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Erin Burnett Outfront

Biden: We're At War With Virus, Not With One Another; Trump Calls Into PA GOP Event To Rant About Overturning Election Results; U.S. Tops 2,000 COVID Deaths Today; Denver Mayor Issues Apology After Traveling For Thanksgiving; Trump Pardons Ex-National Security Adviser Flynn Who Pleaded Guilty To Lying To FBI; GOP Outspending Dems In Critical Senate Runoff. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired November 25, 2020 - 19:00   ET

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

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: I'm Jim Acosta. Thanks very much for watching.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now and have a Happy Thanksgiving. Stay safe.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, two different leaders on display as the country heads into Thanksgiving. President-elect Biden pleading for the country to come together as President Trump goes off on the election making new baseless claims that he won.

Plus, coronavirus numbers surging tonight. Deaths and hospitalizations hitting alarming highs as many Americans ignore warnings and travel.

And President Trump announcing a full pardon for Michael Flynn, his former National Security Adviser who admitted lying to the FBI about contacts with Russia. So who's next? Let's go OUTFRONT.

Good evening, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan in for Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, the most clear contrast yet of who these men are, the outgoing president and the incoming. Tomorrow is going to be, for many, the most difficult Thanksgiving ever as the country is mourning the loss of more than 260,000 Americans to a deadly virus that is currently surging in every part of the country. And more than 88,000 Americans are sick enough with the virus to be requiring hospital care right now.

The President-elect spoke to the nation this afternoon calling for and almost pleading for unity and strength.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: We fought a nearly year long battle with a virus that has devastated this nation. It's divided us, angered us, set us against one. I know the country has grown weary of the fight, we need to remember we're at war with a virus not with one another, not with each other.

This is the moment where we need to steel our spines, redouble our efforts and recommit ourselves to the fight. Let's remember, we're all in this together. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joe Biden also saying this year's election is something all Americans, those who voted for him and those who did not, all Americans should be thankful for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: What should we give thanks for this season? Well, first, let's be thankful for democracy itself. In the middle of a pandemic, more people voted this year than have ever voted in the history of the United States of America, over 150 million people cast the ballot. Simply extraordinary.

Many waiting in line five, six, seven, eight hours to vote. If you want to know what beats deep in the heart of America, it's this, democracy. The right to determine our lives, our government and our leaders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: So that was Joe Biden today. At essentially the very same time within minutes, honestly, President Trump did not say these things. President Trump was literally phoning it in, calling into a PR stunt set up by his attorneys and Pennsylvania Republicans to continue hyping his baseless voter fraud claims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This was an election that we won easily. We wanted by a lot. This election was rigged and we can't let that happen. We can't let it happen for our country, and this election has to be turned around, because we won Pennsylvania by a lot and we won all of these swing states by a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: None of that is true. Won the swing states by a lot. None of that is true. That is his focus, as America is facing this terrible surge and a dark winter battling this virus. And that is not all, CNN is learning tonight that Trump invited those Republican lawmakers that he had dressed earlier today via speakerphone invited them to the White House tonight to meet with them.

This is, we're going to show you, some of them arriving just minutes ago. Let's get to it. Arlette Saenz is in Wilmington, Delaware. Jeremy Diamond is at the White House.

Arlette, first to you, such a clear contrast tonight between President-elect and the current President of the United States.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: There really was, Kate, and the contrast came on many fronts. You had President-elect Joe Biden talking about the coronavirus pandemic and the losses that so many people in this country have faced at a time when President Trump has not been talking about COVID-19 as cases are rising across the country. You also had Biden issuing a call for unity after a divisive election and talking about how people should be thankful for the power of democracy at a time when President Trump continues to cast doubt about the election and its results.

And so much of this speech was classic Joe Biden. He talked about the soul of the nation.

[19:05:00]

He quoted Scripture and he also talked about the personal losses that he himself has endured as he was trying to make that personal connection with people who have lost loved ones across the country during this pandemic. And Biden also even talked about how his own Thanksgiving plans being impacted.

The Biden family is foregoing their traditionally large Thanksgiving gathering and instead it's just going to be Biden and just three other family members celebrating this holiday. But what you are seeing from Biden is that his call for people to engage in collective action to combat the coronavirus and he says that you cannot become fatigued by it, because it's important to care for each other and yourselves.

