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The Situation Room

Interview With Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT); Trump Attacks Stone Trial Juror And Judge; Rivals Poised To Attack Frontrunner Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) In Democratic Debate; U.S. Health Officials Warn Of Coronavirus Pandemic, Sending Stocks Plunging For Second Day In A Row. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired February 25, 2020 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Roger Stone's jury. The judge overseeing the case against President Trump's longtime friend calls back 11 jurors, as she weighs whether to grant him a new trial over allegations of juror misconduct. And she criticizes President Trump's attacks on the jury forewoman.

Debate down South. The Democratic White House hopefuls face off tonight in Charleston, where front-runner Bernie Sanders is facing attack from all sides.

And not if, but when. U.S. health officials now warn of a likely coronavirus pandemic that they expect to spread right here in the United States, disrupting daily life for millions of Americans.

We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

With U.S. intelligence now showing that Russia is once again working to interfere in the 2020 election, the president now says he doesn't want help from any country to win reelection, even though in the past he has publicly solicited that kind of help.

We're also following breaking news right now, a twist tonight in the Roger Stone case. Some members of the jury that convicted the president's longtime ally are now testifying, as Stone's lawyers seek a new trial alleging jury bias. That comes after the judge criticized the president for his Twitter attack on the forewoman.

We will talk about that and more with Senator Jon Tester. And our correspondents and analysts are also standing by.

First, let's go to our chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta. He's been traveling with the president in India.

Jim, the president says reports that Russia is supporting his reelection are highly exaggerated.

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

President Trump told CNN earlier in the day that he doesn't want help from any country in the upcoming election. But that has not always been the case. He has asked for foreign assistance in the past. The president was not just dancing around the Russia question, though. He also predicting the coronavirus will be going away soon, even as the stock market is reeling amid worries this virus remains a global threat.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): After being impeached over accusations he pressured Ukraine to investigate a 2020 election rival, President Trump now claims he doesn't want any outside help.

(on camera): Can you pledge to the American people that you will not accept any foreign assistance in the upcoming election?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want no help from any country, and I haven't been given help from any country.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Pressed in a news conference in India about a recent intelligence briefing to lawmakers indicating Russia has shown some preference to both Mr. Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders, the president blasted leaks from the House Intelligence Committee.

TRUMP: So I think it's terrible. They ought to stop the leaking from the Intelligence Committee. And if they don't stop it, I can't imagine that people are not going to go after them and find out what's happening.

ACOSTA: Still, the president's comments were something of a shift from his past calls for foreign help, from last year, when he asked Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden.

TRUMP: They should investigate the Bidens. By the way, likewise, China should start an investigation into the Bidens.

ACOSTA: To the 2016 campaign.

TRUMP: Russia if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing.

ACOSTA: The president also weighed in on the departure of acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, who abruptly left his post after Mr. Trump learned of that Russia briefing.

(on camera): Was he was forced out because he wasn't sufficiently loyal to you?

TRUMP: No, not at all. Not at all. He was pushed out because, frankly -- he wasn't pushed out. He would have had to get out. On March 11, he would have had to leave.

ACOSTA (voice-over): But the president did admit the White House is carrying out a purge of administration staffers who are viewed as disloyal.

TRUMP: I don't think it's a big problem. I don't think it's very many people. We want to have people that are good for the country, are loyal to our country, because that was a disgraceful situation.

ACOSTA: Earlier in the day, the president tried to assure business leaders his administration has a handle on the fast-spreading and lethal coronavirus, as the global health scare is rattling financial markets.

Sources say, behind the scenes, the president has been ripping into administration officials over how they're handling the spread of the virus.

TRUMP: It looks like they're getting it under control more and more. They're getting it more and more under control. So I think that's a problem that's going to go away.

ACOSTA: That's not how Democrats see it.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): The administration has no plan to deal with the coronavirus, no plan, and seemingly no urgency to develop one.

ACOSTA: The president even spent some time lashing out at Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, saying they should recuse themselves from cases that could impact his agenda.

