good evening. there's breaking news, tonight, on several fronts. new york's governor andrew cuomo facing the possibility of impeachment. losing support of the very state assembly members who could make it happen. one legislative source telling cnn it's very possible they'll go through with impeachment proceedings, unless the governor resigns. first, though, there is breaking news in the battle against covid. late, today, a white house official confirmed that the administration at developing a plan to mandate vaccinations for almost all foreign visitors to

the country with some exceptions. we have also just learned defense secretary austin is expected to seek to make vaccination mandatory for all active-duty troops, perhaps even this week. those two pieces of reporting come, as global cases today crossed the 200 million mark, and with the fda now working as quickly as possible to give full approval to pfizer's vaccine. meantime, driven by the delta variant but, also, by growing pressure from private employers, more people are rolling up their sleeves. up 26% from three weeks ago, that's good news. and while defiance on masking and other mitigation measures is still burning hot in states like florida and texas, one red-state governor, arkansas's isa hutchinson now says he regrets approving a statewide ban on mask mandates and is working to amend the law. lot to talk about with our first guest tonight, bill gates, who we have talked to at critical points all throughout this pandemic. his foundation has donated billions of dollars to fighting infectious disease, including development of moderna's mrna

vaccine technology and bill gates joins us now. bill, thank you so much for being with us tonight. i really appreciate it. there's -- there is a lot to get to regarding the pandemic. but since we last spoke, there's obviously been a lot of reporting about more personal topics and they may impact the foundation. so i want to just ask you a couple questions about that. and i know you feel some things have been misreported so i will just start there. um, obviously, in may, you and your wife, melinda, announced you were ending your marriage after 27 years. on monday this week, the divorce was finalized. just on a personal level, how are you doing? >> it's definitely a very sad milestone. um, melinda's a great person and that partnership that we had coming to an end is a source of -- of great, personal sadness. we are communicating and working at the foundation, and so that partnership, we're going to try and continue. >> the foundation said that there is going to be, like, a

two-year trial period to see that -- if you two can continue to work together. that is -- that's your hope? that you can. >> well, yeah. the -- the -- melinda has incredible strengths that she brings that help the foundation be better. we always enjoyed our work together. you know, two of us can go out and work with leaders and help build the organization. so, you know, that would be, definitely, the best thing for the foundation. >> there -- there's a couple of things in reporting that have been out there, i want to ask you about. and i think it's no one's business, what happens in a person's marriage. "the new york times" and "wall street journal" both reported in recent months that melinda was concerned about a relationship you had with jeffrey epstein who, at the time you met him, in 2011, had been already convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor. "the times" reported she hired divorce attorneys around the time, in acoctober 2019, when tt contact with epstein became public. can you explain your relationship with epstein? was there ever any concerns you

had about it? >> oh, certainly. you know, i had several dinners with him. you know, hoping that what he said about getting billions of philanthropy for global health through contacts that he had might emerge. you know, when it looked like that wasn't a real thing, that relationship ended. but it was a huge mistake to spend time with him, to give him the credibility of, you know, being there. there were lots of others, in that same situation. but i -- i made a mistake. >> there's been reporting about workplace behavior, in the past. "the new york times" reported six women from microsoft. your -- the company you created. your foundation and the financial firm that manages your fortune said that your behavior at times created an uncomfortable workplace environment. i know, a spokeswoman for you acknowledged you had an affair 20 years ago with a microsoft employee that she said ended

amicably. do you have regrets? >> well, certainly, i -- i think everyone does. but, you know, i'm -- it's a time of reflection. and, you know, i -- you know, at this point, i -- i need to go forward. you know, my work is very important to me. you know, within the family, we'll heal, as best we can. and -- and learn -- learn from what's happened. >> well, just on a personal level, i'm sorry for what you and your family are going through. let's talk about your work. you have been so involved in the fight against covid. let's talk about where we are right now. because i mean, this is probably the question i have started off with you every time we have talked over the last, i mean, this entire pandemic. where do you see us in this pandemic? i mean, dealt that variant is surging. only about half the country has been fully vaccinated. is this where you thought we would be on august 4th, 2021? >> no.