BOLDUAN: Yes, Arlette.

I'm going to get over to Jeremy Diamond right now. He's at the White House. So Jeremy, we're just showing pictures of some of those Republicans from Pennsylvania arriving to the White House. This meeting in the West Wing, I mean, very clearly the latest sign that President Trump is not concerned at all about bringing the country together this Thanksgiving.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No question about it, Kate. President Trump has shown over the last three weeks that his focus, his only focus is trying to save face from this election defeat. And he believes that he can do that one of two ways, either by overturning the results of the election, which is unlikely if not impossible to do or the other next best alternative is to delegitimize this election, to delegitimize Joe Biden's victory and to delegitimize his own loss at the same time.

And he has done this in the face of Joe Biden's attempts to unify the country in the face of Republican members of Congress beginning to say it's time to move on. And he has also done this most importantly in the face of the deadliest surge of coronavirus that this country has ever seen.

And so it's so striking in moments like these when you see the President of the United States not only not saying the things that Joe Biden is saying in terms of urging Americans to take the steps, take precautions ahead of this Thanksgiving as this coronavirus pandemic and as this Thanksgiving are expected to collide, essentially, in a potentially dangerous way.

But also to hear the President of the United States not only not say those things, but instead focus on undemocratic things like trying to overturn the results of the election, which we heard the President say repeatedly over the day. And that is clearly again where his head is right now, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Explicitly saying we need to overturn this, explicitly saying that when it was on speakerphone today. Thanks. Thank you, Jeremy, for that reporting. Let's see what comes and honestly doesn't from this meeting.

Arlette, thank you as well.

OUTFRONT now former Special Adviser to President Obama, Van Jones, Laura Barron-Lopez, who's the National Political Reporter for Politico. She's covering President-elect Biden's transition. And CNN Senior Political Analyst, John Avlon. Thank you all for being here.

Van, I just want to start with the President-elect's message. What do you think of Joe Biden's message today? It was a sober one.

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Listen, that's a beautiful man, that's a beautiful human being. He's not worrying about himself. He's not complaining that his transition has been sabotaged. He's not complaining that somebody is trying to delegitamate his right. None of that. None of it.

He's focused on the American people. He's focused on bringing us together. He's focused on the pain and the fear that people are going through and he's trying to be a healer. He's standing in the breach. I mean, if you had a Hollywood movie with these two characters, you'd say, nobody could be as awful as Trump and nobody could be as good as Joe Biden, but here we are.

BOLDUAN: The contrast today is undeniable, the contrast that they drew themselves, Laura, from Joe Biden speaking to the nation and Donald Trump on speakerphone at a 'hearing PR stunt' in Pennsylvania. Really couldn't draw it any more perfectly. Let me play a little bit more from Joe Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: We don't talk much about love in our politics. The political rant is too loud, too angry, too heated. To love our neighbor as ourselves is a radical act. It is what we're called to do. We must try. For only in trying, only listening, only in seeing ourselves as bound together in what Dr. King called the mutual garment of destiny can we rise above divisions and truly heal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Laura, calling for unity is one thing and an important thing and something he has done consistently, making it happen is something else entirely. Does Biden's team have a plan to move to that?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, they're going to be leaning on certainly his experience and his history with Congress.

[19:10:03]

And having worked closely during his years in the Senate with Republicans as well as members of his own party. And Democrats in Congress are already saying that there's a clear difference between a Biden administration and the Obama administration, not that they're trying to disparage the Obama administration, but that Biden and his team are reaching out in ways that as we all know, Obama didn't to members of Congress.

With that being said, it's going to be a huge challenge for Biden, given the political atmosphere. The polarization. The fact that Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Senate, the Republican leader and Biden have not spoken to date since he's been named President-elect since he won the election is telling and a lot of Republicans are still very much wedded to Trump and are following his lead.

So Biden's team is clear, I think, so far about the obstacles that they're going to face. Progressive Democrats would probably wish that they would be willing to battle a little bit more, but Biden so far is saying that he thinks he's going to be able to work with Republicans when he finally enters office.

BOLDUAN: Yet another contrast. Biden is saying that from what we've heard from the President. John, let's just show the contrast again. Let's hear the contrast yet again from Joe Biden's message to the nation today ahead of Thanksgiving and Donald Trump on speakerphone with Rudy Giuliani as he's trying to make this case in Pennsylvania of completely unfounded and baseless allegations that the election was rigged. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: In America, we have full, and fair and free elections.

