Transcripts For MSNBCW MSNBC Live With Hallie Jackson 20201117

Today. Not with intelligence officials inside the government but outside of it. More on whats expected to happen inside that room just ahead as joe biden doesnt just move forward but he gets ready to move on. Coming up our new reporting on how he wants to put President Trumps political baggage in the rear view with our teams exclusive look at how he plans to handle potential investigations into his predecessor. Thats just some of what were watch as we get word on two more biden team staff announcements. One of them currently serving in congress. Comiing up, ill talk with the senator on the Armed Services committee whose name is reportedly in the mix. Plus the new data about kids that parents need to know about coronavirus and the new risk of misinformation around the pandemic. A startling story illustrating that as the president elect delivered his strongest warning yet about what could happen if the transition does not. More people may die if we dont coordinate. Im Hallie Jackson with you this morning along with mike memoli and peter alexander. Mike, lets talk about some of the new moves today by president elect bide ton try to bypass if he can this transition standoff. Starting with this National Security briefing, not the president ial Daily Briefing weve been hearing about but something different. Right . Yeah. Thats right. Hes going to be meeting with some experts from the field of diplomacy, defense and intelligence for sort of a broad overview of the threat environment facing the United States at this point. Typically at this point he would be getting this in the form of the president ial daily brief. Thats what a president elect should be receiving at this point but the office of the director of National Intelligence saying until the gsa issues this socalled ascertainment that biden is, in fact, the president elect, they will not meet with any biden transition officials. That includes the president elect himself. One way of looking at this, hallie, is both an effort by the biden team to offer the public some assurance that there will be continuity of government, that biden is somebody with great experience in these fields himself, but also has a team around him with experience themselves. But also a way of sort of the slow boil of trying to raise the pressure on republicans on capitol hill who themselves are saying biden should be getting access to those kind of information. But also the president himself, not calling him out dreeirectly but showing theyre focussed on this issue and having an image on display for biden meeting with this team. It will be an interesting moment. Theyre trying to balance the public and private pressure through all of that. Youre also reporting on Something Else that we have exclusively on what the president elect has been telling advisers about his approach to investigations focussed on the current president after he takes off. Tell us more about this reporting and what you found out. There are so many decisions facing a President Biden on day one. Things he can do immediately through executive action and other means to put the Trump Administration behind us. Some of their policies, but also some of the legacy of what a lot of democrats think is potentially criminal behavior. Youll remember in the second and final president ial debate, biden seized on the fact that there were more than 500 children who had been separated from their parents. The Trump Administration were not able to locate the parents. He called it criminal. That raised eyebrows about whether or not who that showed biden was taking a criminal investigation of this conduct as part of one of his early actions. What were hearing from those close to the president elect is he is going to not necessarily instruct his team to move on any criminal investigations. There are several reasons for this. One is thats not bidens view of what the Justice Department should be doing. He has said the Justice Department is not a personal defense lawyer for the president of the United States. Hes been critical of the president for ordering investigations of his political opponents. Biden wants to make clear thats not something hes going to do. But biden has acknowledged he has received the most votes of any president ial ticket in american history. But President Trump got more than 73 million votes himself. The biden is going to follow through on his desire to try to unify the country, a quick ordering of investigations of his predecessor could quickly spoil that. What this doesnt mean is that biden is going to be interrupting or obstructing investigations going on at the state level of the president. We know there are a lot of those including with the new York Attorney general. Those would continue as they are proceeding at this point. Theres also some question marks as it relates to what kind of environment internationally is president elect biden going to step into and peter over at the house the New York Times has reporting on what President Trump has been asking about, been questioning advisers on options to take action against iran and the main nuclear site in the weeks to come. That adds a layer of complications for the incoming administration. We have not confirmed that report. It cites four current and former u. S. Officials. Peter, any signs of what kind of actions might be in process. Reports it happened with some of the top National Security officials last week. But that they dissuaded President Trump from ordering any operation that