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The Situation Room

Interview With Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA); Bill Barr Rebukes Trump Over Election; Congress Set To Finally Pass COVID-19 Relief Package; Moderna Vaccinations Begin; Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) Says British Airways And Delta Airlines To Test Passengers Before Entering New York State Amid COVID Variant; Biden Receives Initial Dose Of COVID-19 Vaccine; Navalny Dupes Agent Into Revealing How He Was Poisoned. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired December 21, 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]

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 multiple breaking stories, including new steps toward critical votes in Congress tonight on that huge new COVID-19 relief package. Both the House and Senate, they're expected to approve the $900 billion legislation that would provide direct $600 payments to many hard-hit Americans.

Also tonight, the first shots of Moderna's newly authorized vaccine were given here in the United States just a little while ago. And president-elect Biden just had his initial COVID vaccination. The new progress comes as the U.S. is investigating whether vaccines are effective against an alarming new variant of the virus that has been spreading rapidly in the United Kingdom.

And over at the White House, as President Trump remains fixated on false claims that he won the election, CNN has learned that some of his advisers are increasingly deeply worried right now about how far he may go to try to stay in power over these next 30 days before the inauguration, warning, "No one is sure where this is heading."

That's a quote from one adviser.

Let's go straight to CNN's Martin Savidge first, though, with more on the push to vaccinate here in the United States, and that new COVID-19 variant we're learning more about.

So, Martin, what's the latest?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, at Emory University Hospital here in Atlanta, like in the hospitals and medical facilities across the country, they are trying to vaccinate as many of their front-line health care workers as possible, because they know they face a very grim holiday season ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE (voice-over): Coronavirus chaos, Britain increasingly cut off from Europe and elsewhere after discovering a new variant of coronavirus, the crisis throwing travel and trade into a nightmare before Christmas.

Supermarkets warn of shortages of perishable goods in coming days, the prime minister urging calm.

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The government has been preparing for a long time for exactly this kind of event.

SAVIDGE: Despite travel bans by other countries, so far, the U.S. is not joining them. The assistant secretary of Health and Human Services says the variant has actually been known about for months.

ADM. BRETT GIROIR, U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: The variant that's being discussed was first identified in September. So, it's not something that just arose in the last week.

SAVIDGE: At an Operation Warp Speed briefing today, scientists downplaying alarm.

DR. MONCEF SLAOUI, CHIEF ADVISER, OPERATION WARP SPEED: I think scientifically, to date, there is no hard evidence that this virus is actually more transmissible.

SAVIDGE: And scientists are already said to be studying the new variant to see if it could evade new vaccines.

Meanwhile, a second vaccine from Moderna began joining the fight today.

ARLENE RAMIREZ, NURSE, ISLAND JEWISH VALLEY STREAM HOSPITAL: This vaccine is hope. It's hope we will cease this pandemic. It's hope that we will live a better life.

SAVIDGE: Meanwhile, vaccine advisers for the CDC are recommending who should get the potential lifesaving injections next. Phase 1-B includes adults 75 and older and front-line essential workers, phase 1-C, adults 65 to 75 and people ages 16 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions, as well as more essential workers.

The vaccine help is desperately needed, with the U.S. on the brink of surpassing 18 million COVID-19 cases. In just seven days, the country added over 1.5 million new infections, meaning one in every 217 people across the U.S. tested positive in the last week.

In Tennessee, the governor's message was grim.

GOV. BILL LEE (R-TN): We are in a war.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: And, Wolf, we just got news of other health officials who are about to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. They include familiar names, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Francis Collins, and also the health and human services secretary, Alex Azar.

They will all receive those shots tomorrow. Clearly, it's designed not only for their own health, but to reassure a public -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, that's certainly important, indeed.

Martin Savidge reporting for us, thank you very much.

Let's go to the outgoing president's efforts to cling to power and deep concerns right now within his own inner circle that he's out of control.

Our White House correspondent, Jeremy Diamond, has been doing a lot of reporting.