Last week, Sotomayor criticized the administration for repeatedly asking the high court to allow his policies to go into effect, writing: "I fear that this disparity in treatment erodes the fair and balanced decision-making process that this court must strive to protect."

[18:05:01]

TRUMP: I just don't know how they cannot recuse themselves for anything having to do with Trump or Trump-related. Her statement was so inappropriate.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Now, the president said he's down to a handful of candidates for a permanent DNI to run the intelligence community.

Mr. Trump told us that person will have experience in the intelligence field. Mr. Trump's current acting DNI, Ric Grenell, who was quickly installed last week, as we know, has come under some criticism for not having that intelligence experience -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Jim Acosta traveling with the president, thank you very much.

We're also learning new details of the president's search for a director of national intelligence, as his pick for acting director faces new criticism.

Let's go to our Senior National Correspondent, Alex Marquardt. He has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TRUMP: They were all saying, could you do it?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): President Trump claiming today that the short list for the country's top intelligence job includes five respected candidates.

TRUMP: I will make a decision probably over the next week to two weeks. We have some very good people.

MARQUARDT: Sources tell CNN that, in the search for someone to nominate as director of national intelligence, President Trump is evaluating loyalty, someone who would back his agenda.

In the running is Pete Hoekstra, the ambassador to the Netherlands. He had been chairman of the House Intelligence Committee 13 years ago. Back on the list is Congressman John Ratcliffe, who withdrew last summer after his resume was found to have been exaggerated.

REP. JIM HIMES (D-CT): John Ratcliffe actually could probably name the 17 intelligence agencies. I'm pretty sure Ric Grenell could not.

MARQUARDT: Ric Grenell, the current ambassador to Germany, was installed as a placeholder acting director by the president, a fierce Trump loyalist with zero intelligence experience, taking the place of Joseph Maguire, a retired Navy SEAL and admiral, who Trump could have kept as his nominee to head the intelligence community.

SCHUMER: Any objective person will know President Trump brings our nation closer and closer and closer to a banana republic, a government not of laws, but of one man.

MARQUARDT: Grenell isn't yet a week into the job, but questions are already being asked about past consulting work for clients in China, Iran and elsewhere, which could violate lobbying laws and jeopardize his security clearance.

Whether Grenell plans to clear out people who aren't seen as loyal enough remains to be seen. Republican response to Grenell hasn't quite been exuberant. Senator Lindsey Graham argued today, the DNI job shouldn't exist at all.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I would just like to see the position go away, quite frankly. I think it's become redundant.

MARQUARDT: Grenell was brought in after Shelby Pierson, who's in charge of election security for the intelligence community, briefed lawmakers that Russia is supportive of Trump in the 2020 election.

But a senior intelligence official tells CNN, she did not say Russia is actively helping Trump. While the president is silent on the Russian threat, today, his secretary of state said he'd recently told Russia that meddling is unacceptable.

MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Should Russia or any foreign actor take steps to undermine our democratic processes, we will take action in response. MARQUARDT: A warning unlikely to deter Russia, which hasn't stopped trying to sow discord in the United States.

The goal of chaos, officials say, greater than the support for any political candidate.

DAVID PORTER, FBI FOREIGN INFLUENCE TASK FORCE: To put it simply, in this space, Russia wants to watch us tear ourselves apart.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT: And, Wolf, on that front, all this turmoil at the top of the intelligence community really is not helping.

And, today, we finally heard from the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who will be key in getting any pick of the president's confirmed by the Senate.

Now, in the meantime, Richard Burr says that Ric Grenell does have his support and that he's comfortable with Grenell in that role temporarily -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Key word, temporary.

All right, thanks very much, Alex Marquardt, reporting for us.

Let's get some more on all of this.

Joining me now, Democratic Senator Jon Tester of Montana.

Senator, thanks so much for joining us.

SEN. JON TESTER (D-MT): It is great to be here.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: All right, so you heard the president say today in his news conference in India he doesn't want help from any foreign country in the upcoming election.

Is that strong enough, do you believe, to stop Russia from interfering?

TESTER: No. No.

I think you -- look, he's been all over the board on this. He's asked countries to help him. The whole impeachment trial was over this.

