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CNN International: Man Believed To Be Missing U.S. Citizen Found In Syria; U.S. National Security Advisor In Israel; Time Names Donald Trump "Person Of The Year". Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired December 12, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.
And ahead on CNN Newsroom, a stunning moment inside a secret Syrian prison. CNN's Clarissa Ward, searching for traces of a missing American, makes a startling discovery behind a locked cell door, all of it unfolding on camera. Plus this --
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SOLOMON: -- President-elect Donald Trump at the New York Stock Exchange, ringing the opening bell. What he is saying about being named Time's "Person of the Year"? And new details on the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO, police revealing what they say directly connects the suspect, Luigi Mangione, to the shooting.
Well, we begin in Syria, where a new reality is taking shape. Days after Bashar al-Assad was driven out of power, rebel leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani says that he will dissolve the security forces that served Assad's regime and plans to close Syria's notorious prisons. Meantime, there is fighting in northern Syria between pro-Turkish and Kurdish factions. The Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of militant groups dominated by Kurdish organizations, says that Turkey and its militia allies are bombarding areas near the Turkey-Syria border.
Syria's new caretaker government says that it is ready to cooperate with the U.S., as the search continues for Americans who went missing under Assad's regime. The interim government says that there are ongoing efforts to locate American journalist Austin Tice who vanished while reporting near Damascus in 2012.
And CNN's Clarissa Ward and her team are giving us an exclusive look inside a secret prison in Syria. They had hoped to find traces of Austin Tice, but instead made this discovery.
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CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Deep in the belly of the regime's Air Force Intelligence headquarters --
WARD: These are English letters.
WARD (voice-over): - -we are hoping to find traces of Austin Tice, an American journalist held captive in Syria since 2012. It's one of many secret prisons across the city. This specific branch was tasked with surveillance, arrest and killing of all regime critics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are all cleaned up.
WARD (voice-over): We don't find any hints of Tice, but come across something extraordinary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't tell, though. It might just be a blanket, but it's the only cell that's locked. Is he going to shoot it?
WARD (voice-over): The guard makes us turn the camera off while he shoots the lock off the cell door. We go in to get a closer look. It's still not clear if there is something under the blanket.
WARD: Is there someone there? Is someone there? Or is it just a blanket?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll get someone. Hello.
(CROSSTALK)
WARD (voice-over): I'm a civilian, he says. I'm a civilian.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's OK. It's OK. It's OK. It's OK.
WARD (voice-over): He tells the fighter he is from the city of Homs, and has been in the cell for three months.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
WARD: OK. You're OK. You're OK. You're OK. You're OK.
WARD (voice-over): He clutches my arm tightly with both hands.
WARD: OK. Does anyone have any water? Water?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WARD: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE). OK. It's water. It's water. OK. OK. OK. You're OK. You're OK. You're OK. You're OK.
WARD (voice-over): We start to walk him outside. Thank God you are safe. Don't be afraid, the Fighter says. You are free. This is the third prison they brought me to, he says, the third prison. After three months in a windowless cell, he can finally see the sky.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
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WARD (voice-over): My God, the light, he says. Oh God, there is light. My God, there is light.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WARD (voice-over): Stay with me, stay with me, he repeats again and again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WARD (voice-over): For three months, I didn't know anything about my family, he says. I didn't hear anything about my children.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WARD (voice-over): The fighter hands him something to eat, barely lift it to his mouth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WARD (voice-over): But, his body can't handle it.
WARD: OK. You're OK.
WARD (voice-over): His captives fled during the fall of Damascus, leaving him with no food or water. That was at least four days ago. I'm shaking. My face is shaking, he says. The rebel tells him there is no more army, no more prisons, no more checkpoints. Are you serious, he says? (Inaudible), Syria is free, he tells him. It's the first time he has heard those words.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WARD (voice-over): He tells us his name is Adil Hurbal (ph), and that officers from the much feared mukhabarat intelligence services took him from his home and began interrogating him about his phone. They brought me here to Damascus. They asked me about names of terrorists, he says. Did they hit you, the fighter asks. Yes, yes, he says. As a paramedic arrives, the shock sets in. There is nothing. Everything is OK. The Red Crescent is coming to help you, this man assures him. You are safe. Don't be afraid anymore. Everything you are afraid of is gone.
Tens of thousands of Syrians have disappeared in Assad's prisons. Up until 15 minutes ago, Adil Hurbal was one of them. He is still petrified.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WARD (voice-over): Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, the ambulance worker reassures him. Every car I got into, they blindfolded me, he says. It is the end of a very dark chapter for him and for all of Syria, but so many ghosts remain.
