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Nick Reiner Held Without Bail After First Court Appearance; Four GOP Lawmakers Join With Dems to Force Vote on ACA Subsidies; FCC Chair Defends Himself From Accusations of Politicizing Agency. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired December 17, 2025 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:00]

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- whether or not they would let media into the courtroom and what could be recorded and what not could be -- what would not be recorded. There was definitely a concern of not having Nick Reiner on camera, in pictures or on camera. So that was one thing that they made sure that -- the defense attorneys said that they did not want.

The other thing that they did ask is that normally you have a right to a speedy arraignment, and the judge then asked Nick Reiner directly whether or not he was OK waiving his right to a speedy arraignment because his lawyer, Alan Jackson was saying that they wanted -- it was just too soon and that they wanted the arraignment to be moved to January 7, 2026. And at that point, that is when we heard Nick Reiner say, "Yes, Your Honor."

So it was very, very brief. He was seated inside of like the pen inside of the courthouse. He was just in the courtroom. He was just seated there right behind his attorneys. And then at that point, it was pretty much done. We all filed out. And then you just saw attorney Alan Jackson asking for people to allow this process to move forward, and to do it with restraint and dignity, and pointing out, as we all know, that this is devastating for the entire family.

One of the things that we've been trying to figure out is who has hired a high-profile attorney like Alan Jackson to represent Nick Reiner? And that is still unclear. He would not answer earlier, yesterday, whether or not he was hired by the family. But overall, this is devastating. Remember, that in this case, that the Reiners were killed some point they believe, law enforcement said early Sunday morning, just after that party Saturday night at Conan O'Brien's house where people witnessed Rob Reiner and Nick Reiner getting into an argument.

There was another person who was at that party who told our Nick Watt that she saw the younger Reiner there, and that he didn't really fit in. He was staying off by himself. He was dressed very casually while everyone was dressed up for this holiday party, and that he was just smoking a cigarette over by a fire pit and just had no real emotion or reaction on his face while they were there.

So somewhere after that, then into the morning, they believe early morning is when likely, law enforcement has said, they believe that the Reiners were killed. And it wasn't until three o'clock in the afternoon on Sunday when their daughter, who lives across the street, went over to check on her parents and discovered them, and then had someone else call 9-1-1. So, imagine the trauma for the two remaining siblings in the Reiner family after she discovered her parents, and then finding out that the number one suspect in the case is your brother.

So they're saying that this is going to be a very sensitive and to some extent, traumatic next few weeks, months as they work through this trial because of that sensitive nature of the family dealing with such a gruesome murder and it having to do so personally at home. But now, we at least know that he is going to be facing these charges of two counts of first degree murder. We also know that there'll be special circumstances because of the fact that there was a knife involved and because there was more than one murder.

But all of this, none of this negates the pain for the people who love the Reiners, here in Los Angeles and in Hollywood and for so much of the good that they did around the world. There are a lot of broken hearts, regardless, as this court case moves on. Dana?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR OF 'INSIDE POLITICS': I mean, the level of trauma and terror and the layers of it in what you just described, and what we're seeing is just -- it's astonishing. Stephanie, before I let you go, I believe you said this, he's being held without bail still. How unusual is it to agree to sort of hide the face of the defendant in a situation like this in Los Angeles, where there are cameras in the courtroom and if it's -- well, answer that question and then I'll --

ELAM: I think part of it here is the medical concern. We also know that there was a medical evaluation that they said everyone has to go through when they leave the jailhouse and they come here to the courthouse. But, we thought perhaps that we might see Nick Reiner in court yesterday. But then Alan Jackson told us yesterday, that that's something that has to happen day to day. He didn't come. He did come today.

Now what I don't know, Dana, is does that mean -- could he have flu- like symptoms? Does that mean a mental health issue? It just said a mental check. I don't know what that means. We don't know what that means at this point, but it does give an idea that that may be part of the reason, the health of the individual. But seeing as I'm not a lawyer, I don't want to say that for sure, but that is the indication that we're getting here.

