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The Lead with Jake Tapper
OPM Says Email From Musk Is Voluntary; DOJ Cannot Say Who Leads DOGE; Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) Is Interviewed About Trump Not Blaming Russia as The Aggressor; MAGA Podcaster Dan Bongino Picked To Be FBI Deputy Director; Source: Gunman Who Held ICU Staff Hostage And Killed Police Officer Believed More Could Have Been Done To Save His Wife; Apple Announces $500B Investment In U.S. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired February 24, 2025 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[17:00:00]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to "The Lead." I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, the $500 billion investment by Apple, the major expansion project by the tech company here in the United States, and why this rollout is likely happening right now.
Plus, a new controversial hire by President Trump, putting Dan Bongino in place as deputy director of the FBI. What this former Secret Service agent turned MAGA podcaster will be in charge of, and why this pick goes against what used to be the norm.
And leading this hour, a major update for federal employees in the last hour. The Office of Personnel Management now says that that e- mail that seemed to order federal workers to list five things they did last week, or if they didn't respond, that would be considered a resignation. Well, as of now we're told, or the federal employees are being told, it's not actually a mandatory requirement. It's a voluntary.
So let's start right there and bring in CNN's Hadas Gold. And Hadas, federal workers were up against a midnight deadline tonight. But now this major update from the Office of Personnel Management. How are they explaining all this confusion?
HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, the initial e-mail came from the Office of Personnel Management, but now the Office of Personnel Management is notifying the heads of human resources for all of these agencies that actually that e-mail is just voluntary and not responding will not result in a resignation. This happened today during a meeting this afternoon with the Chief Human Capital Officers' Council.
This usually consists of the top HR officers from every department and agency across the government. They had this big meeting today and according to an e-mail that I obtained that was actually sent to Department of Justice, Human Resources people, they said that they were notified by the OPM, who again, originally is the one who sent this e-mail, that the employee responses to that e-mail is voluntary. That if they do choose to respond, they should not include any
confidential, sensitive or classified information. And they also clarified that a non-response to the e-mail does not equate to a resignation. Obviously, this runs exactly counter to what Elon Musk was posting on X over the weekend, saying that failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.
Obviously, this has elicited a lot of confusion amongst all the federal employees also because some of them are getting different guidance from their superiors at the different agencies. FBI for example telling people not to respond, other agencies telling their employees to respond and now we're hearing this from the OPM officially.
TAPPER: All right now let's go to CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reed, and Paula you're following a different story a federal hearing where the U.S. Justice Department apparently won, could not explain who exactly is running the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE, and two, could not explain what Elon Musk does. How did that play out in court?
PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Jake. This was wild. This was a hearing about DOGE's access to Treasury Department data. But here the Justice Department lawyer could not explain who leads DOGE or what exactly Musk's role is. Because at one point the judge asked, look, where is Musk in all of this? In this access to Treasury data, the folks that they're putting at these agencies.
The Justice Department did say that he is a close advisor to President Trump, but said they didn't have more information and even tried to argue that the nature of his role was not relevant, but the judge was not having it. She said that she hoped that by now they would have a structure that would be clear. They would know who the administrator is. The judge also raised the possibility that there could be an appointments clause issue with how DOGE has been operating because of the lack of clarity with who is directing the people who work for this group.
Now the Justice Department did say that they would get the judge more information on Musk's role, but this is not the first time we have seen lawyers for the Justice Department struggle to answer some basic questions before the judges.
TAPPER: And CNN's Jeff Zeleny is at the White House for us. So, Jeff, today President Trump defended the Office of Personnel Management e- mail that ordered federal workers to justify their jobs or risk being fired or that being considered a resignation if they didn't respond.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Jake, he defended it and called a genius. And checking with White House officials, they received a heads-up about a couple hours before that e-mail was sent out on Saturday. It's been about 48 hours since that e-mail rocketed around the federal workforce, and since then, there have just been contradictory information from agency to agency. The president did not show any signs of concern with that, or Elon Musk today in the Oval Office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: You know why he wanted that, by the way? I thought it was great. Because we have people that don't show up to work, and nobody even knows if they work for the government. So by asking the question, tell us what you did this week, what he's doing is saying, are you actually working? There was a lot of genius in sending it. We're trying to find out if people are working.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[17:04:57]
ZELENY: Trying to find out if people are working. Of course, the president throwing all of this into accusations of fraud within his government, of course, a government he led four years ago. Jake, there's not been any substantive information to back any of that up. But again, he is defending this e-mail. But it did show the first signs of a fissures inside all these agencies, particularly from some cabinet officials who were confirmed by the Senate and want to run their own departments, Jake.
