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CNN This Morning
Lawmakers Push For Answers From Feds On New Jersey Drones; Ceasefire Talks Between Israel and Hamas Gaining Momentum; CNN Goes Inside Syria's Infamous "Slaughterhouse" Prison. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired December 13, 2024 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:33]
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: It's Friday, December 13th.
Right now on CNN THIS MORNING:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): I've been a little frustrated. There hasn't been enough transparency, letting people know what's happening.
REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-NJ): The public has a right to know what all these drones are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Drone drama. The growing mystery over the skies of New Jersey, what the government is and is not saying about them.
Plus, building a case. Detectives armed with search warrants now looking for key evidence against the CEO assassin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: My goal will be to put us in a position to be able to close this deal this month.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: A final push. The Biden administration could be closing in on a Gaza ceasefire deal before inauguration day.
All right, 5:00 a.m. here on the East Coast, a live look at the Capitol Dome on this Friday morning. We made it to Friday.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.
Eyes on the skies. Lawmakers ramping up pressure on the federal government as questions mount over the origin of the unexplained drones that have been hovering over New Jersey.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): They should be shot down if necessary because they're flying over sensitive areas.
BRIAN BERGEN (R), NJ STATE REPRESENTATIVE: The whole government, state police, Department of Homeland Security, the governor, they need to take this way more seriously.
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): It's a bit embarrassing that given the length of time and the number of sightings that we don't have information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: The Federal Aviation Administration says the sightings began last month, with some people describing the aircrafts as big as bicycles or small cars. One New Jersey mayor telling residents the mysterious drones seem to be surveilling the state's critical infrastructure. They have also been spotted near a U.S. military research facility and over President-elect Donald Trump's golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Those sightings, prompting the FAA to issue temporary flight restrictions, and according to the associated press, the coast guard said multiple low altitude aircrafts were spotted near one of their vessels, but they weren't seen as an immediate threat and didn't interfere with any operations. One New Jersey congressman pointing fingers at foreign adversaries.
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REP. JEFF VAN DREW (R-NJ): These drones very well could be launched from a ship. It could be hundreds of miles out at sea. These types of drones go much greater distances. These, again, are something that we normally don't see in the United States. So there is a real possibility. Could it be China? Absolutely. Could it be somebody else? It sure could.
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HUNT: The Biden administration shutting that down, insisting there is no threat to the public.
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JOHN KIRBY, NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER: We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus. The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are investigating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: CNN military analyst, the retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton joins us now.
Colonel, always grateful to see you. Honestly, there is a giant discrepancy between what people can see with their own eyes in New Jersey and what the White House says is going on.
Now, obviously, as this has spiraled, we've seen more social media posts where you can say, okay, actually that was an airplane or that was a helicopter. But there also, the state police have told lawmakers in New Jersey that there are drones, that when they are approached, they shut their lights off.
It's clear that there is something going on here. And the White House seems to be saying, no, there isn't. What -- what is true? What is going on here? And what do you think is the most plausible explanation?
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yeah. Good morning, Kasie. Always great to be with you.
So, one of the things that people have to keep in mind is that there are so many different types of drones out there, and it is certainly possible that some of them are flying over New Jersey. Now, one of the things that could be is that there is a company that is testing a new delivery method, you know, like an Amazon or a FedEx or some company like that, possible. But then --
HUNT: Could they say that? I mean, could they just come out and tell us like, hey, were Amazon, we're Walmart, like, don't worry.
LEIGHTON: Like, yeah. And they should and they should. If there is something like that. Absolutely. But the other thing is this, you know, when you look at the flight path that some of these flying objects will call them for, I have taken its a if they are actually surveilling the infrastructure of New Jersey military areas, I -- you know, the president, the president-elect place at Bedminster, then that's the problem.
[05:05:03]
And we need to know if those are foreign assets or some other asset that is doing something that they shouldn't be doing. So this is one of those areas where the publics help really should be solicited, as opposed to, you know, putting it off to the side and saying, you know, you don't believe your own eyes. And that's -- that's really the critical issue here. We, you know, the government needs to be responsive to the people, not basically doing what they what they say.
So this is a -- there are several technical reasons for saying this. There are vehicles, drone vehicles out there, including a prototype flying car that are made by Chinese companies.
Now the question then becomes one of range. The plausible that something like that could actually be flown over New Jersey. Certainly, couldn't be launched from China, as far as we can tell, based on the technologies that exist right now, is an object of that size. Probably wouldn't make it from China all the way to New Jersey without some kind of a stop for maintenance, refueling, and, you know, and all of those kinds of things.
