caputo's remarks.imself disparaged scientists and said, you know, that he thinks the deep state is out to get him and that they are thwarting his efforts to control the pandemic, and he also has cast doubt on whether the election is going to be fair. and he has suggested that there are some sort of squads, vaguely suggested that there are some armed squads that are preparing for action. so there is some overlap in their views. >> the thing that i find, i think, most upsetting about this reporting on mr. caputo is the reporting that the cdc has actually bent to him a little bit, that there have been adjustments made to wording and to the ways that the cdc has phrased things, including in their flagship weekly publication, the mmwr, and that there have been some significant delays, in some cases weeks-long delays in them publishing information that seems to be important and that has direct real-world applications to the decisions that doctors are making about how to treat patients, specifically because m

and once again, this guy michael caputo pops up there too. this is from the senate intelligence committee report. paul manafort, quote, conducted influence operations that supported and were a part of russian active measures campaigns, including those involving political influence and electoral interference. quote, manafort's relationship with russian government-aligned interests began with his introduction to oleg deripaska, an oligarch, in approximately 2004. since at least that time, deripaska, the russian oligarch, has acted as a proxy for the russian state and intelligence services. deripaska has managed and financed kremlin-approved and directed active measures campaigns, including information operations and election interference efforts. deripaska has conducted these activities in an effort to install pro-kremlin regimes to control local economies and politicians and to strengthen kremlin-aligned power brokers across the globe. the committee has limited insight into the origins of manafort's relationship with this oligarch oleg deripas

caputo said the department status is questionable. caputo was already treading on thin ice even before these revelations on facebook, wolf. >> let's get to more on this and the state of the pandemic as the u.s. death toll gets closer and closer to 200,000. cnn's nick watt is in los angeles for us. nick, health experts say the country needs to make critical choice and they need to do so right now. >> reporter: that's right, wolf. this was the director of the world health organization, and he said basically as we move into winter, either we can have kids in schools or we can have bars and nightclubs open, but we can't have both if we want to keep the vulnerable, the elderly safe. we have to make a choice. something has got to give. the national daily case count is falling. all rosy, right? wrong. >> i can't relax with this thing. it's relentless. >> reporter: more daily cases now than before we started going on lockdowns. more cases now than even during those dark days in april. >> it's a war zone. a medical war zone. >> reporter: new y

caputo seeks to overthrow the cdc. caputo tells the cdc they are no longer to allow to -- >> the report, must be head by someone outside of the cdc like myself. we can't allow the the reporting to go on as it has been. nothing to go out unless i agree with the findings. and i tweak it. >> nothing to go out unless i read it and agree. >> hide by a guy who plays the role of forest scas scump. they have succeeded and not just push. and, he succeeded in substantially delaying the cdc reports. the important for policymakers and decision makers thinking about whether to put kids back in school together. they also succeeded in delaying a cdc report on how hydroxychloroquine is not a miracle cure for covid no matter what you hear from fox news host about it. >> so the reporting starts on friday night and gets developed over the weekend and then this arrives. >> reporting on how michael caputo, how he's comporting himself. now that we know that guy of all people is controlling what the american people are allowed to know. what

political hacks, cranks like michael caputo. michael caputo. that guy. they are working in positions of authority to undermine the science we need to fight a once in a century pandemic in an attempt to cover up the illness and death the president is responsible for and to boost the president politically. the politics of denialism are running roughshod over scientists, and we saw it on absolute full display today. couldn't come up with a better tableau than this. trump's event in california, which has been devastated by forest fires. >> we want to work with you to really recognize the changing climate and what it means to our forests and actually work together with that science. that science is going to be key because if we -- if we ignore that science and sort of put our head in the sand and think it's all about vegetation management, we're not going to succeed together in protecting californians. >> okay. it will start getting cooler. you just watch. >> i wish science agreed with you. >> well, i don't think science knows, actually. >> it will start gett

