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The Situation Room

President Biden Honors 500,000 Dead From COVID-19; Interview With Former CDC Director Thomas Frieden; White House Candle Lighting Ceremony Honors 500,000 Dead From COVID-19; Biden Attorney General Nominee Wraps Day One Of Confirmation Hearing, Merrick Garland Vows He Won't Be The President's Lawyer; Garland: Will Prioritize Civil Rights, Fight Against Extremists; Supreme Court Allows Release Of Trump Tax Records To New York Prosecutor. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired February 22, 2021 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:05]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

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.

Just moments from now, President Biden will pause to recognize a level of loss in this country that's unthinkable and many would say unforgivable.

You're looking at live pictures.

Just a short while ago, the U.S. surpassed a half-a-million deaths, half-a-million deaths from COVID-19. We're going to, of course, bring you the president's remarks live.

And immediately after he speaks, there will be a candle-lighting ceremony and a moment of silence. It's all in honor of the 500,000 moms and dads, children, grandparents, brothers and sisters, neighbors and friends who've died in a little over a year here in the United States.

And this horrific milestone coming at a truly critical moment in the pandemic, with trends now improving significantly, vaccines offering new hope.

As we wait for the president, I want to bring in quickly our senior White House correspondent, Phil Mattingly.

We're looking at live pictures.

Actually, I see the president walking over to the microphone right now. So, Phil, stand by.

Let's listen.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Each day, I receive a small card in my pocket that I carry with me in my schedule. It shows the number of Americans who have been infected by or died from COVID-19. Today, we mark a truly grim, heartbreaking milestone, 500,071 dead. That's more Americans who have died in one year in this pandemic than in World War One, World War Two, and the Vietnam War combined. That's more lives lost to this virus than any other nation on Earth.

But as we acknowledge the scale of this mass death in America, we remember each person and the life they lived. They're people we knew. They're people we feel like we knew. Read the obituaries and remembrances. The son who called his mom every night just to check in. The father's daughter who lit up his world. The best friend who was always there. The nurse -- the nurse and nurses -- but the nurse who made her patients want to live.

I was in -- just in Kalamazoo, Michigan, at the Pfizer vaccine manufacturing facility. There, I met a man when I walked in, whose father-in-law was dying of the virus. He was sad. I asked if I could call his father-in-law. He said his father-in-law was too sick to speak. But then he said, but could I pray for him -- could I pray for him.

We all know someone -- fellow Americans who lived lives of struggle, of purpose, and of hope. Who talked late into the night about their dreams; who wore the uniform, born to serve; who loved, prayed, and always offered a hand.

We often hear people described as ordinary Americans. There's no such thing. There's nothing ordinary about them. The people we lost were extraordinary. They spanned generations. Born in America. Immigrated to America. But just like that, so many of them took final breath alone in America.

As a nation, we can't accept such a cruel fate. While we have been fighting this pandemic for so long, we have to resist becoming numb to the sorrow. We have to resist viewing each life as a statistic or a blur or on the news. And we must do so to honor the dead, but equally important, care for the living and those left behind.

For the loved ones left behind, I know all too well -- I know what it's like to not be there when it happens. I know what it's like when you are there, holding their hands. There's a look in your eye, and they slip away. That black hole in your chest, you feel like you're being sucked into it. The survivor's remorse, the anger, the questions of faith in your soul.

[18:05:11]

For some of you, it's been a year, a month, a week, a day, even an hour. And I know that when you stare at that empty chair around the kitchen table, it brings it all back, no matter how long ago it happened, as if it just happened that moment you looked at that empty chair. The birthdays, the anniversaries, the holidays without them.

And the everyday things -- the small things, the tiny things -- that you miss the most. That scent when you open the closet. That park you go by that you used to stroll in. That movie theater where you met. The morning coffee you shared together. The bend in his smile. The perfect pitch to her laugh. I received a letter from a daughter whose father died of COVID-19 on

Easter Sunday last year. She and her children -- his grandchildren -- enter Lent this season, a season of reflection and renewal, with heavy hearts. Unable to properly mourn, she asked me in the letter, What was our loss among so many others?

