Giuliani insists there is enough fraud evidence to overturn election
President Trump's legal team claims viable path to victory; the 'Special Report' All-Star panel weighs in.
Nov. 19, 2020 – This is a rush transcript from “Special Report” November 19, 2020. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS HOST: See you tomorrow, guys. Good evening, I'm John Roberts in for Bret Baier.
Breaking tonight, the Trump legal team as most aggressive moves yet to challenge the election results. Point man Rudy Giuliani says there was a centralized plan to carry out voter fraud across the country. He says he has the evidence to back that up though he did not share it publicly.
The comments come as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising Americans not to travel for Thanksgiving. Shortly afterward, the president's Coronavirus Task Force held its first briefing in months, didn't take any questions, though.
Correspondent Kristin Fisher starts us off from the White House. Good evening, Kristin.
KRISTIN FISHER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Evening, John. Well, this was the Task Force's first briefing since July and it really felt like one of those briefings from back at the beginning of the pandemic. Both Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx were there.
And even though coronavirus cases are surging across the country, Dr. Fauci said that we are not talking about shutting down the country provided that Americans keep social distancing and wearing masks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS
DISEASES: Because if we do that, we'll be able to hold things off until the vaccine comes. Now, I've used that metaphor that the cavalry is on the way.
If you're fighting a battle, and the cavalry is on the way, you don't stop shooting, you keep going until the cavalry gets here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FISHER: Now, Vice President Mike Pence was at that briefing, but President Trump was not. In fact, he has not been seen on camera since Saturday, though he has been tweeting quite a bit and he's been letting his legal team do the talking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FISHER (Voice over): The day started with President Trump tweeting about an important news conference with his legal team on a very clear and viable path to victory. A few hours later, Rudy Giuliani was standing on stage next to a map of the United States with the title multiple pathways to victory.
Yet, over the course of the next 90 minutes, Giuliani did not credibly explain a single path and instead focused on allegations of widespread voter fraud that have yet to be substantiated in court.
RUDY GIULIANI, TRUMP ATTORNEY: There are other aspects of this fraud, that at this point, I really can't reveal. This is really enough. It's enough to overturn any election.
FISHER: But many of the claims Giuliani made today have already been overturned in court or dismissed by the campaign.
In Pennsylvania, Giuliani continues to claim evidence of widespread voter fraud in Philadelphia, even though he's already said in court, this is not a fraud case.
And in Michigan, the Trump campaign dropped a federal lawsuit just hours before this news conference after two Republican canvassers in Wayne County say, they now want to rescind their votes for certifying the election because they say they were bullied and threatened by Democrats.
GIULIANI: The case that we dismissed today because that case was attempting to get the Wayne County Board of supervisors to decertify. Well, they did.
They decertified.
FISHER: But the election has not been decertified in Wayne County. The results were made official on Tuesday and Joe Biden won.
Today, Giuliani also claimed without evidence that there was a centralized plot involving widespread voter fraud in big cities controlled by Democrats and attorney Sidney Powell said this.
ATTY. SIDNEY POWELL, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: What we are really dealing with here and uncovering more about the day is the massive influence of communists' money through Venezuela, Cuba, and likely China in the interference with our elections here in the United States.
JONATHAN TURLEY, PROFESSOR, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Most of us thought he'd be talking about such boring things as authentication machines for signatures, and instead we got a global communist conspiracy that even featured the dead Hugo Chavez. I mean, it was quite a thing. The only thing missing was a sinister figure petting a white cat.
FISHER: The newly fired election official Chris Krebs agrees, saying, "That press conference was the most dangerous hour and 45 minutes of television in American history."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FISHER (on camera): Now, the Trump campaign is described describing that news conference is simply an opening argument and they're asking the public and the media to be patient as they try to make their case in court. But with state certification deadlines rapidly approaching, time is running out, John.
ROBERTS: We'll see if all of this bears fruit in court. Kristin Fisher at the White House tonight. Kristin, thanks.
President-elect Joe Biden says he will not shutdown the economy again over the coronavirus. Biden also says there is no excuse for the Trump administration's refusal to share crucial information with his transition team. Despite that, the transition process is continuing with one major move apparently already made. Our correspondent Peter Doocy has more tonight, from Wilmington, Delaware.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: You'll soon hear my choice for a Treasury. I've made that decision, we've made that decision.
PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT (Voice over): That's the first hint that the Biden Cabinet is coming together.
