WEBVTT - Pfizer Vaccine Begins Its Rollout and the Electoral College Votes

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<v Speaker 1>It's Monday, December fourteen. I'm Oscar Emiras from the Daily

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<v Speaker 1>Dive podcast in Los Angeles, and this is reopening America.

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<v Speaker 1>The Fiser vaccine is being shipped out now to all

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<v Speaker 1>the states and will start being administered immediately, as we

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<v Speaker 1>mark another turn in the pandemic. Despite President Trump's record

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<v Speaker 1>on handling the coronavirus, Operation Warp Speed has been a

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<v Speaker 1>success in getting a vaccine approved in less than a year.

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<v Speaker 1>In other news, after suffering another loss in court, it

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<v Speaker 1>seems that the president is all out of options to

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<v Speaker 1>overturn the election. The Electoral College is meeting today to

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<v Speaker 1>formally cast votes for Joe Biden, sealing his victory over Trump.

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<v Speaker 1>Ginger Gibson, Deputy Washington Digital editor at NBC News, joins

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<v Speaker 1>us for all this, plus how the Hunter Biden investigation

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<v Speaker 1>could influence the president elects decision on an attorney general.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for joining us, Ginger, thanks for having me. We've

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<v Speaker 1>got some great news in the whole progression of this pandemic.

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<v Speaker 1>The approval, all the approvals have gone through. Now for

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<v Speaker 1>the Fiser vaccine, it's being shipped out. It's hitting state today.

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<v Speaker 1>I think the expectation is that they're going to deliver

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<v Speaker 1>two point nine million doses this week. This is all

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<v Speaker 1>going to be via ups and fed X. And you know,

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<v Speaker 1>just speaking of the President's accomplishments and his handling of

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<v Speaker 1>the pandemic, it's been uneasy at best, let's say, But

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<v Speaker 1>with regards to Operation Warp speed, this is as success

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<v Speaker 1>a vaccine that's highly effective in under a year, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's and it's already being rolled out. That's right. We're

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<v Speaker 1>really at sort of a historic moment in this historic pandemic,

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<v Speaker 1>which is that within the next few days, needles will

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<v Speaker 1>be in arms, people will be receiving the vaccine d

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<v Speaker 1>f d A. The CDC gave all the sign offs,

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<v Speaker 1>and President Trump likeas to tout how quickly this happened.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, if you look in the history of the

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<v Speaker 1>world or the history of the United States, how long

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<v Speaker 1>a vaccine would take to get to prove it would

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<v Speaker 1>be much longer. And obviously US and the rest of

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<v Speaker 1>the world has moved much more quickly than we would

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<v Speaker 1>in a non emergency time. And while I know for

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<v Speaker 1>me and so many people it feels like it's been

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<v Speaker 1>eons we've been stuck in this pandemic. Really record speed

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<v Speaker 1>to get a vaccine out and start administering it to people. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and now the next big step is for the states

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<v Speaker 1>and the governors to roll this out the right way.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, Operation warp speed only takes it so far.

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<v Speaker 1>It only takes it to the states, and from there,

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<v Speaker 1>the states have to do it right. And then beyond that,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, we we'd have a messaging problem right now

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<v Speaker 1>with the vaccine, and we need people to gain trust

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<v Speaker 1>in it and to want to take it. I have

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<v Speaker 1>no doubt that all the doses will be sent out

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<v Speaker 1>in every and administered, but there is some hesitation on

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of Americans part on this. I think you're right.

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<v Speaker 1>I think we're gonna see an organized effort, particularly by

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<v Speaker 1>the governors, sort of calm that worry among people and

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<v Speaker 1>to build confidence that it is safe. I think we're

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<v Speaker 1>gonna be seeing governors themselves rolling up their sleeves to

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<v Speaker 1>show their states that it's safe. Several of the living

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<v Speaker 1>presidents former presidents have volunteered to take it on camera.

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<v Speaker 1>President Bush, President Clinton, President Obama. All three of said

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<v Speaker 1>they will do so in a public way so people

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<v Speaker 1>can see them receiving the vaccine. And I think we're

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<v Speaker 1>going to have a real shaky kind of moment here

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<v Speaker 1>on distribution where we're all going to be watching how

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<v Speaker 1>this goes, not because of the safety of the vaccine,

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<v Speaker 1>but because, as you said, Operation word Speed, this is

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<v Speaker 1>the end of the line for it, and now it's

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<v Speaker 1>in the hands of the states, and the federal government

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<v Speaker 1>under Trump has not really sort of run the distribution

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<v Speaker 1>process beyond this. They've left it to the states. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a criticism we've already started to hear that the states

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<v Speaker 1>don't have enough money or resources to distribute this, and

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<v Speaker 1>so we're gonna see, you know, more than fifty different

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<v Speaker 1>organizations basically, each trying to do this on their own.

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<v Speaker 1>And I wouldn't be surprised if it's not the same

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<v Speaker 1>across off fifty states, and if that leads to confusion.

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<v Speaker 1>But we have to hope the American people understand people

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<v Speaker 1>are trying to do the best they can. They're trying

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<v Speaker 1>to get it out there, and the fact that one

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<v Speaker 1>state does it differently than another doesn't speak to the

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<v Speaker 1>safety or the efficacy of the vaccine right exactly. So

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<v Speaker 1>we're just hoping for a speedy rollout and very effective

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<v Speaker 1>on all parts I wanted to move on a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit onto the transfer of power. Joe Biden is coming in.

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<v Speaker 1>President Donald Trump will be on his way out pretty soon.

