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Fulton County, Georgia Vows to Fight Trump DOJ in Voter Fraud Probe; DOJ Defends DNI Tulsi Gabbard Being on Site of FBI Raid in Fulton County Election Center; Interview with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT): Congress Scrambles for Deal to Avert Lengthy Government Shutdown; Award-Winning Actress Catherine O'Hara has Died at 71; Trump Threatens Tariffs on Countries Supplying Oil to Cuba. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired January 30, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard raised plenty of eyebrows when she responded at Wednesday's FBI raid of Fulton County, Georgia's elections hub. Agents were executing a search warrant as part of a voter fraud investigation and cameras captured her entering the facility as dozens of agents seized 700 boxes of ballots from the 2020 election. Joe Biden's victory in Georgia included a decisive win there in Fulton County, the state's most populous and reliably Democratic county.

Today, the DOJ defended her being there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: She's not, she doesn't work for the Department of Justice or the FBI. She's an extraordinarily important part of this administration. This administration coordinates everything we do as a group.

And so I think her presence shouldn't be -- there shouldn't be questioned, of course. And that's, that's a big part of her, of her job. And so the fact that she was present in Atlanta that day, you know, is something that shouldn't surprise anybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: John Miller, CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, is joining us now. He's also a former deputy assistant director of national intelligence. John, what is the DNI doing there if they don't have legal authority to conduct or oversee investigations on U.S. soil?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, that is the precise question people inside and outside the intelligence community are asking. Because, Boris, as you know, since the church committee hearings of the 1970s, the U.S. intelligence community, the DNI, which hadn't existed at that time, but the CIA, the NSA, the core agencies have been barred from conducting investigations against Americans in America, on U.S. soil, with the single exception to that is the FBI, which can both collect intelligence and investigate people on, on U.S. soil because of their dual role. So what is the director of national intelligence, whose part of her job is to ensure that things like that don't happen, on the scene leading an FBI search of Georgia election records when her agency has no investigative entity or no investigative authority.

SANCHEZ: What is DNI saying about this appearance?

MILLER: So they are saying, and this is on the record from the office of the director of national intelligence, "Director Gabbard recognizes that election security is essential for the integrity of our republic and our nation's security. As DNI, she has a vital role in identifying vulnerabilities in our critical infrastructure and protecting against exploitation." A DNI official walked me through a number of federal statutes that give the DNI responsibility for protecting critical infrastructure or overseeing the protection of critical infrastructure by component agencies against foreign interference.

[14:35:00]

The irony here is between this DNI, the attorney general and the secretary of Homeland Security, at the beginning of the Trump administration, piece by piece, they kind of dismantled all of the indicators and warning systems we had, whether it was the foreign malign influence fusion cell at the FBI, combining multiple intelligence agencies or gutting CISA over at Homeland Security or getting rid of the, you know, counterintelligence experts in the squad in Washington. They've basically disabled the alarm system.

So part of the concern, Boris, is that the director of national intelligence, who has been one of the main pushers of baseless so far election conspiracy theories, is showing up as the intelligence community in a criminal investigation. That's giving a lot of concern to particularly the Senate intelligence and the House intelligence committees that say they haven't heard testimony from this DNI specifically about Georgia having anything to do with foreign interference.

SANCHEZ: It's notable that she's there in these somewhat unprecedented circumstances of the DNI apparently being involved in what appears to be a domestic investigation, one that is a pet issue to President Trump, and yet she's not present for the operation to remove Nicolas Maduro, the former president of Venezuela, somewhere that you would think the director of national intelligence might be. I wonder what you're hearing from your sources inside DNI.

MILLER: Well, I've been talking to people both inside and outside the intelligence community, particular formers who, you know, believe that there's an element of politics here, which is, you know, her profile has risen and fallen several times in the years she's been in this administration, and that one way to get ahead and curry favor with the White House is to go with the president's favorite issue, which is the elections were rigged if I lost them.

SANCHEZ: Yes, interesting. John Miller, thanks so much for the reporting and the perspective -- Brianna.

MILLER: Thanks.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: It is all but certain that Congress will not reach a funding deal by tonight's midnight deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown because the House is gone for the weekend, and senators are still working on an agreement. But if the Senate passes the package today and the House acts quickly, Congress certainly can lessen any shutdown impacts. The proposal currently on the table would hold off funding for Homeland Security while approving the spending for five other departments.

This would allow Democrats two weeks to seek reforms to ICE and border enforcement, things like demanding agents no longer wear masks, among other things. Today, one Republican senator blamed his own party if a shutdown happens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Recognize that if we have a shutdown, we own it. Republicans own it. You can say whatever you want to, but it's materially untrue.

We have five appropriations bills that could fund the majority of the government and not put it into shutdown just by lifting these holds and living to fight for the issues that I agree with when we finally get on the Homeland Security bill. I agree with some of the things my Democrat colleagues want. I've got other things that I'd like to see in the bill.

