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Person Detained in Guthrie Case; Bondi to Testify Before House Committee; Jillian Snider is Interviewed about the Guthrie Case; Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-FL) is Interviewed about ICE and Epstein. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired February 11, 2026 - 06:30   ET

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

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[06:34:08]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They had somebody give a tip that the lady was in my house. I have nothing to hide. There's nobody in my house.

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AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: A home searched. A person detained and released. Are authorities getting closer to finding Nancy Guthrie?

Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. Thank you for joining me on CNN THIS MORNING.

We are following breaking news in the agonizing search for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie. A person of interest detained and then released. New images of the intruder recovered. And tips are still pouring in.

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KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: I will say, we have made substantial progress in these last 36, 48 hours thanks to the technical capabilities of the FBI and our partnerships. And I do believe we are looking at people who, as we say, are persons of interest. But as you know, with any investigation, you are a person of interest until you are either eliminated or you're actually found to be the culprit or the culprits involved, and that's the stage we're at right now.

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CORNISH: The main question right now, does anyone out there know who this person is? This footage was recovered from Guthrie's doorbell camera the night she vanished.

Ivan Rodriguez joins us live from Pima County, Arizona. Ivan, what more have you learned to start with that person who had

been detained and then released?

IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN REPORTER: Audie, well, first, it's really incredible since the last time we spoke yesterday how much has shifted now in this case because, starting off with those newly released images by the FBI.

What we know so far about this person was that they were detained during a traffic stop and then released. We also know that authorities executed a search warrant at a home and also at a car. But again, that person was released. We're also hearing from a woman whose home was searched again in that Rio Rico area, which is about an hour south here of Tucson, closer to the U.S./Mexico border.

Hear what she had to say when authorities searched her home.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know who she is. I don't know anything about her. They only thing that they gave a tip that she was in my house. And I told him, you can go in and search my house. There's nobody there. I have nothing to hide. There's nobody in my house. And I don't know what's going on.

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I. RODRIGUEZ: Now, that woman previously told CNN that her home was searched and that authorities were investigating her son-in-law.

And again, Audie, I want to stress the importance of this new video, because behind me you can see, like we've been out for the last week in front of Nancy Guthrie's home. And without that video, it's been very difficult for authorities to grab any sort of doorbell or surveillance footage because of how far these homes are from the road. Also, all of the bushes, the foliage that is in front of these homes as well.

So, with this new video and images, people might be able to detect how this person is moving in those movements between the door and then getting those flowers to then cover that doorbell camera again. And even though that might not be obvious to strangers, it could be recognizable to people who know this person. It could offer some clues that could then provide that one crucial tip to help solve this mystery.

CORNISH: OK, Ivan, for us in Pima County, Arizona, we'll be checking in with him today.

Later, we're also going to hear Attorney General Pam Bondi set to testify on Capitol Hill, facing questions about her role as the head of the Justice Department, from the department's handling of the Epstein files release, to the ICE raids in Minneapolis, and the targets on President Trump's political enemies. Everything is on the table. It's the first time Bondi has faced lawmakers since October. And at the time, this is how it went. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: You're grilling me on President Trump and some photograph with Epstein? Come on.

I'm not going to be lectured to you about integrity by someone who lied about being in the military.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me -- let me -- let me move to another -- another topic, and I'm hoping that you will review these legislative --

BONDI: Senator, I don't think a lot of people like that you were out protesting with Antifa.

I wish that you loved your state of California as much as you hate President Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now the current president --

BONDI: What about the fires in California? Do you care about that, Senator Schiff?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And -- and this is supposed to be -- this is --

BONDI: How dare you. I am a career prosecutor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: The group chat is back.

So, needless to say, she'll be ready. What's changed since October though?

SABRINA RODRIGUEZ, POLITICS REPORTER, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": A lot has changed since October. You know, in November we saw Trump sign into law the transparency law around the Epstein files that would actually require that they have to release all the Epstein files.

CORNISH: Under a push from Republicans, right, through a discharge petition, forced by them.

S. RODRIGUEZ: Yes, it's a -- this is a genuinely bipartisan push on Capitol Hill.

CORNISH: Yes.

ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Bipartisanship.

