good evening. the wealthiest president, ever, does not want to talk about reporting that says he paid less in federal income taxes in his first year in office than, perhaps any president on record. and maybe, less than most tax-paying americans. tonight, we will look at the legal and national security implications, and there are many. but first, just the simple, striking facts, starting with the president's odd silence. he had a chance to talk when he was in front of the microphone, twice, today. but walked away, on both occasions. rare he doesn't gravitate toward a camera. if he hadn't walked away, it might have been pointed out to him that franklin dell nano

roosevelt paid $11,364.33. a lot of money, back then. donald trump, in contrast, $750, in 2017. the same $750 -- well, probably, a different, actual $750 but the same amount in 2016. and nothing, at all, according to "new york times" in ten of the 15 years, before that. that, of course, comes from the report published in "the new york times" and it's based on, quote, tax-return data, extending over more than two decades for mr. trump and the hundreds of companies that make up his business organization, including detailed information from his first two years in office. now, just think about this. this is information the trump organization was providing to the irs. it's just not -- it's not some random figures that are out there, that someone made up. these -- this is what the trump organization was saying to the irs and paying. as we said, he didn't want to talk about it today, which is odd, because he's had plenty to say on the subject, in the past. such as here, in a tweeted photo of him, sitting next to a stack of papers back in february of

2016. one of the years he reportedly paid just $750. signing a recent tax return, he writes. isn't this ridiculous? and, yeah, yet again, a tweet for everything. or a sound bite. here he is, a few months later, boasting about not paying any taxes, at all. >> the only years that anybody's ever seen were a couple of years when he had to turn them over to state authorities, when he was trying to get a casino license. and they showed he didn't pay any federal income tax. so -- z >> that makes me smart. >> smart, he told her. that's what he said back then because the government would only waste his money. >> maybe, because you haven't paid any federal income tax for a lot of years. and the other thing, i think, is important to point out is -- >> it would be squandered, too, believe me. >> believe me, he says. you can't just go around, just giving the treasury money. they'll only squander it. you might tell that to the man who claims to have written the

2011 book "time to get tough." he apparently believed that everyone should pay, and i'm quoting, now, from donald trump's alleged, own book. pages 54 and 55, if you have a copy handy in your home, half of america doesn't even pay a single penny in federal income taxes. that may shock you but it's true. that same year, on that same subject, alleged author donald trump told sean hannity, quote, even if you don't make a lot, you should have to pay something. just something. to be part of the game. so a self-proclaimed multibillionaire. who knows if that's true. is saying that even the lowest-earning americans should pay some income tax. and he's boasting he's smart for not paying any. oh, wait, maybe you're thinking he's just not paying income tax because he made a bunch of bad investments and all those losses outweigh his earnings. and yeah, "the times" did find evidence of that, he is a really bad businessman. a businessman who takes in hundreds of millions of dollars

a year, yet, racks up chronic losses that he aggressively employs to avoid paying taxes. in fact, far from it. very far from it. but, of course, you'd never know it based on what he told voters when he got into the race. >> and i have assets. big accounting firm. one of the most highly respected. $9,240,000,000. and i have liabilities of about 500. that's long-term debt, very low interest rates. in fact, one of the big banks came to me. said, donald, you don't have enough borrowings. could we loan you $4 billion? i said i don't need it. i don't want it. >> they're throwing money at him. they're throwing money. it's crazy. these days, that big accounting firm, by the way, they're answering subpoenas. so is the only major bank that now deals with him and the manhattan d.a. is investigating the trump organization.

perhaps, because the only way you can claim to be rich, too rich to need help, and too poor to pay taxes, is if you are lying act one lying about one or both of those things. >> it was my experience that mr. trump inflated his total assets when it served his purposes, li amongst the wealthiest people in "forbes" and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes. >> so, he lied to the irs, lied to, on the other side of it, lied to bankers for loans and reporters and voters. remember, all that talk on the campaign trail about being too rich to need anything from the government? well, as president, he's been steering money to his companies the entire time and that means his own pockets. he spends nearly every weekend, as you know, ap t one of his go clubs. secret service. they don't stay there for free. he charges them to stay there. and that ends up going to donald

