baldwin, you are watching cnn. lets get straight to this just absolutely stunning about-face right now by the department of justice rebuking its own federal prosecutors on their sentencing recommendations for roger stone, a long-time confidant of president trump. now, the doj's backtrack is coming barely hours after the president raged on twitter at stone's pending sentencing and lifts up speculation that he's going to pardon him. here's how all of this is unfolding. just yesterday, federal prosecutors from the u.s. attorney's office in washington, d.c. asked a judge to sentence roger stone to seven to nine years in prison for obstruction, for witness tampering, for making false statements to congress, all charges stemming

from robert mueller's russia probe. but today, a senior justice department official told cnn this, quote, the department was shock coued to see the sentenci recommendation, this is not what had been briefed to the department. the department believes the recommendation is extreme and excessive and is grossly disproportionate to stone's offenses. the justice department further saying it will, quote, clarify its position with the court later today. all of this is coming just hours after the president as i mentioned angrily tweeted about stone's sentencing recommendation. this is what he wrote. this a horrible and very unfair situation. the real crimes were on the other side as nothing happens to them. cannot allow this miscarriage of justice. so let's dive in with cnn crime and justice reporter, shimon crow ka pez and legal analyst ann melgram. this is the doj sharply

criticizinge ing the doj. >> you're absolutely right. this just doesn't happen. what this shows us is you have line assistants, u.s. attorneys who are trying these cases, investigating these cases, prosecuting these cases and it would seem they're not in sync with what is going on with the main justice and bill barr. >> how are they not? >> that's the big question. what is really going on here. of course you have to raise all sorts of questions and ask somehow if bill barr is interfering, is meddling with what prosecutors here are doing and is that because of roger stone's relationship with the president? that has to be one of the first things that folks are thinking, and i think in talking to, you know, as this was developing, i was talking to people at a certain u.s. attorney's office a and people were shocked. i think people were really surprised and this is throughout the department of justice, throughout u.s. attorneys all around this country right now are probably having the same

reaction and wondering what is going on here. >> you were shocked? >> yeah, i was shocked and a couple of quick points. i was at made justice, the review that you go through before you make a sentencing recommendation and submit a memo like that to the court, it's multilevels, so there is no possible way that the u.s. attorney did not sign off on it. it's been reported that the department of justice was also briefed in some way. that's the first point. the second point and i think what's so troubling about this is it looks like the president is tweeting out and changing the recommendations of a law enforcement agency that should be making the decision. roger stone was convicted of seven counts at a criminal trial that ended in november. the prosecutors get to go through this process of review, but it should be absent politics. >> two questions to follow up. one, did you think seven to nine years is aggressive or on par? >> this is an interesting thing because normally if you think about this type of a case, like think about scooter libby who got, you know, a little less than three years, the difference here is the witness tampering piece of the roger stone case, and that sentence alone could be up to 20 years, and so remember that stone had threatened cred

coe, he'd made death threats. there's a question whether or not kredico took them seriously. during trial he testified he did. >> and a jury believed that. >> a jury believed him. >> and convicted roger stone on this. >> that's how we get such a high sentencing range. at the end of the day, the judge is going to get to decide should we be adding those extra points on for these threats. to me it's totally legitimate for the government to have asked for that. >> this judge, remind us, she was the one in the photo with the cross hairs. >> that's exactly right. and with the gag order. many times, i was covering this case and this trial, many times when we were covering this case, you'd wonder if she was going to revoke his bail status. >> she's tough. >> she's going to be wondering what is going on here. why is main justice having this view on it, and why are the prosecutors who were before my court, she listened to every piece of evidence, a jury that was seated in her courtroom convicted roger stone, why do

you main justice now have a different view of what's going on here? >> and it looks terrible, right? she ultimately gets to decide. the prosecution files a memo. the defense full-timesiles a me >> she's seen the receipts and she has this trump tweet in the back of her head. how does she decide? >> i think this actually hurts roger stone in the end. >> you do? >> i think she might have been more likely to be around four years, five years short of something like this. now it's a really open question in my mind. >> one of the important things in the justice system, right, is that you want people to knowino to get special treatment and for a jum dge knowing everything sh knows about this case, and if she somehow thinks that roger stone is getting special treatment because of the his relationship with the president, that's where i think this could potentially hurt roger stone. >> isn't she also thinking trump may pardon him?