S. RODRIGUEZ: This is something that certainly has united the left and the right in wanting answers, in wanting the release of the files. So, in October, she was not compelled yet to have to release everything. Now, I think, there's a lot of questions about what the transparency has actually looked like, the fact that millions of files, you know, have not been released and --

CORNISH: And lawmakers pointing out that there appeared to be redactions of certain men's names that didn't need to be redacted.

S. RODRIGUEZ: Yes, questions about redactions.

I think also timing wise, I mean, this just comes after there was a Super Bowl weekend PSA that was put forth by Epstein survivors.

CORNISH: Let's play it. We've had some survivors on this week. Do you work for this show? This is good. Here we go.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because we all --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Deserve the truth.

ON SCREEN TEXT: Stand with us. Tell Attorney General Pam Bondi it's time for the truth. Stand with us. Worldwithoutexploitation.org. World Without Exploitation.

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CORNISH: They could have called out a lot of people and they went straight for Bondi.

S. RODRIGUEZ: Specifically. And she has been certainly vulnerable in Trump's circle and in his cabinet. There's definitely been frustrations with her handling of this. And it's been notable that in conversations and the administration coming to the press around this, she has not been the face of it in recent weeks. So, I think there's going to be a lot of questions, and she's definitely going to be in a much more vulnerable position than she was in October.

CORNISH: Yes. There's also been some losses on things like using the National Guard and cities.

[06:40:01]

There's a lot more questions. What do you think people are going to be focused on?

CHARLIE DENT (R), FORMER PENNSYLVANIA CONGRESSMAN: Well, I think -- well, certainly Epstein is going to be a major focus. But I think they're also going to probably focus on what appear to be partizan prosecutions of Comey, James and others, John Bolton. That's going to be a major focus.

I do think the deployment of The Guard and the militarization, where is the Justice Department on all this? I think she's going to get hammered. Now, the question is, how does she respond to all this? Is she going to be as indignant this time as she was last time?

CORNISH: Yes.

DENT: Are the members going to try to rein her in and make her focus on the on the issues at hand?

CORNISH: Yes. How do you think Democrats are preparing this time around? They know it's going to be coming for them.

SEAWRIGHT: Well, they also know this is going to be political theater. And that's how most of these hearings shake out. But I think there has to be a sense of, again, looking for the legislative branch to provide the necessary oversight that is supposed to.

Now, what I hope to hear is why the letter sent to Minnesota about the election data and then the deployment of ICE to Minnesota, how that overlaps. But I also think that, as it relates to Epstein, I think some of the women, these survivors, are looking for the woman to woman connectivity.

CORNISH: Yes.

SEAWRIGHT: And some sense of, you know, you should be on our side and doing this, especially when she took the job she said, they're on my file -- they're on my desk, and I'm ready to release them.

CORNISH: OK, you guys, thank you for being with us. We're going to talk more about this. We're bringing on a guest.

If you missed any of this conversation, you want to catch up with what we're talking about or share it because you know someone might be interested, scan the QR code here to find it. CNN THIS MORNING is anywhere you get your podcasts.

Next, we're following two breaking news stories out of the southwest.

A person detained and released in the search for Nancy Guthrie.

Plus, a very rare move. Why the FAA is closing airspace over El Paso.

And then there's this.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you don't want to be called a fascist regime or secret police, then stop acting like one.

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CORNISH: President Trump's deportation crackdown under scrutiny. I'm going to ask Republican Congressman Mike Haridopolos about that next.

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CORNISH: Back now to our breaking news. A person who was detained for questioning as part of the investigation into the apparent kidnaping of Nancy Guthrie, speaking to "The New York Times" after being released without charges.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope they get the suspect, because I'm not it. They better do their job and find the suspect that did it so they can clear my name. And I'm done. Look at what I'm putting my family through.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're on national news now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not just them. Not just them. You know, my parents in Tucson.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Last night authorities searched a home and car in southern Arizona. The home is located in Rio Rico. That's not far from the Mexican border. About 60 miles south of Tucson, where Guthrie was last seen. Authorities released this video earlier Tuesday showing a masked armed person at Guthrie's door the night she vanished. It was obtained from her doorbell camera.

We're going to bring in Jillian Snider. She's a former NYPD officer and resident senior fellow at the R Street Institute.

Thank you so much for being here.

I want to first talk about this video. Are there things in it that you're seeing that are going to raise questions for investigators?