you may have seen today that michael caputo, today, is out. he announced that he is taking a leave of absence after the publication last night by yahoo! news of a facebook live video from this past weekend in which michael caputo seemed to be going kind of nuts talking about how hit squads were coming to get him and everybody needs to buy ammunition, and there ar assassination drills happening all over the country and he's sure they're all coming for him and he was scared of the long shadows he could see on the ceiling of his apartment that was first reported by "the new york times." it was first published last night by yahoo! news, and now michael caputo is gone he says he is taking a 60-day leave of absence the election is in 48 days we'll see if michael caputo comes back 12 days after that. but when michael caputo's leave of absence was announced health and human services also announced his so-called science adviser, the guy who was literally writing to the cdc demanding that he and only he could decide what would be published as scientific

is focusing on his health for the next two months, what do you think will happen caputo after all thisu have any evidence that the president will continue to protect him? >> thank you for having me that's the big question at this point, 60-day medical leave, that puts us beyond the election, at that point, we'll have to see what happens, we asked the white house earlier this week whether the president still had confidence in michael caputo, they declined to comment. the press secretary was asked whether he'll be welcomed back after the 60-day medical leave and she really declined to comment, she said she doesn't weigh in on personnel matters as well it's a matter of, you know, not only this facebook video but we're at in the pandemic, he's been at the center of a series of revelations that have just furthered this impression that there's a lot of political interference going in the pandemic response. >> since his arrival at hhs, caputo has been aggressive and combative. a little sense of that in that little clip that we played there, are his comments affecting others working within hhs

in one case an aide to the agency's communication chief michael caputo berated the cdc for trying to hurt the president with its reports according to politico. a white house aide called it stunning schumer wants azar to step down in the middle of a pandemic but did not comment on another hhs official in the spotlight tonight, michael caputo in a now deleted facebook live video caputo plugged conspiracy theories according to the "new york times" accusing cdc scientists of sedition or inciting rebellion against the president, forming a resistance unit to undermine him and accusing left wing agitators of plotting violence if president trump wins predicting the shooting will begin after his inauguration caputo, a long-time loyalist with no scientific background, also acknowledged the strain on his mental health today he reportedly apologized for the outburst and is considering a leave of absence according to "the times" which also says an hhs person calls him a critical, integral part of the pandemic response neither caputo nor hss responded to nbc news' request for comment on the apolog

and so nick, caputo just released a statement about this leave of absence. what did he say?t. releasing a statement to cnn, sara murray saying he's taking a temporary leave of absence through the election. so this will take him past november for screenings for what he's calling lymphatic issues and echoes what he said to hhs staff on tuesday when he apologized for going on the attack against the cdc doctors and in his conspiracy laden facebook rant. he seems to be playing a little bit of the victim here saying that his family has been receiving violent threats but as i mentioned it was caputo that went on attack against the cdc over the weekend and video first posted to a facebook live event and removed by caputo. yahoo news edited tr for brevity and he want to play you sound in which his own words in which he accused without evidence of cdc doctors plotting against the american president. >> the partisan democrats, the con jiggal media an the scientists, the deep state scientists want america's sick through november. they cannot afford for us to have any good news before no

the disturbing video now emerging tonight of michael caputo making allegations against scientists at the cdc. and telling trump supporters, "if you carry guns, buy ammunition." >>> there are new developments tonight after the deadly police confrontation in rochester, new york. documents now made public suggest police changed reports, allegedly first describing daniel prude as a victim, then as a suspect. >>> the wildfires tonight and harrowing new images released showing firefighters racing through the flames of the creek fire to rescue families. the moment tonight one family tells them, you saved our lives. >>> the crane collision. more than 20 construction workers hurt, many rushed to the hospital. >>> and big ten football reversing course. they will play. and what will now happen if a player tests positive for covid-19. >>> good evening and it's great to have you with us here on a wednesday night. we have a lot to get to tonight. the claim made by the president just before we came on the air tonight about the cdc director, saying the director is confused on vaccines and timing. bu

