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Trump Blasts Dr. Fauci; U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Passes 220,000; Intel Chief Says He's Seen No Intelligence Recent E-mails About Joe Biden's Son Are Russian Information; Johnson & Johnson And FDA Won't Reveal Critical Details On Pause Of COVID-19 Vaccine Trial; California Officials And Republican Party Clash Over Unauthorized Ballot Drop Boxes. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 19, 2020 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:12]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. We're following breaking news.

The United States just topped 220,000 coronavirus deaths, as we're heading into a potentially devastating phase of this national crisis, a top infectious disease expert now warning that the next six to 12 weeks here in the United States could be the darkest of the entire pandemic; 27 states are seeing a rise in new COVID-19 cases, as the second wave is worsening.

And yet President Trump has spent a considerable amount of time today repeatedly attacking Dr. Anthony Fauci, calling him a disaster and an idiot.

The president lashing out, as he campaigns in Arizona, forced to defend a longtime red state only 15 days before the election.

A Trump adviser telling CNN that time is running out for the president to turn things around and that attacking Dr. Fauci is simply not smart. We will have an up-to-the-minute look at the race -- at the state of the race. That's coming up this hour.

But, first, I want to go to our chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta.

Jim, tonight, the president has launched yet another line of attack, going after Dr. Fauci and Joe Biden at the same time.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf.

President Trump has been blasting Dr. Anthony Fauci all day long. The president told campaign staffers today that Fauci is a -- quote -- "disaster," even though the doctor is much more trusted on the coronavirus than Mr. Trump is.

Some inside the campaign are questioning the president's decision to pick on Fauci, with one adviser telling me time is running out -- quote -- "Time is running out" for Mr. Trump to turn things around for his campaign.

Yet the president is attacking Joe Biden, saying he will listen to Fauci. Biden is responding to that by saying, yes, he will.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): With Election Day fast approaching, President Trump sounds like he's running not against Democrat Joe Biden, but against the man who's arguing the nation's most trusted health expert on the coronavirus, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't want to hurt him. He's been there for about 350 years.

ACOSTA: The president began his day of attacks on Fauci on a call with campaign staffers.

TRUMP: People are tired of COVID. I have the biggest rallies. People are saying, whatever. Just leave us alone. They're tired of it. People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots. Fauci's a disaster. If I listen to him, we would have 500,000 deaths.

ACOSTA: Fauci got under the president's skin, appearing on "60 Minutes," where the infectious disease expert said he wasn't surprised when Mr. Trump contracted COVID-19.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID DIRECTOR: I was worried that he was going to get sick when I saw him in a completely precarious situation of crowded, no separation between people, and almost nobody wearing a mask. Nothing good can come out of that. That's got to be a problem. And then, sure enough, it turned out to be a super-spreader event.

ACOSTA: Drawing thousands of supporters who aren't wearing masks, the president is on an anti-science crusade at his rallies, accusing Biden of siding with the experts on the virus.

TRUMP: Biden wants to lock it down. He wants to listen to Dr. Fauci.

(BOOING)

TRUMP: He will listen to the scientists. If I listened totally to the scientists, we would right now have a country that would be in a massive depression.

ACOSTA: Biden responded to that charge of listening to the scientists with one on Twitter: "Yes."

Contrast that with Fauci, who says he's been muzzled by the White House.

FAUCI: You know, I think there has been a restriction, Jon, but it doesn't -- it isn't consistent.

ACOSTA: The president snapped back at that remark too. TRUMP: He gets a lot of television. He loves being on television. We

let him do it. Sometimes, he says things that are a little bit off, and they get built up, unfortunately.

ACOSTA: But sources have told CNN for weeks that the president has opted to listen to the questionable advice coming from another doctor on the Coronavirus Task Force, Scott Atlas, who tweeted a post that said: "Masks work? No" -- a comment removed by Twitter basis because it violated the social media platform's rules, as most experts believe masks are effective.

Atlas has become such a lightning rod, "The Washington Post" reported, task force coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, complained to the vice president's office about him.

The meantime, the president is escalating his attacks on Joe Biden.

TRUMP: Joe Biden is a criminal, and he's been a criminal for a long time. And you're a criminal and the media for not reporting it.

ACOSTA: Biden is asking voters to reject the president on character grounds.