Clarissa Ward, CNN, Damascus.
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SOLOMON: And a U.S. citizen who had been reported missing in Hungary has turned up in Damascus. Travis Timmerman was found walking barefoot in the streets of Damascus. He tells reporters that he entered the country without permission as a pilgrim and then was promptly detained for several months. He says that he left prison on Monday after armed men broke down his cell door.
Let's get to CNN's Salma Abdelaziz, who joins us now from London. Salma, we've been hearing a bit from Timmerman as well. Give us a sense of what's the latest and what we've heard.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, an extraordinary tale. Syrians found Timmerman essentially barefoot, wandering disoriented in the suburb just south of Damascus. He'd apparently been able to get out of prison with a large group of others after rebels, of course, liberated Damascus, but has been unable to get help since.
I want you to take a listen to his interview with NBC. It gives you a sense of his state of being.
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TRAVIS TIMMERMAN, BELIEVED TO BE MISSING U.S. CITIZEN FOUND IN SYRIA: After that, I turned into the Syrian border illegally. I crossed the mountain between Lebanon and Syria, and I was living in that mountain, and I was seen by a border guard (inaudible). And then that's when I was arrested and I was sent to a Syrian prison of (inaudible).
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ABDELAZIZ: Now, he admits there that he crossed illegally into Syria from Lebanon, and just to clarify, under the Assad regime, anyone that entered Syria via one of its borders would absolutely be picked up by the country's security forces. That's what happened, he says. Three days after he arrived, he was taken to a prison where he was held for about seven months' time, according to him. During those seven months, he says he was treated relatively well. He was given food. He was given water. He was given three bathroom breaks a day, but he says he heard the sounds of people being tortured inside that regime prison every single day.
This will, of course, come as welcome news to his families. There is an industrial scale level of killing that takes place inside of those regime prisons.
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So, to see someone come out alive, surviving in relatively good spirits, absolutely gives people hope. The United States says that it is aware of his case and is providing support as needed.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Truly remarkable. Salma Abdelaziz reporting live for us there. Salma, thank you.
And the collapse of the Assad regime creates a power vacuum in Syria, and U.S. officials want to make sure that it isn't filled by terrorist groups such as ISIS. America's top diplomat, Antony Blinken, is in the region. He held talks in Jordan with King Abdullah, pushing for what the U.S. calls an inclusive transition to a new government in Syria.
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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The focus of our work here is to coordinate efforts across the region to support the Syrian people as they transition away from Assad's brutal dictatorship. What we're focused on is not choosing a path for Syria, but making sure the Syrian people have the opportunity to choose their path forward. I think to succeed and to emerge from the past dominated by Assad, any transitional government has to adhere to certain basic principles.
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SOLOMON: Now, earlier, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli leader says that his country will do whatever is necessary to defend itself against any security threat.
Let's bring in CNN's Jeremy Diamond, who has just been listening in. Jeremy, Jake Sullivan just wrapped up his comments a short time ago. This is likely the last Biden administration push in the region for, among other things, the hostage deal. What did Sullivan say?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the National Security Advisor made clear that he is optimistic about the future progress of a hostage and ceasefire deal. But, he also made clear that while -- that they have been close before when it comes to these negotiations, and so he would not say that a deal will indeed be achieved, but he did say that there is cause for optimism. He explains why he believes that's the case. First of all, he said that the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon may have changed Hamas' position. We've heard that repeatedly, of course, from U.S. and Israeli officials. But, at this moment, Sullivan made clear that he believes that the ceasefire in Lebanon changed Hamas' calculus and made them, as he said, adapt their posture at the negotiating table.
At the same time, he also indicated that there have been some changes on the Israeli side, that the military successes that Israel has achieved in Gaza, as it relates to killing Sinwar, to dismantling Hamas' military structures inside the Gaza Strip, that that may also be contributing to getting the two sides closer, potentially to a deal here.
So, from Israel, the National Security Advisor is now heading to Doha, Qatar, as well as to Cairo, Egypt, where, of course, the two key mediators in these negotiations are based. And he said that his goal is to, quote, "put us in a position to close this deal this month", again, staying clear of saying that this deal can happen, will happen this month, but clearly, making no bones about the fact that these negotiations are at a critical juncture at this time, and that there is the possibility in the air of closing things out. He also made clear that both President Biden and the incoming President Trump are both eager to see a hostage and ceasefire deal, and he doesn't believe that Israel will wait until Trump comes into office to reach that deal.
