Anderson Cooper 360

A source close to the White House says the public should expect a “flurry” of pardons before Pres. Trump leaves office in January. The source also tells CNN that some of Trump’s advisers think it’d be perfectly fine if he preemptively pardoned his family members and associates, even though they haven’t been formally charged with any crimes. Andrew Weissmann served as Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s lead prosecutor. He tells Anderson Cooper unless there can be a bribe shown, pardoning himself or family members is legal but he can’t pardon anyone for state crimes or future crimes. Plus, Senator Bernie Sanders joins AC360 to discuss Trump floating the idea about running again in 2024, the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing stimulus bill negotiations.

Airdate: December 2, 2020

Guests:

Andrew Weissmann

Sen. Bernie Sanders

To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vaccine advisers to the Center for Disease Control voted that healthcare workers and residents in long term care facilities should be first in line to get any Covid-19 vaccines. Both Moderna and Pfizer have applied for emergency authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA is set to meet with its advisory board committee in the coming weeks to review both applications. Dr. William Schaffner is a professor at the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and serves as an advisor to the CDC. He joins AC360 to explain how the CDC determined who should get the Covid-19 vaccines first. Plus, the New York Times is reporting Pres. Trump has discussed pardons for his three eldest children, his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Also, a source tells CNN that Giuliani and other Trump associates are seeking preemptive pardons for “blanket” protection. John Dean is the former Nixon White House Counsel. He tells Anderson Cooper he thinks it might be a trial balloon to gauge reaction but he’d be more surprised if it doesn’t happen.

Airdate: December 1, 2020

Guests:

Dr. William Schaffner

John Dean

To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Covid-19 cases are at record-breaking levels and with a possible surge in the U.S. before Christmas, White House Coronavirus Task Force member Dr. Anthony Fauci says “all things considered, we’re not in a good place.” Moderna and Pfizer have both officially filed for FDA emergency authorization for its coronavirus vaccines and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar says “we could be seeing both of these vaccines out and getting into people’s arms before Christmas.” William Haseltine is the Chair and President of ACCESS Health International. He tells AC360 the vaccine news is promising but there are still a lot of unanswered questions. Plus, President Trump said he’ll be coming to the Georgia to campaign for Republican Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who face two Senate runoff elections in January. Senator Perdue’s opponent, Jon Ossoff, joins AC360 to react to the President’s visit and says Perdue is griping about Trump in private but in public he’s “indulging the President’s fantasy that he actually won.”

Airdate: November 30, 2020

Guests:

William Haseltine

Jon Ossoff

To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One health expert is warning Thanksgiving could be “the mother of all super spreader events” and Dr. Anthony Fauci is asking Americans to keep indoor gatherings “as small as you possibly can.” Millions are traveling for Thanksgiving despite the CDC recommending not to. More than 261,000 people have died from Covid-19 and the U.S. is seeing record hospitalizations. Dr. James Phillips is the Chief of Disease Medicine at George Washington University Hospital. He tells AC360 “people are going to die because they’re choosing to go home for Thanksgiving” and “if we had proper messaging from the top, from the beginning, more lives would’ve have been saved.” Plus, President Trump has pardoned former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Carrie Cordero is a CNN National Security Analyst and a Senior Fellow Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. She joins AC360 to react to the President’s decision and says she thinks this is “just the beginning of the pardons that we’re probably going to see between now and January 20th.”

Airdate: November 25, 2020

Guests:

Dr. James Phillips

Carrie Cordero

To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President-elect Joe Biden says he would consider appointing Republicans who voted for Trump to his cabinet because he wants “this country to be united” and “we can't keep this virulent political dialogue going.” Biden’s transition team has been in contact with all federal agencies, including the White House, just 24 hours after the GSA said the official transition process can begin. The President-elect says all outreach has been “sincere.” Christine Todd Whitman is the former Republican Governor of New Jersey but endorsed Biden in the 2020 election. She joins AC360 to discuss how Trump delayed the transition and still refuses to accept the results of the election. Plus, the U.S. is approaching 260,000 Covid-19 deaths and has seen another day of record hospitalizations with at least 88,080. Dr. Craig Spencer is the Director of Global Health in Emergency Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. He tells AC360 the system can’t last that much longer if we continue to have such a crush of new cases throughout the country.

Airdate: November 24, 2020

Guests:

Christine Todd Whitman

Dr. Craig Spencer

To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The General Services Administration has informed President-elect Joe Biden and his team that the Trump administration is ready to begin the transition process more than two weeks after the former Vice President was declared the election winner. In a letter, GSA administrator Emily Murphy said she wasn’t pressured by the White House to delay the formal transition. Now that the transition can officially begin, current administration officials can coordinate with the incoming Biden team. David Gergen is a former Presidential Adviser to Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton and is also a CNN Political Analyst. He tells AC360 he thinks Trump did the right thing but it’s vital that he tells his base and the whole country that Joe Biden is a legitimate president and he is not put there by fraud. Plus, Covid-19 hospitalizations and cases are rising with Thanksgiving only days away. The CDC is advising people to not travel to see family and friends. White House Coronavirus Task Force member Dr. Anthony Fauci said what worries him most is “the immediate situation with people traveling from different places, coming home for Thanksgiving.” Dr. William Schaffner is a professor at the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt Medical Center. He joins AC360 to discuss his concerns for the upcoming holiday season.

Airdate: November 23, 2020

Guests:

David Gergen

Dr. William Schaffner

To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices