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CNN This Morning
Questions Raised Over New Jersey Unexplained Drones; Sources: Search Warrants Executed in New York Related to CEO Murder. Aired 6- 6:30a ET
Aired December 13, 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 Friday, December 13. Right now on CNN THIS MORNING.
[05:59:39]
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not being told the truth.
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HUNT: Who owns the drones? They're still swarming the skies over New Jersey, and no one is saying who's behind them.
And --
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm going to be acting very quickly.
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HUNT: Donald Trump, day one. The president-elect's top priorities, including pardons for January 6th rioters.
Plus --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have no indication that he was ever a client of UnitedHealthcare.
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HUNT: The CEO assassination twist. Why would the chief suspect commit murder when he wasn't even a customer?
And --
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TRUMP: Those prices are going to start coming down.
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HUNT: Price tag promise. Why Donald Trump now warns that slashing grocery prices might be easier said than done.
All right, 6 a.m. here on the East Coast. A live look at Las Vegas, Nevada. It's Friday. Why not? Take a look at the Strip. It's 3 a.m. Pacific Time there.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. It's wonderful to have you with us.
The truth is out there? Americans in New Jersey would really like to know who is flying sometimes massive drones over their homes and infrastructure.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the creepy part is not that it's just a drone, that they're so large. Now, some of the things that people are seeing on social media, posting on social media, they have been identified as normal things in the skies. Planes, helicopters, but not all of them.
One New Jersey mayor says the drones have been flying over the state's critical infrastructure. The drones have also been spotted near a U.S. military research facility and over President-elect Donald Trump's golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.
And those sightings have prompted the FAA to issue temporary flight restrictions. And according to the Associated Press, the Coast Guard says multiple low-altitude aircrafts were spotted near one of their vessels.
Still, they weren't seen as an immediate threat, and they didn't interfere with any operations. So, what has the White House been saying about all this?
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KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don't have anything beyond that. We're tracking this very closely.
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HUNT: Needless to say, New Jersey lawmakers who are hearing from their constituents have found the non-explanations to be lacking.
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SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): I'm concerned. I issued a letter to ask for more information, and I think there should be a lot more transparency about that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you hearing from constituents?
BOOKER: Yes, I am. I've been a little frustrated. There hasn't been enough transparency letting people know what's happening. It's allowing a lot of potentially misinformation to spread, or at least fear.
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HUNT: So, yesterday the White House sent out John Kirby -- He is, of course, a retired Navy admiral and national security communications adviser -- to clear things up.
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JOHN KIRBY, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: We have not been able to, and neither have state or local law enforcement authorities, corroborate any of the reported visual sightings. To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully.
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HUNT: Uh-huh. So, basically, he says, don't believe your own eyes.
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MAYOR SAM MORRIS, MINE HILL, NEW JERSEY: That is ridiculous. I would invite Mr. Kirby to Mine Hill. Come on out, Mr. Kirby. And let's -- let's go on out one night about 9:30, 10 p.m. I'll go out behind my town hall, and you can count them with me all night.
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HUNT: So, of course, the question everyone has is, who is doing this? Some New Jersey lawmakers have been speculating that it's Iran or China. Those of us who don't live in New Jersey are just wondering why New Jersey?
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NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON, ASTROPHYSICIST: I can't claim to know the motives of aliens, but -- just being an earthling. But of all the places to show up on Earth, they pick New Jersey? That would be odd for me to wonder what the aliens are looking for. No offense to New Jersey. I'm just saying there's the whole Earth they could have visited.
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HUNT: All right. Joining us now is our panel: staff writer of "The Atlantic," David Frum; former federal prosecutor, CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams; former senior adviser to Senators Manchin and Coons, Jonathan Kott; and Republican strategist, CNN political commentator Brad Todd.
Welcome to all of you on this Friday. What better thing to talk about Friday than unidentified flying objects?
But David Frum, I mean, on its face, what the White House is saying feels implausible to so many people. It's like we can see this. You know, we're not there's a contradiction between the state police have been telling people that these drones -- have been telling lawmakers up there that these drones are shutting off their lights when they're approached, and that it's dangerous. And yet the White House says nothing to see here.
DAVID FRUM, STAFF WRITER, "THE ATLANTIC": Well, you can go to the store and buy a drone kit. Anybody can. And it's sort of remarkable to me that we haven't had this -- these claims and these problems before of nuisance and worse, invasion of privacy.
One lawmaker speculated they might be Iranian, and that seems to be untrue. It's worth remembering that, even if the drones turn out not to be Iranian, there are actually teams of Iranian assassins operating on the United States soil. And dissidents and human rights activists have been threatened and have been taken to safe houses because of it.
So, we don't have to have the high-tech threats to remember that there are old-fashioned threats of men with guns.
HUNT: So, Senator Blumenthal, Elliott, weighed in on this, as well as to like what should be done about this. Let's watch what he said.
[06:05:05]
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SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): They should be shot down, if necessary, because they're flying over sensitive areas.
Whether it's planes that may be jeopardized or security at military bases. We ought to do a much better job. The Biden administration ought to be acting more aggressively against these drones.
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HUNT: I mean, it raises the question: why not shoot them down, right?
ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: We shouldn't have a practice of willy-nilly shooting down unidentified flying objects over domestic soil.
However, in -- in the event that they are flying over sensitive places, absolutely. You know, they can be engaged.
You know, I think the issue here, far more perhaps, than any actual threat that's posed, posed is the inconsistent messaging that seems to be coming out of government.
I think what people are frustrated by is that they don't seem to be getting a consistent or plausible answer as to what these things are. And I think the longer it's going on, the worse it's getting. And that seems to be the bigger.
HUNT: Yes. And this was Congressman van Drew, this one to the -- to our messengers over here on this side of the table. He was the one -- Congressman van Drew was the one who floated the Iranian theory, which was quickly -- no pun intended -- shot down by the Pentagon.
But here's what he said more recently. Watch.
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REP. JEFF VAN DREW (R-NJ): We're not being told the truth. They are dealing with the American public like we're stupid. They don't know what it is. They don't know what it's about. They haven't taken one down to analyze it. They have no idea where it comes from, but they know that it's not that.
I mean, that's nonsense. They do not know what they're doing. Why don't they take one of them down, analyze it, and let us know what's really happening?
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HUNT: So, I have to say, I mean, you know, there's like a laughing element to this in some instances, but it's very -- it's actually very serious. Right. Like that the American government doesn't know what this is, Brad.
And the fact that -- is the Biden administration building confidence with the --
BRAD TODD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Nobody believes that the government doesn't know what it is. That's the thing. Only the government is trying to convince us that.
But I will note, you have a Republican congressman and a Democratic senator from New Jersey. Bipartisanship may -- may break out everywhere. At a divided time in Washington, perhaps we need drones to unite us.
WILLIAMS: No, UFOs are the one thing that can bring America together.
TODD: Well, you know the old saying, nothing unites the people of Earth like an invasion from Mars. So maybe that's what we're dealing with here.
HUNT: Jonathan.
JONATHAN KOTT, FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR TO SENATORS MANCHIN AND COONS: It doesn't help when the Defense Department, the FBI, and the White House say, don't worry about it, but we won't tell you what it is. And we don't know what it is.
That -- that is what is troubling. And that's why you get people like the congressman going out there and saying, oh, I have this super- secret source that I can't tell you about, who tells me it's Iranians and trust me on that, but don't trust anybody else.
And when there is a void of information, stuff like that gets out there.
So, somebody at the Defense Department or the White House needs to say what these are very quickly, or the people of New Jersey are going to start shooting them down.
That is not the state you want to fly over for a calm group of people who will casually just let them fly past you and not do anything. I say that as a New Yorker.
HUNT: So, well, did you see there's a guy in Florida who was just had he resolved the case that that he had, because there was Walmart was testing a drone next door.
He took out a shotgun, took out the drone.
WILLIAMS: Yes, this is true. Now, you know, to Neil DeGrasse Tyson's question of why New Jersey? Well, it is the Garden State. Rolling hills for miles and miles, some --
HUNT: Elliot's from New Jersey? OK. They're not paying him to say this.
WILLIAMS: Beautiful sandy beaches.
TODD: Golf courses there. Yes.
WILLIAMS: The New Jersey Shore. Bruce Springsteen.
HUNT: Dana Bash is going to be so mad at us. Excuse me. Dana is going to be mad at us. She's like the proudest daughter of New Jersey. Sorry.
WILLIAMS: But all of this hate for, you know, America's most densely populated state because people want to live there so badly. It's really just hard to listen to. it
HUNT: Yes, they really -- they want to live in Philadelphia, actually. Like, I'm sorry. They do.
WILLIAMS: Oh my god. Oh my god.
HUNT: Pennsylvania.
WILLIAMS: In the early days of Facebook, there was a group -- remember, there were Facebook groups. One was "We're from New Jersey. Don't worry, we hate you, too." So --
HUNT: OK. Coming up here on CNN THIS MORNING, new search warrants targeting the alleged CEO killer.
Later, Michael Smerconish will be here to talk about the Internet's obsession with the suspect, Luigi Mangione.
Plus, fresh allegations. Sean "Diddy" Combs hit with a new wave of lawsuits.
And top priority. Trump's plans for the first nine minutes of his second term.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: They ought to release the J-6 hostages. They've suffered enough. They ought to release them.
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[06:14:07]
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JOSEPH KENNY, NYPD CHIEF OF DETECTIVES: We have no indication that he was ever a client of UnitedHealthcare, but he does make mention that it is the fifth largest corporation in America, which would make it the largest healthcare organization in America. So, that's possibly why he targeted that -- that company.
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HUNT: Piecing together a motive. A spokesperson for UnitedHealthcare says the man accused of gunning down the company's CEO is not a member, and neither is his mother.
Sources tell CNN authorities in New York have executed at least three search warrants in the case against Luigi Mangione. At least two of the warrants include the backpack found in Central Park and the burner phone found near the crime scene.
ABC News reports that prosecutors in New York have begun presenting evidence against Mangione to a grand jury.
David Frum, how are you thinking about this as we learn more about this -- this detail that he was not a member of UnitedHealthcare? Seems to make it, honestly, more political and less personal to him specifically.
[06:15:07]
FRUM: I think everybody in America, everybody in the world, needs to have a screensaver on their computer or a message on their phone that would say, today would be a good day not to say something sociopathic on social media.
And tomorrow, also a good day not to say something sociopathic on social media.
Now, I don't know that we've had any real social trend. It's just -- it becomes -- we have created this fantastic technology for the diffusion of sociopathic messages, and maybe there's a constant number of sociopaths in society at any given time. It's just easier now for them to find each other.
But really, there's a murder. By -- the motives for murder are never that interesting, because murderers are just murderers.
And the message -- some in Congress have defended the message. You can only push people so far. That is the -- that is the thing that every estranged husband says before murdering his wife and children. The alimony pushed me so far, and I killed.
The killers kill because they're killers.
HUNT: Yes. I mean, one thing I will say, though, and, you know, I was -- I was talking with Jonah Goldberg about this on the show earlier this week. Because I was raising this question.
Actually, Brad, let me -- let me ask you what you think about this, because you're referring to what Elizabeth Warren said, which we did play yesterday. There was also an interesting moment on Joe Rogan's podcast, where a guest that he had basically, you know, disparaged the insurance companies.
And Rogan functionally agreed with him and said, like, this is a dirty business. This is terrible.
And there have been some on the right who have portrayed what has happened on the left in a negative way, saying, don't do it.
But there have been some right-wing commentators who have seen their own comments filled with people who are writing to them and saying that, you know what? You're elite, too. You don't get it.
It sounds like we have those. Can we play the -- the Warren bite? What she had to say. And then let's play Joe Rogan and what happened on that podcast. It's kind of two very distinct sides of American politics.
But not -- you know, they sound almost the same. Watch.
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SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): What happens when you turn this into the billionaire's run it all is they get the opportunity to squeeze every last penny.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
WARREN: And look, we'll say it over and over. Violence is never the answer. This guy gets a trial who's allegedly killed the CEO of UnitedHealth. But you can only push people so far.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think anybody's going to, like, be crying too hard over that guy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe his family, but that's about it.
