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The Situation Room

Interview With Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE); Who Will Trump Pardon?; Congress Nears COVID Relief Bill; Fauci Says, Moderna Vaccine Could Get FDA Emergency Use Authorization As Early As Tomorrow; Source Says, Trump Advisers Still Tracking A Number Of GOP Senators Willing To Challenge The Election Results; Russian Operation To Trail Opposition Leader Navalny. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired December 16, 2020 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:02]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

We're following breaking news.

Congress right now potentially on the verge of passing a major coronavirus relief bill, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, sounding an optimistic note this afternoon, saying -- and I'm quoting him now -- "I think we're going to get there."

That relief is sorely needed by millions and millions of Americans, as the pandemic rages across the country. The death toll here in the United States just passed 306,000, as confirmed cases climb past 16.8 million. But more help is on the way. A new vaccine from Moderna could be authorized as early as tomorrow.

Also breaking, CNN has learned that President Trump's advisers are tracking a number of Republican senators who are still willing potentially to challenge the results of the election, one source telling us -- and I'm quoting now -- "I think you would be surprised how many would back the president's efforts to overturn his defeat."

Let's go to our chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta. He's at the White House for us.

Jim, The president's allies in Congress, they're spreading more lies, more disinformation about the results of this election.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It is not letting up, Wolf. That's right.

President Trump and his team are not giving up on their efforts to overturn the election results, as they are tracking the number of senators they could potentially turn to in a last-ditch effort to keep president in power when the Electoral College results are tallied up in Congress early next month. As one White House adviser told me -- quote -- "I think you would be surprised," as the president's team continues to see a solid number of Republican senators willing to upend the election results. And President Trump is not alone in pushing these baseless claims of election fraud, as the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee earlier today was spreading disinformation himself.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): Please rise.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Parroting President Trump's baseless claims of election fraud, the Republican chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Ron Johnson, staged what was described as a hearing on voting irregularities, lighting a fire under outraged Democrats.

SEN. GARY PETERS (D-MI): Whether intended or not, this hearing gives a platform to conspiracy theories and lies. And it's a destructive exercise that has no place in the United States Senate.

ACOSTA: Michigan Democratic Senator Gary Peters accused Republicans of being sore losers for refusing to accept Joe Biden as the next president. Johnson accused Peters of spreading disinformation.

PETERS: Chairman, you can't make false allegations and then dropping it there.

That is why this committee needs to return back to...

(CROSSTALK)

PETERS: ... things. This is terrible, what you're doing to this committee. And all the great work that you talked...

(CROSSTALK)

JOHNSON: It is what you have done to this committee, falsely accusing the chairman of spreading disinformation.

ACOSTA: The administration's former top cybersecurity official, Chris Krebs, who was fired by Mr. Trump, warned Republicans they're playing into the hands of U.S. adversaries.

CHRISTOPHER KREBS, FORMER DIRECTOR, CYBERSECURITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY AGENCY: We have to stop this. It's undermining confidence in democracy.

ACOSTA: The president was watching from the sidelines tweeting: "Senator Ron Johnson doing an excellent job."

Mr. Trump is still furious Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged Biden as president-elect, tweeting: "Too soon to give up. Republican Party must finally learn to fight. People are angry."

Some GOP leaders haven't gotten the memo that Biden won, like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.

QUESTION: ... acknowledge that Joe Biden won the election, that he's president-elect?

ACOSTA: Perhaps because top White House officials are engaging in doublespeak, suggesting that Mr. Trump could remain in office, while hinting he may run again in 2024.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: By 2024, look, he's the leader of this movement. No matter what happens in 2020, 2024 there is -- is there for his taking. His base is strong. They're not going away.

ACOSTA: Life outside the White House may not be kind of Mr. Trump, as Democratic state attorneys general are warning they may be investigating the outgoing administration, firing off this letter that states: "We ask that the Office of the White House Counsel ensure that all White House personnel understand and comply with their record preservation obligations."