JOSEPH BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The words of a president matter. The words this president has used, that our children have heard, our sons and our daughters, have been despicable.

ACOSTA: A Trump adviser questioning the president's decision to attack Fauci two weeks before the election, saying the campaign is already struggling to keep up with Biden's massive spending advantage, adding: "Time is running out. Being outspent is a problem. No one ever thought we'd be outspent. Time is our enemy."

[18:05:08]

The president is more confident.

TRUMP: We're going to win. I wouldn't have said that three weeks ago. Three weeks ago, two weeks ago, I don't know. I wouldn't have said it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Now, a Trump adviser also said the president's attacks are not smart on Dr. Anthony Fauci, as they remind Americans of the pandemic.

That's the one issue campaign officials don't want to talk about right now.

And, Wolf, let's take you out to what's happening in Tucson, Arizona, right now, the president about to hold a rally there as well. As you can see, it's a familiar sight, once again, most of his supporters there not social distancing, not wearing masks.

And, you know, Wolf, we heard the president say earlier today he wants to hold multiple campaign events between now and Election Day. That means multiple potential super-spreaders -- Wolf. BLITZER: Yes.

The mayor of Tucson just told us a little while ago maybe between 5,000 and 10,000 people will be a crammed into that spot there in Tucson. Very worrisome, indeed.

Jim Acosta, thank you very much.

ACOSTA: That's right.

BLITZER: And now to the ominous new warning about the coming weeks of the pandemic here in the United States.

CNN's Nick Watt is covering the coronavirus crisis for us.

Nick, the United States and the world are seeing alarming new numbers right now, as the worst may be yet to come. What's the latest?

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Wolf.

Now worldwide, more than 40 million cases and more than one million deaths, and way too many of them here in the United States. And now we're being told by health experts that our darkest days might be just ahead in the next couple of months.

And, meanwhile, another inkling of how we are spreading this. Officials in Chicago say that two-thirds of the people who have caught this virus in the city caught it from someone they know.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WATT (voice-over): Chicago is now averaging more than 500 new COVID cases every day, the most since late May.

LORI LIGHTFOOT (D), MAYOR OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Make no mistake. We are in the second surge. These numbers are extremely troubling, and are consistent with what we have been seeing across Illinois and really across the country and world.

WATT: In 14 of our states right now, a test positivity rate so high, it tells us the spread is out of control. In Utah, average case counts now roughly double their summer surge.

FAUCI: You cannot say that we're on the road to essentially getting out of this.

WATT: Cruel irony, Connecticut and New Jersey, with cases climbing, now appear to qualify for the COVID travel restrictions they imposed on other heavily infected states.

ALEX AZAR, U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: People are getting tired. The American people have given so much. We're seeing mitigation fatigue right now. And, you know, I just hope that we have so much promise in the weeks and months ahead.

WATT: A vaccine? Well, week after Johnson & Johnson paused its trial following an illness in a volunteer, the company and the FDA won't tell CNN if that volunteer was actually receiving the vaccine or even if this is the first pause.

DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH: We do have vaccines and therapeutics coming down the pike.

But when you actually look at the time period for that, the next six to 12 weeks are going to be the darkest of the entire pandemic.

WATT: This past month nationally, the average number of new cases a day exploded, up 40 percent.

DR. LARRY BRILLIANT, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: There's nothing to just stop this, the way things are going.

WATT: But there is a silver lining of sorts. The death rate per case has declined.

BRILLIANT: And it's a tribute to modern medicine. We have tools in our arsenal now.

WATT: But we still do not fully understand the long-term impact of this virus on the millions who make it, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, lung issues.

FAUCI: The other thing that we're seeing that's a bit disturbing is that the degree of cardiovascular abnormalities by scans and by other diagnostic tests. It may be insignificant, but I don't know that now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: And, meanwhile, here in California, the governor has created a scientific safety review work group that will review any vaccine approved by the FDA before it is distributed here in California, a sign, Wolf, of just how little California's leaders trust the FDA right now and the Trump administration on this crucial, crucial issue -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, and so many lives are at stake in all of this as well.

Nick Watt reporting for us, thank you.

Let's bring in our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Sanjay, let me begin with your reaction to the president's disgusting attacks on Dr. Fauci today. You spoke with Dr. Fauci earlier today. You have known him for years. I have known him for years. He is the most respected infectious disease expert in the United States, has been so for at least 40 years, and now the president is calling him a disaster, an idiot.