BASH: That makes sense for sure. Stephanie, thank you so much for being there and rocking and rolling with us as we're watching this absolutely horrific situation and the judicial system start to work in this tragedy. Thanks.

Coming up, I will speak to one of the four Republicans who defied House Speaker Johnson, who says he wants to force a vote on Obamacare subsidies. Congressman Mike Lawler will be here next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:39:32]

BASH: This morning, four fed-up House Republicans broke ranks with House Speaker Mike Johnson and joined Democrats to sign on to a petition intended to force a vote extending Obamacare subsidies for three years. Now that Republican, one of the Republicans is joining me now, Mike Lawler of New York. Thank you so much for being here.

Congressman, we have been talking about this and I know you have been talking about this to anyone who will listen for months that this needs to get fixed.

[12:40:00]

Republicans, I don't need to tell you, run the House, they run the Senate. There's a Republican president in the White House. So, did Republican leadership fail here?

REP. MIKE LAWLER, (R-NY): Look, we had a government shutdown for 43 days and Democrats said this was an existential crisis. And so when the government reopened, I sat down in a good faith bipartisan way with my Democratic colleagues and my Republican colleagues to broker a compromised piece of legislation that would extend the subsidies, but put serious reforms in place. We worked to get that through our House Republican leadership to have them put it on the floor for an up or down vote and let the process work and allow the House to do its business.

Ultimately, we could not reach agreement with House Republican leadership about putting those bills up for a vote. We introduced them as discharge petitions. 11 Republicans signed on to two of those bipartisan compromised bills. We do not have enough Democrats on them. The clock is ticking. And so ultimately, I and three others, Brian Fitzpatrick, Rob Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie were left with no choice but to sign the three-year discharge and force an actual vote on the House floor.

Ultimately, if it passes the House, it'll have to go to the Senate. We saw this three-year bill fail in the Senate last week when Chuck Schumer put it up for a vote. So, the final product will have to be a compromise and that's been my point from the start, do the work.

BASH: Right.

LAWLER: Do the bipartisan compromise and frankly, Dana, this is important.

BASH: Yeah.

LAWLER: Both leaders -- both leaders have failed here because we don't have a bill on the floor and Hakeem Jeffries is sticking with his three years or bust with no reforms.

BASH: OK.

LAWLER: So it creates a real challenge to get something done.

BASH: But, Hakeem Jeffries does not have the power to bring something to the floor, as you know.

LAWLER: With the discharge, no -- yes, he knows with the discharge.

BASH: Right, right, right.

LAWLER: With the discharge.

BASH: I mean, but that's why you did it. I'm saying what you have done, and you just laid it out, is you failed to convince your party leadership to take seriously a genuine bipartisan effort that you worked at. Why? What was the reason that they were giving you?

LAWLER: Well, let's be honest about why we're here. Obamacare itself has failed.

BASH: No, I know. I know. And I'm going to --

LAWLER: It has not actually reduced healthcare costs.

BASH: I'm going to ask you about that in a second. I'm talking about the Band-Aid.

LAWLER: And so, our party --

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: -- hat you're trying to put on right now.

LAWLER: No, no, no. And so the challenge is getting the Republican Party to agree to advance something on the Affordable Care Act that they've never supported. And there are other issues like Hyde that were part of these challenges in trying to figure out a way forward. We worked in earnest good faith to get there. And then the Speaker did too with us. This is not an indictment of him. He has a very difficult job. He's got 219 other personalities to deal with.

But there is great frustration among myself and many others --

BASH: Yeah.

LAWLER: -- about a very simple fact, which is we have a responsibility to govern. We don't always get to say we like or don't like something. We have a reality, which is that these premium tax credits are going to expire at the end of the year and it has a direct impact on millions of Americans, including my constituents who sent me here to work on their behalf. And that's what I'm doing.