Democratic lawmakers are also seizing on the administration's handling of the pandemic, uncovering e-mails written by a former Health and Human Services adviser pushing the controversial concept of herd immunity as an approach to fighting the virus.

One e-mail stated: "If it is causing more cases in young, my word is, who cares?" while another added: "There is no other way. We need to establish herd. hand it only comes about allowing the non-high-risk groups expose themselves to the virus, period."

The White House has denied it's been pursuing herd immunity, but just last week, the president appeared to suggest that Americans were moving in that direction.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hear we're close to 15 percent. I'm hearing that. And that is terrific.

ACOSTA: The other looming question the virus is when President Trump will receive his own vaccination. White House officials say that won't happen until it's recommended by doctors on Mr. Trump's medical team, who were monitoring his COVID-19 recovery.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And the president held a Cabinet meeting over here at the White House earlier today. But a number of Cabinet members were missing worth noting, including the attorney general, William Barr, as well as the acting defense secretary and the secretary of state.

[18:05:05]

Barr's absence is notable, Wolf, as President Trump appears to be carrying out a vendetta during his remaining days in office. One idea he has raised with advisers is going after president-elect Joe Biden's son Hunter. Sources tell CNN that the president has been sounding out the idea of naming a special counsel to investigate Hunter Biden, who's already facing a federal tax probe.

And, Wolf, one thing we should note about this Cabinet meeting earlier today, normally, the president would allow the cameras into the room so we could talk to him, ask him questions, that sort of thing. They did not open up this Cabinet meeting to the cameras.

Obviously, he doesn't want to take questions from the press, as he is still contesting these election results, and making these baseless claims of voter fraud -- Wolf.

BLITZER: He certainly doesn't.

All right, thanks very much, Jim Acosta, over at the White House.

Let's get some more analysis now from our correspondent Pamela Brown and our senior legal analyst Preet Bharara, the former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Pamela, the president wants these two special counsels, one focusing in on so-called voter fraud, the other on Hunter Biden. Is this just about payback for him?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It is, indeed. And you heard Jim allude to it as well in his report.

The president, as you know, Wolf, has been aggrieved by the Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller, and in turn he views appointing two special counsels, one to investigate his unfounded, baseless election claims, and another to investigate Hunter Biden, the son of the president-elect, as essentially payback, as a way to get back for the fact that he was -- his campaign was under investigation in terms of their ties with Russians by the special counsel.

So, it's something the president has been pushing for his final weeks in office. He's brought it up in meetings with aides. He's even suggested names of special -- potential special counsels.

But here's the thing, Wolf. Department of Justice rules say that the attorney general must appoint the special counsel. And, of course, that hasn't happened yet. Bill Barr resigned recently. We don't know if the president brought it up to him.

We do know, though, he's been very public about wanting the special counsels. And so it remains to be seen how this is going to play out. The president has asked whether he could actually appoint the special counsel. So, we're going to have to wait and see how this goes, particularly with the new acting attorney general that takes over next week, Wolf.

BLITZER: We will see what happens on that front.

Preet, it's not surprising at all that the president wants to use the Justice Department to exact personal revenge, is it?

PREET BHARARA, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: No, it's not. And there are a lot of things that are sort of in conflict with each

other. On the one hand, the president says that he hasn't lost the election, and he gives some signs that he intends to remain in office, because he's fighting all these legal battles and trying political ploys as well, in which case it's not clear at all why there should be a special counsel at this moment, in the mind of the president, with respect to an investigation of Hunter Biden.

A potential conflict does arise, arguably, if Joe Biden -- if Joe Biden is the president of the United States and the Justice Department that he will now oversee, as the president, is also investigating a close personal relative, his own son.

And so we can have that discussion and talk about whether or not it's appropriate to have a special counsel or not, but the way that Trump talks about it, A, is as person who insists that he hasn't lost the election and, B, as someone who's thinking himself about naming such a person, is kind of outrageous.

If there's going to be a special counsel, the reason you have such a thing is for there to be independence and for people to have faith and confidence in the integrity of the person who's doing it, and that it's above politics.