things are better than i expected, in terms of how effective the key vaccines are. you know, including pfizer and moderna. but also, some that are ramping up, now, like johnson & johnson. so, the good news is the ability of the vaccine to prevent severe disease and death, even against the latest variant. and the ramp-up of that manufacturing, that's going at an unprecedented pace. the bad news is that this delta variant is uniquely transmissive. the beta variant, which we saw in south africa, with the foundation-funded study there. it had some ability to evade protection. but now, delta, even though it doesn't evade as much as beta, it is so transmissive that, even countries that had been able to

hold out infection like australia or china, now, are having a tough time maintaining that. and we are seeing, you know, sadly, a bump here that, if we don't get the mask wearing back in the right places, and don't get the vaccine levels up, we're going to have quite a wave in the fall. and that's a disappointment. we wanted to be, you know, near the end than we are but delta is very bad news. >> you know, professor michael osterholm was on our program, a couple nights ago, and he said something which i -- i should have probably known. but the way he said it really kind of woke me up. and it certainly made me start wearing a mask, again, even though i have been vaccinated. he said that, you know, i kind of still visualize covid as -- as -- as, you know, droplets in the air. and i was still thinking about that six-feet, you know, idea. he was saying, look, if you are in a room where somebody is smoking and you are 20 feet away and you smell smoke.

that's -- it's in the air. it's aerosolized and that's what covid is. so, if you're 20 feet away and you can smell smoke, if you're 20 feet away, it's possible that you would be breathing in somebody's covid. >> that's right. particularly, if people are talking loudly. you know, there's a big contrast. infection on planes has been quite limited. infections in bars or at parties or events where the sound level is high, so people talk above that, you've had some stunning superinfection events there. even, you know, say, choirs where people are vocalizing. so, yes, it's, to our surprise, you can aerosolize at quite a distance. and the mask is very effective, both, preventing the person that's infected from spreading out those particles. but also, for the uninfected person not to draw those -- those particles into their lungs. >> if 80% of the country was

fully vaccinated right now, would the delta variant have just petered out? i mean, would covid have just sort -- i mean, obviously, viruses don't just disappear. but would it have not transmitted to the point where it was just sort of out there but not a danger? >> it looks like we would have had to have gotten to 90%. you know, the vaccination does block transmission. but not nearly as well as it blocks severe disease and death. and so, you can have vaccinated people be part of a transmission chain. and that, you know, just underscores that, you know, protecting those people at risk, who are old or sick, is super, superimportant. but also, the -- we can make it less likely just by driving those percentages. so, you know, 70% is clearly not

enough. israel's done a better job than the u.s. at getting vaccine levels up. but as a percentage of the population, nothing like what we are seeing in the hot spots right now. >> the administration is using this line now, repeatedly, saying this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. trying to stress, for those who are unvaccinated, to get vaccinated. children under the age of 12, obviously, cannot get vaccinated, at this point. they are getting swept into this new wave of infections. um, what should be done, now? >> well, the statistic i wish people would have to stare at every day is the number of deaths and the percentage of those deaths which are unvaccinated people. which, basically, every day, would be over 95%. we're running at 2 to 300 deaths, a day, right now. the ihme model shows that, unless we get mask wearing back as we move into the winter, that could go as high as 1,500 a day. so, not -- you know, the highest

peak, which is over 3,500 but still very high and very, very tragic. and so, the -- the two parameters that will determine how bad this fall is are the mask wearing behaviors in the right places and the percentage of people that we get vaccinated. >> a new kaiser family foundation poll found that more than half of unvaccinated americans, still, believe that the vaccine is more dangerous than the coronavirus. last month, the surgeon general had to issue an advisory titled confronting health misinformation. is there anything you think will work to combat the misinformation that's been engrained in some parts of the country? you are wrapped up in -- me, too -- are wrapped up in misinformation. >> well, every day, hopefully, we're thinking, you know, as -- listening to the unvaccinated. explain, okay, what is their hesitation? and seeing, you know, who would they trust?