and how much would that factor? could he pardon him now? >> he could pardon him at any moment in time. even before the trial he could have. he's chosen not to do that. it feels weird to pardon him now before sentencing. >> i just want to make one point in this. covering this trial, what was so important in this case was prosecutors, they were very concerned that the jurors weren't going to take this seriously. this is their whole argument in their closing arguments why this case matters. and it's about truth and it's about systems and about justice, and about precedent and about the systems that we have in place within our justice system, within congress. when you go before congress, you're expected to tell the truth, and that's what was so important for prosecutors, and their arguments to the jury, this is what they were arguing. truth matters. we have to treat this seriously. now when you see something like this, you have to wonder what prosecutors, how they're feeling, and i think that to me is one of the things i keep thinking. these prosecutors who are trying these cases in the department of

justice and to see something like this. >> is shocking. >> yeah, i mean, look, it makes me very concerned that bill barr, who's the attorney general is compromised. that the decisions are being made based on politics. is certainly looks -- i was there almost five years. i've never seen anything like this. we've seen it also with the michael flynn sentencing. they've gone back and forth on him. it's political. it's a really terrible thing for the institution. >> for you to say you've never seen anything like this, i think it speaks skrvolumes. thank you very much for that. i want to bring in cnn politics reporter chris lizzo now. you and i were talking about yesterday about all the way president trump has not learned from his impeachment, and yet, you know, the tweet, the discussion we just had. here we are again. >> yeah, i mean, i keep playing that susan collins quote in my head where, you know, she thinks he's learned his lesson. i would say it's the opposite at this point, brooke. that he feels less bound in many ways. let's just run through some of the things politically he's done

and then sort of the investigative actions. okay, he has gotten rid of witnesses, alex vindman, gordon sondland. these are people who testified. they're members of the trump administration but testified against him. they have been removed. heads attacked mitt romney, a republican senator who by the way, was the part's 2012 presidential nominee. doug jones a democrat from alabama, joe manchin who he referred to pejoratively as a doughnut related person. so that's just that. okay. last thursday it feels like a millennium ago, last thursday donald trump was at the white house basically spiking the football with all of his republican hangers on after he had been acquitted holding up the newspaper "the washington post" saying trump acquitted, saying this was a witch hunt. these people evil, suggesting that nancy pelosi uses religion as a crutch. speaking of mitt romney, and there's a lot more, donald trump has also tweeted out a totally unfact-based conspiracy theory

that mitt romney and his sons have business in ukraine, and that there's something going on there. he's never really explained that because there's nothing to explain because there's no there there. okay, now, we have stuff he has done more officially using the powers of government. he has pushed republicans to announce a review of joe biden's interactions in the ukraine. again, everyone who has looked at this has said there's no there there, but he has done that. he now has created or at least his attorney general hishand picked attorney general has create add separate channel by which rudy giuliani, the preside president's personal lawyer can funnel information he gets are from ukraine, which even republican senators have said you need to be a little bit circumspect about, funneling into the doj so they will look at it and then what you were just talking about. the president of the united states tweets that his own department of justice has been overly harsh by suggesting seven to nine years in prison for roger stone a long-time trump

adviser for his role in the mueller probe with the russians meddling in the election. even if he didn't do that, even if the doj didn't change ask an it's so extreme. the president of the united states who has unquestioned pardon power essentially saying my department of justice is being too hard on this guy. well, what do you think roger stone thinks? i'm getting a pardon. so again, that's seven things, we can probably do more, but it just shows that if you thought donald trump was sort of unbound from norms before, look at what he's done since that acquittal vote, which by the way, was six days ago and consider what the next nine months are going to look like. >> i keep coming on that song lyric, can't nobody hold me down, can't nobody stop me now. welcome to donald trump, an acquitted donald trump. >> he doesn't learn -- the lesson he learned to bookmark it with susan collins. the lesson he learned, i can now

