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The Situation Room

Interview With Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX); Interview With Former Acting CDC Director Dr. Richard Besser; Two Men Charged With Assaulting Capitol Hill Officer; President Biden Touts American Rescue Plan; Woman Accusing Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) Of Sexual Harassment Speaks With Investigators For More Than Four Hours; Chauvin's Defense Asks To Delay And Move Trial After Minneapolis Settlement With George Floyd's Family. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired March 15, 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 in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

We're following the launch of Biden's weeklong tour throughout the United States, as he tries to sell the public on his newly signed COVID relief planned. The president says Americans will soon see -- and I'm quoting now -- "shots in arms and money in pockets," as the rollout gets under way.

The tour comes as COVID vaccinations gaining steam here in the United States, with more than one in five Americans getting at least one dose But CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is urging Americans not to let down their guard too soon.

Also tonight, we're following a long-awaited development in the case of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died soon after the January 6 insurrection. The Justice Department here in Washington announcing today that two men have now been arrested and charged with assaulting Officer Sicknick with a toxic chemical spray.

Let's begin our coverage this hour with our chief White House correspondent, Kaitlan Collins.

Kaitlan, the president is taking his COVID relief package straight to the American public. Give us the latest.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, he's basically mentioning it every time he gets near a microphone, as he did today starting at the White House.

But, tomorrow, he will be going to Pennsylvania. I will be traveling with him. And then that's going to continue with several more stops this week, not just for President Biden, but also for his top aides, because they want to pitch this plan to the American people, make sure that they know it's more than just those stimulus checks that started hitting their bank accounts over the weekend.

But, of course, what all of this means is, the bigger the plan, the bigger of a plan you have to have to actually implement that bill. And so that's the challenge facing the Biden administration right now.

And as he noted today, it is going to be complicated, but he says he wants to make sure that they do it right.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Shots in arms and money in pockets.

COLLINS (voice-over): President Biden is betting on his $1.9 trillion coronavirus bill to shape his pandemic response. And now he must execute it.

BIDEN: It's one thing to pass a historic piece of legislation like the American Rescue Plan, and it's quite another to implement it. And the devil is in the details.

COLLINS: Biden announcing he's tapped longtime Democratic economic aid Gene Sperling to oversee the spending, a job Biden held as vice president when the 2009 stimulus bill passed amid the great recession.

BIDEN: I learned from my experience implementing the Recovery Act just how important it is to have someone who can manage all the moving parts.

COLLINS: But Sperling will be in charge of a bill twice the size of that one, as Republicans are watching closely for any missteps.

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): We had no input into actually what transpired.

COLLINS: Like many Americans, Gene Sperling will work from home for now.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He will be working remotely for a period of time until he has his vaccine.

COLLINS: While those stimulus checks begin hitting bank accounts this weekend, Biden wants the American people to know what else the massive bill does.

BIDEN: The plan does a lot more.

COLLINS: The president and his top aides will spend the next week traveling the country promoting the plan, while hoping to make some of it, like the expansion of the child tax credit, permanent.

PSAKI: We recognize that signing the bill is just a first step.

COLLINS: But another crisis is at risk of overshadowing Biden's cross- country tour.

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): I know the president's going to travel this week. This is where he should bring Air Force One.

COLLINS: Record numbers of children are crossing the U.S. Southern border and being held in jail-like Border Patrol facilities for longer than legally allowed. Republicans who traveled to the border are blaming Biden for the crisis.

MCCARTHY: All because the policies of our president has changed and told them something different, told them to risk their lives and broke families apart.

COLLINS: The Department of Health and Human Services has opened an emergency intake site and the administration even sent FEMA to the border to help shelter migrant children.

Yet top officials still refuse to call it a crisis.

PSAKI: I know that we always get into the fun of labels around here. But I would say our focus is on solutions.

COLLINS: Republicans are the only one saying Biden needs to step up. Fellow Democrats say they agree.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we could do so much better than we're doing now.

COLLINS: After Biden sent a delegation of his senior staff to the border, other Democrats have called for a presidential visit.

