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Erin Burnett Outfront

Elon Musk Blows Up Spending Deal, U.S Barrels Toward Shutdown; Gaetz Report To Be Released; New Details On Wisconsin Shooter. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired December 18, 2024 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:36]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: All right. OUTFRONT next:

The breaking news: Elon Musk pushing the government closer to a shutdown. You heard me. Elon Musk, unelected, but that's the power he's got right now, killing the House speaker spending bill just hours before the deadline.

And Trump following Musk's lead, weighing in hours after Musk.

And the House Ethics Committee report on Matt Gaetz's alleged sexual misconduct, releasing at any minute. Gaetz says he didn't do anything wrong. An attorney for a woman who testified before that committee, saying she saw Gaetz having sex with a minor is OUTFRONT tonight.

Plus, new details about the 15-year-old female gunman in the Wisconsin school shooting. Her parents repeatedly -- reportedly divorcing and repeatedly divorcing and changing custody arrangements.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, we begin with the breaking news. Elon Musk's government shutdown, a sentence that even a year ago would have seemed completely bizarre. But not now, not after images like that, because the man who has been by Trump's side nearly every day since the election and since that moment at a rally, is pushing the country to the brink of a shutdown. He is going after the House speakers funding deal just days before the deadline.

Speaker Mike Johnson has spent weeks negotiating a deal with Democrats, doing what lawmakers are doing as -- you know, horse trading, negotiating. And of course, he needs Democrat support to pass anything in the closely divided House that he faces. And it was Musk who stood up and said, no way. Firing the first shot.

Just hours after Johnson released his bill, Musk posted this on his social media platform. This bill should not pass. And then he posted a photo of the bill with the caption, ever seen a bigger piece of pork? Then he posted, the more I learned, the more obvious it becomes that

this spending bill is a crime and a threat. Quote: Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in two years.

Well, he has the money to primary them, doesn't he? Then he posted again, no bill should be passed in Congress until January 20th, when real Donald Trump takes office. None. Zero.

Well, that of course, definitionally means a shutdown. You can't move the dates on some of these things, and a long one. The deadline to pass the spending bill is this Friday at midnight. That's a full month before Trump takes office.

And on a day when the Dow plunged more than 1,100 points and marked the longest losing streak since 1974, let's just be loud and clear who's in the driver's seat here? Its Elon Musk. He posted first at 4:15 a.m. Eastern Time. In fact, he posted and reposted about this bill. Bill more than 70 times before Trump even weighed in, more than 70 times.

Trump followed Musk in a major way, 12 hours later. Just moments ago, after those 70 posts from Elon, Trump said in a statement. Republicans must get smart and tough if Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then call their bluff. He went on to say this chaos would not be happening if we had a real president. We will in 32 days.

Well, of course, whatever you think of the bill itself and the ugliness of government, it's a fair conversation nonetheless. There are laws and there are rules. And there is a deadline for a spending bill. And the reason that there is this sudden chaos is because of Musk and his last minute move to undermine Johnson.

And again, we should note it is Trump and Musk, not Democrats or House Republicans, who are threatening this shutdown by killing the bill. And we've seen Musk's influence on Trump take hold right before our eyes, right? Smack in the middle of Trump and his running mate at the high profile Army-Navy. I mean, it's -- it's almost like an A.I. image. And someone keeps plastering him in the middle, except for this is actually real photos.

And don't forget, Trump and Musk were together. Musk joined the family photo for Trump on the election night victory. Trumps granddaughter posted a photo with him calling him an uncle. He was even seated right next to Trump at Thanksgiving dinner, swaying to the YMCA song.

But tonight, some of these images, which then seemed funny, take on a more somber tone as the clock clicks down to a shutdown, and speaker mike Johnson, who was being responsible as the speaker of the House, the House Republican, is running out of options.

Let's get straight to Manu Raju on Capitol Hill.

And, Manu, a stunning turn of events. Elon Musk, 4:15 a.m. or whatever time zone he's on, it could have been even earlier in the night, posts -- 70 posts go by, Trump weighs in, and wow, here we are. What are you hearing now?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, the United States Congress is in an absolute state of disarray in the aftermath of Donald Trump blowing up this carefully negotiated compromise to avoid a government shutdown by weeks end.

[19:05:09]

Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House, had spent weeks behind closed doors cutting a deal with Democratic leaders who control the Senate, who still control the White House, trying to come up with this deal to avoid a government shutdown.

But Donald Trump, coming in late in the aftermath of Elon Musk's opposition in saying not only should this bill not pass, but they should add the highly toxic issue of raising the national debt limit as part of it simply because he does not want to deal with the debt limit when he is president. That has added enormous complication to all of this.