would ignite tensions in the middle east in the final months of his presidency. The president mused about this last month with Rush Limbaugh warning about the potential for actions. The iaea, they reported last week that irans stockpile of uranium, at a key. 12 times larger than what was permitted under the deal with barack obama. The president claimed without evidence that iran was cheating. The white house isnt commenting on this right now. But if President Trump did strike iran, it wouldnt just be a dramatic escalation for a president who has said he wanted to get the u. S. Out of wars in the waning weeks of his presidency, but it could complicate president elects bidens effort to try to strike diplomacy with iran after he takes office. Another potential implications for the incoming biden team. Peter and mike thank you. We know the transition is affecting the Pandemic Response as we track a Staggering Number of the impact of the virus across the country. More than 1 million children in this country have tested positive for covid. And the next few weeks are going to be critical. A lot of new closures, safety restrictions getting rolled out coast to coast. In california the governor there says hes pulling the emergency brake as infections rise at record rates. Iowas governor is out with a statewide mask mandate. Thats a big reversal, and 36 states are reporting more people dead from the virus with every state bracing for the worst ahead of the holidays. We want to take you to some of the places around the country. Let me bring in a reporter in providence, rhode island. Infections and hospitalizations are hitting alarming rates. Theres new concern about whether the hospital is on track to run out of hospital beds. In madison, wisconsin, again, a staggering look at whats happening across the country. The issue of hospital bed capacity. What are officials in providence doing to try to turn this around before they hit that threshold . Look, they have a curfew in place. Theyre limiting gathering. They want to make sure all medical professionals are on the ready. Theyre dealing with an influx of patients. Numbers, october 4th there were 87 patients in the hospitals. Yesterday, 256 patients. In the grand scheme of things, that doesnt seem like a big number. If you think about the population of the city, theres only 1 million people. On saturday there were 1,000 new positive cases in the state. The situation continues to get worse. I want to bring in the director of the medical unit of the intensive care. Doctor, thank you for joining us on this. My pleasure. How are things going inside your hospital today . Theres no question were in the next surge. Im more concerned about overpopulating the medical wards. It seems in this surge of the pandemic there are less critically ill patients than the first surge, but overpopulation on the wards is a real concern. Reporter do you feel as if your hospital is on the brink, the medical community is on the brink in the third wave on the brink of the pandemic . I feel confident we have enough protective equipment and enough ventilators. We are worried about becoming overwhelmed. Reporter theres a Field Hospital that is just about 25 minutes or so from here. Its in rhode island, built in the spring. Its awaiting patients. I talked to the head of the hospital. She said to me, its not a matter of if patients are going to be heading to this Field Hospital. Its really a matter of when as they are pushed to the edge in the third wave of the pandemic. So we talk about that situation that you starkly laid out with the doctor in providence. Shaq, in madison, the state Supreme Court considering whats going to happen with restrictions put in place by the states governor. Where do things stand at the moment . Reporter lets highlight that high positivity rate. 36 . That means more than 1 in every three people who get a coronavirus test are coming back with a positive result. Thats an astonishingly high number. The state is averaging about 6400 new cases a day. Just like you heard, hospitals, doctors are talking about the strain on the system, and unlike other states across this country and in the midwest region, the governor is not considering new restrictions. Instead, yesterday we saw the Governors Health officials in front of the state Supreme Court defending a mask mandate. You remember, it was back in the spring where the Supreme Court, the state Supreme Court struck down the governors stay at home orders. It was in the summer he had a mask mandate that he extended in the fall. Yesterday during the oral arguments it seemed likely that the Supreme Court, the conservative Supreme Court here would strike that down. Meanwhile, what you hear from local officials, doctors, physicians, theyre joining the message of state health officials, begging and pleading with people to restrict those gatherings on the thanksgiving holiday. The university of wisconsin here in madison sent out a letter to students asking them if they decide to go home for thanksgiving break, get a test before they go home and stay home until the spring semester. This is a dire situation, and the numbers just continue to rise. Thank you both. Were going to have more on the pandemic coming up in this hour including how disinformation and conspiracy theories are putting even more strain on utah hospitals already struggling to treat the influx of covid patients. Plus, fireworks expected on capitol hill as two of the biggest names in tech testify about the election and anticonservative bias. Were going to bring you