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CNN Exclusive: Sources Say Watchdog Finds Hegseth Risked Endangering Troops by Sharing Sensitive War Plans on Signal; DHS Launches ICE Operation in New Orleans; DHS Wants 5,000 Arrests "Or Beyond" in NOLA ICE Operation; Grisly Searches & Bloody Items Shown in Brian Walshe Murder Trial. 3-3:30p ET

Aired December 03, 2025 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: ... court appearance next week. Investigators revealed that he has since undergone a medical assessment and is being constantly monitored by an officer. The stolen item is reportedly worth more than $19,000. And police say that at this point it has not been recovered. We know what that means.

And a private Chinese space firm successfully sent a rocket to orbit but failed in its historic attempt to re-land the rocket booster. It was the maiden test for the Beijing-based firm, LandSpace. While it was unsuccessful, the trial does put the company at the head of the pack within China when it comes to reusable rocket technology.

And a new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Social Chat Fallout: Sources tell CNN that a Pentagon watchdog report found that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's use of a messaging app to share highly sensitive attack plans risked endangering American troops.

Plus, a long-awaited immigration operation begins in New Orleans. Some restaurants and businesses there are shutting down out of fear. But the man heading the crackdown says that is all part of his plan. We're going to speak with a city leader about what he's hearing from his community.

And there's a new court filing from Jeffrey Epstein's convicted associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, why she's planning to ask a judge to release her from prison.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming your way right here on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: Breaking news on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. This hour, CNN is learning more exclusive details about the failures that a Pentagon watchdog reportedly found after a months-long investigation into Hegseth's use of the Signal messaging app. According to four sources, the Inspector General concluded that Hegseth risked compromising sensitive war plans, which could have harmed American troops when he used the app for a group chat before an attack on Houthi rebels. Sources say the report also concluded the Secretary shared information with unauthorized people and failed to preserve those communications, which is a requirement under federal law. CNN's Kristen Holmes is live at the White House walking us through

this new reporting.

Kristen, what more can you tell us?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, just moments ago, we got our first response from the White House. And they say that as of now, President Trump is standing by the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth. So, I'm going to pull up this statement for you. It's the first time we've heard from the White House in response to our reporting on this report.

It says, "The review affirms what the administration has said from the beginning -- no classified information was leaked, and operational security was not compromised. As demonstrated by the success of Operation Midnight Hammer and President Trump's numerous foreign policy accomplishments this term, the President's entire national security team is doing great work advancing American interests while protecting sensitive information. President Trump stands by Secretary Hegseth," which, of course, is probably the most important line in all of this, given that it comes at a time where Hegseth has come under increased scrutiny. Not just over this, but also about those strikes against narco terrorists. There's been a lot of lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, who have been questioning Hegseth's judgment.

So, now let's go back to this report. Sources are telling our Zach Cohen and Jake Tapper that essentially what this report found is that Hegseth risked compromising this sensitive military information, which could have, as you noted, put troops in danger and also endangered the mission -- the mission as a whole. Now, one of the things I want to point to here, because you hear the White House saying essentially that no classified information was shared. And as far as this report states here, it says that it is unclear if Hegseth properly declassified the information before sharing it with other top Trump officials.

So, that was not actually made clear in this report. It was something that they couldn't come to a conclusion on.

The other part of this is that when we talk about what was actually in this chat, one notable moment here is the level of detail that Hegseth was giving in this chat about these strikes as they were about to happen, saying this, "this is when the first bombs will drop."

Now, again, there is no indication as to whether or not he declassified this information ahead of time. We were told by sources that this material had been marked as classified at the time it was sent, but that was not concluded in this report. Now you have the White House saying that none of it was classified, that they've been protecting information, and again, most importantly, probably, that President Trump still stands by Secretary Hegseth.

SANCHEZ: Kristen Holmes, live force at the White House, thank you so much. Brianna?

KEILAR: We're joined now by former Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh.

Sabrina, thank you so much for being with us.

Is this what you expected, this IG report?

[15:05:00]

SABRINA SINGH, FORMER DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Yes, I think what the IG report is laying out, and hopefully we'll see a redacted report -- a full report put out tomorrow, this is exactly what we expected, that Secretary Hegseth in fact put our troops' lives at risk. And that's because any details about an operation before it happens are held at the highest levels of classification, secret or above.