So, the very point of the special counsel is undermined by the idea that the president himself, for payback purposes or otherwise, is himself meddling in the process. He should really stay the hell away from it.

BLITZER: You know, Pamela, you have some additional reporting on the flood of pardon requests that are coming into the White House right now. Tell our viewers what you're learning.

BROWN: That's right. There has been a pardon frenzy at the White House, with hundreds of people, including allies of the president, reaching out directly to senior White House officials, putting in their pardon requests for themselves, for family, for friends, for clients that they're working on behalf of.

As one person told me it has turned crazy. Another person said, look, this is everybody's game right now. People are circumventing the formal process, going through DOJ, putting in the request in a more formal way, and going directly to these senior officials, trying to get President Trump's attention.

There have been so many requests, the White House has been so inundated, that a spreadsheet has been created with all of these requests and the names as they work through them.

We know the president has reviewed some of these pardon cases. We will have to see what he does, but we are told by sources, Wolf, that the president has been considering a couple of dozen people, pardoning or granting clemency to a couple of dozen people in his orbit, preemptive pardons or pardons for people who were caught up in the Russia investigation and charged. And so he is very into this. And the interesting thing is, considering these pardons and the frenzy, it's really a tacit acknowledgment, it's a sign that he only has a few weeks left in office. But, at the same time, you have the president, who continues to be in denial and delusional about the results of the election -- Wolf.

[18:10:05]

BLITZER: He's got 35 days left.

Preet, pardons certainly fall within the president's authority. The pardon -- the ability of a president to grant pardons is really widespread. But what questions, potentially, does this unorthodox process we're hearing about right now raise?

BHARARA: I think it raises the question in the long term whether or not we should rein in the pardon power.

And I understand that that's a very difficult thing to do in a material and substantial way, because it's a power that exists in the Constitution. It's pretty much unfettered. There's still an open question in the minds of some people, not reasonable people, but some people, I think, whether the president can pardon himself.

And so it raises the question of abuse of power, even though he has the power to do it. You can have power and abuse it. Not every abuse of power has to be a crime. And if he's going around using this extraordinary authority that the Constitution confers on him to, at the last minute, pardon friends and associates and relatives and perhaps even himself, I think that does constitute, in the minds of reasonable people, an abuse of power.

And I think that people need to look at how that pardon power can or should be exercised going forward, beginning with a return to what has been a tradition and a norm, obviously violated sometimes, every once in a while by a president -- there have been bad pardons before -- but go back to the tradition of using the pardon attorney, who makes a recommendation and does an inquiry and investigation about what pardons are appropriate, and makes a recommendation to the president, upon which the president can act or not act.

And I hope and expect and wish that the Biden administration goes back to that.

BLITZER: Yes, I suspect we're going to get a press release from the White House in the coming days with a whole list, a long list of individuals who will receive a presidential pardon, but we shall see.

All right guys, thank you very, very much.

BHARARA: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: I want to get an update right now on the Biden transition.

CNN's M.J. Lee is joining us from Wilmington, Delaware. M.J., the president-elect has been steadily rolling out his Cabinet picks over the last month or so. Today, he introduced yet another very familiar face.

M.J. LEE, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf, a familiar face who happened to run against Joe Biden in the 2020 primary, Biden referring to his newest nominee as a policy wonk with a big heart who would make history if he is confirmed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEE (voice-over): Joe Biden preparing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the coming days.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't want to get ahead of the line, but I want to make sure that we demonstrate to the American people that it is safe to take. I will be -- they are working on that plan right now. And when I do it, I will do it publicly.

LEE: This as the president-elect continues to build out his administration, choosing Pete Buttigieg, a former 2020 opponent, to lead the Department of Transportation.

BIDEN: For secretary of transportation, I nominate Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

LEE: The former South Bend, Indiana, mayor would have a big task ahead, playing a key role in building out a major infrastructure package, a top priority for Biden.

BIDEN: We selected Pete for transportation because the department is at the intersection of some of our most ambitious plans to build back better. Modernizing our transportation infrastructure, our roads, bridges and ports are some of our most critical investments.