TAPPER: And Hadas, you also have some breaking news on the Associated Press, which has been barred from covering things on -- covering news events in the Oval Office and in Air Force One because they refuse to refer to the Gulf of what used to be called the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, because they have a worldwide audience. That's their explanation. You have some breaking news on their lawsuit against the Trump administration for blocking them.
GOLD: Yeah. So they saw in front of a judge, a temporary restraining order that would have immediately lifted the ban, but a federal judge who was actually a Trump appointee has declined that temporary restraining order, meaning that as it stands now, the AP will still be barred from these Oval Office events, from the event today, for example, in the East Room with President Macron of France and President Trump.
This is despite the fact that this judge did express skepticism, describing this ban at one point as, quote, discriminatory and problematic, at one point saying that it's almost clearly viewpoint discrimination. But he said that he wasn't persuaded that the AP showed immediate irreparable harm as a result of the ban, pointing to the fact that they are still continuing to report using pool reports, using other publicly available information.
But this is not the end of the road for the AP because he did schedule another hearing for March 20th for potential arguments over a preliminary injunction that could potentially lift the ban. So as of right now, AP still remains banned from these White House events, not from the White House grounds, but not the end of the road. And we could see more action on this in March.
TAPPER: All right. Hadas Gold, thanks so much and thanks to Paula and Jeff as well. Let's bring in Everett Kelly. He's the president of the American Federation of Government Employees, one of the largest unions representing federal workers. Thanks so much for joining us. So what is your guidance for federal workers right now with the Office of Personnel Management first saying, you know, give us five things that you did and if you don't respond, as Elon Musk says, consider the resignation.
Today they said something different. Answering that e-mail is voluntary. What are you telling your union members to do?
EVERETT KELLEY, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN FOUNDATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES: Well, first of all, we ask our union members to consult with their supervisors at the agency because that's where the policies lie. That's the chain of command. And so we also sent a letter to OPM asking them to rescind that letter because we felt that it was illegal and it was not in accordance with the policies that have been outlined for federal employees to follow.
TAPPER: AFGE, the union you had along with other federal unions, updated its original lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's efforts to fire people en masse, claiming that the e-mail asking federal workers to describe their accomplishments is unlawful. What do you think? You just said it's unlawful, it's illegal. What makes it illegal or unlawful and does the change that OPM announced change anything important about your lawsuit?
KELLEY: Well, it does because they understand that what they did was completely out of the ordinary and it was inappropriate and that's the issue. There is policies that governs federal employees and the way they report to the chain of command. And this went outside of that. You know, we were getting tweets from an unofficial government employee, in my opinion, that is Mr. Musk, saying to employees that if you don't do this, you're going to be fired, in essence.
And we knew that wasn't the way the policy is. And so it's becoming legal when a person that's not a federal employee or in the chain of command, you know, would issue these types of mandates to the federal employees, then it would be against the policies and those type of things. That's why we issued the lawsuit.
TAPPER: Yeah. No, I understand the argument, but what do you say to the average American viewer watching right now who says it's not that big a deal to list five things that I accomplished last week and there are some Republicans, governors, lawmakers who take their that argument. I want you to listen to Congressman Ralph Norman, Republican of South Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RALPH NORMAN (R-SC): To justify where you are, what you do for the last week in the private sector that would be a -- they would gladly provide that information because again, the taxpayer is paying the bill for the federal workers, and in the private sector you do that every day you don't exist.
(END VIDEO CLIP) TAPPER: What's your reaction to that argument?
KELLEY: My reaction is this. You know, we have no issue with providing that information. We provide it every single day. We provide it to the appropriate person, which is in the chain of command. We don't know who this person is or where he falls in that chain of command. Matter of fact, we don't think he'd do it all. So we have no issue providing that information to the appropriate people. And we do that every single day.