But it is possible for something to be launched from a diplomatic compound, for example, of a nation state that is not necessarily friendly to the United States.
So those are the kinds of things that could be the case. Not saying they are, but it's certainly possible that the foreign state is using this as a way to collect data. These are the same types of targets that they attack in cyber attacks, and its one of those areas where we need a bit more transparency so the public can actually help with these sightings. And then we can decide with the government, of course, deciding whether or not to take these out or to let them do what they do and collect the data that they're getting.
HUNT: Yeah. I mean, so can I ask you -- I mean, I think people there are a lot of New Jersey lawmakers who are saying, shoot these things down, right? Why haven't we been able to capture one of them?
LEIGHTON: Yeah, these are, you know, it's difficult to capture these things while they're in flight. And that's that really would be the goal, like we did with the balloon, for example. It wasn't captured in flight, obviously, but it was shot down off the North Carolina coast.
A lot of people say, okay, that's that was bad. You shouldn't have let it fly all over the country in that particular case, from an intelligence perspective, it actually was a good decision to let that balloon fly where it did, because then we knew what the Chinese were interested in, and we were able to not only gather the data that they were trying to collect, but also we were able to when the balloon was finally shot down, determine what kind of equipment they were using to collect information.
So that's from an intelligence perspective. You want to kind of reverse engineer what these devices are made of and how they are actually functioning, especially from a communications standpoint. One of the interesting things, Kasie, about this is that there were reports that there was no radio transmission for these -- these drones. I'm not sure if that's entirely accurate. It would be really hard to believe that there was no data transmission from a device like that. And that would be the kind of thing to take a look at as well.
HUNT: All right. Colonel Cedric Leighton for us -- Colonel, thank you for not necessarily what we would have expected to have you on for, but very helpful. Thank you, I appreciate it. Have a wonderful weekend.
All right. Straight ahead here -- thank you -- on CNN THIS MORNING, a grand jury now hearing evidence in the sidewalk murder of a CEO. The latest on the suspect.
Plus, airstrikes overnight in Gaza. At the White House, optimistic that a ceasefire and hostage deal may be near.
And then the Republican campaign to boost Pete Hegseth's nomination, and the Democratic senator, who may be on board.
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SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): We're just going to have a straight up conversation. 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.
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[05:13:12]
HUNT: This morning, at least 33 people are dead after an airstrike in Gaza, where the IDF says it was targeting a, quote, senior terrorist, end quote. At least 84 others injured.
In a statement to CNN, the IDF says it struck an area containing, quote, numerous weapons which led to secondary explosions. The latest escalation comes as it appears progress is being made in a hostage and ceasefire deal. The national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, says the goal is to get it done quickly. He was in Tel Aviv yesterday, speaking with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who indicated a deal is near.
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SULLIVAN: I got the sense today from the prime minister. He's ready to do a deal. And when I go to Doha and Cairo, my goal will be to put us in a position to be able to close this deal this month, not later.
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HUNT: Sullivan confident that this can happen while Biden is still in office. The incoming administration is also working to make ground on a deal. CNN has learned that Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with the prime ministers of Qatar and Israel late last month to get negotiations kick started.
In an interview with "Time Magazine", President-elect Trump says there are options to reach a solution in the region. Here's the quote: I support whatever solution we can do to get peace. There are other ideas other than two state, but I support whatever is necessary to get not just peace, a lasting peace. It can't go on where every five years you end up in tragedy. There are other alternatives.
We're joined now by Joel Rubin. He is a former deputy assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs under President Obama.
Joel, always good to see you. Thanks for being here.
JOEL RUBIN, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good morning, Kasie.
HUNT: It does seem to be a little bit of a shift here. How much of Netanyahu's sudden willingness to deal has to do with the fact that Trump and his team seem to have made it clear, at least, Lindsey Graham has said in public, Trump wants a ceasefire and hostage deal done before Inauguration Day.
[05:15:07]
RUBIN: Right. Well, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict always has one eye on Washington and one eye on what's happening in the region. And there is a transformed region right now, as you know, with Assad now gone and deposed with Hezbollah basically defeated and having a ceasefire with Israel. The primary backers of Hamas are gone.
And so you have that, and then on the other side here with President- elect Trump coming in saying that he wants to see a ceasefire deal. And with Jake Sullivan out in the region, basically, now the Israelis are looking at the incoming administration. They say, well, we're probably going to have to make a move now because the pressure isn't going to be released on us.
