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The Situation Room
Interview With Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL); COVID Relief Bill Passes Congress; President Biden Secures 100 Million More Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Doses; New Guidance Released For Visiting Nursing Homes; Queen's Response To Meghan and Harry Interview Fails To End Outrage Over Racism Allegations; WSJ: Recording Of Trump Phone Call To Lead Investigator In Georgia Reveals New Details On Election Efforts; Fifth Juror Chosen In Trial Of Ex-Policeman Derek Chauvin Charged In George Floyd's Death. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired March 10, 2021 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
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 following breaking news.
Tonight, President Biden is calling final passage of his COVID relief bill a historic victory for the American people. He's expected to sign the nearly $2 trillion legislation on Friday, triggering new benefits for millions, tens of millions of Americans, including direct payments of up to $1,400.
The president's first big legislative victory was pushed through by Democrats without any Republican support in a new major -- a major new effort to pull the country out of the pandemic and economic crisis.
The vaccine rollout, meanwhile, also is gaining more momentum tonight, the president announcing plans to purchase another 100 million doses of the new Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Let's get right to our senior White House correspondent, Phil Mattingly. He's covering all of this for us.
Phil, the legislation was a must-win for President Biden. He spoke about its passage a little while ago. Update our viewers.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it was the top priority from the day President Biden set foot in the Oval Office 50 days ago.
And when he speaks to the nation tomorrow night in his first prime- time address, he says he is going to talk about the next phase of the COVID recovery process, the next phase, where the backbone of it will be the legislative victory he just secured.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Help is on the way.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Tonight, on day 50 for President Joe Biden, the first mission accomplished.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This bill represents a historic, historic victory for the American people.
MATTINGLY: The House passing Biden's number one priority, the sweeping $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan, and Biden planning to sign it into law on Friday.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): We have passed historic, consequential and transformative legislation.
MATTINGLY: The bill broadly popular nationwide, with 61 percent supporting the measure, according to a CNN/SSRS poll, and 66 percent saying the bill will help the economy at least some.
Still, every single congressional Republican opposed to the measure.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Already, we hear the administration saying they want some of these sweeping new welfare policies to become permanent.
MATTINGLY: And administration officials acknowledge the real work starts now.
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He knows directly that the passage and signing of the bill is just the beginning. And he will -- he plans to appoint somebody to run point on implementation.
MATTINGLY: With implementation of key components, like distributing stimulus checks, tax credit payments, vaccine distribution, and a national testing program crucial to maintaining the bill's support.
And Biden and his top officials ready to hit the road in a blitz to sell the plan for the next several weeks, starting with his first prime-time address Thursday night.
PSAKI: The president, the vice president, the first lady, the second gentleman, a number of members of our Cabinet will be communicating directly with the American people, engaging directly with the American people, and all sending a clear message: Help is on the way.
MATTINGLY: The COVID relief bill now forming the backbone of an all- of-government approach that continues to ramp up, with Biden ordering aides to secure another 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine. Yet it's another crisis that's growing more urgent inside the West Wing.
ROBERTA JACOBSON, WHITE HOUSE COORDINATOR FOR SOUTHERN BORDER: The border is not open.
MATTINGLY: The record surge at the Southern border. Unaccompanied migrant children staying at Border Patrol facilities on average 107 hours, according to internal documents reviewed by CNN, significantly longer than the 72 hours allowed by law.
JACOBSON: We can't just undo four years of the previous administration's actions overnight.
MATTINGLY: The administration now restarting the Central American minors program ended by the Trump administration and requesting $4 billion for Northern Triangle countries Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, the troubled home nations of a large portion of the migrants making the dangerous journey to the U.S., all as the administration sprints to head oft escalating near-term emergency overwhelming U.S. border facilities, even as yet another official declined to identify the surge as a crisis.
JACOBSON: We have to do what we do regardless of what anybody calls the situation. And the fact is, we are all focused on improving the situation, on changing to a more humane and efficient system.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY: And, Wolf, when the president hits the road, his first stop, we now know, will be in Pennsylvania, again, the first of what are expected to be several trips over the next couple of weeks to sell this plan, to answer questions about this plan, to try and bolster support for this plan, a plan that is already fairly popular.
But it's not just the COVID relief bill that they're focused on, on Capitol Hill. The president and his team still working to fill out the Cabinet, in fact, securing two confirmations today, Merrick Garland at attorney general, a crucial post obviously in this administration, and also Marcia Fudge at Housing and Urban Development.