And lastly, he also offered some progress, a status report, I should say, on those Americans who are being held in Gaza, seven Americans, four of whom have been confirmed dead. He said that the three other Americans are indeed believed to be alive, but the United States wants to get all of them back, those alive and dead, as part of a future ceasefire and hostage agreement. Rahel.
SOLOMON: Jeremy, I mean, we just pointed out there that Sullivan's trip is coinciding with Blinken's strip to the region. What do you make of that? What's the significance of that?
DIAMOND: Well, there is two elements to it. I mean, there is no question that there is a full court press here to try and reach an agreement in the final month of the Biden administration, as it relates to Gaza. But, of course, Syria was also on the table, in particular for Secretary Blinken, as he was in Jordan, but also for the National Security Advisor as he met with the Israeli Prime Minister today. I asked Jake Sullivan about Syria in particular, and about the extent to which Israel is going to continue to strike those Syrian military assets. He said that the U.S. and Israel are in close coordination about the future of any additional Israeli strikes inside of Syria, although he gave no indication that there will be additional ones.
As it relates to the presence of Israeli troops in that Syrian buffer zone, he made clear that Israel -- the Israeli Prime Minister told him that that was a temporary step. How long that temporary step lasts, though, really is the question. The Israeli government has indicated that Israeli troops will remain there until some form of a stable Syrian government can return to its positions on the other side of that buffer zone.
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And of course, we don't know how soon that could happen, and whether the government that's going to emerge in Syria is going to be one that Israel can accept to retake its positions on the other end of that buffer zone. Rahel.
SOLOMON: OK. Jeremy Diamond live for us there on Tel Aviv. Jeremy, thank you.
And here in the U.S. and across most of the U.S., it is still morning, but it has already been a banner day for Donald Trump.
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SOLOMON: Trump there ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange with family members and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance by his side, among others. Now, he was there to help celebrate being named Time Magazine's "Person of the Year", marking his stunning political comeback to recapture the White House. It's the second time that the President-elect has been named "Person of the Year". He also appeared on Time's cover on a number of other occasions.
Let's get more now from CNN's Steve Contorno.
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STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Donald Trump ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange just moments after he was named Time's "Person of the Year" for the second time. Time, on Thursday, also published a lengthy interview with the President-elect, in which he talked about his plans for mass deportation of undocumented individuals, including his plans to use the military. He spoke also about his opposition to Ukraine using long-range missiles in its war with Russia, and as well as his plans to review the pardon cases of the January 6 offenders within moments of taking office.
He spoke at length as well about how he intends to use the advice and counsel of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. when it comes to vaccines. The interviewer asked Trump, if RFK Jr. moves to end childhood vaccination programs, would you sign off on that? Trump responded, we're going to have a big discussion. The autism rate is at a level that nobody ever believed possible. If you look at things that are happening, there is something causing it. Time then asked, so that could include getting rid of some vaccines? Trump said, it could, if I think it's dangerous. Now, I should point out, there is no link between vaccines and autism that has been repeatedly debunked. Back to you.
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SOLOMON: And in Trump's interview with Time Magazine, he also spoke about the economy and how important it is for Americans to be able to buy goods at a reasonable price. But, economists are warning that Americans could end up paying higher prices for everything from autos to avocados if Trump follows through on his plans to slap both U.S. friends and foes alike with higher tariffs. According to research from the nonpartisan Peterson Institute for International Economics, the impact of tariffs would be the greatest on the many goods that the U.S. imports from China. So, think toys, think sneakers. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to ramp up tariffs on Chinese imports to 60 percent if he returned to the White House, although, after he was elected, that figure actually dropped closer to an additional 10 percent.
Let's bring in our Matt Egan, who joins us now from New York with more details. So, Matt, obviously too early to know if Trump will actually follow through on these tariffs. But, if he did, how does this impact consumers?
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Rahel, it's hard to see how massive tariffs would help consumers who are already frustrated with very high prices. Now, to your point, we don't know what's going to actually happen. We don't know who is going to impose those tariffs and how long they be in place for. But, this new research finds that the goods that are most exposed to Trump's threatened tariffs are the ones that we predominantly get from China and then have low tariff rates right now.
So, specifically, we're talking about electronics, think smartphones, like iPhones, machinery, toys, clothing, sporting goods, all of them would be vulnerable to price spikes, according to this Peterson Institute research. Now, footwear is another thing that could potentially go up significantly in price, because we get almost all of the shoes that are sold in the United States from overseas. 99 percent are imported, and more than half of them come from China.