j. trump and, i guess, the kids. according to t"the washington post," as of the end of last month, federal spending records show paid trump's businesses more than $900,000 just since he took office. as always, with trump, it's other people's money, not his, they're spending and their money, your money, is going into his pocket. whenever the secret service or staffers need to rent a room, other people's money, his pocket. organizations with issues that having a friend in the white house might help with. they hold events at his resorts. money in his pocket. hoping for influence. he even tried, last year, to move the g7 summit to his resort near miami. remember him talking about the bungalows? gosh, the bungalows. >> with doral, we a series of magnificent buildings. we call 'em bungalows. they each hold from 50 to 70 very luxurious rooms, with mag

n mag n magnificent views. it's like -- it's like such a natural. >> other people's money, only on a global scale, in that case. when tax time came around, other people's money, not his, was good enough to fund the government. what we don't know, yet, what, if anything, he paid in taxes for the last three years. there is a good chance none of the trillions of dollars of debt while in office will be offset by more than $750 of income tax from him. boris johnson joins us now -- boris sanchez, sorry, boris sanchez joins us now from the white house. boris, thanks so much for being with us. the president had a briefing today and over the past couple months, he's used these as an opportunity to answer questions from the press. he didn't take any questions, at all, today. that's unusual. >> the resemblance is striking, anderson, i know. as far as the president taking questions from reporters, there is no indication from sources at the white house, why he didn't take questions, today. you saw him in the video sort of speeding out of the rose garden.

you imagine that he has been hiding his tax returns since 2015. so he may be hesitant to provide details on some very serious questions, that this data from "the new york times" raises. a couple of things, certainly, jump out. for one, the debt. the president owes more than $300 million and that bill is coming due, within the next four years. so where is that money tied up? where is it coming from? is there a potential conflict of interest? further, his dealings with other countries. this data from "the new york times" reveals that the president actually paid more in taxes to the philippines, to india, and to panama, than he did to the united states. it shines a new light, to me, when the president says that he believes that foreign countries are ripping off the united states. also, the deductions. these mysterious deductions for consultant fees. further, writing off $70,000 for his hairstyling. i suspect the president is not

eager to answer a lot of our questions because they are right for, not only criticism but, also, ridicule. anderson. >> did -- did the white house have anything to say about "the new york times"? >> well, the president tweeted out, this morning, effectively saying that the story is fake. and calling the reporting from "the new york times" illegal. the trump campaign came out and called this a political hit job. kayleigh mcenany repeated that refrain. of course, the president can prove "the new york times" wrong. all he has to do is actually release his tax returns, anderson. >> boris sanchez, appreciate it. more now on the legal implications of all this. also, national security because someone with such massive debt hanging over him is almost, by definition, vulnerable to being compromised. katie porter. she is a member of two committees with interest in this, oversight and financial services. also, with us tonight, cnn national security analyst, juliet. as a consumer protection attorney and expert in bankruptcy law, when you look what "the times" has reported on

trump's finances, what jumps out at you, on a political level, legal level, and moral level? >> well, one of the things that jumps out at me is that this is somebody who has failed to give to their country. this is somebody who is a tax dodger, as well as a draft dodger. he gives nothing to his country. and yet, he ridicules the men and women who put their lives on the line, and make the ultimate sacrifice, as losers. >> is -- do you see illegality, in, you know, there -- him paying ivanka trump, giving her hundreds of -- 700,000 or so, as a consultant while she is actually an employee of the trump organization? i assume that's a way to pass money to his child, in a way that's not taxed. she gets the money. and he gets to take a tax deduction. >> well, i think there's just such a huge gulf between these kinds of tax gains and tax tricks and the typical constituent, the typical american family, who is simply trying to write a check to cover their taxes.

and this is a president, who, in 2019, passed a tax law, that contains more loopholes, exactly like this, for the wealthy. even -- even increased taxes on many families, including those in orange county, who i represent. >> juliet, i mean, the president apparently personally guaranteed about $421 million in debt that's coming due, in the coming years. unprecedented for a sitting president. just, if he has another four years, there -- i mean, there's no telling that pressure to make money, how that's going to influence u.s. foreign policy, national security policy, and relationships with, you know, he has business in turkey and is -- was that one of the reasons why he abandoned the -- the kurds and, you know, and allowed, right after a brief phone call from erdogan, allowed turkey to just wipe the kurds away from the north? >> that's exactly right. i don't think this is a story act taxe about taxes, actually. the congresswoman is correct to