And at this very moment, the Senate is about to vote to confirm Michael Regan, the president's pick for the Environmental Protection Agency. So, as each day goes along, not just a big legislative victory this week, but also filling out that all-important Cabinet -- Wolf.
[18:05:05]
BLITZER: Yes, Merrick Garland got 20 Republicans to vote for his nomination, which is very significant.
Phil, stick around. I am going to get back to you in just a moment.
Right now, I want to go to Capitol Hill. Our congressional correspondent, Ryan Nobles, is joining us.
Ryan, this relief bill passed along partisan lines without a single Republican voting in favor. So where do Democrats go from here?
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as Phil rightly points out, this was a very big priority for the Biden administration.
But they have another -- a bunch of other items on their agenda, and it's all going to be uphill from now on here on Capitol Hill. That's because, although Democrats were able to get this across the finish line with only Democratic votes, some key members of the Congress have already said that, if this is going to happen again, they want Republicans to be involved in the process, chief among them, Joe Manchin the senator from West Virginia, who's become one of the most powerful members of Congress.
He says that when that next big infrastructure package comes through, which is something that Joe Biden has said is a priority, he is not going to allow it to be passed through reconciliation, which means only 51 votes. That would mean you would need 10 Republican votes in the United States Senate in order to get it over the finish line.
And I have talked to House Democrats, who have said they're already beginning the planning stages of that infrastructure bill by trying get bipartisan support. John Yarmuth, who is the chair of the Budget Committee telling me this week that that's their initial plan, to try and get bipartisan support.
But he said that reconciliation is always plan B. The issue here, though, Wolf, is that the margins are so tight for Democrats. It's a very tight margin in the House and a very tight margin in the Senate. If they are going to continue to focus on these big agenda items for the Biden administration, they're going to at least have to begin the conversation of bringing Republicans to the table.
At this point, though, that seems like a very big ask -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Yes, 50-50 in the Senate; 220 to 211, the Democrats have the majority, a slight majority in the House, four vacancies right now.
Ryan, stay with us.
Phil Mattingly is over at the White House. He's still with us. I want to bring in our chief political correspondent, Dana Bash.
Dana, this is a huge bill which is going to impact tens of millions of Americans within the next few weeks. So, how significant of a moment is this?
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's incredibly significant.
And it's one that the president promised would happen, that he would go big. And he delivered on that promise, with the help of Democratic control of the Senate.
Let's be clear, because this approach, by going so big, nearly $2 trillion, and a lot of the details within, no Republicans voted for it. And if the Republicans had stayed in the majority, this wouldn't have happened. It would have been a completely different ball game, a totally different approach that he would have had to take.
And, yes, you hear a lot of Republicans, nearly all Republicans, because none voted yes, saying this isn't what Joe Biden promised, he promised bipartisanship. And that is true. He did promise bipartisanship. But he also said his primary goal, nothing else even comes close to this, he said, was dealing with the twin crises that he inherited, the COVID pandemic and all of the health issues that go along with it, and, of course, all of the economic problems that go along with it. And he argues that this is the best way to do it, and so do the
economists in his administration, never mind the Democrats on the Hill, never mind the fact that he is -- maybe not him, but the people in his administration are not shy about the fact that they have added some key Democratic priorities in here as part of this, and trying to reach people who Democrats have been arguing for years have not been reached properly with any kind of legislation.
And that is something that he's going to hold up as an accomplishment, and that's understandable.
BLITZER: It certainly is.
You know, Phil, does the White House feel like this is going to be the keystone piece of President Biden's legacy?
MATTINGLY: I think they'd probably frame it like this. Or at least advisers I'm speaking to frame it like this. They understand that their legacy will be entirely defined certainly in the first term with whether or not they're able to not just get a handle on the pandemic, but defeat it and move the country beyond it.
And they have always looked at this proposal kind addressing the dual crises they're facing both on the public health side and the economic side as crucial to completing the job that they started on January 20. So, I think that's one element of this.
And I think, to expand a little bit on Dana's point, which I think is very interesting right now, the approach to this proposal may also be a key legacy piece, particularly on the economics side. What they're doing -- and it's short-term -- these are not permanent elements they're putting into place, whether it's the mass expansion of the child tax credit, what they're doing on the Earned Income Tax Credit, several different provisions on the economic side, they're short-term.
But they are a paradigm shift in terms of how lawmakers, how an administration approaches economics. How they built this plan really from the ground up, as opposed to trying to fit into a specific number, that is a different approach than we have seen before.
[18:10:02]
So, what it creates, I think why you have seen congressional Democrats so buoyant on the Hill when they talk about this, is, whether it's Obamacare, whether it's the child tax credit, while they are short term, while they will need to be extended, just getting these into law even for a short period of time is a very big deal from a progressive approach to things.