[18:05:02]

So, what are you hearing, Jeremy, from your sources?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, With 30 days to go until Inauguration Day, we're hearing that the president is increasingly weighing these really desperate ways of trying to overturn the election.

And he's doing so by relying on an increasingly fringe group of advisers, including the attorney and conspiracy theorist Sidney Powell, who was spotted at the White House just today for the fourth time in the last -- for the third time -- forgive me -- in the last four days.

And all of that, Wolf, is leading to growing concerns, according to my sources, among the president's top advisers about what is in store for these last 30 days of the president's term in office.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND (voice-over): President Trump's brazen and delusional push to overturn the 2020 election is alarming some senior officials and people close to the president, who say they're concerned about how he's handling his final weeks in office.

One official telling CNN: "No one is sure where this is heading. He is still the president for another month."

Now, as Trump considers an executive order to seize voting machines, naming a special counsel to investigate voter fraud, and even imposing martial law in key battleground states, even his most loyal allies are pushing back.

WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I see no basis now for seizing machines by the federal government, you know, a wholesale seizure of machines by the federal government.

QUESTION: Do you believe there is enough evidence to warrant appointing a special counsel?

BARR: If I thought a special counsel at this stage was the right tool and was appropriate, I would do -- I would name one, but I haven't.

DIAMOND: The attorney general isn't alone. Sources telling CNN that White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows also pushed back on the outlandish ideas raised during a heated Oval Office meeting on Friday.

Trump denied considering martial law, but he is increasingly turning to the fringes of his political orbit, chief among them, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and conspiracy theorist Sidney Powell, who was removed from her position on Trump's legal team after baselessly accusing the CIA and the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez of rigging the 2020 election.

The pair were at the center of a heating Oval Office meeting on Friday, which sources said turned into a shouting match. Powell, who Trump is considering naming as a special counsel, was spotted again leaving the White House residence late Sunday night.

Also now back in the president's ear, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.

STEVE BANNON, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: As I strongly recommended to the president, we need a special counsel named immediately, a special prosecutor just on election fraud and voter fraud. They're two different things, election fraud and voter fraud. You need to do that immediately.

DIAMOND: Bannon, who was charged with counts of wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy last summer, may also be seeking a presidential pardon.

Meanwhile, the president is missing in action on the coronavirus pandemic and downplaying one of the worst cyberattacks on U.S. government systems, calling it -- quote -- "far greater in the fake news media than in actuality," and suggesting China was the culprit, even though top U.S. officials say all signs point to Russia.

MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This was a very significant effort, and I think it's the case that now we can say pretty clearly that it was the Russians that engaged in this activity.

BARR: From the information I have, I agree with Secretary Pompeo's assessment. It's certainly appears to be the Russians.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND: And, Wolf, over on Capitol Hill, Congress appears to be on the verge of passing this $900 billion coronavirus relief bill.

The House and Senate, though, they must pass that bill by midnight tonight to avert a government shutdown, but leaders in both chambers expressing confidence that they can do that.

After that, Wolf, it will head to the president's desk for signature. And the White House has indicated that the president will sign that legislation. BLITZER: Jeremy, I want you to stay with us. We have got more to discuss.

I also want to bring in CNN senior justice correspondent Evan Perez, and our senior commentator the former Ohio Governor John Kasich.

Governor Kasich, when you hear some White House advisers, senior advisers, are actually fearful that the president's remaining days in office could be ugly, really, really ugly, what does that tell you about the president's state of mind right now and his efforts, that he may be encouraging some really awful things, if you will?

JOHN KASICH, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Wolf, remember, we had the Republican Convention in 2016 in Ohio. I helped to bring it to Ohio. I didn't go to the convention, and I didn't endorse the man.

And for the last four years, I mean, I had held out hope in the beginning that things were going to get better, and they didn't get better. They got worse, with all of the bullying and the name-calling and everything else.

And then people were mad at me. He spoke at the Democrat Convention. How could he do that? Well, maybe some of them will begin to understand why I did what I did.