LEE: If confirmed by the Senate, Buttigieg would break a significant barrier, a historic moment not lost on the 38-year-old nominee.

PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY NOMINEE: Also mindful that the eyes of history are on this appointment, knowing that this is the first time an American president has ever sent an openly LGBTQ Cabinet member to the Senate for confirmation.

LEE: Biden's future administration coming into focus, as some Republicans in Washington finally begin to acknowledge his 2020 victory.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): The decision by the Electoral College yesterday was determinative.

LEE: Vice president-elect Kamala Harris saying her colleagues in the Senate are late to the party, but that it's time to move on.

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: It would have been better if it were earlier, but it happened. And that's what's most important. And so let's move forward.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: Now, as for the timing of when Joe Biden will receive that COVID- 19 vaccine, my colleague Jeff Zeleny is reporting that this is likely to happen some time early next week. They're just currently figuring out how to do this in a public way.

And another reason, Wolf, that next week could be a big week for the Biden transition team, remember, they're hoping to fill out the rest of his Cabinet before Christmas. That is at the end of next week. We are still waiting to find out some appointments to big positions, like attorney general and CIA director -- Wolf.

BLITZER: M.J. Lee reporting for us, thank you very much.

Just ahead, we have more breaking news. Congressional leaders are sounding increasingly optimistic about significant progress toward a bipartisan economic stimulus, a relief package for millions of Americans.

I will ask Democratic Senator Chris Coons about the latest in the negotiations. There you see him. He's standing by live.

We will discuss right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:19:10]

BLITZER: There's breaking news.

Leaders on both sides of the aisle say Congress potentially could be on the verge of passing a major new relief package for millions of Americans who are suffering right now.

We're joined now by a key Democratic senator, Chris Coons of Delaware.

Senator, thank you so much for joining us.

Let me get your reaction to this -- the latest developments in the coronavirus relief proposal.

I spoke in the last hour with your colleague Senator Bernie Sanders, who said that what's happening right now seems to be a good start, simply not enough.

What's your take?

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Well, Wolf, I'm optimistic, I'm even excited about the progress that's been made this week.

I'm grateful to the bipartisan group of eight senators, two House members, who labored for weeks to break the months-long impasse on COVID relief, came forward with a $900 billion framework that would deliver extended unemployment benefits, help for those facing eviction from their apartments or homes, support for hospitals and schools, for vaccine distribution, and a big new round of support for small businesses struggling to stay open or who need help to reopen.

[18:20:16]

This $900 billion package is a strong and good framework. It seems likely that it will include a significant number of direct payments to millions of Americans as well. And I, frankly, am optimistic.

We can't go home without passing a next big package of relief for the American people. This isn't the last time we will need to do this. This will get us through what is a hard winter ahead. But it'll give us hope that, as all of us look forward to a moment when vaccination ends the pandemic in these United States, that there is help on the way from Washington.

BLITZER: Because the -- as you point out correctly, the proposal does include some direct payments to Americans in need, maybe not as much as many senators would like, but significant sums of money.

It comes as new research shows a staggering 7.8 million Americans have fallen into poverty since the summer alone. They used to have jobs. They used to work. They used to provide for their families. Now they're actually in poverty, suffering.

Do you believe the direct stimulus checks that will be included, we hope in this package, will be enough for these folks to deal with?

COONS: Well, Wolf, if you look back nine months to when we passed the CARES Act, $2.3 trillion that was passed unanimously by the Senate, and included around of $1,200 checks to 80 million American families, that was enough to keep folks afloat and out of poverty through the summer.

It began to run out. Some of the unemployment assistance, some of the other support began to run out as we got near the end of the year. It is past time for us to address those eight million Americans who've fallen into poverty. All of us have seen record long lines and food banks all over the United States.

Here in the wealthiest country on Earth, we should not be seeing millions and millions of Americans falling into poverty, particularly as we near the end of this year and as we go into the holiday season. I do think we can and should come together on a bipartisan basis once again and pass badly needed COVID relief for the American people.

BLITZER: So, you will vote for this legislation.