And whether or not those are extended in the future, I think those are fights Democrats are more than willing to have, because they know you're more than likely to win if it's already into law. It's getting it there that's the hardest part. And Joe Biden has been able to accomplish that, Wolf.
BLITZER: Yes, he did. You know, Ryan, not a single Republican in the House or the Senate ended up voting in favor of this bill. But, overall, it seems to be pretty popular, if you look at the public opinion polls, popular with the American public.
On Wall Street today, there was a record high, an all-time record high. Take a look at these numbers, the Dow Jones closing above 32000, up 464 points. Clearly ,Wall Street was happy. Was this a tough vote for some Republicans?
NOBLES: Well, Wolf, they certainly didn't act like it if it was. There was not one Republican that even considered voting for this legislation, at least not publicly.
And what's interesting is that all of a sudden Republicans have found once again their concern about runaway spending, something that they didn't seem to be all that concerned about during the four years of the Trump administration.
But what Democrats are already telling us to look out for is a phenomenon where these Republicans, who were very much opposed to this legislation, will then go back to their home districts and their home states and then brag about the federal funding that will be injected into their economies because they are the federal representative for these different districts.
And we have actually already started to see it happen. Senator Roger Wicker putting out a press release bragging about the amount of funding that's going to be put into this bill for small businesses and the restaurant industry, this despite the fact that he was very critical of this legislation and voted against it.
So, it will be interesting to see how Republicans play this in the coming weeks and days, especially after those checks go out, especially as people start to benefit from the child tax credit. This is real tangible evidence of this bill that will impact people on a day-to-day basis, and it's something they're going to have to go to their voters and explain, especially, as Phil points out, in two years, when they go back to their voters and there's a conversation about whether or not to extend some of these benefits that are already in the package.
They're going to have to vote on it again, Wolf, and much closer to an election.
BLITZER: You know, Dana, you and I and everybody probably remembers that former President Trump used to warn that, if Biden is elected the stock market's going to collapse, it's going to be a disaster, today, an all-time record high on the Dow Jones industrial average.
There's a divide -- we have been talking a lot about it -- within the Republican Party. But they were completely unified in their opposition to this bill. Do you think this was a galvanizing moment for the GOP?
BASH: It gave them something to hold onto that was not Trumpism and that not the kind of tumult and the divide that Trumpism has created within maybe not the base out in the world, but within the conference in the House and the Senate on issues of personality.
This was an issue of, as Ryan said, kind of back to the future. Republicans are talking about runaway spending, whereas didn't hear much about that when their guy in the White House was doing just that.
But one thing I just want to also add to what Ryan was saying with Senator Wicker touting the benefits of this bill that he voted against, you are going to see Republicans, you already are, and that's an example of, trying to have it both ways, arguing the talking points and the messaging about how this is socialism and this is the Democrats' agenda and it's Nancy Pelosi's liberal agenda.
That is all about 2022 and trying to get the base riled up and also position themselves to try to take back the House and maybe the Senate as well, but at the same time try to quietly tout some of the things that they know their constituents want.
And we saw this very phenomenon back in 2009, when President Obama passed the big stimulus bill. It certainly helped to usher in the Tea Party, but at the same time you saw Republicans touting projects that it created in their districts.
BLITZER: All right, guys, everybody stand by. We're going to have much more coming up on this.
Just ahead: How will another 100 million doses of the J&J vaccine impact the push to get shots in arms?
And we're also learning about a complaint filed by Meghan Markle in the aftermath of her explosive interview, as the British royals fail to ease the fallout.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:18:35]
BLITZER: Tonight, Democrats are hailing the just-passed COVID relief bill as transformative. It's also very expensive with a price tag of nearly $2 trillion.
Let's talk about the legislation and more and what it means for the country.
The second-ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate, the majority whip, Dick Durbin, is joining us. He's also the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. We will discuss that in a moment as well.
Senator, thank you so much for joining us.
The president, we're told, will sign this legislation into law on Friday at a ceremony at the White House. But beyond the emergency pandemic relief, how much does this expand the U.S. safety net?
SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D-IL): Well, I think it expands it significantly.
The pandemic is our first priority, to make sure that we put it behind us with vaccinations and the kind of maintenance of care that people expect across America to keep them healthy.
But in addition to that, we're extending unemployment benefits for several months. And that's important, because they were set to expire next week. We're providing $1,400 for, I believe, 85 percent of American families receiving some sort of cash payment check.