[17:09:57]
TAPPER: So my understanding of DOGE is they're targeting low productivity workers. Is that an issue that you have with their mission?
KELLEY: If that was the real mission, we can handle a problem with -- if a person is not performing to the standard that they should be, we have no issue with dealing with that individual. But this is not the case, okay? In this instance, it's just another way of antagonizing federal employees, calling them names. I mean, it's a joke to these guys, to stand on stage with a chainsaw and say, we're going to take this to vital services that the American people depend on, you know, is asinine and it's un-American.
TAPPER: All right. AFGE president Everett Kelley, thank you so much. It's good to see you sir.
KELLEY: You as well.
TAPPER: Coming up, the united front among leaders in Europe at least -- hold on one sec sir -- side by side backing Ukraine but not President Trump. His stunning move today siding with Vladimir Putin on the very day that marks three years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Are Republicans in congress okay with this? I'll ask one member.
And later, a deadly standoff and it shortfalls in the health care industry contributed to a horrible hostage situation in a hospital in York, PA. What we're learning from a physician assistant who says he was there.
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TAPPER: And we're back with our "World Lead." Today marks three years since Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, a war that once united the West in its steadfast support for the democracy on Russia's Western border. But now the United States, under President Trump, is openly siding with Russia at the United Nations.
And President Trump says Ukraine's leader, the democratically elected Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is a dictator, though Mr. Trump refuses to call the Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the real aggressor, the actual dictator, the same. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Ukraine's capital of Kyiv as President
Zelenskyy signals he may be willing to step down if that would mean guaranteed security for Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They came to honor, mourn, in unity with the hope the war could stop in this, its fourth year. But in truth, the past week has elevated Ukraine's bitter conflict, where Russia is still advancing into an unprecedented crisis for all of them, Europe and beyond.
ALEXANDER STUBB, PRESIDENT OF FINLAND: It's also about having skin in the game.
WALSH (voice-over): The words, the pledges of aid and sanctions were familiar.
JUSTIN TRUDEAU, PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA: We need to make sure that might no longer makes right.
KEIR STARMER, PRIME MINISTER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: The U.K. is ready and willing to support this with troops on the ground.
WALSH (on camera): A show of solidarity, but really key here is the absence of senior figures in the Trump administration, the change in that alliance hanging over this key show of unity.
(Voice-over): But then the whiplash that's left U.S.-Ukraine relations in free fall suddenly got a reprieve. Perhaps due to this man siding up to President Donald Trump during a G7 video call.
TRUDEAU: There he is, Emmanuel is on --
WALSH (voice-over): French President Emmanuel Macron seeking to bring Trump onto Ukraine's side.
TRUDEAU: Olaf, good to have you here. I know it was a tough day yesterday.
WALSH (voice-over): A lot of change here. Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leaving Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz voted out too. But this is day by day for Ukraine who welcomed a chance.
VOLODOMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: I mean that's -- well, with Donald Trump, now we had a conversation, it was a very good conversation. Thank you very much, Justin, for organizing this meeting.
WALSH (voice-over): Some minutes later, the world seemed to change again. The key U.S.-Ukraine resources deal close to done.
TRUMP: I think we're very close. Do you have something to say about that, Scott?
SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: We are very close. One yard line.
TRUMP: I will be meeting with President Zelenskyy. In fact, he may come in this week or next week to sign the agreement.
WALSH (voice-over): Just add Macron to Trump, results in minutes.
TRUMP: He's a smart customer, I will tell you that.
WALSH (voice-over): Ukraine urgently needed good news and a brutal fight. A source telling CNN a final draft of the resources deal left the tough stuff to later talks, removed the worst parts for Kyiv, but also the security guarantees they needed. That might be something for the presidents to discuss later.