A lot of Republicans today I spoke to tonight say that is simply not possible. Its unclear how this proceeds. This all comes as Johnson is facing -- facing significant pushback, particularly as he tries to get the votes to become speaker of the House come January 3rd. Some Republicans say his handling of this is the reason why they may not vote for him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: So you won't vote for him?

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): He does not have my vote.

RAJU: Will you change your mind?

MASSIE: It would take a Christmas miracle.

We just won the elections. We have a mandate and he's giving away the farm. He's turned this thing into a Christmas tree.

REP. RICH MCCORMICK (R-GA): I'm wondering why we have control of Congress if we're not going to do what we say we're going to do.

RAJU: Do you think the speaker, given the way he's handled this, deserves to be reelected on January 3rd?

MCCORMICK: I think there's going to be a debate on it. If -- if we're not careful, we'll be -- we'll be having some serious debate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And there's very little margin for error in Johnson in the narrowly divided house. He can only lose a handful of votes in order to become reelected speaker. But that is one issue that is kind of driving some of this that's happening on Capitol Hill right now. Johnson losing support potentially, we'll see, even from Donald Trump. Erin, I'm told by Senator Josh Hawley tonight that Trump called Hawley

and railed on Johnsons handling of this bill as well, contended he was blindsided even as Johnson's allies said they've been coordinating with the Trump transition team all around. So a lot of finger pointing as Congress in a state of disarray and panic to avoid a shutdown by weeks end.

BURNETT: All right, Manu, thank you very much.

Disarray and panic. Who was it that said chaos follows? Oh, it's Nikki Haley.

All right. Everyone is here with me now. Former congressman Charlie Dent and lest anyone think, congressman, that you are in the witness protection program, I just want to know that its the holiday season and you're stuck in traffic. And I'm sad you're not sitting next to me, but there you are.

So you're looking very all dressed here to come on set. But let's go ahead and start with where we are, 70 posts from Elon Musk, 70. Starting at 4:15 a.m. stirring this up, Trump weighs in finally. And here we are, chaos and disarray.

What do you think is happening here?

CHARLIE DENT (R), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Well, this is a governmental dysfunction. These are exhibits A, B, C, D and F.

What's happening here is that Donald Trump and the hardliners in the House Republican conference wanted to kick these appropriations bills into the New Year's, into the New Year. They got their wish, and they're going to fund the government until March the 13th or 14th. And now Elon Musk and Donald Trump don't want to do that. They've changed their minds.

This is a funding bill that's simply going to fund the government at current levels. Yes, there's a cost of living adjustment for congressmen. And there's some other things in here, too. There's some phony business about Liz Cheney, but it makes no sense.

They should have simply passed the 12 appropriations bills before Christmas. Like many of the Republican appropriators wanted to do in the House and the Senate. But it was Donald Trump and the hardliners in the House Republican conference who wanted to kick it in the New Year. Now, they don't.

And frankly, many of them are not going to vote for a continuing resolution anyway.

So they take advice and input from the very people who wont vote for the bill. That must pass. This is this is a -- this is gobsmackingly stupid.

BURNETT: It is an incredible moment. By the way, you mentioned the liz cheney thing in there. There is something going after Liz Cheney saying she broke the law. I'm going to get to that in a moment. Actually, former spokesperson for her will be here.

But, Vivian Salama, can I just ask you because I know you're covering the Trump transition for "The Wall Street Journal" and you've been breaking so much news.

Musk goes ahead of Trump on this funding bill publicly and significantly so. He is the leader here in the charge against it, 70 posts, 12 hours between his first post and Trump finally weighing in.

How risky of a game is Musk playing?

VIVIAN SALAMA, NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: It's incredibly risky, and amazingly, his advisers have been remarkably silent on why it took Donald Trump or even Vice President- elect J.D. Vance, so long to weigh in on this issue, whereas Elon Musk, as you were saying, was tweeting all day long about this, as was Vivek Ramaswamy, the two men who are leading the Department of Government Efficiency coming into this next administration.

And so, it is very unusual to see close advisors to Donald Trump getting ahead of him on critical issues like this. But also, you know, whether or not there was any coordination in advance. You know, advisers told us that they did kind of receive Trump's blessing, that they were on the same page, but they really couldn't give much more of an explanation as to why Elon Musk was just kind of going full throated, you know, rejection of bill so early on without us hearing from Trump.

And so he is definitely playing a risky game. Donald Trump typically likes to kind of be his own spokesman. We know that -- just -- I happen to cover his first White House. And so we saw that play out. And it will be interesting to see how this plays out too.