what would change their mind? in order to help them take that step. i do think seeing the statistics of how much the deaths are, overwhelmingly, in the unvaccinated would be a key thing that you'd just read about, you know, day in and day out. you know, the hesitancy towards vaccine before it was administered, almost 60% of people were hesitant. and that number's gone down as everyone's heard about friends getting the vaccine. and, of course, overwhelmingly, being, you know, very benign. and then, protecting them, particularly from severe disease. so, this is a communications challenge, like none we've ever faced. but it's a matter of life and death. what measures you can use, and which ones actually get you more vaccination, versus create more resistance. you know, each context, we need experts who really can

sympathize with what the thinking is because, you know, particularly amongst the elderly, it -- it does surprise me that we're not at, like, 95% of people over 60. >> obviously, corporations are increasingly are saying you have to be vaccinated in order to work at our corporation. is that something you support? and do you think the federal government or state governments or the very least federal government should mandate, if you want to get on an airplane, you have to be vaccinated? if you want to get social security, you need to be vaccinated? if you want to get whatever -- whatever benefits they give, you need to be vaccinated for. is that something that the u.s. can and should do? >> well, certainly, if you take a case like nursing homes. where, you know, we are seeing transmission, primarily through un unvaccinated people. there, you can make a very compelling case.

once you get far beyond that, the question is will it work to get people to be -- to seek out the vaccine? you know, one elderly-care home said, hey, if i require it but the others don't, you know, i simply just have -- have less workers. and so, you have to step back and think through this whole system. but, you know, i would hope that we can get to 80%. i would hope we can get to 90%. but, you know, today, we're -- we're -- we were stalled out for a little bit. now, a tiny bit of acceleration as people realize delta's changed the rules. you know, like the state of arkansas now saying, you know, that local-mask mandates, maybe, should not be banned. you know, people are seeing the numbers. and, you know, when people see bad numbers, when they see deaths, they ought to be open minded to what -- what tactics can help get people protected. >> i need to take a short break.

i want to pick up this conversation, after the break. um, so please stick around. later, also, a live report as the lawmakers who once supported new york's governor continue lining up now in favor of his impeachment. a visit to a florida doctor, who experts are calling the ultimate superspreader of covid misinformation.

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heart rhythm problems and abnormal movements. shift the focus more on you. ask your doctor about ingrezza. it's simple. one pill, once-daily. #1 prescribed for td. learn how you could pay as little as $0 at ingrezza.com and we are back with bill gates talking vaccines. the delta variant and the enormous challenges that we all now continue to face not just against covid but with anything at the intersection of public health and partisan politics. so, bill, dr. fauci, today, warned that if more americans don't get vaccinated, there is, what he called, ample chance that a variant more aggressive and pervasive than the delta variant can emerge. i assume, you agree with that. could it, already, have formed? i mean, variants are -- i mean, there -- there's nothing to stop there from being a new variant that goes after children more aggressively, right? i mean, there's -- there's no -- there's no way to predict what a variant is going to do.

>> yeah. sadly, there could be a worse variant. if you took the evasion from antibodies capability, beta, and you combined it with delta's transmissiveness, you would have an even worse variant. now, there may be biological reasons why those features can't combine, and still be transmissive in the lungs. but we don't know. and, you know, we were caught -- the amount of sequencing of the virus was going on was too little. you know? some of this was caught because the uk did good sequencing. some of it was caught, beta, in fact, by the trials, the foundation funded in south africa. but, yes, the -- the -- you cannot assume that there won't be a worse variant. >> we learned, late today, that the biden administration, they are developing a plan to require all-foreign visitors be