[18:10:05]

What was your reaction when you heard that?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's really disturbing, Wolf, at this point.

There's so many different things that come, but there's so many different things that come to mind, but you have always had this sort of this science and anti-science sort of factions. Usually, the anti- science is small groups of people who didn't believe certain things, no matter what.

Now it's being really fueled by the president, sort of saying, what are you going to do, listen to scientists?

I mean, it's -- and then obviously to call Dr. Fauci these things is pretty vile. And I can tell you the reason I was talking to Dr. Fauci earlier, because we're at the National Academy of Medicine meeting, a nonprofit organization, a nongovernmental organization widely considered to be the most authoritative, objective, scientifically balanced science organization really in the world, gives out medical knowledge, really moves medical knowledge forward.

And he was getting an exemplary leadership award there, Dr. Fauci. So, at the same time, the president of the United States was calling him an idiot and a disaster.

So it couldn't be a greater contrast, Wolf, in terms of what we're hearing about him. Obviously the scientific community, they respect Dr. Fauci. He's been in that job for 40 years. And, you know, I don't know what else to make of this, except we should continue to listen to him, because what he is saying is scientific and evidence-based.

BLITZER: It absolutely is.

And when you spoke to Dr. Fauci, you also spoke to him today about vaccines. What did he have to say about whether people should take a vaccine as soon as one becomes available? It might even be available under some emergency use authorization by the end of this year.

GUPTA: Yes.

You know, so there's two important points here. One is the trust that people have in the vaccine. And, as you know, Wolf, as Nick Watt was just talking about, about half the country right now says they would, and that means half the country says they wouldn't take a vaccine. That's obviously very concerning.

But the other issue is, there's going to be probably more than one vaccine, and they may come out at different times, and they may work slightly different ways. So how do you start to think about that, your own decision tree?

I asked him. Here's how he said it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: There's going to be different versions of the vaccine. You're going to -- kind of like, I don't know, an iPhone. You have the iPhone 10, iPhone 11. That's the way somebody framed that question to me recently. But should everyone go out and get the first iPhone, if they can, if

they qualify, or should -- or would people be reasonable to say, hey, look, I'm going to wait for version two to come out, which is likely to be more effective or safer, whatever?

FAUCI: We will see a hierarchy of recommendations of who should get the vaccine. And I think you have to factor into that how effective it is and what risk category you, as an individual, are in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: And, Wolf, it may be one of these situations where for people who are particularly vulnerable, at risk of developing serious disease, they're going to be first in line for this vaccine. They may take the first one.

People, like young people, they're not at risk necessarily of having serious disease as much as they are of transmitting it, it may be a different vaccine that works better for them.

So, there's going to be -- right now, we just talk about the vaccine. But we're going to start to get more and more information about which vaccine and what they do, I think, over the next few months, Wolf.

BLITZER: You agree with these experts who are warning that the next six to 12 weeks here in the United States could be a total disaster; we could see thousands more deaths?

GUPTA: Yes, I mean, Wolf, I hate to say it. I mean, and I get no joy in saying it at all, but we are trending upward right now, going into this season.

I mean, this is the exact -- we wanted to be at a much lower level and be going down at this point. Instead, we're at a very high level of viral transmission and we're going up. And I worry, because, obviously, there will be many more people who become infected and people who will get sick.

But, also, Wolf, if you look at hospital occupancy, conversations that you and I had back in March and April, that's a real concern, that so many of these hospitals are already starting to get increasingly full, and we're having this twindemic of both flu and coronavirus happening over the next few months.

BLITZER: All right, Sanjay, let's hope it doesn't happen. But it looks pretty sad right now.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta helping us, as always, thank you very, very much.

Just ahead: As President Trump plays defense in Arizona tonight, what are his chances of getting the 270 electoral votes needed to win? We're going to map out the state of the race with just 15 days to go -- when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:19:07]

BLITZER: We're following breaking news in the race for the White House.

As President Trump is fighting to hold on to the longtime red state of Arizona tonight, one of his campaign advisers is warning that time is simply running out for Mr. Trump to turn his campaign around. Election Day, remember, is only 15 days away.

CNN political director David Chalian is tracking the fight to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to win.

So, David, what is the current state of play?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, let's remember where we left off, Wolf.

