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FBI Director Wray to Resign at End of Biden's Term; Mysterious Drones over New Jersey Raise Concerns; Upcoming California Rain Could Help Firefighting Efforts. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired December 12, 2024 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: It's Thursday, December 12. Right now, on CNN THIS MORNING.
[05:59:53]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER WRAY, FBI DIRECTOR: The right thing for the bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: By the "Wray-side." FBI Director Christopher Wray, leaving office before the president-elect has a chance to fire him.
And --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I got to know President Xi of China, a very strong man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Cordially invited? Donald Trump reportedly extending an invitation to his inauguration to China's Xi Jinping.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were able to match that gun to the three shell casings.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Mounting evidence. The new findings from police that could place the CEO murder suspect at the scene of the crime.
And --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I go over. I'm speaking out now. It's kind of spooky.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Mystery in the sky. Drones swarming over New Jersey. What officials think could be behind it.
All right, 6 a.m. here on the East Coast, a live look at the White House. More lit up than normal, actually, at this 6 a.m. hour.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.
FBI Director Christopher Wray bowing to the pressure, announcing he'll resign when President Trump takes office, avoiding for himself, for the bureau and for the country, another moment like this one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news: President Trump firing FBI Director James Comey. The bombshell announcement, something that was completely unexpected to anyone, came just moments ago.
A stunning development. It is lost on no one that the president just fired the man who is leading an investigation into the Trump campaign and whether it colluded with Russians.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: That Russian investigation angering Trump in his first term. After he left office, Wray's FBI searched Mar-a-Lago. You see it there. They were looking for these classified documents that they allege Trump took with him when he moved from the White House back to Florida.
That search, a significant part of why Trump has turned on a director he appointed. Listen to how Trump praised Wray then and why he disdains him now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I believe that we will have a great FBI director. I think he's doing really well, and we're very proud of that choice. I think I've done a great service to the country.
Well, I can't say I'm thrilled with him. He invaded my home. I'm suing the country over it. He invaded Mar-a-Lago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: "He invaded Mar-a-Lago."
Wray will leave with three years left on his ten-year term. He says that he wrestled with whether or not to resign for weeks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WRAY: In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau
deeper into the fray while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important in how we do our work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: So that brings us to Trump's pick to replace Wray, Kash Patel, who has been on Capitol Hill courting Republican senators, making the case that he's best qualified to reform, their words, a bureau he has said should all but be dismantled.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KASH PATEL, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I'd shut down the FBI Hoover Building on day one and reopening it the next day as a museum of the deep state. And I'd take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to chase down criminals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Patel has said he'll go after the president-elect's perceived enemies, including in the media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATEL: We will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government, but in the media. Yes, we're going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections. We're going to come after you, whether it's criminally or civilly. We'll figure that out. But yes, we're putting you all on notice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: The Kash Patel that we saw on Capitol Hill yesterday, a bit more measured.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATEL: We look forward to a very smooth transition, and I'll be ready to go on day one. The senators have been wonderful, and I look forward to earning their trust and confidence with the advice and consent process and restoring law and order and integrity of the FBI.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Our panel is here: Alex Thompson, CNN political analyst, national political reporter for Axios; former federal prosecutor Elliot Williams; Kate Bedingfield, former Biden White House communications director; and Mike Dubke, former Trump White House communications director.
Welcome to all of you. Thank you very much for being here this morning.
MIKE DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Good morning.
HUNT: Elliot, let me start with you. I don't want to lose sight of the remarkable situation here, because we have gone from that. I mean, we showed that shocking moment, right? It shocked the country when he fired --
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes.
HUNT: -- James Comey. This, it's more -- it's more like a whimper.
WILLIAMS: It is more of a whimper. And it's hard to understand why he did it and the wisdom of doing it.
Now, none of us are Christopher Wray. None of us are in his head. And quite frankly, it's a personal choice from someone who's at -- either at or about to be in the middle of a major maelstrom with the former -- with the former, and soon-to-be president.
[06:05:09]
What I think is a little hard to get my head around is this idea of doing this to avoid dragging the FBI into the fray, which were his words. It's going to be there, regardless of whether he is the head of the FBI or not.
And it's not clear that this action actually eliminates all of the attention that the FBI is going to be getting. In many respects, it may have made more sense for the rule of law and, quite frankly, for the reputation of the FBI, for him to stay and actually get fired by the -- by the president.
KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.
WILLIAMS: Let the -- bait the president into firing him and demonstrating how it's the president coming in, wanting to politicize the FBI.