There are significant increases in child tax credits that mean that we think we can cut the poverty rate among children in America in half. That's just a starter. To think what else we're setting out to do, money for schools, money for counties and cities, this is a real all- out effort for us to put this economy back on its feet.
[18:20:04]
We've been told keep your foot on the accelerator, let's get out of this and put it behind us.
BLITZER: It's a massive piece of legislation, as you know.
The White House had to caution everyone today that it could take some time to actually implement all of this. There could be bureaucratic problems, other kinds of problems getting that money into the hands of tens of millions of Americans.
What does Congress need to do right now to ensure that the money gets to every American who deserves to get it?
DURBIN: Here's our dilemma, Wolf, and you will understand it.
We know that there's fraud that takes place in the distribution of these funds. There are people who stand up and claim to be people they aren't and claim Social Security numbers and things that are phony and fraudulent.
We want to take care not to waste taxpayers' money. So, this takes a little extra effort and a little extra time. People are anxious and some of them are desperate to receive this money quickly. But we're trying to get the right balance.
We are reaching out to the agencies. They have a lot of work ahead of them in a very short period of time. I think they will be responsive. I'm not going to give a target date, because I will miss it for sure. But I do believe that everyone understands the sense of urgency to get this done.
BLITZER: Your Republican colleague Senator Roger Wicker, a man you know, he just tweeted this. Let me put it up on the screen: "This funding will ensure small businesses can survive the pandemic."
Strong words. Of course, he didn't vote for the bill. In fact, not a single Republican voted for the bill. So what's your reaction to seeing him try to take some credit right now?
DURBIN: Well, it's not new to Washington.
And I will tell you, last year, when we were dealing with President Donald Trump's relief packages, engineered by his treasury secretary, Mnuchin, every single Democrat voted yes. And we knew, in both instances, with massive amounts of money, similar to what was at stake here, that the president, Donald Trump then, was going to get some credit for it.
But we stepped up and said, the nation comes first. And that's the way it ought to be. And yet, when it came to Joe Biden's proposal for relief, not a single Republican vote. Not one single Republican vote. It was disappointing. I hope that we can turn that around and be more bipartisan as we go forward.
BLITZER: Yes, not one Republican in the House or the Senate voted for this legislation.
You're the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. As you know, the Senate voted today to confirm Judge Merrick Garland as the next attorney general of the United States. How big of a challenge will the new attorney general face over at the Department of Justice?
We understand morale is low right now. There are politically charged investigations potentially on his plate. What do you foresee?
DURBIN: I have a lot of confidence in Merrick Garland.
He's served in the Department of Justice and took on some of the most serious cases. The Oklahoma City bombing was one of them. He was given these assignments and handled them professionally. I think the professionals at the Department of Justice, when he finally won the vote today, breathed a sigh of relief.
Help is on the way for their agency. We want to maintain and restore in many cases the integrity of that agency, and he's the man to do it.
BLITZER: Yes, Marcia Fudge, the former member of the House of Representatives, confirmed as the next secretary of housing and urban development, two important Cabinet confirmations today in the U.S. Senate.
Senator Durbin, thanks, as usual, for joining us.
DURBIN: Thanks. Good to be with you.
BLITZER: Just ahead: new fears and frustration in Texas, as the state lifts its mask mandate and lets businesses fully reopen.
Plus, more royal drama right now over the Meghan and Harry interview, as Meghan hits back at a very vocal critic.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:27:56]
BLITZER: Tonight, a deal to buy another 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is in the works, as President Biden is doubling down on his promise to have enough vaccine for all adults here in the United States by the end of May. Let's get some more on the pandemic right now.
CNN's Ed Lavandera is joining us from Texas.
Ed, the state officially dropped its mask mandate and other restrictions today.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a huge news day here in Texas, as Johns Hopkins University is reporting that about 9 -- almost 9 percent of the Texas population has now been vaccinated.
And the Texas governor has been saying that, over the last year of the pandemic, Texans have mastered the skills necessary to avoid catching COVID. But despite that, top health experts in the state are still very concerned about how this reopening might cause yet another surge of the virus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Feelings of frustration and dread, as businesses are allowed to fully reopen and the statewide mask mandate in Texas is lifted.
This Houston restaurant owner says he doesn't understand why Governor Greg Abbott is turning him into the mask police.
AL JARA, HOUSTON RESTAURANT OWNER: But we have been hurt the most. And requiring us now to take a side on the masks isn't right, in my opinion.