The bottom line is, is that we need to have policies in place that make sure that our elections are fair and make sure that Russia cannot -- cannot come in and disrupt them.

There are probably 15, 20 bills sitting in the Senate, bipartisan bills, that Mitch McConnell could bring to the Senate tomorrow.

BLITZER: Why doesn't he? TESTER: I have no idea. I have no idea. It makes no sense to me whatsoever.

BLITZER: Just allow a debate and a vote.

TESTER: Exactly right.

And if we got to be on a Saturday or a Sunday or a Friday, I'm OK with that. Elections are foundational to this democracy. And Russia's got to be dancing in the streets, because there's so many different messages are sent out.

The president a few months ago said he didn't trust our intelligence, but trusted Putin. And that's just not acceptable.

[18:10:01]

Now we have got somebody who briefs the senators on what's going on in the intel community as far as election security, and the president cans him, cans Maguire, and then replaced with somebody who has no experience at all in the intel community.

This is serious business, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, this is --

TESTER: And the country's on the line here.

BLITZER: This is national security, and the nature of, the integrity of the upcoming election is on the line.

So do you have confidence that, based on what you're hearing now from the president, based on what you heard the other day from his national security adviser, Robert O'Brien, do you have confidence that they will take the steps to make sure the Russians don't interfere?

TESTER: I -- they need to take some -- they need to some serious, positive steps to move forward.

When we put sanctions on -- when Congress has put sanctions on Russia before, they haven't fully implemented them. I think that's another sign.

So, no, to your point, no, I don't have confidence. The administration needs to step up.

BLITZER: Because what we heard from the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, was much more forceful on this.

TESTER: Yes.

Look, you can't say, we want Russia to stay out of this. You got to make sure Russia stays out of it. And that's the bottom line.

BLITZER: Because some of your colleagues one sanctions, not only on Russian entities, but maybe on Putin himself. You saw that letter that went out yesterday.

TESTER: Yes.

I mean, look, I mean, let's give us some options to put the screws to Russia for influence in our elections. And I don't really care who it's for. The bottom line is, if we have got a foreign country that's messing around in our election system, that is not acceptable.

And we should be working, everybody should be working in a bipartisan way to stop this. This isn't about Democrats or Republicans. This is about this country.

BLITZER: Do you agree with Senator Lindsey Graham that maybe the whole job, DNI, director of national intelligence, is redundant, overseeing all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies?

TESTER: I don't. I think it's a very, very important position, and we ought to have somebody in it that is very capable and understands...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Well, do you think Congressman John Ratcliffe of Texas -- he's apparently on the president's short list.

TESTER: He wouldn't be my choice?

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: What about Pete Hoekstra, a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee?

TESTER: I don't know him at all.

But let me say this. Bring him in front of the committee. Let the committee question him. And then let's vote whether to confirm him or not. Let's not have all these acting folks, because up and down Homeland Security, they're all acting.

Let's have the votes. Let's confirm the people. Let's use the checks and balances that are in place.

BLITZER: An important point, indeed.

Senator, thanks so much for coming in.

TESTER: A pleasure. Thank you.

BLITZER: Appreciate it very much.

Just ahead: Some jurors from Roger Stone's trial take the stand, as he tries to prove bias and get a new trial.

Plus, Democratic presidential candidates, they are getting ready to pounce on the front-runner, Senator Bernie Sanders, when they debate later tonight. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:16:42]

BLITZER: We're following unusual developments in the case of longtime Trump ally Roger Stone.

Members of the jury have been called back to testify, as Stone's lawyers seek a new trial alleging jury bias.

Our Political Correspondent, Sara Murray, is joining us from outside the federal courthouse here in Washington.

What's the latest, Sara?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it was certainly a very bizarre day in court.

This hearing stretched for more than four hours, and ultimately the judge did not make a ruling today on whether she's going to allow Roger Stone to have a new trial. And there was a point in this where she essentially said, in the next room, I have 11 of the jurors from this case.