BIDEN: It is someone who I think is will be accepted by all elements of the Democratic Party.
DOOCY: The most pressing item of the day, figuring out what this White House has going on with the COVID-19 response.
BIDEN: You know, we haven't been able to get into Operation Warp Speed. But we will take what we learned today and build on that for our plan.
DOOCY: Just by casting doubt on a potential vaccine months ago, Biden now plans to give it to everyone.
BIDEN: Vaccinations into the arms of 330 million Americans.
DOOCY: And he insists despite saying this summer he'd shutdown if scientists told him to.
BIDEN: No national shutdown, no national shutdown.
DOOCY: Progressives don't want to get shutdown either.
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): We have worked with the Biden administration to secure a commitment on a $2 trillion climate plan, $2 trillion. Well, we're not going to stop there.
DOOCY: New members plan to hold the new administration accountable.
JAMAAL BOWMAN (D), REPRESENTATIVE-ELECT OF NEW YORK: Black and Brown communities organized across the country to make sure Joe Biden won the White House. And he did that. But now it's time for pay back.
DOOCY: And quickly.
REP. RASHIDA TLAIB (D-MI): We're on a different timeline or we're going to make sure that the Biden administration sticks to our timeline.
DOOCY: One Democratic socialist senator says he's ready to leave Congress to join the administration.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Republican governor has indicated that he would appoint somebody who would caucus with the Democrats and progressives who would caucus with the Democrats. I think that resolves that issue. I think something like Secretary of Labor would be a very attractive position.
DOOCY: Fox News asked if there's a spot for Sanders.
Do you have room for Bernie Sanders in your cabinet?
BIDEN: I was wondering whether you'd join the cabinet.
DOOCY: Me?
BIDEN: Yes.
DOOCY: What job you got?
BIDEN: I don't know man, maybe press secretary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOOCY (on camera): If you didn't hear it there, he did say maybe I could be his press secretary. 103 days after telling me I was his running mate. So, the president-elect is a joker.
And tomorrow he is going to get a visit from D.C. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer will be here. No word yet if they plan to hit Dairy Queen on their way into Delaware. It is Biden's 78th birthday tomorrow, John.
ROBERTS: He's either a joker or you've got a bright future ahead of you, Peter. I'm not sure which.
DOOCY: No comment.
ROBERTS: Peter Doocy for us tonight in Wilmington. Peter, thank you.
We told you at the top of the program, the CDC is recommending Americans not travel during the Thanksgiving holiday and not to host people who don't live with them.
The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose last week to 742,000.
That is the first increase in five weeks.
Despite that, stocks were up. The Dow gained 45, the S&P 500 finished ahead 14. The NASDAQ jumped 103.
Scientists who spent months now urging us to aggressively clean contaminated surfaces or possibly contaminated surfaces to prevent the spread of coronavirus are now changing their stories.
The respiratory specialist with the National Institutes of Health tells the New York Times a lot of time and money is being wasted on disinfecting surfaces because the virus spreads primarily through inhaled droplets.
New York City public schools were closed today but the debate over whether that is the right thing to do is very much open tonight. Correspondent David Lee Miller shows us from New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LEE MILLER, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT (Voice over): There is outrage and confusion about New York City's decision to again stop all classroom instruction.
Outside City Hall this morning, parents delivered a petition with 12,000 signatures demanding that schools reopen.
RESHMA SAUJANI, PARENT: Shut the bars down. Close the restaurants. Close the gyms. Ban indoor dining, but do not close the school.
MILLER: Parents consider as arbitrary the city's three percent infection rate that is used to trigger the school closure. Mayor Bill de Blasio defending the shutdown says the city is unique.
MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D-NY), NEW YORK CITY: And we were the epicenter of this crisis, everyone knows that. We needed to bring our schools back in the fall and we needed to show parents and staff that they be safe, so we set a very stringent standard.
MILLER: Complicating the shutdown, the city and state have different metrics for the rate of infection. When asked about possible in consistencies, Governor Andrew Cuomo lashed out at a reporter.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): We did it already. That's the law, an orange zone and a red zone. Follow the facts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just still confused.
CUOMO: Well, then you're confused.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Parents are still confused as well.
CUOMO: No, they're not confused, you're confusing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I think parents are very confused as well.
CUOMO: Read the law and you won't be confused.
MILLER: Despite President Trump's repeated calls for schools to reopen, some of the largest districts are still only teaching online.
