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Police Piecing Together Clues in CEO's Killing in New York; Musk and Ramaswamy Visit Capitol Hill; South Korea's Political Crisis; Syrian Rebel Forces Capture Strategic City of Hama. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired December 06, 2024 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police released the first clear images of a man they want to question in connection to the murder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has no protection around him. That is just baffling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your money is being wasted and the Department of Government efficiency is going to fix that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're spending money, in our view, recklessly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a moment of crisis, rival politicians united to stop the president's threat to democracy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): If the truth set entered and disrupted the vote of the National Assembly, we wouldn't have been able to lift martial law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Christina Macfarlane.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, a warm welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm Max Foster. It's Friday, December the 6th, 8 a.m. here in London, 4 a.m. in New York.
A flirtatious moment captured on a security camera may have given police a huge clue in their search for the killer of a healthcare CEO in New York. This image shows a man police are calling a person of interest, smiling at a female employee at a hostel that he stayed at before Wednesday's attack. A law enforcement source tells us that whilst he chatted with the clerk, she asked him to lower his face mask.
The man reportedly paid in cash and used a fake ID, so it's still unclear exactly who he is. This new video shows him just blocks away from the scene, apparently walking to the site where he would carry out his attack. The CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, was gunned down on a sidewalk as he was headed to an investor conference.
We have a video of the incident, but we warn you, it is graphic. Police say the gunman waited for Thompson before shooting him point blank in what they describe as a well-planned attack. A law enforcement source also told us the suspect arrived in New York on a bus that came from Atlanta.
After the shooting, he fled the scene on an electric bike. Shimon Prokupecz tracked his next steps.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): The suspect entered Central Park here after the brazen early morning killing. We now know that police have reviewed footage of what appears to be the gunman exiting the park nearby on West 77th Street. And this new video obtained by CNN shows a person police believe to be the gunman riding westbound on West 85th Street.
PROKUPECZ: 7 a.m. video captures what appears to be him on his bike coming around this corner, heading this way. And as you can see in the video, he's not wearing his backpack.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): 18 blocks north, police began to search this hostel Wednesday afternoon.
The NYPD released these images of what they're calling a person of interest checking into the hostel.
PROKUPECZ: Police released the first clear images of a man they want to question in connection to the murder. They say the man stayed here at this hostel in a room with others on the fourth floor.
Police were back here today speaking to people who have been staying here. We're told by the folks who are staying here that they saw the police on the fourth floor. We're also told by hotel management that when you check in to this hostel, they do ask you for ID.
PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Police say employees at the hostel say the man almost never lowered his mask or hood. And a law enforcement official tells CNN the shooter used a fake New Jersey ID to check in a full five days before the murder.
Another new piece of evidence, this video time stamped at 6:15 a.m. shows the suspected gunman leaving the 57th Street subway station just three blocks from the scene of the crime. 30 minutes later, Thompson would be fatally shot. Then there's the words delay and depose found on a live round and a shell casing at the scene. Are they signs of a motive?
Police now exploring whether they are a reference to a derogatory phrase leveled at the insurance industry for denying claims. Investigators also have a water bottle from the shooter left behind at the scene. CNN learned earlier today that it yielded a single smudged fingerprint.
Shimon Prokupecz, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Thompson apparently had no security with him at the time of the shooting. Earlier, one of his former bodyguards spoke to on CNN about that, and he said the timing of the attack was not a coincidence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[04:05:00]
PHILIP KLEIN, FORMER BODYGUARD OF THOMPSON: Two things. Number one, when the event happened, the event happened at 6:30 in the morning. A lot of people say, well, you know, between 6:30 and 7:00.
A lot of people say, well, why is that important? Well, that's shift change for the New York Police Department. So there's not a lot of street officers on the street at that point in time.
Second, I believe just from what I've listened to from news media reports and internet reports, I believe that this man had his schedule. I think this man knew his movements. And I think he posted up what five, 10 minutes before he walked out of that other hotel and walked around the corner and was in front of the Hilton. You know, I think that that's important.
You get somebody in the number one health care organization in the United States of America who is a corporate executive, a high ranking one, as a matter of fact, just sitting on the board of directors, and he has no protection around him. That is just baffling.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's picks to lead his newly conceived Department of Government Efficiency were on Capitol Hill on Thursday. Tech billionaire Elon Musk bringing his son to work. And Vivek Ramaswamy held discussions with House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans.
The speaker says they talked about which federal funds they can reclaim from what the Biden administration is spending in its final weeks. CNN's Rene Marsh has the story.
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ELON MUSK, TRUMP'S PICK TO LEAD DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY: Your money is being wasted, and the Department of Government Efficiency is going to fix that.
RENE MARSH, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Elon Musk arrived on Capitol Hill Thursday touting his young son on his shoulders.
He's co-chair for President-elect Trump's Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE. Vivek Ramaswamy arriving separately for the billionaire duo's meetings with Republican lawmakers.
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Now we're just talking about the art of the possible, kind of the metes and bounds of things that we can do quickly, things that will take a longer time, require enabling legislation.
MARSH (voice-over): House Speaker Johnson setting expectations for the meeting.
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: This is a brainstorming session.
MARSH (voice-over): Musk and biotech entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate Ramaswamy have been vocal on social media about where the government waste is.
VIVEK RAMASWAMY, TRUMP'S PICK TO LEAD DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY: There's a lot lower hanging fruit in terms of waste, fraud abuse, error, program integrity failures that you got to go after first.
MARSH (voice-over): But Thursday was their first real strategy session with Republican lawmakers about where to start and how to cut Musk's goal of $2 trillion in spending, something budget experts across the political spectrum say is virtually impossible.
Seventy percent of federal government spending, not including interest, consists of payments to Americans for programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and more. If those programs are spared, experts expect dramatic cuts to programs like food stamps, home heating assistance, housing aid, food safety inspections, and infrastructure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything is on the table.
MARSH (voice-over): On X, Ramaswamy has mused about clawing back billions in federal loans and grants that the Biden administration is disbursing at a rapid clip to cement his legislative legacy, including a key loan to EV startup Rivian, a rival company of Musk's Tesla.
MARSH: Do you support clawing back federal funds that the Biden administration is pushing out in these final days?
JOHNSON: They're spending money in our view, recklessly and so, yes, we've had a lot of discussions over the last couple of days about what our authority would be to claw some of that back and to stop it.
MARSH (voice-over): It's the first time the two men were seen publicly for their joint mission of streamlining the federal government since CNN's KFILE uncovered past comments of Ramaswamy, calling Musk a puppet for the Chinese Communist Party.
RAMASWAMY: You have no reason to think that Elon won't jump like a circus monkey when Xi Jinping calls in the hour of need.
MARSH (voice-over): The pair will become regulars here on the Hill. Thursday's meeting is the first of many to game out how to dramatically shrink the U.S. government.
MUSK: The future is going to be amazing.
MARSH: Well, on the circus monkey comments, Ramaswamy telling CNN that he made them before he met and got to know Musk. But there are still lots of questions as far as, you know, what these men are proposing and whether they can truly pull it off. And that's why the partnerships that they began forging here on Capitol Hill are going to be certainly very critical for them to get many of their recommendations over the finish line, because it is Congress that decides what gets funded and by how much.
Rene Marsh, CNN, Capitol Hill.
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FOSTER: House Republicans have blocked the release of an ethics committee report on former Congressman Matt Gaetz.
[04:10:00]
Trump's original pick for attorney general withdrew from consideration after persistent reports of sexual misconduct, which Gaetz denied. With Gaetz out of the picture, all eyes are on Trump's pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News host and Army veteran, has repeatedly denied allegations of sexual misconduct.
Despite some calls for him to drop out, Hegseth's attorney says his client is filling out the paperwork for an FBI background check.
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PETE HEGSETH, TRUMP'S PICK FOR U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: I'm not going to back down from them one bit. I will answer all of these senators' questions, but this will not be a process tried in the media. I don't answer to anyone in this group, none of you, not to that camera at all.
I answer to President Trump. I answer to the 50, the 100 senators who are part of this process and those in the committee. And I answer to my Lord and Savior and my wife and my family.
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FOSTER: Well, an article in the New Yorker lays out claims of excessive drinking and misconduct by Hegseth whilst he was CEO of a veterans charity. His attorney calls the allegations outlandish.
Senior White House aides and Biden administration officials are reportedly discussing preemptive pardons for people who may be targeted by Trump after he takes office. According to multiple sources, there's been debate for weeks now over the use of pardons, even for people who haven't been formally accused of any crimes yet.