caputo even warns there could be an armed revolt. abc's ines de la cuetara has more. >> reporter: overnight president trump on the campaign trail in arizona where there was little social distancing, and few of his supporters wore face masks. >> this china virus was a big setback, but now we're back to business. >> reporter: it's coming as the number of american lives lost to the covid-19 pandemic inches closer to 200,000. the president facing fresh m fohoinhifi indoor rally in nevada this weekend in defiance of regulations. the city of henderson now issuing a $3,000 fine to the venue that hosted the event. it comes as trump is intensifying his efforts to win over latino voters, blasting his democratic opponent. >> i've achieved more for hispanic-americans in 47 months than joe biden has achieved in 47 years. >> reporter: joe biden firing back. >> i'll work like the devil to make sure. >> reporter: but admitting his poll numbers could be higher with that demographic. >> much higher than his. they got to go higher. >> reporter: meanwhi

caputo has a long history of controversies here.he shares a view that a lot of people in this trump white house, in this administration have, this feeling that there are people who are working in these health care agencies who actually want to undermine the president. obviously he chose very strong language there. when talking to him earlier, he has pointed out that his family faced threats and tha may have contributed to his anger when he was doing that facebook video. >> he seemed to talk about being under pressure and having some health issues. >> yeah. i think this has been, you know, a difficult -- for anyone working on this, this is a difficult time. i think tea it's very clear he feels an immense pressure around this job and i think there is a certain sense around these political appointees that people are out to get them. >> yeah. sarah, thank you so much. i want to bring in senior political analyst john avlon. what is the effect, john, of having the hhs spokesman attacking the cdc here? >> it's the opposite of helpful at a

kaitlan, you've been talking to your sources on this caputo news and big developments there. what more are you learning tonight? >> reporter: basically what we saw happen today was this abruptly scheduled meeting where caputo apologized to other staffers after he went on that rant on sunday where he was basically saying he believed government scientists are actively working against the president, he said, committing sedition and also said that the joe biden if he lost the election he did not believe would concede and there would be political violence that would follow. all of these alarming statements coming during a time of crisis we are seeing with this pandemic going on. but erin, basically what we heard was that he was apologizing for putting the department in a bad light, embarrassing the hhs secretary, al alex azar. there are others in this administration, even from the president himself, that do believe there are government scientists working in this administration who are actively trying to undermine any kind of effort to produce a vaccine or therapeutics because it c

the paper also says caputo accused the agency scientists of sedition and, quote, ran through a series of conspiracy theories culminating in a prediction that mr. trump will win re-election, but his democratic opponent, joe biden, will refuse to concede. quote, and when donald trump refuses to stand down at the inauguration, the shooting will begin, he said. the drills that you've seen are nothing. he added, if you carry guns, buy ammunition, ladies and gentlemen, because it's going to be hard to get. politico has reported caputo and other officials pressured cdc scientists to change key covid reporting so they more closely align with trump's rosy portrayal of efforts to contain the virus. today house democrats said they're opening an investigation into that alleged interference. we're also now hearing more from alexander vindman. he was the key witness in the impeachment trial, the one who overhead that so-called perfect phone call between trump and the president of ukraine. the decorated iraq war veteran told "the atlantic" that trump is putin's "useful idiot" in quotes and an unwitt

now, i should point out michael caputo is a political appointee. the "new york times" quoting him telling his facebook followers, quote, scientists have given up science and become political animals. they also quote, saying there are scientists who work for this government who do not want america to get well, not until after joe biden is president. jake? >> all right, let's bring in dr. william schaffner. i want to start with your reaction to this "new york times" reporting trump hhs official michael caputo accusing the cdc of sedition, having a resistance unit determined to undermine president trump. you're a longtime adviser to the cdc. what's your reaction? >> well, i'm very distressed, jake, at those words. because that's not the cdc personnel that i know. they work very hard, they're apolitical in their work. they're devoted to science. they're devoted to actually getting out the best information as quickly as possible so that the american people can be as healthy as possible. and they have a wonderful track record going back to hiv/aids, ebol

new video of a story we told you about yesterday, michael caputo claiming that scientists at the cdc, the centers for disease control, are in his words working against president trump. nick valencia has this important new reporting. nick, explain the context here why michael caputo made these comments and how we obtained this video. >> it is upsetting to see these comments posted to social media and even more upsetting who michael caputo who posted this in a facebook live event over the weekend went on a conspiracy-laden rant saying that scientists were trying to undermine president trump. this video as i mentioned was first posted to facebook live and edited for brevity. it is so shocking we want you to hear it in caputo's own words. >> they -- these people cannot -- cannot allow america to get better nor can they allow america to hear good news. it must be all bad news from now until the election. frankly, ladies and gentlemen, that's sadition. they are sacrificing lives in order to beat donald trump. ladies and gentlemen, that's d sadition and it is also -- call it what you will, b