vaccinated. obviously, that would require that citizens of other countries have access to vaccines. i know global-vaccine equity is something you are obviously very concerned about and have worked a lot on. which areas of the world are you most focused on? >> well, it's tragic that we weren't able to make enough vaccines for the whole world. so, the, you know, time difference between the first person getting access to the vaccine to the last person could be as much as two years. you know, in the future, we should have so much manufacturing capacity that we can do that in less than six months. there are countries that have had horrific epidemics of covid, without much vaccine. you know, india, because of a partnership that our foundation funded with serum has had 400 million of those vaccines, so far. and a billion, by the end of the year. # um, that's the second source, astrazeneca. so, you know, thank goodness, in

the spring of 2020, the right things were -- was done. all the know-how was transferred in and that same thing is happening with johnson & johnson. and novavax. so we hope that, over the next six-to-nine months, the supply issue gets solved. in the meantime, you know, whenever you have an elderly person, you know, in south america or in africa who dies of covid, you know, it's an injustice because other people who are far -- at far less risk, got the vaccine before they did. >> along those same lines, what do you think about the right answer is on booster shots? israel's already started administering third doses to people over 60. the world health organization, today, asked for all booster doses to be halted until at least the end of september so more doses can be distributed to developing nations. obviously, officials in the u.s. haven't made a decision on boosters, yet. what is the right thing to do? >> in the next few months, the

boosters should be reserved for people who, clearly, have antibody waning. that is, people who have weak-immune systems, like people living with hiv. and it's a pretty modest percentage of the population. the beauty of that is, then, we'll be able to get a lot of supply out to the world. and really, understand the benefits of a booster, in which, you know, there's different forms of boosters that we could use. i do think, over the next two or three months we study boosters, if we can't get the overall-vaccine coverage up, there's a good chance that, sometime in the fall, countries, including the u.s., could decide to make that third shot in some form, broadly available, and -- and encourage people to get it. we have seen some waning of coverage, you know, for example, elderly people who got vaccinated in january. there's, both, u.s. and israeli data that shows a reduction in

antibodies and a -- a slight increase in risk. so, although it's not urgent now, for the broad population, we may get there. >> yesterday, president biden made a plea to some republican governors. he said, quote, i say to these governors, please, heclp. but if you aren't going to help, at least get out of the way of the people who are trying to do the right thing. use your power to save lives. when you look at florida, that's experienced such a surge right now and the governor there signed an executive order there to threaten to pull funding from schools that implement mask mandates. does that make sense to you, especially for children under 12 years old? >> well, i never understood being against masks as strongly as some people are because if you look at all the measures where there's a certain cost to every one of these measures. and there's a certain benefit, in terms of saving lives and presenting diseases. i think wearing masks is one of the lowest-cost and highest-benefit things in this whole picture.

you know, no one wants schools to be closed in the fall. and i think, if we get vaccine levels up and wear masks in a lot of indoor situations. where you have a meaningful amount of covid. i think we will be able to run schools and have most businesses open. and, you know, i think the value to that is incredible. so, we're caught, you know, where in some cases, it's the states that have the loosest mandates will -- will pay the highest price. >> in new york, mayor de blasio is only requiring one dose of the vaccine for the city's mandate to enter restaurants and gyms and entertainment. is it -- is that better than nothing? should they require full vaccinations? and could it potentially be dangerous if people don't follow through and get their second dose? >> you need a second dose. that is very, very clear. i'm not sure how many people stop after one. i think, once somebody gets one, they'll realize, okay. you know, i might as well get

the -- the -- the second thing. but we should be, constantly, looking at the data to make sure, you know, that -- that people are following through. france is -- is talking about, you know, checking for full vaccination in order to get into restaurants. i don't think we'll do that for restaurants. but certainly, for healthcare workers and elderly care, some educational contacts i think local officials should be looking at that because we want the economy to be largely open and schools. you know, the -- the deficits we have in learning, which are way more in the inner city, those who can least afford to have that educational interruption. it's -- it's an horrific thing. it's actually been hard to dimensionalize but it's almost a year of learning, in many cases. >> in may, president biden asked the intelligence community to -- to redouble their efforts to try to come to a definitive conclusion about the origins of covid report back to him in 90