One source says Trump's legal advisers believe Biden would be setting a new precedent with preemptive pardons, which the Trump team could take advantage of later on to help their own allies. Trump has publicly called for jailing people such as former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney and special counsel Jack Smith, who brought federal criminal cases against him.
The president-elect accepted Fox Nation's Picture of the Year award in New York on Thursday night. During his speech, Trump detailed recent conversations with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, suggesting that his proposed 25 percent tariff on both countries is just the beginning.
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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENTIAL-ELECT: I spoke with Canada and Justin came flying right in because we talked about 25 percent tariffs. That's just the beginning.
I spoke the other day to the president, the new president of Mexico, very nice woman, and we had a very nice conversation, but she said, why are you doing this to me? I said, I'm not. I'm just putting a lot of tariffs on because you're allowing criminals to pour into our country and we can't allow that anymore. And it stopped. It stopped. It was so fast. It stopped.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, now to Seoul, South Korea, by President Yoon Suk Yeol, maybe at the end of his political rope. The leader of his own ruling party is now calling for Yoon to be suspended from his duties. The party leader says he has credible evidence the president tried to use troops to arrest key political figures during his short-lived martial law declaration on Tuesday.
Lawmakers in the National Assembly are fearful he may try the move again. Some are taking turns sleeping in Parliament in case they need to take emergency action. Opposition leaders have scheduled a vote on Yoon's impeachment for Saturday.
CNN's Anna Coren following the latest developments live from Hong Kong.
I mean, this idea of lawmakers sleeping in their Parliament in case the president brings in emergency measures is extraordinary.
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, but they are there to protect democracy. That's why they've been doing it. And that's what they say.
We are yet to hear from President Yoon since that shock declaration of martial law late Tuesday night. There was talk that he might appear at the National Assembly today. That clearly didn't transpire. It's now just gone 6 p.m. in Seoul.
But we know that the main parties have been holding emergency meetings throughout the day regarding that vote to impeach President Yoon. As you say, it's scheduled for tomorrow, 7 p.m. local time. But if the opposition Democratic Party, which holds the majority in Parliament, can actually get the numbers to pass the motion, it could happen earlier, and they need to win over eight votes from Yoon's ruling People Party.
This is no longer out of the question, Max. Following a U-turn by Yoon's own party, we heard this morning from the leader of the PPP, and he said that Yoon must be suspended.
Take a listen.
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HAN DONG-HOON, PEOPLE POWER PARTY LEADER (through translator): Yesterday, I said I would work to prevent this impeachment from passing in order to protect citizens and supporters from damage caused by unprepared chaos. However, considering the new facts that are coming to light, I judged that an immediate suspension of President Yoon Suk Yeol's official duties is necessary to protect the Republic of Korea and its people.
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[04:15:00]
COREN: Now, those new facts, this credible evidence that Yoon had ordered the arrest of key politicians on anti-state charges, including Han, who was just speaking, as well as other members of his own party. And Han believes that if Yoon stays in office, he could declare martial law again. That is why you've seen these lawmakers camping out in the National Assembly.
But look, any notion that this could happen again, it was ruled out by the Special Warfare Commander earlier today, who said he would defy such orders. But look, this is a clear indication that Yoon's own party is now prepared to impeach him.
If you remember yesterday, they were against the vote and quite unified in that decision. But look, Yoon's approval ratings are just through the floor. They're at their lowest point, 13 percent.
Polls found that 70 percent of South Koreans think that he should be impeached. We're also learning that national police have launched an investigation into Yoon and the former defense minister who encouraged Yoon to declare martial law.
Look, there are labor unions on strike. Many people are expected to take to the streets tonight and over the course of the weekend to put pressure on Yoon to resign, or for at least the National Assembly to impeach him -- Max.
FOSTER: We'll see what happens. We'll be reporting on that, of course, tomorrow. Anna, thank you in Hong Kong.
Now, French President Emmanuel Macron is vowing to appoint a new prime minister in the coming days as France's political crisis deepens. Macron went on television on Thursday to address the shake-up in the government and he's resisting calls for his resignation. Macron blamed both far left and far right parties but singled out National Rally Party leader Marine Le Pen, who orchestrated the opposition. Here's part of what he said about Le Pen's party.
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EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): They only think about one thing, about the presidential election, to prepare it, to provoke it, to bring it on. They do that with cynicism if necessary, and a certain sense of chaos.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Macron's speech came a day after Prime Minister Michel Barnier was ousted in a no-confidence vote. Barnier officially resigned on Thursday but he'll play a caretaker role until a new government is appointed.