. >> monica, very quickly, michael caputo, is he still in his job at hhs and if he is, why? >> reporter: that's what we understand, chuck, he is currently in his role after offering apology for the comments about is sedition and insurrection, and you have the democrats calling for the ouster of the health and human services secretary, alex azar, over all this, saying how can you have people involved that aren't even experts in any cdc data that was handled. he is currently in this role in any other administration, a senior officials making those comments likely wouldn't be in their post as we understand it today. >> it was a strange hire when it was made given his checkered professional background. here we are, not surprising to see us in this situation monica, peter, thank you both. more on the michael caputo conspiracy story coming up. >>> i want to bring in a doctor, dr. patel, former obama white house policy director and msnbc medical contributor. dr. patel, start with what dr. redfield said about wearing a mask versus vaccine. a vaccine that might be 70% protective, a l

now, i was chatting with michael caputo earlier.e did note that there are some other things going on and his family has been getting threats and part of that is what was coming across in this facebook live video and caused him to be a little angrier than he would be otherwise, but i do think, john, there is a really deep suspicion within many in the trump administration that somehow some of these scientists are out to get the president. >> okay. well, they should call them in and have meetings maybe as opposed to accusing them of things like sedition but we'll watch again as always. appreciate the reporting and the context there on michael. very important there for us. >>> just ahead, a federal judge has ruled pennsylvania's coronavirus restrictions are unconstitutional. the state's lieutenant governor live with us next. i like liberty mutual. they get that no two people are alike and customize your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. what do you think? i don't see it. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. lib

caputo on sunday on facebook. the media saying his physical health is in question and his mental health has failed. this is him. sounds like cry for help. dr. gupta i'll let you tell me. i don't like being alone in washington. shadows on the ceiling, in my apartment, there alone. shadows are so long. end quote. >> in hearing that, i worry about his mental state and to your point, i'm sorry he might be going through a tough time and he needs to get medical attention. should he be in charge of communications and co-opting the mike that the cdc director should be manning. his deputies, career scientists should be having to speak to the american people. hoe shou he should step aside. >> when you see joe biden's 30-point advantage on handling coronavirus, maybe that has something to do with the folks carrying the message for donald trump. thank you for spending some time with us. phil and nick are staying put. >>> wildfires raging up and down the west coast. joe biden and kamala harris look to make donald trump's denia

there are stip people like caputo throughout the government >>> caputo is ute, but barr seems to have gone full caputo, in asks prosecutors to look for sedition cases to charge there's something that we have become numb to, and it's the abusive relationship between donald trump and the press that covers him it's jarring when he turns the denial of the lies, the inability to understand the perspective of anyone questioning him on to an undecided voter at a town hall talk about those those deficiencies were revealed anew last night >> well, you had a town hall where you can't go answer by answer, but was incredibly misleading with just about everything he said, right? it requires a sort of speed fact check to keep up on the one hand it was just president trump. there is no joe biden there. he's doing a separate town hall tomorrow evening one hear where vice president biden would really shine is with what you mentioned earlier, the empathy gap, the way that joe biden really excels and of in understanding the concerns and the opinion of everyday americans. the president encounters a lot o

caputo says, and i'm quoting him now, our intention is to make sure that data drives this, not ulterior deep state motives within the bowels of cdc, end quote. this is all happening after revelations that the president downplayed the severity of the virus in recorded conversations he had with a journalist bob woodward back in early february, and the president discounting safety warnings continues tonight. he's holding his 17th campaign rally when he told woodward that the virus was, quote, deadly stuff on february 7th. a reported 5,000 people are expected at the event in nevada, which is also under an air quality alert due to the wildfires out west. speak i speaking of wildfires, the president will head to california monday as deadly wildfires spread across the west coast of the united states. let's go to boris sanchez in minden for us. he will be landing in reno, nevada, but the airport there, i understand, blocked him from the campaign event there. tell us what's going on. >> reporter: that's right, wolf. officials at the reno airport effectively saying this is not about politics but