say the potential for tax loopholes or abuse. but this is really a story about his debt and only his debt and the reason why is because, generally, in national security, you would never hire someone, let's say, he was coming in as an intel analyst. you would never hire anyone with excessive debt and that's for two reasons. they're desperate. right? they will do things to pay off that debt. the other is more important. as the proverbs tell us, the borrower is the servant of the lender. the lernder, whoever it is, it could be deutsche bank, it could be a dictator, it could be a family member, who knows? but the lender has undue influence over the -- the borrower and that's what we don't know, at this stage. so it could very well be deutsche bank holds most of this 400 million and it's not russia. i think what we have to think about is what countries are willing to lower the debt that -- that trump has in -- in -- sort of in a bargain with trump? in other words, it doesn't matter to me if deutsche bank

has the 400 million debt with trump. it is, are other countries or people willing to pay off the debt for trump? he is in a world of trouble, and he needs people to bring down that debt because he's going to be a private citizen, potentially, in just a few months. >> yeah. congresswoman, it raises questions about u.s. -- you know, why did president trump go, repeatedly, so easy on saudi arabia's leader in -- after the -- the killing of "the washington post" reporter in the -- you know, in the consulate there? >> no, it absolutely raises those questions of national security. but as someone who sits on the financial services committee and the oversight committee, i am concerned about the president's relationship with deutsche bank, as well. because he's got a secretary of the treasury that he's appointed, federal reserve people. he's pushing a tax law that's the benefit of those big banks, who he's in -- he owes. this is the $421 million question. what will president trump do to please his creditors?

whether they're foreign entities or domestic. >> congresswoman, what would you like to see from a -- you know, a congressional standpoint, being done, in terms of looking into this? >> yeah. i have a bill called the transparency and executive branch finances act, which would require the president, the vice president, and other high-ranking officials, to make their tax returns public, and to do so for the five previous years. and i think this is something, frankly, the american public should have had access to, before the 2016 election. i'm glad they're getting this information before 2020 so that they can use it in their decision-making. >> juliet, i mean, i guess, you know, if he gets another term in office and debts come due. you know, there -- there's a whole set of challenges about what does he do to try to get bailed out? >> right. that's exactly right. and we wouldn't have much transparency, likely, while he's president. so his, sort of, let's just say,

what's the right word, his eagerness to stay in power, to the extent that he is essentially threatening or having people threaten violence that there won't be a peaceful transition. is really -- it's scary but it's also just filled with desperation. and so, the last couple weeks begin to make sense to us. this is someone who is going to have significant liabilities, once he's a private citizen. and we don't know who owns those liabilities. if he remains president, he may be willing to sell those liabilities to countries, whose interests are not the united states. i guess, that's -- you know, that's my last point is we have not talked about the united states' interest. they are not necessarily aligned with the trump family's. and so, for me, that is the sort of takeaway of a massive review of all these taxes is this is a person, this is a president, who is tied to something. we don't know who. but it's a creditor. and a creditor has a lot of innuance over t influence over the debtor, especially given the amount of money that we are talking about. >> congresswoman porter, i'm

sure, you know, many members of congress are going to say what they want to do to hold the president accountable. congress has not been able to hold the president accountable for much of anything. why would this be any different? >> well, hopefully, he'll step up. this is about political pressure as well of the american people making this demand for his tax returns and continuing to ask good, tough questions of this president about how his financial interest is causing him to act in this presidency, in his self-interest. and, you know, i think the american public really is hurt when they have a president who do dodges one of the fundamental obligations of citizenship, which is to be part of providing for the things that we all need. schools and roads and military safety. this is a president, who claims that he is really committed to rebuilding the american military. and yet, has not paid one penny in income tax toward doing so, in ten of the last 15 years. this is as we have service men and women who are struggling to

make ends meet around the country. >> congresswoman porter, appreciate your time. we got to go, juliet. appreciate you being with us. more now on how donald trump operated as a businessman and whether "the times" reporting rings any bells for those he worked with. joining us, former president and chief operating officer of trump plaza casino in atlantic city. he is also the author of "trumped, his cunning rise and spectacular fall." jack, you saw donald trump's failures in atlantic city, firsthand. how, when you read "the new york times" reporting, did it -- did it -- i mean, what did you think? >> well, anderson, it -- not to quote yogi bear, but déjà vu, all over again. you know, it -- it really is the same story. you know, listen. nobody was surprised that he's, you know, going to take advantage of every loophole, both legal and possibly not. that's donald trump. the thing that most surprised me is that he has, once again, put