Still to come, rebel forces are sweeping through Syria, vowing to go all the way to the capital as they infiltrate another major city.
Plus, an exclusive report from CNN's Jomana Karadsheh and a crew who became the first Western journalist to arrive in Aleppo since it was captured by rebels.
And why the U.S. State Department rejects new allegations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Those stories after the break.
[04:20:00]
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FOSTER: Foreign ministers from Syria, Iran, and Iraq are planning to meet in Baghdad today to discuss the stunning rebel offensive that caught the Assad regime and its allies off guard. Opposition forces have now taken over Hama, the second major city they've captured since launching a surprise attack last week. Syria's military says its troops had to withdraw from Hama after rebels entered several parts of the city.
Rebel fighters also freed hundreds of prisoners, saying they were all wrongfully detained. Some residents in Hama are now celebrating the rebel takeover.
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MOHAMMED SABAHI, RESIDENT OF HAMA (through translator): Thank God. We've been waiting for this day for a long time, and we're all coming out on the street. This is the happiest day for us. We were afraid to go out at night. We've been waiting for this.
AHMAD SHRABI, RESIDENT OF HAMA (through translator): Feelings that can't be described. It's been 50 years. We've been suffering injustice and crime and oppression. This is a historic moment, a priceless moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP) FOSTER: This comes after rebels seized Aleppo days ago. They are now vowing to push further south to Homs, the next major city on the road to the capital, Damascus.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh is the first Western journalist to report from Aleppo since the rebels took over. She spoke to some displaced Syrians who are now returning to their hometown for the first time in years, despite fears that the battle isn't over.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are in Aleppo's old city, here by its historic, iconic citadel. And it's really surreal being in Syria's second city, just days after that lightning offensive by rebel forces, where they managed to capture the city in a matter of days. And you look around here, and it seems like business as usual.
Imam Ahmed never left Aleppo. And she says their homes were destroyed. Her children are in Turkey, and she hasn't seen them in years. And she's hoping now that the city has changed hands, that this means that she could see her children again.
Abdo was in Idlib. He's been there since the start of the war. And this is his first time back to a city. He says they trust the rebels who are now returning them to their cities. And he says he's not afraid.
Syrians have gone through so much, and they're resilient. Just in the last few days, people have painted over this with the colors of the free Syria flag. And this is something you see around the city, where people are trying to remove any signs of the Assad regime.
This is the Basil roundabout, named after the deceased brother of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.
One of the first things that people did when rebel forces took over the city of Aleppo was topple the statue of Basil, a symbol of the Assad regime. This is an area where there were fierce battles with regime forces.
[04:25:00]
And since then, in the past few days, there's been an airstrike that killed many people. You can still see the aftermath of that, the blood on the floor here. And speaking to people in the city, this is what they fear.
They fear that there will be more Russian and Syrian regime airstrikes, that they will be back for the city of Aleppo.
Hamad, this is your first time back to Aleppo in 10 years?
MOHAMMED ALI JOUDEH, DISPLACED ALEPPO RESIDENT: Yes, 10 years.
KARADSHEH: Did you ever imagine this moment possible?
ALI JOUDEH: No, actually, no, no. We had in our imagination that we were going to come back. Actually, we had a lot of dreams about getting back to Aleppo, but we didn't actually believe that this moment was going to be true.
KARADSHEH: But are you worried about what might be coming?
ALI JOUDEH: Of course, we are here. All the people here are worried about what's going to happen, because the airstrikes always attacked us.
KARADSHEH: But you can imagine living here again?
ALI JOUDEH: Of course, of course. I love my country. I love my, actually, all of the Syrian place, the Syrian country, our country. We hope it's going to be clear from the Assad regime, all the Syrians, not just Aleppo.
KARADSHEH: Speaking to people here, you get this sense of joy and relief to see the regime of Bashar al-Assad gone, but also there's this apprehension, anxiety, fear of what might be coming. People don't really know what to expect from these rebel forces who've taken over Aleppo.
But most people that we've spoken to say that their biggest fear is what the regime and its allies are going to do. A real fear of going back to the bloody days of the civil war in Syria.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Aleppo, Syria.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Investigators have a potential major lead as they look for the killer of a health care CEO in New York. For the first time, they see the face of the person of interest. In this case, that story just ahead.