Yet, the madness has one winner. The Kremlin head surely seeing a telenovela plot of a week, leaving the West in panic, trading dictator insults, but not at him, and then suddenly healed. Next week could well be different again. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TAPPER: Nick Paton Walsh in Kyiv, thank you for that report. I want to play a moment today with French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House after meeting with President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE: Being strong and having deterrence capacities is the only way to be sure it will be respected. And I insisted on that and this is why I believe that the U.S. has the capacity to do so. And this is why I think we should never say, I will never send any boot on the ground because you give a blank check to violate any type of commitment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Let's bring in Congressman Tim Burchett, a Republican from Tennessee who is on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Oversight Committee. Congressman, good to see you. So, I want to ask you, Republican Senator Mitch McConnell put out a statement saying, quote, "refusing to acknowledge Russia as the undeniable and unprovoked aggressor is more than an unseemly moral equivalency. It reflects a gross misunderstanding of the nature of negotiations and leverage," unquote.
McConnell also mentioned what he called British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's, quote, "naive policy of appeasement" as we know it did not prevent World War II. What do you think of Senator McConnell comparing this to appeasement?
[17:19:54]
REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): I think it's bogus. We put over $200 billion into this thing. Trump's working on a negotiated peace. I think that's a great thing. Neville Chamberlain, he was a coward. And Hitler, Putin is no Hitler, and Hitler is no Putin. I mean, the comparison there, you're talking about Russia, whose GDP is somewhere between Canada's and France.
I do not think Putin has the capabilities, nor has he shown it to rage across Europe as Hitler did in just a matter of weeks during the blitzkrieg. So that's -- I hate anybody that makes any comparisons to Hitler or the Holocaust because there is no comparison to that.
TAPPER: I want to listen -- let's listen to one of your predictions last summer after President Biden's disastrous debate performance. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BURCHETT: They're licking their chops. They know they got seven months. And when they heard Donald Trump's vision during the debate, all the Democrats in the state-run media could say Trump lied. Well, I'll tell you, Trump told the truth because during his presidency, China was contained. Russia was not moving on Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: So, at the time, you were worried about Putin watching President Biden who was obviously not fit as a fiddle, and licking his chops. What do you think Putin's doing now? Because it does seem as though the United States position is to sidle up and ally with Russia and to criticize Ukraine?
BURCHETT: Well, in the past, Putin was -- obviously he was dealing with Biden and he knew that Ukraine was stealing at least, by their own admission, half the money that we sent them so -- and now under Trump they know that's going to stop and the fighting will stop.
So, I don't see the equivalency there other than that President Trump has stopped the fight -- is going to stop the fighting and he's stopping us throwing our money down a well over there in a war we have nothing to do with. So, yeah, I stand by my previous statement and it holds well because --
TAPPER: I don't think it's accurate to say that Ukraine was stealing half the money over there.
BURCHETT: Well, their own president said they don't know where half of it is. Now you all got to get your facts straight because everybody knows that. It's been reported in multiple news sources.
TAPPER: Congressman, what President Zelenskyy said was he had heard that there were $200 million that went to Ukraine and he'd like to see where that was. As you know, most of the money that went to Ukraine was military aid, weapons that were manufactured and purchased in the United States.
BURCHETT: So you're paying off the war pimps at the Pentagon to prolong this war. Men are dying because of somebody's profit sheet is what you're saying and that's what this country is about and that is wrong and that needs to stop and it's stopping under Trump. And that's why both sides are quietly pitching a fit right now because they're not going to get rich off of young men dying and old men making terrible decisions, and that's exactly what's going on.
TAPPER: I think people are dying because Russia attacked Ukraine. I mean, I think that that is the reason why people are dying.
BURCHETT: At the beginning of that war, we were on both sides, if you haven't forgotten. We had gas contracts with Russia, and then we were giving money to Ukraine. So in effect, as the big bankers sometimes do, they played both sides of the coin. And that's exactly -- that's why nobody is in a rush to get this thing going.
So we ought to be at war because America's going to profit? Is that what you're saying? Because that sounds a whole lot like what you're saying. Well, you just said that the arms are being bought here in America and dad gum it -- so people should die. Why don't they just give that $200 billion to arms manufacturers and then nobody dies? I mean by your own admission; you're saying that this is a profiteer situation and that's exactly what it is and it needs to stop.