BEDINGFIELD: Yes, it does in some ways sort of normalize. I mean, we're talking about the difference between the reaction to the firing of Comey and now sort of Wray going out with a whimper, and not a bang.
It does, you know -- and again, I understand his -- you know, to your point, I understand the personal desire to not endure what would be a pretty hellacious public moment.
WILLIAMS: Right.
BEDINGFIELD: But it does have the effect of kind of normalizing what Trump is doing here. And that seems dangerous to me.
DUBKE: Let's be clear. I mean, he was going to fire Wray regardless.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
BEDINGFIELD: I agree, but --
DUBKE: So, to your point, yes on both of those sides. And it was an unusual step for him to also nominate Patel before they have Wray either resigning or stepping aside as he has.
So, it's creating a -- I think for the American people, though, you know, the ten-year term is not an -- is not a usual term of office. It's probably not that well-known. And so, it's -- I'm -- I'm sure for the casual observer, it's -- it's expected that a new president comes in.
WILLIAMS: Ooh, hard, hard, hard, hard, hard disagree on that point.
DUBKE: OK.
WILLIAMS: Yes. And here's why. It's the point of the ten-year term is to ensure that every FBI director --
DUBKE: Oh, I know what the point of it is.
WILLIAMS: -- traverses presidential administrations and to get these kind of political questions out of the role of the FBI.
DUBKE: Same with the Federal Reserve.
WILLIAMS: Right.
DUBKE: But my point is, I think for the casual American observer --
WILLIAMS: Yes.
DUBKE: -- this seems like a normal course of business.
BEDINGFIELD: But in some ways, that's why it seems so dangerous. I mean, we don't -- I would argue we don't want it to seem like a normal course of business.
I mean, this is the president, the incoming president, saying, I don't like the person who is heading up the -- the FBI because I believe he's going to -- you know, he has pursued me in the past when I have, I would say, taken criminal action. And I'm concerned that he's going to hold me accountable in the future.
So, we don't -- I don't think we want that to be normal.
DUBKE: And to both of your points, Wray resigning makes that an easier transition.
WILLIAMS: Yes. No.
DUBKE: I mean, I'm in agreement with you this morning.
WILLIAMS: Well, you're always in agreement with me, man. No, no.
And last thing, just about this idea of what the American people understands and doesn't understand about the FBI. I think what's unfortunate is that many people have in their heads that, well, the FBI is Mar-a-Lago and invading Donald Trump's home.
What people do not realize is that the FBI is the only law enforcement agency that has both counterterrorism and law enforcement functions.
And this idea -- you know, Kash Patel talking about, it's the deep state. And we need to get these people out of Washington. There's a national security element to -- to this sort of political fighting that's not good, certainly not good for law enforcement, but also for American national security.
HUNT: Alex -- sorry. Go ahead.
ALEX THOMPSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I was going to say, in Trump's mind, all that matters is that Mar-a-Lago raid.
WILLIAMS: Mar-a-Lago.
THOMPSON: I mean, like, and I don't think it's -- it is sort of extraordinary that you have a president fire two FBI directors. And I think the only really person that did that.
But I don't think it's really surprising. After the Mar-a-Lago raid, it was over.
DUBKE: There was no way for them to -- to -- he invaded his home. That's the way Trump interprets it. And that's the bottom line.
HUNT: Alex, is there a sense that there -- that the -- Republicans are not the only ones that have been upset about how the FBI has dealt with political candidates and political issues.
I mean, obviously, Hillary Clinton was -- I mean, she in many ways blames Jim Comey for losing the election. And if you talk to her staffers, they will -- they will tell you that, as well.
Is there any truth to the idea that, I mean, Kash Patel and others have pushed that the FBI has gotten overly involved in political candidates and campaigns in recent decades, and not just in one direction, necessarily?
THOMPSON: The FBI has, in some ways, a terrible history with dealing with political figures.
Go back and read some of the stuff that just came out, like the last few years, about the extent of the -- you know, the -- the way that they were monitoring and spying on Martin Luther King Jr. in the -- in the 60s.
And then obviously, you know, there are still a lot of Democrats, including, you know, I think Bill Clinton even recently told people that he's still upset about James Comey.
HUNT: I don't think they'll ever get over it.
THOMPSON: In their view, they see James Comey as, like, election interference in the very final days of that election. So, yes, I think there's plenty of -- there are plenty of examples of
the FBI from both -- from both parties being upset about their involvement.
[06:10:09]
DUBKE: I will -- I will add this from my time in the White House. It was during the Comey firing. And the pure power politics of that firing really came home for Trump.