In Washington D.C., efforts to resume classroom instruction stalled this week when the Teachers' Union refused to sign a tentative agreement citing a lack of clear public health guidelines.
Starting Monday in Kentucky, all in-person instruction will be halted until at least next month. The criteria for school shutdowns varies across the country.
According to many experts, the virus transmission rate for schools is low.
The CDC says it increases when there is a spike in the community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MILLER (on camera): The director of the CDC speaking just a short time ago at the Coronavirus Task Force, we iterated that the agency does not support the closing of schools.
Dr. Robert Redfield said that there can be face to face learning that in his words that can be done safely and responsibly. He went on to say that, according to the data, one of the safest places for kids is the classroom, John.
ROBERTS: That was something that really stood out to me during that press conference. David Lee Miller for us tonight. David, thank you.
More coronavirus restrictions tonight from California's governor, is now prohibiting non-essential businesses and personal gatherings after 10:00 at night in areas of the state where coronavirus cases are high.
Meanwhile, the backlash continues over Gavin Newsom's flaunting of his own guidelines on coronavirus safety. It's just the latest in a series of actions that many considered to be hypocrisy at the highest levels.
Chief correspondent Jonathan Hunt reports tonight from Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN HUNT, FOX NEWS CHIEF CORRESPONDENT (Voice over): The now famous pictures of California Governor Gavin Newsom doing exactly what he's telling Californians not to do, attending an unmasked party at a restaurant prompted one California committee woman to suggest that Newsom's night out had a "Marie Antoinette feel to it. Let them eat cake."
For his part, Newsom has apologized for attending the dinner at the Swanky French Laundry along with lobbyists and medical professionals.
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): Instead of sitting down, I should have stood up.
HUNT: Other politicians are also taking flak for apparently adopting the do as I say, not as I do approach to COVID restrictions. Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser traveling to Delaware to congratulate president-elect Biden despite Delaware being on decease travel advisory list.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot going maskless at a post-election celebration.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi maskless and indoors at a hair salon in August.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer's husband trying to put his boat in the water during the state's first lockdown. Governor Whitmer now faces an impeachment attempt over the latest coronavirus restriction.
AMY CONEY BARRETT, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE, SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES: I Amy Coney Barrett.
HUNT: And one less hypocritical, perhaps given his lacks attitude to masks from the beginning, President Trump has repeatedly gone against his own Centers for Disease Control guidelines by holding large campaign rallies and White House events with masks very much optional if not frowned upon.
And all this happening as coronavirus infections soar across the country and lockdowns loom large for millions as we approached the holiday season.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT (on camera): Newsom also said during his apology press conference that "COVID fatigue is exhausting", although it is perhaps slightly less so when one is fueled by Nova Scotia Lobster Galette, charcoaled grilled
(INAUDIBLE) and Herb Roasted Legion Field Farm Lamb. Just some of the dishes you might find on the rotating tasting menu at The French Laundry, John.
ROBERTS: A $350 a plate. Jonathan Hunt for us tonight. Jonathan, thanks.
The parade of high profile outsiders going to Georgia in advance of January Senate runoffs featured Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton today. Correspondent Steve Harrigan has got the latest on the campaigns tonight from Atlanta.
Good evening, Steve.
STEVE HARRIGAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Good evening, John. It would be hard to overstate what politicians are saying about just how important these two Georgia Senate runoff races are.
Today, Senator Tom Cotton was at the Georgia Fairgrounds stumping for the Republicans. He said if the two Democrats are allowed to win and potentially take control of the Senate, it could mean Armageddon for the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TOM COTTON (R-AK): They are waiting to see, are we going to have a Republican majority that protects your rights, that protects your Second Amendment rights, that protects the lives of the unborn and lets you keep more of your own money or are we going to have Chuck Schumer and the Democrats in charge?
REV. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D), SENATORIAL CANDIDATE FOR GEORGIA: All eyes are on Georgia now through those January 5th dual elections. The pocketbooks are opening up too, more than $135 million has been spent on television advertising in just the past two weeks. And while Republicans are making the case that their Democratic opponents are too liberal for Georgia, the Democrats are saying it's time for dramatic change in this state.
This is our time to stand up. This is our voices to be heard. This is our time to cast our votes. Are you ready to be on that ark?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIGAN (voice over): The presidential recount in Georgia still continues,
5 million ballots counted by hand. At this point, Joe Biden has about a 13,000-vote lead. There have been at least four discrepancies in different counties. Two of those discrepancies involving more than 2,000 votes each, some of that in favor of President Trump. But officials say the overall result will not change despite those numbers.