BURNETT: I mean, Karen, it will be interesting because, you know, it -- you know, when Icarus flew too close to the sun, you know. But this is a -- this is a very fascinating moment, right? You've got chaos as Manu is describing it on Capitol Hill.

Chaos, right. Complete and utter disarray and that utter disarray is because of Elon Musk.

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Because of Elon Musk, and because of Donald Trump. And I'm going to say something that I'm predicting right now. I'm going to get to say maybe 100 times before Donald Trump is out of office. We told you so.

You know, Democrats predicted that if you -- I mean, as you pointed out, Nikki Haley predicted that Donald Trump was going to bring chaos and to the point that was just made. So you have two unelected corporate billionaires basically driving the decision about what's going to happen with our budget, whether or not to default and to whether or not to raise the debt ceiling, whether or not to, you know, miss the deadlines and we won't have air traffic controllers and we won't have, you know, all the government functions.

And, you know, I have to believe that Americans are asking themselves, wait a second, that's not what we voted for. And Trump has already said he doesn't know he can do the one thing that they that they did say they wanted, which was lower costs.

BURNETT: And, of course, obviously, you know, the thing about Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy and, you know, many in their sphere, right? People in Silicon Valley, you know, they think this is all about government efficiency. And obviously, you know, Trump and others have -- have other things in mind.

Congressman, Democratic Congressman Dan Goldman reacted to Musk and what he said about the spending bill. He said, quote, as the shadow president-elect, Elon Musk is now calling the shots for House Republicans on government funding while Trump hides in Mar-a-Lago behind his handlers, its increasingly seems like were in for four years of an unelected oligarch running the country by pulling on his puppets, strings.

Obviously, a comment that is targeted, you know, at Trump and his response to that. But is Congressman Goldman right?

DENT: Well, it certainly doesn't bode well for the future if Elon Musk is going to have this type of influence over the basic functioning of government. Right now, really, it's up to Speaker Mike Johnson. He's the speaker of the House. He can put the bill on the floor. He knows that he needs the Democrats to pass a continuing resolution. We've always known this.

So that's really the issue. The speaker can ignore all the noise and put the bill on the floor. He can do this one of two ways. He can do it under what's called a suspension of the rules, where they need two thirds of the entire vote, or they can go through the regular process and run the risk of some House Republicans tanking this in the Rules Committee. And then you only need a majority vote.

But right now, it's up to the speaker of the House to make a decision to put the bill on the floor and figure out what will get the votes.

FINNEY: But, Charlie, I mean, I would think Democrats, though, would say, okay, who's really running things? Why should we? Because we know Johnson is going to need Democrats to help get anything done. If I'm Hakeem Jeffries and the Democrats, I'm saying, wait a second, why are we going to help you when were negotiating with you? But you're not really even the person who seems to be in charge here?

BURNETT: Vivian --

DENT: Apparently, they've already negotiated the bill. They've already negotiated the bill, and they've got Democratic support. So put it on the floor and let the votes fall where they may, ignore Trump and ignore -- and ignore Musk on this because they're going to shut the government down. Otherwise they, Musk and Trump are going to shut it down.

But Johnson could prevent that just by allowing a vote.

BURNETT: Vivian, let me ask you because you just broke some news also on -- speaking of who's, you know, who's powerful right now, you broke the news that Tucker Carlson is the one who torpedoed Mike Pompeo's chances to serve in this Trump administration.

How much influence from your reporting, Vivian, does Tucker have behind the scenes?

SALAMA: He does have enormous influence. He talks to Trump constantly. They're on the phone together. He's at Mar-a-Lago often.

And he talks to him about a range of issues, policy issues, personnel issues, and he's weighed in on them even before the election. And so, you know, my reporting showed from many sources that that Carlson, who has aired his grievances against the former secretary of state and former director of the CIA, Mike -- Mike Pompeo publicly so his grievances were known.

[19:15:04]

He really made a point to go in and talk to Trump before the election and tell him that, in his words, he felt Pompeo was, quote, evil. And he thinks that he's a warmonger and a neocon, associating him with, you know, many of the people that basically turned against Trump in the first administration. And so he sees it as kind of linked.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you all very much. I appreciate it.

And we'll release you from the witness protection program, Charlie Dent.

(LAUGHTER)

BURNETT: All right. Thanks to all.

And also on Capitol Hill tonight, Republicans have released a report. And this is what Congressman Dent had referenced. It targets former Republican Congressman Liz Cheney specifically for leading the January 6th investigation. The report states, quote, numerous federal laws were likely broken by Liz Cheney, the former vice chair of the January 6th Select Committee. And these violations should be investigated by the FBI.