REP. HENRY CUELLAR (D-TX): As you know, the president sent a delegation of two secretaries and a whole bunch of folks from the White House. They didn't talk to anybody, not even members of Congress, down here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Wolf, another aspect that speaks to really the challenge that is facing the Biden administration right now is, we are now told they plan to use a Convention Center in Dallas to house about 2,000 migrant teenagers, temporarily, of course.

[18:05:10]

But the question is how long that goes on and whether or not the Biden administration has to open up other facilities, given the surge that they are seeing at the Southern border right now, though we should note no presidential visits are scheduled at this point, according to the White House.

But, of course, all of this comes as he is making several other visits this week across the country, touting this bill. And we should note that, just a few moments ago, you saw the Dow and the S&P 500 closing on record highs, as you can see investors are looking at this package, looking at what the predictions are for an economic recovery, and clearly feeling pretty good -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, fourth day in a row that there's been a new record high for the Dow Jones industrial average.

Kaitlan, have a safe trip with the president in Pennsylvania tomorrow. We will check in with you, of course, Kaitlan Collins reporting from the White House.

Let's move on now to CNN's Nick Watt. He's joining us from Los Angeles for with more on the coronavirus pandemic.

Nick, the vaccine news just keeps getting better and better here in the United States. But, but officials are still urging caution. Give us the latest?

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we heard from the White House this morning that they are still on track, they think, to have at least every adult American at least eligible for a vaccine before May 1.

But, in the meantime, there is a bit of a balancing act between optimism and our current reality.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATT (voice-over): Here's a split-screen of our current situation, on the right, a record high 3.2 million vaccine doses in arms reported Saturday, but on the left, that's Miami Beach on Saturday.

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: We have seen footage of people enjoying spring break festivities maskless. This is all in the context of still 50,000 cases per day.

WATT: Back to the good news, more than one in five Americans have now received at least one shot. And new evidence suggests those fully vaccinated are unlikely to spread the virus.

DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER FDA COMMISSIONER: If that's the case, the vaccine creates what we call dead end hosts, a lot of dead end hosts, meaning people will no longer be able to transmit the infection.

DR. FRANCIS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: If I have an anxiety, it's that something worse than the South African variant is out there that will get to the point where the vaccines no longer appear to be fully protective against a bad outcome.

WATT: Today, in every single state and D.C., teachers can get vaccinated.

Meantime, a new study suggests that if kids and teachers all mask up, then, whether it's six feet or just three of social distance, it doesn't make any difference.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID DIRECTOR: The CDC is very well aware that data are accumulating making it look more like three feet are OK under certain circumstances.

WATT: Which would make it much easier for more schools to reopen. Expect an update to the CDC's guidelines soon.

FAUCI: It won't be very long, I promise you.

WATT: Meanwhile, college kids at Duke now in a seven-day lockdown after 180 confirmed cases last week driven by parties, say college officials, who warn, if this feels serious, it's because it is.

These past four days, the busiest air travel since this pandemic began. Wednesday is:

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Saint Patrick's Day!

WATT: And, of course, there's this:

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALES: Spring break!

WATT: But with more contagious variants circulating, sobering tales from Europe for those South Florida throngs. Take Italy, where case counts are climbing once more, and fast. Why Europe?

WALENSKY: They simply took their eye off the ball. I'm pleading with you for the sake of our nation's health. These should be warning signs for all of us.

WATT: Meanwhile, today, Italy, France, Spain and Germany temporarily suspended use of the AstraZeneca vaccine while authorities investigate some safety concerns.

AstraZeneca says there is no evidence their vaccine might cause blood clots. It's not yet authorized here in the U.S.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: Now, that current surge in Europe is being driven in large part by that variant first found in the U.K. Today, another study suggesting that variant isn't just more contagious, but also more deadly.

And, today, the CDC saying once more they expect that variant will be dominant here in the U.S. within weeks -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right next, Nick, thanks very much.

Nick Watt in L.A. for so.

Let's get some insight from the former acting CDC Director Dr. Richard Besser.

Dr. Besser, thanks so much for joining us.

You just heard the CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, say she is pleading, pleading with Americans to keep up mitigation practices. As the temptation to relax restrictions grow -- clearly, they're growing -- why do we need to be even more vigilant right now?

