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Combs' Trial Testimony Today; Plane Crash in San Diego Neighborhood; Mayor Jacob Frey is Interviewed about DOJ Ending Police Reforms. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired May 22, 2025 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:30:00]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Lawsuit. Cassie Ventura said that Combs became enraged when he found out she was dating Kid Cudi back in 2011 and threatened to blow up his car. Soon after, the vehicle exploded in the driveway.
With us now, Elliot Williams, CNN legal analyst.
I want to talk about this upcoming testimony from Kid Cudi, and specifically those allegations of, I guess, arson there, because, a, they're sensational, Elliot, but also they serve a distinct legal purpose in this case. Explain.
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: A very distinct legal purpose, John. If you read the indictment of Sean Combs, arson is listed among the several crimes that serve as a basis for this racketeering charge that Sean Combs has, arson, trafficking, I believe, obstruction of justice and so on.
And what prosecutors have to establish here, what they seek to establish, is that arson was just one of the crimes carried out pursuant to a broader conspiracy that Sean Combs was at the center of.
Now, when we think of arson, I know people think of houses burning down, but it's merely the destruction by fire of someone's property. And there's this allegation that Kid Cudi's car was one of those things blown up, or at least directed to be blown up by Sean Combs.
BERMAN: And I'm asking you about this distinct legal purpose that this alleged arson has because it gets to the case that prosecutors have made, and maybe successfully made, but where they still have ground to cover. Explain.
WILLIAMS: I agree with that, John. Certainly, prosecutors have been quite successful so far in establishing patterns of violent behavior by Sean Combs. Certainly the sex acts. Certainly the procuring of serious narcotics, all of the above. But they have to put it under an umbrella for there to be a racketeering charge, or at least to secure a conviction on that, that he directed pursuant to a broader criminal enterprise all of these acts happened together, and he was engaged in acts of force and threats to further this criminal activity. Again, I think quite clearly the domestic assault and perhaps even sex
trafficking have been proven. But linking it all together is a challenge here. Now, certainly these allegations of -- of arson are very important to that. But again, we should be clear, this is an eight week long trial and who knows what else prosecutors were come -- will come up with to link it all together in a final argument.
BERMAN: You say final argument, which gets to actually the question I was about to ask. How explicit do you want to be if you're a prosecutor over the course of the trial, while you're talking to each witnesses in a six or eight week trial to make those links? Do you have to make those links explicitly as you go?
WILLIAMS: Yes. No, I mean, you -- prosecutors and jurors can infer plenty. Now, you can't get a juror to opine on what the law is or what the links between something are. A prosecutor can merely present a bunch of pieces of different evidence over the course of this eight weeks and in their final argument say, look, you saw arson, you saw beatings, you saw sex crimes, you saw trafficking, you saw firearms, you saw all of these things. All of these things link together to establish that this defendant was at the center of a criminal conspiracy that brought it all in.
So, yes, it's -- it's sort of putting together a piece of a puzzle and linking it in that final argument.
BERMAN: Elliot Williams, thank you for explaining this so well.
Again, Kid Cudi could take the stand today. This will be an interesting day, to be sure.
All right, Sara.
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, ahead, the Justice Department is backing off police reform just days before the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The five year anniversary. The mayor of Minneapolis joining us next.
Also breaking news, a small plane has crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting more than a dozen homes on fire and forcing several people to evacuate the area. The latest on the rescue operation when we return.
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[09:38:23]
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: More breaking news we are following.
We're learning a small plane has crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, and officials say something like 15 homes were impacted, set on fire, and the area is now being evacuated.
CNN's Polo Sandoval is joining us now.
As you're gathering more details, Polo, a lot of details now coming out. What more are you learning?
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At least three streets, Kate, in the Murphy Canyon Hills neighborhood there in San Diego have been evacuated as authorities go door to door to see if there are any rescues that need to happen.
We do understand, according to authorities, that this was a small, private plane that crashed earlier this morning. Authorities saying that the conditions were quite foggy. Unclear if that was a contributing factor. But they are mentioning it at this point. And it's also unclear the extent of any injuries or how many people were aboard that small aircraft.
I will say that the San Diego Police Department, earlier this morning, they posted on their social media pages, basically making a plea to the public for anybody who either smells any sort of jet fuel or finds potential plane debris in their home to call their non-emergency line. So, that certainly gives you a sense that authorities right now need some help in trying to gather more evidence, to try to find out exactly what led to this plane crash.