That report giving Trump the ammunition he's been asking for when it comes to prosecuting Cheney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: And Cheney was behind it, and so was Bennie Thompson and everybody on that committee.

KRISTEN WELKER, NBC NEWS ANCHOR: We're going to --

TRUMP: -- for what they did, honestly, they should go to jail.

I think that Liz Cheney is a disaster. All she wants to do is blow people up. She's a war hawk and a dumb one at that. If you gave Liz Cheney a gun and put her into battle, facing the other

side with guns pointing at her, she wouldn't have the courage or the strength or the stamina to even look the enemy in the eye.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: All right. I want to go to Tim Mulvey. He served as communications director for the House Select Committee investigation into January 6th, working very closely with Cheney and the other seven committee members.

So, Tim, here is this, you know, coming out today, you know, as part of all of this chaos on Capitol Hill, this Liz Cheney situation where they are signaling her out for retribution in the House Republicans January 6th report saying numerous laws were likely broken by Liz Cheney.

And, you know, obviously, we've heard the context here, the former and future president saying that that she and others should go to jail for what they did. What do you say to this report today in that context?

TIM MULVEY, FORMER JANUARY 6TH COMMITTEE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Well, it's ridiculous and its a little scary, but unfortunately it's not that much of a surprise. We've seen for the last two years, every six months or so, Representative Loudermilk trot out a new report rehashing the same baseless allegations about the Select Committee. And each time he has some new cherry picked piece of evidence that he wants to be some sort of smoking gun.

You know, for a lot of that time, they tried to tear down the credibility of one of the select committee's key witnesses, Cassidy Hutchinson, because she had the courage to tell the truth about what happened on January 6th and in the run up to January 6th.

So it's not a surprise that he's now shifting his focus to Liz Cheney for having the courage to seek the truth about what happened on January 6th, but more broadly, you know, I think in the last couple of weeks, we've seen this troubling trend that the people who control the levers of power in government are about to control the levers of power and government seem to think that the justice system is there to exact political retribution on their enemies, whether it's suing media outlets for coverage they don't like or trying to criminalize congressional oversight, or trying to investigate and prosecute perceived political enemies.

So if that's a preview of what's to come, I think we're going down a very dangerous path.

BURNETT: You mentioned Cassidy Hutchinson. So let me just ask you about what the report specifically says. It accuses Cheney of colluding with Cassidy Hutchinson, who was a former Trump White House aide. You know, obviously, her testimony about January 6th was crucial to the investigation. People may remember, you know, her talking about Trump wanting to turn around the -- The Beast, the White House limo, go back to the Capitol.

Just -- when you look at this, do you see any instances of collusion?

MULVEY: No, absolutely not. The allegations are nonsense. Cassidy Hutchinson was committed to telling the truth about what she knew and saw on January 6th and leading up to it, to the point where she felt like she was getting bad advice from her attorney and got rid of that attorney and came seeking advice about -- about where to go from there.

But this is -- this is a woman who, unlike a lot of the people she worked with at the White House, was committed to making sure that there was a complete record. And the select committee, of course, had an obligation to get all of that information and provide it to the American people.

BURNETT: So there was a lawmaker today in the context of this report, Tim spoke to CNN and said, I don't want him coming after me now. This person wants to remain anonymous, but I give you this quote because I wonder if you're hearing that, that others have fear that they could be next and whether this will and that just to be honest, this will change people's willingness to speak out or to speak up in any way.

[19:20:09]

MULVEY: Well, I think that's certainly an aim of something like Chairman Loudermilk's report that is trying to stick the FBI on a former member of Congress trying to do her job. But I think about the work we did on the select committee, and I know I didn't do anything wrong and that my colleagues didn't -- the members didn't. We were carrying out the mandate for the select committee.

But again, you know, if we're going down this path where the justice system is used to go after political opponents, I understand why people might, might -- might feel that way. Sure.

BURNETT: All right. Well, Tim, I appreciate your time. And thank you very much.

MULVEY: Thanks, Erin. Good to be with you.

BURNETT: All right. You, too.

And next, we have more breaking news. The House Ethics Committee report on Matt Gaetz's alleged sexual misconduct, including sex with a minor, is about to be released to the public. I'm going to speak to a lawyer for two women who testified against Gaetz. As we await, that could be coming any moment.

And we're learning more about how Ukraine pulled off its brazen assassination of Putin's top general, as Trump's Ukraine envoy slams Ukraine for the attack. We've got reporting from Moscow tonight.

Plus, breaking news, accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione about to appear in a courtroom. And tonight, we are learning who is paying for the high powered New York attorney now defending him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [19:25:44]

BURNETT: Breaking news: Matt Gaetz, defiant. We are learning that the house ethics report on allegations of sexual misconduct against him will be released at any moment. So were watching for that as we have this conversation.