days. that deadline is in just a few weeks. how important do you think it is to understand how this happened? how it started? um, i mean, is that critical in terms of preventing it in the future? >> no. the source isn't going to change, you know, the need for masks and vaccines and the need to have a -- a very different regimen so that, you know, all countries could get on top of the cases, very quickly. and be more like australia than europe or the united states ended up being. and so, you know, i'm involved in a lot of discussion about breakthroughs and diagnostics and therapeutics. the scaling of vaccine factories in that less than six months. eradicating flu. you know, we need to resource the preparedness for the next pandemic and we can get a lot of benefits out of that. people don't like flu and the common cold and, you know, we can build tools that, over time, will get rid of those, as well.

>> from a justice standpoint or just a moral standpoint, do you want to know how this started? >> yeah, it's -- the -- you know, there -- i would -- i would continue that investigation. the last paper i saw showed evidence against the lab leak. but, you know, yes. we should investigate these things. but it's not directly tied to the particular actions to save lives, at this point. >> yeah. bill gates, i really appreciate your time. it's always a pleasure. and always learn something. so thank you. >> thank you. up next. our breaking news on new york's governor andrew cuomo. what state lawmakers are saying about impeachment and the increasing pressure on him to resign.

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as we mentioned at the top of the broadcast, there is breaking news regarding new york's governor andrew cuomo. as we mentioned, a source in the new york state assembly shas that cuomo has lost institutional support from lawmakers. quoting to a cnn count 80 members of the assembly, democrats and republicans, say they will vote to impeach. now, this as more democrats are calling for him to step down a after the explosive 165-page report from the state attorney general from found governor cuomo sexually harassed 11 women. he denies the allegations. saying the findings were, quote,

extremely damning and upsetting. now, four local district attorneys who have requested investigative material from the new york attorney general's office. this, as a prelude to potential-legal action. cnn's erika hill joins us now with more. so, what more do you know about the governor's waning support in the state legislature? >> it is certainly waning, as you pointed out. they share a number of assembly numbers who have said to cnn that they would, in fact, vote to impeach. 80 of the 150 members. both, democrats and republicans. he also mentioned jay jacobs. that was a really important one that came out earlier today. anderson, he is the chair of the new york state democratic party and he said in a statement that it was tough for him. he, in that statement, said that he had called the governor and he intimated that he, too, had earn urged the governor to resign. but it basically sounded like that fell on deaf ears and that's why he put out this statement calling on the governor to resign. in fact, he said specifically he's lost his ability to govern, both, practically and morally.

we know there is a lot of this happening, publicly. um, it's our understanding that there is urging privately, as well. but as of tonight, the governor, standing strong. and -- and determined to remain in that job. >> what about possible-criminal investigations, at the county level? >> so, as you mentioned, there are four district attorneys in the state and the counties nassau, albany, west chester, just north of new york city, and here in manhattan where the district attorneys have now reached out to the new york attorney general. based on the findings in this investi investigative report and they are specifically asking for some of those materials. i can tell you here, in manhattan, the d.a. actually asking for the contact information, as well as investigative materials related to both trooper number one, who, of course, had been on the governor's service detail on his protective-service detail. and also, the woman who was referred to as executive assistant number one. they were both referenced by the manhattan da. and all of them are saying they want this information because they need to determine whether

some of these events that were outlined in the report that occurred in their jurisdictions, whether there was, in fact, any criminal activity. >> all right. erika hill, i appreciate it. thank you very much. more on this no doubt. up next, still more breaking news. fresh evidence of how thur thoroughly the former president tried to corrupt the justice department to stay in office, who the would-be henchmen are and who went to the mat to stop them. we'll be right back. millions of vulnerable americans struggle to get reliable transportation to their medical appointments. that's why i started medhaul. citi launched the impact fund to invest in both women and entrepreneurs of color like me, so i can realize my vision and give everything i've got to my company, and my community.