do anything. i've been acquitted. they're not going to impeach me again. he doesn't apologize like bliil clinton did, he celebrates, and that's a fundamental difference between the two men. >> chris, thank you. >> thank you. right now voters in new hampshire are hitting the polls as candidates are kris crocrissg the state. after the mess that was iowa, everyone is looking for a win. plus, is joe biden already looking past new hampshire? we're still hours away from the polls closing, yet the former vp announces he is heading to south carolina tonight. and as health officials around the globe scramble to fa fight the coronavirus, president trump has a new plan. wait for warmer weather. really? obama: he's been a leader

throughout the country for the past twelve years, mr. michael bloomberg is here. vo: leadership in action. mayor bloomberg and president obama worked together in the fight for gun safety laws, to improve education, and to develop innovative ways to help teens gain the skills needed to find good jobs. obama: at a time when washington is divided in old ideological battles he shows us what can be achieved when we bring people together to seek pragmatic solutions. bloomberg: i'm mike bloomberg and i approve this message.

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we're back, you're watching cnn. turning now to the 2020 campaign. all eyes are on new hampshire where a week after the first votes were cast in the 2020 primary season, the democrats who would be president are hoping the second time around is a whole lot smoother. several candidates criss-crossing the state today making a last-minute pitch to those who are still on the fence while also thanking supporters, and when asked how they think the night will end, we got cautious optimism from some and declarations of victory from others. >> we got a lot of good friends here in new hampshire, but this race isn't over until you've got significant portions of the electorate hasn't voted yet. we're still mildly hopeful here in new hampshire, and we'll see what happens. >> this turnout tells me why we're going to win here in new

hampshire. >> something's happening here, and we just want to seize the moment, so i'm going to, wh wor heart out all day. >> we think so, it feels fantastic. the volunteers are fired up. the energy on the ground is wonderful. >> what's a win look like, man? >> what does a win look like? >> i've got the best chance of beating donald trump because i'm going to bring this party together. i'm going to run on core democratic values, and i'm going to fight hard. >> cnn is hit handgun the tra-- with a bunch of those candidates. let's kick it off with jessica dean in nashua, new hampshire. >> reporter: i'm with the biden campaign, and today joe biden telling reporters he feels mildly hopeful about what's going to happen in new hampshire tonight. to really give some insight, we've learned he and jill biden will be traveling to south carolina tonight, the night of the new hampshire primaries instead of staying here and watching the results come in in

full. they will travel to south carolina, which has long been considered to be their firewall there with african-american support, and it tells you a lot about how important that state is going to be for the campaign. so we'll see how things ultimately play out here in new hampshire, but there's no doubt that the biden campaign is focused on nevada and certainly south carolina. let's pass it off now to my colleague k colleague. >> reporter: i'm with the klobuchar campaign in manchester from underdog to projecting confidence. the klobuchar campaign who has seen larger crowds in these closing days in new hampshire said that victory for this campaign would mean doing better than she did in iowa. here's what amy klobuchar told reporters at a campaign stop today. >> as usual, what i want to see is that we have based on where we were a week ago, that we have defied expectations. that's what we've done every step of the way in this campaign. >> reporter: and should she beat joe biden in the new hampshire

primary, it would certainly accomplish that. now to my colleague ryan nobles elsewhere in the state. >> reporter: it's looking more a and more like tonight could come down to a battle between bernie sanders and pete buttigieg. the two are running neck in neck in the pollings, and it's evident by the way the two have been interacting with each other. sanders attacking buttigieg's donor base, buttigieg accusing sanders and his ideas of being too radical for the average voter. now, polls do show sanders with a slight edge here, and it may be more important for him to win. this is a state that he won comfortably four years ago, and he is, of course, from nearby vermont. but the sanders' team believes even if he doesn't pull out a victory here, he still has a lot of money, resources and support, in the state going ahead. as for buttigieg, a better than expected showing could help him to coalesce moderate support, particularly with both elizabeth warren and joe biden's campaigns appearing to be falling behind.

let's now go to miguel marquez. >> reporter: so we are at ward one in dover. there are six wards here, and this is what it's been like most of the day, slow but steady. and the moderators at wards across the city are saying much the same in the number of voters that they are getting. they're averaging about 150 voters an hour here. that would put them at about 26 team level, but not 2008 when barack obama was running, and there was great democratic enthusiasm. we are not seeing that so far, although they may get a late rush. i've been doing my own sort of unofficial exit poll as voters leave here. most people -- this is a very liberal area of new hampshire -- most people supporting bernie sanders. a lot of people number two saying pete buttigieg they like, amy klobuchar interestingly enough a lot of people say they've come around to her since her performance in the debate last week, and then elizabeth warren rounding all that out.