The former congressman has actually now been hired as an anchor on a television network, a right wing media network threatening to return to the Capitol, though now saying, quote, someone suggested the following plan to me show up January 3rd to Congress. Participate in speaker election. Take the oath. File a privileged motion to expose every #metoo settlement paid using public funds. Resign and start my OANN program. That's the network.

The House Ethics Committee decided in a secret vote that it will release its report about Gaetz, including allegations he paid women for sex. This is crucial. This means you had to have Republicans on board, the former congressman sent Trump's first pick for attorney general, insists he's innocent as he has all the way through this.

OUTFRONT now is Joel Leppard, an attorney who represents two women who testified against Gaetz who are central in this report. They claim he paid them thousands of dollars for sex. One of them testifying she witnessed Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was 17 at the time, at a party that had a lot of high schoolers. He was 35.

Joel Gaetz tonight saying, quote, I often send funds to women I dated, even some I never dated. But who asked? I dated several of these women for years. I never had sexual contact with someone under 18. It's embarrassing, though not criminal, that I partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life.

What's your response to that?

JOEL LEPPARD, LAWYER FOR WOMEN WHO TESTIFIED AGAINST GAETZ ABOUT SEX ALLEGATIONS: Well, you know, the testimony before the House was that in fact, there were at least two, perhaps three, perhaps as many as -- as over a dozen individuals that were paid by Representative Gaetz to have sex. And that's the testimony, at least, that I'm aware of before the house.

As to his other allegations that, you know, that he has been vindicated. You know, just because an individual, just because a prosecutor doesn't go forward on the charges, doesn't mean that, in fact, there's no evidence there. And I think the American people very shortly will see how much evidence is exactly there.

BURNETT: I know your clients, when you and I have spoken through this, you know, wanted the truth to be out there. Of course, they have very much valued their privacy in all of this. But here we are, this report going to come out something that they had hoped for. But then when his, you know, application for attorney general, when he resigned or said he wasn't going to go for that, it seemed this all was going to go away. How surprised were you and your clients when we found out today that

this report will see the light of day, frankly, because Republicans are supporting it, doing so.

LEPPARD: You know, Erin, I was in the middle of court when I got a ring of text messages and phone calls. I was very surprised when I found out the news today. I think as where everyone the Republican controlled house voted to release the report. As for my clients, they are glad to move forward with their lives. And I think they're saying that the release of the report speaks for itself.

BURNETT: So last time we spoke, you know, when you're talking about two, three, up to a dozen people that you understand were paid by Gaetz for sex. In this report, I know when you spoke to me, you said your client said Gaetz had paid them, just your clients, the two of them, $10,000, and that they had provided the committee with numerous photos, including selfies from Gaetz, pictures from a trip that he had taken them on to New York in 2019.

So what more do you think we're going to learn when this report is released? I mean, do you think that this is sort of the opening of Pandora's box, or do you think that this is simply going to be evidence supporting a fact pattern that's already been out in the public?

LEPPARD: You know, that's interesting. And when I said up to a dozen, that's the thing, is that we don't know. We know that 13 individuals were required to testify before the House. And we know a fraction, two or three bits of the testimony. But what's interesting is what we don't know.

You know, I only know a little bit of what's out there. And very soon, the American people will know a lot more than even I know right now. And that's what's interesting. But I think the American people will be surprised about the extent of the report. The last report that was issued by the House Ethics Committee was well over 800 pages, and this one will probably not be shorter than that.

And so, the depth, you know, the hundreds of text messages, the thousands of documents that the House ethics lawyers reviewed and shall summarize in the report, I think that it's going to be a very damaging report.

BURNETT: And Gaetz is also talking about your clients. In his post, he said the DOJ deemed them, quote, not credible. What is your response to that?

LEPPARD: You know, the DOJ never said that my clients were not credible. The DOJ decided not to move forward on charges. And that's, you know, they had their own reasons for doing so. But my clients do not have any motivation to lie. They refuse to speak to anyone unless required to do so. And the American people through Congress require them to testify truthfully.

And that's what they did. And the American people will soon get the opportunity to decide for themselves whether or not my clients are credible. And I think they'll find that they are right.

BURNETT: Right, of course, we'll see the entire text messages, all the fact pattern in this report. And interesting that you say you expect it to be that 800 page range.

Joel, thank you very much. I appreciate your time tonight.

LEPPARD: Thanks for having me.