[18:10:03]

And now we have 30 more days, Wolf, and Katy bar the door. These things are not going to happen. There isn't going to be martial law. The military isn't going to go and do that. This stuff is just really out there. It's wacky. OK?

But expect more pardons. There's going to be a lot of things happening in the last 30 days. But, at the end, we will survive it. The downside of all this is, the rest of the world is watching all of this. And they're actually watching people who stay loyal to him.

And it's just making people wonder, what is going on in America? I give credit to some of these people. It took them 35 days to come out, but it's -- the people around the world are saying, we don't understand. This is never the America we studied in school and not the America that we ever wanted to become.

And you wonder, does it encourage other people who might lose an election to think that they can just walk away from it? It's just terrible in every single way I can imagine.

And I hate to say I told you so, but this was precisely what I was worried about, not to this extreme, but I was worried about how this man was going to behave. And, fortunately, he's out.

BLITZER: Evan, as you have been reporting, the attorney general, Bill Barr, his last day is Wednesday. He's decided to resign.

He strongly dismissed a series of recent outrageous claims from the president. He's been a staunch defender over these past few years of the president. Why do you think he's making these statements now, disagreeing with him, saying there's no evidence of widespread fraud in the election, and he's not going to go collect -- not going to go collect voting machines, not going to appoint special counsels?

Why do you think he's doing this?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Bill Barr doesn't do anything by accident. This was purposeful.

This was the first press conference we have had with the attorney general where we were allowed to be in the room, so we could ask questions and so we could ask follow-ups when we had them. And he came prepared to answer those specific questions, the questions -- especially the questions about whether or not there should be special counsels on this issue of vote fraud, whether there should be a special counsel to look into Hunter Biden, the son of the president- elect, Joe Biden.

These are both things on the president's wish list. He said emphatically no. And he also dismissed the idea that federal government should go seize voting machines.

I think -- I look at it this way. I think the attorney general was in some way trying to give a little breathing room to his successor, his temporary successor, Jeff Rosen, who is going to take office on Wednesday, basically to help them resist the efforts that are going to inevitably come from the White House, come from the president, to try to do some of these very things that Bill Barr has now publicly said no to.

So, I think that -- let's see how much that helps, because, in talking to people close to Jeff Rosen, they think he's not going to bend on anything he doesn't view as legal and as proper. But we will see what the next 30 days brings. This is a long 30 days.

BLITZER: Yes, it will be 27 after Wednesday, when Jeff Rosen becomes the acting attorney general for the final few days.

Jeremy, you have been reporting that cooler heads may not necessarily be prevailing at the White House right now, as the president turns to his advisers like the conspiracist lawyer Sidney Powell, the disgraced former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

So, what are you hearing? What does that tell you right now? How dangerous of a situation is unfolding inside the White House right now?

DIAMOND: Well, what it tells us is what we have learned over the last four years of Donald Trump's presidency, which is that he is somebody who doesn't like to be told no. He is somebody who doesn't like to be told that something can't work.

And when somebody -- and people are telling him that, he looks for other folks who will say yes to him and who will tell him, who will feed the narrative that he is looking for. And that is what the president is doing here in relying increasingly on folks like Sidney Powell and Michael Flynn and Steve Bannon.

That is what we're seeing from the president. But I can tell you, Wolf, over the last week, in talking with advisers to the president and other people close to him, there really has been a shift in terms of the concern, the level of concern among those advisers about what the president is doing to try and overturn the results of this election.

Early on, it was really the sense of, he's going through the motions, he's processing all of this, eventually, he will concede and leave office. Now there is much greater concern about the kinds of things that the president is talking about, even some of the ideas that are being discussed.

As far-fetched as martial law sounds, the fact that was even brought up in an Oval Office meeting with the president of the United States is remarkable, in and of itself.

BLITZER: Yes, it's remarkable that it happened after all 50 states and the District of Columbia officially certified the vote and after the Electoral College ruled that the vote is done and that Biden is the winner, Trump is the loser.