himself in a position to risk it all. and i think that that's really significant, in this case. and in the '90s and the 2000s, this man had amassed $3.2 billion worth of debt. and he, somehow, managed to negotiate that three times with banks and bond holders. and each time, he defaulted on them. so what's happened, now, is, you know, for years, he hasn't been able to borrow from those legitimate sources. and so, i think from what some of the other people are saying tonight and this is what jumped out at me is who is lending him this money? and not so much who is lending it but who is guaranteed the money to him? because, back then, he had his father to guarantee his loans. today, he doesn't have that. >> his dad used to guarantee his loans? >> oh, absolutely. he used the entire trump organization, including his father's assets and real estate, to get loans, back then. and listen. there's a famous story, at this

point, whether donald was defaulting on a loan at the castle hotel and casino. he needed $3.2 million and his father sent an attorney into the casino, deposited the money at the cage, and walked away with chips. which is, in essence, a loan, the way the casino operates. >> he got some attorney to buy $3 million worth of chips? >> absolutely. his -- his father walked -- had an attorney walk in with $3.2 million in cash. they deposited it at the cage. and they walked out with chips. so, if you don't redeem those chips, that money stays in the bank. >> wow. i wonder if he still has those chips somewhere, just as a memento. and looks at them and laughs every night. president trump's branded, sold himself to the american peoples a this enormous business success and genius. it was known that it wasn't true, back then. but a lot of people believed it and, probably a lot of people still believe it. >> yeah, you know, it's amazing

to me, anderson. because he just has a record of, you know, buying assets for x amount of dollars. say, it's $200 million. and then, he borrows $400 against that. he sets his businesses up to fail, from day one. that's what happened in atlantic city. the taj mahal, which brought him down, he had $1.9 billion of debt in atlantic city. there was no way his casinos could be successful, simply because of the money that he borrowed. despite the fact that some of these properties, like mine, were generating huge amounts of cash, annually. my property spit off $130 million worth of free cash, every year. and he managed to blow that. >> you know, what's so interesting to me about this is that, you know, a lot of big-business people have financial issues and problems. and they go up and they -- they go down. but for trump, you know, what's -- i think why -- why some people are gleeful about

this is because it so goes against how he has portrayed himself. it goes to hypocrisy. but it's, also, how he defines himself. and when you realize that the way -- the one thing that really matters to donald trump, which is money and his notoriety and seeing his name on buildings and being famous. when that -- when you realize that that's, actually, just built on a fraud or appears to be built on a financial house that's collapsed. it -- it tells you that his very -- i mean, the one thing he cares about is failing. >> yeah. and -- and -- and, anderson, i think we all know that he's very good at denying failure, as well. whether it's covid or whether it's business. whatever it might be. he just denies. denies. denies. that's donald trump. >> yeah. jack odo'donnell, thank you ver much. >> thank you, anderson. >> coming up next. it's kind of the other story with the potential to reshape the rest of the campaign. debate and a live preview.

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on any other night, this would be the lead story. the reason it's not, the tax story will certainly play into the proceedings tomorrow. joining us from cleveland is arlette saenz. arlette, do we have any details on how the biden and trump campaigns are preparing? >> well, anderson, joe biden and president trump have gone after each other from afar, for a little over a year now. but tomorrow night, here in cleveland, they will come face to face for the first time in this first presidential debate. and each of the candidates has been preparing, in their own way. joe biden started out by reading through briefing books. and he's been huddling with his advisers, over the past few days, as he's been strategizing how to respond to what he predicts will be personal attacks from the president. now, on the president's part, he has also been studying up on possible lines of attack that biden could lob his way. he said that rudy giuliani and chris christie have, at times, stood in for biden as he's prepared for this debate.

and one question is how this story about the president's taxes will play into tomorrow night's debate. the biden campaign argues that this just feeds into their narrative, that this campaign is one between scranton, middle-class values, and park avenue. suggesting that the president is only worried about his own interests, rather than those of everyday americans. now, on the trump campaign's part, they have had a little bit of mixed messaging when it comes to what they expect biden's debate performance to be like. today, they told republican members of congress to talk about that biden shouldn't be underestimated in this debate. that he has plenty of years of experience debating and in public life. in the past, they have tried to question mental -- biden's mental acuity heading into this debate. on the biden campaign side, they argue and democrats believe that this debate will fundamentally do little to change the fundamentals of the race. so you hear a little bit of the expectation setting for both of the campaigns as they're heading

off to this one-on-one face off tomorrow. >> do we know much about the format, the timing of the debate, itself? >> well, this debate will be completely different from other debates due to the coronavirus pandemic. it will be a 90-minute debate. the candidates will forego that traditional handshake at the start of the debate. they will be socially distanced as they stand on that stage. it will be a much more smaller, limited audience due to coronavirus. and everyone who is on hand has been tested for covid-19, before they enter that debate hall. just several of the many precautions that the debate commission is taking in order to ensure the safety of the candidates, the audience members, and the media heading into this debate tomorrow night. >> arlette saenz, thanks very much. appreciate it. we are learning about how each side is preparing, tomorrow will be the only true test, especially on the biden side. cannot begin to replicate just what it's like to face the man on a stage.

