, CNN Medical Analyst, Dr. Leana Wen is joining us. She's an emergency room physician, former Baltimore City Health Commissioner.

[17:35:08]

Dr. Wen, just first off, I want to get your immediate reaction to this breaking news about this AstraZeneca vaccine that may impact the actual transmission of the virus. How big of a finding could that be?

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: This is one of the major unknowns in all of this, Wolf, which is if you are vaccinated, we know that you're protected from severe effects of coronavirus. But can you still be a carrier and transmitted to others? If it turns out that you're not a carrier, that would be a huge game changer and how we think about people who are vaccinated going forward. They may be able to resume their pre-pandemic activities much sooner than we currently think that they're able to.

BLITZER: Yes, that would be a huge, huge, big deal. Let's talk a little bit about this new research suggesting you might only need one dose of the vaccine to be fully protected if, if you've already been infected with COVID and recovered. Could that help stretch the vaccine supply to cover a lot more people?

WEN: Scientifically, it makes sense because the reason we have these two dose vaccine is we have a primer and then a booster shot. In theory, your infection could be that primer, and then all you need is the second dose in order to have that same effect. So you could, in theory, be able to stretch the vaccine supply more. The problem is, operationally, it's going to be really difficult.

What do you do make everybody get an antibody test before they get the vaccine? What happens if you got ill with coronavirus a year ago? Are you still protected? Are you still only able to get one shot? So I think it's interesting results but I'm not sure how operationally it will make a difference.

BLITZER: Well that's a good point. Yes, there is some troubling news out there about one of the coronavirus variants commonly found in the U.K. Researchers say that variant has develop the mutation, which may allow the virus to escape some of our immunity. What impact is that going to have on transmission the efficacy of the vaccines?

WEN: Already we have seen that the variants first identified in South Africa has this mutation that scientists believe is the reason why these vaccines are not so effective against this particular variant. And if it turns out that this mutation can now be found in other variants as well, I think we could have this melting pot of variants and mutations.

And I think it really should be -- it should really underscore the reason why we need to expedite vaccine rollout because we need to cover with immunity as many people as possible. The more people who can spread the virus, the more mutations we could end up developing.

BLITZER: Let me get your thoughts on what we heard from Jeffrey Zients, the White House COVID Coordinator, on a new plan, it was, I think, pretty significant to actually distribute some of the vaccines supplied directly local pharmacies all over the country, thousands of pharmacies. How much of an impact is that going to have on distribution, especially in communities that are lagging behind in vaccination rates?

WEN: This will make a major impact because this has to be all hands on deck and we know that pharmacies are already trusted in communities. They already know how to do vaccinations, people already go to pharmacies to get their flu shot, their shingles vaccine and others. And having thousands of pharmacies now being able to distribute vaccines will make a big difference when it comes to our ability to get out vaccines.

There are two issues though. One is setting the expectation. Demand still far outstrips supply and I don't want people going to their pharmacy expecting to get a vaccine when right now it's only a million pharmacies a week that's going out to these pharmacies.

The other issue is accountability. I hope that somebody is going to be tracking how quickly each individual pharmacy gives out their shots. And pharmacies that are underperforming should ideally have some process of reallocating their doses to pharmacies that can get out to the vaccines quickly and also in an equitable manner.

BLITZER: Dr. Wen, thank you so much for joining us. We're standing by, we're about to get the tape here as the President speaking on new executive orders and immigrations.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- FBI special agents and two whom were killed, and three whom were injured today in Florida. I was briefing this tragedy earlier today and I know the FBI is gathering information about how this happened, what happened. But I can only imagine how these families are feeling today.

You know, one of the things when you are in a combat zone or the military or you're FBI agent or military or police officer, every family -- yes, when I put that shield on and go out in the morning, dredge the possibility of a call could receiving that phone call. And my heart aches for the families. I've not had an opportunity nor I tried today to contact them but to put their lives on the line is a hell of a price to pay.