For some, it's triggered an emotional reminder of what's been lost in the last year; 38-year-old Jonathan Martinez died of COVID. His mother says the Texas reopening is a kick in the stomach.
CATHERINE RODRIGUEZ, MOTHER OF COVID-19 VICTIM: My son left six children behind. Two of the youngest are 6 and 4 years old. They don't understand why their daddy isn't coming home.
LAVANDERA: Other states are now pushing ahead to reopen as well. Utah will lift its mask mandate on April 10. In Maryland, starting this Friday, capacity limits will be lifted for restaurants, retail stores and other businesses, but masking and spacing protocols stay.
Health officials are urging caution, as more than a dozen states are easing restrictions, with more in the coming days and weeks.
[18:30:01]
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: When you start doing things like completely putting aside or public health measures as if you're turning a light switch off, that's quite risky. We don't want to see another surge.
LAVANDERA: The renewed fights over mask-wearing come as the race to vaccinate Americans continues to speed up, an average of 2.2 million people now getting the shots every day. Alaska is becoming the first state to open vaccinations to people 16 and older.
GOV. MIKE DUNLEAVY (R-AK): And we have a real good possibility of hitting herd immunity before any other state.
LAVANDERA: More guidelines will be released as more people are fully vaccinated.
FAUCI: What about travel? What about going out? What about getting a haircut? What about doing things like that? That's all imminently going to be coming out.
LAVANDERA: And as the country enters spring break season, the University of California, Davis is offering 500 students $75 to choose a staycation instead of traveling as a way to slow the virus spreading.
CANDIE AQUIN, STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS: It's better than nothing and I think it helps people maybe on the fence of staying or not staying.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (on camera): And Wolf, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services is also revising its recommendations tonight for visitation at nursing homes across the country, essentially expanding the rules and guidelines for how these visits can take place, especially in situations of compassionate care for those elderly patients who've been so adversely affected by the isolation of the pandemic. So that is also welcome news for millions of people across the country.
BLITZER: It certainly is. Ed Lavandera in Dallas, Texas for us, Ed, thank you very much.
Let's discuss with Dr. Paul Offit, he's a member of the FDA Vaccines Advisory Committee, he's also Director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Offit, thank you so much for joining us.
As you know, the president announced today a plan to buy 100 million more doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. We've also learned that 600,000 additional doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are available this week, this week. These sound like really significant steps moving the country, God willing, toward herd immunity. Are you optimistic right now?
DR. PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR, VACCIE EDUCATION CENTER, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: Yes. I think we're on our way. Not there yet but we're on our way. I mean, if you can get to roughly 80 percent of the population immune, either immune from having been naturally infected or immune from vaccination, I think you can significantly slow the spread of this virus.
And we already know that roughly 25 percent of the population has been naturally infected, and we know that now 10 percent are fully vaccinated and probably another 10 percent or 10 to 20 percent are partially vaccinated. So we're getting there. But just hang on. You only have to hang on for a few months.
That's why it's so frustrating to watch, for example, states like Texas lift the mask mandate. I can understand going back to business, but why would you also lift the mask mandate when only 9 percent of your state is vaccinated?
BLITZER: Yes, it doesn't make any sense to me either. The CDC director, a woman you know, Dr. Walensky, Rochelle Walensky, is cautioning that we don't yet know how long vaccine protection last. But earlier today, you told my colleague, John King, that you would think these vaccines would be effective for two or three years without getting necessarily a booster shot. I know that's just a guess at this point. But what do you think? What is that based on?
OFFIT: It's based on the fact that after the second dose of the Moderna vaccine or after a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, not only do you develop a vigorous antibody response but you also develop something called cellular immunity, which usually predicts a longer lived and more durable protection for two, three years, you would imagine. You probably should never make predictions about this virus ever because you're invariably wrong, but I do think that is likely. So I will go on record as saying I think that is likely.
BLITZER: Well, I get a flu shot every year. So if you have to get a COVID shot every year, that wouldn't necessarily be the end of the world. If you have to get it every two or three years, that's fine as well.
A newly published study, Dr. Offit, suggests that the coronavirus variant found in the U.K. is not only more contagious but also appears to be more deadly. Are currently approved vaccines, the three of them, offering enough protection against this variant?
OFFIT: Yes, definitely against the U.K. variant. The more worrisome variants are the South African variant and the Brazilian variant. But the U.K. variant is close enough to the strain that initially came into this country and also swept across Europe, the so-called D146G strain, that's the strain most of us have gotten infected with. And, yes, it should be highly effective against that -- those vaccines should be highly effective against the U.K. variant, yes.