most surprising here is that of all the voters i've talked to, and we're talking probably upwards of 100 right now, not a single one saying they support joe biden. i'm miguel marquez in dover, new hampshire. brooke. >> miguel, and the rest of you, thank you. also in new hampshire, blatant interference and recycled lies. listen to this, president trump telling supporters to vote for the weakest democrat whale revooir revivining old stories they hav zero basis in reality. where'll talk about that ahead. more on joe biden's plan to leave new hampshire for south carolina tonight. what message does that send to voters in new hampshire as they are hitting the polls? you're watching cnn. we'll be right back. >> man: what's my safelite story? my truck...is my livelihood. so when my windshield cracked...

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wherever the democrats go to campaign, president trump isn't too far behind. and new hampshire, no exception. at his own rally in manchester, new hampshire, last night, the president seemed to encourage his supporters to vote in today's democratic primary for the candidate he thinks will be the weakest general election challenger. >> we hear that there could be -- because you have cross cr. i hear a lot of republicans tomorrow will vote for the weakest candidate possible of the democrats. does that make sense?

you people wouldn't do that. my only problem is i'm trying to figure out who is their weakest candidate? i think they're all weak. >> let's go to cnn's daniel dale. we'll talk through some of the assertions the president made last night. what are the rules in terms of voting for another party in new hampshire, daniel? >> so the rules are that registered republicans are not, in fact, allowed to vote in today's democratic primary in new hampshire. people who are undeclared voters, independents not aligned with either party can show up at the polls and sign up to vote for democrats. if you're a registered republican you just can't vote for the weakest democrat. >> here's a claim the president made about democrats busing in voters from massachusetts. >> remember last time we won the primary tremendously. we should have won the election but they had buses being shipped up from massachusetts. hundreds and hundreds of buses. >> where did he get that?

>> he either got that from his own brain or from someone else who made it up and told it to him. this is a lie, this is fiction, much like the president's lie, fiction about millions of illegal immigrants voting in california in 2016. new hampshire election authorities investigated these allegations, found no evidence that people were being bussed in from out of state to vote illegally in 2016. even trump's former campaign manager corey lewandowski has said publicly he himself has seen no evidence for that claim. >> debunked. now to this, the president spent a lot of time last night talking about health care. here he was. >> we are protecting people with pre-existing conditions, and we always will. the republican party always will. >> the republican party he says always will. we've heard that before, haven't we? >> we have, and it's still egregiously false. trump and the republican party have repeatedly promoted bills that would significantly weaken

these protections for people with pre-existing conditions and at present right now the trump administration is supporting a republican lawsuit that seeks to get the courts to eradicate, overturn the entirety of obamacare. now, trump has started saying in the past couple of days that that's okay because if that happens, there will be some other plan that will preserve these protections. if there is going to be such a plan, i mean, it's possible, he has steadfastly refused to release it. we have no details on that whatsoever. >> last fast check, daniel. when talking about funding that would benefit the national guard, the president said this. >> we are funding for new hampshire the new hampshire army national guard registered centers just a few miles here in pembroke and in concord. concord, i love concord. i love concord. oh, concord. you know how famous concord is? concord. that's the same concord that we read about all the time, right?

concord. i love concord. >> now, i know there's some fuzziness when it comes to american history with him, but concord, new hampshire, concord, massachusetts, school us, daniel. >> yeah, so i can't really fact check this but even people who live in concord, new hampshire, were like really? we're famous? you've been reading about us? it's a pretty small city. it is the state capital. i heard suggestions on twitter maybe he was thinking of the plane. maybe he was thinking of the revolutionary war site in massachusetts. maybe he was thinking of the grape and the jelly, brooke, i don't know, so i'm going to pass here. >> the grape and the jelly. that's a good one. >> you never know. >> chris with the doughnuts and you with the grape and the jelly. thank you for all of that. as voters hit the polls in new hampshire, joe biden says he's not staying long confirming he is leaving for south carolina tonight. is it a smart move, or does it send the wrong message? we'll discuss. as a struggling actor,