But I don't know why I would hold this up when that real debate is on that bill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: We're joined now by Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. Thank you for being with us. And, you know, borders are Tom Homan had suggested there would be a drawdown of agents in Minnesota.

Trump says now, quote, No, no, not at all. Does that change what you want out of this negotiation?

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: We have demands, and I believe they are demands, not requests for reform and restraint in an agency that is out of control. ICE has resorted to physical brutality, acts of violence that are plainly illegal, including causing the deaths of two innocent people in Minneapolis. And our demands, if they are not met, I think would continue to spark anger among the American people.

I'm hearing from constituents about their outrage. And I will vote to deny DHS one penny more at the end of two weeks if these demands are not met. And right now, Brianna, we have a deal.

Republicans need to get their act together. Senator Tillis is absolutely right. It's on them.

They have these extraneous amendments that they are offering at the last moment and holding hostage five departments of government whose budgets are fully funded, and we're willing to go along with it. We avert a shutdown but give us the opportunity to fulfill these demands to reform an agency that is really out of control.

KEILAR: I have met many senators who like to throw amendments there on a bill at the last minute, I will say. Nonetheless, Democrats want to, let's talk about these demands.

[14:40:00]

They want to tighten the use of warrants, these roving patrols, ending those requiring agents to remove masks, to wear body cameras and to enforce a new code of conduct on use of force.

And you do have this willingness on the part of Republicans. Can you explain those things that you're demanding, how those would change the situation on the ground? How would those things, for instance, stop the death of an Alex Pretti or stop the detention of a five-year-old U.S. citizen who is the child of an undocumented person?

BLUMENTHAL: Very simply, Brianna, masks off, body cameras on. Follow the law in recognizing and respecting the Constitution. The Fourth Amendment says you can't break into somebody's home without a judicial warrant.

The sweeps, draconian arrests, mass detentions that are occurring on the streets of Minneapolis and elsewhere right now would be stopped. And there would be accountability for violating the law through holding these agents legally responsible in a court of law, giving victims redress and recourse in a court against their violation of the law. Remember that none of these ideas is novel or unusual.

In fact, every one of them are practices and standards that apply to local police and state police in communities across the United States. But ICE is currently out of control and invading people's home without judicial warrants, kicking down doors, smashing into living rooms, terrorizing children, detaining U.S. citizens without any cause for days, and subjecting them to physical abuse. So the kinds of reforms that we are demanding, I view them as demands.

We can't rely on Donald Trump or executive action. We can't trust his downsizing the force in Minneapolis. We need to impose limits without the quotas for arrests that are driving these abuses from the top down.

Now, remember that just days ago, I disclosed a secret memorandum from the acting director of ICE saying, in effect, don't worry about the Fourth Amendment. Go ahead and break into people's homes even without a judicial warrant. This kind of culture has to be broken and stopped.

That's what we would do through our demands. And if the demands are not met, shut down the agency. KEILAR: So you have Republicans who are in some agreement with you on these issues, on the need to change ICE protocols and tactics. Senator Lindsey Graham says Democrats are, quote, probably right. Here's more of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): There are things being done on the ICE side that a lot of Americans are uncomfortable with. I get that. To my Democratic colleagues, if you want to try to make it more professional, count me in.

If you want to have more accountability, count me in. But your rhetoric, count me out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Are you worried that he's got a point? Are Democrats going too far, calling for the abolition of ICE?

BLUMENTHAL: I am focused on results. I am unwilling to spend another penny on ICE or the Department of Homeland Security if it fails to respect the law and basic constitutional principles. Put aside the rhetoric.

Let's demand action and reform from an agency that is out of control. And let's make it bipartisan.

KEILAR: Let me ask you about that, then, because this funding is at issue. But ICE has a ton of money through the BBB. Was it $75 billion over four years?

So much money. Do you want to see Congress claw back any of that, any existing ICE funds? And if so, how much?

BLUMENTHAL: If ICE and the Department of Homeland Security fail to respect the law and meet our demands for reforms, we should claw back that money. We should reduce the budget. These kinds of reforms would be conditions, even on the great, Big, Beautiful Bill.

I call it the great big betrayal, which is the source of that $70 billion-plus money, establishing, in effect, Brianna, a paramilitary force that is antithetical to all of our constitutional principles. Our founders never would have sanctioned this kind of police state tactics and the force that's been created with so much spending, a fortune, making ICE bigger than most military budgets of countries around the world.

[14:45:00]

So, yes, we should demand that money be stopped, the flow of funds be halted as a condition of obeying these reforms.

KEILAR: Senator Richard Blumenthal, thank you so much for being with us.

BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.