>> look. it it's just not true. and so, please -- >> you didn't delete them? >> personal e-mails. >> 33,000? >> well, we turned over 35,000. >> oh, yeah. what about the other 15,000? >> please, allow her to respond. she didn't talk while you talked. >> that's true, i didn't. >> because you have nothing to say. >> it's just awfully good that someone, with the temperament of donald trump, is not in charge of the law in our country. >> because you'd be in jail. >> what we want to do is to replenish the -- >> such a nasty woman. honest abe. honest abe never lied. that's the good thing. that's the big difference between abraham lincoln and you. >> he didn't pay any federal income tax. >> that makes me smart. >> joining us now, someone with a backstage view of those moments, former campaign chairman, john podesta. thanks for being with us. what, in your view, should the vice president be prepared for tomorrow for president trump? and how did secretary clinton prepare for -- for those debates? >> well, i think, what he needs

to do is go in, prepared to talk to the american public. this is a chance, after a summer of covid where campaigning's been restricted, to talk to we had 84 million people, the largest debate audience, ever, for the first debate. and that's what he should expect and he needs to talk directly to them. now, he knows that trump is going to try to interfere with that. and you -- you just played a good deal of what he's likely to do. attack. attack. attack. but i think he -- he needs to push back, where -- where it's appropriate. but mostly, he needs to talk to the american people. >> you know, it's interesting because vice president biden, you know, i don't know if it was weeks or months ago. but said that he was going to fact check him on stage, which seems like a recipe for disaster. i mean, it's not a format that really you can eat up all your time fact checking a donald trump, and not get anything of your own out there.

>> yeah. exactly. i -- i would -- you know, i don't think chris wallace will fact check him and i don't think joe biden should fact check him. there will be plenty of that coming, you know, after the debate. what he needs to do, though, is, you know, be firm. push back, when -- when trump's interfering with what he's trying to say. lay out the plans. he spent the summer, really, laying out very concrete plans what he wants to do on covid-19. how we'll get control of the virus. what he wants to do to get the economy in better shape, putting people to work. attacking the climate crisis. the racial justice crisis. he needs to get some of that in front of the american people so they know what he is going to do. i think what he's best at is projecting that he is on the side of the middle class. that's biden's strength. and i think this tax story will give him the opportunity to contrast what donald trump has been about, his whole life, and

what joe biden's been about, his whole life. fighting for middle-class people. >> it seems to be president trump, you know, has his own -- they're not facts -- but he just makes stuff up and just repeats it. if, you know, we've heard from the biden campaign that, you know, he is reading, you know, binders with, you know, information and -- and research and stuff. facts. factual stuff. if biden is arguing facts and trying to recite facts, there is a danger that -- i mean, donald trump is playing a different game. and it's -- i'm curious to see, for the viewing public, how much of this is they want to hear facts about what joe biden's position is? or do they just want to see the dynamic between these two people, and whether joe biden can hold up to it and whether president trump can hold up to it? >> yeah. no. look. i think that what he needs to do is not, you know, come into this debate hall thinking like he's practicing for some ph.d. exam

and throttle on the facts. what he needs to do is tell a story. what does he want to do for the american people? where is he -- what are his values? contrast those with trump. tell stories about the people that he wants to fight for. and, you know, push trump back. but because of his failures. he's on high ground, when he's hitting him on covid-19. he's -- trump has had the worst job performance, of any president since world war ii. and i think that biden can be on solid ground, by just criticizing the factual record of what trump has done. but most importantly, get in front of the american people, who he's fighting for, and what he wants to do. >> you know, i've noticed one thing joe biden does in debates is he stops himself when the light goes or when his time is up. which is a very rare thing. and most people go over and, you know, wait to be -- be shushed by the moderator.

