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The Situation Room
Trump Laying Groundwork to Challenge Election Results; Sources: Trump Intends to Nominate Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court; Ex-Task Force Aide Says, Trump Said Virus Might be Good Because He Wouldn't Have to Shake Hands With Disgusting People; Third Night of Protests in Louisville Over Lack of Charges in Breonna Taylor's Death; Ginsburg's Unlikely Friendship with a Conservative Activist. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired September 25, 2020 - 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: He's set to announce his pick to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg late tomorrow afternoon in a ceremony over in the Rose Garden, this as Mr. Trump is mocking the backlash over his refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election.
Joe Biden is firing right back tonight, declaring that, if he wins, President Trump will leave.
Also breaking, another chilling measure of the coronavirus crisis here in this country. More than seven million people have now been infected, roughly the population of Los Angeles and Chicago combined, the U.S. death toll now rising above 203,000, as a key model predicts another 168,000 Americans could die by January 1.
But modelers are now saying more than half of those lives could be saved if most Americans simply wore masks.
Let's go straight to our senior White House correspondent, Pamela Brown, with more on the president's Supreme Court pick.
Pamela, you and our special correspondent Jamie Gangel, you broke this story just a little while ago. Tell us what you're learning.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf.
President Trump intends to nominate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to be the new Supreme Court justice. This is according to multiple senior Republican sources with knowledge of the process speaking to me and my colleague Jamie Gangel.
In conversations with some senior Republican allies on the Hill, the White House has indicated that Barrett is the intended nominee. Of course, the White House would need some of these Republicans to come out in her defense once that announcement is made.
And the sources, of course, all say that look, here's a caveat. While -- until it is announced by the president, there is always that possibility that Trump makes a last-minute change. But the expectation is that Barrett is the choice. She is the one the president wants. She is the one he has selected.
She's the only potential nominee known to have met with the president in-person this week. It's not clear what, if anything, she's been told by the White House about the nomination at this point. And she was seen at her home in Indiana today, but often notifying a Supreme Court nominee is done as late as possible to maintain secrecy around the announcement.
But, for context, Wolf, in previous nomination announcements with this White House, they had multiple rollouts planned just in case the president made a last-minute decision to switch to another candidate. But one source I spoke said it would be surprising if there were to be a change, since allies are already being told.
One source said, look, this has been the plan all along. And comparing it to a past nomination process for the Supreme Court with this White House, I have to say, Wolf, this has gone pretty smoothly. Not much drama this week. As I pointed out, she's the only known person in the running for this position to have gone to the White House to meet with the president.
But, again, there is always this president, who can be unpredictable and nature. And until he makes this announcement tomorrow, sources do urge caution.
But they say, as of now, she's the pick.
BLITZER: Yes, and she's 48 years old. So, if she is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the Republican majority in the Senate looks like they probably will confirm her once this goes through the process, the confirmation process.
She could be on the U.S. Supreme Court for 30, maybe even 40 years or so. It's a major, major development right now.
Democrats, as you know, Pamela, they are preparing for the confirmation hearings. They say they will ask for a commitment from this nominee, a specific commitment. Tell us about that.
BROWN: That's right.
Senate Democrats say that they will press Trump's Supreme Court nominee to commit to recuse herself if the justices hear a case that could impact the outcome of the fall elections.
Now, that request could very well become a major flash point, as the president amps up his rhetoric about the elections, provoking alarm that he's trying to use his nominee to his advantage in the event of an election court fight that goes before the Supreme Court.
So, as Democrats prepare for high-stakes confirmation hearings over the nominee who would likely swing the ideological balance sharply to the right, they do plan to press the potential next justice to commit to not voting in any case that could impact the outcome of the presidential race, Wolf.
BLITZER: We will see how that unfolds.
Pamela Brown, excellent reporting. Thanks to you and Jamie. Appreciate it very, very much.
As President Trump pushes to get his nominee on the U.S. Supreme Court before the election on November 3, he's continuing to try to sow doubts about the integrity of the election.
Let's get some more from our chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta.
Jim, the president appears to see his high court pick as a crucial part of his strategy to stay in office. Tell us about that.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, President Trump just wrapped up an event in Atlanta where he made light of the controversy over his refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power.
