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The Situation Room

Todd Blanche Confirmation in Jeopardy?; Republican Senators Blast Anthony Fauci. Aired 10:30a-11a ET

Aired July 29, 2026 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

SEN. BERNIE MORENO (R-OH): Your advice to communities like that, to idiotic politicians who enforced those rules arrested that mom for watching a football game with her own family outside.

When that story broke, I said to myself, I cannot stand idly on the side and watch this happen. It was about six years ago today that I decided I'm going to give up my businesses, sell them all, run for office, run for the United States Senate.

And here I am sitting in front of you six years later, saying, Who the fuck do you think you were for doing that? It is a total disgrace what you did to this country. And if my Democrat colleagues are standing there defending you, I hope the voters of the United States of America watch the clips of every one of you doting on a guy who was more interested in being a celebrity than saving American people.

I will make it my mission to make certain that every single one of those Republic -- Democrats who did that will see that clip over and over and over again, because defending -- there is no defense of what you did.

You may have had a 50-plus year legacy of public service, but it ends in total and complete disgrace. So let me ask you an opportunity to answer one question. Will you apologize, just apologize to the people who you harmed through your actions?

Will you say -- do you have the dignity to just say you're sorry?

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, FORMER CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

MORENO: So you won't apologize to the military members who Joe Biden summarily dismissed from the military for not taking the vaccine?

FAUCI: On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

MORENO: Will you apologize to the business owners that lost their business, shattered their lives, and they'll never recover?

FAUCI: On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. MORENO: Will you apologize to the moms who had to force their infant

children, 2-, 3-, 4-year-olds to put masks on, and what that did and how that traumatized those kids?

FAUCI: (OFF-MIKE) ... under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

MORENO: Will you apologize to the family members of the people who died because they took your advice and not only got the first vaccine, but the five, six other boosters that they did not need?

FAUCI: On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

MORENO: Will you apologize to that mom from Ohio for being arrested for watching a football game with her family.

FAUCI: On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

MORENO: So you didn't know who wrote the Fifth Amendment. It's James Madison, lived in this town. I can only wonder what he would think of somebody like you invoking his writings to shield culpability for the actions that you took.

It's no secret why you have to hire the biggest dirtbag attorney on the planet because of what you did. I hope you're paying him well. And I hope that, one way or the other, somewhere, sometime, you answer for your crimes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Ernst?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We're going to continue to monitor this important hearing, the -- Dr. Anthony Fauci invoking his right under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution not to answer questions.

And that's going to continue. Several more Democratic and Republican members of this committee have questions. We'll continue to watch that, Pamela, and see what happens.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: All right, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:39:04]

BLITZER: All right, let's resume our coverage right now.

Dr. Anthony Fauci invoking his right under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, not answering questions before the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in the Senate. Let's listen in.

SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): ... Obama's former CDC director were at a Saturday, March 14 -- were at a Saturday, March 14, yes, 2020, meeting at her home, two days before the president announced his 15 days to slow the spread effort. Your now released diary said the meeting was a week before that. Dr.

Birx said you all were trying to trap the president into having no other options. She wrote your plan was to -- quote -- "block any of the president's escape routes" so -- quote -- "he'd have no choice but to agree to our flatten-the-curve measures."

[10:40:01]

Yes or no, Dr. Fauci, did you try to block or trap President Trump into the slow-the-spread, flatten-the-curve measures in March 2020?

FAUCI: On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

ERNST: When the COVID 19 virus broke out in Wuhan, China, you, Dr. Fauci, knew pretty much right away that NIH had funded Chinese labs, including those doing coronavirus research.

There's e-mail traffic from early January 2020 where your staff was flagging for you that NIH funded coronavirus research at the Wuhan lab through EcoHealth Alliance. Yet few Americans knew we funded the Wuhan lab because the funding went through a sub-award and was not reported to the public database like USAspending.gov., as it should have been.

Also, EcoHealth violated Federal law by failing to report in its research papers how much taxpayer funding it spent on that research. At my request, the Government Accountability Office helped track down that $1.4 million of U.S. taxpayer money that was sent to the Wuhan Institute of Virology both by you, Dr. Fauci, and through USAID.

But, first, it passed through EcoHealth Alliance, which I helped to get defunded through the NDAA. Dr. Fauci, did you intentionally use sub-award funding to obscure NIH funding of Chinese biolabs and coronavirus research?