any news of the hearing. It has just begun. Plus leading republicans now warning President Trump against plans to withdraw u. S. Troops in afghanistan. Next up, senator Tammy Duckworth. A member of the Armed Services committee joining us live. E. But we didnt stop there. We made a cloud flexible enough to adapt to any size business. No matter what it does, or how it changes. And we kept going. So you only pay for what you use. Because at dell technologies, we stop. At nothing. Try optum perks. Its a new way to save up to 80 . And everyone can do it. Its from optum, a Health Care Company thats trusted by millions of people. You dont have to sign up for anything. Just go to optumperks. Com. And get a coupon to use at your pharmacy. Thats it. I opted in. I opted in. You can, too. Opt in and save big today. You an, too. Irresistibly smooth chocolate. To put the world on pause. Lindor. Made to melt you. By the lindt master chocolatier. A rare sight this morning on capitol hill. Top republicans breaking with President Trump. Not over the transition or president elect biden but over his plan to pull more u. S. Troops out of afghanistan. Our Pentagon Team is reporting this morning that senior military officials briefed the president on three options last week. A complete withdrawal, a drawdown to about 2500 troops there, or keeping the troop level as is, a current and former defense fshl said President Trump is sticking with option number two, to draw down by early 2021. So really days or in the days before president elect joe biden takes office. No official orders have made but theyre expected and Mitch Mcconnell is getting out ahead of any announcement. He spent nine minutes on the senate floor bashing this decision. Listen. A rapid withdrawal of u. S. Forces in afghanistan hurts or allies and delight the people who wish us harm. A disorganized retreat this administration has worked hard to compile. Democratic senator Tammy Duckworth is with me now. Senator, thank you for being on the show. Its good to be on. Thank you. Senator, do you find Common Ground there, perhaps, a phrase you dont news often with Mitch Mcconnell on this issue with the majority leader . Im glad hes speaking up. Ive been talking about this and the threat to our National Security posed by President Trump actually firing secretary esper and hallowing out the top levels of the pentagon. Now we know why he did it, so he can make this rash decision to put our troops in harms way. Now, i know our troops will do the best job they can, professionally and with the highest tactical and technical expertise, but lets be clear. Hes putting our troops in harms way by rapidly withdrawing them without a clear plan for how to do it. Is there Anything Congress can do here to step in or try to . Well, we can speak up, but at this point he can make that decision. He can issue a order and its a lawful order. Its a bad order. It is an order that will leave, for example, cachers of equipment in our enemys hands. When you withdraw troops that quickly, you dont have the logistics to withdraw the equipment. All that is left behind. This is a dangerous decision the president has made. Theres not much congress can do other than to speak up and draw attention to this and make it clear this is not the right thing to do for our National Security. As you point out correctly, he is the commander in chief, the sitting president for another couple months. I want to ask you about another decision the president is reportedly contemplating. Senior advisers were asked by the president if he had options to take response to iran. This is a day after a significant increase in the stockpile of nuclear material. It was four current and u. S. Former officials that told the times that. Your reaction, and are you glad that people in the room dissuaded the president from moving forward . Im glad they did it, but i expect nothing less. President trump is literally wanting to blow everything up as he goes out the door. Lets be clear. President trump is the one who withdraw the United States from the Iran Nuclear Deal that kept iran from developing these additional resources. Because he withdrew from it, iran has now moved forward because theyre not tied to the nuclear deal anymore. Now hes going to turn around and do a kinetic strike on iran before he leaves office. This puts america and our allies at great, great danger. Think about israel. Israel is just down the road from iran, and the fact of the matter is such an action by the president of the United States will put not just american lives in jeopardy, but our allies like israel and also our homeland as well. Remember, in the first months of every new president s term of office, our enemies have sought to test our vulnerabilities, whether or not were too disrackdi distracted. A chemical strike within the first months of the obama presidency. Im sorry. Of the trump presidency. During the obama presidency, north korea launched two actions. And our enemies are waiting to see what will happen. For trump to think he can launch a Nuclear Strike against Nuclear Assets in iran as he goes out the door is fool hardy and incompetent. When you talk about the incoming biden administration, they are needing to juggle in this transition not just the reports were talking about, not just the potential for what we discussed as it relates to afghanistan, but generally. Issues about the pandemic. Issues more broadly as well. One of those issues as our team is reporting this morning involves joe biden and the potential for investigations, frankly, into