BURNETT: All right. And next, Zelenskyy sounding the alarm, warning his military cannot head off Russia's gains inside Ukraine comes as Putin is plotting revenge for the killing of one of his top generals on the streets of Moscow, where CNN is tonight.

And new details about the 15-year-old girl who killed a classmate and a teacher at her Wisconsin school, critically injuring others. Classmate whose locker was next to hers is speaking out tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was really quiet. She didn't really have any friends.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:36:00]

BURNETT: Tonight, Donald Trump's Ukrainian peace envoy slamming Ukraine's assassination of a top Russian general in the heart of Moscow, four miles from the Kremlin, warning that the brazen killing went too far, was not a good idea at all, end quote.

Russia claiming to have arrested the person responsible for the killing, vowing retaliation. Broadly, it comes as Ukraine says it's developed a laser weapon capable of destroying targets that are more than a mile from the ground with lasers, space lasers, I guess.

Fred Pleitgen is OUTFRONT in Moscow.

And, Fred, you're learning new details about the assassination and a man Russia has arrested.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Erin.

You know, a lot of details coming out today from the Russians. First of all, Russian state media is identifying the man who was arrested as 29-year-old Akhmad Kurbanov, a citizen of Uzbekistan.

And the Russians are saying that he was recruited by Ukraine's security service, the SBU, ordered to come to Moscow and that he received an electric scooter here, and that then he was given a homemade bomb, an explosive device, that he rigged the scooter with that explosive device and parked it outside of that apartment block where the General Igor Kirillov lived.

Now, apparently, after that, what he did was he got a car-sharing car. He rented a car that was rigged with a camera and also parked it outside of that same building. Now the camera was able to see the entrance of that building where the general would come in and come out at the same time. That car was rigged with a camera with a direct feed. The Russians say to the city of Dnipro in Central Ukraine.

Of course, the city that you've reported from extensively as well. So the Ukrainians, the Russians allege, had eyes on that building the entire time. And when the general and his assistant came out, that is when the explosive device was set off.

And of course, we were at the scene there yesterday, and that explosion did seem to be pretty massive. In fact, on the other side of the road, the building there also damaged, with a lot of the glass broken there.

The Russians are alleging that the reward that Kurbanov was supposed to receive was $100,000 and a passport for a European country -- unclear which European country that's supposed to be. At the same time, the Kremlin continues to be furious about all this. The first statement coming out today in the form of the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, saying that all of this shows that the Ukrainians, as he put it, would not shy away from terrorist methods -- Erin.

BURNETT: Wow, $100,000 and a passport.

Fred, thank you.

And let's go to Ian Bremmer, renowned global affairs analyst, founder of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media.

This is kind of amazing, Ian, if this is accurate, what they say -- $100,000 and a passport and look at how it ended for this guy if he is the perpetrator.

How emboldened is Ukraine? They pulled this off. However it happened. Whether the Russian version of this is true or not, they did it. They successfully did it. The guy in charge of nuclear, biological, chemical weapons, top general in Russia, and they assassinated him on the streets of Moscow.

Do you think they'll try to do another one?

IAN BREMMER, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER OF EURASIA GROUP & GZERO MEDIA: Well, first of all, let's -- let's look at this on the other side. The Russians have been doing this at scale. Instead of $100,000 in a passport, they're using telegram and they're offering 50 euros to deface a monument, you know, 500 to 5,000 to commit arson, all sorts of other crimes. And they're doing it not just in Ukraine, but also in the Baltic States, in the Nordic states, in Poland.

I mean, these are NATO allies, right? So -- you have all sorts of asymmetric warfare where these countries are using disaffected people. They're paying them off, and they're engaging in criminal acts. In this case, you have the Ukrainians directly involved in the assassination. Do the Ukrainians feel emboldened here?

I think they feel a level of desperation because they're losing land, because they are facing a NATO alliance that has been paying a little less attention to them, given the Middle East war, for example, and other things going on, like the President-elect Trump and his election.

[19:40:03]

And they also know that the longer this war goes on, the harder it is it is becoming for them. That's why they decided to make this extraordinary attack into Kursk, and where they're still holding about two thirds of the land that they took a few months ago.

BURNETT: Yeah.

BREMMER: And they had to use some almost 40,000 of their trained troops to get there. That's why they pushed so hard to get the permissioning to allow the Ukrainians to use longer range missiles and target those missiles against Russian targets inside Russia.

So, Erin, we've seen on several different occasions in the past weeks, Ukraine engaging in activities that they did not in earlier months, years of the war, in part because they're losing territory at home, and also in part because they know that the push to start negotiations is going to begin very quickly after January 20th, and they want to be in a better negotiating position.

BURNETT: Right.

BREMMER: And that's what I think is going on here.