Governor Kasich...

KASICH: Hey, Wolf?

BLITZER: Yes, go ahead.

KASICH: One other thing I want to tell you.

And that is, you might recall from history when that group of Republicans went down to the White House to tell Richard Nixon you have got to go.

[18:15:05]

Now, wouldn't it be great, wouldn't it be the right thing to do for Republican leadership in the House and the Senate to go down there and confront him and say, you have to stop this? This is damaging. It's damaging to our country. It's damaging to our country. It's damaging to our image.

I'm not sure all the Republican leaders would want to go down there and tell him that. So, I would ask you, Wolf, what are they afraid of? I mean, why wouldn't they go down there and say, knock it off, this is wrong?

BLITZER: Yes.

KASICH: Because now he's surrounded himself by a smaller and smaller group.

A lot of people in the White House are apparently afraid of him. The whole situation is truly bizarre and deeply concerning.

BLITZER: Yes. Well, at least the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, has congratulated Joe Biden, says he's president-elect.

On the House side, the Republican leadership, Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise, they still have refused to recognize reality. They still are not doing the right thing and saying that Biden has won, which he clearly has.

And that is very, very disturbing. If they were to come around and all of them would go to the White House and tell the president, it's over, as you correctly point out, it may or may not work. Probably wouldn't, but we shall see.

Everybody, stand by.

There's more breaking news we're following. As Congress gets closer and closer to finally approving more COVID-19 relief, are both parties prepared to do even more in the weeks ahead?

I will speak with Democratic Senator Mark Warner. There he is.

And New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is slamming the feds for failing to ban travel from the United Kingdom, where a new coronavirus is spreading. Governor Cuomo, he will join us later this hour as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:00]

BLITZER: There's more breaking news up on Capitol Hill, where we're awaiting a House vote on a $900 billion coronavirus relief package.

It includes a $600 direct payment to people below a certain income level, and extends the $300-a-week jobless benefit. There are $284 billion in forgivable loans for small businesses under the Paycheck Protection Program. The package also contains $82 billion for schools and colleges, as well as $25 billion for rental assistance.

We're joined by Senator Mark Warner of Virginia. He's on the Finance Committee. He's also the vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee.

Senator, thank you so much for joining us.

In the last hour, I spoke with your colleague Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders here in THE SITUATION ROOM. He told me this coronavirus relief agreement doesn't go nearly far enough, although he says he will vote in favor of it. What do you make of this deal?

SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA): What I make -- and I'm actually very proud of this deal.

There were a group of us, bipartisan, that came together right after the election. We should have done this election before the election. Neither side really wanted to get it done there.

We came together on these categories that you just outlined, as well as assistance for food banks, as well as assistance for broadband, as well as assistance for mental health, and came up with a $908 billion package. I would have liked to have seen more in terms of state and local assistance. I would have, frankly, done more for the unemployed, as opposed to some of the direct checks.

I think we needed to target this to people who are most in need, but we got a deal done that, otherwise, the leadership of both parties were frankly sniping at each other, but not willing to get something done.

So, I'm proud that this is exactly the same range of what we presented a few weeks back. It's been massaged a little bit by the so-called leaders. And, tonight, we're going to prove that Congress won't be the Grinch that stole Christmas, and we will make sure this relief will get out to people, starting as soon as the day after Christmas, when people otherwise would be losing their unemployment.

BLITZER: Yes, there's millions of people who have actually gone into poverty over this past several months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

But are you saying that the Democratic leadership in the House failed before the election; they should have accepted what Steve Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, was proposing, $1.8 trillion?

WARNER: I'm saying that neither side, for, I think, a host of political reasons, really were all in to getting a deal done before the election.

And I'm saying that thank goodness a bipartisan group of senators, and, for that matter, 50 members of the House in the so-called Problem Solvers Caucus, said, we cannot sit idly by while people's lives are destroyed by the economic nature of COVID, as well as the health care issue.