COONS: Yes.

BLITZER: It's a compromise, but a significant step forward.

When do you hope the deal will actually be reached? When will there be a vote? And when will the president actually sign it into law?

COONS: Well, there's two bills moving at the same time, Wolf. One is the annual appropriations bill. That's about $1.4 trillion. And

this additional stimulus for the COVID relief response is going to ride on top of it. That should happen in the next two days. We should have an introduced bill and be able to move forward on voting on this, I hope, by Friday, maybe be done by Saturday.

There are, of course, always members of the Senate who have competing ideas and try and slow things down or hold things up. And we're going to have to work through that process. But, frankly, we should not leave for the holidays until we resolve this. My hope, we will have it enacted by the weekend.

BLITZER: People are desperate, in desperate need right now. And you shouldn't leave until you get it done.

Very quickly, while I have you, Senator, your colleague Senator Bernie Sanders, I spoke with him in the last hour, once again. He says he's deeply disappointed by the lack of what he calls progressive Cabinet picks in the incoming Biden/Harris team.

What's your reaction to that?

COONS: Well, I was excited today to hear from the president-elect that Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend is nominated to be the next transportation secretary.

I think, as there's been announcement after announcement from Wilmington, Delaware, we are seeing Joe Biden, our president-elect, build a team that is capable, that is experienced, that represents the best of America, and will be ready to govern and lead on day one.

We face a lot of challenges and crises in this country. And we need a seasoned and capable team that will work well together to do that. There's folks as part of this team that reflect the whole range of ideas and ideology within the Democratic Party.

I will remind you, Pete Buttigieg was one of Joe Biden's opponents in the presidential primaries. And I think he will bring skill and experience as a municipal leader to putting together an infrastructure package that we badly need to create good new American jobs.

BLITZER: Clearly, you and Senator Bernie Sanders have a little bit of a disagreement on that.

COONS: Yes.

BLITZER: But we will leave it on that note.

Senator Coons, as usual, thank you so much for joining us.

COONS: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, just ahead, we could see some emergency authorization for Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine as soon as tomorrow. We have new information. We have details on where millions of new doses could be heading. Plus: California just shattered records for new cases and deaths, as

the state is struggling big time right now to try to contain the surging virus.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:29:41]

BLITZER: We're following breaking news on the coronavirus pandemic, which has now killed more than 306,000 people here in the United States.

As the U.S. approaches 17 million confirmed coronavirus cases, Moderna's vaccine might be on the verge of joining the unprecedented rollout already under way.

CNN's Sara Murray has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the pandemic refuses to relent across the country, optimism is growing a second coronavirus vaccine could soon be on the way.

[18:30:00]

The Food and Drug Administration's independent advisory committee meeting tomorrow to assess Moderna's vaccine.

ADM. BRETT GIROIR, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH, HHS: We're looking at about a 95 percent efficacy on this vaccine, 100 percent at preventing severe illness.

MURRAY: If the FDA authorizes Moderna's vaccine, nearly 6 million doses could begin shipping out soon after.

Because Moderna's doesn't require the same ultra cold storage as Pfizer's, it's slated for broader delivery to more than 3,000 sites nationwide, including more rural areas and long-term care facilities. But it will still be months before the vaccine is available to most of the public.

GIROIR: Right now, we're really immunizing for impact. We're immunizing only a few million people to start our most vulnerable.

MURRAY: Officials say they don't yet know how many people have been vaccinated nationwide.

ALEX AZAR, SECRETARY, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: I can't tell you at this precise moment how many have gotten it. We're just, of course, two days into the vaccination program.

MURRAY: Today, the first nursing homes are receiving the Pfizer vaccine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's let it rip. MURRAY: All this while the outbreak worsens. The U.S. reported more than 3,000 deaths Tuesday, the third highest death toll since the pandemic began.

In another grim record, the U.S. notched nearly 113,000 hospitalizations. In New York, hospitals are going into crisis management mode, as officials warn shutdowns could be ahead.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): Is a close-down possible in January? Yes.