BURNETT: And in that context. And you talk about, you know, they've got two thirds of the land they took in Kursk, which is obviously in Russia. Yet Putin has -- has been making real progress in Ukraine and Ukraine is struggling. And we know that in this context, in just hours, Putin is going to hold his annual press conference.

Now, this thing usually goes hours and hours and hours and he takes questions. But the context here. So he's got okay, in Ukraine. He might have some -- some things that they see as positive. But he's got this incredible embarrassment and humiliation, the assassination of this top general in Moscow. And that incredible, humiliating embarrassment of what's going on in Syria.

And I know this press conference is usually so scripted, but, you know, last year I know you remember, Ian, there were some pointed questions that flashed on screen behind him. So he's sitting there. He doesn't address them, but they flash behind him. Questions people have submitted.

One person said: Don't run for another term as president. Make way for the young. Embarrassing for him in that moment.

I mean, what do you think we could be in for tomorrow? BREMMER: I expect there will be more careful. I think that that not

only will his comments be as scripted, if not more scripted as they were last year, but id be surprised if they would allow journalists to be independently posting -- posting their questions. I think that they're going to be more controlled over who is allowed and the consequences for not following that are probably going to be significant.

I mean, you know, Putin has not yet mentioned publicly that they're pulling their troops out of Syria. They haven't yet mentioned publicly that they've faced this incredibly embarrassing loss and that only a week before Assad fell, the Russians were trying to buck him up. They were, you know, engaging in military airstrikes against HTS and also against civilian targets in Syria, so much for that. Now, Assad has had to pull up and is living with his family in Moscow, at least for now.

So this is -- you're right. This is embarrassing. The ruble is doing badly. The Russian economy is not where it was a year ago. U.S. sanctions have not had the impact that the Americans had hoped they would three years ago, or NATO allies, but nonetheless, Russia is having a harder time keeping their war economy afloat.

So, I mean, look, the Ukrainians are suffering more than the Russians. There's no question. And no one here is saying the Ukrainians are winning the war, but the Russians are losing. They're in decline, and they're doing very badly globally.

And that is a difficult position for Putin to be in. Its a difficult position for him to pretend that he's, you know, having hours and hours of open conversations with members of the Russian media. They are very far for from an open and independent media in Russia.

BURNETT: All right. Well, we're going to see and watch this. And thank you so much, Ian. I appreciate it as always. We all do.

And next, we have just learned some more about that Wisconsin school shooter a filing coming in. Unbelievable details in there. Among them that her parents had married and divorced multiple times each other. The teen was splitting times between their homes, which were not nearby.

And Luigi Mangione's New York attorney, who's paying her. We'll tell you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:48:42]

BURNETT: Tonight, new details about the home life of the 15-year-old girl who killed a student and teacher in Madison, Wisconsin, court documents obtained by CNN show her parents married and divorced each other at least twice.

The teen at this time was splitting time between their homes as part of a very complicated custody schedule. We're learning that she had recently been in therapy.

Whitney Wild is OUTFRONT with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Families of students at Abundant Life Christian School returning to the scene of a horrific crime, retrieving belongings, the first step in a long road to healing.

MACKYNZIE WILSON, HAD LOCKER NEXT TO ABUNDANT LIFE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL SHOOTER: It's going to be hard going into the school again after all the like, fear and trauma.

WILD: Mackynzie Wilson had a locker next to the shooter, 15 year old Natalie Rupnow.

WILSON: She was really quiet. She didn't really have any friends. And like, she just seemed really lonely. And she was just like -- it wasn't like she was trying to, like, fit in. She seemed very like content being alone. I guess.

WILD: This as new details are emerging about Rupnow, who opened fire at a private Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin, Monday, killing two and wounding six others.

According to court documents obtained by CNN, her parents married and divorced twice within the span of about ten years. The documents show a complicated arrangement, with Natalie moving between homes every 2 to 3 days.

[19:50:03]

Ultimately, her father, Jeff, had primary custody, with regular visits from her mother, and they lived roughly 40 minutes apart. The documents also show that Natalie attended therapy, and her parents were encouraged to join her. Neither Jeff nor Melissa Rupnow have responded to CNN's multiple requests for comment, but court family documents say at one point reported a generally positive co-parenting relationship.

Police say Rupnow's parents, Jeff and Melissa, are cooperating with the investigation.

According to police, Rupnow used a handgun in the attack, but its unclear how she obtained the weapon. A Facebook photo posted by Rupnow's father in August shows her at a shooting range. A comment from her dad on the photo says they joined the range in the spring and quote, we have been loving every second of it.