Now, Trump has repeatedly said that he does not believe his proposed tariffs will increase prices. He notes that they had pretty low inflation when Trump was in office the first time and there were tariffs in place. Of course, that was a different period, right? That was before COVID. That was before the inflation crisis. And also, what he is proposing now is just much bigger in size and scope. And so, that's why these researchers say that a 60 percent tariff on China almost certainly will be felt directly by American households. Rahel.
SOLOMON: And Matt, it's not just China, of course. I mean, he has threatened to slap Mexico, Canada with tariffs. I mean, how would that impact American consumers?
EGAN: Yeah. He has threatened, day one, 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and on Canada, the two countries that the United States buys a lot of stuff from.
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And so, these researchers say that there could be price spikes there as well, specifically in items like autos, prepared food, vegetables, fuel. We do get a lot of prepared food from Mexico. In particular, the vast majority of tomatoes and avocado come from Mexico, and these researchers say that tariffs like the ones that Trump has proposed could increase food prices. And Rahel, we know that it is something that Americans are very concerned about, the cost of groceries.
SOLOMON: Yeah. I mean, it's something that he himself spoke about in that Time interview piece, about reasonable grocery prices.
Speaking of inflation and speaking of prices, Matt, talk to us about -- we got some new data on the inflation front, not necessarily moving in the right direction, not the most encouraging report. What do we learn?
EGAN: Yeah. Moving in the wrong direction, Rahel, is the producer prices. This is wholesale inflation, prices that are in the streamline before they come to all of us as consumers. And it showed the producer prices were up by three percent year-over-year in November. That was hotter than expected, and that is actually the highest rate for producer prices on an annual basis since early 2023, and on a monthly basis, it also went the wrong way, doubling from where the growth rate was for prices in October.
So, why is this happening? Well, a lot of this was driven by goods, in particular, food prices. We saw a significant increase for fresh fruit, vegetables, poultry and eggs. Egg prices at the wholesale level skyrocketed more than 50 percent, and that, of course, is being driven in large part by bird flu.
But, I think, as that chart shows, look, we're a long way from where we were two, two and a half years ago, when we had very, very high inflation in the United States, and really around the world. But, it is also clear that some of the progress, Rahel, has really stalled out here, and that last mile of getting inflation back to normal is proving to be a pretty bumpy one.
SOLOMON: Yeah, for sure. All right. Matt Egan live for us there. Matt, thank you.
EGAN: Thanks, Rahel.
SOLOMON: Now, despite Trump's talk of tariffs on the campaign trail, the President-elect has invited China's leader to his inauguration at the U.S. Capitol next month. The incoming White House Press Secretary confirmed reports that an invitation has been extended to Xi Jinping. She framed it as an example of Trump's willingness to have dialog with leaders that may be America's adversaries or competitors. The Chinese foreign ministry would not comment on the invitation on Wednesday. Now, if President Xi were to attend, it will be a major move in relations between the two countries.
And outgoing President Joe Biden has commuted the sentences of some 1,500 people and pardoned 39 individuals. Mr. Biden, who controversially pardoned his son Hunter earlier this month, has been under growing pressure to act before he leaves office. The White House called Mr. Biden's action the single biggest day of clemency in modern history. Sources tell CNN that the nearly 1,500 individuals were placed on home confinement during the COVID 19 pandemic and were found to show a clear commitment to rehabilitation. The 39 people being pardoned were convicted of non-violent crimes. The President says that more pardons could be coming in the weeks before he leaves office.
And still ahead for us, police in New York say that they can connect the suspect in the murder of a healthcare CEO to the Manhattan crime scene. We'll take you inside the investigation, and we'll speak with a former FBI agent who will help us break down the latest developments and what they could mean to the case against Luigi Mangione.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. The mother of the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder suspect reported her son missing to police back in November. That's according to a law enforcement official, who says that she told San Francisco authorities that she hadn't heard from her son Luigi since July. Meanwhile, police in New York say that they have evidence linking Luigi Mangione to the murder scene. New York Police Department says that they have a positive match between the ghost gun that Mangione had in his possession and shell casings at the crime scene. And a law enforcement source tells CNN that Mangione had a spiral notebook that included what's described as a to-do list to facilitate a killing.
Now, despite what police are saying, Mangione's attorney attempted to cast doubt on investigators' claims.
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THOMAS DICKEY, ATTORNEY OF LUIGI MANGIONE: The burden of proof is always on the government. OK? So, again, people forget that he and any other person charged with a crime is presumed innocent. That means we start off square one with the presumption of innocent, of him being innocent, and the rest then follows and then we challenge the evidence and contest it and battle it out in court where it belongs.
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SOLOMON: And police are revealing other evidence that they say links Mangione to the crime scene.