Then both sides called in a couple of these members of the jurors to testify, essentially. They answered questions about whether the forewoman in this jury tried to sway them one way or another, whether there was any outside information that was brought in during deliberations.

There was also questioning from both the judge, as well as Roger Stone's attorney, of the foreperson in this jury. She was not identified by name during the proceedings, but we know from previous reporting her name is Tomeka Hart.

And she was questioned at length by both the judge, as well as one of Roger Stone's attorneys, about her social media postings. This is the basis in part of Roger Stone's appeal for a new trial. He's alleged juror misconduct.

This ended up wrapping up pretty abruptly. But one of the things the foreperson was careful to drive home today was, she said she stands by everything she wrote and answered in her original questionnaire, that she didn't remember any specific post she made about Roger Stone.

It was certainly a very dramatic day in court, Wolf, to not even be able to see these jurors because the courtroom was shut down, but just to be able to hear them come back in and recount what it was like to sit on this jury, and to hear the foreperson essentially be grilled on her social media posts.

BLITZER: And there was more drama. The judge took direct issue with President Trump and his tweets today.

Tell our viewers what she said.

MURRAY: Absolutely.

The reason that we could only hear what was happening in court today, but couldn't see anything was happening, was because the judge was so concerned about the potential for intimidation and harassment or even harm coming to members of this jury.

And when she was talking about how politicized this case had become, she specifically called out President Trump's tweets about the foreperson. She called out Tucker Carlson at FOX News and a segment he did. She called out Infowars for their discussion about the jury.

And she used that all to determine that she was so concerned about the well-being of the jurors, that she was not going to allow their names to be used in the hearing today, she was not going to allow anyone to see their images.

And so we heard for hours only the voices of everyone who was involved in these proceedings -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Very serious developments, indeed.

Sara Murray, as usual, thanks very much.

Let's get some more of these extraordinary developments.

Joining us now, former federal prosecutor CNN Chief Legal Analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, former special impeachment counsel for the House Judiciary Committee Norm Eisen.

Guys, thanks very much for coming in.

Jeff, given what you know about Roger Stone, what do you think of these late developments that Sara's reporting?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it is really unusual, because judges are very protective of jurors. They don't want people to not show up for jury duty thinking that they're going to wind up being cross-examined and harassed publicly or even having to testify about their deliberations.

[18:20:03]

At the same time, defendants and the prosecution are entitled to a fair jury and a fair trial. So, if you have jurors who are lying in their voir dire -- that is the questioning before they are selected as jurors -- that's potentially a problem.

So that's the balance that Judge Jackson is trying to strike here, leaving the jurors alone to the extent they can, but guaranteeing a fair trial.

BLITZER: She's worried about their security too. There's no doubt about that.

TOOBIN: Absolutely. BLITZER: Shortly after the judge, Amy Berman Jackson, Norm, warned about attempts to harass or intimidate the jury, the jurors, the president tweeted this.

Let me put it up on the screen: "There has rarely been a juror so tainted as the forewoman in the Roger Stone case. She was totally biased, as is the judge."

I guess he's not taking the judges warnings to heart.

NORMAN EISEN, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL TO PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, Wolf, one of the hallmarks of this president is his disregard for the rule of law.

And this kind of behavior of attacking a jury before the hearing has been completed, before we have the evidence on what that juror has or has not done, and attacking one of the most respected judges in the country, in a way that has caused so many to come to her defense, her chief judge, over 2,000 former DOJ officials, it's just wrong.

And it's part of this pattern that we have seen of the president attacking the pillars of American rule of law and American democracy. It's outrageous. And the judge is right to speak out against it.

TOOBIN: The thing that's just outrageous about this, I actually think criticizing judges should not be off-limits.

Judges are very powerful. They have life tenure. I don't see why criticism of them, even for the president, should just be inappropriate.

BLITZER: But didn't the attorney general, Bill Barr, plead with the president, stop tweeting about all these judges?

TOOBIN: Well, but he was talking about -- yes, he did. And he also said, stop tweeting about individual cases.

But what's outrageous about this is tweeting about a juror. I mean, jurors are not public figures. They have no forum to be able to defend themselves. That to me is really beyond the pale.