And so, what he did by putting the -- the -- what we would call the tick tock of the actual operation into an unclassified signal group text and saying when the bombs are going to drop, what he did was put our pilots' lives at risk. Because if that chat had been intercepted by Iran, by the Houthis, they could have repositioned their assets and they could have shot down our pilots.

KEILAR: He did not sit for an interview, right?

SINGH: Yes.

KEILAR: So, he didn't speak with the IG in the course of this investigation, he just corresponded in writing. Is that -- do you understand, is that unusual?

SINGH: That is highly unusual, and I'm -- I was -- I was a bit shocked by that. Because of course in an -- in an in-person interview you're going to get more details from that person, be able to elicit more responses. Written questionnaire, you know, it -- it can be very short responses. And I think what's important here is any IG investigation, from the withdrawal of our troops in Afghanistan to any other IG report that under my tenure, it's always been in-person interviews with people that were involved in that case. So, it is -- it is unusual that we didn't see Hegseth sit for that.

KEILAR: So, I want to ask you about this September 2nd follow-up strike that's really at the center of another controversy involving the Secretary of Defense right now. The day after the strike, Hegseth told Fox that he watched the operation live. Yesterday he was asked, did he see that follow-up strike. Did he know there were survivors? He said no, that he'd actually, it seems like he saw the initial part and then he had to leave and go for meetings. He learned of the rest hours later. What do you make of that explanation?

SINGH: I think what's important here of every explanation that comes out of this administration is the story keeps changing. First, they're denying the Washington Post reporting that there was a second strike. Then they're confirming it from the White House podium. Now it's, you know, trying to distance himself and put the blame on Admiral Bradley. I think you're continuing to see Hegseth trying to shift blame onto someone else. KEILAR: Can I ask you about that? Do you see that as shifting blame to

Admiral Bradley or -- because, you know, as they point to him as the official who -- the official who ultimately made the decision on the follow-up strike, he's pretty well respected, including by folks who may not hold that same respect for Hegseth. Does that sort of change the dynamic? Is that -- is that to blame him or is that to maybe challenge some of the critics by saying this was his judgment and someone you respect?

SINGH: Authority can be delegated down to the commander in charge of the operation. But at the end of the day, the Secretary is in charge and an operation like this, striking that drug boat, the September 2nd one, I think it was one of the first strikes that this administration did. That is going to be heavily watched and heavily scrutinized. And the Secretary himself said that he watched it all from his office.

So, the story keeps changing. And I think you've seen the secretary, when things go really well, he embraces it. It's all about him and this administration. Look at Operation Midnight Hammer, which was a success. And then now with these strikes, this is obviously a problem. It is something that's going to be looked at as a potential war crime. You're seeing the Secretary distance himself and possibly shifting the blame to the person who was in charge of that operation.

KEILAR: Admiral Bradley ...

SINGH: Yes.

KEILAR: ... will be meeting with leadership of the Senate Intel Committee tomorrow. What should they be asking him?

SINGH: I think they're going to have to ask for exactly what happened in that room. Walk us through the timeline, walk us through the directives that the secretary gave you. And most importantly, that committee is going to have to see the visuals of what happened on each strike. What you are seeing, I think it was probably some type of MQ-9 or -- or aircraft that was overseeing the strikes that can pick up some of the audio. They're going to want to get that as well to understand what exactly happened that day and then who is to blame. And, of course, they're going to want to talk to Secretary Hegseth as well.

KEILAR: Sabrina, great to speak with you. Thank you so much, Sabrina Singh.

And still to come, mass chaos and confusion in New Orleans as the Trump administration's immigration crackdown begins there. A local leader joining us to discuss how the city's responding.

Plus, Republicans narrowly avoiding a nightmare scenario in Tennessee, but it was far from a dream outcome. How Tuesday's special election could impact the state's electoral future.