Because he thought when he was moving forward with this, that Schumer and Pelosi, because of what Clinton said and -- and the views of Democrats about the election in 2016, he thought they'd applaud this. And when he made those calls, and they turned that around and made this all about Russia and made this all about pure power and politics, that, I think, was an eye-opening episode for the president.
WILLIAMS: One really, really quick point just about -- we've got to be careful about equating sort of the different levels of discomfort with the FBI across presidential administrations.
With respect to the Clinton stuff, it was one person's decision, Jim Comey's, to give that press conference in the weeks before election day.
When you're talking about the Mar-a-Lago search, you are talking about a search warrant that had gone through a federal judge through different levels of the FBI.
Now, folks don't have to like it, and folks can have concerns about whether we are politicizing documents and whether it was really obstruction of justice.
But you're talking about one action of a man, Jim Comey, versus a law enforcement action that people just didn't want to happen. And Donald Trump sees it as an invasion.
So, it's just not -- to me, it's not apples and apples.
HUNT: Yes. No, it's a great point to end on.
All right. Coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING, reshaping Syria after the fall of Assad. Congressman, Air Force Colonel Zach Nunn here to discuss.
Plus, exceptionally poor timing. One of President Biden's former top aides blasting his rollout strategy around pardoning his son.
And unexplained reports. Drones flying over New Jersey, sometimes hundreds a day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not hearing from people who see a bigfoot. We're not seeing -- we're not hearing from people who see the Loch Ness monster. We're hearing from really smart people. (END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- was that these drone statewide are hovering and appearing to be surveilling New Jersey's critical infrastructure.
First, sightings were reported in November 18th, about three weeks ago. Since then, sightings have happened every single night, dawn to dusk. The frequency range from reportings anywhere between 4 to 180 sightings per night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: The big question this morning: why New Jersey? Someone or something seems to be super interested in the state that is famous for, among other things, Bruce Springsteen, "The Sopranos," and Snooki.
Governor Phil Murphy saying that there is no known threat to the public, but officials are still pushing for answers as these aircrafts' proximity to some military facilities has raised concern.
One lawmaker going so far as to place blame on one of the United States' adversaries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JEFF VAN DREW (R-NJ): I'm going to tell you the real deal. Iran launched a mothership probably about a month ago that contains these drones. That mothership is off -- I'm going to tell you the deal. It's off the East Coast of the United States of America. They've launched drones. Everything that we can see or hear. And again, these are from high sources. I don't say this lightly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: The Pentagon was quick to shut down that theory.
Let's bring my panel back. In fact, let's watch what the Pentagon said about this. We have what the deputy spokeswoman had had to say. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SABRINA SINGH, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there's no so-called mothership launching drones towards the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: OK, so there we have it. But like, the reality is there are, like, SUV-sized drones flying over people's houses. And it's -- I mean, it's -- it's wild. BEDINGFIELD: Yes. I mean, it's reasonable to want answers to the
questions. It's, I think, irresponsible to fearmonger about supposed Iranian motherships.
And I think, you know, if the congressman is trying to divert, you know, blame or point fingers because he doesn't have answers, it's just -- it's just an irresponsible way to go about it.
But completely reasonable to want answers to these questions. There should not be, you know, massive drones flying in the sky that we have no idea where they're from or what they're doing.
THOMPSON: I was going to say, if you talk to defense officials, we are now in an era of, you know, drone warfare, drone surveillance that is going to just keep continuing and escalating. You're going to see more of these sort of things, not just in the sky of the United States, but the skies over, all over the world.
WILLIAMS: You know, my home state of New Jersey is famous for Bruce Springsteen and Snooki, but also "War of the Worlds," if you remember, the 1939 radio broadcast that had aliens coming from Mars in Grovers Mills [SIC], New Jersey.
But, you know, to all of these points, it's entirely -- we're all on edge a little bit about --
BEDINGFIELD: Fear mongering over on this side of the table.
WILLIAMS: -- about flying over the state of New Jersey, but --
BEDINGFIELD: Got it, got it.
DUBKE: And the Hindenburg, right. Got it.
WILLIAMS: A lot of things happen in New Jersey, including where all your tomatoes get grown.
But needless to say, it's -- no, I think it's -- people have every right to be alarmed by things that are of this size. It's a national security, homeland security question.
Perhaps the Defense Department is certain that there's no Iranian ship. Who knows? I think it's the kind of thing that gets resolved in a matter of days.
DUBKE: I do think it's fair, though. After three weeks of -- of SUV- sized drones over people's homes, that you would expect your public officials to take some action, rather than just speculating on television. That's the part that I don't understand.