we haven't heard from the president on caputo's departure yet. though we could hear from him when he holds a briefing here at about 5:00. >> kaitlan collins, thank you so much. joining us now to discuss, democratic congressman max rose of new york. i want to ask you about negotiations for a new coronavirus relief bill to help the people and the public who are still suffering a great deal. you were part of a bipartisan group of house members who proposed a compromise, a $2 trillion plan. you introduced it yesterday, that would include help for small businesses and schools, another round of checks for americans who need it, more jobless benefits. but your leaders, democratic leaders rejected the proposal right away. you called that, quote, a charade stupid, said it made you disappointed to be a democrat. >> i'm dumb founded that they said what they said yesterday. thankfully today they start to open up the door again. politics as usual in this crazy town. but here is what i do know. the american people want democrats and republicans to come togethe

tell us more about what you heard from senator schumer and caputo deleting his personal twitter accountistration about this. >> reporter: well, and now democrats seizing on this, but the administration does not yet appear to be distancing themselves from michael caputo just by a little bit of background on this bizarre story, this all zahn ovbegan ove weekend when politico put out a story that said he was sort of micromanaging, alleging he was -- scientists alleging he was manipulating some of their scientific reports to try to put them in line with the message that the administration was trying to come out he responded to that with this facebook rant that you mentioned , on twitter he suggested that journalists should be teargassed, those twitter deletes have been posted, the hhs put out a statement to the times defending him and jared kushner was asked about this, this morning, didn't, you know, dismiss these allegations that caputo put out there, and in a way kind of came to his defense while sidestepping the question. have a listen to what kushner said >> a lot of tensions that have

michael caputo has a science adviser, dr. paul alexander, an oxford trained epidemiologist, who has been interjecting himself into the process of those weekly reports. now, michael caputo has justified this by saying alexander is a scientist himself, scientific disagreement is part of the process. let me read an official statement he gave to cnn, which is our intention is to make sure that science and data drives policy through this pandemic ulterior deep state motives in the bowels of the cdc. now, michael caputo makes a nod to science and data, but really he's expressing with that deep state remark the same sentiment, the same conspiracy theory the president has articulated about members of his own administration suggesting that they want to magnify the impact of the pandemic, prevent the country from reopening, even delay a vaccine to hurt his re-election chances, ana. and that's one of the things that pose ts ris the risk of undermining confidence in the u.s. government. >> in the meantime, he carries on as if this virus

caputo yesterday confirmed. >> yes, in my book i talk about an autocratic attempt.ally fits our situation very well, we're now in the autocratic attempt stage of the process, which may end on november 3rd or whenever our election season ends and may lead to an autocratic breakthrough but speaking of michael caputo, i don't think michael caputo said anything that his boss doesn't say on a regular basis we have become so accustomed to. it only stands out when somebody we don't expect to be spouting hateful, crazy lies every day, says the same things >> well, this goes to a line from your book that i've underlined the outrageous is rendered ordinary and you go on at some length, and i think it's extraordinarily valuable insight, that regular political lexicon that we use to define not only elections but american democracy, somehow fails us when you have autocratic actions and autocratic attempts going on before our very eyes. >> absolutely. when we talk about -- part of the reason the model i use developed this model was because he realized that he used the language of

caputo has no health background whatsoever. he was a trump campaign aide but once the trump white house installed him at hhs, mr. caputo reportedly demanded all sorts of changes to the cdc's scientific output, including their previously sacrosanct weekly scientific reports mr. caputo reportedly delayed the publication of cdc guidance about the risk of covid in schools and school-like environments because of the risk that might undermine the president's messaging that all schools should be opened regardless of the coronavirus crisis well, mr. caputo is now gone with him gone, i guess, that means there's nobody standing in the way of cdc reports like this one, which has finally just come out. a study of whether covid can spread among kids in child care environments and in schools and according to this brand-new released study from the cdc, school-aged kids cannot only spread the virus between each other in the classroom, they're also then very capable of taking the virus home with them, taking the virus out of the classroom to in