This is the 2016 map. This is how Donald Trump won the White House. And I want to call your attention to these Great Lake states here, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin. That was the blue wall that he busted through.

Look at our Electoral College outlook for 2020 right now. Those red states across the Great Lakes, they're leaning blue. They're leaning to Biden right now, which is why, in our outlook, we have Biden at 290, Trump at 163.

[18:20:03]

Biden's already over that 270 threshold in this analysis, in this outlook. And his best path to the presidency is by winning back those blue Midwest Rust Belt states that were traditionally blue before Donald Trump busted through that wall and defeated Hillary Clinton.

BLITZER: What about President Trump? What are his paths to victory, as you see it?

CHALIAN: This is what's so interesting. His path is very narrow, Wolf, very narrow.

Take a look. The yellow are the tossup states. They're the battleground states, OK? The other states are leaning in one direction or the other. If Donald Trump were to win every battleground state, let's say Florida and Georgia and North Carolina and Ohio and Iowa, OK, you see his number coming up there. He's now at 247. He's still not there.

Let's say we even gave him the congressional district in Maine. They award their Electoral College votes individually by congressional district. He's still only at 251. He is still 19 votes away from where he needs to be.

So he would have to dig into territory like Pennsylvania to knock him over the top. Donald Trump can't just win this, Wolf, by relying on the states that are leaning in his direction or just the tossups. He's actually going to have to upend the trajectory of this race to dig into some territory that is already leaning in Joe Biden's direction.

BLITZER: Yes, and only 15 days to go.

David Chalian, thank you.

I want to bring in our senior political commentator, David Axelrod, and our CNN special correspondent, Jamie Gangel.

David, as you saw, the president has a very narrow path to 270 electoral votes. His closing message is now -- get this -- an all-out attack on Dr. Fauci.

Do you understand what he is trying to achieve here? Because that makes no political sense at all.

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Early retirement from the presidency is what -- is the most rational analysis of that.

Look, I have spoken to people on both sides today, and everybody agrees that this is an insane strategy. And it's not just fighting with Fauci. He went to Michigan, a state that is among those that David described as the old blue wall, and he attacks the governor who was targeted in a kidnapping by terrorists, essentially, domestic terrorists, and he makes light of that.

He goes to Wisconsin, a state that has 20,000 new cases in the past week, and he talks down the coronavirus. And then, today, he spent the day campaigning against Fauci.

And let me tell you something, Wolf. I looked back at a poll from just the last few weeks. And people were asked who they trusted on the coronavirus, medical scientists, 84 percent, the CDC, 77 percent, Dr. Fauci, 67 percent, Donald Trump, 26 percent.

And that's the fight he wants to pick two weeks before the election? It is nuts.

BLITZER: Yes, it makes no sense at all.

You know, Jamie, the president is threatening voters that Joe Biden would listen to Dr. Fauci and the health experts. Is that a message that the rest of the party, the Republican Party we're talking about, really wants to run on?

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: As David said, that would be nuts.

No, absolutely not. Right now, Republicans who are counting on Donald Trump to help them across the finish line, they're looking for a bigger desk to hide under.

And just -- look, we do not know what is going to happen when we get to Election Day. But the Republicans I spoke to today said, this is self-destructive behavior. And they point back to Walter Reed, the bizarre behavior we have been seeing ever since. And one of them said to me, do you think he wants to lose? And they're really worried about the rest of the party and the rest of

these elections. The word I kept hearing all day today, Wolf, was, cratering.

BLITZER: Yes. And that's a major word.

You know, David, one of the president's advisers actually says this attack on Dr. Fauci is not smart. The time is clearly running out for the president to turn things around.

Do you see that happening in these last two weeks, two weeks exactly, from tomorrow?

AXELROD: Well everybody is unwilling to rule that out because of what happened the last time.

And there are extraordinary circumstances this time, the large number of ballots that are being cast by mail, the president's own comments about the process and threats of legal action and so on.

But, Wolf, he is 10 points -- essentially nine or 10 points behind two weeks out. That is more than twice the margin that Hillary -- that he was behind last time, and he is not the -- he is not the plucky challenger here. He is now an embattled incumbent in the midst of a pandemic that's getting worse, for which he gets poor grades.

It is a very, very hard task to turn this around. And I think, at this point, it is far likelier that he is going to suffer an electoral landslide than it is that he will reach 270 electoral votes.