Here is CNN's Brynn Gingras with the latest.
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BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While Luigi Mangione sits alone in a Pennsylvania jail cell, police say they now have crucial connections between the 26-year-old and the Manhattan crime scene.
JESSICA TISCH, NYPD COMMISSIONER: First, we got the gun in question back from Pennsylvania. It's now at the NYPD Crime Lab. We were able to match that gun to the three shell casings that we found in Midtown at the scene of the homicide.
GINGRAS (voice-over): The NYPD Commissioner also confirming what CNN first reported, Mangione's fingerprints match evidence found where UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down a week ago.
TISCH: We're also able, at our crime lab, to match the person of interest fingerprints with fingerprints that we found on both the water bottle and the Kind bar near the scene of the homicide.
TISCH: Sources also telling CNN, a to-do list on how to carry out a killing was found in the pages of a spiral notebook, along with notes justifying the plan, suggesting what could be better than, quote, "to kill the CEO at his own bean counting conference."
LUIGI MANGIONE, ACCUSED KILLER OF UNITEDHEALTHCARE CEO BRIAN THOMPSON: It's completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people. It's lived experience.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Investigators are also working to track his whereabouts days, weeks, months before the murder. A hotel clerk telling ABC, Mangione tried to check into this Altoona, Pennsylvania hotel before his arrest.
JOHN KUKLIS, HOTEL CLERK: There was somebody that checked in. And the officer goes, did he have a mask on? Did he ever take a mask off? Comes back. No, he never did take the mask off. He says, I'll be down in five minutes to talk to you. We pulled it up on surveillance and insurance stuff. They go, yeah, that's him.
GINGRAS (voice-over): In February, Mangione traveled to Japan and met Japanese poker player Obara Jun, who tweeted about having lunch with him in Tokyo. A month later, it appears the 26-year-old went backpacking in Thailand and told a fellow traveler he was in between jobs and was planning to return to the U.S. in June. He stopped hearing from him in July, according to Reuters. Mangione's neighbor in Hawaii says he ran into him three or four months ago after not seeing him for a long time.
CHRIS KWOCK, NEIGHBOR IN HAWAII: He was a nice guy. He said, hi. We rode the elevator a couple of times, always smiling. Really good. I just asked him where he has been. And for like, six months, he was, like, on the main line, like, he just said, medical stuff.
GINGRAS (voice-over): Then this summer, it seems as if Mangione fell off the grid as concerned friends reached out. I haven't heard from you in months, one friend commented on X.
GINGRAS: And more about that missing person's report filed by Mangione's mother, a source telling CNN that she told police she did it because she tried calling her son's personal phone, his work phone, where he was working at the time, and everything was going to voice mail. And she said she was worried about him, but she was not worried that he was a danger to himself or to others.
Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: All right. Joining us now to discuss this is CNN Law Enforcement Contributor Steve Moore. He is also a retired Supervisory Special Agent for the FBI. Steve, great to have you. Brynn just sort of laid out all the evidence that the NYPD says that they have, that they say directly connects the scene to Mangione.
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How significant is it, whether it's the gun or the fingerprints? How significant is this for the prosecution?
STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR, & RETIRED SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT, FBI: This is pretty immense for the prosecution. The entire case has all been wrapped by the evidence so far. And the deal here is that the attorney for Mangione is saying, I'm going to go in and challenge the evidence. What's interesting is he is saying that without seeing any of the evidence officially so far. So, the plan is not to accept the evidence. They say, when the facts are on your side, argue the facts. When the facts are not on your side, argue the bringer of the facts, or the evidence of the facts. So, their plan is very obvious.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Let's actually play, for our audience, that clip where the defense lawyer from Mangione casts doubt on some of the evidence. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICKEY: I still haven't seen that evidence. Lawyers need to see evidence. Those saying you have something and getting that admitted into court are two different things. The -- and in fact -- so, what we're talking about is fingerprint evidence and some ballistics. Those two sciences, in and of themselves, have come under some criticism in the past relative to their credibility, their truthfulness, their accuracy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: So, Steve, to your point, I mean, he hasn't seen it yet, and he admits that, but he sort of gets to the point that the whole science of using fingerprints, these whole sciences have had credibility issues. Do you think that's going to hold up in court? Or is that -- I mean, he is his defense lawyer. Is that sort of what he has to say at this point?
MOORE: That's -- I'm guessing he must have to say that because he knows he can't believe that's true. Fingerprint science has been around since the 1920s and 1930s. The gun ballistics are kind of a gold standard on these things. If they are in any way, shape or form compromised, it's only because of the arguments of defense attorneys, not from the science itself. And I get that he hasn't seen the evidence, and that's legitimate, but he is going to see the evidence, and he is not going to enjoy it.