And then finally, the assistant fire chief there, Dan Eddy, calling this a direct hit in his description of at least 15 homes being impacted by this plane crash.
We are waiting for a press conference to happen potentially in the next 20 minutes. We understand the FAA is involved right now. They are in contact with authorities as they try to learn a little bit more. And, of course, as soon as that press conference comes together and if we learn more information, of course we'll make sure to get that to you. But at this point, no word of any injuries after a small plane crashed in a San Diego neighborhood earlier this morning.
Kate.
[09:40:04]
BOLDUAN: Yes, we're going to be waiting for that press conference to hear -- I mean it's early in San Diego. You hope everyone is OK. This seems like a very dangerous situation.
SANDOVAL: Yes.
BOLDUAN: Thank you so much, Polo. We're going to have much more on this breaking news right after the break.
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SIDNER: All right, we have some breaking news that we want to share with you.
We are learning more about that small plane that has crashed into a San Diego neighborhood. Officials say about 15 homes. And now you are looking at those homes that were impacted when this plane crashed into this neighborhood.
[09:45:02]
We know about 15 homes have been impacted. Look at the damage at that home and just look at that street with all the debris there that you can see as well. That appears to be a part of the plane, perhaps a door, as we are looking at this, right in the middle of, you know, a local neighborhood. And it's -- it was at 6:00 a.m.
Let's get to CNN's Polo Sandoval.
This is a very early time there in San Diego when all of this happened. Certainly people at home. Do we know of any injuries or deaths at this point?
SANDOVAL: Not quite, Sara. In the next few minutes we do expect to hear from officials as they are expected to host a press conference to hopefully update us on what we know about this very early morning small plane crash that occurred. It's going to be just northeast of San Diego. And to your point, Sara, these are just -- just harrowing images where you see the charred remains of vehicles on a suburban street. And -- and I think it's important to really just appreciate just a sense of -- of what the -- the potential impact here while we wait to hear more about any potential injuries or worse.
What we know at this point, coming straight from San Diego authorities, that this small plane crashed in the Murphy Canyon neighborhood nearby. There are a lot of military neighborhoods, according to what we're seeing and hearing from those on the ground. And we do know that as many as 15 homes, according to the assistant fire chief, may have been affected. Now, whether or not to this extent that you see here, that's yet to be determined.
But when you just see what took place on this street corner alone and these large pickup trucks and large vehicles essentially tossed around and then charred, that certainly gives you a sense of perhaps the force of this -- of this impact. Again, this was a small private plane, according to what we have heard so far. Possibly a Cessna model. And we do know, again, that there were at least three streets that are being evacuated there.
And also interesting, in the last 30 minutes, the San Diego Police Department put out a social media post asking for anybody in the neighborhood to call them, call their non-emergency number if they smell any fuel, any sort of jet fuel, or if they see any debris at their -- in -- in their property. So, that also gives you a sense that investigators right now are basically spanning out in all directions, trying to recover any evidence that could be telling as to what may have -- may have led to this -- to this plane crash.
But again, still no word on any injuries or worse after this small plane crashed in the middle of a San Diego neighborhood very early this morning.
Sara.
SIDNER: Yes. And those pictures are just so upsetting to see the enormous impact that this plane made, not just to those who were on the plane, but to those living in that neighborhood just waking up to this crash. And you can see some of the debris there and things just burned, cars, homes. We will have much more on this with 15 homes that were on fire this morning because of a small plane crashing into that San Diego neighborhood.
We'll be right back.
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[09:52:19]
SIDNER: OK, you are looking at pictures showing -- your reporter is just about to stand there for us. You're seeing pictures of that neighborhood in San Diego where a small plane has crashed into at least a dozen houses, potentially 15. Many of them set on fire. You can see some of the fire damage there. And then as the camera is zooming in there from our affiliate KGTV, you can see some of the fuselage of the plane it appears there, although it is very hard to tell because that very much could be a car now that I'm looking at the back of it. That looks like it may be a car that was crushed. Other cars there on fire.
This is a real disaster happening in San Diego at this hour as you look down the street where this small Cessna was able to -- well, ended up crashing right before there's an executive airport, a small airport, that is nearby.