JILLIAN SNIDER, RETIRED NYPD OFFICER: Good morning, Audie. And yes, definitely. There are certain mannerisms of the alleged suspect in the video that stood out to me right away. Immediately I was looking at how he kept using his right hand to -- or, I'm sorry, his left hand to touch his firearm. Although the firearm was positioned in the middle of his pants and it would have been drawn in the style for a right- handed shooter. So, those are things that investigators are going to pick up on right away.

Additionally, we do see some of his facial characteristics, minimal, but some. His eyes, his eyebrows, and it looks like some facial hair. So, all of these things are going to give clues to investigators. But more importantly, give public -- members of the public the ability to look and see if they recognize him.

CORNISH: This is, obviously, not a professional opinion, but he's just like holding plants in front of the camera. I mean it doesn't come off as very sophisticated. What were you seeing in this video?

SNIDER: I noticed the same thing. His dress, his appearance, his mask and his backpack, seemingly it looked like he came prepared. But then the fact that he went and tried to use his hands at first to obstruct the camera's view and then was shuffling around in the front shrubbery and then using that, that tells me he's not sophisticated. He may have planned it somewhat in advance, but he was not some calculated person that was thinking ahead of the game and thinking, what can I bring to dismantle and disarm this camera? So, definitely not a criminal mastermind in my opinion.

CORNISH: There was a deadline on Monday that has come and gone. Can you talk about what you're listening for now from investigators or from even law enforcement, like Kash Patel?

SNIDER: We haven't yet even seen the authenticity of the ransom demands, to my knowledge, and I know that the family has come out and tried to openly communicate with whomever has their mother. But until the FBI and Pima County Sheriff's Office make sure that these are valid letters, we really can't pass judgment on them yet. So, I'm going to be waiting to hear from Kash Patel and the FBI, because I know that they are leading the ransom demand investigation to see if we think these are, in fact, true ransom demands.

CORNISH: We're also hearing about recent activity with the bitcoin account used by the purported kidnapers, including like a deposit into a cryptocurrency wallet.

[06:50:01]

Can you talk about the financial aspect of this? Is that an area for breakthrough given what we know about the traceability of cryptocurrency?

SNIDER: Well, the Pima County Sheriff's Office would probably not be leading that. That is way more advanced than your local law enforcement agencies are capable of doing, especially because Pima County sheriff is also short staffed. So, they're going to be seriously relying on the aid and assistance of the FBI because this is their domain. They are trained. They have the capabilities and the resources to be able to be, you know, tracing this cryptocurrency. Local law enforcement, we just don't have that training or that sophisticated technology yet.

CORNISH: OK, that's Jillian Snider, thank you so much. I appreciate your insight here.

And I want to turn to this, a series of high pressure hearings from the Trump administration on Capitol Hill from immigration enforcement to the Epstein files, the president's top officials faced a lot of questions.

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REP. TIM KENNEDY (D-NY): Will you commit, yes or no, to immediately unmasking every agent conducting immigration enforcement and requiring them to wear standard uniforms with identifiable badges?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you, in fact, make the visit to Jeffrey Epstein's private island?

HOWARD LUTNICK, COMMERCE SECRETARY: I did have lunch with him as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation. My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies. I had another couple with -- they were there as well with their children. And we had lunch on the island. That is true.

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CORNISH: Joining the group chat now, Republican Congressman Mike Haridopolos of Florida.

Thank you so much for being with us.

One of the reasons why I wanted to hear from a lawmaker from Florida is because, in a way, that's where all this started, right? The plea deal that Epstein got, where he ended up with just like a -- like a prostitution charge, right, given the scale of what we know now.

For you, do you think that, for instance, the state and federal prosecutors, do you think anybody like that from Florida should be brought to testify?

REP. MIKE HARIDOPOLOS (R-FL): Look, I think the more information, the better. This is a despicable situation. And what -- a person who preys on young boys and girls, disgusting in my mind. And as a father of three, and to see how this person manipulated people through all different means, as one I think article came out where he's like almost a concierge to the stars. He played to their ego. And sadly it worked

CORNISH: Do you think the administration is being fully transparent? The survivors of Epstein's crimes, a lot of them are saying they are not.