TAPPER: I mean you can put words in my mouth and then argue with them but that doesn't mean I said them. What I said was the money wasn't -- I was trying to explain what Zelenskyy meant when he said he'd like to see where that money went. That's the origin.
BURCHETT: If he's in charge of that country -- if he's in charge of that country and their finances, then dad gum it, why doesn't he know where the money went? That's what you're saying. And you can't have it. That is wrong. We're borrowing that money. Every dollar we gave to Ukraine is borrowed. We are borrowing that from our great grandchildren.
We're $36 trillion in debt. We have no business being over there except a lot of people's stock portfolios is going through the roof. Do you know when we gave our missile defense system to Ukraine, that when President Biden, by executive order, did that, that members of Congress in both parties had stock in the missile defense company. And that was a multi-billion dollar contract, that was a no-bid contract to replenish our missile supply. This thing is about dollars and cents, and they don't give a rip about young men dying.
TAPPER: So did you --
BURCHETT: And that's the bottom line.
TAPPER: President Trump sent lethal aid to Ukraine to fight back against Russia during his first administration -- Javelin missiles that President Obama had refused to send over.
[17:25:02]
Conservatives, Republicans at the time praised President Trump for having the courage to send those Javelin missiles to Ukraine to fight Russia. Was that a mistake?
BURCHETT: They were in a defensive mode, not in an offensive mode, and that's a complete difference.
TAPPER: You think Ukraine is on the offense right now?
BURCHETT: No. But those missiles are. Those what those missiles are for, is defensive moves, not for offensive. Now, it's unlimited. The money and supplies we're giving them or have given them, they're unchecked by Zelenskyy's own words. And I'm not putting words in your mouth and you're not putting them in mine. Those are Zelenskyy's own words that he doesn't know where that money went. So that should tell you some things about this whole war, what it's about. It's not about a conflict of freeing and trapped people. It's about making dollars.
TAPPER: Do you think that President Putin is responsible for this war beginning?
BURCHETT: Absolutely, 100 percent. Putin's a thug, but again, where is all the outrage in the halls of Congress about the mistreatment of people by the Chinese? Nobody's going to go to war by them and I'll tell you why. Because if you flip over every computer chip or everybody's tie, it's going to say, made in China. Because it's all about the dollars, brother. That's the only reason.
TAPPER: Republican Congressman Tim Burchett of the great state of Tennessee, thank you so much. Appreciate it, sir.
BURCHETT: Thank you, brother. It's Burchett, by the way, but thank you.
TAPPER: Burchett? Have I been mispronouncing it for years? Burchett?
BURCHETT: That's Burchett, yes sir, but you're alright. You're still my friend.
TAPPER: I was giving you like a little French fanciness. I apologize. Burchett.
BURCHETT: Yeah, well, see what happened was when Tony Dorsett won the Heisman, it became Dorsett. But Tim Burchett never won the Heisman so I'm not --
TAPPER: Burchett.
BURCHETT: Burchett, yeah.
TAPPER: I will never make the mistake again, Congressman Burchett. Thank you so much.
Coming up next, one of Trump's fiercest defenders is headed to the FBI. Dan Bongino, Secret Service agent turned powerful MAGA podcaster. He'll be the number two at the FBI. What he just said this month, earlier this month, about President Trump and court rulings on his agenda. Stay with us.
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[17:31:28]
TAPPER: Our Politics Lead, MAGA podcaster and former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino will be the next F -- FBI Deputy Director. President Trump announced earlier today. The appointment of Bongino is a departure from tradition. The post-Deputy Director is normally filled by a career FBI agent. Something newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel said he would abide by.
With me now, CNN's Evan Perez and CNN's Legal Analyst Elliot Williams. So, Evan, newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel had told allies that Robert Kissane, is that how --
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Right.
TAPPER: Robert Kissane, the acting Deputy Director, would be named to the position. So, what happened?
PEREZ: Yes, I mean, that's the reason why Kissane came down from New York right at the beginning of -- of the -- of the new Trump administration. And the idea was that he would help usher in, make some of the changes and get -- get things ready for Patel to take over. But all of that came to a crashing halt because both Kissane and Brian Driscoll, who was the acting director, stood up, when Emil Bove demanded thousands of names of FBI agents, anyone who had touched Trump investigations or -- or January 6th investigations. And he demanded this in a memo that was labeled terminations, right?