SOLOMON: I want to switch gears, because we have you, FBI Director Christopher Wray now announcing that he will be resigning at the end of Biden's term. That's three years before Wray's term ends. But, of course, as President-elect Trump has nominated Kash Patel for the job, Steve, is that the right move for Wray to step aside?
MOORE: Well, whether it's the right move for Wray or the FBI is obviously a hard question. But, it may be the best move for the FBI because the President-elect has the power to remove him once he is inaugurated. And so, it's just avoiding a fight, essentially, which would kind of politicize the FBI even more.
SOLOMON: Yeah. It's interesting, because I know you've said that there are some agents who believe that the department has become more political, whether it's Jim Comey and Hillary Clinton's emails or events as of late. Does this sort of feed into it, though, sort of bending to Trump's desires for a new director? Why not make Trump fire Wray?
MOORE: I think the fight itself, in Wray's eyes, is not worth the possible outcomes. And I don't think you solve a politicization problem by just changing polarity, going from one side controlling it to the other side controlling it. So, I think there is a lot to be seen on how a new director would change things and what they would do. The agents out there, I can tell you to a person wants somebody who to be director who is committed to the FBI, and not simply to a particular administration. SOLOMON: And then before I let you go, as a former member of the FBI,
does it bother you at all the way the FBI is now being viewed, the way the FBI has been politicized, the way -- just sort of even internally, the morale, does it bother you at all?
MOORE: Well, yeah, it does. It does sting a little bit. But, it was actually, when I was an active agent, it was a little bit easier, because you had your job to do. And as I've said before, if an agent in Los Angeles sees their phone ringing and the area code of the caller is 202 in Washington, they generally don't even like to pick that up because it's somebody getting involved with their cases.
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Cases are decided on facts and not on politics. And so, it -- while it does bother the agents, there is always somebody in the government criticizing the FBI for what they're doing or how they're doing it, whether it's the left or the right, it just goes in waves on which side is upset with you at that point.
SOLOMON: OK. We'll leave it here. Steve Moore, great to have you today. Thank you.
MOORE: Thank you.
SOLOMON: All right. Still to come, America's top diplomat weighs in on Israel's military strikes in Syria. We'll take a closer look at Israel's actions and the uncertainty that lies ahead. Plus, the massive Malibu wildfire rages on. We're going to take a look at the chances of the weather offering some help for firefighters. Details, straight ahead.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.
The families of Americans missing in Syria could have fresh grounds for hope after the rebel uprising that swept away a dictator. The new caretaker government says that it's ready to cooperate with U.S. authorities trying to locate those who banished under Bashar al- Assad's regime. It says that efforts were being made to find the American journalist, Austin Tice, who vanished while reporting near Damascus in 2012.
Meantime, there is fighting in northern Syria between pro-Turkish and Kurdish factions. The Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of militant groups dominated by Kurdish organizations, says that Turkey and its militia allies are bombarding areas near the Turkey-Syria border.
And amid this time of political instability, U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is in the region. He held talks in Jordan with King Abdullah, pushing for what the U.S. calls an inclusive transition to new government in Syria. America's top diplomat also says that the U.S. is talking with Israel about its recent military actions in Syria. This week, we have seen hundreds of strikes on targets in Syria. Israel says that the aim is to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of extremists.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more now from Jerusalem.
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DIAMOND (voice-over): In the dead of night, Syrian naval ships going up in flames. At daybreak, this is all that remains of the Syrian fleet at Latakia, after Israel launched a wave of strikes intended to destroy the strategic arsenal of the newly deposed regime of Bashar al-Assad, Israeli missile ships fired the fatal blow at Latakia.
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Many more were carried out by Israeli jets. Altogether, nearly 500 strikes since the fall of Assad regime.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (Interpreted): We have no intention to intervene in Syria's internal affairs, but we certainly intend to do everything necessary to take care of our own security.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The Israeli Prime Minister says the strikes are aimed at preventing the Assad regime's strategic and long-range weapons from falling into the hands of radical Islamists. Syria's rebel leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known by his moniker Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, previously led Syria's al-Qaeda affiliate, and while he has struck a more moderate tone, there is still considerable uncertainty about what this new Syria will look like.
Israel Ziv, a retired Israeli general, says Israel has long prepared for this scenario.