BLITZER: I want to get your thoughts. I'll press you a little bit more on what's going on in Texas right now. You heard our Ed Lavandera report that the mandates are being lifted in Texas and several other states across the country. Do you worry that reopening too quickly now potentially could undo all the progress that we are finally seeing?
OFFIT: I'm not sure it will undo it. But I think what will happen -- you know that over the next few weeks, six to eight weeks, there are going to be tens of thousands of people who die from this virus.
[18:35:04]
You know that. I mean, 1,500 people died yesterday. 50,000 people were infected yesterday. So you know that's true and you know that it's going to be because they don't have a vaccine, because they haven't been able to get a vaccine or because they're not going to be careful about masking and social distancing.
So I think that's where the CDC is stuck. They know that everybody wants to try and get back to some semblance of normal but we're not quite there yet. And that's why they've been hesitant to sort of test the water with both feet at this point.
BLITZER: Yes, and I also worry about what's called vaccine hesitancy. people who should be getting a vaccine, who are qualified to get a vaccine but they say you know what, I don't trust those vaccines, not going to get it, that's very worrisome as well. Dr. Offit, thank you so much for joining us.
OFFIT: Thank you.
BLITZER: Just ahead, we're going live to the U.K. for the latest on the royal crisis and the impact of the queen's response to Harry and Meghan's allegations of racism.
And as more jurors are chosen I'll speak -- I'll talk about the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin with the lead attorney for George Floyd's family, Ben Crump. He's standing by live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:40:00]
BLITZER: In Britain tonight, Queen Elizabeth's statement on the Harry and Meghan interview has failed to tamp down the outrage over the couple's allegations of racism. Let's get an update right now from CNN Royal Correspondent Max Foster. He's joining us from Windsor.
Max, the palace is still very much, I take it, in crisis mode? Is that right?
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the queen is desperately trying to prevent what was a family rift turning into a crisis for the monarchy, and indeed a crisis for the U.K. What she's trying to do though is do it all in private. The issue here is, though, that many of those issues that were raised in the interview with Oprah Winfrey are sparking massive public debate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER (voice over): It's a crisis the royal family is attempting to handle privately. But the fallout from Meghan's interview with Oprah is exploding publicly. One deeply personal issue raised in the interview, mental health.
MEGHAN MARKLE, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: I just didn't want to be alive anymore.
FOSTER: CNN has learned the duchess of Sussex filed a formal complaint with British broadcaster ITV following Piers Morgan's on-air comments, concerned about the impact his words could have on others. MARKLE: I went to the institution and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help. I said that I've never felt this way before and I need to go somewhere and I was told that I couldn't, that it wouldn't be good for the institution.
PIERS MORGAN, T.V. PERSONALITY: Okay. And let's have the names. Who did you go to? What did they say to you? I'm sorry. I don't believe a word she says, Meghan Markle.
FOSTER: Piers Morgan stormed off the set of Good Morning Britain on Tuesday amid heated discussions about Meghan.
MORGAN: I'm done with this.
FOSTER: And he later resigned from the show altogether. His comments generating more than 41,000 complaints from viewers. Morgan doubled down on his criticism of the duchess speaking to reporters outside his home.
MORGAN: If people want to believe Meghan Markle, that's entirely their right. I don't believe almost anything that comes out of her mouth.
FOSTER: Tonight, the British royal family is working to contain the impact of the interview. Buckingham Palace released a brief statement on behalf of the queen that critics say didn't go far enough. The queen calling the allegations of racism concerning but not forcefully condemning the issue, at least one British tabloid taking note of the queen's assertion that some recollections may vary.
As the palace tries to handle the fallout privately, what remains in plain view are the striking similarities between the hardships Meghan experienced and those of Harry's late mother, Princess Diana.
PRINCESS DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES: I was actually crying out because I wanted to get better in order to go forward and continue my duty and my role as wife, mother, Princess of Wales. So, yes, I did inflict upon myself -- I didn't like myself. I was ashamed because I couldn't cope with the pressures.
MARKLE: It takes so much courage to admit that you need help. It takes so much courage to voice that. As I said, I was ashamed. I'm supposed to be stronger than that. I don't want to put more on my husband's shoulders. He's carrying the weight of the world. I don't want to bring that to him. I bring solutions.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER (on camera): It's pretty clear the queen's words in that statement yesterday calling for this to be dealt with in private is working so far. We're not getting any briefings at the moment behind the scenes, Wolf, either from the palace side or from the Sussex side.
So one wonders what those conversations are, whether or not there's been a reach out from here over to California. But I'm sure an effort is under way. And the ball really in the Sussex's court to get involved in these discussions, because I know there's a big effort from this side of the pond.