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. joe biden could be confronted with a little deja vu after tonight's new hampshire primary, but if the former vice president has another disappointing showing, biden insists he will not drop out but instead focus on the upcoming races, especially in south carolina. in fact, he is going there tonight before the new hampshire votes are even counted. but biden says he's not giving up hope on new hampshire. >> every vote we have here, and then i'm getting on a plane and heading down there, doing a little rally in south carolina to get going, and then getting in a plane and going to nevada. >> are you concerned about the message that you're sending to new hampshire by going to south carolina? >> no, i'm not. not at all. they know we've worked our heart here, and we're continuing. >> yeah! >> and this is it, i'm not concerned about it at all. >> a source close to the biden campaign tells cnn that the former vice president needs to focus on his base because, quote, it's put up or shut up

time in south carolina. so with me now, a'sha moody mills, a cnn political commentator and democratic strategist. i mean, they're voting today, former vice president joe biden is like, deuces, i'm leaving town. you know, to go to south carolina, but do you think it's a smart move to just already up and bounce? >> he's already done all that he could do there. the writing's on the wall. he's probably not going to place in the top three. he needs to go where his people are. i think it's smart for him to go to south carolina and try to shore that up. going into all of this, it looked like biden was the guy to beat. now we see bloomberg cutting into that polling and south carolina isn't as much in the bag as i think the campaign thought it was. >> the campaign being the joe biden campaign. >> he has been far, far ahead. you see those poll numbers. you still have to go to nevada, what is it about south carolina? is it the african-american vote?

>> it's so simplistic. that's really what it is. so because biden lost his campaign and has been talking so much about his bona fides with the african-american community, and he's the guy that hung out with barack obama for eight years. he's looking at the demographics of the state of south carolina to really be what shows him that strong showing. nevada's important, too. we have a huge latinx population there, but i think he's always been banking on how he's going to show there in south carolina, and given that mayor steve benjamin in columbia has already come out for bloomberg, and you're starting to see some movement in the numbers there, it's going to be interesting how that maps out for him, even though bloomberg isn't on the ballot. his whole focus, it's like an experiment, you mentioned bloomberg, what do you make of mike bloomberg putting president obama, pretty front and center in his campaign ads, biden has been as well. smart strategy for him? >> i think -- here's the thing, bloomberg is not going to play well with african-american voters once the clip that is

moving around twitter right now of him talking about stop and and frisk really starts to saturate the air waves. >> even though they know that that was his policy and he has since apologized. >> sure, but when you're making the argument that you're the guy that can beat donald trump and you're the guy that can go head to head to him, what do you think the trump campaign is going to do with all of this oppositional research and the fact that he has come out -- i mean, there's a tape of him pretty much talking about the fact that he has believed in racial profiling, black and brown men. thinks it's fine to round them all up because you might get ahold of the three that may have a gun if you just round them all up. >> so putting obama in a campaign ad is not going to counter. >> it's not going to counter any of that. i think that the other piece of it that we do need to remember is barack obama is still extremely popular, and so some of what has come up in the debates of people who are really trying to cut the obama agenda and to cut his record, i think that what they're realizing -- and you see all the candidates

doing this the best they can, throwing up ads with them and obama, that bear hug is going to matter. obama's still very popular and you can't dismiss his legacy. you actually need to lean into it. >> aisha moodie-mills. thank you. >> stay with cnn throughout the night. special coverage of the new hampshire primary starts at 4:00 p.m. eastern. the president of the united states has a new plan to stop the coronavirus. he says just wait a couple months as the death toll grows and health officials throw everything they can at the virus, president trump says it should all go away by april. let's talk to a doctor. more on our breaking news, a huge reversal from the justice department and former trump associate roger stone, they are backtracking on his recommended sentence after president trump complained on twitter. we'll be right back.