President Trump once the president leaves office come january. Our team is reporting that biden has privately told advisers he does not want to pursue those investigations and he would be wary of that. Is that a path you agree with . Should joe biden think i think joe bidens main focus from my conversations with him is on fighting this covid19 pandemic. Were about to enter into a really dangerous time with rates spiking. Illinois is shutting down as we speak right now because were seeing a surge. And so that is the number one enemy of the American People right now. The covid19 pandemic. I think president elect biden is absolutely right to be focussed on that first and foremost. Then we need to restore our economy thats been decimated by trumps failed response to the pandemic. We have a lot on our plates. We need to work on it. I think joe biden is right to be focussed on other things first. I want to ask you Something Else about covid. Before i do, you mentioned you had conversations with the president elect and his team. Did any of those conversations involve your potential role in a Biden Cabinet . I dont have to tell you your name has been brought up for some of the positions. Is that something you would consider and something discussed currently . Obviously its something i would consider. Any time the president of the United States asks you to serve at the pleasure of the president to serve your nation, you have to consider it. But i do love my time in the senate very, very much. I have a lot more work id like to do in the senate. My conversations with the team has really revolved around issues i think should be in his priority list, covid19, and also a lot on the National Security aspects, especially with what trump has done to the department of defenses leadership. No offer has been made, am i understanding you correctly on that . No. Okay. Senator, let me ask you about covid. There was a dustup as you may have seen on the senate floor. Senator brown asked the presiding officer to the senate to put on a mask. Senator ted cruz weighed in on twitter calling senator brown, a, quote, complete ass for calling out senator sullivan for being maskless. Its coming out that senator grassley is quarantining because of a close contact with covid. Do you feel comfortable being around your colleagues in that chamber right now . I am not comfortable right nou. The republicans routinely go without masks. They sit down to lunch together and dont wear a mask and eat lunch together. This is why you see so many cases among them. You just have a baby. I have two children. I have a twoyearold and sixyearold. My 79yearold mother lives with me. Those are folks in high risk categories. I frankly dont think its responsible of my colleagues to potentially expose my family, my loved ones along with all of the staff and members who work at the capitol potentially to harm. Its really selfish to not wear a mask. Senator Tammy Duckworth, feeling strongly about this issue. Senator, were apreepreciative your time on this busy tuesday morning. Thank you for that. When we come back, talking more about President Trump keeping up with his post election legal fights despite a series of losses in courts. Why his attorneys are saying this will not derail a biden presiden presidency. Plus new comments on holiday safety. A fact check with our medical expert next on msnbc. [narrator] with the ninja foodi power pitcher, you can crush ice, make smoothies, and do even more. Chop salsas, spoon thick smoothie bowls, even power through dough, and never stall. The ninja foodi power pitcher. Rethink what a blender can do. This was the theater i came to quite often. The support weve had over the last few months has been amazing. Its not just a work environment. Everyone here is family. If you are ready to open your heart and your home, check us out. We thought for sure that we were done. And this town said not today. phone ringing es offers big button,lized phones. And volumeenhanced phones. Nes. Get details on this state program. Visit right now or call during business hours. Heart monitors that let your doctor watch over you, just like you watch over your best friend. Another lifechanging technology from abbott, so you dont wait for life. You live it. Another lifechanging technology from abbott, and accessoriesphones for your mobile phone. Like this device to increase volume on your cell phone. phone ringing get details on this state Program Visit right now or call during business hours. This morning covid numbers on the rise in all 50 states as Front Line Health Care workers prepare for what some describe as a dark winter. Theres another glimmer of good news again this morning. Pfizer is announcing a pilot Delivery Program for the vaccine. Something the Company Hopes will refine the plan to deliver the vaccine nationwide. The program focuses on rhode island, texas, new mexico, tennessee. Its going to take what it learned there and the company is going to apply that to the rest of the country. This does not mean the states are going to get the vaccine any faster. The u. S. Cdc has new guidance for women breast feeding. While potentially having covid, they state breast milk is not a likely source of infection. Thats something a lot of pregnant and nursing moms are interested in. In utah covid cases have increased and some facilities have had to ration care. The threat is not just from the virus. The threat is coming from disinformation, too. In fact, its such a problem that one hospital in Salt Lake City changed the security