HARRIGAN (on camera): And tomorrow, Vice President Pence comes to Georgia to stump for the two Republican senators. John, back to you.
ROBERTS: Shows you how much things have changed in, Steve, when Georgia becomes the center of the political universe. Thanks so much.
When we come back, what will Joe Biden do about policing in social justice?
He has plenty of people telling him what he should do.
And later, coronavirus at the Capitol. Tensions boil over and a rising number -- amid rather a rising number of cases among lawmakers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. SHERROD BROWN (D-OH): I'd start by asking the presiding officer to please wear a mask as he speaks when people below him are -- I can't tell you what to do, but I know that the behavior --
(CROSSTALK)
SEN. DAN SULLIVAN (R-AK): I don't wear a mask when I'm speaking, like most senators.
BROWN: Well, I -- most senators --
SULLIVAN: So, I'll --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Top Republicans in the House Oversight Committee are demanding Democratic Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney hold a hearing to examine the violence against supporters of President Trump after Saturday's march in Washington.
They are also calling for answers from D.C. mayor, Muriel Bowser, claiming, her silence on the issue was part of a broader pattern of viewpoint discrimination.
Tonight, we're going to take a closer look at President-elect Joe Biden's policies and options on policing. Many Democrats ran campaigns featuring calls to defund the police during the time of extensive emphasis on social justice.
National correspondent William La Jeunesse has that story for us tonight from Los Angeles.
WILLIAM LA JEUNESSE, FOX NEWS NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Crime, justice, policing, for many Americans, it's a pressing issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: George Floyd!
LA JEUNESSE: Following the police killing of George Floyd, President-elect Joe Biden invoked the legacy of the late Congressman John Lewis, adding his voice to many calling for police reform.
BIDEN: America is ready, in John's words, to lay down, "the heavy burden of hate," at last. And then, the hard work of Rudy, now our systemic racism.
LA JEUNESSE: Some cities responded by reducing budgets and eliminating officers. But after months of rising crime and violence, that momentum is gone. Polls in several cities show voters increasingly opposed to funding police. And today, elected Democrats rarely voice support.
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): What does defund mean to me, and for me, as an elected official, by the way, this term is about -- this whole conversation is about me listening.
REP. DEAN PHILLIPS (D-MN): Defund the police was one of the worst marketing messages I've ever encountered in my entire life.
LA JEUNESSE: Congressional democrats proposed modest police reforms, most of which Biden supports. Banning chokeholds, adopting body cameras, and a national police oversight commission to set new standards on use of force.
BIDEN: They have to be held accountable.
LA JEUNESSE: Biden's agenda is unlikely to change much on the ground. He supports a national registry of officer misconduct which already exists and wants to make federal grants contingent on race and tactical reforms, though typically federal money is less than one percent of a police budget.
TATE FEGLEY, RESEARCH FELLOW, INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE: The federal government, by offering these grants, they can't encourage these things, but it's not going to make a real dent in police budgets.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LA JEUNESSE (on camera): The bottom line is cities control police policy and budgets. Many voters support reform but they also want to be safe.
John?
ROBERTS: William La Jeunesse for us tonight. William, thanks.
It's not just the presidential election in the spotlight. The director of the Census Bureau says irregularities have been found during the numbers crunching phase of the head count. The issue could jeopardize the agency's ability to meet a year-end deadline for handing in numbers that are used for determining congressional seats.
The Census Bureau is not saying what the anomalies are or publicly giving a new deadline for the apportionment numbers.
Up next, why some people believe one of the most dangerous places to be in terms of contracting the coronavirus is right behind me on Capitol Hill.
First, here is what some of our Fox affiliates from around the country are covering tonight. Fox 5 in Las Vegas as the Clark County District Court rents space at the city's convention center, so it can resume civil jury trials.
Monday, courts paused all jury trials again, following the surge in COVID-
19 cases. Unresolved legal cases have been piling up in Clark County since courts initially shut down back in March.
And this is a live look at Dallas from Fox 4. One of the big stories there tonight. Oscar-winning actor and Texas native, Matthew McConaughey is not ruling out a run for governor. McConaughey told radio host, Hugh Hewitt, whether he runs would be up to the people more than him. Oh, I imagine the ultimate decision would be his.