Well, that's what has been so cruel. So many of the rituals that help us cope, that help us honor those we loved, haven't been available to us. The final rites with family gathered around, the proper homegoing, showered with stories and love, tribal leaders passing out the final traditions of sacred cultures on sacred lands.

As a nation, we cannot and we must not let this go on. That's why the day before my inauguration, at the COVID-19 Memorial at the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall, I said to heal -- to heal, we must remember. I know it's hard. I promise you, I know it's hard -- I remember. But that's how you heal: You have to remember. And it's also important to do that as a nation.

For those who have lost loved ones, this is what I know: They're never truly gone. They'll always be part of your heart. I know this, as well -- and it seems unbelievable, but I promise you: The day will come when the memory of the loved one you lost will bring a smile to your lips before a tear to your eye.

It will come. I promise you. My prayer for you though is that day will come sooner rather than later. And that's when you know you're going to be OK -- you're going to be OK.

And for me, the way through sorrow and grief is to find purpose. I don't know how many of you have lost someone a while ago and are wondering, Is he or she proud of me now? Is this what they want me to do? I know that's how I feel. And we can find purpose -- purpose worthy of the lives they lived and worthy of the country we love.

So today, I ask all Americans to remember: Remember those we lost and those who are left behind.

But as we remember -- as we all remember, I also ask us to act. To remain vigilant, to stay socially distanced, to mask up, get vaccinated when it's your turn. We must end the politics and misinformation that has divided families, communities, and the country, and has cost too many lives already.

It's not Democrats and Republicans who are dying from the virus. It's our fellow Americans. It's our neighbors and our friends -- our mothers, our fathers, our sons, our daughters, husbands, wives.

We have to fight this together, as one people, as the United States of America. That's the only way we're going to beat this virus, I promise you. The only way to spare more pain and more loss -- the only way these millstones (sic) no longer mark our national mourning -- these milestones, I should say, no longer mark our national mourning.

[18:10:13]

Let this not be a story of how far we fell, but of how far we climbed back up. We can do this.

For in this year of profound loss, we have seen profound courage from all of you on the front lines. I know the stress, the trauma, the grief you carry. But you give us hope. You keep us going. You remind us that we do take care of our own. That we leave nobody behind. And that while we have been humbled, we have never given up. We are America. We can and will do this.

In just a few minutes, Jill and I, Kamala and Doug, will hold a moment of silence here in the White House -- the People's House, your house. We ask you to join us to remember, so we can heal; to find purpose in the work ahead; to show that there is light in the darkness.

This nation will smile again. This nation will know sunny days again. This nation will know joy again. And as we do, we will remember each person we've lost, the lives they lived, the loved ones they left behind. We will get through this, I promise you. But my heart aches for you -- those of you who are going through it right now.

May God bless you all, particularly those who have lost someone. God bless you.

BLITZER: The president of United States speaking powerfully and very, very emotionally about the half-million Americans who have died over the past year from COVID-19.

He and the vice president and the -- they will walk down the South -- to the South Portico. You will see them walking down the steps. There will be a candle-lighting ceremony and a moment of silence to honor, to honor the Americans, the half-million Americans who have died from COVID-19.

Looks like those candles are already there. This will be a very, very emotional moment.

Phil Mattingly, this is very carefully planned, what the president the vice president are doing right now.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It is.

And I think it underscores the approach that the president has taken to this pandemic, to recognizing this pandemic.

And I think one of the key points that he made kind of highlights why they're doing this tonight. And that was when he was talking about becoming numb just to the size and the scale of the numbers of the deaths that you have seen over the course of the last year.

It's easy to become numb with a number that's so -- that's that large. It seems incomprehensible to the average human being. And the president and his team, and planning this, I'm told, for a decent amount of time leading up to tonight, made clear that they wanted people to pause.

It is a grim milestone. It is a horrific milestone. But every one of those 500,000-plus deaths is a person, is a person with a family, is a person who has loved ones that miss them, that long for them, all of the things that the president tried to describe.