TAPPER: Yes.
PEREZ: And it -- it gave rise to this fear that they were about to do a mass firing of agents for simply doing their jobs. And so, that -- that sort of contretemps, which -- which -- which ensued inside the Justice Department for a week. There was a standoff between the FBI leadership and Bove is what happened here, Jake.
TAPPER: Yes. They don't -- they don't want independent voices.
PEREZ: They don't want.
TAPPER: They don't want pushback. It's why they're firing all the inspectors general and the jags at the Pentagon. Elliot, what is the FBI deputy director responsible for?
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Running the FBI, it's in effect the chief operating officer. And we should note, Jake, it's not a political position. It's not a politically appointed position.
PEREZ: It is now.
WILLIAMS: Well, it is now. But certainly, and what's striking here is that neither the director nor the deputy director of the FBI have experience at the FBI. And just think about the FBI's vast mission. It's both law enforcement and counterterrorism. God forbid, in the event of a major terror attack or anything else, the person who, or the people who are making the decisions on where the counterterror assets are, where the people are, where the money is, don't know the agency. They simply don't.
And even if you're going to buy into the President needs to get his own people argument, which doesn't really make sense here. But if you -- if you do buy that, these are not the people who know the job.
TAPPER: So I want to play something that Dan Bongino said on his podcast earlier this month after a judge ordered President Trump to restore all the federal grants that had been paused. Here's what Dan Bongino said in response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN BONGINO, HOST, THE DAN BONGINO SHOW: Folks, my recommendation is Donald Trump should ignore this. This -- this judge is obviously not acting constitutionally at all. It should be ignored. Demand it resuming all. But you can't order the executive to spend. I mean, you effectively usurp the power of the executive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Now, we should know that if somebody, if President Trump feels like he's being given an unconstitutional order from a judge, there is a process.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
TAPPER: You appeal it.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
TAPPER: It goes all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. And -- and they ultimately decide. But Dan Bongino, the new deputy director of the FBI, is saying that President Trump should have just ignored the judicial branch.
WILLIAMS: Yes, look, people throw around the term constitutional crisis all the time. I think they use it too much. But what he's describing there is would be a crisis, if you had a President defying an open order, a lawful order of a court. If the president has a problem with something, the court does appeal it to the Appeals Court, appeal to the Supreme Court. That's how it's worked for 200 years.
[17:35:12]
TAPPER: And Evan, the FBI rank and file. It's important what they do. And they should know out there that there are a lot of people in Washington, D.C. and around the country who appreciate what they do. It's not to say every single employee always has the right thing --
PEREZ: Right.
TAPPER: -- or gets it right. But what's the reaction from the rank and file going to be?
PEREZ: Look, I mean, this is a by and large a conservative group of people, right? They didn't love the January 6th cases. They didn't love doing a lot of the things that happened under -- under Biden, but they did it because that is their job. Their job is to follow the law, especially when a judge has ordered the arrest of someone, right? They follow what the courts say. I got a text from someone this afternoon who said, I just can't take this stuff seriously anymore. And that's the issue is, right, the agents don't know, Jake, to your point, right? There -- right now, there is something happening in America. There is probably a terrorist plot going underway. The Russians are trying to do something. And the FBI's are --
TAPPER: All of it -- all of it's going on.
PEREZ: Right. It's -- their eyes are off the ball, and we will find out in a few weeks what that means.
TAPPER: All right. Evan Perez and Elliot Williams, thanks so much.
Coming up next, terrifying moments in a Pennsylvania hospital. Medical staff held hostage, some of them zip-tied. A police officer killed. The circumstances in the healthcare industry that some are saying could be connected to this case. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:40:17]
TAPPER: And we're back with our National Lead, new details on a possible motive in a deadly hostage standoff at a York, Pennsylvania hospital this weekend. One police officer was tragically killed. Five other innocent people were wounded. A social media post from a physician assistant at UPMC Memorial Hospital revealed that the gunman had been grieving after a health update regarding his wife in that very hospital. CNN's Gloria Pazmino has a closer look on how this tragedy unfolded.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An officer slain and medical staff taken hostage after police say a man entered an intensive care unit inside a Pennsylvania hospital armed with zip ties and a gun.