And then later, it's a vaccine that's been given to newborns for the past three decades, and now it could be scrapped. We'll have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:13:59]

SANCHEZ: President Trump's expanded immigration crackdown is now underway in Louisiana. DHS confirmed it launched Operation Catahoula Crunch, named for the Louisiana state dog, this morning. CNN obtained this video of ICE agents earlier today detaining and questioning someone. The legal status of a man at a Home Depot of some 28 miles west of New Orleans in the suburb of LaPlace. And New Orleans is also bracing for the arrival of federal agents and eventually the National Guard as well. The city's mayor-elect and first Latina to lead City Hall tells CNN she fears DHS tactics will target people of color.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HELENA MORENO, (D) NEW ORLEANS MAYOR-ELECT: What they're seeing on TV and reports that they're seeing is not that Border Patrol is going after the most violent criminals. You know, it's not -- that's not what they're seeing. What they're seeing is what appears to be racial profiling of brown people and then going after these individuals and treating them like they are these significantly violent offenders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:15:01]

SANCHEZ: We're joined now by Oliver Thomas. He's a New Orleans City Council member, a former Democratic mayoral candidate as well, and the chair of the council's criminal justice committee.

Thank you so much for being with us, sir. The -- the incoming mayor, of course, concerned about profiling. Is there anything in place now to prevent that in your community?

OLIVER THOMAS, JR., NEW ORLEANS CITY COUNCILMEMBER: Oh, no, and she should be concerned. And rightfully so, congratulations to her for at least letting our community know that there is some concern. We shouldn't have raids or have posses that invade our community to do roundups. We want the most violent people, whether they're illegal immigrants or whether they're from our communities, we want them off of our streets. But surely there has -- there has to be a better coordinated effort and a way to do this without treating us like we're Dodge City or some part of the Wild West.

SANCHEZ: We heard in similar situations in Charlotte, for example, that there had been a noticeable decline in student attendance at school. I think in -- in Charlotte, it dropped by like 15 percent on a given week when these operations were taking place. I -- I imagine that you have concerns not only about schools, but businesses as well.

THOMAS: Yes, one of the things we talked about early on when we saw what was happening in other parts of the country, we talked -- about -- even many folk -- conservative folk who are involved in -- in our economics and our business community, why are they raiding job sites, why are they shutting down projects across America without coordinating with local officials.

Surely, our government knows who these illegal immigrants are, the ones who are rapists, domestic violence, the ones who are murderers or robbers who are killing people, you can't tell me that they don't know who they are, that they can't coordinate with state and local officials and go apprehend those people. You know, this isn't the Wild Wild West. We don't need roaming posses and the mayor-elect is correct.

People don't see it as an effort. In many cases, there are large parts of the community who don't see it as an effort to get the most violent people off the street. They see it as an effort to round up one of the most vulnerable populations. And in many cases, especially when you look at New Orleans, where would we be post-Katrina without much of our immigrant population of people coming from around the world to help us rebuild. It just doesn't seem like the best way to do it.

SANCHEZ: Talk to us more about that because a lot of folks aren't quite as familiar with the history of New Orleans when it comes to the impact that these migrants have had. There's a sense of appreciation for them.

THOMAS: And -- especially here, you know, our brothers and sisters, I'll never forget there was a group from Jamaica, a raid in their group, many of our Hispanic brothers and sisters who were skilled laborers. While people were displaced, they were here helping us do more remediation, rebuild critical infrastructure, repair homes and commercial infrastructure.

So, they -- they were and still are a vital part of our community. I'm sure that there's a better way to do it. There's a better way for Border Patrol and ICE to coordinate with our police department, to coordinate with the state police, to coordinate with local officials to identify who these so-called violent offenders are and go apprehend them without shutting down work sites, without shutting down, within many cases, with our infrastructure is still a recovery here.

SANCHEZ: The FBI and Louisiana State Police are launching this joint effort to deter assaults on federal officers and also to prevent attempts at obstructing them in this process of enforcement. I wonder if you were worried potentially about incidents like that sparking some of what we've seen in Chicago, for example.

THOMAS: I mean, absolutely. First of all, people attacking federal agents and federal workers and people who have been told to do their job, threatening them with bodily harm, and in many cases with potential violence and loss of life, that's not the right way to do it either. But that's the response you're getting because these are looked at as raids. It is looked at as, in many cases, the most vulnerable black and brown populations are being assaulted and they're roving posses.