[18:10:02]

DR. RICHARD BESSER, FORMER ACTING DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Yes, I mean, Wolf, this is such a challenging situation.

There's a sense of optimism, as more and more people are getting vaccinated, as case numbers are going down, and the number of people dying is going down.

But it's a really critical period of the pandemic. We're concerned about the variants that have appeared in many countries, variants that are appearing here in the United States. And the way the variants spread is by letting our guard down, by not wearing masks, by not social distancing.

If we can hang in there for a few more months, there will be enough vaccine for every adult in America to be vaccinated, and then we can truly let go of some of the restrictions that are in place. But if we do this too quickly, we could see an increase in cases, we could see a backsliding that is occurring in many European countries.

And that does not have to be the outcome here in America.

BLITZER: What about the nearly 40 million Americans who have now been fully vaccinated, two shots of Pfizer, Moderna, one shot of the Johnson & Johnson? Can they begin to let their guard down?

BESSER: Well, I expect that CDC will gradually release those who are fully vaccinated from the requirements of following all of this guidance.

But it's too soon for that. And so let's follow their guidance. Let's stick together as a nation. It's great that fully vaccinated people can get together in small groups without masks. That's a start. I expect and hope that CDC will put out some revised travel guidance for people who are fully vaccinated.

People really want to know what they can do. And the more things you can give people to do who are fully vaccinated, the greater the enthusiasm will be to get vaccinated.

BLITZER: That's why it's so important to get that guidance, because you got to encourage. There are still some hesitant folks out there who are reluctant to get the shots. They need to get them.

The CDC is also considering guidelines that could change physical distancing in schools from six feet to three feet. You heard that, when -- especially when masks are worn. Does the science say students can sit three feet apart and remain safe?

BESSER: Well, it's moving in that direction. But it's not just having students sit three feet apart. It's having in place the other steps that are necessary, so ensuring that children are wearing masks, working on ventilation, so that there's air turnover, so that virus isn't hanging in the air.

It's terrific that teachers in every state now can get vaccinated, because that will help ensure that teachers and staff who are at higher risk, even if they're exposed, are not getting infected. These are all part of it.

And one of the things that I find exciting is that, if it's truly safe for children to be in school three feet apart, that's going to make in person learning available for more and more students. And we know that, in lower-income communities, in schools that are much older, getting that kind of social distancing at six feet is really, really challenging.

And it's leaving many children behind. So, if the science is showing this is the way to go -- and CDC is reviewing that science. Dr. Walensky said that today in her briefing. If they move in that direction, that would be a terrific step.

BLITZER: Let me quickly ask you about this AstraZeneca vaccine that has not been authorized for use here in the United States, at least not yet. But it is now being suspended in parts of Europe where it had been authorized. We're talking about Italy, Germany, France, Ireland, other countries.

What do you make of that move?

BESSER: Well, I am a little concerned that this is over-call, in terms of stopping vaccination.

Blood clots occur. They occur rarely. But when you're giving vaccines to tens of millions of people, you will see some people who have blood clots who happen to get vaccinated. What you want to look to see is, are they occurring more often than they would have normally in a population?

And while you want investigators to investigate that, you don't want them to shut off vaccination unless there's a true signal.

BLITZER: Dr. Besser, thanks so much for joining us.

BESSER: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Just ahead: We're following a growing effort by Republicans to impose new voting restrictions in several states. One prominent Democrat is calling the push -- and I'm quoting her now -- Jim Crow in a suit and tie.

And later: a major development in the probe of -- into allegations of sexual harassment against the New York governor, Andrew Cuomo. CNN has learned that one accuser just spoke with investigators for more than four hours.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:18:23]

BLITZER: CNN is tracking Republican-led efforts to roll back voting access and push new voting restrictions in multiple states right now.

Let's discuss that with Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro of Texas.

Congressman, thank you so much for joining us.

Your Republican Governor Greg Abbott today promoted a new bill that would actually limit early voting, ban officials from sending mail voting applications to voters who don't request them. He says this is about election fraud. What do you say?

REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO (D-TX): I think we should call it what it is.

It is him kicking off his efforts at voter suppression. And, unfortunately, Texas Republicans especially, but I think it's true in other states as well, they have gotten so comfortable winning election after election in our state, that they're not really running on policy or ideas anymore.