BLITZER: How unusual is it to see members of the jury once again being sworn in to testify?

EISEN: Well, it's not unheard of. It is unusual.

Judge Jackson has taken every measure, Wolf, to try to make sure that it is a fair trial. I think speaking out is part of that.

The reason, Jeff, that I think these comments against this judge are so wrong, they're not grounded in fact. She's been very fair-minded. And it's part of a pattern. We have seen a president who has attacked our independent judiciary since the campaign, Wolf.

How long are we going to tolerate this? When you connect those dots, it points in a very negative direction for American democracy. So I think it's right to rise up against his abuses of the rule of law.

TOOBIN: I guess I'm thinking mostly of Supreme Court justices, who decide issues of enormous moment.

Sure, it would be better if the president took the high road, but I think they are really fair game for criticism from the president or anywhere else. They are in a position to defend themselves. They have life tenure.

BLITZER: Before the president today went after Sonia Sotomayor, the Supreme Court justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Supreme Court justice, for what they have said, what some of their dissenting opinions are.

TOOBIN: Right. And he said they should recuse themselves, which is ridiculous.

But the fact that -- is he allowed to make comments like that? I actually think he should be allowed to make comments like that. Given the power that's wielded by Supreme Court justices, even the president should be allowed to criticize them.

EISEN: Just as rule of law is the foundation of this country, it is why we are America, the rule of facts matter as well.

And there's no factual basis. And you know this. I know you agree with me, Jeff. There's no factual basis for the president to call on Justice Ginsburg or Justice Sotomayor to recuse themselves. They're not going to recuse themselves. They should not recuse themselves.

Their right to comment is the same as the president's right to comment, within reason. But what we have seen is a trampling of all these norms by this president over a period of years. It's outrageous.

And I think the people who are calling out -- calling him out on it are right on.

BLITZER: Norm Eisen just wrapped up his tenure as counsel to the House Judiciary Committee.

You were very busy. We will have you back. We will talk a little bit about that down the road.

Guys, thanks very much for coming in.

Just ahead: the Democratic presidential candidates debating tonight in South Carolina just ahead of the state's primary this coming Saturday, and expected to hit hard at the front-runner, Bernie Sanders.

Plus, U.S. health officials now warning of a likely coronavirus pandemic that will disrupt life for millions of Americans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:29:41]

BLITZER: Tonight, seven Democratic presidential candidates will debate in Charleston, South Carolina, just days before the state's primary elections.

CNN's Jessica Dean is on the scene for us right now.

Jessica, Bernie Sanders goes in as the clear front-runner right now. And his rivals, they are expected, I understand, to attack.

[18:30:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Wolf. And so the challenge for Bernie Sanders tonight is how is he going to react and respond to those attacks.

The challenge for everybody else on that stage is how do they stop or even slow Sanders' momentum.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Tonight, Senator Bernie Sanders takes the stage as the Democratic frontrunner, where he's likely to face attacks from his rivals.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What our movement is about is bringing working class people together.

DEAN: Sanders has remain steadfast in support of his record and ideas, including recent comments to 60 Minutes partially defending Fidel Castro's Cuban revolution, those comments drawing strong criticism from some Democrats.

SANDERS: We're very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba. But it's unfair to simply say everything is bad. When Fidel Castro came into office, you know what he did? He had a massive literacy program. Is that a bad thing even though Fidel Castro did it?

DEAN: Sanders did not back down from those remarks at CNN's town hall.

SANDERS: He formed a literacy brigade. You may read that. And they helped people learn to read and write. You know what, I think teaching people to read and write is a good thing.

DEAN: Former Major Pete Buttigieg fired back on Monday.

PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We should think carefully about the consequences of nominating Senator Sanders. I don't want -- as a Democrat, I don't want to be explaining why our nominee is encouraging people to look on the bright side of the Castro regime when we're going into the election of our lives.

DEAN: Sanders' opponents have also questioned how he'll pay for his proposed plans, including free college tuition.

SANDERS: So I'll tell you exactly how we pay for it. We pay for it through a rather modest tax on Wall Street speculation. That is how we pay for that.