protocol because of conspiracy theorists trying to bust into the icu. Listen to how one utah Valley Hospital official describes it. You mentioned people were trying to film in the hospital . Its conspiracy theorists that believe what theyre being told is not accurate. Determined to capture the proof by accessing our facilities. Weve had some people get creative and lied about coming in for an appointment or other things. I find that incredibly saddening and discouraging. Yeah. Disturbing. We should note the hospital zeszed those were isolated events and the events divert attention that providing lifesaving care. Joining us to talk about the facts that are important in a pandemic, dr. Natalie azar. Doctor, thank you for being with us. I want to talk about that wild story out of utah in a second. Lets start with the data were getting in specifically about kids. 1 million u. S. Kids have been infected with coronavirus. Put that in perspective for us. Yeah. Listen, yes, we have had about a million cases in children since the pandemic began. That represents roughly 11 1 2 of total cases. Importantly in the last week there were 112,000 new cases involving children. The highest ever in a week since the pandemic began. And lets put this into context. We know now happily that children tend to not haves a severe disease as adults do. They make up roughly 3. 3 of total hospital zags and fortunately, well less than 1 , about 0. 15 children of childrens cases results in death. But what we dont know and whats really important is that we dont know the longterm physical emotional or Mental Health consequences of children having had covid. And lets not forget the inflammatory syndrome in children which according to the cdc as of october 30th there have been around 1100 cases of that. So these are the facts when it comes to kids. We know as weve been talking about this show so far, the rising number of cases in adults and nationwide in all of the states almost. Theres a question, though, as you heard in the utah story about disinformation. People trying to force their way into the hospital to prove some of the facts dont add up. I wonder how do you combat disinformation like that . As a medical professional, what do you think we need to do . I think this just represents that where you get your news is what your belief system will be. I am in a unique situation that i am a practicing physician and a medical journalist. So where i can, i try to do my part using social media as my engine. Certainly educating my patients as i see them on a daily basis. Im very often not at a loss for words, but that story is truly astonishing. Not only are those individuals putting themselves at risk, but i worry about patient privacy and really just the disruption to the Health Care Providers doing their best to take care of these patients. And on that, youre talking about the importance of getting the news and the information from credible sources. Lets talk about dr. Scott atlas, one of the president s sources as it relates to the pandemic. He has now come out and is talking about what people should be doing as they head into thanksgiving with so much attention on the holiday. I want to play what dr. Atlas said overnight in case you missed it. For many people, this is their final thanksgiving, believe it or not. What are we doing here . Dr. Atlas saying larger gatherings are okay especially for elderly people who may feel isolated. I wonder about your perspective on this . Its simple. I understand. I understand and i absolutely empathize myself included, not being able to see family and friends. If we want our family who is so dear to us to be around for future thanksgivings and future holidays, we need to do this now. Truly it is shocking that dr. Atlas even remotely is continuing on with this kind of miscommunication, disinformation, if you will. Im not a Public Health expert. Im not an Infectious Disease specialist. I rely on those individuals to inform me. Thats how i go about educating other people. Everyone has said hes a neuro radiologi radiologist, not an Infectious Disease specialist. Thats important, but listen to experts and give guidance based on the best science we have. Doctor azar, were about out of time. I know you wanted to talk about the moderna vaccine. Its important. The idea that weve covered over the last 24 hours that it is now out. It turns out, too, i have to throw it out there, part of it was fund bid dolly parton and the Vaccine Research shes putting a ton of money into. Its interesting and a good piece of news for us who are fans of her. Absolutely. No, its a wonderful display of generosity and philanthropy and benevolence, and my hat is off to her. Wonderful news. For sure. Doctor, thank you. Its always nice to end on a positive note, especially in a story that has so many disturbing turns. I appreciate your time. Thank you. Back in washington, lets talk about President Trumps Legal Options to challenge joe bidens election win. Remember, the president s refusal to acknowledge that biden did, in fact, win the election is the reason why the transition is being held up. Of the 25 election lawsuits that the Trump Campaign and republicans have filed, fewer than half are active. You have the campaign also dealing with a legal staffing shakeup after a handful of their lawyers reportedly pulled out of cases recently. The Washington Post reports they just taped this attorney to take over an active case in pennsylvania. A conservative talk radio host who about a week ago acknowledged on his show, that quote, at the