breaking news, the trump administration says it is looking to announce a deal with the taliban in afghanistan as early as this week. let's go straight to the pentagon and our correspondent there barbara starr. barbara, what's the story? >> well, brook, they hope to. they have a lot of optimism about it, but there is still plenty of skepticism as well that this may all work out. still, it is a hint that there could be a breakthrough in the end trying to end america's longest wear, the 18-year war in afghanistan. we know that the negotiations with the taliban seem to be headed in the right direction, and earlier today afghan president ghani tweeted saying, commenting on twitter he said that secretary of state mike pompeo had brought him a, quote, significant and enduring

reduction in violence taliban proposal, a reduction in violence now being proposed by the taliban. it could be announced formally this week by the united states, and if this reduction in violence works over the coming days, this could then lead to a peace agreement. so why not huge optimism about this? look, the taliban leadership they're negotiating with, may not be able to control the thousands of taliban fighters and loyalists across afghanistan. this is a group that is very diverse, that has loose command and control. those who sign on to a peace agreement, may not be able to deliver in the end, and of course there is still isis in afghanistan. so a lot of concern about enduring violence there. but a hint, at least, that maybe the u.s. is making a breakthrough, and if they do, and if they can get an enduring peace agreement with the taliban, then it could lead to american troops coming home.

right now there's 12 to 13,000 forces americans on the ground in afghanistan. they think they can break it down to 8,600 pretty quick, and the hope is an eventual peace agreement will bring all the americans home after 18 years. brooke. >> barbara, thank you. it is the trump campaign talking point that is in every rally, in hundreds of tweets, and even critics admit it may be his best case for re-election, the u.s. economy. >> since my election america has gained 7 million new jobs. >> after years of building up other countries, we are finally building our country. our economy is now the envy of the entire world. >> i am thrilled to report to you tonight that our economy is the best it has ever been. >> so then it may surf are prpr that the president is citing, quote, national emergency or serious economic conditions for why he wants to limit government

employee pay raises to just 1% next year. he adds in a message to congress a pay increase above 1% is inappropriate. lets talk this over with cnn global economic -- a columnist and editor for "the financial times." today he was tweeting the u.s. economy is the best in history. why only 1%? >> i think there's a couple of things, possibly a negotiating position which is something we were talking about earlier. i think the president may be managing expectations a little bit. the truth is, yes, the headline numbers look great right now. we still have near record low unemployment, the markets are up, but we know that there's some headwinds. coronavirus in china is already hitting a number of american companies, apple, qualcomm, some of the big ones are issuing profit warnings. there are wages are still not ticking up. there are really kind of two economies here. one is the headline numbers, which look great, but when you scratch below the surface, you see a lot of vulnerable groups,

young people, minorities, women, the quality jobs for those groups are just not there, and i think that that's something you're going to start to see democrats hit home on the campaign trail, particularly as they go into the heated up primary season. >> you're reading my mind. here's a quote from the national treasury employees union, they represent 150,000 workers. they're condemning this pay increase limit. quote, for an administration that has added $3 trillion to the federal debt, gouging federal employee pay and benefits in the name of deficit reduction is ridiculous. i mean, at the end of the day, congress does have the final say, and like you said, the 1% maybe it's a bit of art of the deal, like let's start here and maybe move up. >> but it's really interesting because i think that you're going to see democrats say, look, we need to focus on income. i mean, we know at some point as high as markets are that they're going to correct. our 401(k)s are going to feel that. there's some statistics out recently from goldman sachs

saying that 1% of the country owns 50% of those stock price increases that we've seen in the last few years. really it's about income, and i think that with income still flat, you're going to see democrats saying, look, we're in a go it alone economy. you know, all the things that make you middle class, housing, health care, education, these things are getting more and more expensive, and okay, yeah, we can still buy cheap phones and cheap tvs, but the stuff that we really need, we need more money in our pockets for that. >> pete buttigieg, right? out on the trail. he talked about the president's new budget just speaking of what's been going on in terms of dollars and scencents, he talke about this with john berman. >> he's rolled out a budget that will make savage cuts, he said social security is on the table and medicaid is up for cuts. we know what would happen if this presidency continues. >> between president trump's january comments and proposed budget cuts, like why don't we see more of that? why do you think, you know, of these candidates criticizing