That's tonight's live look "OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY" from SPECIAL REPORT. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: The coronavirus surge is raging through the U.S. Capitol tonight.
At least five lawmakers had positive tests this week. This evening, congressional correspondent Chad Pergram, who's at home and out of the petri dish, examines what is behind the surge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're tired, I'm starving, put that's on.
CHAD PERGRAM, FOX NEWS CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You've heard about confrontations over masks at Target. How about the Senate floor?
BROWN: I'd start by asking the presiding officer to please wear a mask as he speaks when people below him are -- I can't tell you what to do, but I know that the behavior --
(CROSSTALK)
SULLIVAN: I don't wear a mask when I'm speaking, like most senators.
BROWN: Well, I -- most senators --
SULLIVAN: So, I'll --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put it back.
SULLIVAN: But I don't need your instruction from --
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: I know you don't need my instruction, but I -- there clearly isn't much interest in this body in public health.
PERGRAM: Outgoing GOP Arizona Senator Martha McSally, through the ire of Senate security staff, after she gathered mask less with aides for pictures.
The senate majorities' most senior senator, 87-year-old Chuck Grassley tested positive. A Senate president pro tem, he is third in line to the presidency.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Certainly, if any member of this body has the good health and stamina to kick the virus to the curve, it's Senator Grassley.
PERGRAM: Grassley says he's feeling strong and symptom free. But quarantine force the senator to miss his first vote in 27 years. Senate Republicans, likely could have muscled through the nomination of Judy Shelton for the Federal Reserve board that lack to votes because of quarantined senator.
And the list of members contracting the coronavirus continues to grow hitting both sides.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): Well, I can continue to get concerned about the rise in the spike. I will tell you, I just went through two days of a conference where every person wore their mask, except for when they were speaking.
PERGRAM: Both House Democrats and Republicans scrapped plans for in-person dinners at the Capitol for freshman, after a firestorm of criticism over health concern. The Capitol pause with action for the first time in months this week, but the House and Senate meeting and incoming members arriving for freshmen orientation.
But GOP Iowa Representative Ashley Hinson, wasn't among them. She tested positive and is in quarantine. Some lawmakers only believe Congress should come back after Thanksgiving to fund the government and vote on a still illusive COVID stimulus package.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PERGRAM (on camera): It's often said that Congress is a microcosm of America. And if coronavirus is burning through the rest of the country, it's likely doing the same on Capitol Hill. John?
ROBERTS: Chad Pergram, reporting from tonight. Chad, thanks so much.
Israeli says air raids against Syrian and Iranian targets are retaliation for an Iranian sponsored operation against an Israeli base in the Golan Heights. There is also history tonight in the Middle East. The U.S.
secretary of state has visited the Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
It's a milestone that brings with it plenty of criticism. Correspondent Trey Yingst shows us tonight from Tel Aviv.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
TREY YINGST, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flies over the West Bank before landing in an Israeli settlement. His visit to a winery marks the first time a top U.S. diplomatic toured the disputed territory. Pompeo's trip is part of a larger campaign announced this week alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to punish organizations deemed anti-Semitic.
MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: I know this sounds simple to you, Mr.
Prime Minister. It seems like a statement of fact, but I want you to know we will immediately take steps to identify organizations that engage in hateful BDS conduct and withdraw U.S. government support for such groups.
YINGST: Part of the new U.S. initiative and final gift to Israel from the Trump administration includes labelling products as made in Israel if they originate from settlements. Talk of Pompeo's visit to an area that is considered illegally occupied under international law triggered protests yesterday with demonstrators lighting tires on fire and clashing with the Israeli military.
SAM BAHOUR, PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN BUSINESSMAN: This is an illegal act. It's an act of a failed administration trying to make themselves relevant when he is one month away from being a nobody.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
YINGST: Secretary Pompeo also visited the Golan Heights today, an area taken from Syria during the Six-Day War. The Trump administration formally recognized the Golan as part of Israel last year in contrast to views held by most of the international community. John?
ROBERTS: Trey Yingst tonight. Trey, thanks.
Up next, the panel on the president's strategies for challenging the election.
First, beyond our borders this evening. Brexit trade negotiations are suspended at a crucial stage after a European Union negotiator tests positive for the coronavirus. Any long delay would make it even tougher for the two sides to reach a deal ahead of the January 1st deadline.
