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FBI Director to Resign at End of Biden's Term; Drone Sightings Spark Fear and Frustration in NJ; John Fetterman to Meet with Pete Hegseth. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired December 12, 2024 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

REP. BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS): Strange people appointed by this president who only have as their mission is to keep him satisfied. And the rule of law may or may not prevail. As an individual who's been on Homeland Security since it's an inception, I'm very concerned that the potential for the rule of law is at risk under the next administration.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: You're worried about this administration going after political opponents?

THOMPSON: Oh, absolutely. I take them at their word. Retribution has been a constant comment out of the incoming president's mouth. I've never heard an elected official other than the incoming president talk about retribution.

You know, usually when you run an election, if you win it's over. If you lose, there are certain avenues available to you. But at the end of your debate or dissension, you move on. We are the shining star for every other government in America to try to be like. Retribution doesn't make us look good as a government.

ACOSTA: All right. Congressman Bennie Thompson, the former chair of the January 6th Committee, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it. Thank you, sir.

THOMPSON: Thank you.

ACOSTA: All right. In the meantime, weeks of unexplained drone sightings in New Jersey, as many as 180 per day. Now, there is mounting pressure on Washington to do something about it. We'll explain next.

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[10:35:00]

ACOSTA: We're learning new details about mysterious drones spotted flying over New Jersey. State and local officials who attended a meeting with state police on Wednesday tell CNN affiliate News 12 New Jersey they received some new information about the drones, but the one thing they did not hear is who's behind all of this and why. The lack of information has frustrated some local officials. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN BERGEN, NEW JERSEY STATE ASSEMBLYMAN: Now, I'm legitimately concerned for what the hell is going on. Because that nobody knows.

MAYOR RYAN HERD, PEQUANNOCK, NEW JERSEY: We are literally being invaded by drones, and we have no idea who's doing it and where they're coming from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: All right. And Mayor Sam Morris of Mine Hill, New Jersey joins us now. Mayor, you were apparently in that meeting yesterday with state officials. Correct me if I'm wrong about that. What did they tell you? Mayor, can you hear me? Mayor? It's Jim Acosta. Can you hear me?

MAYOR SAM MORRIS, MINE HILL, NEW JERSEY: I am. I'm not hearing the broadcast.

ACOSTA: OK. All right. We don't have the mayor there. Let's take a quick break. We'll re-establish that connection. Be right back.

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[10:40:00]

ACOSTA: All right. Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, Democrat, is set to become the first Senate Democrat to meet with Donald Trump's pick to lead the Defense Department, Pete Hegseth. The former Fox News host has been making the rounds up on Capitol Hill this week, trying to lobby support ahead of his confirmation hearing.

And CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju joins us now up on Capitol Hill. He's with the Senator. Manu, take it away. What can you tell us?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, thanks, Jim. Yes, we're here with Senator Fetterman. Senator, thanks for talking to me. You're going to become the first Democrat to meet with Pete Hegseth later today. What do you want to hear from him?

SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): Well, we're just going to have a straight up conversation. It's all going to be off the record. It's just going to be, you know, hey, I'm going to meet the guy. And honestly, I've never heard of him before he was nominated. So, it's an opportunity to just have a discussion on a lot of kind of issues. And I suspect there's some things we might agree on in terms of military, whether it's China or Israel, and maybe disagree some perhaps on the Ukraine, but I think it's an opportunity to have a conversation.

I don't really -- I'm not sure why it would be controversial to anybody. If he's the individual who could potentially be the next secretary of defense, I think it's -- I mean, I'm not just the senator for Pennsylvania for my voters or Democrats, it's for all of us. And now, we have received a lot of support calls into our office saying, hey, you know, we will have a conversation. So, I'm just doing my job. I see that.

RAJU: Are you going to ask about all these allegations of misconduct, excessive drinking, sexual assault?

FETTERMAN: Yes. Well, and again, I'm -- of course there's going to be an FBI vet and there's going to be a committee hearing. And all of that is going to happen through that. So, that's why this is just part of a conversation on all of those things.

RAJU: He has denied those allegations. Did you --

FETTERMAN: I've read that.

RAJU: Do you believe those denials?

FETTERMAN: Well, again, I -- it's like I know there hasn't been any formal charges, criminal ones. But it's all one of the things I'm sure that perhaps might come up in that conversation today. Yes. But I am aware that there are some allegations. Of course.

RAJU: Do you think that some of those accusers should come forward publicly and put their name on this and -- or at least he should release one of them from a non-disclosure agreement?

FETTERMAN: No, I really think it's just part of whoever wants to come out or plans to, that's fine. But I believe that's probably going to come out on the FBI vetting and/or in the hearing.

RAJU: There's been some concerns about his qualifications and he was a -- he's of course a military veteran, but you know, he's never run -- something as so significant as a Pentagon. Do you have come in with any concerns about that?

FETTERMAN: I think we've had a conversation -- a similar conversation where it's like when the other side wins, they pick the people. Now, I certainly wouldn't have been in my top 10 choice because I've never -- I wasn't familiar with him at all. So, now, just because that would not be my kinds of choice as some of them haven't been. So -- but that's where we are.

So, if this is the individual that could potentially have this incredibly important role, and this, I think it's responsible for me to be, a senator from Pennsylvania, to have a conversation and to establish, you know, some type of relationship with that individual.

RAJU: Are you open to supporting him?

[10:45:00]

FETTERMAN: What I'm hoping to having a conversation, that's where I'm at. A lot still has to happen before all of that place, where, again, the FBI vetting and the hearing and all these things. So, that's where we're at.