TRUMP: This election was rigged.

BIDEN: And then we honor the results.

TRUMP: And this election has to be turned around.

BIDEN: The people of this nation, the laws of the land won't stand for anything else.

TRUMP: It's a disgrace that this is happening to our country. We won this election by a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: It is actually night and day, John.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. I mean, the contrast has been clear throughout the campaign. It's a reflection of their character and it's been reflected in their campaign strategies from the beginning. Biden has run as the igniter in a very divided time. Trump cannot stop to divide this country. It's all he knows how to do.

But I want to call out one specific thing, that last line of Trump you heard he say, we won this election by a lot. Let's not normalize that lie, because it is delusional. It's the political equivalent of someone standing outside and saying that the sky is green, that the moon is made out of cheese and that they're Napoleon, it's pathetic.

It shows a fundamental disrespect for facts and reality and frankly his supporters as well. It is a symptom of an unwell person and we should not normalize it because it's just Trump lying trying to overturn the election as he is want to do. No, he's delusional. And people who follow him are being sucked into a vortex by someone who's struggling with his own soul, apparently.

BOLDUAN: And Van, can we also just call it what it is? I mean, the President, really he just wants to keep raising money for his post White House life and that is what he is doing off of these legal challenges, the campaign has sent at least I think the last count was 345 emails, fundraising appeals, with fundraising appeals to supporters. That's since election night, so that's what this is.

JONES: Well, that's certainly a part of it continuing to make money off of his backers, his followers, and his supporters and lying to them saying, I need your money because we got to fight this thing. And then you read in the fine print the vast majority of money doesn't go to any of these bogus legal challenges. It just goes to pay off his campaign debt.

And what you may be seeing is a model now for Trump going forward. Just continue to whip up his supporters, fleece them, sucker them out of money and try to make it impossible for Joe Biden to govern. That is one thing for sure, not America first.

This guy came on the scene. He said that the political elite had sold the country down the river. They were putting other countries first. He was going to put America first. Where is that guy now? This is putting Trump first this. He's become, I think probably as president and beyond, one of the biggest risk factors to American stability and prosperity is the sitting President of the United States.

BOLDUAN: And John, talk about the contrast continued. I mean, Donald Trump is trying to fight the results of the election and overturn the results of the election.

AVLON: Yes.

BOLDUAN: And Biden is saying that the transition so far is moving along and the outreach from the Trump administration so far has been sincere is how he's put it. So this is all just moves on without Donald Trump.

AVLON: Well, and not just a question of I think Biden seeking goodwill.

[19:15:03]

This is one of the things that folks don't often focus on. While the President is causing maximum chaos and disruption, there is a cadre of folks in the White House, it's not all, there are the sycophants for sure. But there's a group of folks who really do try to serve this country as best they can, knowing that the President is Captain Chaos and they are committed to a peaceful transfer of power. Because they're actually motivated by the country, not by some cult personality support of Donald Trump.

And that, I think, is what you're seeing, that division inside the administration where people who are trying to do good jobs for their country in difficult circumstances are trying to hand it off, while the President is trying to blow up the democracy to elevate his own self.

BOLDUAN: Thank you all very much. I'm glad we're ending on an uplifting tone in this moment. It's good to see you, though, thank you so much.

OUTFRONT for us next, President-elect Biden urging people to hang on and take precautions as a vaccine is on the way, but there are some very alarming signs across the country right now.

Plus, we do have breaking news, President Trump granting a pardon for his former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Is this just the beginning of presidential pardons?

And hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on the two Senate runoffs in Georgia. Will money be the deciding factor? I'm going to talk to candidate John Ossoff. He's our guest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:19:58]

BOLDUAN: Breaking news, more than 2,000 Americans lost to the coronavirus today alone. That number already approaching yesterday's death toll which was the deadliest that we've seen since early May. It also comes as the U.S. reports 15 straight days of record hospitalizations.