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, let's just be clear about where we're at and why. For four years no one cared. Ro Khanna, no interest. Massie, in our party, I guess he's still in our party, had no interest in this issue. Suddenly, the president comes in. We're here because Donald Trump kept this issue alive. And I've actually talked to some of the people who are involved in the acquisition of all this material. It's voluminous. We're talking millions and millions of papers.

CORNISH: Yes. But can I stop you there?

HARIDOPOLOS: Yes.

CORNISH: You are, in fact, here because Donald Trump kept this issue alive. And now people don't believe his administration is following through on its promises of transparency.

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, I think they've released millions of pages of -- and to try to take in all of this volume is challenging. I still think there's a legitimate issue. There's some people who didn't want their name out there who were victims, not the people who perpetrated it.

CORNISH: Yes. And their names were released. Some of their images were released.

HARIDOPOLOS: And that's the -- that's the frustrating part for all this. CORNISH: So, make it make sense for a victim who says, well, wait a

second, out of all the things that have been released, it's been a couple of our names, a couple of our bodies. And meanwhile, there are redacted names of men who may have been coconspirators. Those things are still under wraps.

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, I think this is how you deal with a massive case like this. I mean, again, millions --

CORNISH: But do you feel the disparity? For them they're like, wait, the only thing that's happened is I've been revealed. No -- men haven't been revealed.

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, again, I'm very happy to hear everyone has found religion on this because no one gave a crap for four years. The Democrats said, nothing to see here, nothing to see here. And now they took it on.

We're here and we're getting the information out. This is a huge amount of information, and there's going to be mistakes when you have this much information out there and it looks like folks are finally being called on the carpet for it, which I think is good.

This was just a matter of time. If you were involved in this, especially in a nefarious way, guess what, you're going to be exposed, whether it be today, a week from now, or a month now, as they handle this massive load of information.

CORNISH: Should Lutnick have to answer more questions?

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, I think he's answered them. And I think he's going to have to continue to answer them. I hope he's being candid about it because, in Washington, we all know, eventually all the facts are going to come out. Might as well tell the truth early and often.

SEAWRIGHT: Congressman, respectfully, it took a forced bipartisan vote for the information to be released and now there has -- there was tremendous pressure in order for DOJ to continue to release the file. So, it wasn't like the campaign promises made by Vance and others who said, we're going to release the files, they're on my desk. It wasn't like they just willy nilly decided to release them. It was a forced effort.

But here's my direct question for you.

HARIDOPOLOS: Sure.

SEAWRIGHT: Will the information that is found in the files, will Republicans take an honest oversight approach and hold folks accountable when they find out that there may be people in the republican circles that are in the files in a, in a in a disgusting way?

[06:55:17]

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, I think the fact that Lutnick is now out there he's a -- he's a big player in the -- in the Trump administration, and it's out there. But again, I can't -- I got to go back to, why didn't we have this conversation on CNN for four years when Joe Biden was president? Why not? I don't understand that part --

SEAWRIGHT: Because (INAUDIBLE) campaigned on wanting to do this.

HARIDOPOLOS: No, no, no, no. That's -- it --

SEAWRIGHT: No one asked for this.

HARIDOPOLOS: For four years no one cared. Ro -- I looked it up because I -- I asked --

CORNISH: I think the thing people are confused about is the plea deal. The plea deal itself. The thing that started this whole scandal. It happened before Biden. It happened under Trump. We're back at Trump where people like Kash Patel typed it up in his book, this is a problem, it should be transparent. And I feel like --

HARIDOPOLOS: And I -- and, again, this is unprecedented what we're doing right here, guys.

CORNISH: Yes.

HARIDOPOLOS: I mean millions of pages have been released.

CORNISH: So, you say you deserve points? Points for participation? It feels like points for participation.

HARIDOPOLOS: I'm not -- I'm not -- look, I don't want any -- I don't want any points on anything.

CORNISH: Yes.

HARIDOPOLOS: Because I wish this thing never happened. This is -- what's happened to these boys and girls is horrific. And these people who manipulated the system. Epstein manipulated people on their ego. This is all an ego play. He's a concierge to the stars. He gets them planes or fancy island trips.

CORNISH: Yes.

HARIDOPOLOS: And these people were suckers and played it. And they -- I'm glad to see the expose (INAUDIBLE).

CORNISH: But I think what Antjuan is asking you, is if it's someone like Les Wexner, right, who's a Republican donor, like, do you feel like that needs to be a conversation? Is it -- is it -- is it nonpartisan accountability or not?