end of the day in my view, the litigation will not work. Adding it will not reverse the election. That is the view of most legal observers looking at that. I want to bring in pete williams. Weve talked about how the president in my reporting in covering the white house is he wants to see the legal fights through. Give us an update on his legal standing this morning, and your assessment as somebody who watches the cases that they might have the potential to change the outcome or very likely not. Right . Nothing that weve seen so far. For two reasons. One is none of these claims that there was fraud and therefore the election certification should be blocked or the canvassing should be stopped have succeeded. And secondly, even in the cases where in theory they might succeed, there arent enough votes involved to change the outcome. Now, the fact that the number changes is not that remarkable because as you move along as old cases drop out, new cases come in, so this is sort of a rolling number of cases that have been filed, but i think the important thing is what weve been pointing out here for the last day or so. Which is no judge has yet found a single case of fraud. Now, theres a case this afternoon in philadelphia in pennsylvania, in District Court in the middle district of pennsylvania, this is a lawsuit filed by the Trump Campaign and some republicans who claim that a practice of the state is invalid and, therefore, ballots should be thrown out. They say the state should never have told mailin Ballot Voters their ballots were defective and given them a chance to come in and file a provisional ballot. They say that the state law doesnt allow that. The democrats say well, state law doesnt explicitly allow it, but state law also doesnt block it. One other notable thing about this, Rudy Giuliani has now filed in court to be a lawyer in that case. As the two other firms that have been involved in that case have dropped out. So i dont know that means hell appear. This will be a teleconference. I dont know that that means hell appear, but he certainly is a counsel of record in this case. I think this is the first of the election challenges he has done so. Pete williams, great reporting. Thank you for being here to share with us. Coming up, georgias republican secretary of state is accusing a Top Republican senator in his own party of pressuring him to throw out legally cast ballots in the election. Were live on the ground. Plus new reporting on how people fear the president s failure to concede could cost the senate. Oncede could cost the senate yes, you are. Im gonna get this place all clean. Ill give you a hand. And im gonna put lisa on crutches wait, what . Said shes gonna need crutches. She fell pretty hard. You might want to clean that up, girl. Excuse us. When owning a Small Business gets real, progressive helps protect what you built with customizable coverage. And im gonna eh, eh, eh. Donny, no. Oh. So it seems to be more than just republican recount rancor this morning. Senator Lindsey Graham and georgias secretary of state are all fired up in the last couple hours. The secretary of state claims graham put pressure on him to toss out ballots to reverse the narrow loss in georgia. He asked us to throw out the ballots for the highest frequency error of signatures. Moments ago we caught up with graham who is denying the extraordinary allegation. Reporter did you or did not not ask him to throw out votes . No. Its ridiculous. I talked to him about how to verify signatures. Right now a Single Person verifies signatures. I suggested changing it to make sure that a Bipartisan Team verifies signatures and if theres a dispute, come up with an appeal process. He called his staff saturday trying to hoop me up with a media outlet so i could Say Something nice about him. I thought it was a nice conversation. Reporter why is are you calling the secretary of the state anyway . Because the future of the country hangs in the balance. Reporter the secretary of state is saying he and his wife are getting Death Threats about this. And then uncounted ballots in floyd county, georgia, the Trump Campaign is seizing on that. And theres new reporting from the post that republicans are worried the president s false claims of victory could hurt their chances in the two Senate Runoff races in georgia. Races that determine the balance of power in the senate. Let me bring in Josh Letterman outside the Georgia State house and tom hamberger. Josh, you had a chance to speak with georgias secretary of state who found himself in the middle of this fire storm. I go back to the question that Garrett Haake wisely put to senator graham. Why is the senator from South Carolina getting involved in the georgia recount with the secretary of state there anyway . Thats a good question. Lindsey graham says hes getting involved because he has questions he wants to ask about how the process works for matching signatures in this state. But when Garrett Haake asked him why was he getting involved in the race, the senator from South Carolina said its because the future of the country hangs in the balance, suggesting somehow once again that there is some uncertainty here about the outcome of this president ial election. When, in fact, there is not. The secretary of state here is finding himself in the place that no republican wants to be which is inbetween President Trumps baseless allegations about fraud in this election, and the truth. It was one thing to sort of speculate ahead of the election about things that could go wrong or fraud