WE’LL SPEAK TO >>> THE WHITE HOUSE IS SEEKING
TO LIMIT AGENCY OFFICIALS
INCLUDING CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE
MEMBERS FROM TESTIFYING BEFORE
CONGRESS THIS MONTH.
THE WHITE HOUSE SENT NEW
GUIDANCE TO CONGRESSIONAL STAFF
DIRECTORS YESTERDAY CITING THESE
UNPRECEDENTED TIMES.
UNPRECEDENTED TIMES. A COPY PROVIDED TO NBC NEWS
STATES FOR THE MONTH OF MAY NO
TASK FORCE MEMBERS OR KEY
DEPUTIES OF TASK FORCE MEMBERS
MAY ACCEPT HEARING INVITATIONS.
THE GUIDANCE NOTES THAT SOME
EXCEPTIONS MAY BE MADE BY WHITE
HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFFMARK
MEADOWS.
MEADOWS. ONE EXCEPTION MAY BE A SENATE
HEALTH COMMITTEE WHERE DR.
ANTHONY FAUCI IS SLATED TO
TESTIFY.
TESTIFY. LAMAR ALEXANDER SAID THAT DR.
FAUCI WILL APPEAR ALONG WITH
SEVERAL OTHER MEMBERS OF THE
CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE.
JOINING US NOW, THE TOP-RANKING
DEMOCRAT IN THE U.S. SENATE,
MINORITY LEADER CHUCK SCHUMER OF
NEW YORK.
NEW YORK. SENATOR SCHUMER, THANK YOU SO
MUCH.
MUCH. WE’LL GET TO THE SCIENTISTS AND
THE DOCTORS POTENTIALLY
TESTIFYING IN JUST A MOMENT, BUT
FIRST, SENATE DEMOCRATS ARE
PUTTING TOGETHER A LETTER THAT
THEY ARE SENDING TO THE
PRESIDENT ASKING FOR WHAT?
>> WELL, OVER 40 SENATE
DEMOCRATS HAVE SIGNED A LETTER
SAYING WE NEED TO DO MUCH, MUCH
BETTER ON TESTING.
MIKA, AND YOU’VE SAID THIS ON
THE SHOW REPEATEDLY AND THANK
GOD YOU HAVE.
UNTIL WE GET ADEQUATE TESTING
WE’RE NOT GOING GET A HANDLE ON
THIS VIRUS.
THIS VIRUS. TWO MONTHS AGO, TWO MONTHS AGO
TODAY THE PRESIDENT SAID
EVERYONE WHO NEEDS A TEST CAN
GET A TEST.
THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS WE ARE
WAY SHORT.
WAY SHORT. WE SHOULD HAVE 2 MILLION TESTS A
DAY IF WE WERE AT THE LEVEL OF
SOUTH KOREA AND EVERY COUNTRY
THAT HAS BEAT THIS VIRUS THAT
HAS HAD A DECLINE HAS DONE
STRONG TESTING AND CONTACT
TRACING.
TRACING. WE’VE BEEN RECOMMENDING FOR A
MONTH THE LETTER RE-EMPHASIZES,
PUT A MILITARY CZAR IN CHARGE.
GET THEM TO MANUFACTURE ENOUGH
TESTS AND GET THE SUPPLY LINES
TO SUPPLY EVERYTHING FOR ENOUGH
TESTS AND WE PUT MONEY IN THE
COVID-35 BILL TO ADMINISTER THE
TESTS AND TO DO CONTACT TRACING.
THERE IS A PATTERN OF SUCCESS
NOW IN SOUTH KOREA, IN GERMANY
IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND.
FOR SOME REASON WE’RE NOT
FOLLOWING IT.
FOLLOWING IT. THE PRESIDENT WILL INVOKE THE
PRODUCTION FOR MEAT PLANT, BUT
NOT FOR TESTING.
I WILL SAY TO PRESIDENT TRUMP
DIRECTLY UNTIL YOU GET A HANDLE
ON TESTING THIS CRISIS WILL
CONTINUE TO GO ON AND ON AND
FURTHERMORE, IF WE DON’T HAVE
ENOUGH TESTS FOR THE FUTURE,
WHEN IT COMES BACK AND MOST
SKIENT
SKIENT SCIENTISTS SAY IT WILL IN THE
LATE SUMMER OR FALL IT WILL BE
MUCH WORSE.
MUCH WORSE. TESTING IS THE KEY AND THEY ARE
SO DERELICT IN TESTING IT HAS
CREATED MANY MORE CASES AND MANY
MORE DEATHS THAN WE COULD HAVE
HAD IF WE WOULD HAVE DONE IT
RIGHT.
RIGHT. WE MUST DO IT RIGHT NOW.