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there is more breaking news tonight and yet more evidence of just how few people actually stood between the former president and his desire to use the power of the federal government to remain in office. two stories in the space of 24 hours. one on the senior justice department official, jeffrey clark, acting assistant attorney general. he drafted a letter, which they'll block by superiors, amounted to instructions for overturning the will of georgia voters. it's remarkable. the other story concerns a different senior department of justice official, and another draft letter. this one, threatening to resign over precisely that sort of coup-like behavior. more now from cnn's evan perez. so talk about this draft resignation letter. >> well, anderson, this was a letter that was prepared by the

person who was the chief of staff to the then-acting attorney general, jeffrey rosen. rosen was, essentially, facing firing by the president because the justice department kept telling the president, kept telling the white house, that they could not find evidence to support his claims that the election was fraudulent. and so, this letter was written on january 3rd and he knew that rosen was possibly going to be fired that day by the president. i will read you just a part of the letter in which he says acting attorney general over the course of the last week repeatedly refused the president's direct instructions to utilize the department of justice law enforcement powers to -- for improper ends. and what was -- what was happening, at that point, anderson, was he and other officials were facing the -- the prospect that if the president fired rosen, that they would then, also, resign.

along with a number of other officials were planning to, all, walk out. which is something, frankly, that would recall the 1970s. the nixon-era saturday-night massacre. of course, the letter never got sent because trump never fired rosen. >> i mean, essentially, he was resisting a coup. >> he was. and that was what the president was trying to do. he wanted the justice department to intervene, to essentially encourage, as you mentioned, that letter from -- from jeffrey clark. jeffrey clark wanted essentially to -- to send this letter to georgia to try to get them to convene a special session to look into irregularities. that -- that's what he said. the -- the letter never got sent, obviously, because there was no proof of that. >> so, the meeting at the white house that prompted him to write this resignation letter out of fear that rosen would be fired. do we know what actually happened there, at the meeting? >> yeah, i mean, look, it was -- it was like a scene from one of the former president's reality-tv shows.

you had jeffrey clark, who was another official at justice department. also, who the president was talking to behind the scenes. and jeffrey rosen. both went up to the white house, where the president essentially had these men vie for the job of attorney general. the president was looking for someone who was going to do his bidding. rosen was not willing to do that and, eventually, rosen and other officials talked the president out of firing rosen keeping him on the job. but i mean, it's -- it's an un -- just an extraordinary episode to happen inside the white house. again, just a couple days before the attack on the u.s. capitol, which was carried out by people who were believing the president's lies about the election. >> right. and if they had found some henchmen at the department of justice to go along with that, i mean, that would -- >> course of history, right? the course of history would have been changed. >>. incredible. evan perez, thank you. just to amplify both the factual absurdity but also the real danger of that letter we

mentioned a moment ago, which was drafted but never sent to georgia. according to abc news, this draft by assistant attorney general jeffrey clark included the following passage. kwoeting now. department of justice is investigating various irregularities in the 2020 election for president of the united states. point of fact, at the time of the writing of it, attorney general barr had already publicly stated nearly a month earlier that the department had not, and i am quoting here, seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election. in other words, this senior department of justice official, who, frankly, none of us could pick out of a lineup, was, you know, who -- by the way, he was the -- the -- the one the former president was considering to replace the acting attorney general. this guy was flat-out lying. joining us now is democratic congressman and house in intelligence committee chair adam schiff.

it could have very easily -- our democracy could have crumbled here. >> that's absolutely true. we find, again and again, just how close we came to losing our democracy. here, you have bill barr, who -- who, you know, during his long tenure in the department, did so much to tear down the independence of the justice department. to use it to the president's ends. but even he got to a point where he said, you know, i can't manufacture claims of fraud that don't exist. but there are other people in the department, including jeffrey clark, who were apparently willing to do so. and he just wasn't some senior-level official, he was the head of the whole civil division of the justice department. and here he is, asking acting-attorney general to urge georgia to convene a special session, basically, to try to appoint a slate of selectors who don't represent how georgians voted. and on the basis of bogus claims of fraud. it's really breathtaking, and just shows how very close we came through the -- the use of