[06:20:11]
Like, this is a -- if they are that large, and they're not just the little ones that people fly over their kids' soccer games --
WILLIAMS: Crossovers. No. DUBKE: -- it seems like there should be some U.S. or, you know, the mounted police in New Jersey --
BEDINGFIELD: If there were --
WILLIAMS: Hey, hey.
DUBKE: -- to be taking some action.
BEDINGFIELD: Look, if there were concerns, I mean, look, when -- when the Chinese spy balloons were over the United States, I was in the White House at that time. And there was action taken to determine what they were, their origin.
So, again, you know, I don't know, maybe I'm now irresponsibly fear mongering, just like Congressman Van Drew. But, you know, if there were reason to have national security concerns about this, then the White House, the Pentagon would be taking those steps.
Now, maybe were going to learn in a few days that they are. But, you know, there are also companies like Amazon and others who are using, you know, drones to deliver packages. I mean, there are a lot of private sector explanations, as well.
WILLIAMS: And it's kind of all the more reason why the intelligence apparatus in the country should not be politicized, because they'll be looking into it.
BEDINGFIELD: Sure. True.
HUNT: Is there a reason if you're in the White House, you're talking about this, to withhold from the American people information about this being a potential national security threat or not?
BEDINGFIELD: There -- no. There's no reason to withhold information about it being a national security threat. There would be reason, potentially, to withhold some detail if you are trying to assess, you know, if you're having back-channel conversations with the nation that's deploying them. There are there are reasons to not always put every single card you have on the table.
But given the media attention this is continuing to get, if -- if the White House, the Pentagon has information that they can provide to the public to provide explanation, it is generally -- it is generally beneficial to put a tamp -- to tamp down the fear mongering, rather than to allow it to -- to mushroom.
HUNT: All right. Fair enough. I guess we'll -- we'll stay tuned.
So, coming up after the break, a fire in California burning through more than 4,000 acres.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My concern was the wind, because when it's very windy, the fire is unstoppable. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Residents are not yet in the clear, even with rain possibly on the horizon.
Plus, how Meta is trying to mend fences with the new president-elect.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:26:40]
HUNT: All right. Welcome back.
A scary scene caught on video in Texas. A dashboard camera captured the moments just before an airplane crashed on a busy highway.
The plane ended up hitting three cars, and four people were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The FAA is still investigating the cause of the crash.
All right. Time now for weather. The Franklin Fire in California burning through more than 4,000 acres. Two storm systems expected to move through California by the weekend. That could help firefighters contain the blaze, but some Californians, still on edge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're still not all sleeping at the same time. Everybody is taking shifts and on watch. At night, it's very spooky and very eerie, because you can look out the window and see -- see what might go up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Let's get to our meteorologist, our weatherman, Derek van Dam. Derek. Well, you know, California really needs more rain. What's going on across the country?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, there is the lake-effect snow machine kicking into high gear, which I'll get to in just one moment. But we've got to give the moment to the firefighters here.
We've got nearly 2,000 personnel still battling the Franklin Fire 24 hours a day, seven days a week since this fire started a couple of days ago.
And this is just incredible visuals coming from the firefighting efforts here, with the rotor wing aircraft depositing water on some of these flames and some of the embers here that are just several stories high.
Just incredible to see what the effort that is going on in southern California. There are making some progress: 7 percent containment; still about 4,000 acres burned. But as you mentioned, Kasie, there is the potential, at least, for
some wet weather and higher humidity levels that will bring in some relief for the firefighting efforts.
The winds have relaxed. Now we're noticing more of an onshore component to the winds here. So, that's going to bring in an increase to the humidity levels. And that, of course, means that firefighting efforts will become a little bit more easy and not so erratic with the Northeasterly Santa Ana winds.
Now, speaking of the snow that you talked about, well, the lake-effect snow machine. Downwind in those favored areas across the Great Lakes could pick up 1 to 2 feet, especially in those favored regions from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.
There's the snowstorm. And just a broader picture here. You can see we have cool weather dominating much of the Eastern two-thirds of the country. It is winter -- Kasie.
HUNT: Indeed. All right. Derek van Dam for us this morning. Derek, thank you. Appreciate it.
VAN DAM: OK.
HUNT: All right. This just into CNN. A missing American found in Syria. We're going to have new details in our morning roundup.
Plus, new evidence could place Luigi Mangione at the scene of the crime of the UnitedHealthcare CEO's murder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, CBS'S "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": An independent journalist posted what is reportedly Mangione's manifesto, which is just 262 words.
That's not a manifesto. That's a mini-festo. He could have just made it a Yelp review: "American health care sucks. One star."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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