FAUCI: On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

ERNST: NIAID awarded multimillion-dollar grants to a number of scientists shortly after they wrote publicly in the proximal origins paper that the COVID virus likely came from nature, though documents Chairman Paul released last week show in a -- in private those same scientists were much more open to the virus being from a lab.

In 2023, Representative Jordan insinuated that you basically gave a $9 million bribe in the form of an NIH grant to NIH-funded virologists to say the virus...

BROWN: We're going to continue to follow the testimony of Dr. Anthony Fauci on Capitol Hill, but we're also following more breaking news from the Hill.

Republican Senator John Cornyn calls off a plan meeting with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

So let's go straight to CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju on Capitol Hill.

You just spoke to Senator Cornyn. What did he say, Manu?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, real serious problem for Todd Blanche's nomination to be the next attorney general of the United States in the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he cannot afford to lose a single Republican vote ahead of tomorrow's key committee vote.

Now one Republican is threatening to vote no. That's Senator John Cornyn of Texas. He had demanded that there would be a proposal in writing to do away with the Justice Department's $1.8 billion anti- weaponization fund. Remember, that was a fund that was a deal that was reached between President Trump and the Justice Department over a separate IRS lawsuit.

That fund has gotten so much blowback on Capitol Hill, in large part because he would give money to people who claim they have been victimized by the Justice Department, including January 6 rioters. It is now tied up in legal proceedings.

But John Cornyn is -- wants much more. He says he wants written language to ensure that this fund will never go forward. And he said they have gone back and forth to try to get that written assurance, a written document. They have not gotten that document, and now he says he could vote no as soon as tomorrow.

We just caught up with him moments ago, and he made clear the Justice Department has to answer by 4:00 p.m. this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): But Todd Blanche is off. We have made clear from the outset that we expected some written proposals to modify the release that was signed in the tax dispute with President Trump and his -- and his organization.

It's clear President Trump was wrong. Obviously, the guy who leaked the information is now in prison for violating the law. But the scope of the release is really the problem. And as you saw heard during the hearing, I asked him, for example, said, is this intended to release people who were not parties to this lawsuit? He said no.

I said, well, the audit protection of -- about future audits, is this intended to apply to anyone other than the parties to the lawsuit? And is it retroactive? He said yes. It's not designed to provide prospective immunity from tax audits.

[10:45:07]

And then, third, I said, is this intended to apply to anyone other than the defendants in the lawsuit, which are the IRS and the Treasury, and not other federal agencies? And he said yes.

To me, it's pretty simple. They could state that in a modified release form, and that would be responsive to my request. But, for some reason, I don't know whether it's the staff of the DOJ or who it is, but they simply -- they know what they need to do, but they simply refuse to do it.

RAJU: So are you a no? Are you a no tomorrow if this comes to a vote?

CORNYN: Well, Senator Grassley tells me that we need to know by 4:00 this afternoon whether the markup is still on. So we have still got a little time, and hopefully they now recognize the seriousness of this and will be responsible.

RAJU: But if it stands as it is now, if it stands as if it now, if it stands as it is now, right now, would you vote no?

CORNYN: Well, I'm not prepared to vote yes. Let me let me put it that way.

QUESTION: Would you recommend to Chairman Grassley that tomorrow's vote is postponed to allow for more time for discussions?

CORNYN: We have still got -- we have still got, what, about another five or six hours. That's plenty of time to resolve this. But there's also a -- there's no real need to have a meeting if they will just produce the documentation that we have requested and that he testified to under oath during his hearing.

RAJU: What was the proposal they submitted today? What was the proposal they...

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: The thing is that the Department of Justice did submit some records to you today or some draft.

CORNYN: That's not...

QUESTION: Is there a reason why what they submitted is not sufficient?

CORNYN: I haven't seen a single piece of writing that is responsive to what I have requested.

RAJU: What have they sent you? What have they sent you? What have they sent you?

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Have they communicated that to you at all? Have they communicated to you at all about their willingness do this or...

CORNYN: Oh, there have been a lot of back-and-forth with my staff. I don't know whether it's just the reluctance of the DOJ staff to deal with this.

I'm -- so I'm open to it if they will just simply be responsive...

(CROSSTALK) QUESTION: Do you think the president has an issue with taking this off the table? Some of the reporting that we have done indicates that the president really wanted this tax deal, and so did his family.

Do you think ultimately this is an issue for the president?