DEAN: Sanders has said he'll pay for Medicare-for-all in part through increases in personal and payroll taxes but questions remains whether what he's outlined raises enough money to cover the $30 trillion price tag over ten years. The Biden campaign calls it, quote, incomplete back of the napkin math.

Meantime, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg is planning to use tonight's debate to go directly after Sanders and rebound following last week's shaky debate performance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Working with Mike Bloomberg was one of the most empowering experiences that I've had.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's important to talk to the people who know him personally.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I worked for him for eight years in city hall.

DEAN: Bloomberg's campaign releasing a new ad featuring women who worked for Bloomberg after Senator Elizabeth Warren hit the former mayor over his alleged past comments about women who worked for him. But Warren hasn't shown any signs she'll ease up on Bloomberg Tuesday night, releasing a new ad to run in Super Tuesday states, calling Bloomberg out for endorsing Scott Brown in her 2012 U.S. Senate race against him.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): When I ran against an incumbent Republican to take a U.S. Senate seat away from Mitch McConnell, Bloomberg endorsed the Republican and he raised big money for him, but I beat him anyway.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: The bottom line is there is a lot on the line for these candidates on the debate stage this evening. They are all trying to do their best and get as much momentum as they can going into this critical time where we have the South Carolina primary and then right into Super Tuesday, where so many delegates are at stake.

Wolf, you can expect a lot of energy, a lot of sparks on that debate stage.

BLITZER: 14 states vote on Super Tuesday one week from today. Jessica Dean, thank you very much.

Joining us now, the co-Chair of the senator's campaign, Democratic Congressman of California.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

Michael Bloomberg's senior campaign adviser, Tim O'Brien, he joined me last hour, he had some harsh words about Senator Sanders. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM O'BRIEN, SENIOR ADVISER, BLOOMBERG CAMPAIGN: I think there's a real risk for voters here because Bernie Sanders has not been fully vetted. He wasn't vetted on the debate stage prior to tonight.

Bernie Sanders has not been the sponsor of much legislation in the Senate, maybe I think seven bills, two of which got post-offices to Vermont. He still has not fully accounted for tens of trillions of dollars in social programs he wants to engineer as president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Congressman, what's your response?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): The biggest blessing to Bernie Sanders is to be attacked by Mike Bloomberg. I hope they will keep it up. I mean, the idea that Bloomberg is attacking Bernie Sanders for not being vetted when Bloomberg didn't participate in the early caucus states is the ultimate irony. And Bernie Sanders has passed a lot of bills. What has Michael Bloomberg passed? And Michael Bloomberg hasn't even served in Washington. So he is the exact wrong messenger to attack Bernie Sanders, and we see that actually our campaign benefits every time he attacks him.

BLITZER: Senator Sanders doubled down on his partial defense of Fidel Castro during last night's CNN town hall, which I assume you saw. He's likely to be pressed on those comments once again during tonight's debate. Do you want him to continue to defend that position?

[18:35:01]

KHANNA: I think here is what he's going to say. He will say, Fidel Castro is a dictator. In 1959, he engaged in mass shootings, he engaged in taking political prisoners and that is completely unjustifiable. But what he will say is that we need to return to President Obama's policy of engagement in Cuba and not Trump's reversal. And he will challenge people on the stage to say, are you with President Obama's Cuba policy or are you with Donald Trump?

BLITZER: Well, do you worry though that the senator could be alienating a large part of the Democratic Party with those views?

KHANNA: I don't, because I believe that President Obama's policy is very popular. I believe if you run on President Obama's policy, you can win Florida. Florida is changing. The demographics are changing. A lot of the younger generation wants engagement with Cuba, and I think it's a winning message.

BLITZER: I want you to listen to your Democratic colleague from Florida, Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. I assume you know her. She tweeted this, I find Senator Bernie Sanders' comments on Castro's Cuba absolutely unacceptable. The Castro regime murdered and jailed dissidence and caused unspeakable harm to too many South Florida families. And, clearly, she is not alone in that view, as you know, Congressman.