[18:25:10]

BLITZER: Yes, let's see what happens, 15 days to go.

Jamie, a group of officials who worked under former President George W. Bush have put out an ad endorsing Biden. Let's watch a little bit. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We understand the character and experience and, frankly, the empathy required for leadership, because we have seen it firsthand, when we all served with the 43rd president. But come Election Day, every last one of us on this team is voting for Biden.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Very impressive.

But the big question is this. Will the former President of the United States George W. Bush actually himself come out and endorse Joe Biden?

GANGEL: There is not going to be an October surprise.

President -- former President Bush has said he has retired from politics. I don't expect there's going to be any endorsement of Biden. But, Wolf, I think we have to give this context. He is the last sitting Republican president. He did not vote for Donald Trump in 2016. He left the ballot blank. I think it is fair to say he is not going to vote for him this time.

I think, even though he is not endorsing Biden, just the fact of those two things gives you -- you know where he stands.

BLITZER: Yes, we certainly do. And he didn't go to the Republican Convention in -- here in Washington either. Former President Obama did go to the Democratic Convention. Former President Bush avoided going to the Republican Convention.

Guys, thank you very, very much.

Just ahead: Is a smear campaign against Joe Biden's son Hunter linked to the Russians?

I will ask a key member of the House Intelligence Committee, Jim Himes.

And I will also get an update from the California attorney general about his investigation into unauthorized ballot drop boxes installed by the Republican Party.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

BLITZER: The director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, is rejecting claims by the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee that a Russian disinformation effort targeting the Biden campaign is behind recently published emails dealing with Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden.

Let's discuss with Congressman Jim Himes. He's a key member of the House Intelligence Committee. Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

Director Ratcliffe said there's no intelligence, his words, no intelligence that would indicate that this smear against Hunter Biden is part of a Russian disinformation campaign. Last week, the House Intelligence Committee chairman, Adam Schiff, told me exactly the opposite, so how much stock do you put into what the director of national intelligence is now saying?

REP. JIM HIMES (D-CT): Well, not a lot. Not a lot, Wolf, because, you know, sadly, Mr. Ratcliffe, who used to be one of my colleagues, has demonstrated that his interest is largely in supporting the president, and the president's political fortunes.

We've seen that through the declassifications that the -- that he has ordered and then the conveyance of that declassified material to Ron Johnson in the Senate who, of course, has not made any bones at all or been at all ambiguous about what he's doing in terms of trying to stop Joe Biden. So what I can tell you, Wolf, it is always possible that the chairman of my committee has seen information that I have not, because he is a member of what's known as the gang of eight, which does, in fact, see some of the most sensitive intelligence.

But if you just think about the case to be made, we now know from the New York Post the source of that whole idea were Rudy Giuliani and Steve Bannon. Rudy Giuliani, in particular, long known to have associated with the Ukrainian lawmaker, Andrii Derkach, who is an operative on behalf of the Russians and, of course, who was emailing precisely this kind of information to people around the government, including to the ranking member of the Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes.

And so I have not seen the evidence that makes this case, you know, beyond any conceivable doubt, but when you consider who is involved here, when you consider that this is precisely the playbook that they ran in the last go-around, it is -- I would approach Mr. Ratcliffe's statement with a great deal of skepticism.

BLITZER: The Washington Post, Congressman, as you know, reported the other day that President Trump was actually warned that Russia was trying to use Rudy Giuliani for its own influence operations. Is it plausible that the director of National Intelligence would be unaware of that concern?

HIMES: That is certainly not plausible. You know, that sort of warning made to the president of the United States would absolutely probably be made by the director of National Intelligence but certainly not without his -- without his knowledge.

And two things about that. One, that should surprise precisely no one if you ever watched Rudy Giuliani make statements and go on television. You know that this is a man who has allowed his attack dog advocate for the president in particular to do all you can to dig up all sorts of dirt on the president's opponents, a role that he has been playing for a very long time, and you know who his associates are.

[18:35:01]

Remember, the last gang was Lev Parnas and Lev Parnas' partner, both of whom now have been indicted. So it wouldn't surprise me one iota if the president, in fact, had been given that briefing and it wouldn't surprise me if the president had simply brushed that off. As we know, when the word Russia comes up, he has no interest in knowing what is happening.

BLITZER: Yes, he doesn't want to hear about it.