[17:40:08]

And every single day, every Shawn (ph) is always good up but, by and large, the vast, vast majority of these men and women are decent, honorable people put themselves on the line.

You know that the purpose of my asking you here today is I want to congratulate the new secretary, Secretary Mayorkas has been taking on an easy job, and nothing to it Homeland Security and going to deal. I'm looking forward to his leadership and working with Congress on a lot of issues, including the immigration bill that has, I think, great support in both chambers.

Today, I'm going to sign a few executive orders to strengthen immigration system building on the executive actions I took on day one to protect Dreamers and the Muslim ban and to better manage our borders. And that's what these three different executive orders are about. And I want to make it clear, there's a lot of talk we could reason about the number of executive orders that I have signed.

I'm not making new law, I'm eliminating bad policy. What I'm doing is taking on the issues that 99 percent of them that the president, the last president of the United States, issued executive orders I thought were very counterproductive to our security, counterproductive to who we are as a country, particularly in the era of immigration.

This is about how America is safer, stronger, more prosperous when we have a fair, orderly and humane legal immigration system. And with the first action today, we're going to work on do the moral and national shame of the previous administration that literally, not figuratively rip children from the arms of their families, their mothers and fathers at the border. And with no plan, none whatsoever to reunify the children who are still in custody and their parents.

The second action address is the root causes of our migration to our southern border. And the third action, the third order I'm going to be signing order is a full review of the previous administration's harmful and counterproductive immigration policies, basically, across the board. And so with that, I'm going to sign the first order, which is a reestablishment of the Interagency Task Force and the reunification of families.

I remove the stain on the reputation for (INAUDIBLE) separation cause. That is the first order. The second order I'm signing is creating a comprehensive regional framework to address the causes of migration and to manage migration throughout the North and Central America, and to provide a safe and orderly processing of asylum seekers at the United States border.

And third order I'm signing is restoring faith in our legal immigration system and strengthening immigration and inclusion efforts for new Americans.

And my grandfather say, the grace of God and the goodwill of the neighbors will bring you 90 children and reestablish our reputation as being a haven for people in need. Thank you very, very much.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, thank you.

BLITZER: All right. He clearly didn't want to take any questions from reporters who had gathered there. John King, let's talk a little bit about this. I thought it was significant what the President said, he's not making new laws, he's eliminating bad policy, an executive order. You can reverse executive orders signed by the previous president, in this particular case, involving immigration.

KING: And President Biden well aware that this has become a daily, if not, hourly criticism from Republicans in the Congress and from others in the cable news, conservative cable news and blogosphere outfits saying that, you know, why is this President everyday signing this giant stack of executive orders. Well, the number well in excess of anything his predecessors have done. So President Biden clearly wanted to address that criticism head on by saying, I'm not making new law, I'm just reversing bad policies, he said, eliminating bad policy.

[17:45:05]

So that was interesting that out of the box he wanted to address that. I thought very important shows the White House is aware of the incoming from Republicans and Conservative media. And then, Wolf, the tone of his language, especially on the family separation issue, he said, we're ending our moral national shame of the Trump administration policy and then removing the stain.

Very strong words from the new President. It's interesting that he 4th days is day 14, as you watch him talk about certain issues, the moral tone there, it's not a policy tone, it was a moral tone that what President Trump did and his administration did with zero tolerance separating families at the border, you could hear the scorn of this disdain, the shame of the new President at the policy of the last one.

BLITZER: And that shame is so awful, Dana, because today, the White House suggested once again that there are probably at least 600 kids, little children out there who were separated from their mothers and their fathers a long time ago during the Trump administration, and they're still separated. They're trying to find their parents, but so far, unsuccessfully.

BASH: That's right. This -- what we just saw President Biden sign allows legally for the families to be reunited, but practically getting that done, because it's been so long, and because the way that during the Trump years, the families were separated, going into two different agencies and not followed through on with paperwork so that they could be reconnected. It's going to be very hard.