that could enter the system. Its another thing now that the election is taking place to be perpetrating false information about this. I think the secretary of state here has basically had it at this point. Hes ripping the bandaid off, going after a lot of republicans. In particular, doug collins who was unsuccessful in the senate race and is now leading the president s recount effort in georgia. Listen to what he told me yesterday. Doug collins is a failed candidate. Hes boldface lying. People are lying and you to call it out with fact. Were fact bombing them with the truth. And theyll have to deal with that. Reporter and he tells me that hes a lifelong republican. He votes down the ballot for republican candidates. Its not like he has a bone to pick with members of his party, but the secretary of state saying he cant acknowledge that theres fraud here that simply didnt exist. I want to ask you too, josh, great interview. This story is certainly something thats worth covering. The new votes found in floyd county, not enough to alter an a projected outcome, but the Trump Campaign is taking it as ammunition, even though its been a relatively smooth recount process. Whats the deal with the ballots found . Lets be clear. This was not fraud or wrong doing. This by all accounts was some type of a human error involving some ballots that were cast during early voting where the thumb drive was not uploaded properly. The issue as you point out is this plays into the conspiracy theories the president likes to talk about about ballots appearing out of nowhere and so a lot of efforts to make sure people understand this was an isolated incident, not some sign of fraud in this election. All right. Right. Exactly the kind of thing the recount would uncover as the smooth recount has been proceeding. Tom, to you, with new reporting on what else is happening in georgia, the Senate Runoff races. Youre reporting on a private phone call between perdue and loeffler and karl rove, coordinating the fundraising efforts. I want to read something. Perdue said were assuming were going to be standing out here alone and that means we have to get the vote out, no matter the result of the recounts, kelly and i cannot wait for that. Im struck by the line. Assuming were going to be standing here alone. Talk about this dance theyre doing, what theyre saying privately versus publicly as it relates to the white house. Yeah. We were able to get details of an otherwise private phone call between the two Senate Republican candidates in georgia, karl rove, the head of the Republican Senatorial committee and prospective donors. They ran down in frank terms that runs contrary to whats said publicly, acknowledgement of worries in this odd and challenge double senate race and their worries include they acknowledged donald trump. One of the things they said on the call, particularly senator perdue, you quoted him, that they want to say publicly we believe trump has won, privately, theyre standing alone. Theyre talking about the liabilities that President Trump has presented to them and did present in the general election. Noting that georgias demography has changed and that they had work to do with suburban voters. Suburban traditionally Republican Voters who this year we went toward joe biden. Great reporting on that. A fascinating piece. I commend folks to read the full piece in the Washington Post. Tom, thank you. Josh, thank you for your reporting. A lot more to time including breaking news on capitol hill this morning that might jeopardize the confirmation be but shouldnt be. Well take you there live next. And with brokerage accounts online trades are commission free. Personalized advice. Unmatched value. At fidelity, you can have both. Unmatched value. When panhe doesnt justs mmake a pizza. He uses fresh, clean ingredients to make a masterpiece. Taste our delicious new flatbread pizzas today. Panera. 5g is going to change everything about the way businesses run. And most important is the ability to transform the smallest of businesses right in our neighborhoods. We created the 5g Business Impact challenge to give them the tools for them to come back stronger. The things that folks are doing today to survive during the pandemic will help them become more resilient into the future and Technology Like 5g is whats really going to enable that. Every minute. Understanding how to talk to your doctor about Treatment Options is key. Today, we are redefining how we do things. We find new ways of speaking, so youre never out of touch. Its seeing someones face that comforts us, no matter where. When those around us know us, they can show us just how much they care. The first steps of checking in, the smallest moments can end up being everything. Theres resources that can inform us, and that spark can make a difference. When we use it to improve things, then that change can last within us. When we understand whats possible, we wont settle for less. The best thing we can be is striving to be at our best. Managing Heart Failure starts now with understanding. Call today or go online to understandheartfailure. Com for a free Heart Failure handbook. We started by making the cloud easier to manage. But we didnt stop there. We made a cloud flexible enough to adapt to any size business. No matter what it does, or how it changes. And we kept going. So you only pay for what you use. Because at dell technologies, we stop. At nothing. We are following breaking news from capitol hill where we just learned senator grassley is going into quarantine after apparently