Now, top administration officials are joining the president in ginning up uncertainty about the November election. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is slamming FBI Director Christopher Wray, who rejected Mr. Trump's conspiracy theories about voter fraud, and Democrat Joe Biden weighing in on the controversy, saying the president will leave if he loses.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AUDIENCE: Twelve more years! Twelve more years!
ACOSTA (voice-over): As supporters chanted "12 more years" at a campaign event in Atlanta, president mocked the firestorm he created this week over his refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election.
[18:05:07]
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's a dictator. We've been -- he will not give up power. Under no circumstances will he give up power. He intends to serve at least two more terms.
(LAUGHTER)
ACOSTA: Earlier in the day, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows amped up the campaign season uncertainty, blasting FBI Director Christopher Wray for simply stating the facts, that there is no widespread evidence of voter fraud.
MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: With all due respect to Director Wray, he has a hard time finding e-mails in his own FBI, let alone of figuring out whether there's any kind of voter fraud.
ACOSTA: That was in response to Wray, who pushed back on the president's false conspiracy theory that mail-in ballots will lead to a rigged election.
CHRISTOPHER WRAY, FBI DIRECTOR: We have not seen, historically, any kind of coordinated national voter fraud effort in a major election, whether it's by mail or otherwise.
TRUMP: Get rid of the ballots, and you will have a very -- we'll have a very peaceful -- there won't be a transfer, frankly. There'll be a continuation.
ACOSTA: The president's threats don't seem to worry Democrat Joe Biden, who is laughing off the controversy.
JOSEPH BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Every vote in this country is going to be heard and will not be stopped. And I'm confident. All the irresponsible, outrageous attacks on voting, we will have an election in this country, as we always have had. And he will leave.
(LAUGHTER)
ACOSTA: CNN has confirmed Attorney General William Barr briefed the president on an investigation into a handful of discarded mail-in ballots for Mr. Trump in Pennsylvania.
The president then referenced the situation on FOX Radio.
TRUMP: They had Trump written on it and they were thrown running in a garbage can. And this is what's going to happen.
ACOSTA: Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany also pointed to the discarded ballots even before the U.S. attorney handling the matter issued a press release on the case.
KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I can confirm for you that Trump ballots, ballots for the president were found in Pennsylvania.
ACOSTA: The controversy over the president's transfer of power remarks have raised alarm bells at the Pentagon, where officials are worried Mr. Trump will try to use the military to quell any unrest over the election results.
The use of federal forces during protests in June led the defense secretary to warn he won't be cowed into deploying U.S. service members onto American streets.
MARK ESPER, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: The option to use active-duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort, and only in the most urgent and dire of situations.
ACOSTA: On the coronavirus, CNN has learned there are growing concerns inside the Centers for Disease Control over the president's handling of the pandemic, with one official saying: "The morale is as low as I have ever seen it, and we have no confidence in our leadership."
The president continues to claim that government scientists are delaying the approval of a vaccine to damage Mr. Trump's election chances.
TRUMP: They're trying to do a little bit of a political hit. Let's delay it just a little bit. You notice that? Let's delay the vaccine just a little bit.
ACOSTA: The president is losing patience with CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield, who has slammed the notion of some deep state conspiracy.
DR. ROBERT REDFIELD, CDC DIRECTOR: I want to add how disappointed I have been personally when people at HHS made comments that they felt that there was a deep state down at CDC.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Now, as for the matter of those discarded ballots in Pennsylvania raised by the White House, county officials in that state say the issue was caused by a temporary seasonal independent contractor.
That contractor, the official said, threw the ballots into the office trash in error. Officials there went on to say that error was quickly noticed and investigated, and that that contractor was told not to return -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Interesting.
All right, Jim Acosta, thank you very much.
Let's get some more on the breaking news right now.
Joining us, our chief legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, and CNN political analyst Maggie Haberman, the White House correspondent for The New York Times.
So, Jeffrey, the president intends to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court. What does this choice say? And what does the path to confirmation look like? You're an expert on the U.S. Supreme Court.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, this is an apt symbol of the Trump presidency. He wants to please the base, and she is the candidate of the base.
She is someone who is a lock as a conservative vote for many decades. If you look at her record on abortion rights, on the prospect of overturning the Affordable Care Act, she is the full Trump program, as far as we can tell.
And that looks like it will get more than 50 votes in the Senate. So it looks like a pretty smooth ride for Amy Coney Barrett so far.
BLITZER: Certainly does.