We can't allow hundreds of thousands of black-owned businesses that have shut down, we can't allow that kind of economic destruction to continue. So, we said we're not going to wait for the folks, the so- called leaders to decide. We're going to put out a plan. We put out that plan.

We found wide bipartisan support. The folks on the extremes, far left and far right, never want to get to yes. They will have some problems. But the vast majority of us -- and I think you will see that vast majority vote in overwhelming numbers both in the House and later tonight in the Senate to get that relief out.

BLITZER: Yes. It's so, so important, because there are so many Americans -- hard to believe in our country, the richest country in the world, so many Americans right now, millions, are actually food- hungry. They don't have enough food to feed their kids and they're worried about getting kicked out of their homes and becoming homeless.

Hard to believe it. And I'm grateful to you and your colleagues for doing what you are doing. Not perfect, but you can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good, as I keep on saying.

WARNER: Amen to that. BLITZER: Let me quickly get your thoughts. Put your hat on, as the vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Senator.

Chris Krebs, the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, who was fired by the president, he told CNN yesterday he agrees with assessments that Russia was behind the cyber-hack, adding: "They're exceptionally good at this. They're quiet. They're deliberate." He says they're patient and they're careful.

Why is President Trump discounting his own officials, refusing to condemn Russia for this breach?

WARNER: Wolf, it's worse than that.

Not only did Chris Krebs say it. Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, Marco Rubio. I think shortly our government will formally attribute. And the truth is, when the president of the United States refuses to call out this adversary -- and this adversary is very good. They took their time. They brought their A-team.

It shows that virtually any private company, and many of our government agencies, at least on the unclassified side, it's tough to go against this kind of focused adversary. And we need a president that's willing to stand up for our country and stand up against Vladimir Putin.

We're also going to need -- it will take us literally weeks to fully discover the extent of this hack, and literally months to remediate. And I think certain rules that need to be in place -- there's not even an obligation for a government agency to report to CISA, Chris Krebs' old enterprise.

[18:25:11]

There's no obligation for a public company to report this in a timely manner to law enforcement. Thank goodness FireEye, one of the nation's best cyber companies -- cybersecurity companies, came forward and they acknowledged this breach, or we might still be in the dark.

We're going to need to up our game, as well as make some policy changes, coming out of one of the deepest and most extensive attacks in our history.

BLITZER: Yes. And you're right.

The acting chairman of your Intelligence Committee, Senator Marco Rubio, says it was the Russians. The president can dream that it was the Chinese, but everybody else says it's the Russians.

Senator Warner, thanks so much for joining us. Thanks everything you're doing.

WARNER: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Just ahead, I will be joined by the New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, amid deep, deep concerns about a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus in Britain.

Also breaking, president-elect Biden get his initial coronavirus vaccination. And he will need another shot in three weeks. Will it convince others to be vaccinated as well?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

BLITZER: Tonight, the New York, governor, Andrew Cuomo, is raising some very serious red flags, taking new action as a new COVID-19 variant is spreading potentially very dangerously in the United Kingdom. We're joined now by Governor Cuomo. He's also the author of the new book, American Crisis, Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic. Governor, thank you so much for joining us.

I know these are difficult times for everyone. I know you've reached an agreement with, what, British Airways and Delta to test all passengers for coronavirus before they enter New York, JFK, for example, the airport there. Have you made any progress convincing other airlines that fly from the U.K. to the United States to sign on as well?

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): Short answer is, Wolf -- first, good to be with you. Short answer is yes. We have an agreement now with the three airlines that fly from the U.K. to the New York airports, Virgin, Delta and British Airways. But the point is bigger than just New York, right? We have been worried about a mutation of the virus. That's what everybody has been worried about.

The quote/unquote second wave was a mutated virus which was creating a second, more diabolical viral infection. You have the U.K. saying, Boris Johnson, that the new variant transmits at 70 times the rate of COVID. You have countries in the E.U. that have banned travel from the U.K. You have 120 countries that have required that no one comes from the U.K. unless they test negative prior to getting on the plane from the U.K. and the United States has done nothing.