And I think he also -- Wolf, you know this as well as anybody -- was tapping into his personal experiences, with references of not being there when somebody died, probably a reference to his first wife and daughter, with references to being there, holding the hand of somebody who is dying, a reference to his son Beau as well, and really kind of tapping into his personal story to try and show that he relates, he understands, and he grasps what people are going through.

And then, I think, towards the end kind of trying to pivot a little bit, recognizing this moment and how meaningful it is for the country, how terrible it is for the country, but also the moment this country is approaching, the ability to perhaps turn, the page the ability to show the perseverance.

And President Biden, his staff says this constantly, his willingness to just believe the absolute best in America, and tends to tout it even in the darkest moments, moving towards that in his remarks as well, and trying to balance a grim milestone with the hope for what could be ahead, what could be coming, based on everything we have seen over the course of the last couple of weeks in terms of progress with vaccinations, in terms of progress in case counts and death counts, all of these elements coming together to really kind of tie the entire remarks together.

And I think also to just, once again, underscore this moment in time, which I think will become even more poignant when you watch what's about to happen on the South Portico in just a couple minutes.

BLITZER: We're told there are 500 candles that are already lit, 500 candles to honor the 500,000 Americans who have died over the past year from COVID-19.

Dr. Tom Frieden, the former CDC director, is with us as well.

[18:15:01]

Dr. Frieden -- help us -- help put this awful death toll into some sort of perspective for us.

DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN, FORMER DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Well, first off, Wolf, I have to say the president's remarks are so moving, I think, coming, as you say, from his personal experience of loss and tragedy, and the fundamental message that life is precious.

BLITZER: All right, Dr. Fauci, hold on for a moment, because I just want to set the scene.

We see the president and the first lady, the vice president, second gentleman, Doug Emhoff. They're there. A moment of silence.

(MUSIC)

BLITZER: Beautiful moment, indeed, on the South Portico of the White House. No words were necessary right there, as they paid tribute to the half-

million Americans, now a half-million Americans plus, who have died from coronavirus over the past year.

We were speaking with Dr. Tom Frieden, the former CDC director.

At one point, Dr. Frieden, we heard the president speak of that black hole in your chest, you're being sucked into it, the pain that so many millions of Americans are feeling right now, as they remember their loved ones.

This is so, so powerful as we think about what has happened in our country, Dr. Friedman.

FRIEDEN: Absolutely, Wolf.

And the concept that we have to imbue this with meaning by ensuring that, first off, we prevent all of the deaths we can going forward, vaccinate, double down on protection protocols, and also that we not just build back better, but build back healthier, that we improve our public health and primary care systems in this country and around the world, to knock down this pandemic, and make people more resilient and prevent a future pandemic, to the greatest extent possible.

So, this is a somber moment, but it's also a moment for rededication.

BLITZER: And the president said, we cannot let this go on.

He's raising hopes that we can get over this, although, right now, thousands and thousands of Americans continue to die.

Dana Bash with us as well.

He made the point -- and several of us have made this point -- that more Americans have died from COVID this one year than died in all the years of World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War combined.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's almost hard to wrap your mind around, the numbers are so incredibly staggering.

But can I just also take a moment to say what a moment, what an event that the White House put on for the American people and for the world to memorialize the half-a-million people who have been taken by this virus.

And I don't want to do a lot of looking back, but at almost the same location where his predecessor came back from the hospital having the virus himself and ripped off his mask.

[18:20:07]

What a difference just a few months makes, in having somebody who, as my colleagues have said, wants to emote and to empathize and to sympathize and to grieve with this country, because that is who he is, unfortunately, because of his own personal tragedies. But he does this almost on a daily basis. And he kind of talked about

that with the card that he carries in his coat pocket, but also with people who he calls all the time. If he hears somebody is sick, if he hears somebody lost a loved one, he is on the phone. I mean, you hear countless stories, I'm sure you have heard as well, Wolf, over the decades that he's been in public office.

BLITZER: Yes, these are live pictures coming in from the South Portico of the White House.

You can see those 500 candles that had been lit to honor the 500,000 Americans who have died from COVID.