trump? >> i feel up until about right this point it's been a dog fight amongst the democrats, right? there's this existential crisis within the party. do we think the current system is work something do we want to make tweaks at the margins or are we a medicare for all party? are with a debt jub lee party? i think now after new hampshire and definitely after super tuesday you're going to see democrats consolidate around are we going to go with a middle of the road message or something more progressive, more radical as a solution. i think once they decide on that, then they'll be able to really hammer home the message against trump in the november election. >> makes sense, ronna, thank you. china is reporting their deadliest day since the start of the coronavirus outbreak. on monday 108 people died and nearly 2,500 new cases were confirmed, and that brings the number of cases in china to nearly 43,000, and the death

toll has now surpassed 1,000. here in the united states a 13th case of coronavirus has been confirmed. health officials say the american who evacuated wuhan, china, last week was in quarantine after mistakenly being released from the hospital. as the deadly virus continues to spread now infecting more than 25 countries around the world, president trump is pushing a theory that the deadly disease will go away in the next couple of months when it gets warmer outside. >> the virus, they're working hard, looks like by april you know in theory, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away. i hope that's true, but we're doing great in our country. china, i spoke with president xi, and they're working very, very hard, and i think it's going to all work out fine. rough stuff, i tell you. rough, rough stuff, but i think it's going to work out good. we only have 11 cases, and na they're all getting better. >> dr. se lean gunshot wounder

is an infective disease specialist and the host of the podcast "american diagnosis." nice to see you. i know the president doesn't have an m.d., but he's one degree of separation from a lot of top medical minds, and so is there something to what he's saying about like coronavirus, you know, miraculously disappearing when it gets warm, or is that just bunk? >> well, there is a reason the winter cough and cold season. that's for a couple of reasons. one, we're indoors more, around each other more, we're swapping rye r viruses more, and secondly, the winter is drier, it's less haumd and viruses can stay in the air better. that doesn't mean viruses go away completely in the summer. then you have more tropical countries where viruses continue through the year and they function as a reservoir for the rest of us. >> here's what the director of the world health organization says, he believes they can eventually stop the virus but warn it could create havoc if it reaches a country with a weaker

health system. what will it take? i know this has now surpassed sars. what will it take to make this finally go away? >> well, i don't know if we're frankly ever going to get there. >> wow. >> what we saw with h 1 ns, and there's a lot of celerities here in terms of death rates and so on. that is part of our regular mix of flu viruses that circulates now, and what we have against that is a vaccination. so if that happens, and we don't know yet, you know, if we're going to be able to contain this or not, but if this becomes the regular mix of flu bags that we see, that's going to be our best protection, is really to vaccinate the most vulnerable. >> okay. just incredible you wake up every day andst it li it's liked more people affected by this. but at least once the weather gets warmer it will, it sounds like, you're saying lessen. >> lessen and buy us some time. yeah. >> thank you very much. let's get you back to our breaking news. the department of justice today backtracking on the sentencing guidance for roger stone after

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we continue on, you're watching cnn. i'm brooke baldwin. thank you for being here. here's the breaking news in the criminal case against president trump's long-time political adviser roger stone. today this jaw-dropping reversal

by bill barr's department of justice. just yesterday federal prosecutors asked the judge to sentence roger stone to seven to nine years in prison for obstruction, witness tampering, and making false statements to congress. all of these charges stem from robert mueller's russia investigation, but that apparently blind sided the justice department, and as you check twitter, that infuriated president trump. this is what president trump tweeted. quote, this is a horrible and very unfair situation. the real crimes were on the other side as nothing happens to them, cannot allow this miscarriage of justice. and now the department of justice is backing off its own sentencing recommendations for stone. so we have cnn crime and justice reporter shimon prokupecz, former nixon white house, and cnn national security and legal analyst, susan hennessey, she was an attorney for the national

security agency. s the doj sharply criticizing the doj, does this ever happen? >> it's unprecedented. you don't see it in a situation like this, and ultimately, what it does look like is that roger stone is getting some kind of special treatment, and that is what is so concerning to so many people who were either former doj officials or even people inside the justice department, local, you know, your line assistants, u.s. attorneys who are prosecuting these cases on a daily basis. there is concern here because it would seem that the department of justice is meddling in this case after they had filed the sentencing memorandum. and here's what the department of justice is saying, how all of this unfolded, and they say essentially that they were shocked to see the sentencing recommendation. that this is not what had been briefed to the department. the department believed the recommendation is extreme and excessive and is grossly