MAJ. GEN. ISRAEL ZIV (RET.), ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: To be honest, we have those plans for over a decade. It took, like, I think three days to refresh those plans and refresh the intelligence to make the decision and to go for a very big operation.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The Israeli military estimates that the operation has destroyed 70 percent to 80 percent of Syria's strategic weapons, including jets and attack helicopters, crews and ballistic missiles as well as air defense systems. It also struck Syria's chemical weapons depots.
ZIV: The strategy now behind the strikes is about taking off future potential threats that can be shot back at us.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Israel has also sent ground troops into Syria, capturing a 155-square-mile buffer zone that has separated Israeli and Syrian troops for half a century after Syrian troops abandoned their posts. But, Israel is also capturing strategic points beyond that buffer zone, a move it insists is temporary. Israel's actions drawing criticism from its neighbors --
AYMAN SAFADI, JORDANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (Interpreted): The aggression that Israel conducted against Syria and occupying this land is a violation and a breach of international law and an unacceptable escalation.
DIAMOND (voice-over): -- and the United Nations.
GEIR PEDERSEN, U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY TO SYRIA: We are continuing to see Israeli movements and bombardments into Syrian territory. This needs to stop.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Israel very well may, having already accomplished what it set out to do.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
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SOLOMON: And here are some of the other international headlines we're following for you today.
South Korea's President has lost the support of his own party, as he fights to keep his job. President Yoon Suk Yeol has been facing calls to step down after he briefly imposed martial law last week, a declaration that was quickly overturned by lawmakers. The ruling party initially opposed an attempt to impeach him, hoping that he would step down, but it changed course after the President made it clear he was not resigning. Lawmakers could hold a new vote to oust him as early as Saturday.
An investigation into French soccer star Kylian Mbappe has been closed in Sweden due to a lack of evidence. In October, Swedish media reported that authorities were looking into suspicions of rape after the player visited a night club and stayed at a hotel in Stockholm. But, on Thursday, prosecutors released a statement saying that the investigation was closed. Mbappe has always denied any wrongdoing.
And Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is expected to have a second surgery today to treat bleeding on his brain. He had an operation on Tuesday which drained the fluid. The emergency surgery added to health concerns about the 79-year-old President, but his doctors say that he did not suffer a brain injury and is doing well after the first operation, with no complications.
And still ahead for us, the drone mystery over the state of New Jersey, why some residents and others are raising concerns.
We'll be right back.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. Two attorneys and a former election aide to Donald Trump are expected in New York's U.S. state court this hour. They're charged with forgery over their alleged plans and a plan -- their alleged roles in a plan to submit false paperwork claiming that Trump won the state of Wisconsin in the 2020 election. Now, four years ago, Trump lost Wisconsin to Joe Biden by some 20,000 votes.
CNN's Marshall Cohen has the latest on the case.
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MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: There is a big hearing today in Wisconsin, where three Trump allies are having their initial appearance in court. They are facing charges in connection with the 2020 fake electors plot. I know it's almost 2025 now, but we're still talking about 2020 because these cases are still ongoing.
So, these charges were filed by the Wisconsin Attorney General, who is a Democrat, and there are three Trump allies who are in legal peril here. There is Ken Chesebro, the architect of the fake electors plot. There is Jim Troupis, who was one of Trump's 2020 campaign attorneys in Wisconsin. And there is also Mike Roman, a Trump 2020 campaign official. Remember, this was about the fake electors. They organized a plan for Republicans to sign fake certificates that Trump then tried to use to overturn the 2020 election when Congress met on January 6th to tally up all of the real electors. So, this was a seven-state plan, but today's hearing is about Wisconsin, one of the states where the Trump campaign tried to pull that off in 2020.
Today is just an initial appearance. They are expected to plead not guilty. But, of course, I should point out that these are state criminal charges. Yes, Donald Trump is going to become the President next year. He will be in charge of the Justice Department, but that's for federal crimes and federal cases. He can't order the DoJ to shut this down. And also, he can't pardon these defendants because these are alleged state offenses, not federal offenses. So, while Donald Trump ascends to the presidency and his legal clouds are lifting, there is still serious legal trouble for these three allies in Wisconsin and dozens of others across the country who have been hit with similar charges.
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SOLOMON: All right. Thanks to Marshall Cohen there.
And accusations are flying over weeks of mysterious drone sightings across the U.S. state of New Jersey. Many of the drones have been captured on video, like this one, zig-zagging across the sky, and described as bigger than the size of a normal drone. One congressman is claiming that Iran is the source, although the Pentagon is pushing back.
Gary Tuckman reports.
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GARY TUCHMAN, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Questions abound about what these moving lights in the sky are, but there seems to be certainty about what they are not. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It definitely wasn't a plane because it was too
low, and it was also going back and forth and then forwards and backwards.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Mark Taylor is the mayor of Florham Park, New Jersey.