JOE ROGAN, PODCASTER: Yes, it's a dirty, dirty business. The business of insurance is (EXPLETIVE DELETED) gross. It's gross. And especially healthcare insurance. Just (EXPLETIVE DELETED) gross.
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HUNT: In some ways, I'm reminded Brad of, you know, I attended dozens of Bernie Sanders rallies. Many voters there in places like Michigan, who said that, if they don't get a chance to vote for Bernie Sanders, they're going to vote for Donald Trump. What's going on here?
TODD: Well, populism exists on both sides of the American political spectrum. It's not an ideology. It's an animating spirit. And you certainly see that most expressed against health insurance companies. They're right at the top of that.
But I think, once this all settles out, I would think Republicans would welcome a discussion of how the government's own -- federal governments own incentives have created a behemoths in the healthcare industry.
The Affordable Care Act paved the way for really, really large healthcare companies, insurance companies without much competition. I think that'd be -- be a great subject for Congress to take up.
KOTT: Look, I think in politics, raging against something and -- and having an enemy is healthy. And that's how you get people out. And that's what campaigns do. And I think you're seeing it from both sides.
Like, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have that argument. Donald Trump tapped into that. People are angry at rich elites who they think have done them wrong, taken their jobs. They're the reasons they're not successful. If only I had been able to do this.
And that is what you're seeing. That's why this Venn diagram of so far left and so far right are actually coming back around.
But I think everybody needs to say killing somebody and violence is the wrong way to do it. We can be mad at the system and mad at how it's being done without going that far.
WILLIAMS: Yes, no. And for the justice he will face ultimately, why he did it ultimately doesn't matter. Merely -- and this is your point, David. It's merely the fact, in the state of New York, that he killed someone intending to do so will get him convicted of second-degree murder.
The fact that he seemed to have been targeted, or the suspect seemed to have been targeting a healthcare CEO, certainly, that -- that's animating for the public, but doesn't matter in the eyes of the law. Killing is killing.
HUNT: Right, Of course. And we're again, very clear on that. Trying here to just explain and understand what it is that's motivating and animating people.
All right. Panel will be back in a few minutes.
Still to come here on CNN THIS MORNING, vaccines and Trump's second term. The president-elect now says he's open to getting rid of child vaccine programs?
Plus, ho, ho, no. A man who was not Santa stuck in a chimney. One of the five things you have to see this morning.
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[06:24:24]
HUNT: All right, 23 minutes past the hour. Five things you have to see this morning.
First up, a man stuck in a chimney. Oh, my God. As you can see, no beard, no red suit. Definitely not jolly.
Massachusetts police say he was running from them, and they arrested him after they rescued him.
And this.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
(CRASH)
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HUNT: Whoa. Terrifying dash cam video shows a box truck slamming into three fire trucks in Michigan. First responders ran into a ditch to take cover as they worked a separate crash scene. They are all, thankfully, OK.
The truck driver was taken to the hospital.
[06:25:06]
Call this smoke on the water, with a nod to Deep Purple. Negative 20- degree temperatures producing sea smoke along Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota.
Scientists say that this happens when cold air drifts across warmer water. That water in Lake Superior is very cold.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And down there after it is Kadri.
Defenseman fell down. Kadri scores.
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HUNT: Goal of the night for the Calgary Flames.
An outrageous leap and spin-o-rama goal last night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, one of the only highlights for the Flames in an 8-to-3 loss.
And what do you get for a coach who has everything? If it's Bill Belichick, you get him a signature cut-off hoodie. UNC's chancellor presenting the new head football coach with the gift before his introductory press conference.
Still not over the strangeness of all of this. But anyway.
Straight ahead here on CNN THIS MORNING, Donald Trump and his allies accusing the FBI of playing a role in the January 6th riot. A new independent report shoots that down.
Plus, Trump backing away from a key campaign promise about bringing down prices?
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TRUMP: People can't afford their groceries, and they're going to be affording their groceries very soon.
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