They're just trying to keep the people who don't usually vote for them from voting at all. And so that's what I think the governor is doing. He's making it harder for Texans to vote, rather than making it easier for them to vote.

And also, Wolf, if you notice, in his words, he hasn't provided any example or any evidence of wide-scale mail ballot fraud or voter fraud. This is just -- this is a Republican preservation legislative effort at voter suppression.

BLITZER: Yes, there wasn't any widespread voter fraud. Speak to the FBI director, the former attorney general, Bill Barr, they make that point directly.

Georgia's Democrat -- as you know her, Stacey Abrams says, this GOP push, in her words, is Jim Crow in a suit and tie. Do you agree with her?

[18:20:00]

CASTRO: Unfortunately, I think if you look at the way that these voter suppression efforts have been used, I think she's right, sadly.

And they have targeted African-Americans in the South. They targeted Latinos in the Southwest. And they just made it harder for people to vote and participate in our democracy, rather than doing what they should do, which is make voting safe, but also make it easier for people to vote.

BLITZER: Yes, and allow people to vote on Sundays, for example. They don't have to work, so many people. That would be so important in Georgia. They're trying to prevent Sunday voting, which is not necessarily going to increase voting opportunities for millions of voters.

CASTRO: Well, I think that's right.

BLITZER: Yes, go ahead.

CASTRO: And, Wolf, I think -- well, and I think there's an important point here.

Our problem in the United States is not that people vote too often. It's that not enough people actually participate and go vote.

BLITZER: Right.

CASTRO: We have a real challenge in getting many Americans to actually participate in our democracy.

And so, when you continually make it harder, even though you provide no evidence that there's rampant voter fraud, you're just discouraging more and more people from participating.

BLITZER: Yes, the Republican governor of Georgia, the Republican lieutenant governor, the Republican secretary of state of Georgia said there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Georgia.

I want to get to the humanitarian crisis, Congressman, at the Southern border that's going on right now. The House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, led a congressional delegation in El Paso today. You blasted these Republicans, saying -- and I'm quoting you now -- I will put it up on the screen -- "Their sudden concerns for children are hollow and cynical."

That's a quote from you.

But more than 4,000 unaccompanied children are now in Border Patrol custody. Isn't that a sign that the Biden administration at least right now is failing in its response to this surge?

CASTRO: Well, they're dealing with a staggering humanitarian situation, that's true.

And remember, under Donald Trump, there was a bubble of people created who were made to stay in dilapidated camps in Mexico to get their asylum claims considered and processed. So, now that President Biden has taken office and said that he's actually going to follow American law and international law and let desperate people actually petition for asylum in the United States, of course, there's a lot of people that are anxious to have their day in court.

And the Biden administration now is wrestling with that capacity issue. But I believe that they're going to be able to find more capacity, open more places up that will treat these people humanely and as human beings, and that that they will be able to stabilize the situation.

Now, we have got to remember that, with Kevin McCarthy and these Republicans, these are the same folks who were right behind Donald Trump in his family separation policy. They had no problem at all with very young kids being separated from their mothers crying and screaming and kicking. And yet they go to the border today and feign concern for them now.

BLITZER: Yes, it's so heartbreaking, as you and I and I'm sure everyone agrees to see what, 4,000, kids right now separated from their parents, separated from their families, the U.S. government trying to figure out what to do with them.

The White House did announce some steps today that they're taking to try to address this problem, including deploying FEMA to help out, but they say they inherited what they're calling a dismantled and unworkable system.

Do you accept that?

CASTRO: Well, I think that that's the truth.

I mean, they did inherit that from Donald Trump. Now, I do think that they need to act as quickly as possible to be able to hold folks in humane places, where they're well-treated, and also, for the folks that are unaccompanied minors, to get them into the homes of sponsors.

Remember, a big reason that a lot of these folks are trying to seek asylum in the United States is not because they want to walk 1,000 miles for asylum. It's because they often have relatives or extended family members who live here.

So, the Biden administration, in addition to building capacity, needs to place those folks in the homes of sponsors as soon as possible.

BLITZER: Congressman Castro, thanks, as usual, for joining us.

CASTRO: Thank you.