i'm very curious to see how joe biden responds, when donald trump is doing what he did to secretary clinton in that second debate. talking while she's talking. interjecting. throwing, you know, trying to throw a person off their game. >> yeah, look. i think he plays by the rules in debates more than he probably should and probably that he can afford to. tomorrow night, he's going to have to, i think, confront trump when trump tries to blow up the format. and hopefully, you know, look, you've been there, anderson. you know how difficult, sometimes, it can be to get people to stick to what the agre agreed-upon rules are. but biden can't kind of fall victim to, you know, being the person who is playing by the rules, while trump is violating all the rules. having said that, you know, he can't just be on his side of the playing field, either. he's got to get his message across. and i think he can do that. but if it means going over a

little bit or shutting trump up when he needs to, i think, you know, that would be appropriate. and i think the american public would like to see that. >> you know, both men have been known to lose their tempers on the campaign trail. you know, we've seen president trump, you know, yelling often on -- in -- in interviews and, you know, at reporters. we've also seen joe biden out on the campaign trail. you know, getting in somebody's face over something somebody said to him, face to face. i don't know if losing one's temper is a good thing or a bad thing in a debate like this. >> well, it kind of depends on what you're losing your temper over. you know, if he takes unfair, cheap shots at his family, then i think going back at him and losing your temper a little bit is perfectly appropriate. and, on the other hand, you know, look. he's going to -- i think biden is going to be well prepared for this debate. and, you know, it's not like the casual encounter on a rope line. he's going to be well prepared.

know what he needs to deliver. make the sharp criticism of trump, particularly on covid-19. but also, on the other ways that he's broken his promises to the american people, to -- to -- to be the president of the middle class. now, we know, obviously, when it comes to his own, personal finances, the only thing he cares about, which we probably knew already, is himself. so i -- i think he's got a lot to work with. he just needs to be disciplined, not get thrown off by trump's antics. but you can bet there will be antics. if you remember across stage in the town hall debate with hillary. i think hillary actually regrets not turning around and smacking him back. >> in terms of the "new york times," i mean, you reference this. in terms of the reporting on taxes, it does certainly play into what joe biden has been trying to get across, the whole park avenue versus scranton thing. but there is some reporting on

trump's taxes. i mean, it was out there in 2016. certainly, not to this degree but it was an issue. secretary clinton brought it up on the debate stage. and yet, it didn't seem to resonate. >> well, you know, i think he's now the president of the united states and when you're -- when you're the president of the united states, and you're paying $750 in federal income tax. and there are people out fighting wars for this country, when there are teachers who pay more than that in taxes, when there are frontline workers fighting the pandemic who are paying a lot more than that in taxes. then, it becomes less of a reality-tv show, you know, you can blow it off as saying, of course, i did. you know, that's -- i'm proud of the fact that i don't care about my country and i don't care about the people who are on the front lines fighting for their communities. i only care about myself. i think it has a different quality, in this moment and in this atmosphere. and that number, $750 in federal

income tax, is something that i think people can reflect on and relate to because they know they're paying a lot more. >> yeah. john podesta, really appreciate it. thank you. >> thanks, anderson. >> one topic expected to come up in tomorrow's debate, election security. the president often attacks mill mail-in ballots. and of course, the president uses unfounded allegations to raise all those things. cnn's abby phillip now on the planning both sides have put in place for an election that could be like no other. >> reporter: democratic officials tell cnn an army of lawyers are preparing for a wide range of obscure election scenarios, that president trump, himself, has floated. from sending law enforcement to monitor polls, to having the election decided in congress. >> we have an advantage if we go back to congress. does everyone understand that? >> reporter: a disputed electoral college result could put the fate of the election in the hands of the new house of representatives, elected in november. with each state delegation getting one vote. republicans currently have a 26-22 advantage.

speaker nancy pelosi is ready for this possibility. >> i had been working on this for a while. i've been working almost every scheme he might have to steal the election. >> reporter: sending a letter to her caucus, urging them to focus on winning a majority of state delegations in november and flipping the senate. writing, we must achieve that majority of delegations or keep the republicans from doing so. trump has, also, floated the idea of an election that's decided in the supreme court. like bush v gore in 2000. >> i think this will end up in the supreme court. and i think it's very important that we have nine justices. >> reporter: one of the florida judges at the center of that recount, who sided with bush to stop the count and has since retired, making his fears of trump clear in a rare letter to colleagues. saying trump is a threat to democracy, and giving only one real solution. >> there will not be a problem if the democrats win the senate and biden wins the presidency.