Maggie, what are you hearing about the president's thinking on this choice?
MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Sure. I think Jeffrey has it correct. And I think Pam had it correct.
Again, to be clear, this is all of our reporting right now. We are dealing with a president who sometimes likes to change things up, but Amy Coney Barrett has been who we have been hearing for many, many days. And he often, with these picks, ends up where he started.
[18:10:02]
She does please the base. She does have what he considers to be and what his top advisers consider to be a solid record that would appeal to his conservative base.
What's been interesting is, he has not, at least up until today, been receptive to, please, that he pick Barbara Lagoa of Florida, because some of his advisers believe that she would have more crossover appeal.
Whenever the president has a choice, he tends to burrow into his white and largely male base of voters. And that is what he's doing here. But he is picking someone I'm -- he's been talking to Mitch McConnell throughout the week. There is no way he is proceeding with this unless McConnell is on board and they think they can get this through quickly.
And, by all accounts, the votes are there.
BLITZER: Yes, it certainly looks like it.
Jeffrey, tell us a big picture how her confirmation, assuming she is confirmed, could change the dynamics of the court for a long, long time to come. She's only 48 years old. This is a lifetime appointment.
TOOBIN: Well, it's not just that she will serve a long time. It's who she's replacing. She's replacing the liberal icon on the court, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is not just a supporter of abortion rights and affirmative action and voting rights and labor unions and environmental regulation.
All of that is part of the agenda that the president and his judicial nominees have been fighting. And he has very successfully filled the lower courts and two justices on the Supreme Court who favor the agenda that is entirely in opposition to Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
So, there have only been 114 Supreme Court justices in history, so every one is important. But this one is especially important, because it will put six conservatives on the court, where Chief Justice John Roberts, who is no liberal, but acted in a pretty moderate way this past term, he becomes almost irrelevant, because now you will have Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch, a majority in any case they want.
That's a big change at the court.
BLITZER: And all this, Maggie, is happening as the president is refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he were to lose the election. He's calling mail-in voting a scam. Clearly, that's false. How different is it this time, now that he's in
the White House with the powers of the presidency?
Forget about what he used to say as a private citizen. He is now the president of the United States.
HABERMAN: Look, this is irresponsible to say, as president of the United States.
Wolf, I think that has been why he has been so heavily criticized for what he is saying, because presidents are supposed to try to tamp down questions about institutions, not inflame questions, and he seems to be working in unusual closeness with the Department of Justice to raise questions about -- not everybody at the Department of Justice, but certainly Bill Barr, the attorney general, to raise questions about by-mail voting.
Look, the president likes to treat everything as if it is leverage for the future, and to not commit to anything until he absolutely has to. And that's fine when you're a private citizen, but it's very different as president.
BLITZER: It certainly is.
Maggie Haberman, thanks so much. Jeffrey Toobin, thanks to you as well.
An important reminder to our viewers, Jeff Toobin has a new book entitled "True Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Investigation of Donald Trump."
It is terrific. Check it out.
Just ahead: Florida is taking a major step in the reopening of restaurants and bars, even as coronavirus cases in the United States hit the seven million mark.
And I will speak to a top health expert behind a key model that's now forecasting another 168,000 Americans will die before the end of this year, unless, unless more people wear masks.
We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:18:19]
BLITZER: We're following breaking news on the coronavirus crisis.
The U.S. case count now surpassing seven million.
CNN's Nick Watt has more from Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seven million COVID cases now confirmed in the United States, more than double Europe's case count, and many more people live there.
DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Unlike Europe, unlike Asian countries, we are starting off this fall and winter with a very high level of infection.
WATT: And here's where we are. New York state is now creating its own task force to review any vaccine approved by the feds.
"Frankly, I'm not going to trust the federal government's opinion," said Governor Andrew Cuomo, despite this pledge:
DR. STEPHEN HAHN, COMMISSIONER, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION: Our experts who know about vaccines will make this determination, and it'll be only based upon the science and the data, not politics. That's my pledge.
WATT: One influential model now predicts 3,000 Americans will be dying every day by the end of the year, more than triple our current toll.
If 95 percent of Americans would wear masks, those researchers say we'd save nearly 100,000 lives by January 1, but, apparently, only 48 percent of us are willing to mask up.
Meanwhile, the mask-averse governor of Missouri and the state's first lady have both now tested positive for COVID-19. So have the pro-mask first lady and governor of Virginia.