>> YOU USED THE WORD DERELICT.
I WONDER, COULD IT POSSIBLY BE
CONSIDERED NEGLIGENT TO --
>> YES.
>> YES. >> -- TO CONTINUE TO USE THE
DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT TO TRY TO
STREAMLINE TESTING?
STREAMLINE TESTING? >> MIKA, WE USED TO THINK WELL
MAYBE THEY HAD AN IDEOLOGICAL
OBJECTION.
OBJECTION. THEY DON’T WANT GOVERNMENT
TELLING INDUSTRY WHAT TO DO, BUT
THEY JUST DID IT WITH THE MEAT
PLANTS.
PLANTS. I HAVEN’T HEARD OF ONE GOOD
REASON AND I’VE TALKED TO THE
PRESIDENT DIRECTLY ABOUT THIS,
WHY THEY HAVEN’T INVOKED THE DPA
AND THE TESTING REGIME IS STILL
WILLY-NILLY, SCATTERSHOT, OUR
GOVERNORS, OUR HOSPITAL, OUR
MAYORS ARE SEARCHING FOR ENOUGH
TESTS.
TESTS. IT IS THE KEY.
SCIENTISTS TELL US IT’S THE KEY
AND THIS ADMINISTRATION DOESN’T
LISTEN TO SCIENTIST.
PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYS SOMETHING
THAT’S TOTALLY FALSE AND SOMEHOW
HE SEEMS TO BELIEVE IT AND YOU
MADE A SECOND POINT IT, AND THEN
THEY MUZZLE THE TRUTH.
WE CAME BACK THIS WEEK AND IT’S
A DISGRACE THAT WE’RE NOT HAVING
HEARINGS THIS WEEK, NOT ONLY
WITH FAUCI AND LET’S HOPE HE
STAYS.
STAYS. THEY PULLED HIM BACK FROM THE
HOUSE.
HOUSE. I’M NOT CERTAIN HE’LL BE ALLOWED
TO COME TO THE SENATE NEXT WEEK.
WHAT ABOUT BIRX?
WHAT ABOUT MNUCHIN?
WHAT ABOUT POWELL AND THESE
OTHER EXPERTS?
OTHER EXPERTS? WE NEED TO HAVE INTENSE HEARINGS
WHERE THEY’RE ASKED QUESTION
AFTER QUESTION.
AFTER QUESTION. YOU KNOW, AT THE WHITE HOUSE A
ROTOR ASKED A GOOD QUESTION AND
THE PRESIDENT JUST BELITTLES HIM
AND SHUTS UP THE PEOPLE BEHIND
HIM.
HIM. WE CANNOT HAVE THAT.
THERE’S TOO MUCH AT STAKE.
>> WILLIE?
>> WILLIE? >> SENATOR SCHUMER, WILLIE
GEIST.
GEIST. >> HI, WILLIE.
>> THE POINT YOU’RE MAKING IS
NOT A PARTISAN, AND DR. FAUCI
POINTS TO THE IMPORTANCE OF
TESTING.
TESTING. SO WHAT DO YOU SUSPECT --
>> WILLIE, LET ME JUST SAY THIS.
>> WHY IS IT WILLY NILLY AND NOT
STATE BY STATE.
>> I WOULDN’T USE WILLY NIL TOE
YOU, WILLIE, I’M SORRY.
BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS --
[ LAUGHTER ]
THE BOTTOM LINE IS NO ONE CAN
QUITE FIGURE IT OUT EXCEPT IT’S
THE PRESIDENT’S EGO.
THE PRESIDENT SEEMS TO THINK
THIS IS ALL ABOUT HIM.
HE THINKS HE SAYS SOMETHING AND
IT’S TRUE.
IT’S TRUE. THAT’S BEEN HIS PATTERN HIS
WHOLE LIFE EVEN BEFORE HE WAS
PRESIDENT, BUT IT JUST ISN’T.
TO SAY EVERYONE WILL GET A TEST
DOES NOT MEAN THAT EVERYONE WILL
GET A TEST.
TO SAY IT WILL GO AWAY IN A
MONTH, DOESN’T MEAN IT WILL GO
AWAY IN A MONTH AND IT SURE AS
HECK DIDN’T.
HECK DIDN’T. NO ONE CAN FIGURE OUT -- LOOK, I
WANT TO SAVE LIVES AND I WANT TO
GET OVER THIS CRISIS AND GET US
ALL BACK TO WORK AND THAT’S THE
KEY, AND THE PRESIDENT HIMSELF
WOULD HELP HIMSELF IF HE DID
THIS.
THIS. HE’S HURTING HIMSELF.