MURRAY: California activated its mass fatality plan, purchasing 5,000 additional body bags and deploying refrigerated storage units to serve as makeshift morgues.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): This is a deadly disease. We are not at the finish line yet.

MURRAY: As officials continue to plead with Americans to lay low --

GIROIR: Avoid crowded spaces, whether that's a bar or a house party of 100 people, you can't do it. This is a set up for spread.

MURRAY: They're also warning a vaccine will only bring life back to normal if roughly 70 percent of the population takes it. Today, Health and Human Services is unveiling its first radio ads touting the vaccines.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vaccines won't make COVID go away overnight but they give us a real chance to finally overcome it.

MURRAY: But many Americans are still hesitant.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The challenge is the acceptance on the part of various elements in our society. Minority populations, understandably, have somewhat of a skepticism.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MURRAY (on camera): Now, when it comes to vaccine distribution, obviously, the goal is to get as many authorized vaccines out to the American public as quickly as possible. And to that end, the U.S. government and Pfizer are still negotiating over the U.S. getting another 100 million doses. One of the issues that sprung up in these negotiations is Pfizer's access to raw materials.

So both sides say they are hashing that out. The U.S. wants these vaccines delivered by the second quarter. So far, as Pfizer was saying, we can only get them to you by the third quarter, but those negotiations are ongoing today.

And there's one other issue that we learned about today when it comes to the rollout of the vaccine, and this is the health care in Alaska who had a severe allergic reaction after receiving the Pfizer vaccine. That health care is now in stable condition but officials say there was no previous allergies to vaccines. The FDA is now investigating this incident.

Wolf, we should note, this is the first incident we've heard off of this in the U.S. It's been very rare. There were a couple of cases in Britain. But, of course, this is a new vaccine, so health officials are going to be investigating this.

BLITZER: Very interesting. All right, thanks very much for that, Sara.

Let's get some analysis right now from the former CDC director, Dr. Tom Frieden. You want to react to what we just heard about that, Dr. Frieden, one individual in Alaska apparently had a pretty severe reaction.

DR. TOM FRIEDEN, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: This isn't unexpected. We have seen the reports from the United Kingdom. And anytime you give lots of people anything, there is the risk of an allergic reaction. That's why it's really important that any place that is giving the vaccine is set up to deal with an allergic reaction, meaning they have an EpiPen there and referral and backup. And we need to learn with time.

But I'll tell you, Wolf, we've been saying for months that as long as we can data, the FDA approves it, and it's your turn, it's a great time to get a vaccine. But the fact is there won't be enough vaccines for most of us for months and COVID continues to surge. So at the same time, we have to go forward for vaccination but we also have to double down on protection protocols.

BLITZER: More than 3,000 Americans were recorded to have died yesterday, one day alone, from COVID.

We've got some breaking news coming in, Dr. Frieden. The vice president, Mike Pence, the second lady, the surgeon general, Dr. Jerome Adams, they will all be vaccinated at the White House publicly, on camera, this Friday, this coming Friday, day after tomorrow. How important is that to convey confidence in the vaccine, especially when 42 percent in one poll of Republicans say they wouldn't want to get vaccinated?

[18:35:01]

FRIEDEN: You want really good communication about the vaccine. You want to make sure that people are demonstrating that they are willing to take it, that they are taking it publicly. At the same time, we don't want to politicize. This is not a Democratic or a Republican vaccine. This is an anti-COVID vaccine. And the more we keep it in the sphere of science, the more we'll get more people to trust this.

And so I hope that's the way it will go going forward, that we don't have the kind of politicization that we had of masks or stay-at-home orders or other measures. It's best tool against COVID but it's not here yet for everyone. And for now, we need to roll it out as quickly as possible, especially to nursing homes and to health care workers.

And we need to be safer with masks, avoiding indoor crowds, keeping distance. All of these things are doubly important now. We don't any lives to be lost when vaccination is just a few months away. BLITZER: Yes, that's so important.

Dr. Fauci says the Moderna vaccine, the second vaccine, could follow Pfizer with emergency use authorization as early as tomorrow. This vaccine, by the way, we're told, is a little bit easier to store and to distribute. How big of a step forward would this be having a second vaccine available?