this fraudulent but purportedly lawful process to losing our democracy. >> the -- the -- this report from abc news -- um, yeah, that is ethe guy -- this report from abc news detailing contents of a draft letter written by jeffrey clark, as we mentioned he was the high-ranking justice department official, who was apparently more onboard with trump's strategy to overturn the election than the acting attorney general jeff rosen. urged the georgia legislature to go into special session over the election results. it's completely over the line and you look at each of these events, individually. and then, you look at them, in totality. the attempts to interfere with the results, the big lie, the insurrection, they are all part of a piece. >> well, they are. and, you know, look. in terms of all of the former president's conduct, among the most egregious and, frankly, among the most worthy of investigation with an eye to potential prosecution is what the former president tried to do in georgia. there he was, on the phone, in a recorded conversation, asking

the secretary of state to find 11,870 votes that don't exist. you know, anyone else doing that would have been prosecuted, already. and the evidence that you are referring to tonight, these internal letters and other discussions going on by clark. no doubt, at the urging of donald trump, to try to give the georgia legislature a reason to convene and overturn the results would be more evidence in that case out of georgia. so, i certainly hope that the u.s. justice department, as well as georgia officials, are studying the -- the president's conduct because it seems to cross the -- the line into illegality. and it is very much deserving of an investigation. >> what's also so concerning about this is, you know, it is not just this, you know, again, this official who nobody recognizes who, as you said, was running the -- the civil -- the civil wing of the justice department. so had an important position.

but there were -- there are millions of americans out there and were out there, and who still are out there, who would have backed the justice department deciding to go into illegality and to, basically, start a coup. there is a lot of americans who, to this day, would have backed what the -- what that guy wanted to do. >> you know, it's -- it's tragic but it's true. because they believe that the lie, the big lie the president was pushing out, and not just the president but a lot of the people i serve with in congress were pushing the same lie. and what jeffrey clark was trying to do was trying to push the same lie on georgia. had the justice department issued that letter, it would have been part of the big lie. and given it more credibility with millions of americans. as it is, what they did, already, has done such damage to our democracy. it has gotten us to a place where a very significant number

of the american people believe that if they lose in an election, if it doesn't go their way, that it's somehow i illegitimate, by definition. it's fraudulent just because they didn't win. and as we saw on january 6th, all too many are willing to use violence to achieve what they can't peacefully through their franchise. >> are there any legal consequences for trying to get the justice department to interfere with an election outcome? i know it's uncharted territory and basically everyone is desensitized to everything the former president has done or is doing or will do. but i mean, you got to ask, is there any accountability? and if so, like, what would that look like? >> well, you know, i think the -- you know, the strongest case just on the public record involves the former president. and in particular, that recorded conversation. >> right. >> um, but there -- there are also others that may very well be at risk. you know, this acting head of the civil division, if he knew what he was doing was an attempt to fraudulently overturn the election, then there is, certainly, risk to him.

and, you know, this whole-sorry chapter really needs to be fleshed out and made public. it's one of the things that the january-6th committee, we're intent on doing. and providing a comprehensive report. but it's, also, important work the oversight committee is doing. >> yeah. congressman schiff, i appreciate your time. thank you. >> thank you. straight ahead. confronting covid misinformation at the source. >> i'm randi kaye with cnn. can we ask you a couple questions? >> our randi kaye tracked down a doctor who one group calls one of the biggest spreaders of covid misinformation. we'll hear from him, ahead. i was drowning in student loan debt. then i discovered sofi. lower interest rate. my principal is going down. sofi is a place where you can start to tackle those money goals today. ♪

as we mentioned in our conversation with bill gates, the survey found that half of unvaccinated americans think the ° vaccine is more dangerous than covid. but florida doctor has gone to great lengths to perpetuate this. the story and the reason behind his actions. >> it's an unproved vaccine. that's just been accelerated, eliminated in virtually every safety study. >> reporter: he's the ultimate

superspreader of misinformation about covid-19. he's joseph mercola. >> the vast majority of people in america have seen misinformation that has originated with this superspreader of lies and misinformation. >> reporter: that's why a nonprofit tracking misinformation online put dr. mercola at the top of its disinformation dozen. a list of 12 people who are the source of 65% of all anti-vaccine messaging on facebook and twitter. from february through march. >> misinformation has a cost that is paid in lives. >> reporter: we tried to track down dr. mercola to ask about the misinformation he is posting.