BLITZER: Max Foster in Windsor, Max, thank you so much for your excellent, excellent reporting.
Let's discuss this with a journalist, former British Talk Show Host Trisha Goddard. Trisha, thanks so much for joining us.
Should we expect the royal family to do more to convey they're addressing the issues, the very serious issues that Meghan Markle raised about race and mental health?
TRISHA GODDARD, JOURNALIST & FORMER BRITISH TALK SHOW HOST: I think they're going to deal with these in-house first. And I always say look at it as a family. I know they're royalty, but they're a family first. And as they said, recollections of certain situations differ. And that's the same with all families. You can have an argument and everyone will see it from their own point of view.
But what I think the royal family is trying to avoid, I certainly hope it's trying to avoid, is finger pointing at who said what with regards racism. Because that actually -- I think it's a waste of time.
[18:45:11]
The whole British monarchy is based on what we now know to be very racist practices, going back to the days of slavery and empire building and what have you. But they are here today. And they have got to address those things within their own family before they start dictating anything to anyone else.
What would be really powerful, but I'm not holding my breath, is that as you may know the society of editors put out a statement denying Meghan's claims of racism within the tabloid press, and the answer to that came very swiftly from a large number of journalists, mainly black journalists, saying you know, you've got to be kidding basically.
And wouldn't it be great if, as Harry said, the royals and the tabloids have that weird symbiotic, almost fearful relationship, wouldn't it be great if the Queen reached out to the society of editors and actually said you know what, you need to sit down and listen because this has really damaged part of my family.
BLITZER: Yeah, it's a serious problem. It's clearly -- and you know a lot more about this than I do, Trisha. It's clearly not going to go away.
Thank you so much for your expertise. We will stay in close touch with you. The story clearly continues. Thank you very much.
Just ahead, five jurors have now been selected in the trial of the former police officer charged in the death of George Floyd. We're going to talk about all the late-breaking developments with the lead attorney for the Floyd family, Ben Crump. He's standing by live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [18:51:15]
BLITZER: We have some breaking news coming into THE SITUATION ROOM right now in the investigation into former President Trump's efforts to get Georgia state officials to overturn his election defeat in that state.
CNN Political Correspondent, Sara Murray, he's got details for us.
Sara, I understand that there is a new recording of a Trump phone call to a top Georgia state official. What can you tell us?
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf.
We are all familiar with the call that the former president made to the Georgia secretary of state. But there was another call he made to a chief investigator in that office. This was just before Christmas last year where he is essentially pushing her to find problems with the votes. He's insisting that he won and saying that she will be praised if she just finds the right answer in all of this.
Here's a snippet of this call, the audio of which was obtained by "The Wall Street Journal".
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, something happened there. I mean, something bad happened and I hope you're doing that, that (INAUDIBLE) because I hope you are going back two years as opposed to just checking one against the other, because that would be sort of a signature check that did not mean anything. But if you go back two years, and if you can get to Fulton, you're going to find things that are going to be unbelievable, the dishonesty that we've heard from.
FRANCES WATSON, GEORGIA CHIEF INVESTIGATOR: Right.
TRUMP: You know, just good sources, really good sources, but Fulton County is the motherload, you know, as the expression goes, Fulton County.
WATSON: Right. Well, Mr. President, I appreciate your comments and I can assure you that our team and the GBI, that we are only interested in the truth and finding the information that's based on the facts.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
MURRAY: Now Trump goes on to say that if she just finds the right answer in all of this that she will be praised and we should note that the call is part of the investigation that the Georgia secretary of state's office is conducting into Trump's attempts to meddle in the election as well as the Fulton County district attorney.
BLITZER: I understand Trump also mentioned, what, January 6th, is that right? MURRAY: He does. You get a sense from this call that even there in the
run-up to Christmas, this January 6th date is on his mind. Here is what he has to say about that in the call.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
TRUMP: Do you think they'll be working after Christmas to keep it going fast? Because you know, we have that date of the 6th, which is a very important date.
WATSON: Right, right. I know you got that coming up, and I can assure you that, you know, -- I'm going to be working and we're going to be working, and it's --
TRUMP: Good.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
MURRAY: Now, of course, we now know what did happen on January 6th, the riot that stormed the Capitol. We reached out to a spokesman for the former president. He did not respond. Georgia secretary of state's office says what this call shows is that it's the same thing they were saying at the time, that they would investigate any possible allegations of fraud, they would stick to the law. They're saying that's how they reached their accurate vote tally, which, of course, showed President Trump losing the state of Georgia.