THE PROJECTIONS AND YOU
MENTIONED IT IN THE SHOW OF THE
NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO WILL GET
CORONA AND THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE
WHO WILL DIE IS GOING UP.
MANY STATES, IT’S NOT GOING
DOWN, MINE IT IS, WITH REAL
AVOIDING CONTACT AND IN MANY
STATES IT’S GOING UP.
IT’S HURTING EVERYBODY INCLUDING
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES.
STATES. HE’S HURTING HIMSELF, BUT NO ONE
CAN FIGURE OUT WHY AND HERE’S
ONE OTHER PROBLEM AND IT RELATES
TO WHAT MIKA SAID.
NO ONE SPEAKS TRUTH TO POWER.
THEY ALL SAY YES.
LEADER McCONNELL BROUGHT US BACK
TO BRING US A DIVISIVE,
RIGHT-WING JUDGE WHO SAID THAT
THE ACA SHOULD BE REPEALED AND
CRITICIZED JUSTICE ROBERTS THIS
WEEK, AND THAT’S WHAT WE’RE
DOING THIS WEEK WHEN COVID IS
RAGING?
RAGING? LEADER McCONNELL ALONG WITH
PRESIDENT BUSH
PRESIDENT BUSH PRESIDENT TRUMP DOES NOT WANT TO
HEAR THE TRUTH.
THE ONLY WAY YOU SOLVE THIS
PROBLEM IS WITH THE TRUTH, MR.
PRESIDENT.
PRESIDENT. >> THE CURVE IS FLAT EDGE IN THE
STATE OF NEW YORK, PARTICULARLY
IN NEW YORK CITY WHERE IT’S BEEN
THE WORST, OBVIOUSLY THE
EPICENTER OF THIS CRISIS, YOU
DON’T WANT TO GET TOO OPTIMISTIC
AND TOO COMFORTABLE AT THIS
POINT.
POINT. AS THE NUMBERS COME DOWN, WHAT
DO YOU TELL TO THE PEOPLE OF THE
STATE THAT I SEE THE NUMBERS ARE
COMING DOWN AND YOU HAVE TO GET
BACK TO BUSINESS AND I HAVE TO
REOPEN MY SHOP AND REOPEN MY
BUSINESS AND I WANT TO START
COMING BACK TO LIFE AND THE
MESSAGE TO THIS STATE.
>> MY MESSAGE IS HEALTH HAS TO
COME FIRST AND THE ECONOMY WILL
NOT IMPROVE, IF PEOPLE -- THAT’S
ANOTHER REASON TESTING IS SO
IMPORTANT.
IMPORTANT. IF PEOPLE ARE AFRAID, YOU CAN
GIVE MONEY TO THE STORE OWNERS
AND SAY OPEN UP.
IF NO ONE WILL GO OUT ON THE
STREETS AND THEY DON’T HAVE
CUSTOMERS, WHAT GOOD IS IT GOING
TO BE?
TO BE? WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL AND YOU
HAVE TO ERR ON THE SIDE OF
SCIENCE AND OF CAUTION.
THAT DOESN’T MEAN YOU SHUT DOWN
EVERYTHING ALL OF THE TIME AND
NEW YORK HAS ISSUED A CAREFUL
PLAN, BUT WHEN THE PRESIDENT IM
IMPORTUNES TO GO PROTEST AND SAY
OPEN THE GOVERNMENT REGARDLESS
OF
OF OF SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION THAT
WILL HURT ALL OF US.
>> SENATOR, JUST CURIOUS, I HEAR
YOU ON THE RECORD ABOUT THIS,
CAN AMERICAN CITIZENS TRUST
THEIR GOVERNMENT AND THEIR
PRESIDENT TO GET CLEAR, SALIENT
INFORMATION AND ADVICE ON THIS
PANDEMIC?
PANDEMIC? >> WELL, THERE ARE CERTAIN
PEOPLE WE CAN TRUST AND THAT’S
WHY WE WANT TO HAVE HEARINGS AND
THAT’S WHY WE WANT TO ASK THEM
QUESTIONS.
QUESTIONS. I MEAN, FAUCI HAS BEEN MUZZLED
AT TIMES, BUT AT TIMES HAS
SPOKEN THE TRUTH AND SO HAS
BIRX.
BIRX. WE CAN BRING IN EXPERTS WHO ARE
NOT PART OF THE GOVERNMENT TO
TELL THE TRUTH.
THE PRESIDENT HAS BEEN WRONG SO
OFTEN AND HAS BELITTLED THIS
CRISIS SO OFTEN AND INCOMPETENT
SO OFTEN SUCH AS PRODUCING THE
TESTING THAT WE NEED TO HEAR
FROM A MULTIPLE VARIETY OF