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<v Speaker 1>The Electoral College is meeting today to seal the victory

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<v Speaker 1>for Joe Biden. Nobody really expects anything crazy to happen. Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>there's always a possibility, I guess, but uh, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>the Electoral College will will seal the win for Joe Biden.

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<v Speaker 1>This comes after the Supreme Court rejected President Trump's last

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<v Speaker 1>big effort. He called it the big one in his

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<v Speaker 1>legal lawsuit, this one coming out of Texas, that was

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<v Speaker 1>backed by several red states, the majority of the House Republicans,

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<v Speaker 1>but the Supreme Court just was not hearing it. That's right. Normally,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, we would not care very much about the

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<v Speaker 1>Electoral College meeting today. It's always kind of a perfunctory move.

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<v Speaker 1>But given all of this, you talked about that lawsuit

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<v Speaker 1>that the president's allies filed from Texas against states that

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<v Speaker 1>had not voted for him. The Supreme Court refusing to

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<v Speaker 1>really even acknowledge it, saying that it was going nowhere,

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<v Speaker 1>have rejected it on Friday. To the Electoral Ledge will

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<v Speaker 1>meet today. They don't all come to Washington and have

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<v Speaker 1>a big meeting. They meet individually and each of their states.

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<v Speaker 1>We have a great explainer from one of our reporters

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<v Speaker 1>at NBC news dot Com, sort of breaking it down

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<v Speaker 1>since isn't something we normally pay much attention to, but

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<v Speaker 1>a great look at how this works. And so in

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<v Speaker 1>each state the electors will meet, and it is possible

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<v Speaker 1>that we all have what we call faithless electors, electors

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<v Speaker 1>that vote not for the person who their state chose.

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<v Speaker 1>That it happened four years ago we had two electors

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<v Speaker 1>defect from Hillary Clinton I think one maybe from Donald

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<v Speaker 1>Trump and vote for other people. The courts have sort

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<v Speaker 1>of said that you can't do that, so they could try,

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<v Speaker 1>but I think at the end of the day, really

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<v Speaker 1>what we're gonna see is just a rubber stampa seal

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<v Speaker 1>of what we already know has happened, which is that

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<v Speaker 1>Joe Biden has been elected to be America's next president.

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<v Speaker 1>And we'll see if President Trump at that point, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>not necessarily concedes, but at least maybe changes his tone.

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<v Speaker 1>He was railing against the Supreme Court, you know, he

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<v Speaker 1>said the fight is going to be ongoing. So I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>we'll see what he does. He has very little recourse,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, once that happens, um so there's always a

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<v Speaker 1>safe bet to bet that he doesn't change his step exactly.

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<v Speaker 1>And then I also wanted to talk a little bit

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<v Speaker 1>about Hunter Biden. We're gonna see a lot of more

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<v Speaker 1>of this coming out. Federal officials in Delaware investigating his taxes.

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<v Speaker 1>We learned about this this past week. Some of this

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<v Speaker 1>has to do with income he didn't disclose from the

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<v Speaker 1>Ukrainian gas company Barisma business dealings in China. This is

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<v Speaker 1>an investigation that started in eighteen and again the President

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<v Speaker 1>railing against Attorney General Bill Barr for not bringing this

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<v Speaker 1>more to light before the election happened. Reporters are reporters

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<v Speaker 1>are hearing that Bill bar very much wanted to make

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<v Speaker 1>sure that the Department of Justice followed the rules, and

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<v Speaker 1>the rules say you don't unroll or announce investigations into

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<v Speaker 1>people who are part of an election in the weeks

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<v Speaker 1>or even months before the election. There was a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of criticism that that role was broken in and then

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<v Speaker 1>it might have influenced the race in some way. And

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<v Speaker 1>so we saw Attorney General Barry making sure that he

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't breaking those rules, and they were abiding by the

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<v Speaker 1>guidelines that Justice has, and so he didn't go public

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<v Speaker 1>with this investigation into Hunter Biden. But it does explain

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<v Speaker 1>some of the tweets we saw from President Trump during

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<v Speaker 1>that time that he thought that there was more to

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<v Speaker 1>Hunter and that the public should know. He might have

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<v Speaker 1>been aware of this investigation and had wanted bar to

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<v Speaker 1>be public about it then and now unhappy that he wasn't.

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<v Speaker 1>But I'm not sure how many votes it would have

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<v Speaker 1>won him or how many votes it would have lost.

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<v Speaker 1>Joe Biden will never know, But those are the rules

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<v Speaker 1>that justice has and and we're gonna see this continue

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<v Speaker 1>to unfold, and I think that it's probably weighing on

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<v Speaker 1>Biden as he makes one of his last cabinet appointments,

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<v Speaker 1>big cabinet appointments that we haven't heard yet, which is

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<v Speaker 1>an attorney general, the person who will oversee these investigations

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<v Speaker 1>once they take over. Biden has insisted that the attorney

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<v Speaker 1>general should be neutral, that they should not be influenced

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<v Speaker 1>by the president, and that his will be neutral, and

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<v Speaker 1>so who he picks will be an interesting choice there

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<v Speaker 1>given all of these new details. Ginger Gibson, Deputy Washington,

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<v Speaker 1>Digital editor at NBC News. Thank you very much for

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<v Speaker 1>joining us, Thanks for having me. I'm Oscar Ramirez and

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<v Speaker 1>this has been reopening America. Don't forget that. For today's

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<v Speaker 1>big news stories, you can check me out on the

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<v Speaker 1>Daily Dive podcast every Monday through Friday, So follow us

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<v Speaker 1>and I Heart Radio or wherever you get your podcast