TIM BARKER, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, YORK COUNTY, PA: He went straight to the ICU. And in the ICU this individual went and held hostage members of the UPMC staff.
PAZMINO (voice-over): CNN has learned that the gunman, Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz, was removed from that hospital Friday night after becoming irate and emotionally distraught after learning there was no other treatment available for his wife, who was on life support, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation. Ortiz fired his weapon multiple times killing West York Borough Police Department Officer Andrew Duarte and injuring five others. Video captured from inside the hospital shows police arriving as the hostage situation unfolded. Meanwhile, inside police attempted to negotiate.
BARKER: Mr. Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz came out holding at gunpoint a member of the UPMC staff who also had her hands tied with the aforementioned zip ties. Holding her at gunpoint, coming out into the hallway, the officers left with no recourse did open fire and did shoot and kill Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz.
PAZMINO (voice-over): Lester Mendoza, a physician assistant at UPMC says he tried to comfort Ortiz writing on Facebook, quote I was there when we delivered the worst news imaginable to him that his loved one was gone. I saw his devastation firsthand. In that moment, I truly did not see a monster. He was simply broken. Mendoza went on to write, quote, we are working in a system that is stretched too thin. The medicines and supplies are too expensive. Insurance companies more relentless than ever on sustainable staffing and turnover.
First responders honored Duarte in a procession as his body was moved to Lehigh Valley. Duarte joined the department in 2022. He previously served in the Denver Police Department where he received an award for his work in impaired driving enforcement.
LT. ALAN MA, DENVER POLICE: It will never be easy to know that one of your close colleagues and a friend is not here with you anymore.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PAZMINO: Jake, we've reached out to the hospital regarding the comments made by that physician assistant and for now the community also asking questions about why this person was able to enter the intensive care unit while carrying a gun. All of it now under investigation. Jake?
TAPPER: All right. Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much.
[17:43:38]
Coming up next, Apple's $500 billion expansion project in the United States. Why this rollout is likely happening now.
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TAPPER: To our Tech Lead, today, Apple announced a $500 billion investment in the United States. The company says this will create 20,000 jobs and expand its footprint across the country. The move comes as new tariffs loom and President Trump was quick to take credit for the move by Apple. He wrote, quote, faith in what we are doing without which they wouldn't be investing 10 cents, unquote. CNN's Claire Duffy's with us. Claire, what more do we know about this announcement and why Apple's doing this now?
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes, Jake, this is a really wide- ranging investment in terms of where these $500 billion are going. For example, the company says that in partnership with a contractor, it will be opening a new factory in Houston to produce AI servers. It plans to increase U.S. production of Apple T.V. Plus shows, invest in new U.S. data center capacity.
And as you said, this all comes as Trump has implemented a 10 percent tariff on goods imported from China, which is where Apple makes many of its products, most of its iPhones. So this does appear to be an effort to get around those tariffs, but of course, these new facilities aren't going to come up overnight. And so I think what -- what Apple is likely trying to do here is to curry favor with Trump and potentially seek an exemption to those China tariffs, which is something that we saw the company do during Trump's first term as well.
TAPPER: How likely is it that we're going to see other tech companies announce similar investments?
DUFFY: I mean, it clearly is a politically advantageous time to do it right now. We've seen these other big tech giants trying also to curry favor with Trump. Potentially, they may also seek to be exempt from some of these tariffs. But I think the question is how much will we actually see these promises, these planned investments actually come to fruition?
During Trump's first term, we saw a number of tech companies make similar promises, and they didn't always pan out as promised. And so, I don't think that people should expect that all of a sudden, we'll start to see most of our tech gadgets be made in America.
[17:50:08]
TAPPER: All right, Clare Duffy, thanks so much.
In our Sports Lead, an internet rumor has suggested that the Super Bowl winning Philadelphia Eagles might not visit the White House. It caused some serious consternation today among MAGA members, Trump supporters. A source with the Eagles, however, tells me that this is not true, telling me, quote, we would be honored to visit the White House. It's one of the things we have looked forward to doing and we look forward to receiving the invitation, unquote. The White House, as you'll notice there, has not yet invited the Eagles.