BLITZER: All right, this just coming into CNN right now: The U.S. Senate has just confirmed Deb Haaland as President Biden's interior secretary, the vote 51 to 40.

It's a historic vote. Haaland is the first Native American Cabinet secretary.

We will stay on top of this story, an important moment right there.

Just ahead: Two men are now under arrest for allegedly assaulting a U.S. Capitol Police officer who died soon after the January 6 attack. We have new details on the evidence that prosecutors are gathering.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:29:13]

BLITZER: Tonight, more than two months after the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick following the riots on January 6, the Justice Department says two men have been arrested and charged with assault.

Our senior justice correspondent, Evan Perez, is on the story for us.

Evan, tell us more about the evidence that investigators have gathered.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this is evidence that the FBI says they have from surveillance cameras, as well as from a body-worn camera worn by one of the officers that these two men were assaulting.

He works for the Washington Metropolitan Police. The two men are named Julian Khater and George Tanios. And according to the FBI, they're seen in some of this footage using a chemical irritant spray to attack, to assault these officers. [18:30:05]

And I read you just a part of what the FBI says and the affidavit. Officers Sicknick, Edwards and Chapman, who were standing within a few feet of Khater, all react one by one to something striking them in the face. The officers immediately retreat from the line, bring their hands to their faces and rushed to find water to wash out their eyes.

This is, Wolf, you can see from some of the pictures that we're showing right now, some of the scenes that the FBI says shows the assault taking place. The officers obviously were one of -- were among many that were assaulted that day.

This is what happened according to the Capitol Police. Officer Sicknick was there on the line. He, at some point, returns to his office, falls ill, he is taken to the hospital and that's where he dies the following day.

Right now, these two men are charged with nine counts, including for assault. What they're not charged right now with, Wolf, is murder. This was, after all, a homicide investigation. And one reason for that, Wolf, is I'm told the investigators are still waiting for a final report from the medical examiner that would establish what the cause of death is.

So at this point right now, these two men, Tanios and Khater, are charged with assault among other charges, nine counts in all. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Evan, thank you very much, Evan Perez reporting. Let's discuss with CNN Counterterrorism Analyst Philip Mudd, he's joining us right now. Phil, these two men who have been arrested for assaulting the officer, but clearly this is a complex investigation, isn't it?

PHILIP MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: Yes, sure is. I mean you think about it, hundreds of people who are being investigated. Think about every one of these cases and multiply those by hundreds, Wolf. You've got to look obviously at the social media before and after. After is obviously significant, because I want to know if these individuals talked about what they did in an incriminating manner afterward.

You've got to look at the body cams. You've got to look at thousands of hours of surveillance video not only from the Capitol but potentially from private establishments around the Capitol, everything from banks to restaurants. You've got to interview people, friends, family and participants. You've got to put that timeline together over days, maybe weeks when people were talking about going to Washington. And then you've got to deal with discrepancies, when somebody says, X, and another person says, Y.

So, again, this is one case, I'm sure people want to know why it wasn't brought earlier. But you multiply this by several hundred and you've got an idea of what the investigators and prosecutors are dealing with, Wolf. BLITZER: Yes, there's presumably, we're told, going to be a whole bunch more arrests. That's coming up. Phil Mudd, this investigation is huge. Thank you very much.

Just ahead, we're going to have an update on the probe into the New York governor, Andrew Cuomo. One of the women accusing the governor of sexual harassment just wrapped up, get this, a four-hour interview with investigators.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:00]

BLITZER: We're following a major new development in the New York state attorney general's probe into allegations of sexual harassment against the governor, Andrew Cuomo. CNN's Brynn Gingras has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Tonight, the New York attorney general's investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Governor Andrew Cuomo took a figure first step. The lawyer for former Cuomo aide, Charlotte Bennett, telling CNN the 25-year-old spoke with investigators via Zoom for more than four hours and provided more than 120 pages of documents to support her accusation of sexual harassment against the governor and his staff.

CHARLOTTE BENNETT, FORMER POLICY ADVISER TO GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO: Without explicitly saying it, he implied to me that I was old enough for him and he was lonely.