KHANNA: Well, look, I respect her and I would say that we agree. Senator Sanders agrees that Castro engaged in mass shootings and human rights violations. But what I would ask her is does she support President Obama's policy, which was putting an embassy in Cuba, easing some of the sanctions and embargo or does she believe that what Donald Trump is doing is right. My view is that what President Obama was doing is the majority view of the Democratic Party.

BLITZER: While I have you, Congressman, I want to turn to another important story we're following. As you probably know, the president says Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor should recuse themselves from any case involving him or the Trump administration. I wonder what your response is to his suggestion.

KHANNA: The president needs to brush up again on civics, that we have separation of powers in this country. The president acts as if he is the only one who matters. The Supreme Court is an independent branch of government with equal power and he has no right to be demanding any justice recuse themselves simply for action that's completely appropriate.

BLITZER: Congressman Ro Khanna, thanks, as usual, for joining us.

KHANNA: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Just ahead, we'll have more on the 2020 Democratic race and the fight for South Carolina. Which candidates face a make or break battle in this weekend's primary?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: Senator Bernie Sanders is the candidate to beat when the Democratic White House hopefuls debate later tonight in South Carolina. This primary is just four days away. Our Political Director, David Chalian, and our CNN Political Correspondent, Abby Phillip, they are both in Charleston for us right now.

David, the frontrunner, Bernie Sanders, he managed to emerge from the late debate largely untouched. Will he be as lucky tonight?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I highly doubt it, Wolf. Many of his opponents have previewed the attacks they're going to bring to the debate stage tonight, whether it's Michael Bloomberg saying he's bought and paid for by the NRA and sort of excavating his record on guns or Joe Biden trying to raise the notion that Sanders -- once said that Barack Obama should get a primary back in 2011-2012.

Though Sanders, of course, says he was not considering that primary challenge. And his comments about Fidel Castro, Pete Buttigieg said he doesn't want to be in a position to have to defend that if the Democratic nominee is saying praiseworthy things about Fidel Castro policies.

So you could see the previews of the attacks that are coming. And I trust that Bernie Sanders knows they are coming his way too.

BLITZER: So, Abby, voters in South Carolina, they clearly will make their picks on Saturday. As the race tightens, who is poised to do best there? ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is Joe Biden's race to lose, Wolf. I mean, he has been the frontrunner in this race for a really long time. He is the candidate, the only candidate right now in the race that has long had the support of African-American voters, who are 60 percent of the Democratic electorate here. And so he is expected to do well.

The question is how well does Bernie Sanders do if he gets a significant bump out of Nevada. The polling seems to indicate that gap is closing. And I think we also really need the pay attention to Tom Steyer here. He plays a pivotal role not just to answer the question, how well he does but if he doesn't do well, who can benefit if his support erodes in these last few days? Will it be Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders? Will it be someone who maybe -- African-American voters are taking a second look at in these final days.

What we've noticed in the polling is that a lot of voters are saying they are now undecided. It was something like 18 to 20 percent of the population. And so there clearly are a lot of people up for grabs. And I think Tom Steyer is going to play a pivotal role here. He's spent a ton of money. And if that support starts to soften, some of these other candidates could benefit.

BLITZER: David, is South Carolina make or break for some of these Democratic candidates, seven of whom will be debating later tonight? If they don't do well in South Carolina, for all practical purposes, is it over?

[18:45:00]

CHALIAN: It's a good question.

I mean, Joe Biden has said he must win here. So, he sort of set the mark at, sort of a win or bust. So, I do think that will have severe implications for him if he doesn't win here.

But, remember, Wolf, Super Tuesday is only three days after the South Carolina primary. We're a third of the delegates are at stake. So, if you've got enough money as a candidate to keep going for three more days, even if you have a disappointing result here in South Carolina, and try to pick up a win or a slew of delegates in some place on Super Tuesday, you may feel compelled to keep going.

BLITZER: Right. But, you know, Abby, to really compete on Super Tuesday, March 3rd, in 14 states, you need a lot of money to pay for the advertising.