CORNYN: Well, I can see why he wants it, because it provides immunity from audits that no other taxpayer could possibly get. And that's why we need to conform the actual document to what Todd Blanche testified to under oath as the president's acting attorney general.

(CROSSTALK)

RAJU: Did they actually give you a written proposal? They didn't give you anything in writing, is that right?

CORNYN: Not me.

RAJU: So have you spoken to Blanche too since -- in the last couple of days?

CORNYN: We have had two meetings scheduled that have now been canceled because they have not been responsive in providing those written documents. So...

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Sir, you have been incredibly clear with what you would like Todd Blanche to do.

CORNYN: Thank you.

(LAUGHTER)

QUESTION: What do you think? You have been...

CORNYN: I don't know. I have been using English.

QUESTION: And you have been incredibly clear for days now. What do you think the holdup is here?

CORNYN: Beats -- beats me. I -- maybe they think I'm just going to give up or go along, but they're mistaken.

RAJU: Did they say they're going to respond to you by 4:00 p.m. today? Did they say they're going to respond to you by 4:00 p.m.?

CORNYN: I think they realize now that we're serious, and I think Senator Tillis is pretty much on the same page that I am, so they better get real, and there's not much time left.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Last week, Senator Grassley said that he was not interested in delaying this markup.

Is it your understanding now that...

(CROSSTALK)

CORNYN: Well, I don't think he's interested in having a failed nomination markup. So -- but like I said, there's plenty of time to respond. They just need to get with it.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Epstein survivor...

(CROSSTALK)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: So, as you can see there, a serious threat from a Republican senator who made very clear there that there's a second Republican, Thom Tillis too, who has actually raised similar concerns.

Now Thom Tillis, who I spoke to yesterday, sounded more optimistic than John Cornyn, but he also is letting Cornyn take the lead in these talks about killing this so-called anti-weaponization fund.

But what you're hearing from John Cornyn right there, he needs something written. What he's gotten in these conversations he's had so far simply is insufficient, and he's ready to vote no tomorrow, which would really threaten getting this nomination confirmed before senators all leave town at the end of next week for an August recess that will extend past Labor Day -- guys.

BLITZER: So, Manu, a quick question. If Cornyn does wind up voting no against the confirmation of Todd Blanche to become the attorney general of the United States, is that enough to prevent Todd Blanche from being the attorney general?

[10:50:08]

RAJU: It very well could be, Wolf, unless something changes here dramatically, because what will essentially happen, we expect all Democrats to vote no, and that means that Blanche cannot afford a single Republican defection.

If there is a single Republican defection, that means it is deadlocked in the committee. Now, the Senate majority leader, John Thune, does have procedural ways in which he could circumvent the Senate Judiciary Committee if it does indeed end up being deadlocked.

But Thune is very, very reluctant to do that. He does not want to -- had wanted to do that in the past, and I do not and many senators here do not expect him to undercut the Senate Judiciary Committee's recommendation. So that's why tomorrow's vote is so critical for the White House, for the president, for the attorney general.

And if these demands of John Cornyn are not met, he simply will not have the votes to advance tomorrow as senators look into a more-than- monthlong recess at the end of next week, guys. BROWN: Is there any indication, Manu, that DOJ will respond to his

request before the vote tomorrow?

RAJU: You know, it's still unclear because, remember, Cornyn has been making this demand for the last few weeks, ever since he came out of that Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing with Todd Blanche.

They went back and forth about that weaponization fund, and I grabbed Cornyn right after that hearing, and I said, were you satisfied with what you heard? And he said no. He made very clear he was not ready to vote the yes at that point. And he said, we need more written assurances.

And so he has been really clear laying out his demand from the very, very beginning. But now Cornyn seems to believe that, as they're running up very close to this vote tomorrow, that something is going to have to give with the Justice Department. They're going to have to give more.

But here's the one of the things that Cornyn did not say, right, and did not want to address, whether or not he believes Trump is the one who is involved in preventing this fund to be killed altogether, because ultimately this is Trump's administration.

The president himself more likely would have to sign off on killing this fund altogether. Has he done that? Doesn't seem he has at the moment, guys.

BROWN: And, of course, all of this is against this backdrop that Cornyn lost his reelection bid to his opponent that Trump had endorsed. So now we're seeing the potential consequences for Trump and his pick for A.G. We will see how this plays out.

Thank you so much, Manu Raju.

I want to dip back into this hearing with Dr. Anthony Fauci. Let's listen in.