Iranian state media says the Revolutionary Guard has added a warship capable of carrying aircraft, missiles launchers, and drones to its naval fleet. The IRGC Navy commander says the ship will provide security for maritime transportation lines, oil tankers, and commercial and fishing fleets.
And police in South Australia are facing international condemnation on social media after declaring that the walking of dogs is prohibited under new coronavirus restrictions. A six-day lockdown temporarily closing schools, cafes, and stopping funerals has been enacted in south Australia in response to 22 coronavirus cases.
Just some of the other stories beyond our borders tonight. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: There's not a singular voter fraud in one state. This pattern repeats itself in a number of states.
JOCELYN BENSON, (D) MICHIGAN SECRETARY OF STATE: There is no evidence of irregularities, no evidence of widespread fraud.
GIULIANI: The secretary of state can say whatever she wants to say. Of course she is going to say that. She's a Democrat.
BRAD RAFFENSPERGER (R) GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE: No, we have not seen any widespread voter fraud.
GIULIANI: The recount being done in Georgia will tell us nothing because these fraudulent ballots will just be counted again.
JOSH KAUL, (D) WISCONSIN ATTORNEY GENERAL: People showed up to vote. Votes were legally cast, and more people voted for Joe Biden.
GIULIANI: If you count the lawful votes, Trump won Wisconsin. This is really enough. It's enough to overturn any election.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Rudy Giuliani with a lengthy presentation today to say that there was a national program that was involved in turning Joe Biden votes in at the last second to try to overcome an early Trump lead on Election Day, and of course reaction to all of that.
Let's bring in our panel now for more reaction. Jonathan Swan is a national political reporter for "Axios," Katie Pavlich, the news editor at Townhall and "Washington Post" columnist Marc Thiessen.
Katie, let's start with you. What did you think of the presentation today?
A lot of serious accusations leveled that will seem to have to be borne out in court at some point.
KATIE PAVLICH, NEWS EDITOR, TOWNHALL: Yes, I think that the Trump legal team made that clear. You had Jenna Ellis saying that this is an opening statement, that they are far from the end of this. But they do understand that they are on a timeline here to really pack in a lot of evidence gathering and presentation to the court before these states certify the votes.
Rudy Giuliani presented a number of affidavits. He said he has hundreds of sworn affidavits about witnesses who have seen this fraud first hand, so that is something he will have to present to the court. You also had Sidney Powell talking about how she believes that unpatriotic acts beyond anything she's ever imagined have occurred through the use of these Dominion voting systems and alleges that a number of votes were switched in a widespread way from Biden to President Trump. And what she said was that President Trump won this in a landslide, and they were going to prove it.
So they set the bar very high for themselves to go to court, and the runway on the timing here is running out, so we'll see if they can get it done before the end of the line here.
ROBERTS: Marc Thiessen, the team, including Sidney Powell, presented an idea of a broad conspiracy that went all the way to Venezuela and Hugo Chavez. Do you really think that that has happened?
MARC THIESSEN, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: And they left out Dr. No. No.
Or Dr. Evil.
ROBERTS: It was either one. Dr. No, or maybe it was Blofeld. I'm not sure.
THIESSEN: That's right, Blofeld. But they would do the president a better service by focusing on real issues which do exist, like one thing that Giuliani raised today that was very valid is the handling of these mail-in ballots. Were mail-in ballots that were counted that should have been rejected for irregularities like the signatures didn't match, or the voter information didn't match up with the records, if that was done in great enough numbers that could tip the election to Joe Biden.
But the problem is, you can't fix that after the fact because the ballot is separated from the voter information to preserve secrecy. So really the only way you can find out is by checking the rejection rate in this election to previous elections and see if they are consistent. And the preliminary data says they are not. In Georgia the rejection rate this year right now stands at 0.2 percent which is 30 times lower than 2016. In Pennsylvania, it's 0.03 percent compared to one percent in 2016. In Nevada it's 0.75 percent this year, which is half of the 1.6 rate in 2016.
So in each of these states, the rejection rate was lower than four years ago. That's in a year where millions of people were voting for the first time and were more likely to make mistakes. So counting ballots that were irregular, it's not the same as stuffing ballots. It's not the same as a communist conspiracy. But it is a form of voter fraud if people in these different states were counted ballots that favored Biden that should not have been counted in the first place.
ROBERTS: Jonathan Swan, Chris Krebs, who is the president's former cyber security chief over at DHS that the president fired earlier this week tweeted this of the presentation today. He said, quote, "That press conference was the most dangerous hour and 45 minutes of television in American history and possibly the craziest. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you're lucky." What was your take on it?