As we see these troubling numbers, President-elect Joe Biden is delivering this optimistic message. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I'm hoping the news of the vaccine will serve as an incentive to every American to take these simple steps to get control of the virus. There's real hope, tangible hope, so hang on. Don't let yourself surrender to the fatigue, which I understand it is real fatigue. I know we can and we will beat this virus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: OUTFRONT now Dr. William Schaffner, he's former CDC official and Professor of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University. And Dr. Jonathan Reiner, he has advised the White House medical team under President George W. Bush and so much more. Dr. Reiner, it's good to see you, Dr. Schaffner, it's good to see you as well.

Again, Dr. Reiner, Joe Biden's focus today in talking about COVID fatigue talking about hanging in there. It is very important message, but what kind of impact does it have this many months in when the message has not been that from President Trump? JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Oh, I think it has a huge

impact. I thought it was basically a hurricane of fresh air. We're finally hearing a consistent message from our incoming leadership about what we need to do to stay safe. But even more I really was inspired by his by his words.

It's been a long time since we've had leadership that has seemed to pull the country together. President Theodore Roosevelt once said that no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care. And now during this transition, the American people are starting really to get a sense that I think the incoming president really does care.

And his message of holding on because help is on the way is a very hopeful message and all the docs that I know share that same hopeful message. We have a tough couple of months coming, but there is true light at the end of the tunnel. So I really appreciated his message today.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And Dr. Schaffner, the hope is out there, there is light at the end of the tunnel, but the numbers are grim right now in the United States, 15 straight days of record hospitalizations and today is set to become one of the deadliest since early May. Yet the TSA says millions of people are flying and it's breaking that kind of a record how many people are taking to the skies? How bad do you think it is going to get when you see this happening around Thanksgiving?

DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR, INFECTIOUS DISEASE DIVISION, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: Shucks, Kate, you gave Dr. Reiner all the good news and you give Bill the bad news. Well, it is kind of serious news here. With all of those people traveling and then at their destinations spending a lot of time indoors in a warm family relationship with extended families, the virus is going to attend some of those Thanksgiving dinners and will spread, I'm afraid.

And then people will come home. Some of them will become ill, spread it further into their families and into their neighborhoods. And in a week, more likely two weeks, we will see a surge upon a surge and illness and then Dr. Reiner will see more people in his emergency room. We'll have to admit them to our hospitals.

I think we're in for a tough time before we get to that light at the end of the tunnel.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And Dr. Reiner, a lot of people are making tough choices because of this. And then there's this, the Mayor of Denver, we found out, Denver, Colorado, Michael Hancock. He's apologizing tonight, Dr. Reiner after flying today for Thanksgiving to join his wife and daughter in Mississippi. He did that after urging all Denver residents to essentially do exactly the opposite.

We're showing a tweet of what he sent out this morning. He then had to send out a tweet just moments ago saying this in part that I apologize to the residents of Denver and I humbly ask you to forgive decisions that are born of my heart and not my head.

I mean, going to the airport and flying when he's telling people to not travel for Thanksgiving, all of the residents of Denver, this is the opposite of practicing what you preach.

REINER: Yes. And it actually makes me angry because behavior has consequences. And tonight and tomorrow, so on Thanksgiving, when people are sitting down with people they really love and care about to celebrate this national holiday, millions of Americans will be working in hospitals.

[19:25:09]

Hospitals that are just being slammed. And the kind of behavior that the Mayor of Denver demonstrated is going to propagate this virus. What we need from our leaders is our examples of selfless behavior, not self-ish behavior and I think the mayor of Denver was incredibly selfish, everyone would like to travel, but it's just not safe, so shame on him.

BOLDUAN: Dr. Schaffner, the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota now said is bringing staff in from out of state to help deal with the surge there. One top doc there saying that they had about 1,400 of their staff who were out either with COVID or COVID restrictions and they're having to bring in nurses and other staff from Arizona and Florida to try to fill in the gaps. And I'm left wondering what this means, because this isn't just a shortage in Minnesota that we're looking at, because every state across the country is facing a surge right now at the very same time.

SCHAFFNER: Yes. That's certainly true, Kate. We're borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. We're all going to be in this soup, if you will, quite soon I think. Our own hospitals here are not quite that stretched yet, but we can see it coming, so we're preparing for that. And this is an issue where if we all got together, wore the masks, and did the social distancing, we could bend this curve within two or three weeks, we would see actually transmission go down, even before we get to the vaccines.

And one of the things I'm a little bit concerned of is that these vaccines are so attractive, that perhaps some people will just lay back and say, oh, I don't have to do these things anymore, because the vaccine is just around the corner. Of course, it will take us months to vaccinate so many millions of people. So we'll all have to do these things for the foreseeable future together for ourselves, but also for each other. We need to come together on this.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Thank you both very much. Thank you. I appreciate it.

All right. Tonight, another 778,000 Americans filed for first time unemployment benefits last week. That is what we have learned. This is the first time they file for first time unemployment benefits just last week, this is the first time since July the jobless claims have risen for the second time for the second week in a row and that rise is coming at the worst time as we start the holiday season.

Tonight, Los Angeles County is shutting down even outdoor dining due to the surge of coronavirus cases there. The move throwing more uncertainty at restaurants and their employees again at the worst time. OUTFRONT with me now, one of those owners, Tom Sopit. He's the owner

of the restaurant Employees Only. His story is one that we've been following on this show throughout the pandemic. Thank you, Tom, for the time. These new restrictions, how much of a blow will this deal to your business.

TOM SOPIT, CO-OWNER, EMPLOYEES ONLY: This is going to absolutely devastate and decimate our industry. We can't keep taking on these blows, especially with no federal relief or aid from anybody else. We've pivoted so many times and spent so much money on all of these pivots that this just can't keep going on without help.

BOLDUAN: You've already been through the wringer. I mean, the initial shutdown in the spring that hit everybody, every restaurant, then the fight to get relief funds and then refocusing on outdoor dining. We can see it behind you, that's been your focus and then you have this. Now you've spent 10s of thousands of dollars to make this work as you call you keep pivoting.

If this goes on for three weeks or longer, quite frankly, do you think you'll be in a place where you can keep pivoting or do you think you'll be in a place where you might be forced to give up?

SOPIT: Well, we're gonna try to pivot and create a Weho night market where we can support a bunch of local chefs and shops. But even with takeout, the money is just not there. It's not enough to cover all our expenses. We want to try to keep people employed for the holidays, but L.A. County is just putting us in a really tough position.

People want to go out, outdoor parks and beaches are still open, go karts are still open.

But for whatever reason, outdoor dining can't be open.

[19:30:02]

But you can gather at home privately with 15 people, but you can't come outside to a restaurant. And there's no rhyme or rhythm on why they're making this decision. So we just need a little more transparency with our local officials.

BOLDUAN: And even short of transparency or even getting help, you hit on something that I think is important not to miss here. It's not just coming at you again, another round of having to figure out what to do when you're going to get really hit. You're going to get killed again. But happening to you and all of your employees right as you're heading into Thanksgiving.

What are you hearing -- what is this like for you and your employees?

SOPIT: It's difficult. Some of my employees are still behind on rent. Some of them are living paycheck to paycheck. And again, there's no federal relief. The Senate is on vacation.

So every time they close us down, they need to make sure there's relief to help aid us through this time, because we can't keep taking on this burden. In a few weeks, many more restaurants will close down permanently. We're just hoping to not be one of them.

BOLDUAN: That's the disconnect, the burden that you bear on the ground and do leaders in Washington even come close to understand what you're up against as they continue to not bring federal relief when they know they need to.

Tom, thank you very much. Good luck.

SOPIT: You're welcome.

BOLDUAN: OUTFRONT for us next, we have breaking news, President Trump pardons the admitted -- pardons his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who has admitted lying to the FBI. Why the pardon and who is next?

And high stakes in Georgia for two U.S. Senate seats. Republicans outspending Democrats big time, but does that matter? Candidate Jon Ossoff is OUTFRONT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:36:02]

BOLDUAN: And breaking news, President Trump has pardoned his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, the president tweeting that out in a statement just tonight, just a little while ago. Here is what he said in part.

It is my great honor to announce that General Michael Flynn has been granted a full pardon. He also added, I know you will now have a truly fantastic Thanksgiving.

This brings to an end the long and drawn-out legal battle for Flynn over his contacts with Russians and later lying about it.

Jessica Schneider is OUTFRONT with much more on this.

Jessica, his case has been stuck in legal limbo. And now, it's very clearly over.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Very much over, Kate. This pardon for Flynn, it abruptly ends what has been a three-year legal saga. Up until this afternoon, it was a federal judge in Washington still deciding whether to drop the case as the DOJ had asked or to sentence Flynn. And that's because in May, the Justice Department suddenly changed course saying they were dropping Flynn's charges even though he had twice admitted to lying.