We will get more details as soon as we have them.
OK, now to this.
This week marks five years since the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Police Officer Derek Chauvin. A tragedy that sparked national outrage and global protests as tens of thousands marched for a complete overhaul of police departments around the country. Five years later, those overhaul efforts have come to a complete stop, at least at the federal level. The Trump administration announcing it is ending federal oversight of policing reforms in several major cities, including in Minneapolis.
So, joining me now is the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey.
Thank you so much for being here this morning for us.
What does it say to you that the DOJ says, you know what, we don't need any more police reform?
MAYOR JACOB FREY (D), MINNEAPOLIS: Well, in Minneapolis, we are serious about police reform, even if the president is not. The bottom line is that we're doing it anyway.
We negotiated this consent decree. We have 169 pages worth of reforms. And we're going to carry those reforms out, not because the White House is telling us to, in fact they're dropping the whole deal, but because we need to provide this kind of change for the sake of our -- the residents in our city. We have undergone quite a bit of work. And actually, just a couple of days ago, an independent evaluator said that Minneapolis was making more progress in the area of police reform than virtually any city in the country under a consent decree.
And so, look, we're taking the right steps. Clearly, Donald Trump does not care about the work of police reform. But here in Minneapolis, the bottom line is, we do.
SIDNER: I spoke with Police Chief Arradondo at the time, and there was a whole story that we did on the fact that he had brought, and others, had brought a lawsuit against the police department while he was working there before becoming chief, because there was discrimination.
[09:55:10]
And that lawsuit was eventually settled. This is a long time coming.
Is the police department with you on this? Are they behind you on the idea that reforms were necessary?
FREY: The reforms have been a long time in the making. For years people have asked for change. They've asked for a police department that more greatly reflects the community. In other words, they are diverse. They want to serve with compassion and dignity. And I'm so proud to tell you that it's happening. Change is afoot right now. The officers that are coming into this department, they want to be part of the change. They want to get in on the ground level and be an example for so many other cities to follow.
So, yes, we are the city where George Floyd was murdered. We own that. And at the same time, we're going to be the city that makes the difference and makes these necessary changes. And we're all -- we're committed to it. Our officers are committed to it. We're making sure we're going to get this done.
SIDNER: Speaking of the -- the Trump administration, or more so sort of MAGA land, there are some in the far right MAGA land that want to have Donald Trump pardon Derek Chauvin of federal charges. Have you heard of any movement on that?
FREY: Well, here's the bottom line. All of this is political theater. It is political theater that the Trump administration waited until the very week of the anniversary of George Floyd's murder to try to dismiss the consent decree. It would be total political theater also to pardon Derek Chauvin. Because here's the thing, if he was pardoned, nothing would change other than the prison cell he was sitting in. He would get shifted from a federal prison to a state prison, and he would still be behind bars, which is exactly where he should be.
And so, nothing would change. If the president were to go down that route, it would be entirely performative. It wouldn't surprise me because that's what they're all about anyway.
SIDNER: I do want to ask you about what will happen this weekend. Sunday, May 25th, is the day that Derek Chauvin was shown on camera murdering George Floyd. And every year there has been a commemoration. What are you expecting five years on?
FREY: Well, this whole week we have commemoration taking place. Whether that's in George Floyd Square, a number of locations around the city. We recognize that this event happened in Minneapolis. The murder of George Floyd happened here. And it reverberated around the entire world.
But here's the important thing. For us, it wasn't just getting back to the old normal post pandemic, post George Floyd. It -- it's -- we want to blow by that and see true transformation in our city. And our whole city is committed to it. We have so many people that want to be the change and make the difference, to make sure that we're never going back to that spot again.
SIDNER: Mayor Jacob Frey, thank you so much for talking us through this as we, you know, watch and watch your city commemorate the death of George Floyd and remember that time while the city, as you say, is moving forward. Appreciate your time this morning.
FREY: Thank you so much. Our city is coming back. Thank you.
BERMAN: All right, we are following the breaking news out of San Diego where this small plane crashed into a neighborhood there. We've seen pictures. There's really stunning footage of the damage that was done there. What you're seeing right now are live pictures from a news conference we expect to begin very shortly. We will stay on top of this and bring it to you the minute it happens.
BOLDUAN: Thank you all so much for being with us today. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. CNN's "SITUATION ROOM," up next.
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