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, I think what is happening right now is accountability. I mean, it's finally happening. It just didn't happen before.

CORNISH: In what way? HARIDOPOLOS: I mean millions of pages of documents, people have been

exposed. And I think that's a good thing. This is something where, when people do something wrong, you're going to pay the political consequences for it. In some cases, criminal.

CORNISH: I would say lots of people are looking at Europe and seeing accountability there and over here they're seeing mild embarrassment for some men in some cases. It's not taking down a government. Ask Keir Starmer.

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, again, the whole goal here, they thought they were going to get Donald Trump and they didn't get him.

CORNISH: And Bill Clinton. And they -- and they haven't got him yet.

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, Bill Clinton still hasn't testified. So, we'll have to wait on that one.

CORNISH: So you --

SEAWRIGHT: He's agreed to it. He's agreed to it.

CORNISH: OK.

HARIDOPOLOS: It's a start. Again, it'll be interesting to see what he says.

CORNISH: Let me talk about something else that was fascinating watching the ICE hearings yesterday, because you had CBP and other leaders trying to justify the tactics, which I know that you have supported of ICE over the last couple of weeks. And we're at the point now where Democrats are going to be saying, look, if we can't get some accountability or some changes with ICE, we are not going to -- we're not going to vote to continue funding DHS, which means that funding for DHS could shut down as soon as Friday. Is that something you think Republicans should negotiate to prevent?

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, first of all, we're the ones who are keeping the government open. You saw the civil war taking place with Democrats last week where they couldn't get along between the House and Senate.

But that said, we're keeping the government open. Ninety-six percent is open. We've already funded ICE for years to come. So, that's not the issue here.

What we are just putting in jeopardy as FEMA, the Coast Guard, TSA agents, which is going to be a shame. But that's --

CORNISH: So, how long would you hold out. Last year's partial shutdown went something like 43 days.

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, again, we're --

CORNISH: I mean how -- should we expect that again?

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, what do -- do you expect us to say, we should start -- continuing to dox these agents? I mean these agents aren't bad guys. These are persons who are following the federal law. They're dealing with unique situations. And let's be clear also, where are these problems happening? They're happening in the couple of cities, primarily in Minnesota. Just last week they're in West Virginia, rounded up a whole bunch of illegal aliens. No problem at all because local law enforcement actually supported the effort.

CORNISH: But let me -- here's where there becomes a problem for you. Among independents, the question, Fox News poll, do you think ICE is being too aggressive in its deportation effort? Seventy-one percent. The message you are saying is not reaching that voter.

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, I would say this too, what do y'all cover? You cover the chaos. And that's what they --

CORNISH: You mean two people dead? Because, yes, I will cover that.

HARIDOPOLOS: No. No. No, they -- they cover the chaos. Well, what about Laken Riley, Jostin Ingari (ph), Rachel Moore and a mom of five? Why don't you guys cover that a little bit more because it's a --

CORNISH: One of the things I think people are hearing is a --

HARIDOPOLOS: It's a big deal to people. It's -- the number one issue in politics in 2024 was illegal immigration.

CORNISH: It turns out it's the economy actually right now.

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, again, right now. The number one issue in 2024 was illegal immigration. We have solved that problem. The border is secured. We're rounding up hundreds of thousands of, not people who just came here illegally, but broke the law once here, murder, rape, drug use. You name it, it's a big deal.

CORNISH: Is there any -- you just said the funding is secure, right? It's going to be one of the largest military apparatus in this country. Should it have any reining in? Should it have any strings?

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, here's the -- I -- a couple of things that I -- that I think Republicans already agreed to. One is the idea that there should be body cameras. I want to see what an ICE agent has to go through in order to apprehend a violent criminal and what's going on and that person is seeing.

[07:00:00]

I think that's good. And we funded that in the bill.

Second part of that is, we want more training for these officers because they're facing a chaotic situation they did not anticipate because every other part of the country are cooperating to get the bad guys off the street. And I think that's a good thing.

CORNISH: OK, we're going to see if any more of those demands from Democrats get a hearing this week and in that debate. We're talking about that for this Friday. Thank you for joining the group chat.

HARIDOPOLOS: Always a pleasure.

CORNISH: And thank you for waking up with us. I'm Audie Cornish. And the news headlines are next.