"As I have been reminding Virginians throughout this crisis," wrote Governor Ralph Northam, "COVID-19 is very real and very contagious."
[18:20:01]
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID DIRECTOR: Given the fact that we have never got down to a good baseline, we are still in the first wave.
WATT: All that red, those are states where average case counts are right now rising, in Colorado, around 1,000 confirmed cases now at C.U. Boulder.
MILES LEVIN, COLLEGE STUDENT: I'm honestly frustrated and disappointed that these officials couldn't have seen the writing on the wall.
WATT: Still, out West, a limited Pac-12 football season will now kick off early November. The league had said there would be no play until next year.
Different folks, different strokes, New York and Florida both holding steady for now. Today, Florida moves into phase three opening.
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): And what that will mean for the restaurants is that there will not be limitations from the state of Florida.
WATT: Meanwhile, New York City just made the outdoor dining option permanent and year-round.
(END VIDEOTAPE) WATT: Now, the governor of Florida wants to help businesses. Totally understandable. But that state is still seeing more than 2,000 new COVID cases every single day.
And the governor also just said that, in Florida, you can no longer be fined if you don't wear a mask. And he also thinks that they can host a -- quote -- "full Super Bowl" in February -- Wolf.
BLITZER: We shall see.
Nick Watt reporting from L.A., thanks very much.
Joining us now, Dr. Christopher Murray. He's the director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington's Medical School.
Dr. Murray, thanks so much for joining us.
Your latest projection estimates that, between now and January 1, more than 168,000 people could lose their lives. That number has been revised a bit down slightly since your last model, still such a staggering loss of life.
Explain what's behind this estimate.
DR. CHRISTOPHER MURRAY, DIRECTOR OF HEALTH METRICS, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: So there's two things, Wolf, that are driving a winter surge that we're expecting.
First, as case counts have come down in some states, we tend to see that people become less careful, they tend to have more contact, some kids are back at school, some people are back at work, so that decreased vigilance.
But then the most important effect is the seasonality of the virus, that people go indoors, transmission happens more. And that winter surge is -- that seasonality is going to be driving the big winter surge that we expect to see.
BLITZER: And you also point out, accurately, that if 95 percent of the people were to wear masks when they should be wearing masks, that would save, you say almost, what, 100,000 lives by January 1; is that right?
MURRAY: Yes, it's an amazingly effective strategy for the nation. And it's easy to do.
It's what we should all be doing whenever we're outside of our home. And, sadly, it's -- the potential is huge, but we're not realizing it right now.
BLITZER: It's amazing. It's so simple, just wear a mask, and people are refusing to do so. It endangers them and it endangers others, including their friends and loved ones who may be near them.
I want you to watch and listen to what Dr. Fauci just said about the risks of indoor activities, Dr. Murray. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAUCI: You look at some of the super-spreading type things that have occurred, almost all of them occurred in a indoor situation.
You're going to have to do a lot of things indoors, out of necessity of the temperature. And I'm afraid, with that being the case, if we don't carefully follow the guidelines, the other guidelines, the masking, the distance, the crowds, that we may see another surge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: How worried are you, Dr. Murray, about people gathering indoors as the weather gets colder?
MURRAY: You know, we're really, really concerned.
That's why our model shows the huge surge that we really expect to take off in October and accelerate in November and December. And it's exactly as Dr. Fauci said. There's a real risk.
That winter surge has already started in Europe. New cases are exploding there. So we know it's coming. And we expect it to hit the U.S. pretty soon.
BLITZER: Dr. Christopher Murray, thank you so much for everything you're doing. We really appreciate it very much. We will have you back, for sure. Thank you.
MURRAY: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: Just ahead, I will speak live with the former Coronavirus Task Force aide who says President Trump is more interested in his own reelection than in saving American lives.
And the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg breaks more barriers as she lies in state at the U.S. Capitol.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:29:29]
BLITZER: Tonight, as the United States surpasses seven million confirmed coronavirus infections, we want to get perspective from a former top aide to the White House Task Force who has spoken out against President Trump's handling of the pandemic.
Take a listen to what Olivia Troye has been saying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLIVIA TROYE, FORMER U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICIAL: It was shocking to see the president saying that the virus was a hoax, saying that everything's OK, when we know that it's not.
The truth is, he doesn't actually care about anyone else but himself.
The president said: "Maybe this COVID thing is a good thing. I don't like shaking hands with people.
[18:30:01]
I don't like shake hands with people. I don't have to shake hands with these disgusting people.
I am voting for Joe Biden because I truly believe we are at a time of constitutional crisis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Olivia Troye is joining us now. Olivia, thanks so much for joining us.
And as you've heard, CNN has learned that President Trump is losing patience with the CDC director, Dr. Robert Redfield, and other top officials on the coronavirus task force. You worked there for weeks and weeks and months and months. He's frustrated that their sobering warnings, apparently, don't line up with his positive spinout things. Does that line up with what you personally experienced as a top aide to the vice president, Mike Pence?
TROYE: Absolutely, Wolf. I can tell you that throughout my tenure in those six months and over six months that I was there in the White House working on the coronavirus task force, this started from very early on. This started from the very beginning. These scientists, they were trying to put out initial warnings and guidelines.
Actually, they were just trying to put out daily guidelines that they would normally push out on a normal basis even to medical workers or hospitals on repurposing masks or gowns or just even minor things like that. And even that from the very beginning because the messaging was such a big controlling thing internally in the White House. And they were at times prevented from doing that.
BLITZER: We've learned that Dr. Birx and Dr. Fauci apparently are struggling to compete now with a growing influence of Dr. Scott Atlas, who, in recent days, has been brought onto the coronavirus task force. Do you fear that these experts are going to be worn down by the political struggles, the infighting that apparently is going on?
TROYE: Yes. I've seen Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birxand Dr. Redfield and Dr. Hahn included, I've seen them struggle every day trying do the right thing. I've seen them push policies through. I've seen them stand up and fight for what they thought was right.
And I'm certain that after a certain amount of time, it's got to be draining to be getting up and fighting every single day and knowing that you've got these political influences around you who at times are way less credible than any of the collective group together coming forward.
And if that voice is stronger than theirs, it's got to be demoralizing at some point, especially also to the doctors that are leaders of the agencies who have staff that are working day and night to do what's right for this pandemic response and watching what's happening before them when they can't stand up for the scientists and the people at the agencies that are working for them.
BLITZER: Yes, and all the career professionals, the doctors, the public health experts throughout all those agencies.
I want to get your thoughts, Olivia, on the refusal of the president to commit to a peaceful transfer of power. Does it surprise that you based on what you saw, how the president operates behind closed doors?
TROYE: It does not. It's actually -- it's frightening to me because, to be honest, during my tenure at the White House, I've had conversations between behind closed doors with White House staffers and other government officials, including people in the intelligence community, where we've actually discussed what if, what if he loses and refuses to leave, or better yet, what if his plan is, you know, four more years of Donald Trump should he win, and will he even leave after that.
So those comments the other night, the president, when he's joking, if he says that he's joking, he's telling you a half truth. And in there is something fairly frightening and scary.
BLITZER: Your former boss, Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg, has this to say about why you left the White House. I'm going to play the clip. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. GEN. KEITH KELLOGG (RET.), NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER TO THE VICE PRESIDENT: Olivia Troye worked for me. I fired her. The reason I fired her was her performance has started to drop after six months working on the task force as a back bencher.
I'm the one that escorted her off the compound.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Look, when I interviewed the general the day before he made that statement, he didn't mention any of those specifics. So how do you respond to him?
TROYE: You know, I know the truth. General Kellogg knows the truth. The vice president knows the truth. I think people in the office knows exactly what happened. The truth is I chose to resign. I had conversations with people. They had asked me to stay. None of this that he is saying is at all accurate.
And I'd love to see the video footage of this videotape where he supposedly escorted me out. I mean, I would have been there to witness that, obviously. And I know a lot of the Secret Service people on the campus, and I would love to see that footage.
BLITZER: Because we're also told by White House officials that you wrote what they described as a glowing letter when you left.
[18:35:01]
Tell us about that.
TROYE: When you're working in the trenches on a crisis response, you build these strong relationships with people. And these are people I worked with on something very challenging and hard. Every decision we made, I mean, it could affect lives. It was a matter of life and death.
These are people that I had a lot of respect for. I am still close to them today. I still have some of these relationships. And I wrote a letter sincerely to them, thanking them for their efforts, their hard work. I had seen everything firsthand everything they had been through, everything they have fought for, all the dynamics that they had faced.