. >>> "the new york times" reporting that michael caputo the assistant secretary of state for public affairs actually went on facebook and said without any evidence at all, cdc scientists have, quote, a resistant and talked about arms insurrection at this house. >> surprising comments from the person who's supposed to be the head spokesperson for the department of health and human services which is obviously overseeing the pandemic response, after reporting that caputo was essentially getting involved in micromanaging the message that scientists were putting out there to be more in line of what the president said. he said quote, when donald trump refuses to stand down at the inauguration the shooting will begin, he said, the drills that you said are nothing and he added that if you carry guns, buy ammunition, ladies and gentlemen, because it's going to get hard. now, again, as i noted, surprising comments coming from the spokesperson for hhs, but if you know a little bit about michael caputo's background they're not entirely surprising he doesn't have a public health background or a

>> reporter: caputo and his team were under fire all weekend long, after politico quoted from emails that show how they were pressuring scientists to change their weekly reports on the pandemic so that they were more on-message with the president. in a statement to abc news, he explains, saying that "our intention is to make sure that evidence, science-based data, drives policy through this pandemic. not ulterior deep state motives in the bowels of the cdc." all of this makes it harder for scientists at the agency. >> the idea that politics would change what was in there totally undercuts the value of the document. that kind of behavior will cost lives. >> reporter: health officials say this is why their reports are critical. young people at large parties who aren't getting the message. a florida lawmaker shared these images to warn them. >> in all honesty, like, i think we've been stuck inside for so long, we deserve to have some fun. >> reporter: police came and shut this one down at nyu. in his facebook video, caputo went off, saying he believes the president is going to win the e

whatever michael caputo's going through personally, and i sincerely hope he is okay.s a human being with a family. it is stunning that the head of communications for an agency with a huge number of employees and a huge budget and handling the pandemic would be spreading conspiracy theories about people in his own agency. >> well, anderson, it's very hard for me not to feel pain watching that. i mean, you and i are both empathic people. so there's a lot of things going on in there. i feel bad that he's going in that direction. i think what happens is when it's corrupt, at the top, it spills over into everybody. and this is going to be a case study in that. and so, you know, the president is undercutting the cdc, the head of the cdc dr. redfield. but he would praise something like what michael caputo is saying. and so, that's what happens. you are getting this sort of hornet's nest of sycophants. the reason he undercuts people is he's figured out that a very large group of the population is listening to him and listening to him, only. so if he is lying about the science

caputo confronts the spokesperson for responding to a question from one of our reporters.nk it was your job to announce a public service announcement campaign to cnn? it was video of caputo earlier discussing kind of a conspiracy theory on facebook accusing cdc officials of sedition, saying that people were going to try to kill him. how much damage do you think has been done to, you know, to hhs, to the fda and cdc, not just the morale but the work with their legitimacy? >> a tremendous amount of damage has been done already. and i fear that much more is on the way. the sad thing is that we have some of the best scientists in the world working at these institutions. who have dedicated their careers to doing this work. these institutions are also regarded around the world as the places that we turn, especially in the middle of a pandemic where information like this. and now there is lasting damage that not only harms our response to covid-19 but also it puts all the rest of the work that the cdc does at risk, too. there are local and state health departments that can no lon

>> yeah, andrea, extraordinary and bizarre comments from michael caputo it's important to keep in mind that he is a longtime political aide to president trump. he worked on the 2016 campaign for a period, running communications there he's basically functioning in the bowels of our government to have the president's political interests prioritized throughout this coronavirus response. but he holds a very senior position at the department of health and human services. and based on his commentary the past few days as well as the actions that he's overseen at that department in terms of the reports you mentioned, he is clearly trying to politicize this effort and has very little regard for the scientific and medical professionals in the government who are working to try to slow the spread of this virus and end this pandemic. he reportedly apologized to the staff at his department, i believe, yesterday, and has been in conversations with health and human services secretary alex azar, his boss, about his future but at this hour i'm not aware of any sign that he may be fired at anytime soon.