PHILLIP: Yes, you do. So far we have seen several of the candidates announcing that they are spending, you know, in the low single digits in terms of millions of dollars on Super Tuesday. Well, by comparison, you already have Michael Bloomberg spending tens of millions of dollars. Tom Steyer, tens of millions of dollars. And so, you know, when we're talking $2 million or $3 million, that's a bit of pocket change.

So, David is right, a lot of people are going to stay in if they can make a credible argument that they can at least survive until Tuesday. Do they -- are they really viable is a real question that many of them are going to be considering one week to the morning after, because they are probably going to have to empty their accounts on Super Tuesday and if it's not going to net them 15 percent, they're not going to get any delegates out of these states.

BLITZER: It's going to be lively.

Abby Phillip and David Chalian, guys, thanks very much.

Just ahead, U.S. health officials now say they expect to see coronavirus spread here in the United States and a likely pandemic. We're going to get the latest from Dr. Anthony Fauci over at the National Institutes of Health.

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BLITZER: Tonight, public health officials say a coronavirus pandemic is likely and expect to see it spread in the United States. So, that news helping send stocks into a deep, deep dive with the Dow Jones Industrials down almost 900 points today. That's on top of yesterday's thousand-point plunge.

Let's get the latest from the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci. He's our go-to guy. He's joining us from the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Fauci, thanks so much for joining us. Thanks so much for what you and your team are doing.

As you heard today, the president says, coronavirus is, in his words, very well under control in our country while the CDC said today it expects the virus will actually spread here in the United States. So, who's right?

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Well, I think, you know, in many respects, Wolf, they're both right because what the president was referring to was that right now, with the cases that we had in this country, the 14 cases, 12 of which were travel, two of which were spouses of the travelers, as well as the people that we evacuated from the Diamond Princess ship and brought them here, that there had been no secondary and tertiary transmissions. In other words, they were identified, isolated, contact trace, and we've had no further infection. So, in that respect, it is under control.

However, that could change, and that's what the CDC was saying today because what's going on in the rest of the world recently in countries like Japan, South Korea, Iran, and other countries, we're starting to see community spread. And if you have community spread of multiple generations of infections in a variety of different countries, you have the makings of a potential pandemic. And if that occurs, we can expect to see cases in the United States that we would have to deal with. How we deal with is really going to be the crux. Will we be able to control it or will it be something that is much more widespread than we would like?

So, the idea about anticipating is not unrealistic at the same time that presently today we do have things under control. We just need to be prepared for the situation to change.

BLITZER: You've got to be prepared for the worst case. What's happening in so many other countries right now, you've got to be ready potentially for that to happen.

The CDC suggested it's not a matter of if, but it's a matter of when. Their concerned it will happen here. Are you?

FAUCI: Well, yes. The reason they're saying that, and I think it's appropriate, is that there are going to be more and more cases outside of the United States. I just mentioned some of the countries which are having community transmission. And when you do have that, invariably, there's going to be spillover in almost every country including the United States.

So, that's what I believe Dr. Messonnier meant when she said it's not a matter of if but when. We will almost certainly see more cases.

The crux and the proof in the pudding is how we deal with that. Can we deal with it in a way that can be relatively well controlled? We hope so and that's what we're preparing for.

BLITZER: The president said today that -- that you guys are very close to -- his words very close to a vaccine. How soon can a vaccine actually be developed and tested?

FAUCI: Well, we're going to be going into testing in a matter of a month and a half to two months now. And I mentioned that on the show actually sometimes.

[18:55:01]

And what happens is that when you go into a trial, it's the first step towards having a vaccine that's available for deployment widely. That first step is a matter of several months. It takes at least a year or more even under emergency circumstances to have a vaccine ready to go.

BLITZER: That's a while.

All right. Dr. Fauci, as usual, thanks so much for joining us. I suspect we'll be talking to you a lot in the coming days and weeks. Appreciate it very much. And thanks all your team for everything that they're doing.

FAUCI: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. We're going to have much more news right after.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Be sure to join CNN tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. Eastern for the second night of our Democratic presidential town hall event all live from Charleston.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.

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