like masks could be dangerous, vaccines could be dangerous. and vitamins can treat the coronavirus. we first tried at his office outside ft. myers. we're looking for dr. mercola? >> he's not here. >> reporter: will he be here tomorrow? >> no, he's normally not here. >> reporter: so even though his office is listed here, he doesn't work out of here? >> no. >> reporter: okay, thank you. next stop, more than 220 miles away in ormond beach, florida. where he calls home. we found his house and we tried making contact through the security access pad. later we spotted him riding his bicycle. once he stopped, we thought this u was our opening to get some answers.

how are you? >> good. >> reporter: i'm randi kaye with cnn. can we ask you a couple questions? >> no. >> reporter: we just want to talk to you about vaccines and what you've been saying about them. do you feel responsible for people who got sick and died possibly because of what you told them about the vaccine? what do you say to families who lost loved ones? are you spreading misinformation? >> nope. >> reporter: why won't you speak to us? here's your opportunity to speak with us and answer questions. so despite all his bravado online, he suddenly had nothing to say. though after we emailed him questions, he responded saying, i encourage everyone to fully educate themselves to make individual decisions about medical risk taking. he's been out spoken throughout the pandemic. >> i wanted to go back to the reason why the mask may not

work. >> reporter: in his email to us, he challenged any suggestion that he belongs on a disinformation list. still, by fueling the narrative that vaccines are dangerous, who knows how many of his followers chose to skip the vaccine. this was him on a podcast in april last year. saying vaccines are -- >> being fast-tracked, abandoning all safety precautions to the wind. i'm sure it will cause enormous disabilities and premature deaths. as a result. >> reporter: what he hasn't made clear to his followers is that according to the cdc, the vaccines are safe and effective. of the more than 345 million doses administered, there have been an infinitesimal amount that have caused adverse events. he said 400,000 adverse echts and 6,000 deaths from the vaccine have been filed. a majority filed by medical officials.

to be clear, the fda has not established a causal link to these deaths. earlier this year, he said vaccines alter your genetic coating. turning you into a viral protein factory with no off switch. the cdc has said vaccines don't interact with your dna. he also posted an article that states aerosolized hydrogen peroxide can be used to treat covid-19. there is no study supporting that. he said, this is an approach that many clinicians have found provided significant improvement to patients. the danger is his misinformation has reach. he still has 14 accounts on mainstream social media with more than 14 million followers. 4 million followers. his web site promises to deliver

trustworthy health information. >> he wants to replace those doctors as the source of health information for people. then he can recommend his cures. >> reporter: his cures apparently include vitamins c and d. after he posted an article. which in a since-removed article, the fda told him to take immediate action to cease the sale. of unapproved and unauthorized products. after noting he misleaded the supplements at treatment. he said he immediately responded, asking to meet with them. just today, he said he's removing all articles from his website within the next 48 hours. >> the last week has brought a tremendous amount of reflections and unacceptable threats. so the course of action i'm now

forced to take is to remove my entire archive of articles. 25 years' worth of blood, sweat, and tears coming down. >> so randi, does that mean he's shutting down his website, and all the misinformation, or information he puts out there? >> reporter: no, that will stay up. he said he will continue to post articles. but they will only stay up for 48 hours and then they'll be removed. he didn't say if he will share those on his social media platforms, facebook, youtube, twitter. we reached out to those platforms and asked what they will do. about the misinformation. twitter says they've removed tweets and applied misleading information labels to some of them. facebook says they've removed pages and banned some of his pages. youtube says they've removed some videos, but there are still not enough strikes to remove him fully.