and michael caputo was brought in, posted an unhinged rant on facebook where he accused people in the cdc of possibly plotting his murder and is now taking medical leave. that seems like in the sea saw battle between the michael caputos of the world a small interim victory. >> yeah. it is a victory. but the pressure is going to continue and probably after redfield's performance today, it will get more heavy handed so they came out with this extraordinary change in recommendations for who gets tested they said, you know, if you are asymptomatic even if you had exposure to people with covid, you shouldn't get tested that has no basis in science it came shortly after or right around the time the president said he wanted less testing in the country. what redfield said today was, well, you know, we didn't say you shouldn't get tested we just said you should see a doctor first but that's not how it was reported redfield is probably able to justify that change in guidance by saying that people who go see a doctor will still get tested i worry that he is trying to sort of have his moral cente

i don't know if michael caputo was forced to take the 60 days.s actually going through -- he's having issues, you know, self-described, he's having health issues, physical and maybe even mental health issues. and so he's taking a leave of absence and thank god he has the kind of job where he can address those issues. and what happens, sometimes, with you, with michael cohen, maybe in the future with michael caputo is once you're out of the orbit, then you have a different perspective and suddenly, according to you guys, you have more clarity. and so you always come on and you always tell us that we should fasten our seat belts and very soon, there'll be people who are inside, but who are going to come out and speak out. do you have an update for us on that? >> okay, well, obviously, colonel vindman came out, said what he had to say earlier in the week. miles taylor is about to -- i don't want to steal anybody's thunder, but i think miles taylor is actually a cnn contributor now. you've got to ask him what's coming. but i think there are people th

separately, michael caputo went on a twitter rampage in which he called for teargassing reporters, among other things. his account appeared to have been disabled monday. meanwhile, house democrats say they are investigating a recent report that politicacal appoints at hhs, including michael caputo, have reviewed and altered weekly coronavirus rereportfrfrom the cenenters for disesease control and prevention in order to support trump's optimisticic messaging about the pandemic. a federal judge has blocked thte trump administration from enforcing new asylum restrictions related to employment after it ruled chad wolf is likely serving unlawfully as acting secretary of the department of homeland security. the house homeland security committee subpoenaed wolf last -- to testify this week over whistleblower allegations that he told hhs officials to alter intelligence. eight people were arrested in lancaster, pennsylvania, monondy as protesters took to the streets following the fatal police shooting of 27-year-old ricardo munoz. police also used tear gas and rubber bullets on crowds. body camer

joy, you know, the first step is for us on tv to try to undo the damage of jared kushner, michael caputo and other ridiculous spokesmen and women for this white house so i'm going to try to do it right now. you know what parents are worried about? this is what real americans are worried about. if they have a young child that's about to start a high school sport, hey, doc, what about this cardio myopathy or this myocarditis that i'm hearing about that my child if they have asymptomatic covid might have inflammation around their heart. this is something i wish dr. fauci had a platform to talk about. docs like myself don't know what to tell parents. do they need a echocardiogram? do they need to get workedup we don't know the answer to these questions, joy what about smog and covid? we know that exposure to air pollution actually facilitates and makes easier and successful infection. if you're infected you're more likely to die from covid-19 if you're exposed to wildfire smoke. we need people talking about this enough with jared kushner on the "today" show we need dr. fauci, dr. birx and ot

that's an ally of caputos who was brought on around the same time he was. and he was accused of attempting to interfere and because of all the uproar over this, we're now seeing that he's going to be leaving and we are told that contact where he had an abruptly scheduled meeting with staff yesterday and a meeting with secretary hhs secretary. >>> thank you. and the trump administration saying once a vaccine receives approval, operation warp speed aims to have them available within hours. they say vaccinations for the general public likely won't be available until next summer. i'm joined by medical director and assistant professor at baylor college of medicine. esengs eel, the mask could protect you more than a vaccine. he's warning it's not a silver bullet, that there may only be a certain percentage of people it triggered an immune response in. explain this to us. >> i think it's important to note one is not more important than the other. we need both to win this war against covid-19. wearing masks are going to prevent you from catching diseases in the air