In our National Lead, former Secret Service agent, Clint Hill, died Friday at 93 years old. Hill heroically jumped onto the back of the presidential limousine to protect President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in the moments after Kennedy was fatally shot in Dallas in 1963. Here's what Hill told The Lead back in the year 2013 about that day and the guilt he continued to feel decades later.
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CLINT HILL, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: We had a responsibility to do that, to protect the president that day and we failed. There's no question about that because he was dead. And I felt a sense of guilt because of all the agents on the working that day, I was the only one who had a chance to do anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: In a statement today, the U.S. Secret Service praised Hill's unwavering dedication and exceptional service, unquote. It was an honor to meet him. I am still upset about how much guilt he felt in 2013 when I interviewed him.
Coming up next, remembering an entertainment legend, Roberta Flack, how years of perseverance paid off for the Grammy award-winning entertainer and set a tone for so many who came after her.
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[17:55:56]
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(SINGING)
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TAPPER: Some sad news in our Pop Culture Lead. Grammy award winning singer Roberta Flack died today. She was 88, had not performed since she was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease which she revealed in the year 2022. Her timeless hits include "Killing Me Softly With His Song," which you just heard, and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," which I danced to at my wedding. CNN's Stephanie Elam looks back at Roberta Flack's life and career.
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STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With soulful lyrics and piano prowess, Roberta Flack knew how to dazzle a crowd. Known for ballads like 1973's "Killing Me Softly With His Song," she bent music to her will combining classical art with jazz and rhythm and blues.
Born February 10, 1937 in Black Mountain, North Carolina, Flack was a piano prodigy. In a 2012 NPR interview, she said her voice was a gift, yet she wanted to become a concert pianist. But in the 1950's the chances of a black girl becoming a professional classical pianist were slim. That didn't stop her from pursuing her dream.
And at age 15 she received a music scholarship to attend Howard University in Washington, D.C. But while in grad school studying opera and classical piano, her father died. Flack put her career on hold, returned home and took a job teaching music and English.
ROBERTA FLACK, SINGER: I got to a point, well, I don't want to teach music anymore, I just want to sing. I lucked up on a little club in Washington.
ELAM (voice-over): Where she met jazz musician Les McCann who was instrumental in getting her signed to Atlantic Records. And in 1969 the songstress released her debut album, "First Take." Her music gained little attention until Clint Eastwood asked to use one of her songs.
The film, "Play Misty for Me" pushed "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" to number one and scored Flack her first Grammy.
FLACK: When I first heard the words "Killing Me Softly With His Song" just the -- the -- the sound of those words together had -- had such magic for me.
ELAM (voice-over): She recorded more than 20 albums throughout her five decade career with hit singles like "Feel Like Makin' Love." The balladeer also tackled social and political issues like in the song "Tryin' Times."
Nominated for 14 Grammys and a winner of four, Flack is also known for her humanitarian efforts. She advocated for music education for underprivileged youth. Flack suffered from a stroke in 2016. She recovered and continued performing.
In 2022, the "Killing Me Softly" singer was diagnosed with ALS and retired. Flack didn't fulfill her early dream of becoming a concert pianist, but her classically trained approach helped her charter her own course leaving a distinctive mark on popular music.
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TAPPER: And our thanks to Stephanie Elam for that report. May Roberta Flack's memory be a blessing.
Before we sign off tonight, this programming note starting one week from today. Next Monday, March 3rd, look for The Lead sliding one hour later on our new time slot. We're going to start at 5:00 p.m. and go until 7:00 p.m. Eastern, every weekday here on CNN.
[18:00:09]
Until tomorrow, you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X and on the TikTok at JakeTapper also on Substack. You can follow the show on X at TheLeadCNN. If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can listen to the show all two hours once you get your podcasts.
The news continues on CNN with one Mr. Wolf Blitzer right next door in a place I like to call The Situation Room. He's great on Zero Hour by the way. Wolf Blitzer and Robert De Niro as you've never seen them before. I'll see you tomorrow.