MARK TAYLOR, MAYOR, FLORHAM PARK, NEW JERSEY: They look like a small car to me. Their wing spans are probably six feet across.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): What they appear to be are drones, clusters of unidentified drones flying much lower than a plane would.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the creamy part is not that it's just a drone that they're so large.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): In New Jersey's Ocean County, sheriff's deputies took their own video of the drones.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We saw something flying a little low. So, we took some video of it, and not really sure what it was, definitely something flying low and fast.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Lower, faster and larger than a recreational drone, says the deputy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was coming our direction. It spun around 180 degrees, went back out the other way, then it kind of looped around and then took off past us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Planes, they have a white tail light coming from them, and each wing has a different color, whether it be red or green. Whatever it is, it's different.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Understandably, there is concern. The drones are occasionally flying near military facilities.
[11:50:00]
But, the Pentagon knocked down this social media post. New Jersey Republican Congressman Jeff Van Drew who claimed an X that the drones are, quote, "possibly linked to a missing Iranian mothership."
SABRINA SINGH, DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: There is not any truth to that. There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there is no so-called mothership launching drones towards the United States
TUCHMAN (voice-over): But, it's all still a mystery. Homeland Security and FBI officials in New Jersey have just met with state and local lawmakers. They and the state's governor have stressed the drones do not appear to threaten public safety. Nevertheless --
TAYLOR: People are calling myself, my home. It's just -- it's one of those things where they are alarmed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's definitely something, and we're just going to be looking into it a little bit more to see if we can figure it out.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Gary Tuchman, CNN, New York.
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SOLOMON: Meantime, firefighters are hoping to get a major wildfire in Southern California under control now that weather conditions are improving. Strong winds that were fueling the Franklin Fire since Monday have since eased up a bit, and there could be some wet weather also heading their way.
CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam has the forecast.
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DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, it certainly won't be a deluge of rain with the oncoming cold fronts that will impact Southern California today and through the course of the weekend. But, we will take whatever we can get. The firefighting efforts in and around the Franklin Fire is still ongoing, including from the skies. You can see this rotor wing helicopter dropping an incredible amount of water on embers that are towering several stories into the air. This fire burned so hot at one stage that it was altering the weather in and around. The fire, just incredible.
So, when we talk about the potential rainfall, it is going to be marginal at best. So, I don't want to get anybody's hopes up, but we will take what we can get, and here it is. The incoming cold front will bring not only a change in the wind direction, but the small chance of light sprinkles in and around the Malibu region. It quickly moves eastward, and then another approaching cold front by the weekend will bring yet another chance of cloud cover, cooler temperatures and perhaps some more moisture into the atmosphere as well. And I tell you why that's important in just one second.
Some impressive containment numbers. Remember, yesterday, at this time, we were talking about zero percent containment with the Franklin Fire. So, they're gaining some marginal ground on this fire, but the winds are changing direction, and this is important for the firefighting efforts on the ground. We no longer have the Santa Ana winds coming from the Northeast up and over the mountain ranges towards the coast, speeding up as they do so. We're actually going to see more of an onshore component to the winds in and around Los Angeles and Ventura County. And what this means is that it will actually take some of the moisture from the Pacific Ocean, and increase the relative humidity and dew point across southern California. We will take that as well, because that will help slow the progress of a fire.
You could see the browns changed over to more green. That represents more relative humidity in the atmosphere with the first cold front that comes through, and then watch the secondary cold front by Saturday. It will approach the region, bring another change in the wind direction and also more cloud and an increase in the relative humidity as well.
Again, not much precipitation out of the sky, but we will certainly take what we can get at this stage.
Back to you.
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SOLOMON: All right. Derek, thank you.
And still ahead, the richest person in the world just got even richer. How Elon Musk's fortune grew by tens of billions of dollars in just days, after the break.
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SOLOMON: Before we go, one more thing. A new milestone in wealth for the richest person in the world. According to Bloomberg, Elon Musk is now the first person ever to have a personal fortune of more than $400 billion despite the fact that a court last week blocked his record- breaking Tesla pay package of $101 billion. Now, he did partly make up for that, thanks to a share sale that drove the value of his rocket company SpaceX up to roughly $350 billion. And according to The Wall Street Journal, his artificial intelligence company, or startup, xAI, well, that also more than doubled in value in November, thanks to a new funding round surging to $50 billion. It's a lot of money.
Speaking of money, we know your time is money. So, thank you for spending some time with me today. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is coming up next.
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