GINGRAS: A statement from Bennett's attorney, Debra Katz, adding that Bennett also provided detailed information about the sexually hostile work environment the governor fostered in both his Manhattan and Albany offices and his deliberate effort to create rivalries and tension among his female staffers on whom he bestowed attention.

GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): We have to get serious today.

GINGRAS: This as the governor attempted to conduct business as usual, touring a mass vaccination site while he is in a fight for political survival and facing growing calls to resign from federal lawmakers.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): There are multiple serious, credible allegations of abuse so that Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of his governing partners and of so New Yorkers.

SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY): That's why I believe that the governor has to resign.

GINGRAS: New York Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, again, calling for Cuomo to resign on Sunday, reiterating a statement they jointly release on Friday.

CUOMO: I did not do what has been alleged, period. GINGRAS: Several women have publicly accused Cuomo of sexual harassment, unwanted advances or leading a toxic workplace. The governor has apologized for making anyone feel uncomfortable and denied touching anyone inappropriately.

Cuomo has also lost his support of most of New York's Democratic congressional delegation. But the party's top leadership in Washington including the president are stopping short of asking Cuomo to step aside.

REPORTER: Do you think Governor Andrew Cuomo should resign?

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think the investigation is underway, we will see what brings us.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): People have to look inside themselves and say and Governor Cuomo also, are they -- how affected is their leadership in leading the state under the circumstances that are there. But I do think that the women deserve to hear the results of these investigations, as does the governor.

[18:40:04]

GINGRAS: A newly-released poll finds 50 percent of New York voters believe the governor should not immediately step down.

CUOMO: Get the vaccine.

GINGRAS: In yet another complicated development for the governor, The Washington Post reporting Cuomo's long time advisor, Larry Schwartz, who was also the state's vaccine czar, has been reaching out to county heads to see where their loyalties lie. One Democratic executive so bothered by the conversation and what it could mean for vaccine distribution in their county, he filed a notice of an ethics complaint with the attorney general's office. CNN has not independently confirmed the reporting.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Certainly we found them concerning about this inappropriate reported behavior. There are a number of checks in the system, I will say. The CDC has the ability to track and monitor distribution.

GINGRAS: Cuomo's office released a statement pushing back on the report. To be clear, Larry's conversations did not bring up vaccine distribution. He would never link political support to public health decisions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GINGRAS (on camera): And in response to that Washington Post reporting, Schwartz told The New York Times that he would never mix COVID response policy with political considerations.

Now, Wolf, it's also important to mention we reached out to Cuomo's office to get response to the claims that were made by Charlotte Bennett's attorney in her statement and we haven't heard back yet. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right Brynn Gingras in Albany for us, Brynn thank you very much.

We'll stay in Albany. We'll get some analysis from the Albany Bureau Chief for The New York Times, Jesse McKinley. Jesse thanks again for joining us.

Not only did Charlotte Bennett spend four hours talking to the state investigators, her attorney says she provided more than 120 pages of documents to support her accusations. So what does this mean for the case against the governor?

JESSE MCKINLEY, ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Well, I suspect a lot of those documents were texts that, of course, The New York Times reported on a couple of weeks ago that Charlotte had provided backing up her claims of, you know, the governor mentioning issues of monogamy, whether or not Charlotte talk of age differences, many difference in relationship. Things like this that led her to believe that the governor was basically making a sexual proposition to her.

But a four-hour long testimony is significant. I think it shows that the attorney general's investigation is taking this very seriously, being very diligent. And if you're watching this from Governor Cuomo's camp, if you thought that this was just going to be, you know, a cursory (ph) really look at the evidence, what happened today with Charlotte Bennett suggests otherwise.

BLITZER: You know, you heard Brynn in her report talk about this new poll, just came out, the CNN poll, which finds 50 percent of New York voters believe the governor should not immediately step down. Is that enough, you think, to allow him to continue to fight to stay in office?

MCKINLEY: Well, it was certainly good news for the governor from his perspective. But keep in mind, much of that polling was done before Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer came out on Friday and said that they thought that the governor should resign.

Now, we don't know how much weight their opinion carries, but certainly that poll may have shifted a little bit depending on how much sway the two senators carry. But, certainly, the governor is going to point to that. He's going to point to his denials of any inappropriate touching. He's going to kind of continue to kind of carry out the business of state in order to make the argument that he's not going anywhere.