SEN. ASHLEY MOODY (R-FL): And Americans were kept physically separated from one another during the most difficult moments of their lives. Many lost loved ones during that time.

So, Dr. Fauci, did you have any evidence to support a six-foot separation rule when you gave that advice to Americans?

FAUCI: On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

MOODY: All right, well, let's look at the lockdowns then.

By 2022, the consequences of prolonged COVID lockdowns on our children were clear, from delayed development to social isolation, which is probably why you were asked in July 2022 whether you would recommend locking down schools again.

And you said: "First of all, I didn't recommend locking anything down."

But now we have your diary. And it tells a very different story from the one you told the public. And I will quote: "I spoke with Bill de Blasio, the mayor of NYC, and convinced him based on what I was saying publicly in my conversation tonight to close the NYC schools, he had already decided based on what I was saying on TV. I went on to tell him he should close the bars and restaurants in NYC, and he said he would do this based on my recommendation."

You even said that you told the president we should shut the whole country down. So, Dr. Fauci, how do you square telling the American people publicly that you didn't recommend locking anything down with your own diary entry kept on federal government equipment saying that your recommendation is what convinced the mayor and the president to lock things down.

FAUCI: On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

MOODY: Now I just want to make clear that when in Florida we were pleading witness, people to give us advice based on scientific evidence, that we were getting these conflicting statements by you that didn't match scientific data.

And, in fact, when we impaneled a grand jury, the grand jury's conclusion, not surprising to anyone -- and, by the way, we're still the only state to have impaneled a grand jury. I was the only attorney general to do this. We did this in 2023.

That conclusion was the lockdown, mask and social distancing advice administered by federal agencies and implemented by certain local, state, and federal agencies was not based on the best available scientific data.

[10:55:06]

In fact, many recommendations and their accompanying mandates departed significantly from available research. Again, people from all walks of life, all political persuasions, that is what they found.

And yet, during that time, while you were giving those statements, knowing there was no scientific basis for it, and we know now you knew it because we'd have your diary entries, you called the governor that I worked with to fight to keep Washington and D.C. out of our state, so that we could indeed respect the rights of our citizens.

You called our governor, Governor DeSantis, and I'm going to quote this so I get it right, right out of your journals, "a total jerk," that he is a complete disgrace, that he is blocking local authorities from mandating masks in various locations, including schools.

And you were very concerned and upset that we were actively, and I'm going to quote, criticizing you, and we talk virtually every day, about being wrong on everything. And what is astounding is that you wrote you feared, because of that, because we were questioning our government, because we were fighting back for the truth from our government, from scientifically based recommendations, because we were pushing for that. You said you feared that our democracy is in dire danger.

Thank goodness we have people up here that I work with that understand our role, which is to report to our bosses, the people, because they are in charge. Calling for our government to be honest with us and transparent with us, transparent with us and accountable to us, that is a democracy.

What you did is the opposite. And I cannot believe I have to explain this to someone who represented our government on some of the most important issues for so long. And before I conclude, if I can just put up our pardon, this is the pardon you have heard so much about.

And, Dr. Fauci, the only other person that got a pardon like this, I believe, had a last name of Biden. This pardon goes back to, and if you will see, January the 1st of 2014. Did you talk to President Biden and ask for this pardon?

FAUCI: On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

MOODY: Who did you talk to in the White House about this pardon?

FAUCI: On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

MOODY: Did you specifically ask that it be dated back to the beginning of 2014?

FAUCI: On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

MOODY: Did you do that so that you would be given immunity going back to the beginning of 2014?

FAUCI: On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

MOODY: I'm just very interested why it was this date. Did it have anything to do with the fact that 2014 was also the year that the NIAID or NIH began funding EcoHealth Alliance's understanding the risk of bat coronavirus emergence grant?

FAUCI: On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

MOODY: And this is the same grant that funded the work on bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute on Virology.

Millions of Americans are questioning what happened during COVID, why we were getting -- given misleading information, misleading advice, why you gave conflicting statements, based on, I guess, how you were feeling that day.

And Americans rightfully -- we lost over a million Americans. They should be insulted when the Democrats insult our chair that he's doing this because he is on an obsessive mission to go after one man. Could his obsessive mission be to find out why American -- a million Americans died, and who might be responsible for that and where that started?

Could that be his mission, Dr. Fauci?

FAUCI: On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

MOODY: And after everything we have just walked through, can you sit here today and tell the American people, our bosses, that you bear no responsibility for their collapse in trust of their government?