Return to Transcripts main page

Inside Politics

CEO Killing Suspect Part Of Wealthy Family, Was High School Valedictorian And Ivy League Graduate; New York Attorney General Says It Won't Drop Trump Civil Judgment; Released Hostage Describes Horror She Endured In Gaza. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired December 10, 2024 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00]

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: We have new details on the suspected CEO killer's influential and wealthy family after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections just released this new mugshot of the CEO killing suspect. On the surface, Luigi Mangione had a lot going for him, family wealth, Ivy League education, but obviously something went tragically wrong.

[12:35:00]

I want to bring in just Justin Fenton. He is an investigative reporter for the Baltimore Banner. Thank you so much for being here. Justin, you co-wrote the story this morning on your site, Luigi Mangione's sprawling family found success after patriarch's rise.

You've been digging into his privileged upbringing. How privileged was it?

JUSTIN FENTON, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, THE BALTIMORE BANNER: Yes, one of the first things that happened when we got the suspect's name, I posted on social media and one of the first replies was, is it that Mangione family? He's one of 37 grandkids and a large, well known, successful Italian American family from the Baltimore area.

They own and run the Turf Valley Resort, which is 1,000 acre resort with two golf courses and a hotel. They also run another facility called the Hayes Field. They own a conservative radio station. And also assisted living facilities.

And so that enabled him to attend the Gilman School. It's an all-boys school here in Baltimore that is one of, if not the most prestigious, it's one of the most prestigious private schools in this area. And he wasn't just a student there, he excelled. He was a valedictorian.

BASH: Sure.

FENTON: Very popular. BASH: And it's not just that the family is sprawling and wealthy, the family is also very philanthrobic (ph) -- philanthropic rather. The Greater Baltimore Medical Center, big donor there, Archdiocese of Baltimore, Gilchrist Hospice Care, Northwest Hospital, Mercy High School, Loyola Blakefield, for example.

FENTON: Yes, that was one of the things we looked at. We were drawn to the fact that not only did they spread money around to various civic causes, but the health care aspect. There was many hospitals that received a lot of money and Greater Baltimore Medical Center was at the top of that list.

BASH: And look, I know it's obviously early and everybody is trying to get answers to this very scary and unlikely story, particularly his story of where he comes from and what he allegedly has done. What are you hearing given the fact that you're in the community and reporting in the community since it's such a big family, since it's such a sprawling, influential family from people either in that family or connected to?

FENTON: Yes, our reporters at the Banner are trying to reach out to as many people as we can. I feel like, you know, in these types of cases, it seems like the suspect tends to be described as a loner or a, you know, an outcast or just even nondescript.

But, you know, people are using words like a, you know, natural leader, thoughtful, deeply compassionate. Obviously, he was very popular and successful. So -- but one of the angles that we're trying to track down though, is that there was -- there did seem to be in the past, a few months or so, some sort of a break and people say that he sort of went off the grid.

He wasn't communicating. We even found out that his mother contacted police in San Francisco filing a missing persons report, trying to track him down. So something occurred in recent months and that's something that we're hoping to learn more about.

BASH: Yes. And then one of the questions that I don't -- is not answerable now or at least I don't have the answer, it sounds like you don't either is, you know, once they did crowdsourcing of his photo back before we knew exactly who he was, if he comes from such a big family and he has, you know, friends who he grew up with and went to college with and has a very distinctive face, presumably, they saw who it was. It wasn't just a very heroic worker in the Altoona McDonald's.

FENTON: Yes. I mean, I think law enforcement said that they didn't know who he wasn't until they found him. And so that's a big question. I think we all want to know the answer too.

BASH: Yes. Thank you so much for coming on and sharing your reporting. Appreciate it, Justin.

FENTON: Thank you very much.

BASH: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:43:23]

BASH: This just in to CNN, the New York Attorney General's office rejected Donald Trump's attempt to drop the $454 million civil fraud case against him. The AG's office says Trump's appeal poses no burden to his future presidency.

In a letter to Trump's attorney, John Sauer, who, last month, asked New York Attorney General Letitia James to dismiss the case following the election, New York's Deputy Solicitor General wrote, presidents do not have immunity from civil lawsuits arising from unofficial conduct and such lawsuits may proceed while the president is in office.

New York Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay the $454 million plus interest after finding he and others fraudulently inflated the value of properties, including hotels and golf courses on financial statements used to obtain favorable loan and insurance rates.

Coming up, she spent 51 days in Hamas captivity. Now she's fighting for the hostages left behind, including her own husband. I sat down with Aviva Siegel, and that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:48:56]

BASH: Fourteen months ago, Aviva Siegel and her husband Keith were abducted from their home, taken hostage by Hamas terrorists during the brutal October 7th attack on Israel. Fifty one days later, Aviva was released, in the only hostage for prisoner agreement between Israel and Hamas since October 7th.