And it was Judge Emmet Sullivan here in D.C. who stepped in. He was second-guessing whether DOJ could even do that since Flynn previously pleaded guilty.

And tonight, we're told that the DOJ was not consulted about Trump's plans for a pardon, though they were given a heads up today we're told. And a Justice Department official put it this way when we asked. They

said they would have preferred the matter to be resolved in court since they thought they would be successful getting the case dropped. But, ultimately, they say this was an appropriate use of the president's power.

And interestingly, two hours before Michael Flynn was pardoned, he tweeted this. It was a reference to the bible passage Jeremiah 1:19. The passage says in part: They will fight against you but will not overcome you.

Now, Flynn actually also just tweeted, #fightlikeaflynn in a statement where his family actually thanked the president. So, Kate, Michael Flynn likely feeling completely vindicated now that he's been sheltered from any prison time by the president. But importantly, there are some questions about whether Flynn could face additional charges under the Biden administration since we know, Kate, that Flynn had also admitted to lying about his lobbying work for Turkey.

So, we'll see what happens with the next president, Kate.

BOLDUAN: And so it continues. Thanks, Jessica. I really appreciate it.

All right. OUTFRONT for us now, Nick Akerman, who served as assistant special prosecutor during Watergate, and Anne Milgram, a former federal prosecutor and former New Jersey attorney general.

Anne, this was somewhat expected. But what was your reaction?

ANNE MILGRAM, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It was expected. I mean, I think most of us were of the view that this would happen. And the reason why is that even though the federal judge hasn't yet ruled on the Department of Justice's motion to dismiss the case against Michael Flynn. It's clear on January 20th, there will be a new attorney general. And so, if the judge hadn't ruled, then it's very possible that the Department of Justice would reverse course, the would reinstate the case and that Michael Flynn would have gone to prison.

And so, it was very clear that the president has been trying all along through Bill Barr to get rid of this case. And so, it was expected. It's still, Kate, disappointing.

Michael Flynn pled guilty in court twice. He stood up, raised his right hand under oath and basically said he lied to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Then we watched the whole Department of Justice go through what I think was a very political effort to get the case dismissed.

So, it's very expected. It's consistent with what we've seen the president do. But, nevertheless, I think it is disappointing.

BOLDUAN: Nick, you're one of a group of prosecutors who had been pushing the judge in this case to not throw it out. I mean, what do you think of this?

NICK AKERMAN, FORMER ASSISTANT SPECIAL WATERGATE PROSECUTOR: Well, I think you have to look at the big picture here. The big picture is that this is part of the continuing cover-up of Donald Trump's efforts to conceal what happened between his campaign in 2016 with the Russian government. It started with Jim Comey, his firing because he refused to basically give an oath of loyalty to Donald Trump.

[19:40:03]

It continued when Robert Mueller was appointed, the continuing threats of firing Mueller and his staff. It continued with Roger Stone who was-- his sentence was commuted.

If you come down and look at it, the really -- other than Donald Trump, there were three key people that dealt with Russia during the campaign and were knowledgeable about the campaign's situation with the Russian government. That was General Flynn, it was Roger Stone and it was Paul Manafort.

Roger Stone's sentence for 40 months has been commuted. Paul Manafort somehow is now serving his sentence at home as opposed to in a federal prison. I guarantee you he's next on deck.

What we're watching now is essentially the last chapter in "The Godfather" where the mob boss goes out and makes sure he's buttoned down the hatches and everybody is on board. He's making sure that all of these people are going to be loyal to him. They're not going to rat him out and they're not going to reveal what occurred between the campaign and the Russian government.

That's what's going on here. That's what this is part of. It's part of a much bigger scheme that's been going on since 2016.

BURNETT: And, look, I mean, Anne, the way Nick lays it out, I wonder, like, who is left to pardon at this point? I mean, we know that Donald Trump had once turned on Michael Flynn when he fired him, saying he had to fire him because he lied. Of course, it came out in a tweet. No surprise. He said he fired him because he had lied to the vice president and lied to the FBI, is what the president said.

And now, we see how this turns around, after a clear PR campaign that played out on Fox News by Flynn's attorney who is Sydney Powell, the same Sidney Powell that the Trump campaign ousted from his legal team, which it's amazing how these circles run. So, with all of that and the way Nick lays it out, who's next? Who is left on the list?