BLITZER: Of all the various issues facing the governor right now, which do you think is the most problematic for him, politically speaking?

MCKINLEY: I think they're all pretty bad. I mean, I would say that the sexual harassment allegations continue to come out and that continues to accumulate. In addition, of course, the nursing home data stories have continued as well. You know, The New York Times and other publications have had good reporting on that. So I think there's a little bit of a snowball effect here.

And keep in mind too that some of these there's overlap with both of these, you know, this idea of a toxic workplace, of a place where people are afraid to speak up for getting their heads bitten off or afraid to tell the truth, it seems, in some cases, for fear of retaliation. So all of these things seem to be snowballing on the governor.

BLITZER: Jesse McKinney is the Bureau Chief in Albany for The New York Times. Jesse, thanks so much for joining us.

Just ahead, Don Lemon is standing by live. He's going to share his thoughts on the Derek Chauvin trial, there he is, you're seeing him live, and how the killing of George Floyd actually motivated him to write his brand new book on racism in America. We're going to have a more lengthy conversation with Don when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:49:09]

BLITZER: Tonight, attorneys for Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged in the death of George Floyd, are asking the court to delay the trial to move it away from Minneapolis after the city agreed to a $27 million settlement with Floyd's family.

Let's discuss what's going on with my colleague and friend, the "CNN TONIGHT" anchor, Don Lemon. He's the author of a brand new, very timely book entitled, there you see the book cover, "This is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism."

Don, thanks so much for joining us.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thanks for writing this really important book.

Let's discuss, first of all, you've said that the killing of George Floyd is partially responsible for motivating you to write this important book. I want to play a clip from this past June. You joined me here in the situation room as peaceful protesters were forcefully removed from Lafayette Square near in the White House, not far from the White House.

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Listen to what you said that night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: There are a lot of Americans who are out on these streets who are upset, who are frustrated, who are angry. Again, I'm not condoning violence at all. I hope they remain peaceful, but I hope that they stand up and fight for their rights to peacefully protest in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, Don, how did what we witnessed last summer shape this new book of yours?

LEMON: Well, you could -- the passion. You can feel the passion in my voice there, Wolf, and it was frustrating watching what the former administration did to those protesters and really watching how the former administration was responding to the protesters out on the street.

It is within our First Amendment rights as Americans to be able to protest, and for someone to gas peaceful protesters in front of the White House so that they can hold a photo-op and hold up a bible that looked like it had never been used, was just outrageous, not really -- not just to many Americans but people all over the world. So, that in part was what inspired me to write this book.

As you know, we in the media especially during the Trump administration got a ton of offer to write books. Every time the president tweeted about, somebody would say, do you think ever think about writing a book, would you write a book for us?

And I don't want to do that because quite honestly, I'm not a political person. I'm just a reporter, an anchor on television who happens to be reporting in this era and politics taken the lead. And that's why I report on politics. But after the killing of George Floyd, that really inspired me to write this book.

BLITZER: I spent a good chunk this weekend reading the book. You open with a powerful letter to your nephew, Don. It's a message that I think that will resonate with so many families. Why did you decide to write and share for that matter, that letter?

LEMON: The book is called "This Is the Fire." And it is really a tribute to James Baldwin's "The Fire Next Time", and he starts "The Fire Next Time" by saying God gave no rainbow sign, no more water, the fire next time, and as the protests were playing out on the streets, I realized this was the fire.

And he also -- he also started his book with a letter to his nephew. And I start by saying, Dear Trishad (ph), this was on the day that George Floyd was killed when I saw it, Wolf. I said, dear Trishad, today, I heard a dying man called out to my mama and I wept for the world that will soon belong to you. I know it comes next as surely as I know the Mississippi rolls down to the sea, and then I go on and I write my letter to him.

One, I love -- this is my great nephew that I am writing to. He was about the age that James Baldwin was when he wrote "The Fire Next Time". And I was at home in quarantine and I could not show my love to my nephew, I couldn't be with him physically and go fishing or taking my boating or whatever as I usually do. Because you know, 14-year-old, you call him and you tell them you love them, they're like, eh, Uncle Don. Don't be weird.