KEILAR: We do have some sad news this afternoon about award-winning actress Katherine O'Hara, who has passed away at 71 years old. We'll have a look back at her life and unforgettable legacy after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: We do have some breaking news into CNN. Award-winning actress Catherine O'Hara has died at the age of 71. O'Hara is best known for iconic roles, so many of them, like Kate McAllister in Home Alone and, of course, Moira Rose on Schitt's Creek.

[14:50:00]

SANCHEZ: And the tributes are now coming in for O'Hara. In an Instagram post, Macaulay Culkin writes of his on-screen mother, "Mama, I thought we had time. I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you, but I had so much more to say. I love you. I'll see you later."

Entertainment journalist Segun Oduolowu joins us now. Sagun, thank you so much for being with us. A stunning loss, not just for Hollywood, but comedy in general. What are you hearing?

SEGUN ODUOLOWU, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: Well, Boris and Brianna, you're absolutely right that this is such a sad day in Hollywood, because Catherine O'Hara was funny in multiple countries. She came from Canada and in the '80s was part of SCTV, a comedy troupe that included John Candy, Rick Moranis, Martin Short, you know, and Eugene Levy, who she would work with numerous times throughout her career. And she was timeless in a way where maybe you knew her from Tim Burton movies like "Beetlejuice," or you knew her from the "Home Alone" movies, or from "Schitt's Creek," or from the Christopher Guest improv movies like "Best in Show," which is still one of my favorite movies.

She touched so many aspects of Hollywood, television, screen, and then worked with people like Seth Rogen on "The Studio" that was on Apple TV and cleaned up at the Emmys. She will be missed. She was immensely talented and just wildly funny.

KEILAR: She was -- I mean, the projects she picked were unbelievable. And I was just watching her on "Home Alone" with my kids over the Christmas holiday. And I was thinking about what an amazing career she's had, because she's kind of -- she was in her prime, you know?

And I just watched her in "Last of Us," and we saw her at the Emmy Awards back in September. I think this is such a shock, because she is someone who sort of was at the top of her game.

ODUOLOWU: Yes, Brianna, you're so correct with her range of films, whether it's an offbeat comedy horror like "Beetlejuice," or it's a family-friendly "Home Alone," or it is the, you know, raunchy kind of, you know, curse-filled Schitt's Creek. She was great in everything. And again, at 71, it seems like it's too young.

We just saw her, like you said, at the Emmys. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with her physically. And you just expected to see her all the time, because she would pop up in all of these amazing projects and steal the show whenever she was in front of the camera.

SANCHEZ: And to that point about nothing apparently being wrong, a statement from her agency said that she passed away at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness. There was nothing really public, right, Segun, about her health being an issue.

ODUOLOWU: You're right, Boris. There was nothing on the radar. There was nothing that we had heard or a recent hospitalization.

It feels as if we were just all kind of waking up Friday, shocked and stunned as the news, you know, broke out here in Hollywood. The reaction was, what, how? How is this possible?

Even in her movie, she always, with the comedy, displayed strength, right, and fun and vitality. So for her to pass away like this, without notice or without any kind of warning, has set us all back on our heels, quite puzzled and dismayed.

KEILAR: Yes, and I do just want to mention that I didn't before. She was preparing to do the second season of "The Studio" for Apple TV. We were going to be seeing her again very soon, and it is sad that we will not.

Segun Oduolowu, thank you so much for being with us.

ODUOLOWU: Thank you for having me.

KEILAR: President Trump targeting Cuba, threatening tariffs against any country that supplies them with oil. We are live from Havana with the latest after the break.

[14:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: President Trump is now ratcheting up pressure against Cuba, declaring it a, quote, unusual and extraordinary threat to U.S. national security, threatening to impose tariffs on any country that provides oil to the island nation. The ultimatum could cripple Cuba, which has already been cut off from its main supply of oil following the recent capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. troops. CNN's Patrick Oppmann joins us now live from Havana.

Patrick, how is the Cuban government responding to this threat?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: Well, not surprisingly, they are firing back and saying this action is illegal, that it is based on lies and calling on other nations to step in as they are facing an increasingly dire oil situation here. You know, according to some analysts, we are just days, if not weeks, from running out of oil here. You're already seeing longer gas lines that can go on for hours, blackouts that sometimes last all day long and can happen throughout the day. So it is really becoming a more and more serious situation for Cubans. This comes, of course, after the U.S. attack on Venezuela that has essentially severed their oil lifeline from that country, and now pressure on Mexico that has apparently caused the Mexican government to cancel some shipments of the oil the Cuban government was expecting of Mexican oil. So at this point, it's not really clear who is going to step in and help Cuba out if Russia or another country would be willing to risk drawing the ire of the Trump administration.

But you're talking about very, very serious tariffs, saying that Cuba is a threat to U.S. national security. And so, you know, if this is not resolved soon, if the negotiations don't.