JONATHAN SWAN, NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER, "AXIOS": I think he is basically right. I think it was reckless. You don't just stand in front of the American people and allege a vast communist conspiracy across multiple continents, asserting that it would have resulted in a landslide victory to Donald Trump and that you have all of this evidence that's coming. This is really serious. This is American democracy on the line. This is many, many people listening, and we know from public polling that 77 percent of Trump supporters believe the election was stolen through fraud. We are not playing games. This is not a game.
And to make an accusation like that on national TV is unserious, and it's reckless. And I'm going to get all sorts of criticism for saying that, you're being opinionated and bias. But I'm just telling you the way I see it as a factual matter, that if you're going to make some kind of a claim like that, you better have it absolutely watertight documented, and not for some later date, but there in the moment. This is really serious stuff.
ROBERTS: Giuliani did claim he has got the evidence and will be presenting it in court.
Let's move ahead. Let's move ahead. The recount in Wisconsin in two counties, Milwaukee and Dane, that the Trump campaign is going after. The president is, Katie, having some Republican lawmakers from Wisconsin to the White House tomorrow. Some people are saying, oh, is the president putting pressure on Wisconsin lawmakers now to support his cause there? What is this all about?
PAVLICH: Well, look, they can say that the president is maybe trying to put some pressure on them, but the fact is that the people who are certifying the votes in the counties are going to do this audit and recount. And if the votes come out in favor of Joe Biden versus Donald Trump and there is no fraud proven in court, then any pressure on any kind of public official isn't really going to matter.
But speaking of public officials and on Capitol Hill, it's interesting to look, too. You had a number of conservative Republican congressmen today also calling for federal hearings on absentee ballots, mass mail-in voting.
So even, John, if we get through these lawsuits and the Trump campaign is or is not victorious in a number of them, I don't think this issue of how American votes now given a lot of these policies will probably stay will be going away any time soon. And there will be questions about how things were handled for quite some time.
ROBERTS: Hey, John, real quick, because we've just got a few seconds left in this segment. How long are you hearing that this will go on?
SWAN: I think Trump is in for the long haul on this. I think he's in as far as he can go, as far as he can possibly stretch it out. And they are raising a lot of money through small donations. So I don't think they're fiscally constrained.
ROBERTS: All right, we will take a break and we'll be back with the latest on the coronavirus surge. Stay with us here tonight on SPECIAL REPORT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Our task force, this administration and our president, does not support another national lockdown. And we do not support closing schools.
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I am not going to shut down the economy, period. I'm going to shut down the virus. That's what I'm going to shut down.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES:
The efficacious vaccine efficacy point is extraordinary. So we need to put to rest any concept that this was rushed in an inappropriate way. This is really solid.
GEN. GUSTAVE PERNA, OPERATION WARP SPEED: I can look you in the face and say to you, EUA comes, 24 hours later vaccines will be distributed out to the American people and be ready for administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: This afternoon at the White House, the first Coronavirus Task Force briefing in a long, long time, and then Joe Biden saying that he is not going to shut down the economy again.
We are back with our panel. And just before we start, I made a mistake in the last segment. I said that Wisconsin lawmakers were coming over to the White House. It's Michigan lawmakers who are coming to the White House. My apologies.
Marc Thiessen, let's start with you. Dr. Redfield from the CDC said, quote, we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel here even as infections increase in the United States. If President Trump said that he probably would have been roundly criticized for it. What does it mean when the CDC director says it?
THIESSEN: It's a very different thing. We have two Trump press briefings today that were the polar opposite of each other. The one that was literally bat guano crazy, and the other one that if it had been held three or four weeks ago Trump might be planning his second term right now.
General Perna is remarkable. The planning that has gone into distributing and doing this -- Operation Warp Speed is quite literally the greatest public health achievement in modern times for the development and distribution of a vaccine for a novel virus in a matter of months.
Literally by next year, we're going to have this thing distributed, so all of the at-risk people are vaccinated and most of the country can be vaccinated within months from now. That is an unprecedented achievement. If we had known this information and had been able to present this to the American people this way, we'd have a very different election result.
ROBERTS: One person's enthusiasm about having a vaccine that could begin to end this coronavirus pandemic is another person's greed and ego stroke. And listen to what New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said about a vaccine yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO, (D) NEW YORK: Why is it moving so fast? Two reasons.