Nia-Malika Henderson is with us as well.

Nia, the moment was so different. First of all, we saw the president and the vice president and their spouses, they're all wearing masks, the Marine guards wearing masks. This is in such contrast to what we saw from Trump.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: That's right.

And this is a president who wants to send the message that mask- wearing is necessary, mask-wearing is patriotic, mask-wearing saves lives. And over these next many, many months, even as people get the vaccines, it's still necessary to wear the mask. It's still necessary to social -- socially distant -- socially distance from each other. It's still necessary to wash our hands.

And this event tonight so necessary as well, and the president touched on this, the fact that so many tens of thousands of Americans are not having the rituals of death that they normally would because of COVID. They're having to have funerals over Zoom. They're having to say goodbye to their loved ones over FaceTime. They're not able to visit in the hospital.

They're not able to have eulogies in person and the songs and the sort of homegoing ceremonies that people are used to when they're saying goodbye to their loved one. So, this moment, I think, takes the place of that in some ways. It allows Americans to come together.

It allows Americans to really pause and reflect on this enormous loss that this nation, that the world, really, has experienced because of this awful, awful pandemic that has taken so many of our neighbors, our brothers, our sisters, our grandparents.

And he talked about the enormity of it, from young people to the very old, loss of this terrible, terrible disease. And I imagine this won't be the last time that this president has to do this. Even though some of the trend lines are better than they were weeks ago, there is still a long way to go in terms of this virus being out of control, and people still facing death and illness and sickness.

So, we saw the president, the incoming president do this. We saw him do this today as well. But I imagine, over the next many, many months, there will be times again when he has to mark another terrible moment and another terrible death toll.

BLITZER: Yes, you're absolutely right.

Dr. Frieden, I raised the issue of the president and the vice president wearing masks, because it's still so, so important. People think the numbers are going down, there's vaccines, you don't necessarily have to wear masks, you can let down your guard.

You can't let down your guard at all. I heard that Dr. Francis Collins, the head of the National Institutes of Health, point out that, if people had been encouraged to wear masks over the past year, thousands and thousands of Americans who died would have been alive right now.

Do you agree?

FRIEDEN: Absolutely. It's a sad commentary.

And the fact is that we're not out of the woods yet. Vaccines are rolling out, but most Americans remain susceptible to the coronavirus. And the risk of more dangerous variants is quite real. So, it's time to double down on protection protocols, mask up, avoid indoor air with people who are not in your household, and recognize that, yes, come summer, fall, we're going to be in a much better situation than we are now.

But, still, today, more than 2,500 Americans were killed by this virus. And we have to get past -- the president talked about getting hardened to the numbers. We have to recognize the faces and the lives behind each one of those numbers and recognize that, because life is so precious, we do have to do more.

We have to keep our guard up. We have to make sure we get cases down to much lower levels than they are now and then keep them there with very careful measures.

[18:25:00]

BLITZER: Phil Mattingly, our White House correspondent, is still with us as well.

Phil. What's so significant, I think, also, is, the White House is doing this three-time-a-week -- these briefings, these COVID briefings, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with all the top scientists, with all the top medical experts.

They want to tell the American public what's going on, the good, the bad and the ugly, right?

MATTINGLY: That's been their mandate. That's been their mandate from President Biden since the day they took office, actually since most of the transition as well.

And, look, I think they made very clear from their first day in office from the president on down that they wanted to go in a completely different direction than the administration of his predecessor. And in doing so, they wanted to essentially raise up the scientists, the public policy officials who were not only just making the decisions, not only playing a key role in advising the president in how to make the decisions, the decisions that would be made, but the ones who can take the raw data and actually tell you what's happening.

And so those three-time-a-week briefings, they are permanent. They have become a staple. They take questions from reporters. And they tend to take difficult questions from reporters as well, which is helpful.

I think one thing to keep in mind, Wolf, it's been so very clear, the contrast is so stark from the past administration, that, as one congressional Democrat told me, it wasn't like there was a very high bar to clear to some degree. And I think the administration is cognizant of that as well.

And that's why you have seen them be very cautious, again, from the president on down in terms of what predictions they're willing to make, how they're willing to prognosticate what's going to happen in the months -- the weeks, months and years ahead when it comes to this pandemic.

They're being very careful about what they are saying is coming, what's in the works. They will acknowledge, when it comes to vaccines, the United States is going to be in a very good place come summer in terms of availability. It doesn't mean everybody's going to have vaccines.

When it comes to testing and tracing, they believe that they're making headway in areas on that as well. Kind of across the board, everything that they inherited, they feel like they're gradually building it out into a level that is going to take dramatic effect over the course of the next couple of months.

However, you will not hear the president guarantee that something is going to be better in a couple of weeks or a couple of months. In fact, some of his guarantees in terms of return to normalcy are very cautious, according to some in the science community that I have spoken with.

And I think my point being this all ties together into kind of a theory of the case that this administration took when they came into office, which was, they wanted to be seen as individuals that were telling the truth. They wanted to be seen as having their experts out front.

And they wanted to be seen as not just willing to tell hard truths, but also not willing to predict things are going to be rosier than they are. And I think that goes for their policy prescriptions. That goes for how they're trying to work through all of the different elements of the response.

But it also goes to moments like tonight. It goes to moments like January 19, where the president, one day before his inauguration, was memorializing the 400,000 deaths at that point in time. Just think. A little more than a month later, Wolf, it's now 500,000.

Well, obviously, as Nia was pointing out, the trend lines have been looking better. This is still catastrophic death occurring on a monthly basis, on a weekly basis, on a daily basis.

And I think the administration is cognizant of that. And at least for this moment -- and I think, when you talk -- when you hear from the president, he cites this more often than not -- that they want to -- they want people to remember that these are real people. These are real families. These are real loved ones.

It's not just the public policy response, or the science response, or how quickly we get back to normalcy.

BLITZER: Yes, and he points out that, so often, you couldn't even see, you could even say goodbye to your mother or your father, your grandparents because you couldn't get near a hospital during these awful, awful times,.

Dana, I think it's clear that President Biden underscores on almost a daily basis that dealing with COVID-19 is his priority number one.

BASH: No question, which is -- and he's doing it in terms of being the consoler in chief, which is what we saw tonight, in terms of trying to amend the policies that were passed in a bipartisan way, like the so- called PPP program, which needed to be changed, he said, and that was agreed to, I think, by a lot of people in both parties, because it wasn't targeted enough -- targeted enough to businesses that really needed the money.

And then, of course, the big push that he has, the one that is defining for his administration right now, that is moving through the House this week, which is the $1.9 trillion in aid that he insists is needed for the coronavirus to get under control, for the economy to get back on track.

And he's staking everything on that. And when I say everything, I mean, another promise he made was to be bipartisan. And he has decided, at least in the short term, that the more important legacy marker and the more important goal for this country is to do what he is told by his advisers is necessary, which is to go very, very big.

So, that is almost exclusively his focus, which is what he promised that he would do if he got elected in the short term.

[18:30:03]

BLITZER: It's -- Nia, it's going through -- almost certainly will go through the House of Representatives but the Senate where there's 50 Democrats, 50 Republicans, it's much more problematic right now.

HENDERSON: It is problematic because you have Republicans who are saying that maybe they would get on board if he makes the package a little smaller. You have some Democrats saying that they don't want the $15 minimum wage in there and other Democrats saying that they want that in there. Could that even get through the reconciliation? A process is a whole other thing.

What you find out in the country, there is widespread bipartisan support for a package like this, because people want to see schools re-open, people want to see these small businesses get a lifeline. They do want to see the vaccine process speed up. And so, of course, some of the money is going there.

So can he keep those 50 Democrats together and then have a Kamala Harris, the vice president, break the tie? That is the big question. And we'll see that over the next weeks unfold.

BLITZER: Dr. Frieden, I know -- I'm really anxious to get your perspective. Is it fair to say that we've seen the worst of this so far, that we're moving in the right direction and at some point we'll get back to some semblance of normal?