FRIEDEN: This is more great news. And just people said, well, 90, 94 percent, at the kind of numbers you're talking about, there's no idea that one is better than the other. They both look great and they both look safe and they're very similar on how they're made. And as you say, the big difference is that it's easier to ship and to store the Moderna vaccine than it is currently the Pfizer vaccine.

But to have two out there is great. Sometimes there are manufacturing problems as they ramp up production. So it's always good to have that. And, Wolf, it won't be long before AstraZeneca, J&J, Novavax and possible other companies are coming forward.

So we expect that through 2021, there will be a steadily increasing supply and variation of vaccines. The key is to get one as soon as it's your turn. And right now, it's those people's turn yet. But if you are a health care worker, if they're vaccinating in nursing homes, this is a great time to get vaccinated.

BLITZER: I can't wait. A lot of us wanted to get that vaccine as soon as possible. Dr. Tom Frieden, thank you so much for joining us.

FRIEDEN: Thank you.

BLITZER: Coming up, we're learning about a White House effort to track Senate Republicans who might actually be willing to back the president's effort to try to overturn the presidential election. I'll ask the former Republican governor of Ohio, John Kasich, about that and more. There you see him. We'll discuss when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: A source close to the White House tells CNN that President Trump's advisers are tracking Republican senators who potentially could challenge the election results saying, and I'm quoting, I think you'd be surprised by how many are willing to actually back the president's efforts.

Let's discuss with the former Ohio governor, a Republican, CNN's Senior Commentator John Kasich.

Governor, are you surprised by members of your own party who are still supporting President Trump's fight against the results of this election, certified now, approved, officially authorized by the U.S. Electoral College, 306 electoral votes for Biden, 232 for Trump? Are you surprised that some Republican senators are willing to challenge that? JOHN KASICH, CNN SENIOR COMMENTATOR: Yes. I think, Wolf, we're all kind of surprised. You've seen McConnell turn the corner though, and that's a big deal. And maybe now we're even going to get this help for the pandemic to people and to communities. I think he's about had enough of this.

My sense is that he has kind of turned the corner and what he's going to do, and what they're fishing around for is that somebody in the Senate who may sign on to this procedural move to be coordinated with somebody in the U.S. House on the 6th of January when they count the electoral votes to try to create trouble and question them. And that would force both houses into a separate discussion. I've never -- this is something I read the other day. This is not even anything that appeared in the history books. But I think McConnell is probably going to lay down the law.

Now, could a senator decide they wanted to get behind that effort? I suppose it's possible. Where is it going to go? It's going to go nowhere. And all it does is -- no, it's --

BLITZER: It's going to cause a little ruckus but in the end nothing is going to happen. 35 days from now, Biden and Harris will be sworn in as president and vice president --

KASICH: Absolutely.

BLITZER: -- of the United States.

But what do you say to Republican House leaders like the Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the minority whip, Steve Scalise, who have not yet acknowledged what is a fundamental fact that Biden is president- elect right now?

KASICH: Well, look, I think they're damaging the Republican Party clearly but they're also damaging the country, Wolf, because we've talked about this many times. we can't have a chunk of the American public saying the election was stolen, it was not legitimate.

And I'll tell you one of the effects of this that I found today in a conversation, Wolf. And that was when other countries take a look at this fighting, many of them say, we don't want to be like the United States. I mean, it can have a profound effect on the way that the world looks at us.

[18:45:02]

And they always looked at us, as Reagan used to say, as a shining city on the hill, and now, they look inside the Congress and everybody's fighting. This has a negative effect on the world's perception of us. And that's the reality of that.

One other thing, Wolf, that I think needs to be mentioned and that is, we're spending so much time focusing on Washington. You and I over the years know and have learned that real change comes from where we live to the top. And so, we need to start focusing on the local community actions that can actually unite Republicans and Democrats locally to solve a local problem.

