Critics say there was no new data to justify mask mandate changes
Republicans allege CDC announcement on masks was political; Fox News' Peter Doocy on 'Special Report'
This is a rush transcript from "Special Report with Bret Baier," May 14, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We want to remind the public that it will take a few days to fully return to normal. We urge people in affected regions to only buy the gas they need so that we can help speed up the process.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY, (R-CA), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: The gas price has not been this high nationally since the last time Joe Biden was in the White House.
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We do not believe the Russian government was involved in this attack. But we do have strong reason to believe that the criminals who did the attack are living in Russia.
MIKE POMPEO, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The Russians need to fix this problem if, in fact, it emanated from there. It's ridiculous to think that we should just let this go away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BREAM: Let's bring in our panel, Charles Lane, opinion writer for "The Washington Post," Morgan Ortagus, former State Department spokesperson, Matthew Continetti, founding editor of the "Washington Free Beacon." Welcome to all of you. Morgan, I'll start with you. How do we deal with Russia if this is being sold not as an official state sanctioned act but something that emanated from within Russia's borders?
MORGAN ORTAGUS, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: Well, I think any of us who worked in national security find it hard to believe that these cyber criminals and hackers -- I like to call them cyberterrorists, actually, are living and working in Russia and that the government isn't at least aware of these attacks. So obviously I'm not privy to what the government is doing behind the scenes, but I think at a minimum we can start demanding that these hackers be extradited to the United States.
We need to start putting in a level of deterrence. Lindsey Graham talked this week with Brian Kilmeade about how he wants to put forth legislation that these cyberhackers be treated as terrorists. And really, I think if you look at what happened this week, we saw just how vulnerable our critical infrastructure is. And you really have to ask yourself, what's the difference between a suicide bomber blowing up one of these pipelines or the cyberhacker that takes the pipeline off for several weeks of production? So I think it may be time to rethink how we treat these people, to put in a level of deterrence so that the Russian government or any government feels the pain for the hackers on their soil.
BREAM: Charles, these concerns have been raised before, but until it really happens, I think to a lot of people, and there have been millions who have been scouring for gas stations, waiting in lines, paying elevated prices, it brings it back to the forefront. What can the Biden administration do to in some way learn lessons or institute new principles or policies with respect to the cyberhacking threats?
CHARLES LANE, OPINION WRITER, "WASHINGTON POST": It reminds you a little bit, even though the cause was different, of how all of a sudden the electrical grid went out in Texas this winter. We are discovering new vulnerabilities to our energy infrastructure all the time.
I think it's problem that the particular to cooperate on the security matter with Vladimir Putin's Russia, no question about it. That would be the ideal solution, if you could somehow induce them to turn over these bad guys. But you could never be sure that that government is going to play straight with us. So I expect actually the Biden administration to emphasize that this is part of why we need an infrastructure bill or maybe need readjust the infrastructure program that he is already suggesting to devote more federal resources to hardening our system so that they are not vulnerable to criminals in the first place.
BREAM: Well, Matthew, one of the accounts I read of the infrastructure proposal said that it actually didn't contain things that would have helped in an attack like this. Is there an opportunity there for the Biden administration to still sell the infrastructure, maybe make some changes to it, that package with this in mind?
MATTHEW CONTINETTI, "WASHINGTON FREE BEACON": I guess so. Shannon, for me, this week has just been a reminder of how driven by events this administration is. The Biden team really thinks that they can control the message. But we have just been reminded again and again in the past week about how mugged by reality they are by the events. I think something happened when Biden visited former President Carter a few weeks ago, because it's like deja vu of the 1970s, and a preview, I think, of what might happen if some of these Biden policies continue.
BREAM: I want to play a little bit of the back and for the that got us to where we are now, the latest with the CDC mask recommendations, and then we will get some reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: What we have done is we have empowered the American people to make their own decisions about their own health.
ADM. BRETT GIROIR, FORMER COVID-19 TESTING COORDINATOR: This probably could have been done about a month ago. I assume the inflexion point hit. They probably got some political direction, and they made the change.
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The CDC, the doctors and medical experts there, were the ones who determined what this guidance would be based on their own data, and what the timeline would be. That was not a decision directed by, made by the White House. It was -- the White House was informed of that decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BREAM: All right, I want to work around and get a quick comment from each of you on the mask timing so we can get to your winners and losers as well. Matthew, we'll start with you on this one.
CONTINETTI: I'm too happy about the news to really be concerned about the politicization. But I do think that if there were politics involved it might not have come from the White House but the CDC itself, because it's been looking at this drop off in vaccination rates, and maybe it finally realized that its messaging was completely wrong. You needed to incentivize the vaccines, not feel like you are punishing people by forcing them to wear masks.
BREAM: Charles, with that and the announcement about getting back to schools full bore in the fall, it seemed like a lot lifted at once.
LANE: Yes. Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, has been dragging her feet about allowing people back in school, all of a sudden holds a press conference, and now she is all in on it.
So look, would it be a surprise if politics influenced this? Of course not. Politics influences everything. But I do think there is a valid underlying reality here, which is the vaccine, it is taking hold, resistance is going away a little bit, and this reflects that.
BREAM: OK, Morgan, final comment from you on the masks, and then kick us off with your winner and loser.
ORTAGUS: Well, Shannon, I spent a lot of money invested in cute masks including some very cute lily Pulitzer mavericks that I don't know what to do with anymore. So I guess I will just donate them to charity.
OK, my winner of the week is my very, very dear friend Elise Stefanik. I am so happy for her to be number three in the House Republicans today. Beyond being a millennial, awesome woman, congressman, she actually has done a lot to recruit women around the country to run as Republicans, and I believe we had more Republicans than ever. So thank you, Elise, for doing that, and congrats, my friend. I am so proud of you.
BREAM: And your loser?
ORTAGUS: My loser is Rob Malley, Biden's Iran envoy. This week it was uncovered that about 12 years ago he had an interview where he said that Hamas was merely misunderstood. So it's a bad week for that to be uncovered, a bad week to be negotiating with Iran whenever Hamas is supplying -- is shooting these rockets into Israel.
BREAM: All right, gentlemen, so we don't get cut off, Charles, to you quickly on winner and loser, then Matthew.
LANE: My co-winners are Bennie Thompson and John Katko, leaders Democratic and Republican, of the Homeland Security Committee who have put together a proposal that might fly for a January 6th commission. My loser is Congresswoman Greene from Georgia who managed to exceed her previous record for unprofessional conduct up on the Hill by chasing down Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the halls of Congress, and has also been caught on video a couple years ago behaving weirdly outside her office, too.
BREAM: Matthew, finish us up.
CONTINETTI: My winner is Elon Musk for star turn hosting "SNL," and my loser is Rebekah Jones. The mainstream media purported that she was a whistleblower, accusing Ron DeSantis of fudging COVID data. A blockbuster report in "National Review" this week shows that she was a fraud. And it just is a reminder, Shannon, if you come Ron DeSantis, you better not miss.
BREAM: And there are plenty who are and looking at him as a 2024 target as well. Matthew, Charles, and Morgan, thank you all very much.
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