the problem will result, if there is continued to be a divide between the house and the senate. >> reporter: trump falsely claiming that voter fraud is rampant. tweeting, this morning, the ballots being returned to states cannot be accurately counted. many things are already going very wrong. but the president has been building a case against absentee ballots or mail-in voting, for months. none of which is based on facts. widespread voter fraud is largely nonexistent in the united states. >> you could forget about november 3rd because you're going to be counting these things forever. and it's very dangerous for our country. >> reporter: but there are real risks for the election. the fbi issuing its latest election warning. this time, about fake cyberattacks. they caution the public to be weary of internet claims of hacked voter data and compromised election infrastructure. things that manipulate public opinion and discredit the

electoral process. today, courts in new york and pennsylvania ordered the post office to stop policy changes that would slow down the mail. echoing last week's settlement with the post office, forcing it to prioritize election mail. abby phillip, cnn, washington. >> up next is breaking news in the fight against coronavirus. a new pledge on testing. details, when we continue. being an independent business owner means i'm responsible to every single one of my team members and all my patients. we went above and beyond regulations because i wanted to make sure that the community is taken care of. we owe it to them to be careful stewards of their health. so trust your people and take care of your teams and you will weather the storm. ♪ pork chop. soda pop. scallop. kebobs. soursop. hot pot.. and you will weather the storm. dumpling. chicken wing. peking. onion ring.

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there is more breaking news. the nation's death toll from the coronavirus has now passed 205,000 human beings. this, as president trump, today, announced what he called expanded coronavirus testing across the nation which, if

fulfilled, would deploy 150 million rapid tests to states. the president, originally, talked about the same plan back in august. but there were few details. on top of that, nbc news reports cdc director, robert redfield was heard on a plane on a phone call with scott atlas. redfield was quoted as saying everything he says is false. want to bring in cnn chief medical correspondent, dr. sanjay gupta. and dr. besser. dr. besser, these abbott lab tests. i think the giroir, the admiral, says that they're a game changer. are they? >> well, i -- i would not call them a game changer. clearly, more testing is needed and it's great to see more testing going out. but what you really want to see as a game changer is the -- the -- the president and -- and the country coming together, around doing the things that are going to prevent transmission. so, wearing masks, social distancing, and handwashing. but i do think it's -- it's a

good sign if there is more testing that's going to be available, if it leads to identification of cases, quickly. so they can be controlled and reduce the chances of spread. >> sanjay, are the tests reliable? >> they're pretty good tests. i mean, they're getting better. the thing about these tests, the concern about a false positive is -- is -- is that it finds a virus, it finds the coronavirus but it doesn't happen to be this coronavirus. that happens, sometimes. the bigger concern is a false negative. someone is told that they're free and clear but, in fact, the test missed a -- missed the virus. the way -- i -- i've looked at these tests, quite a bit. these abbott tests. the way that they got this emergency-use authorization is that the studies they presented were in people who had symptoms, and those symptoms were within the last seven days. and with that, they said they were 95% sensitive. so that's pretty good. it should translate pretty well to people who are even asymptomatic because we know people can still carry a lot of virus in their nose and their mouth, even if they don't have

symptoms. so i think they're pretty good tests. they're not as good as the gold-standard, pcr test. but if you have lots of tests and people are able to do them much more regularly, that, overall, improves accuracy within large groups of people as well. >> and, sanjay, when they say they're sending them out to states, how would people actually get these? where would these tests be used? who would get them? >> yeah. well, so, i've gotten so many calls today from people who said, okay, we heard the 150 million tests. where are they, exactly? that's one of the questions. what they are saying is that they are going to be going to vulnerable populations, nursing homes, things like that. but they are going to start giving them to schools as well. primary schools. k through 12, to try and help schools test students and faculty. and hopefully, reopen. the issue and, you know, we have talked about this for some time. i think this is what rich is saying as well. is that you need a lot more tests to do that. you could be negative today and possibly positive tomorrow. you know, guys like mike mena, at harvard, they talk about the idea that could we get to the

point where you have a test that you could do every day? kind of like when you brush your teeth. if you're positive, you stay home. if you are negative, you are able to go do things. so we're clearly nowhere close to that, yet. that would be, you know, 350 million tests, a day. >> president adding in low risk population,s, but of course testing doesn't create new cases here. >> no, it doesn't. it allows you to see what's going on. one of the things about the use of testing is it's really important that as states do more testing, one, that they mandate reporting because there's a lot of testing that's going on now around universities that isn't getting into the system, which is a problem with numbers and their accuracy. but the other is ensuring that data is broken down so that you can see what's going on in every neighborhood by every zip code, breaking down by race, ethnicity and gender so you're ensuring that every part of your community is getting the resources they need to get this under control.