>> reporter: a senior official on covid-19 at the department of health and human services michael caputo is under intense scrutiny after "new york times" report he accused scientists of being in sedition. he said since joining the administration, my family and i have been continually threatened, in and out of criminal court dealing with harassment prosecutions. this weighs heavily on us, we deeply appreciate the friendship and support of president trump as we address the matters and keep our children safe. as for fires out west, biden said the president just doesn't get it. >> give a climate arsonist four more years in the white house, why would anyone be surprised if we have more of america ablaze. >> reporter: he maintains good forest management would solve the problem. >> with regard to the forest, when trees fall down after a short period of time, about 18 months, they become very dry, really like a match stick. and they get up. there's no more water pouring through, they become very -- they just explode, they could explode. >> reporter: as for the president's comments on wildfires,

caputo is also accused of trying to pressure government scientists to change what they say about theavirus. he reportedly blamed his recent behavior partly on health issues. >>> "the advocate" in louisiana reports lsu head coach ed ozuran said he thinks most of the team has already caught coronavirus. he said three or four of the 105 players are currently sidelined with the virus. >> tells me this person tested positive, this person's going to be quarantined. they give me the number of days. we've got to make adjustments. two weeks ago, we had everybody in our office in line except two or three guys without. we couldn't go to any team, we adjusted for well. >> lsu's football team reportedly had an initial spike of around five or six coronavirus earlier this summer. the school's athletic department has not released information about covid-19 cases. lsu is scheduled to open its season in ten days. >>> and for the first time in its 175-year history, "scientific america" is endorsing a presidential candidate. the magazine urged its readers to vote for joe biden. it said biden is offering

a senior administration official tells cnn that michael caputo. demanded along with this team to see reports out of the cdc before they were released to the public. what's your reaction. >> with the, wolf, i heard about this this morning, i'm agast and terribly distressed about that. the mmwr is the way the cdc communicates science not only to us in the united states but around the world. it's looked to that publication is read by everyone. and it's supposed to be the communication of science. if we're to follow the science and now cannot trust the cdc's publication, because it has a political taint or spin. where are we? this is extremely distressing to me. and further i'm afraid damages this inty tugs, the cdc which is very close to my heart. >> let me ask, what do you think of this report? >> truly one of the more disturbing things that's happened in a sea of disturbing things, because the mmwr is -- this is our bread and butter, i'm an emergency room doctor, and this is something i read on a regular basis, every week. the idea that there's som

michael caputo not seeing the scientific knowledge in battling this pandemic. further, he expressed wild statements about they will kill me and hit squads after the election. he said in some of the remarks associated with this that his mental health had suffered during the time that he had been appointed in april and i think people have to take him seriously. i hope he gets some help with that, but his hometown newspaper is calling for him to leave his job because he does not seem well and he does not seem capable of doing what the head communications officer of the department of health and human services needs to do during this pandemic. >> i've been wanting to talk to you about this, john. this is senator lindsey graham's re-election. okay? campaign. take a listen to what he said earlier today about his opponent jamie harrison. >> i've released 11 years of my tax returns. where are your tax returns? how did you make your money? [ laughter ] >> i mean, he's also tweeting about asking harrison what is he hiding? so a south carolina senate candidate should relea

caputo is a critical integral part of the president's coronavirus resporngs leaning on public messaginged public health messaging to defeat the covid pandemic. so house democrats are launching an investigation following a political report that found trump appointees pressured officials at the cdc to change or delay information on the coronavirus. according to politico, the investigation focuses on the agency's morbidity and mortality reports. a long-running series of scientific articles that researchers have looked to for the most current and reliable information on the coronavirus politico reported on friday that hhs public affairs chief michael caputo and his scientific adviser paul alexander have pressured the cdc officials to change the reports to align with the president's more optimistic message about this outbreak. a letter yesterday from members of the house-elect subcommittee reads in part this we are gravely concerned by reports showing that the president's political appointees at hhs have sought to downplay the risk of the coronavirus by attempting to alter, delay, and block