Her husband Keith was not part of that agreement. Now she is fighting for his freedom calling for the release of all hostages and an end of war. I sat down with Aviva yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

BASH: Aviva Siegel, thank you so much for joining us.

AVIVA SIEGEL, HELD HOSTAGE BY HAMAS FOR 51 DAYS, HUSBAND STILL CAPTIVE: Thank you so much for having me.

BASH: Can you describe what you endured and what Keith is likely still enduring?

SIEGEL: OK, so I'll take you to one day in Gaza. I was there for 51 days and Keith is there for a year and two months. And we need to get them out before it's too late, because they're there dying slowly underneath the ground.

Keith and I were taken underneath the ground and we were just left there by the Hamas terrorists. We were left there to die.

[12:50:04] And I'm lucky to be sitting here alive and talking to you because we got to the stage that we couldn't breathe. And Keith said that he feels that he can't breathe. And I looked at him and I said to him, just breathe, Keith. Just lie down and breathe.

And we had the feeling that we're going to die. And I remember myself thinking who's going to die first, Keith. And I did not want to even look at his chest to see his chest going up and down. And I'll never forget that moment getting out of being underneath the ground to the air and breathing out. It was like I was born.

BASH: And by that time you -- the two of you had been separated in the tunnels?

SIEGEL: Keith and I were together for 50 days. The last day I was separated from Keith, not knowing if I'll ever, ever see Keith again. And I'm a witness of the girls that were touched. I'm a witness of the girls that were beaten and Keith being tortured.

And one of the hardest things for me is when they tortured Keith and they tortured the girls. And for me to think about them underneath the ground and going through what the Hamas did to me while I was starving the 18 front of me. And they didn't give us water. So many times I had infection in my stomach. In 51 days, I lost 10 kilos.

BASH: You said as we were sitting down before we began this that I should ask you anything. So I'm just going to ask you, you said you saw women being touched, raped? What do you mean by that?

SIEGEL: You know, the girl that told me that she was touched told me a couple of days later that Keith asked them, the girls, not to tell me everything because I'm sensitive. And the girls used to talk about the period all the time. So I don't really know if she was raped, but she was touched.

And this is a young girl. That might be the first time that anybody ever touched her. And it was done in such a brutal way that she does not deserve that. And you know that after he did that, she had to pretend that everything's OK and smile.

BASH: This is a big part of why you're here in Washington, to keep pushing Washington elected officials to do everything that they can for all of the hostages, but particularly the women, the young women that you were with in the tunnels.

SIEGEL: Those women, they could be pregnant. And you know what? They could be pregnant for the second time. There was enough time for them to rape them. And I just can't even think about it.

But I want to tell you that my Keith is 65 years old. And he was treated in such a brutal way. And I watched that. And I was with Keith while I wasn't allowed to cry. The only thing that I could do is comfort Keith. And tell him that I loved him by looking at him in the eyes. And we would take in every human right away. We weren't allowed to stand. We weren't allowed to move. We were taking oxygen. People can't live without oxygen. We were starved while they ate in front of us.

We were tortured in any way that anybody can ever figure out. And it's the worst, the worst thing that any human being should go through, being underneath the ground in a tunnel and being felt like you forgot about. So I'm here screaming for the girls. I'm screaming here for Keith and all the hostages.

BASH: And you have on your shirt, 430, 430 days that Keith has been a hostage. Do you have any insight, any sort of intelligence from the Israeli government, anyone about his whereabouts, about his state? You know, obviously we know emotionally, but physically?

SIEGEL: Nothing. We do know that in April, that's more than a half a year ago, Hamas released a video of Keith while he's crying and he's begging. And when Keith and I were in captivity when they did the video on us, I told Keith that I feel like I'm going to cry when I talk.

And he said, no, Aviva. Keep strong because when your kids see you in Gaza, they'll want to see you strong. And Keith is, in April, he's crying and begging. So I can't even imagine what state he is. We don't know anything about Keith.

BASH: He's an American citizen.

SIEGEL: Keith's an American citizen.

BASH: You have hope that the new -- newly elected administration will or could do anything differently. I mean, you've heard President-elect Trump say that there will be hell to pay if Israeli hostages including of course, American citizens, are not free before he takes office.

SIEGEL: All I can tell you that I know that at least half of the hostages are still alive waiting.

[12:55:01]

I want to ask the Biden and the Trump to get together and be strong, even though they think different, and it will show the world that two people that think different are strong enough to bring all the hostages back home.

BASH: Aviva Siegel, a former hostage yourself, incredibly, you're an incredibly strong person to be here and to be pushing still. Thank you.

SIEGEL: I want to say one more thing, that I want good for all the people in the world. For me to think about mothers having babies in tents breaks my heart in Gaza. And all the people that are treated in Gaza the way they are because Hamas is responsible for what everybody there is feeling.

This war should end for the Israelis and for the Palestinians. BASH: A lot of innocent Gazans. No question about it. Thank you.

SIEGEL: Thank you so much.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BASH: Thank you for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:00:00]