MILGRAM: So, I agree with Nick completely that Paul Manafort I think will be pardoned. He's serving a sentence. The president could commute his sentence or he could give him a full pardon.

I think there will be many others, though, Kate. And, you know, thinking about -- I think Nick is right that there's all these individuals who were convicted related to the election interference, Russians -- the investigation into whether or not Russia had interfered with the election. So, that's one group of folks.

But there are other folks that I would expect the president may look to pardon. There's -- his longtime associate, Elliott Broidy, who is a huge fund-raiser for him. There's reporting about Jared Kushner's father who was convicted in the district of New Jersey. And so, I think we'll see a lot more pardons in days to come.

BOLDUAN: So, stand by to stand by.

It's good to see you both, though. Thank you very much.

OUTFRONT for us next, control of the Senate will be determined by two runoff races in Georgia. So, what is the state of the race tonight?

Candidate Jon Ossoff is here.

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[19:47:02]

BOLDUAN: Tonight, more than $287 million in ads are flooding the airwaves in Georgia, and there are still weeks left before the crucial runoff Senate election in that state. So, who knows how much more is going to go there?

Republicans are spending about $60 million more than Democrats on ad spending right now. These two Senate races in Georgia will decide who controls the Senate as Joe Biden is heading into office. That's why they are so critical.

OUTFRONT now, one of the candidates running, Democratic Senate candidate Jon Ossoff. He's challenging the incumbent, Senator David Perdue.

Thank you for being here.

In the first round, you will know, but to remind our viewers, in the first round of voting, Perdue ended up with about 88,000 more votes than you. When you see that Republicans are outspending your party on ads by $60 million right now, how much does that concern you?

JON OSSOFF (D), GEORGIA CANDIDATE FACING U.S. SENATE RUNOFF: It doesn't concern me. And yes, it was the closest Senate race in the country, but what we have in Georgia is a huge advantage in our ground game. The work that has been done over the last ten years to register voters and build infrastructure, and organizing capacity, volunteer recruitment, we are putting all of that to work with a profound determination to win because the stakes are so high.

And families here in Georgia, like families across the country, are about to celebrate Thanksgiving with empty seats at the table, without extended family, having gone through tragedy this year, in economic distress, and our ability to respond to this pandemic and to invest in economic recovery and get financial relief to people depends upon victory here.

So we are determined to win, and we are going to outhustle the other side on the ground to make it happen.

BOLDUAN: This is set to be one of the most expensive Senate races probably ever.

I mean, the reason I bring that up is because, after losing another very expensive Senate race, Jamie Harrison, who's a Democrat who ran against Lindsey Graham in South Carolina, he was asked this week what he learned from his loss in South Carolina that could actually help you guys in Georgia.

Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAIME HARRISON (D), FORMER CANDIDATE FOR SENATE: The one thing is, you've got to punch back and you've got to punch back hard. You can't allow them to define who you are. You have to help define who they are.

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BOLDUAN: Speaking there to John Berman.

Do you think that you've done that? Do you think that you need to go more negative?

OSSOFF: Well, I think we've made clear to the people of Georgia that David Perdue is a crook who has abused his office to enrich himself, but it's not enough just to expose David Perdue. We also have to present a positive vision at a moment of suffering when people are looking for direction and leadership. The country is crying out for healing after four years of division and hatred. We're looking at these cases spike now in this third wave.

[19:50:01]

The death toll is mounting. We have to chart the course out of this crisis and into the next era in our country's history. So in the short term, that's empowering the medical experts and getting financial relief to people.

Then it also means expanding civil rights and voting rights, and establishing health care as a human right for all Americans. Expanding investment and clean energy, so that we can invest in the long-term economic recovery and solve the climate crisis.

There is important work to be done, we have to inspire people, not just make them afraid. We have to fill people with hope. We have to energize them to get out to the polls because we present a vision of what is possible in the next era and American history, now that this Trump nightmare is receding.

BOLDUAN: You mentioned Trump, the Republican secretary of state in Georgia, he put an op-ed today in "USA Today", condemning President Trump's false claims of widespread voter fraud in Georgia.