BLITZER: Yeah, all the top Republican leaders of Georgia said that the election was free and fair.
MURRAY: Yeah.
BLITZER: Sara Murray reporting for us, thank you very much.
There is more news we're following, including the highly watched trial of former police Officer Derek Chauvin, charged in the death of George Floyd. A fifth juror was selected today, the lead attorney for George Floyd's family, Ben Crump.
Ben, thank you so much for joining us. Five jurors now have been selected for the Derek Chauvin trial. Given the obvious racial elements in this case, how closely are you watching the racial make up of the jury?
BEN CRUMP, LEAD ATTORNEY FOR GEORGE FLOYD'S FAMILY: Well, Wolf, we are watching it very closely because we want to have a diverse jury who can respect George Floyd's life experiences and culture, and not only just associate with Officer Derek Chauvin.
[18:55:10]
And so, it's very important to the whole process that we have a fair and an impartial jury that can respect George Floyd's life just as well as the police officer.
BLITZER: I know you've been in a very close touch with the Floyd family. How are they feeling about the upcoming trial now that jury selection is well underway?
CRUMP: Well, Wolf, they are very anxious, obviously. They are watching every detail. Unfortunately, the judge ruled because of COVID, only one family member can be in the courtroom per day. So, they have to watch these proceedings, this terrible, awful video and not have anybody to lean on while they're there. But they are resolute in their quest for justice and they are fully focused and committed to getting justice for the life of George Floyd.
BLITZER: We are all still waiting, as you know, Ben, to see if Chauvin will actually face an additional charge of murder in the third degree. That would potentially allow the jury to convict him on a lesser charge than the second degree murder charges that he is currently facing.
Do you want to see that additional charge added?
CRUMP: Absolutely. Attorney General Keith Ellison, the first African- American attorney general of the state of Minnesota, and his prosecutors are pushing hard because we understand the story in America, that oftentimes police officers are not held accountable for killing black people unjustly, Wolf. We've covered far too many of these cases.
So, we need every option available to that jury to hold them criminally liable, especially with their family saying stuff it won't be allowed that Chauvin was fired but they're going to be able to get into character assassination about George Floyd like he had trace drugs in his system which had nothing to do with how he died based on Derek Chauvin putting that knee on his neck for eight minutes and forty-six seconds.
BLITZER: You know that's going to come up in the course of the trial, the drugs. Tell us about that. What kind of drugs did he have in his system?
CRUMP: Well, obviously, Wolf, I think it's insignificant when you really get to the crux of the matter. George Floyd was walking, talking, breathing just fine until Derek Chauvin tortured him to death with that knee on his neck.
And it's just unbelievable how they tried to kill your character after they kill your person. If they had the facts, if they didn't do anything wrong, they would not be trying to attack George Floyd's character.
But they don't want us to focus on the facts, Wolf Blitzer. They just want to try to distract us and say, George Floyd, that doesn't deserve your consideration. George Floyd's life doesn't matter. That black lives don't matter.
Well, we're going to be watching this video. Fifty million people have watched this video. This is a referendum. Do we truly have liberty and justice for all in America for all the citizens or is it just some?
BLITZER: How long do you think this trial will last? CRUMP: I understand from the prosecutors, they are anticipating about
four to eight weeks.
BLITZER: And that is in addition to the three weeks of jury selection that's underway right now, is that right?
CRUMP: Yeah. That's what I understand. Yes.
BLITZER: All right.
CRUMP: And it is going to be watched by I think everybody, because that video, once you see it Wolf Blitzer, you cannot unsee the video.
BLITZER: I think all of us have seen that video. One of the jurors suggested that he had not seen the video. We'll see what happens with the others as well.
Ben Crump, as usual, thank you so much for joining us.
CRUMP: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Finally tonight, as the U.S. coronavirus death toll now tops 528,000, we want to share more stories of those that we lost to the pandemic.
Roger Marshall of Michigan was 71 years old. He was a U.S. army veteran, a retiree from the Ford Motor Company and an avid golfer. We're told he cherished being around family, including his wife of 42 years, Pat, and his four children.
Art Hackett of New Jersey was 72. He was also a U.S. army veteran, as well as a retired police sergeant and an active member of the American Legion. His daughter Meaghan says her father had a go-to response for all of life's challenges saying we will figure something out.
May they rest in peace and may their memories be a blessing.
To our viewers, thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. You can always follow me on Twitter and Instagram @WolfBlitzer, tweet the show @CNNSitRoom.
"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.
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