RAJU: What about some of the other controversial Trump picks like Kash Patel or RFK Jr., do any of those give you pause at this point? FETTERMAN: All I am saying is that Democrats or other people can freak out over anyone that was nominated, and I am not that guy. And I'm open to have a conversation for whoever that's -- I mean, especially really important ones. Like yesterday, I met with Representative Stefanik. And I was going to vote for her. And Rubio, another paper people. You know, there are people that we may agree on a lot of things or disagree on other things, but if these people are going to hold these kinds of offices and we are in the business of working and getting along with people that disagree with some of the things we have, and we try to find the things that we can possibly agree on for the best possible outcomes. And I represent Pennsylvania.

And to point out Donald Trump carry Pennsylvania and he's going to be the next president. So, it's all part of the conversation. And that's why I have decided to engage with people that are going to be incredibly important parts of the new administration.

RAJU: And just very quickly. Some folks on the left may say that by doing that you're giving them a veneer of bipartisanship and you guys should be drawing better, sharper contrasts with Trump. What do you say to them?

FETTERMAN: Again, they're entitled to their opinions. But, to me, I don't know why it's controversial to have a dialogue with the people that are going to be part of the next administration.

RAJU: Yes, right. Senator John --

FETTERMAN: But yes, and those individuals can, you know, vent or rant on Twitter. But -- and I'm here to have conversations, and I think I'm just doing my job.

RAJU: OK. Senator John Fetterman who is meeting with Pete Hegseth, the first Democrat to do so, telling us what's on his mind about that very important meeting.

FETTERMAN: Well, wait. Can you talk about the Steelers? They're going to -- the Steelers are definitely beat the Eagles. We agree about that.

RAJU: There may be some pushback from that. Not from me, as a Bears fan, but you know, that's a different story. All right. Jim, back to you.

ACOSTA: I'm a Commanders fan. So, I don't have a dog in that fight. But all right, Manu and Senator Fetterman, thanks for the time. Appreciate it. We'll be right back.

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[10:50:00]

ACOSTA: I want to go back to those mysterious drones that have been sighted over New Jersey. Dozens of them have been seen above cities across the state, raising concerns among state lawmakers and local residents. And Mayor Sam Morris of Mine Hill, New Jersey is with us. Mayor, you were inside a meeting with state police yesterday about all this. What did they tell you? And are you concerned about this? What are the concerns?

MORRIS: Yes, I was in the meeting at the state police headquarters down in West Trenton. They -- the meeting wasn't particularly detailed because they don't -- they said they don't have a lot to tell us. They haven't -- the investigations aren't bearing much detail. But they -- you know, they did tell us what they are trying to do. There is a lot of confusion between state law and federal law. Federal law pretty much override state law on all these issues. But there are various things they're trying to do. Including, I think they're bringing in a piece of equipment today to track these better.

Regarding the question, what are the concerns? It's same concerns as everyone. It's a matter of -- at this point, I think it's a matter of fear. They're creating so much fear and uneasiness in the public that that's -- it's highly inappropriate and it's really something we have to get the bottom of.

ACOSTA: And we want to show our viewers some video that you took of these drones. If we can put that up on screen and if you could tell us what happened. What did you see when you were taking this video?

MORRIS: Yes, last Tuesday night at about 9:30, a resident texted me that there were eight drones over our municipal and school complex. And I went -- I came around here, I'm either very close and came around. And by the time I got here, they had moved east over the east part of mine Hill and over the City of Dover, New Jersey. And the video you're seeing is I'm standing in a field or park called Fireman's Field, where there's very little light pollution and I managed to catch just one stationary drone. I believe it's either two or three moving back and forth in a pattern. And that's that -- I caught that myself last week about 9:30.

ACOSTA: And so, Mayor, I mean, for folks who are just paying attention to this story for the first time and might be asking the question, could this just be a bunch of kids with a drone that they got from their parents for Christmas last year or something like -- we're not talking about something like that, correct?

MORRIS: No, you're talking about large drones. My wife saw one last week that was the size of a car hood, maybe a little bigger. They -- when you look these things up on the internet, they're not cheap. So, it's not like high school kids. Somebody with money is buying these. I'm being told these drones are anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 a piece.

If you -- although, they don't identify the brand of them. But they -- there's too many of them. It's too organized. They're using GPS coordinates to do this scanning or review that they're doing. So, I just generally don't think it's hobbyists at this point.

ACOSTA: And a Pentagon spokeswoman says that this -- there's no evidence that this is a work -- the work of a foreign country or something along those lines. But you have asked the FBI to investigate this. What are you getting in terms of response?

[10:55:00]

MORRIS: We're not -- well, it was only yesterday. So, you have to give them more time to work. I asked Colonel Callahan to ask the FAA to either suspend drone flights over New Jersey altogether or to go into federal court and get an order from a judge to do it. And while that may not figure out who's doing it, it will -- if they're going to resist that, then they're going to be in violation of a court order. And then, you have -- you can get a warrant. You can go after these people.

It puts a little more teeth into it. Because I think everyone's trying to do their best, but they say that the law seems to be a little vague on what they can and can't do. But I know a judge has a lot more power to enforce. So, that's where we asked for the FBI directly. We're not hearing anything from the FBI.

To be honest with you, Jim, I'm not sure this is the FBI's baby. This is FAA. I'd like to see Michael Whitaker from the FAA take a lead role in this.

ACOSTA: Yes, we'll get in touch with them so we can find out. But in the meantime, Mayor Sam Morris, thank you very much for your time. Keep us posted if you see any more of those things up in the sky. Very mysterious stuff. We appreciate it. Thank you.

MORRIS: We will.

ACOSTA: All right.

MORRIS: Thanks for having me on.

ACOSTA: Coming up -- thank you. Coming up, the new evidence that appears to further link the suspect in the deadly shooting of CEO Brian Thompson with evidence recovered from the scene. More on that after a break.

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