Money and ego.
On the way out the door, he wants to be able to say I solved COVID because I discovered a vaccine. No, it's all B.S. He didn't do anything. It's the drug companies. And nobody is going to trust him saying it's a safe vaccine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Katie Pavlich, obviously there is a lot of money in creating pharmaceuticals, and these companies received a lot of money already from the federal government. And the president would like to say that a vaccine was done on his watch. But what do you think about what Cuomo said and the way he said it?
PAVLICH: Andrew Cuomo really should be ashamed of himself. That's why Dr.
Fauci came out today and said people saying that the vaccine has been rushed through and is somehow unsafe, he didn't call out by name, but that's exactly who he was speaking to. Governor Cuomo was quite happy early on in this virus when President Trump was working with him to send an aircraft carrier to build hospitals at the Javits Center to help New York deal with this issue because they were in such dire straits. And instead Andrew Cuomo sent elderly people back into nursing homes and then wrote a book about how that was a success even though there were so many people who were killed as a result of that.
On a different topic real quickly. The Biden campaign and the team and Joe Biden himself have repeatedly said that the Trump administration has no plans for distribution. That's absolutely not true. We saw that today. And also today Joe Biden said when he was asked about China and whether they should be punished for releasing the pandemic on the world, he said we should rejoin the World Health Organization which is partially, actually mostly at fault for allowing China to take the reins on this issue which then resulted in a pandemic and devastating loss both in human life and economically for the entire world. So that should be an alarming thing for most Americans.
ROBERTS: Jonathan, I saved the juiciest topic for you because I know, like our Jonathan Hunt, you like a good meal. Gavin Newsom going to the French Laundry in Napa, Mayor Muriel Bowser going to Joe Biden's big victory speech, Lori Lightfoot going out there in a public group, Nancy Pelosi getting her hair done -- there is a lot of do as I say and not as I do among many Democratic leaders that a lot people across this country are looking at and calling hypocrisy.
SWAN: The Newsom photos in particular, just coming during a really bad time for this virus. If you're trying to be a public figure, it's not just what you say about the importance of setting that modelling. You talk to any public health expert and they will tell you it's about modelling correct behavior. So it actually -- obviously it's the hypocrisy and all of that, and all that's true, but it actually has real consequences, too.
ROBERTS: Newsom said he is sorry, John. Do you think he is sorry or sorry he got caught?
SWAN: I wouldn't want to speculate on the genuineness of his apology. So I'll leave it at that.
ROBERTS: Marc Thiessen, is there a danger in delaying a transition? When we are in the throes of this raging pandemic, and obviously we have gotten better at treating this, because when you look at the death rate from coronavirus now, it's lower than it was back in the spring when we had six times fewer cases. But if you don't make a smooth transition on the health front between this administration and what appears to be the incoming administration, at least on a provisional basis, are you running a risk?
THIESSEN: Very much so. Operation Warp Speed is Trump's greatest achievement in office, but if he doesn't hand it off properly and there is a delay, then it's going to undermine his achievement. And they are going to be able to turn around and take what's a success for him and turn it into a story of lost lives because the vaccine wasn't distributed fast enough.
And this is a broader problem he has with the transition generally. Donald Trump can run again in 2024. He is on a tightrope right now, and he could fall off it very easily. How he handles this transition could affect whether or not he is a viable candidate in four years time, and he could very well win the president back for the first time, the first president to do so since Grover Cleveland in 1888.
ROBERTS: Katie Pavlich, 15 seconds left, should the president allow a provisional transition here just for national security and health reasons?
PAVLICH: I think the president is on his own timeline and is waiting for the results of the election to be certified before that decision is made.
ROBERTS: Katie Pavlich, Marc Thiessen, and Jonathan, good to see you.
Thanks for coming in, appreciate it.
When we come back, a visit from a super hero. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Finally tonight, a real-life superhero.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Aquaman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, beautiful boy. Hi.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Seven-year-old Danny Sheehan received a special surprise from his favorite superhero Aquaman. Actor Jason Momoa chatted with Danny after hearing about how much he loves the character. Danny has been battling cancer for nearly four years now. Momoa invited him to the set of "Aquaman 2" that's filming next year in London. That will make a seven-year-old's day.
Thanks for watching SPECIAL REPORT. I'm John Roberts in Washington. THE STORY hosted by Martha MacCallum starts right now. Hey, Martha.
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