And so that letter was really written to the members of the task force saying, I have been there with you, I know how hard this has been, and I commend you for it. And I know you're trying to do the right thing. Nowhere in that letter do I actually mention the president because I have very strong feelings about him. I've had conversations with some of the staff in there. Their feelings are very similar and same.
BLITZER: I just want to point out, you are a lifelong Republican, is that right?
TROYE: I am. My first job out of college was on the Republican National Committee.
BLITZER: One former U.S. intelligence official, very high-ranking intelligence official, Roberts Cardillo, who I just spoke, the former deputy director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, he left government about a year or so ago, he says, in his words, suffice it to say, that the person you see presiding over the COVID-19 press conferences -- referring to the president -- is the same one in the privacy of his office.
Would you agree with that assessment?
TROYE: He is completely accurate in that assessment. I know Robert Cardillo. He worked at the Office of the Director of the National Intelligence when I was there. He has seen him in his briefings. He is telling exactly what we all have experienced when we've been around the president and the politicals inside the White House. What you see is what you get. You should trust that. He doesn't hide it.
BLITZER: Yes. He spent 36 years in the U.S. intelligence community, eventually becoming the director of the National Geospatial Agency, which is in charge of a satellite reconnaissance, getting critically important information that protects American lives, protects the lives of the U.S. military.
You know, Olivia, if the president were to win a second term, and whenever we know the outcome of the election, what do you think that would mean for the pandemic response because the coronavirus pandemic continues, as we know?
TROYE: I think that that will be a very increasingly dangerous moment for all of us. I think it's only going to get harder. Like this pandemic, it's not going away. This virus, you can -- the president can call it a hoax, but the truth is we have increasing cases, people are still dying from it. We're going into the fall and winter. You've heard the experts and all of the doctors say that this is going to be a troublesome time. We are going to face some significant challenges as a country together on how we're going to get through this.
And I just -- I worry about what that looks like because I don't see the president changing the course of the direction that we're doing in terms of the response to this.
BLITZER: Olivia Troye, thanks so much for joining us. Thanks for your service as well. Stay safe out there. We'll stay in touch with you.
TROYE: Thank you so much for having me, Wolf.
BLITZER: Just ahead, more protests in Louisville tonight over a grand jury's failure to directly charge any of the police officers in Breonna Taylor's death. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:40:00]
BLITZER: We're monitoring the situation in Louisville, Kentucky, right now, a third night of protests now under way after a grand jury failed directly charge any of the police officers with the death of Breonna Taylor.
Our National Correspondent, Jason Carroll is on the scene for us in Louisville. He is joining us on the phone right now.
So what are you seeing, Jason? What are you hearing.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And, Wolf, this has been a peaceful march, organized by Breonna Taylor's family. Her mother was out here at the beginning of the march, leading this march, (INAUDIBLE) is out there as well, Lonita Baker, the attorney -- of the attorneys representing the family.
And the message out here Wolf has been clear. It's clear ever since the grand jury released their findings. The call is for the attorney general to release the transcripts from the grand jury proceedings. The reason why they're holding this protest today, because these (INAUDIBLE) that there is another special reason today (ph).
They see the messages, they've seen the report unrest of people attending these protests, and then setting fires and breaking windows, and they don't want their message to get lost is part of the reason why the family came out here today to lead this march and made a point of saying they are able to march throughout the city of Louisville to get their message out without there being violent acts. And so, at this point, they have from Downtown Louisville to East Louisville, marching through the streets with the same message, a message directly to the state's attorney general to release the transcripts from the grand jury proceedings. Wolf?
BLITZER: That seems like the big issue right now, whether the attorney general will release those transcripts.
Jason, what's the latest thought over there in Louisville?
[18:45:02]
Is that likely to happen, not happen?
CARROLL: Well, look, you listen to what Breonna Taylor's mother had to say the other day. She has very little faith in the system.
I've spoke within legal experts on the ground from the state and they say it's unlikely. Also the same feeling is that there's no way that the case would have got on the this point, Wolf, had it not been for people coming out, marching in the streets, repeating Breonna Taylor's name. So, they're going to keep the pressure on.
And, in fact, earlier today, when -- a press conference was held with Ben Crump and Tamika Baker and family, it was made very clear that they're going to keep the pressure on, keep out on the streets with the hopes that it could change the attorney general's mind.