We heard Jen Psaki, the White House Press Secretary say that all of those hundreds that you mentioned, Wolf, they're going to have to be taken up on a case by case basis. It is heart wrenching, no question to think about how hard it is going to be and hopefully not, but in some cases, it might be downright impossible. But just to, you know, add on to what John was saying about the tone and the big thoughts and the importance that Joe Biden wanted to bring to this talking about the morality and the stain on the reputation, he said, we have to reunite these people -- reunite these children and make the United States return it to being a haven for people in need. You know, it was those words and the message that he wanted to send really striking as he signed something that is going to be difficult, not impossible, but difficult to actually make good on.

BLITZER: I hope those little kids are reunited with their mothers and their fathers and I hope that happens very soon. All right, an important moment over at the White House with the new President of the United States.

Guys, standby. There's more news we're following. We'll take a quick break, we'll be right back.

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[17:51:52]

BLITZER: We're back with breaking news here in Washington shortly but there's breaking news in Moscow right now. Hundreds of people have been detained in Russia for protesting the sentencing of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny. He was given more than two years in prison for violating probation by leaving the country for treatment after he was poisoned.

Let's go to our Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance. He's in Moscow for us tonight. Matthew, some very dramatic moments in court as Navalny denounced the Russian President as, quote, Putin, the poisoner?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, very dramatic speeches made by Alexei Navalny in court, but there was a lot of action after the court decision was handed out as well. As you mentioned, hundreds of people detained across the Russian Capitol as protesters stormed through the streets of Moscow chanting anti- Putin slogans, calling on other residents that's to come and join them. After that that Russian court, you know, converted a suspended sentence that Alexei Navalny was serving into actual jail time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE (voice-over): Anger is pouring out onto the streets of the Russian Capitol. Protesters furious at the imprisonment of Alexei Navalny making their voices heard. Let him go, they chant.

Earlier, outside the Moscow port, police detained hundreds to make sure this hearing passed off undisturbed. There's the real drama unfolded inside. Alexei Navalny glance towards his wife in the gallery, drawing a heart on the pain of his glass cage, as the judge read out the decision. Russia's most prominent Putin critic was being sent to jail.

"Somebody doesn't want me to set foot in Russia," he told the court earlier. "The reason for this is the hatred and fear of one person who is hiding in a bunker. I've offended him so deeply by the fact that I survived", he said. Outside, his lawyers told CNN, Navalny take the court's decision bravely as usual, but they said they will definitely appeal.

It was these images of the opposition leader groaning in agony after being poisoned by a suspected nerve-agent in Siberia last year that shocked the world. His recovery and defined return to arrest in Russia has also struck a chord. Last week, slamming his detention is blatantly illegal, telling the judge in his latest hearing that he was being persecuted because he survived assassination. And that President Putin himself was behind it, something that Kremlin has denied.

"His main grievance against me", he told the court, "is that he'll go down in history as Putin the poisoner".

For the past two weeks, this country has been rocked by some of the biggest anti-Kremlin protests it's ever seen. Ten of thousands of turned out demanding change and for Navalny to be set free. Critics say a heavy-handed response with thousands detains nationwide underlines how threatened the Kremlin really feels.

[17:55:08]

But the Kremlin tells CNN President Putin himself isn't even following the trials of his biggest prison (ph). Instead, the Russian President was shown waiting teachers of the future generation. But it's the generation of Russians now protesting on the streets outside inspired by Alexei Navalny that may yet prove Putin's most dangerous challenge.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: Wolf, right now, supporters of Alexei Navalny are urging their supporters to disperse and go home and clear the streets of the Russian Capitol. But they say, a government that kills its opponents and imprisons innocent people will not be tolerated. And they're vowing to be back on the streets again soon.

BLITZER: We're going to stay on top of this breaking story with a lot of ramifications. Matthew Chance in Moscow, thank you.

Coming up, House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy about to meet with Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene as she comes under growing fire from fellow Republicans for extremist social media postings, and spreading conspiracy theories and lies.

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