Now, I acted proactively, frankly, for New York, and I have the airlines that are flying into New York from the U.K. that have all agreed that they will test people before they get on the flight in the U.K. en route to New York.

But we've learned this lesson before, and that's what's frustrating, Wolf, you know, when the way we got COVID in the spring was the federal government thought that the coronavirus was still in China, it had gone to Europe, and it came here from Europe. And this is almost Redux (ph). And, yes, the people who now fly into New York will be negative but we'll have flights into Chicago, we'll have flights into other part of the countries and those people who can get into flights and come back to New York or infect other states. And this whole notion that any one state can protect itself was foolish from the beginning, right?

BLITZER: Yes. CUOMO: New York has one of the lowest infection rates in the United States. But that doesn't stop the virus from coming in from other states.

BLITZER: Yes, the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, says that this new variant is 70 percent stronger in terms of transmitting the virus, and that's obviously very disturbing, 70 percent stronger.

As you know, Dr. Anthony Fauci, he's advising against additional restrictions on U.K. travel. He said everyone should be careful, but advising against additional formal restrictions. I take it you disagree with Dr. Fauci, is that right?

CUOMO: Look, I have great respect for Dr. Fauci, and he's a friend, and he's been very helpful to me personally in New York all through this. From a science point of view, Wolf, you know, scientists can only tell you facts that they know. They don't predict. And I went through this in the spring. The scientists want to see a flame before they tell you there's a fire. From my point of view, if I see smoke, I'm going to douse water on that spot.

The scientists will say we're not sure if it's 70 times more transmittable. We're not sure that the vaccine won't solve this COVID virus also. Their working assumption is it will, but these are all hypotheticals. You have 120 countries that have banned the travel from the U.K.

[18:35:00]

You have Boris Johnson who closed down the U.K. one week after he said he would never close down the U.K. for Christmas. He did a total 180, Wolf, in one week. And he closed for Christmas. Why would Boris Johnson do that, unless he was really worried? Why would the E.U. countries ban the U.K.? And why run the risk? If 120 countries are requiring a test before somebody gets on a plane, I called up the airlines and I said, look, you have 120 countries. Can you make it 120 countries and the state of New York?

BLITZER: Yes.

CUOMO: And they said yes. But if they'll do that for New York, they'll do it for the United States of America.

BLITZER: Yes, I think everybody agrees. In a situation like this, more than 300,000 -- I'm looking right now --- more than 319,000 Americans have died from the virus since February, you got to err on the side of caution.

Governor, while I have you, the second coronavirus vaccine, Moderna, is now rolling out today. They have got millions of doses ready to go. What's the latest on vaccine distribution in New York State?

CUOMO: We have distributed more vaccines so far than any state in the nation, and we have had more vaccinations than any state in the nation. So, as soon as the federal government sends it to us, Wolf, we get it out. We had a bad snow storm, as many other states did but we delivered it in any event. The hospitals are administering it. We started today with the nursing homes administering it with both the residents and the staff of nursing homes. We should have about 600,000 doses at the end of the week. And as soon as we get it, we get it out. And we're getting people vaccinated.

BLITZER: You have enough doses to cover the essential frontline health care workers who are every day putting their lives on the line?

CUOMO: You know, not yet. New York, like every other state, is subject to the production level as distributed by the federal government. Over -- we have tranches of people who need the vaccine most. We start with the high-risk essential health care staff, then go to nursing homes, then go to congregant care facilities, then high-risk essential workers.

We'll get to high-risk essential workers probably in February but we have to see how many doses we get from the federal government and on what schedule. As soon as they can get it to us, we'll get it out. But for us, the limiting factor is how many doses we get from them and how regular the delivery schedule.

BLITZER: This is so, so critical. These are life-saving moments in our nation's history. Governor Cuomo, thank you so much for joining us. Thanks for everything you're doing. I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

CUOMO: You too. Go Bills, Wolf. Go Bills.