And he writes, let me read in part: By all accounts, Georgia had a wildly successful and smooth election. This should be something for Georgians to celebrate, whether they favored presidential candidate won or lost. For those wondering, mine lost. My family voted for him, donated to him, and are now being thrown under the bus by him.

So, knowing that, Raffensperger is likely not going to vote for you, I'm assume -- I'm just making a assumption. But do you find yourself in a position of supporting the secretary of state as the other Republican candidates have called for him to resign?

OSSOFF: Well, I think he's shown some admiral spine. I think that the state of Georgia has a long way to go to ensure that true access to the ballot is real for every eligible voter here.

We still had voters, waiting in unacceptable lines. There are still obstacles, to free exercise of the franchise.

But the bottom line here is this, Perdue and Loeffler are attacking Raffensperger, basically because they're upset he let too many Democrats vote. They wanted the apparatus of voter suppression to keep the lid on the pot. But the will of the people boiled over because there is such demand for change.

And now, again, to your earlier question, it's about inspiring people to get back out there, and I need help to do that.

(CROSSTALK)

OSSOFF: Go ahead.

BOLDUAN: I was going to say, and that is the huge challenge, right? Getting them not only to come out once, but that is the big challenge a runoff to get them to come out again. And that's why the fight continues for you.

Jon Ossoff, thank you for coming on. I really appreciate it. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

We have invited Senator Perdue as we've been discussing. We have invited them on OUTFRONT. He has so far not responded. He is welcome to come on to speak with me and us, anytime.

OUTFRONT next, the prep school field trip that takes students behind bars.

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BOLDUAN: Tonight, an unlikely experiment, a prison and a prep school brought together informing lasting bonds over literature. That is the focus of this Sunday's season premiere of "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING".

Here's a preview.

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LISA LING, CNN HOST, "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING": How are you guys feeling? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're inside.

LING: Guiding Hudson and the other students through security gates is the boys' English and theology teacher, Jim Nicolette (ph).

Do you talk much with the boys are about to embark on, before they go in?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it's tricky, because I don't want to give away too much, we want to be a surprise, we wanted to be a healthy shock. Geography matters, getting kids out of the community matters. Don't let school get in the way of your education, there's a lot of good stuff to see out there.

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BOLDUAN: OUTFRONT now is the host of "THIS IS LIFE", Lisa Ling.

It's great to see you again, Lisa. You get so many pitches and ideas coming your way, I'm always curious, why did you want to tell this story? What drew you to it?

LING: Well, thanks for having me on, Kate. So, this is a interesting program. It's an elective course at the Palma School, which is an elite Catholic boy school in Salinas, California, and for eight weeks during the year, a group of boys go into the CTF prison in Soledad, which houses the most lifers than any other prison in the state of California and they re-literature.

And what happens during the course of those eight weeks is incredibly transformative, and you would think that the impact will beef out greatest by. Because this group of men in the reading program are so candid about their crimes, about their past, they're so remorseful about the things they have done, but also recognize trauma that they experienced it paved the kind of limited for their lives. Because they are so candid with the young men, it gave the boys license to then talk about things that may have never have shared their closest friends and family members.

I remember hearing some of the boys say, wow, I knew 18, for example, since I was a little kid, and I never knew that his dad had a less and passed away. It just invited these boys to actually be able to communicate and express their feelings. It was just a remarkable experience.

And I knew I had to tell this story. When I found out about something that the group of inmates did a couple of years ago, after reading the novel "Through the Valley of the Kwai", a group of inmates started a scholarship fund to raise money for a young man to attend Palma School, which is expensive, again, Catholic boys school.

Over the course of a couple of years, they raised about $30, 000, so there is a young man who graduated last year, whose education was almost entirely paid for by a bunch of prison inmates at CTF.

BOLDUAN: It's fascinating -- and you're approach, that's why love digging in, because your approach is so fascinating all of the time. And I really -- I just love -- and God love that professor that, teacher who says don't let school get in the way of your education. It's just awesome. You take us inside these amazing sections of the world around, us and I just love thank you so much, Lisa.

And this is part one -- it's actually a back-to-back episodes on Sunday. So, we've got even more to come.

Lisa, thank you so much.

LING: Yes, thank you.

BOLDUAN: And don't miss the premiere of the new season of "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING" on Sunday, Sunday night 9:00 p.m., back-to-back episodes.

Thanks all for joining me.

"AC360" starts now.