BLITZER: All right. Jason Carroll on the scene for us in Louisville, Kentucky, as the protesters are marching as you can see peacefully on the streets over there. Jason, we'll stay in close touch with you. Thank you very much.
Just ahead, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg makes history one final time, becoming the further woman and first Jewish person to lie in state at the U.S. capitol.
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[18:50:52]
BLITZER: Political leaders honored the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg today as she lie in state at the U.S. Capitol here in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RABBI LAUREN HOLTZBLATT: As a lawyer she won equality for women and men, not in victories but brick by brick, case by case through meticulous, careful lawyering. Today, she makes history again as the first woman and the first Jewish woman to lie in state. Today, we stand in sorrow and tomorrow, we the people must carry on Justice Ginsburg's legacy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: A bipartisan group of female lawmakers flanked her casket as she left the building for the final time.
CNN national correspondent Suzanne Malveaux explores Justice Ginsburg's ability to bridge the political divide through one unexpected friendship.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a love of music that brought them together.
ERIC MOTLEY, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, ASPEN INSTITUTE: This is the two of us coming from an opera dinner.
MALVEAUX: An unlikely friendship between seemingly polar opposites, Eric Motley, and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
MOTLEY: I was a black young man, just turned 30, I was working with President Bush. And Ruth Bader Ginsburg, this Jewish intellectual, urbanite, this woman whom had been appointed to the Supreme Court --
MALVEAUX: Brought together by surprise at a dinner party and seated next to Ruth Bader Ginsburg's husband Martin, who quickly learned of their shared passion.
MOTLEY: I love music. He got so excited and said, my wife and I love music. He said I'm listening to Bach's Goldberg Variations. He said, oh my god, you have to meet my wife. You have to talk -- Ruth! And he called her name across the table. I will never forget.
MALVEAUX: Eric and the justice became fast friends, sharing the love of opera, history and music.
MOTLEY: Little did I know that would inspire a 17-year relationship around music and ideas.
MALVEAUX: Ideas that sometimes clashed but led to a better understanding between them over issues around race, opportunity and public policy.
MOTLEY: The Notorious Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
MALVEAUX: As in years past, the two also shared a personal joke when Eric the eligible bachelor, tied the knot.
MOTLEY: In her demanding voice, it's about time.
MALVEAUX: When Eric found his love, Hannah, Ginsburg offered to officiate the wedding.
MOTLEY: She said, what do you mean go to the courthouse? I have the legal right to marry you. So, let's find a date and come here to my patio.
MALVEAUX: As the preparations were made and the excitement was building, Ginsburg kept Eric in touch of her ongoing cancer treatments, writing her letters. MOTLEY: Three weeks daily radiation kill off the cancer, with
appreciation and love, RBG.
MALVEAUX: But Eric got a surprising call two days before the scheduled ceremony, Ginsburg would need to postpone.
MOTLEY: I was a bit numbed because she never cancels.
MALVEAUX: On the scheduled day of their wedding, Eric got a call from a friend.
MOTLEY: And she said, we lost Ruth. And I pulled over on the side of the road and composed myself.
MALVEAUX: It was Friday, September 18th, the evening Ginsburg was to marry Eric and Hannah when she died.
MOTLEY: All the emotions of losing a friend and feeling that at that very hour we would have probably been in the house.
MALVEAUX: Struggling with grief, Eric and Hannah joined hundreds of others at the Supreme Court.
MOTLEY: At the bronze door, we left a single white rose.
MALVEAUX: Eric now left struggling to figure out what Ginsburg would want him to do next.
MOTLEY: I'm really struggling with where we are right now as a society. The issues of equity in this country, the challenges around race.
MALVEAUX: Eric is determined to take Ginsburg's advice, to never give up, always move forward. And that too means marries the love of his life.
MOTLEY: The wedding license with officiant, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's name on it, waiting for her signature now stand as markers of a moment.
[18:55:03]
But they also stand as a reminder of a beautiful friendship and a remarkable woman who would only want us to get married, to find a date as soon as we can and to just get on with it.
MALVEAUX: With family, friends and, of course, music.
Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Suzanne, for that report.
We'll be right back.
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MALVEAUX: I'm Wolf Blitzer. I'll be back tomorrow, 5:00 p.m. Eastern with a special edition of THE SITUATION ROOM as President Trump announces his U.S. Supreme Court nomination. Until then, thanks very much for watching.
"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.