being exposed to covid. Why is that significant . Beyond just folks hoping that the senator is okay, of course, he wont be on the hill for weeks this week and thats a problem potentially for President Trumps nominee to the fed board, judy shelton. Shes such a controversial pick that even some republicans are now saying theyre not going to vote for her which is why grassleys absence is such a big deal. Garrett, this is i think a fascinating story that might not be on the top of peoples radar here. When you add senator grassley to the people not voting here, youve got him in quarantine, other republicans including Lamar Alexander saying he wont vote for her. Didnt look good to get through the procedural vote today but it is a newsy situation. Reporter thats right. And rolling senate math here makes this complicated. Shelton fom nated at the fed. She advocated for returning to the gold standard. She is not broadly popular within the Republican Party even and why the nomination lang w languished for a while and then republicans decided it was now or never to push this vote through and they tried to do so despite losing senators come listens and romney on the front end. Al whand then the senate math i weird. You have two republican senators, rick scott and Chuck Grassley who cannot be here to cast the votes in person in favor of ms. Shelton so if even democrat shows up they would have the votes to prevent this from going through. This is a moving target with covid. Remember, unlike in the house, in the senate there is no provision for remote voting, proxy voting. You have to show up on the floor to cast your ballot. Right. Reporter Chuck Grassley did that every single vote since 1993. He is incredibly proud of that streak that will be broken with this covid exposure. Only trickier after thanksgiving when mark kelly could be seated. That race in arizona was a special election and he could be here before the other democrats. This is going to be Something Interesting to watch here on the hill as we see what happens with the other quarantines. Especially considering this is not the first fed board nominee that President Trump has put forward that ended up bombing in the senate. When will you know what happens with judy shelton . Reporter today. This was a vote scheduled for this afternoon and trying to reach out to see if democrats have the votes they need in this opportunity to block her. Got it. We should mention also live on the hill that tech hearing with zuckerberg and dorsey. No major headlines out of that yet but well keep you posted. More news after the break. Way. 9. 95 . Thats impossible. Hi, im jonathan, a manager here at Colonial Penn Life Insurance company, to tell you it is possible. If youre age 50 to 85, you can get Life Insurance with options starting at just 9. 95 a month. Okay, jonathan, im listening. Tell me more. Just 9. 95 a month for Colonial Penns number one most popular whole Life Insurance plan. There are no Health Questions to answer and there are no medical exams to take. Your acceptance is guaranteed. Guaranteed acceptance . I like guarantees. Keep going. And with this plan, your rate is locked in for your lifetime, so it will never go up. Sounds good to me, but at my age, i need the security of knowing it wont get cancelled as i get older. This is Lifetime Coverage as long as you pay your premiums. It can never be cancelled, call now for free information. Youll also get this free beneficiary planner. Use this valuable guide to record your Important Information and give helpful direction about your final wishes to your loved ones. And its yours free. Its our way of saying thank you just for calling. So call now. Visibly fades the dark spots away. New neutrogena® rapid tone repair 20 percent pure vitamin c. A serum so powerful dark spots dont stand a chance. See what i mean . Neutrogena® dont settle for silver 1 for diabetic dry skin 1 for psoriasis symptom relief and 1 for eczema symptom relief gold bond champion your skin gold bond phone ringing es offers big button,lized phones. And volumeenhanced phones. Nes. Get details on this state program. Visit right now or call during business hours. But you can work out anything wowith comcast business. W. Get fast, reliable, and secure internet on the nations largest gig speed network. Flexible tools like wifi you control. Voice solutions that connect you from anywhere. And expert advice here, here, or even here. Be fast. Be flexible. Bounce forward with comcast business. Get started with a powerful internet and voice solution for just 64. 90 a month. Plus, for a limited time, ask how to get a 500 prepaid card when you upgrade. Switch today. And accessoriesphones for your mobile phone. Like this device to increase volume on your cell phone. phone ringing get details on this state Program Visit right now or call during business hours. Good morning. Im chris janseng in for craig melvin and the Biden White House senior staff is coming into seconds. We learned of new names jonning the team, one of them louisiana congressman Cedrick Richmond holding a press conference in new orleans as we speak and Just Announced he is leaving congress. He will be a Senior Adviser at the white house. Well have more on whos joaning the biden team ahead. Joe biden amping up the pressure on the Current Administration over the intensifying pandemic. Front line workers are painting a dire picture of where we are and where they fear were going. We need a release valve. Whether thats from society as a whole to take care of one another, quite frankly we are