I mean, you know, this isn't "Gunsmoke." We don't have Marshall Dillon. We have local law enforcement authorities. To me, it should be easy to coordinate with them to talk about how do we go and -- and apprehend the most violent criminals, the ones who are hurting us, whether they're homegrown or illegal immigrants.

[15:20:06]

There's got to be a better way to do it.

SANCHEZ: Councilman Oliver Thomas, Jr., thank you so much for the time.

THOMAS: Thank you guys, man. Bless you.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

THOMAS: And happy holidays.

SANCHEZ: Same to you, sir. So, flight records, Uber receipts, chilling internet search history, what we're learning from day three of the Brian Walshe murder trial. Some stunning details when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:25:05]

KEILAR: Happening right now, court is back in session in the grisly murder trial of Brian Walshe. He is accused of murdering and dismembering his wife, Ana, the missing mother of their three young boys. The Massachusetts father admits to dumping his wife's body, but insists that he did not kill her. There was some very disturbing evidence shown today, including this video from a forensic scientist of items recovered from dumpsters near the home of Walshe's mother. CNN correspondent Jean Casarez is with us now live.

Jean, tell us what you're hearing in court today.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Brianna, what a hearing and seeing, right? This trial just keeps building and building and building. And the basis of the facts, according to the prosecution are that once law enforcement got his cell phone and they were able to get a warrant to get a cell phone tower pinging, they wanted to see where he'd gone in these days before he was arrested. And they found that he had gone around the community dumping trash bags into the dumpsters, black trash bags.

And so, they decided we've got to find out what is in those trash bags. Let's show everybody what the jury just saw in the courtroom, because those bags were found. They were dumped out and law enforcement collected these items. You're seeing, hold that picture right there, you're seeing those are bedroom slippers of Ana Walshe. There were two different pairs. That is Ana Walshe's bathrobe right there. And there's red and brown stains on all of them. That's a towel, red and brown stains. I think we're going to find out that this is blood.

The other pair of those bedroom slippers is in that other picture. We also, I think, have pictures of -- of some of her clothes, her boots, her keys. Now, that car, that is his car. And there were red, brownish stains on the driver's floorboard, on the visors, in the central console. There were a whole bunch of, there you go, plastic gloves right there, the type you put on when you don't want any fingerprints. They use them in hospitals, obviously, for other reasons. And then in the back seat, there were also reddish-brown stains with the seat moved down.

Now, look at that. Those are tools. You've got hacksaw. You've got snips. You've got shears. You've got a hammer. Those were all found also in those black plastic bags. And the majority of these items were just entered into evidence before the jury in that courtroom right there. I've got to show you that. The hunter boots, those are Ana's boots. Ana's black jacket. There was a bracelet in the left pocket of that black jacket. You're going to see a Prada purse. It's next to the boots right back there. You're going to see her COVID card back there.

So, many items of Ana's were thrown out, along with a bathrobe and slippers. And -- and you can't wear both of them at the same time. So, why were they all thrown out? Now, before this took the stand today, it was a Cohasset Police officer that went to the door of the home. He was really the first officer to talk with Brian at his home to find out what's going on. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OFC. GREGORY LOWRANCE, COHASSET, MA POLICE: I exited my cruiser and approached the side door of the residence.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then, what happened?

LOWRANCE: I was met by the resident of the house, Mr. Brian Walshe. He wanted to file a missing person report for his wife.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was his demeanor?

LOWRANCE: He was calm, collected. He contacted her workplace and they had not heard from her. And he had not heard from her in a few days. She -- he had tried to call and text her and also was reaching out to friends and co-workers in the D.C. area.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And did he say whether or not this was typical behavior?

LOWRANCE: It was not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Now, we know that this was a lie, but the defense is saying that he may have dismembered her. He may have misled police. That story was a lie, but he did not murder his wife. This murder case continues.

KEILAR: All right. We know you'll be watching it. Jean Casarez, thank you so much.

Voters in Tennessee delivering a message to both parties before next year's midterms. Why Tuesday's special election was a win for Republicans, but also a warning. Plus, new this hour, Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine

Maxwell, wants out of prison. We'll have details on her new plea to a judge after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)