Let me quickly turn while I have you, Congressman, to the pandemic. What does it tell you that the president is personally, brutally mocking and attacking Dr. Fauci in this, the final stretch of the campaign?

HIMES: Well, I guess I have two thoughts about that, Wolf. Number one, it's hard to imagine an individual who has given more of his life in ways that have saved countless lives, not just here in the United States but around the world in addressing the HIV epidemic globally, in every pandemic that has arisen and to date been handled well partly because of his efforts than Tony Fauci.

He has the most broad political respect I can imagine, but he does something inconvenient for this president, which is offer a narrative which is rooted in science, and, by the way, rooted in the experience that we have as Americans every single day, but that is inconsistent with what the president believes.

And so what the president -- you know, I mean politics too. I know what he's doing here. It's going to be a catastrophe. But I know precisely what he's doing here. He has made Fauci one of the villains in his, you know, nursery school good versus evil tale. So now, Anthony Fauci joins Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden and all of those people who he perceives as antagonists.

And, sadly, in this case, you know, Tony Fauci didn't sign up for politics. Those of us who do, we know that we're going to take that kind of incoming. But Tony Fauci is a professional who is based in science and who does not deserve the scorn of any president. In fact, he deserves the accolades of every president.

BLITZER: And as he said on 60 Minutes last night, Dr. Fauci, as a result of all of this, he's getting death threats, his family is getting death threats, he's got Secret Service protection right now. He didn't sign up for that either when he became the nation's top -- the nation's leading infectious disease specialist.

All right, Thanks so much, Congressman, for joining us. We'll continue this conversation down the road.

HIMES: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Just ahead, I'll speak to a leading health expert about crucial details emerging right now, details that are being withheld about problems with the coronavirus vaccine trial.

Much more right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: One week after the announcement that Johnson & Johnson paused its vaccine trial, the company and the FDA are still not answering questions about why it was stopped.

Let's bring in Dr. Julie Morita, she is a former Commissioner of the Chicago Health Department. Dr. Morita, thank you so much for joining us.

Is this lack of transparency from Johnson & Johnson and the FDA simply part of the vaccine development process or should it be a cause for concern? DR. JULIE MORITA, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION: So, I think the key thing to think about, Wolf, is that this -- the pausing of a vaccine trial is a sign that the systems are working. When we have systems in place to detect adverse events or side effects, and the trial is stopped, that means that we're actually doing the right things.

The manufacturers themselves have a process where they will evaluate what happened, what are the circumstances in terms of the people that get sick, are they having adverse events because of underlying health conditions or is it because of the vaccine. And so it takes time to actually understand what's going on.

So, to pause a trial makes sense and it actually should be reassuring to the public that the -- our systems are working, to make sure that we have a safe and effective vaccine.

BLITZER: In your new opinion piece, you write that, at a time when trust should be growing, you write, the opposite is happening. When you watch the president, for example, criticize leading doctors, like Dr. Fauci, is it really any wonder why some Americans right now are skeptical of public health guidance?

MORITA: So, you're right. Public confidence is really waning and people don't have confidence, especially in things like the vaccine, and that is very concerning to me. Dr. Fauci has really been a source of evidence and science-based information throughout this pandemic, and we need those voices out there.

For every public health emergency that I have dealt with in the past in Chicago, whether it was Ebola, Zika or measles epidemics, the CDC was often the leading voice giving us that clear, consistent and transparent information. And Dr. Fauci has been doing that, and we need that to continue.

BLITZER: In your new piece for Scientific American, you explain that the FDA and the CDC, for that matter, have a last line of defense when it comes to approval of a vaccine, but you acknowledge there are some scenarios that could be problematic. What are you most concerned about?

MORITA: I think, you know, when we think back about the success of our immunization programs throughout the nation, there's many vaccines that children get routinely, and that system is in place to ensure that vaccines are safe and effective. And these advisory panels that advise the FDA and the CDC are independent physicians who are experts in infectious diseases, in immunology and pediatrics, adult medicine.

[18:45:01]

And what they do is they make recommendations based on the science and the evidence around vaccines, and then they make those recommendations to the FDA and CDC, and they can move forward and they do move forward.

If the CDC doesn't listen to the advisory committee recommendations or if the FDA doesn't listen to their advisory committee recommendations, that would be a sign that something is going on because that rarely happens. Typically, the FDA and CDC do just as the advisory committees recommend.