BLITZER: I know, you're talking about my Buffalo Bills. We won but we're not done. That's what we say. We still have a few more games to go all the way, God willing, to the Super Bowl. All right, thanks so much for joining us. I appreciate it very much, Governor Cuomo.

Just ahead, Joe Biden receives his initial coronavirus vaccination. Will it convince reluctant Americans to get vaccinated as well?

And later, the incredible story of how an opponent of Russia's Vladimir Putin tricked an agent into revealing extensive details of a plot that involved poisoned underwear.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: We're following multiple breaking stories here in The Situation Room, including President-elect Joe Biden receiving his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine this afternoon.

Joining us now, a key member of the FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee, Dr. Geeta Swamy, and CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen.

Dr. Geeta Swamy, I know you've studied this vaccine very carefully through your role on the FDA Advisory Committee. Is there any substantial difference between the new Moderna vaccine, which is now in use in the United States, as opposed to the Pfizer vaccine, which has been a week earlier was authorized? DR. GEETA SWAMY, MEMBER, FDA VACCINES ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Well, thanks, Wolf, for having me and asking that question. I know a lot of people in the community in the U.S. have those questions themselves. Thankfully, both vaccines are manufactured equally in the same way.

They both work as a messenger RNA product that makes a protein that is part of the coronavirus and our body generates the antibodies against that. They both work equally effectively. One is 94 percent, one is 95 percent, and that's really mathematical differences. Clinically, they work the same.

BLITZER: Well that's good to know. Doctor Wen, what are you learning about this new coronavirus variant that is now in the United Kingdom? How concerned should we be here in the U.S. about this development?

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Wolf, I think it is important that we pay very close attention to this variant because it appears to be more highly transmissible than the coronavirus that we already know to be very highly contagious. We know that COVID-19 already spreads so easily from person to person. It's in these microscopic aerosols that we excel through breathing, through speaking, and if something is even more contagious, something to watch for.

It doesn't appear to be any more virulent, so it doesn't appear to cause more severe illness or to be more deadly.

[18:40:01]

And there's no reason to believe that the vaccines that we have will not work against this new variant.

[18:45:08]

But it's something to watch very carefully.

BLITZER: You know, it's interesting, Dr. Swamy, Admiral Brett Giroir says there's no reason to believe this new variant would evade the vaccines, the two vaccines that are now approved here in the United States.

Do you agree with him? And if you do, why?

SWAMY: I do actually, and part of the reason is how we study viruses all along, and what we know about viral mutations. Even though there have been several mutations identified over even the last few months and even into the early like late summer, early fall, there have to be multiple mutations in specific key locations to cause the body to make different antibodies.

Right now, it really looks like the antibodies at the vaccine produces would still be effective against the viral mutations that we've seen already.

BLITZER: That's good to know.

Dr. Wen, in addition to being a physician, you're also a participant in a coronavirus vaccine trial. First of all, why did you decide to volunteer? And what has this process been like for you?

WEN: Well, we need a lot more vaccines. And so I'm thrilled that we have now two vaccines, the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine that are safe and look to be so highly efficacious, 94 percent to 95 percent efficacious, as Dr. Swamy mentioned. We need a lot more because we need to vaccinate the entire U.S. and the world.

And so, I decided to participate in the Johnson & Johnson clinical trial. It's what was available to me at the time, and I'm glad to participate in the science. Although I do want to just emphasize that people need to get whatever vaccine is available to them when it is. If I were not a participant in the trial, I would very happily at this point get the Pfizer or the Moderna vaccine. I believe that it's safe and effective.

And of course, even for those people who have already received the vaccine, and for others who have not yet, remember we really need to double down on all of our precautions -- mask wearing, social distancing, avoiding indoor gatherings to get through this very difficult winter ahead.

BLITZER: Do you know if you got the placebo or the actual vaccine?

WEN: I don't know. And I will not know probably for quite some time, although I certainly hope that we'll get the Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, and other vaccines that will turn out to be effective.