And I think that for Donald Trump, he sees this as he wants this off the plate, right? Like, this is not an easy dynamic at all. It's been bedeviling of the Biden administration's trying to get a cease fire that really sticks. And so Trump, he sees that he knows that. And I think for him, he doesn't want to start with having to deal with that on day one.
BURNETT: So the other question, of course, you mentioned the region and how it's been reshaped is Iran, which has been weakened through the Israeli campaigns, their proxies, Hezbollah, Hamas, very much decimated, quite frankly.
This is what "The Wall Street Journal" wrote overnight about how the Trump team may deal with them. Quote, President-elect Donald Trump is weighing options for stopping Iran from being able to build a nuclear weapon, including the possibility of preventive airstrikes, a move that would break with the long standing policy of containing Tehran with diplomacy and sanctions.
What would the implications be of American preemptive airstrikes?
RUBIN: Well, if her American preemptive strikes on Iran, you then watch a situation where we are inviting the potential of attacks against American forces in the region, uncertainty about whether or not they would be truly effective. But I have to say, the guardrails against such strikes, and in particular with Israel potentially striking, have been reduced with Assad's military devastated and destroyed by now by Israel strikes. Assad, of course, being gone.
But the air defenses that Syria had that were protection as well as Hezbollah, which was in place in southern Lebanon to strike Israel in case of an attack. Those are gone now, too.
So there really is an open field, and this is a new dynamic as we're discussing, it's a transformed strategic environment. If Israel and the United States were to go forward and take that strike militarily, it's quite possible that they could set back the program, but it would also be inviting a whole new layer of conflict in the region directly with the United States.
HUNT: All right. Joel Rubin, for us this morning -- Joel, very grateful to have you your expertise on the program. Thanks for being here.
All right. Straight ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and a Missouri man who was missing for months there, now found alive.
Plus, the latest big tech company to donate big bucks to President- elect Trump's inauguration.
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[05:22:20]
HUNT: All right. Welcome back.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the Middle East today meeting with the leaders of Turkey and stressing the need for unity after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.
It comes as so many people in Syria are desperately searching for their loved ones.
CNN chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward visited a morgue where the bodies left behind are a reminder of Assad's brutal legacy. We do want to warn you. You may find the following report disturbing.
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CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A woman wails on the floor of the Mujtahid Hospital.
My mother, she's been missing for 14 years, she says. Where is she? Where's my brother? Where's my husband? Where are they?
Dr. Ahmed Abdullah shows us into the morgue where about 35 bodies have been brought in.
Discovered in a military hospital days after the regime fell, they are believed to be some of the last victims of Bashar al Assad.
Take a look. This is the crime of the regime. He says even in the Middle Ages, they didn't torture people like this.
Another man points to their tattered clothing evidence. He says that most were detainees at the much feared Saydnaya prison. Even in death, they are still only identified by numbers.
Everyone here heard about the horrors that took place in Assad's notorious prisons, but to see it up close is something entirely different.
A lot of them have bruises, have horrible wounds that seem to be consistent with torture. I just saw one woman retching as she came out of the other room.
Families are now going through trying to see if their loved ones are here.
There's not enough room for all of them in the morgue, so a makeshift area has been set up outside.
More and more families stream in. The light from their cell phones the only way of identifying the dead.
My only son, I don't have another. They took him for 12 years now, just because he said no, 12 years, my only son, this woman shouts. I don't know anything about him.
I ask Allah to burn him, she says of Assad. Burn him and his sons like he burned my heart.
A crowd swarms when they see our camera. Everyone here has lost someone.
All of these people are asking us to take the names of their loved ones, to help them try to find them.
It is a mark of desperation.
[05:25:01]
Such is the need for answers. But finding those answers will not be easy.
At the military intelligence facility known as the Palestine branch, officers burned documents and destroyed hard drives before fleeing. But their terror was on an industrial scale. Troves and troves of prisoner files remain. It will take investigators years to go through them.
Below ground, more clues etched on the walls of cells that look more like dungeons.
So you can see this list of names of -- it looks like 93 prisoners here. There's also a schedule for keeping the cell tidy and just graffiti everywhere. People trying to leave marks for someone to find.
Down here, insects are the only life form that thrives. It's clear that anyone who could survive this will never be the same again.
The cells are empty, but the doors are finally open. The quest for answers is just beginning.
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HUNT: Our Clarissa Ward, thank you very much for that piece.
All right. Still coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING. Not so much whodunit, but why? The new search warrants that could shed light on the motives of the CEO killer, alleged CEO killer.
Plus, Republicans pushed to fall in line behind Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): I believe in this concept, and I've said it before, of political physics. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. (END VIDEO CLIP)
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