BLITZER: Dr. Julie Morita, thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for all the important work you're doing. We really appreciate it.

MORITA: Thank you.

BLITZER: Just ahead, I'll speak with California's attorney general about his investigation into unofficial ballot drop boxes set up by the state's Republican Party. There you see him, Xavier Becerra.

We've got lots to discuss when we come back.

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[18:50:29]

BLITZER: Early voting is setting records tonight. More than 28 million ballots already have been cast, a little over two weeks before Election Day.

In California, unauthorized ballot drop boxes installed by Republicans are a source of concern for state officials.

We're joined now by the attorney general of California, Xavier Becerra.

Attorney General, thank you so much for joining us.

What's the latest in your investigation into those unauthorized ballot drop boxes that were placed by the state's Republican Party?

XAVIER BECERRA, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Wolf, thanks for having me.

We last week took action to try to remove any unauthorized ballot collection boxes. We will continue to watch over that. We're asking for people to report anything that looks suspicious or wrong. We want to make sure every person's vote counts.

And we will continue to enforce the law. We have some outstanding subpoenas against the Republican Party. We're hoping they'll respond. And we'll go from there.

BLITZER: The unofficial ballot drop boxes were set up in various parts of the state where Republicans are in competitive House races.

Did their location alone raise red flags? Do you know how many ballots were actually dropped into those boxes? And whatever happened to all those ballots?

BECERRA: Well, remember, Wolf, that in California, only county election officials can determine the how, the what, the when, the where for ballot drop boxes authorized by law. And when we got reports that that was not being complied with, we took action.

We are requesting -- insisting that the party provide us with the information to explain what they did so we can in fact determine what ballots may have been collected, make sure those ballots have been turned in to make sure that person's vote if they dropped off a ballot in one of these unauthorized locations understands that their vote will get to count.

BLITZER: Well, do you have confidence that all those ballots that people innocently dropped off in those Republican boxes are actually going to be counted?

BECERRA: Stay tuned. We are under way with this investigation. We are as I said requesting information from the party and its local affiliate parties, and we'll see how they respond. But we will take action where we need to to try to ensure that anyone in California who took the time to vote actually has that vote counted.

BLITZER: Is the Republican Party cooperating with your investigation?

BECERRA: Well, let's just say they're responding in some kind -- in some fashion, and we hope that make sure they're giving us all the information that we've requested. Otherwise, we'll have to go to court.

BLITZER: Well, do you suspect there was some criminal activity there?

BECERRA: I don't want to speculate. But what I will tell you is that we expect the Republican Party to comply with the subpoena so we can get the information we need and we'll enforce that subpoena if we have to.

BLITZER: The coronavirus pandemic, as you know, attorney general, has led to an historic interest in mail-in and early voting. More than 28 million Americans already have voted and we're only, what, 15 days away from Election Day.

The president is trying to sow doubt in the mail-in voting effort.

Can Californians have confidence in the process that's unfolding in historic numbers all across the country right now?

BECERRA: Well, we want folks to have confidence in our elections and the integrity of the voting process here in California. That's why we're taking swift action when we get credible reports.

And I believe that the more than 3 million Californians who have already voted is a testament to the fact that not only do people want to vote but they want to make sure their vote will count.

And so, we want to continue to do everything to let folks in California know that if they're going to take the time to vote and learn the candidates and the issues, we want to make sure their vote will count.

BLITZER: The California Attorney General Xavier Becerra -- as usual, thank you so much for joining us. Good luck out in California. Stay safe out there as well. We appreciate it very much.

BECERRA: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: And we're going to have much more news right after this.

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[18:58:49]

BLITZER: Finally tonight, we remember some of the 220,000 men and women who died in this horrible, horrible pandemic.

Rosalia Caraballo of New York was 74 years old. She was known for her dancing, for her cooking and the whole neighborhood simply called her mom. Her daughter Rosa says she's missed by hundreds of people at the senior center where she volunteered.

Bernard Fils-Aime of Florida was 67 years old. He pioneered cell service in his native Haiti and was a founding member of a Haitian rights organization here in the United States. His son Carl says he was constantly telling his children to be so proud of their heritage.

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

Thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. You can always follow me on Twitter and Instagram @WolfBlitzer. You can always tweet the show @CNNSitRoom.

I'll see you back here tomorrow.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.