BLITZER: I hope all of these vaccines are safe and effective. The more the merrier. I'm ready to get my shot when my turn shows up as well.

Dr. Leana Wen, Dr. Geeta Swamy, to both of you, thank you so much for all that you're doing. Hope you have a happy holiday and a happy new year. Appreciate it very much.

And stay with us. We have astonishing new reporting on the near fatal poisoning of Alexei Navalny, the high-profile opponent of Vladimir Putin.

We got new details by fooling one of the secret agents behind the attack. You're going to hear the tape. This is amazing journalism, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:52:34]

BLITZER: A Russian agent sent to tail opposition leader Alexei Navalny has accidently revealed how Navalny was poisoned back in August. The agent, a member of an elite toxins team in Russia's FSB security service, said the lethal nerve agent was planted in Navalny's underwear.

CNN's Clarissa Ward broke the exclusive story for us. She's joining us from London right now.

Clarissa, how did this agent fall for this trick? What are we learning right now?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, this is truly stranger than fiction, Wolf. Essentially what Alexei Navalny did was to pose as a senior aide from Russia's national security council.

He told this FSB agent that he was carrying out an inquiry into how this poisoning operation went, and slowly but surely after some persuasion, this agent started to open up and he started to talk about where the poison was placed, namely as you mentioned the underwear. Take a listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

ALEXEI NAVALNY: Well, imagine underpants and in what place?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The insides, the groin.

NAVALNY: The crotch of the underpants?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the so-called flap. There are seams there, so across the seams.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WARD: He also went on to talk about his primary role which was in the cleanup operation, Wolf. Five days after Navalny's flight was diverted to the city of Omsk, made an emergency landing because he was so sick from that poisoning, this operative flew to Omsk, collected his clothes and describes how he scrubbed them to erase any trace of the Novichok.

And he also talks about why it is Navalny didn't die which was the apparent intention of this entire operation. He says really this was down to the fact that plane diverted and landed early, that there were medics on the tarmac ready with atropine to save his life. Even though he conceded they had given him, quote, an added extra bit of that lethal dose of Novichok. It is quite frankly astonishing that Navalny is still alive -- Wolf.

BLITZER: It's amazing, what an amazing story. How does Navalny feel after his sting operation? I know you had a chance to speak with him.

WARD: So essentially, I think it's between shock and elation, but also now increasingly frustration. The Kremlin hasn't responded. But the FSB Russian security services have. They've called the tape a fake. They said it's designed solely to discredit Russian security services, and they've accused Navalny of essentially working with Western intelligence agencies in order to have been able to pull something like this off.

[18:55:07]

This is what we hear often from the Russian government in response to Navalny trying to discredit him, to paint him as being a con of the west. What Navalny still wants to see although he's not planning or rather not hoping that he will be able to see is it for President Putin to open a criminal investigation into this wrongdoing, Wolf.

BLITZER: I know CNN spoke to toxicologist about this poisoning. Why put the poison in Navalny's underwear?

WARD: Well, without getting too graphic, Wolf, different parts of the body have different absorption rates. So your hands, for example, are not very porous. Very difficult to absorb things with the hands. But the crotch area, tests have been done on it. There's actual literature on this subject. The groin area is very porous.

And so, that's why they chose it. It's an easy place. You put that Novichok along the inside seam of those underpants and you have the best chance of successfully poisoning someone.

BLITZER: Excellent reporting as usual, Clarissa Ward. We're grateful to you and your colleagues. Thank you very, very much.

And we'll have more news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Finally tonight we share more stories of people who died from the coronavirus.

Jeff Guttentag of New York was 52 years old, an attorney who recently started his own firm. His wife Lorie (ph) says he was known for his positive attitude and living life to the fullest, including his love of poker, golf and the law.

Harvey Zaks of New York was 94. He was a World War II veteran, a civil engineer who worked on hundreds of buildings during his over 60-year career. A truly wonderful man.

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

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.