I mean, there is a reason to be optimistic about 2021. There's a reason to be optimistic that people can understand that they can be a center of justice, that they can be a help and that when they fix (ph) -- when they are meeting a vexing problem in a community, it can bring them together and end all this fighting.

That's what I'm going to be pushing for. I have done this for years, but this is what I think our focus ought to be in 2021.

Washington? Okay, go do your stuff. But you at home, do something. Do something to make somebody else's life better.

That's how we're going to fix America and get back to the shine of this great country, that shining city on a hill.

BLITZER: All right. Governor Kasich, as usual, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it.

Just ahead, we're going live to Moscow for the latest on Clarissa Ward's exclusive investigation into the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

We'll be right back.

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[18:51:15]

BLITZER: We're following up on an exclusive CNN investigation by the investigative group Bellingcat together with CNN that uncovered evidence that Russia's security service, the FSB, formed an elite team specializing in nerve agents that followed opposition leader Alexei Navalny for years. Navalny was poisoned with the toxin Novichok in August and very, very nearly died.

Our chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward's in Moscow for us with more on the investigation.

Clarissa, I understand Putin is expected to hold his annual news conference tomorrow, but there is some official Russian reaction to your exclusive reporting that came out today. Tell us what they're saying.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's extraordinary, Wolf. It was more than 48 hours of radio silence, and I mean, not a peep, not on Russian media, not from the Kremlin, not from the FSB.

Then finally, we heard today a little something from the foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov. He said about our report, it was funny to him. He said that he had come to expect such things from the West, that it was proof of a lack of ethics, that he also thought it was in contravention of international legal norms. Not clear exactly what he meant there.

And he also said that one should not mistake Moscow's silence on this issue for any kind of an admission of guilt.

What he didn't say, though, Wolf, is the question everyone wants to know, which is, what is the Kremlin's position about this team of operatives, and what role did these operatives play in the poisoning of Alexei Navalny? That we haven't gotten an answer from. The question is will we hear it tomorrow?

Putin will be giving his national press conference. It can go anywhere from three to five hours on occasion, but the questions are curated in advance and they are heavily cherry-picked. Sadly, I will not be allowed to ask a question.

And so, we're very much hoping that our colleagues, both Russian and Western journalists, will make sure that President Putin is forced to comment on this story and on these allegations once and for all, Wolf.

BLITZER: We hope he will be, forced to answer some serious questions. Amazing reporting by you and your team, Clarissa.

The U.S. government -- what about the U.S. government reaction to your extraordinary reporting? Update us on that.

WARD: So, we did hear something, finally, from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who said that the U.S. and the White House were some of the first to call out Russia for its maligned activity, that they've demanded an investigation, that they haven't seen the results of that yet. But the reality is that the U.S. has not given a robust response to this, unlike the U.K. and the E.U., which immediately called out this as an assassination attempt, which has levied sanctions against officials in the Kremlin and in the FSB.

We haven't seen that kind of a reaction from the U.S. yet. We have heard from Congressman Mike McCaul. He came out and said, this is disturbing reporting, we need more answers, we need that investigation to take place in a meaningful and substantive way so that the U.S. can be on the right side of history.

As Alexei Navalny said, he would like to see the U.S. on the right side of history, coming down against chemical weapons and punishing those who participate in this kind of behavior, Wolf.

BLITZER: That would be really important. I suspect we're not going to hear any reaction from President Trump, but we shall see.

Clarissa, great reporting. Thank you so much for doing all this amazing work for us.

And we'll have more news right after this.

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[18:59:16]

BLITZER: Finally tonight, we share more stories of people who died from the coronavirus. Leonard Curraro of New York was six years old, a beloved husband, a

father who loved nothing more than spending time with his five grandchildren. His son, Anthony, calls him his best friend and says his father always brought the best out in everyone.

Carl Copeland of Texas died on his 91st birthday. He was a U.S. Army and Navy veteran, the father of two children, four grandchildren, and four great grandchildren. Carl was a huge Tony Bennett fan, loved to sing karaoke, especially his favorite song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."

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. Tweet the show @CNNSitRoom.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.