FRIEDEN: Well, cases are plummeting fast, and that's good news. And with that, hospitalizations are falling and deaths will fall. I think one piece of very good news is we're seeing many fewer deaths in nursing homes already. And within another month, you're going to see the vaccination program in nursing homes really kick in and vaccination of seniors kick in, so much lower death rates from COVID.

But the question that hangs in the balance right now, Wolf, is will we have a fourth surge? We've had three surges. Whether or not we have a fourth is up to us. More infectious variants make it possible that there will be one. The risk that there will be variants that get around the vaccine or get around our natural immunity is real. We're seeing that in other parts of the world, but we don't know how serious that problem is.

So, basically, we have to make sure we stay safe because every life is precious, as tonight's ceremony and commemoration showed. And that's why it's so important that we keep it up. Because even though cases are coming down dramatically, they're still at higher levels than they were at the peaks of the first and second surges. And unless we're careful, we could have a fourth surge.

Every uncontrolled spread increases the risk that there will be dangerous variants that can be more infectious, more deadly or can escape from immune protection. So the point here is to keep up what we're doing to track very closely and recognize that masking up is here to stay for many more months, that avoiding sharing indoor air with others is very important.

And as we begin to loosen up things, we need to keep a close track on how things are going, ramping up testing and tracing and being ready to dial it back if we see explosive spread again.

BLITZER: Good perspective, very important. Stay safe out there, no time to let up at all. Dr. Frieden, thank you very much. Nia, Phil and Dana, thanks to you guys as well.

An important programming note to all our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world, join Jake Tapper later tonight as CNN pauses to honor the lives of the half million Americans lost to COVID-19, We Remember 500,000, A National Memorial Service for COVID-19. It airs later tonight, 11:00 P.M. Eastern only here on CNN.

We'll be right back.

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[18:35:00]

BLITZER: Tonight, President Biden is leading the nation in mourning, half a million people now lost to the coronavirus in this country, urging Americans to remain vigilant against the pandemic as the death toll hit this gut-wrenching new level.

There's more news we're following as well, including the president's nominee for attorney general, Judge Merrick Garland, wrapped up the first day of his confirmation hearing just a little while ago. Let's go to our Congressional Correspondent Ryan Nobles.

And, Ryan, Garland is promising to restore values and independence to the Justice Department. Tell us what happened.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there's no doubt about that, Wolf. Merrick Garland today promising a departure from the four years of the Department of Justice under President Trump, and this process took a little longer than the White House may have wanted. But after answering several hours of questions today, Merrick Garland seems to be on the road to confirmation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NOBLES (voice over): Merrick Garland, President Biden's pick for attorney general, making it clear that a Justice Department he runs will be different from the one he would inherit.

MERRICK GARLAND, ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE: I'm not the president's lawyer. I am the United States' lawyer.

NOBLES: Garland pledged an independent DOJ, one that would follow the rule of law and pursue prosecutions aimed at confronting America's biggest problem.

GARLAND: If confirmed, I will supervise the prosecution of white supremacists and others who stormed the Capitol an January 6th, a heinous attack that sought to disrupt a cornerstone of our democracy, the peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected government.

NOBLES: Garland, a federal judge, said the investigation into the January 6th insurrection will be a massive job and his top priority.

GARLAND: I think this was the most heinous attack on the democratic process that I've ever seen, and one that I never expected to see in my lifetime. One of the very first things I will do is get a briefing on the progress of this investigation. I intend to give the career prosecutors who are working on this matter 24/7 all of the resources they could possibly require to do this.

[18:40:06] NOBLES: Garland took tough questions from Republican senators on a wide-range of controversial topics, like his support of the death penalty for Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh, something he says he doesn't regret.

He also pushed back on the idea of defunding the police.

GARLAND: President Biden has said he does not support defunding the police, neither do I.

NOBLES: Arguing that while reform of policing is necessary, a wholesale reduction in funding is not the answer.

The judge, at one point, was the nominee for Supreme Court by President Obama, but never got a hearing, also got personal in recounting his own background and upbringing.