>> sanjay, dr. scott that atlas seems to be the president's go-to, guy, redfield, fauci, birx have been sidelined and don't really meet with the president, atlas spoke today. there is nbc reporting that cdc report redfield was heard saying everything he says is false. how concerning is it that all the experts -- i mean, the best in the world, fauci, birx on epidemics, are sidelined and on the outside looking in while a guy who is, from what i understand, correct me if i'm wrong, a radiologist, and may be a good radiologist -- that's an important thing. but he's not, as far as i know, an expert in -- he doesn't have a lifetime career like fauci. >> right, no. and as fauci described him today, he's an outlier. and what he's basically saying is, look, the public health

community does have a consensus opinion on many of these big issues, masks and herd immunity and things like that. there are things that are worthy debates and worthy discussions. what the president has done here is doctor shop. this is what happens in the real world sometimes. you have patients, they've seen ten different doctors, they're trying to find the doctor who is going to tell them what they want to hear, give them the medication they want to get, give a treatment not recommended by other doctors. you can keep searching and you'll find somebody who ultimately does that, and frankly that's what's happened at the national level here. >> wow. terrifying. >> the president is doctor shopping on behalf of all of us. yes, it is terrifying. it is concerning. the idea you have these infectious disease doctors -- they're the best doctors in the world at what they do are being marginalized and instead the president has found somebody who just will say what he wants to hear. >> dr. besser, the cdc dr. redfield saying redfield and

atlas have different views on wearing masks, youth infections and where we are in herd immunity. those seem like pretty important positions, no? >> they're not only important positions, but the idea that a really fringe position is having influence in the white house task force is frightening. we have the world's, many of the world's leading experts in public health and infectious disease, pandemic control. dr. fauci was quoted today raising great concern in terms of the number of cases going into the winter, going into flu season. if that's running counter to what dr. atlas is saying, and dr. atlas has the president's ear, that's a very, very concerning situation. >> all right. dr. besser, sanjay, thanks so much. one other sad note you may have seen on the bottom of the screen, the death toll according to johns hopkins university has crossed 1 million.

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breaking news out of louisville tonight. new police body camera footage obtained by vice news reportedly shows the aftermaths inside the apartment where breonna taylor was killed. kentucky authorities long said there's no similar footage the actual moment shots were fired.

shimone joins us now. what does it show? >> reporter: this is the aftermath, the immediate moments after the shooting. as you look at this video, it's important to keep in mind here what it shows is the detective, the now former detective who was indicted, brett hankinson walking through the crime scene. he's talking about some of the shell casings that were fired and ultimately recovered. and in this video you see him going into the apartment, which is raising questions about the integrity of the crime scene. here's that video, anderson. >> sorry. >> these are casings, all casings. yeah, right there. >> right there? >> no, that's ours. i backed out until uti in here.

>> anything visible? >> we didn't see it. >> reporter: it's hard to see really to tell much from that. you also -- >> also a motion in the grand jury case is filed. >> reporter: yeah, so this is pretty unprecedented. ape grand juror who actually served on the jury that indicted these former detective has now filed a motion with the court asking the court to release information about exactly what evidence was presented by the attorney general. there are all sorts of questions being raised about what the attorney general exactly -- what he exactly presented as it related to breonna taylor. and family and lawyers for breonna taylor are asking -- wondering whether or not any evidence about her death was presented to this grand jury. this grand jury in this motion seems to indicate that the attorney general mischaracterized what he presented to the grand jury when he held that press conference, anderson. >> and the form he detective

brett hankinson also appeared in court today. >> reporter: he did. it was his arraignment. he pleaded not guilty. the judge let him out on $15,000 bail, but the judge also said that he wanted prosecutors to file the grand jury information recordings from the grand jury by wednesday. so there is the possibility that on wednesday we could for the first time get our view, a view inside the grand jury when those recordings are filed. if they're made public, we will get access to them, anderson. >> appreciate you being there. the news continues tonight. want to hand it over to chris for cuomo primetime. >> anderson, thank you very much. i am chris cuomo. welcome to primetime. the president's dirty secrets have been exposed. tonight we can finally answer the question of why the president didn't want you to see his taxes. this "the new york times" access to just a chunk is more than ample proof of all kin