And so, I wanted to tell him that I love him and so, I sat down and I started writing this letter and I poured it out, pour out of me as I was talking about the world that he was going to inherit. I have a great nephew who's younger than him who did not understand the content of this book, that's where it came from.

I was -- I'm in fear of the world that my nephews, my nephews' generation is about to inherit.

BLITZER: The book doesn't just lay out the deep-rooted problems in our country, systematic racism. You also offer specific ideas about how to fix those problems. What can viewers hope to learn by reading this book?

LEMON: I think that what we can hope to learn is that, you know, quite simply, Wolf, is that we are all in this together. I know, you know, it may sound Pollyannaish that we could, you know, solve this problem but I really do believe that we can solve this problem.

People ask me especially after George Floyd, people would call me or text me or reach out to me on social media saying what do I do, especially my friends who happen to be white. I don't feel like I have listened to my black friends and these sorts of things really did happen. I doubt it. What can I do to be a better American to help?

So, I would offer them advice and then I decided to write this book. People often ask me what to do and then they don't want to do the work. And they say the work is hard.

Well, it's not that hard, it's not to meet people who don't look like you, to have a conversation who don't look like you and invite people into your life who don't look like you. Whatever that is, whatever that's in the pick up lines or your daughter's ballet's team, there is got to be a parent or family there who's a different ethnicity than you that you can invite to a movie or dinner or cook-out or some sort of gathering at your house that you can get to know.

The only way we can do this is through relationships and getting to know people and learn people. You can have someone who loves and cares about you who'll have your back in these conversations and you won't feel that you're making some sort of a mistake or that people may have a misperception about you because there will be someone who understands you and who has some sort of a relationship, who can help -- who can guide you through these conversations.

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BLITZER: Before I let you go, Don, I want to quickly get your thoughts on Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin who said he might have been concerned during the January 7th assault at the U.S. Capitol, if at his words, those were tens of thousands of Black Lives Matter and Antifa protesters. He says there is nothing racial about his comments. You say what?

LEMON: I say he's delusional. I say that he is under the spell of white supremacy and racism that has to be removed from this country. I said he -- I think he needs to snap out of it. He could not have said it plainly. He said it right out loud, the quiet part out loud. I was not concerned because I thought these people respected law

enforcement and nothing would happen.

Well, nothing could be further than the truth. A police officer died and another officer had a heart attack. Police officers were beaten, we saw it ourselves with the blue live matters sign. So, he was wrong on that account.

And he turned around and knew that he could get in trouble because he said the quiet part out loud that if it was the other way around, it was Black Lives Matter or Antifa, then he would have been frightened. What is he saying? He's afraid of black people. He can deny it all he wants, but the words came out of his mouth and he said what he meant. As we say, the young folks, if you want to call me young, he said what he said and it is as simple as that.

BLITZER: As you look ahead, Don, are you optimistic that things are getter better as far as racism in America is concerned?

LEMON: Wolf, I say that with a smile, because yes, I am. I'm optimistic that things are getting better, number one, because there are people like you in the world. There are people like my colleagues -- my colleague and my friend, Chris Cuomo in the world. There are people like my colleague Brooke Baldwin in the world.

There are people like my colleague Jake Tapper in the world, or Dana Bash, or even our boss, Jeff Zucker. People who I have close relationships with who I had close conversations with who feel confident enough that they can ask me questions and they are confident enough that I will answer them honestly. I am confident that I have people in my life that I love of all different ethnicities and I see people around me who feel the same way.

I'm also optimistic because of the November election there were more people, I know a lot of people voted to turn things back to when it was not good for African-Americans in this country. But there were more people voted the other way an America that is, that leans towards a more perfect union than America that leans backwards toward something that we don't want.

BLITZER: We are thankful to you, Don, for writing this important book. I know a lot of people go out and buy it, and read it, read it. So important.

The new book is entitled, "This Is The Fire." There you can see the book cover. "What I Say to My Friends About Racism".

Don, thanks so much for joining us. And, of course, we'll be back for his show, "CNN TONIGHT," 10:00 p.m. Eastern, we'll, of course, be watching as we do every week night.

LEMON: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: And we'll have more news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.