NOBLES: I come from a family where my grandparents fled anti-Semitism and persecution. This country took us in and protected us, and I feel an obligation to the country to pay back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES (on camera): A very personal moment from a longtime public servant. And it appears that Garland is done answering questions from these senators. The second day of his hearing will be from witnesses that come from outside of him personally.

And it does appear as though he is on track to being confirmed. Several Republicans voiced support for Garland's nomination, including John Cornyn of Texas and also Chuck Grassley of Iowa. Wolf, it seems as though once his vote comes before the full senate, it will pass easily.

BLITZER: Yes, overwhelmingly, they were so impressed, obviously a very impressive man. All right, Ryan, thank you very much.

Let's discuss with the former U.S. senator, former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones, he's now a CNN Political Commentator. Senator, thank you so much for joining us.

Judge Garland will be taking the helm at the Justice Department, I think you agree, will be confirmed after four rather chaotic years over there, lots of turnover, a lot of politicization of the department. What do you say are the biggest challenges facing Garland and the Department of Justice for that matter?

DOUG JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first of all, I think that Judge Garland will bring that integrity to the department that is badly needed. I think that he's going to be the kind of person that the line attorneys -- remember, he spent some time in the Justice Department, not just at main justice but also as a line assistant United States attorney. And that's important for those career lawyers.

And I think that someone who has been there, who has done that, is going to bring that system to them that they're going to have the confidence in. Plus, as a judge for 20 years, he's bringing independence to them and his integrity is beyond reproach. That is going to be the biggest thing, I think, that's going to help this Justice Department get on its feet, move forward.

And I think that the biggest challenges that they've got right now are dealing with that January 6th insurrection, dealing with all the political things that have gone on, the stop the steal, everything else, the white supremacy issues that we've seen rising over the last few years. He is going to have his hands full, there is no question about it. But I think the Biden administration is putting together a great team. He is going to lead that department with a great team. And I think he is going to do very, very well.

BLITZER: Yes, he was so impressive during several hours of questioning today. He promised he won't be the president's lawyer. He'll be the lawyer, he says, for the American people. How does he handle some of the sensitive issues that certainly will come forward, the probe, for example, into Hunter Biden? How does he deal with that?

JONES: He deals with it just like he has done his entire career. And that's with an honest straightforward way, applying the facts to the law and making the decision without political consequences, one way or another. That's how he does it. That's how it should have been done the last four years. And I don't think anyone would argue that that has not always been the case in the last four years.

But that's the way Judge Merrick Garland will do that. He will approach that. He will look at the facts. He will look at the law. And he will make the decisions based on the advice he's given and on the facts and the law and without regard to the political consequences in representing, as he said -- and I hope people really, fully appreciate this. He will represent the people of the United States of America, not a political party, not the president of the United States or anyone in the government. He is representing the people.

BLITZER: And he is so well-qualified to do exactly that. Your background, Senator, is in civil rights. What did you make of Judge Garland's testimony today on civil rights and voting rights for that matter?

JONES: Well, I was very pleased with the attorney general nominee acknowledge the problem that we have got with white supremacist and the growth of white supremacy in this country.

[18:45:00]

It has been denied by that Justice Department I think with a few exceptions like the director of the FBI and some others. But for the attorney general nominee to acknowledge that, to say that, he knows that history. He'd seen what happened in the civil rights movement in the 1960s. He saw the rise of the militia groups with Timothy McVeigh and others.

This is a more significant problem we're seeing here now. They've been emboldened by the past administration. And they've had the time to foment this thing and grow and reach with social media and beyond. I think it's a challenge for him.

But coming where I come from Alabama and seeing all we've seen in this state and others, I'm so pleased that that is where -- that is a direction that is going to be a top priority for this administration. It's going to be a top priority for not just the attorney general, but for his deputy attorney general and for Kristen Clarke who will head the Civil Rights Division. That's going to be an issue for her as well, and it has to be front and center for the next administration for this attorney general.

BLITZER: What did you think of his powerful, emotional, near tears statement, when he thanked America for welcoming his grandparents who were escaping anti-Semitism in Europe to come to this country and start a new life?