She's also seen wearing a KMFDM shirt, a German industrial rock band whose lyrics were cited by the shooters at the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, in Colorado. The band at the time condemned that horrific attack.

The band's music also accompanied a TikTok post from Dylan Butler, shortly before he opened fire at a school in Iowa in January, killing a sixth grader and wounding seven.

Police say they're looking into Rupnow's activity online. Experts say any social media footprint left behind by Rupnow is crucial to the investigation.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: In order to get to that motive, investigators will have to rely on witnesses. Any writing she left behind and a deep dive into her social media history to see if there's any indication why she conducted this heinous act.

WILD: A heinous act that took the life of a teacher who Wilson says was popular among students.

WILSON: She really loved her kids, and she really, really loved everyone at her school, and she would have done anything for them. Looking back, I wish I had gone -- I could have gone back and given her a hug.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WILD: Erin, Mackynzie's mom, Lindsay, went to school here. She started at this school when she was just eight years old. And what is abundantly clear here, here, Erin, is that this is a school with a very strong sense of community. These are generations of families who sent their kids to school here, and they cling so tightly to their faith, maybe tonight more than ever -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Whitney, thank you very much. Whitney obviously covering this, breaking so much of this news.

And next, accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione due in court in hours. We're going to bring you the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:56:56]

BURNETT: Breaking news, accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione hours away from appearing in court, where he is expected to waive extradition to New York.

Mangione will be there in that Pennsylvania courtroom tomorrow morning. And it comes as we are learning that his attorney, Karen Friedman Agnifilo someone. Of course, all of you know very well from this show was hired by Mangione's family, the wealthy and influential Mangione family, who as of tonight, we understand have not yet visited their son.

Danny Freeman is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Luigi Mangione spends perhaps his final hours in a Pennsylvania prison, remarks from the New York police department have swung the spotlight back to Mangione's family. JOSEPH KINNEY, NYPD CHIEF OF DETECTIVES: Part of that vetting process

was that they reached out to Mangione mother in San Francisco very late on the seventh. They had a conversation where she didn't indicate that it was her son in the photograph, but she said it might be something that she could see him doing.

FREEMAN: Mangione's mother, Kathy Mangione, called in a missing persons report in San Francisco for Luigi 16 days before the midtown Manhattan shooting. A law enforcement official told CNN she called San Francisco police because it was the last city she thought Luigi lived.

His mother told authorities shed been calling her son repeatedly, but the voicemail was full. The law enforcement official also said that when asked by police, Mangione's mother said she didn't feel her son was a danger to himself or others. Less than a week later, investigators say Mangione arrived by bus at New York City's Port Authority.

Mangione's Baltimore family is well off. According to "The Baltimore Sun", his grandfather, Nicholas Mangione, built a local real estate empire that included nursing home facilities around Maryland and two suburban country clubs. But during his first court appearance in Pennsylvania, Mangione told a judge he had been in contact with his family, quote, until recently.

On Monday, a friend told OUTFRONT a similar story.

GURWINDER BHOGAL, WRITER WHO WAS IN TOUCH WITH MANGIONE FOR MONTHS: He said that the people around him were not on his wavelength, and he was eager for a community of like minded people. And that was one of the reasons why he wanted to talk to me. He just said that the people around him, he couldn't really talk to them because like, you know, he said he was, that they were on a different wavelength.

FREEMAN: Mangione's family friend, Santo Grasso told "The Wall Street Journal" he felt the family was blindsided by the news of Luigi's arrest.

Mangione also wrote about his mom in at least one online post, according to "The Wall Street Journal". In an online book review, he remarked how his mother would make him eat steak with his right hand, even though he was left hand dominant out of adherence to social norms.

LUIGI MANGIONE, ALLEGED CEO KILLER: Completely out of touch --

FREEMAN: According to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Mangione has spent most of his time behind bars alone, continuing to take all of his meals by himself in his cell. A prison spokesperson saying while Mangione has received money for his prison commissary account, dozens of emails and new tonight, more than 50 letters -- still, the spokesperson says no family have visited, just attorneys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: Now, Erin, I'll say once again, I reached out to the family for comment for this story, but I did not hear back. Though, as you noted in your intro, we did learn from CNN's Kara Scannell through sources that the family is the one that is, in fact, paying for that high powered defense attorney that will be representing Luigi Mangione for those New York murder charges.

Meanwhile, Erin, I'll just preview what's going to be happening tomorrow here at the courthouse behind me, we're going to see a crush of media, a crush of law enforcement, as Mangione makes what may be his final appearance in a Pennsylvania court before ultimately heading back to New York -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Danny.

And thanks so much to all of you.

"AC360" starts now.