JONES: Well, if anybody ever questioned Merrick Garland's commitment to the rule of law, to the Constitution, to the United States of America, it should have been erased right there. He talked about his grandparents. He talked about the opportunities and the protections that they were afforded when they got to this country.

Those are the protections we're talking about right now with all of the issues that this country is facing. It's those protections for all people of all races, and religions. And so, I think that he -- he did such a really good job of making sure the American people understand his background, where he comes from and they're going to be treated fairly and equally regardless of who they are.

BLITZER: Yeah. So, so powerful and moving, especially to those of us who are children or grandchildren of refugees who have come to this country to try to start a new life and avoid persecution.

Senator Jones, thanks so much for joining us.

JONES: It's my pleasure, Wolf, any time. Thank you.

BLITZER: Thank you.

JONES: Still ahead, former President Donald Trump suffers a major defeat at the United States Supreme Court. So, what will it mean for the criminal investigations into his taxes? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:52:02]

BLITZER: Tonight, former President Trump's legal troubles are intensifying big time. The United States Supreme Court has rejected his last ditched bid to try to keep tax returns out of the hands of criminal prosecutors.

CNN Justice Correspondent, Jessica Schneider has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, Donald Trump losing a major league of fight in a looming criminal investigation. The Supreme Court has cleared the way for New York City's top prosecutors to obtain Trump's tax returns and financial documents dating back to 2011. Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance responding succinctly: The work continues.

Prosecutors have been probing at least two separate schemes possibly linked to the former president's taxes for more than two years.

ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It shows me that the Manhattan D.A.'s investigation is getting more and more serious by the day. Now, they are going to get the tax returns and that's going to be a key piece of the puzzle.

SCHNEIDER: They first began examining hush payments Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen made to two women who alleged affairs with Trump to see if the Trump organization falsified any records in connection with reimbursements to Cohen. Then the inquiry seemed to expand when court filings from Vance's team indicated they were investigation possible tax crimes, along with potential bank and insurance fraud.

Trump is responding to the Supreme Court decision saying the Supreme Court never should have let this phishing expedition happen. But they did.

He also accused the district attorney of being politically motivated, and reiterated the witch hunt theme he's been harping on for years.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a continuation of the witch hunt, the greatest witch hunt in history. There's never been anything like it, where people want to examine every deal you have done to see if they can find that there's comma out of place.

SCHNEIDER: The criminal probe has only intensified. District attorney Vance has been bolstering his team, adding a well known former federal prosecutor with an expertise in financial crimes and they interviewed Michael Cohen who's already testified to Congress about Trump's alleged schemes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did the president or his company ever inflate assets or revenues?

MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was it done with the president's knowledge or direction?

COHEN: Everything was done with the knowledge and direction of Mr. Trump.

SCHNEIDER: But the public won't get access to Trump's tax returns as a result of the Supreme Court's ruling. They will be released to the D.A. for use with the grand jury only, a process for the proceedings are kept secret.

But if Trump or his business face charges, details could be exposed. "The New York Times" has already reported Donald Trump paid no income taxes for 10 of 15 years beginning in 2000 because he lost more than he made, and that in 2016 and 2017, when Trump was in the White House, he reportedly only paid $750 in federal income taxes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER (on camera): And as for the timing of those tax returns, we're told the D.A.'s office expects to receive them electronically within the next few days -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Jessica. Thanks very much.

We'll have more news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:59:24]

BLITZER: Finally tonight, as the United States has hit the horrific milestone of half a million coronavirus deaths, we share more stories of those we've lost.

Thomas Swierczek of California was 73 years old. He was an air traffic controller for the Defense Department who loved hot rods and playing Santa every Christmas. His support of his gay son led him to be a father figure to many others in the LGBTQ community.

Philip Wayne Jackson of Texas was 76. He had recently marked 55 years on the job of an aerospace company. His family says he was kind and loving, always encouraged his six children to work hard for what they wanted in life.

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

Thanks very much for watching. You can always follow me on Twitter and Instagram @WolfBlitzer. Tweet the show @CNNSitRoom.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.

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