This is not about party loyalty. This is about doing the job I was elected to do, and forcing the body to actually work. And that's what we did today by signing this discharge, by forcing a vote. And ultimately, if the end result, Dana, is bipartisan compromise, then we did our job. BASH: You are one of three House Republicans serving and representing a district won by Kamala Harris. You are a majority maker. You are the reason why Mike Johnson is sitting in the office down the hall behind you and holds the gavel. Does he understand the dilemma that you and the colleagues who are pushing this are in and the sort of the greater political issue that you have and that he has?

LAWLER: He does. He does. And look, he deals with us every day on issues big and small. He's out in our districts campaigning. He was in my district two weeks ago. He understands the importance of members like me, but there's a challenge here and a difference of opinion. And ultimately, I felt I had no choice but to sign this discharge to force the vote. And so, I did what I had to do on behalf of my district, on behalf of my constituents, and on behalf of the millions of Americans who rely on this subsidy.

[12:45:00]

The system is broken and it needs to be reformed.

BASH: Right.

LAWLER: Obamacare is not working. That I fundamentally agree with. It's why we're pushing other legislation like Associated Health Plans, which will actually reduce costs by 11 percent and bring down spending by $35 billion, which in the whole --

BASH: Congressman --

LAWLER: -- in the whole is good for the American people. But this was an urgent issue that needed to be addressed, and I was proud to sign my name and force a vote.

BASH: Well, first of all, on that forcing a vote, it's December, what's today? 17th?

LAWLER: Yep.

BASH: Are you going to actually stick around through the holidays and -- because the way the process works, you have to wait seven legislative days and take the vote? Or are you going to wait until January?

LAWLER: Look, the Speaker -- by rule, the Speaker has seven legislative days to bring the bill for a vote. As it stands right now, that would mean the beginning of January. We have been calling on the Speaker today. I said it on the floor to him directly, to bring a vote to the floor. We cannot delay on this. We need to have an up or down vote.

BASH: But it's not going to happen before the end of the year?

LAWLER: But Dana, let's be honest, but let's be honest about the process here. Even if it passes the House, it's going to go to the Senate. We saw how this just went in the Senate.

BASH: Yeah.

LAWLER: And I just left a bipartisan meeting with Senators, in which we talked about the path forward. The bottom line is it's going to take bipartisan compromise, which is why I have been pushing Leader Jeffries to release his members to sign the bipartisan discharges that have bipartisan compromised legislation. We are advancing the ball forward here and we need to get a vote. But there's still a process that it will take to get a final bill passed.

BASH: There's a missing piece to this conversation, a pretty big one, and that's the president of the United States. I've covered lots of disputes or crises over the years, and what tends to happen is it gets worked out because the president gets involved, a president gets involved. He's not involved right now. Does that frustrate you? I mean, he could help forge a compromise right now.

LAWLER: Well, if you look at the Fitzpatrick Bill, that framework was built on the loose framework that the White House floated.

BASH: Right. So why isn't he making calls?

(CROSSTALK)

LAWLER: -- a few weeks. And there was -- and there was -- and there was pushback within our conference on that, but we put that bill forward anyway. I think that ultimately, the president, can and should get involved in this process to reach a compromise. But again, Dana, for there to be a compromise, that means there's going to have to be reform. A straight three-year extension is not going to pass the Senate. We just saw that. And that's why I am saying to --

BASH: Yeah.

LAWLER: -- Hakeem Jeffries, my Democratic colleague from New York, work with us on the bipartisan compromise that we've already put forth.

BASH: One last question, the president is giving a major address tonight. What do you want him to say to calm the concerns of your constituents?

LAWLER: Well, look, I'm sure he is going to highlight the work that the administration and Congress have done throughout the course of this year. But the focus has to be on affordability, from housing where we're 8.5e million units underbuilt, to healthcare where premiums continue to rise because Obamacare failed, to energy prices. We're working on permitting reform and how we can bring down energy costs. There needs to be a focus on the affordability agenda of the administration and Congress as we head into the New Year.

Obviously, the Working Families Tax Cut Bill will take effect immediately next year. So when people go to file in April, they will see a massive tax cut, including in New York where the average New Yorker will see a $4,000 tax cut because of my work to lift the cap on SALT with many of my New York colleagues.

BASH: Yeah.

LAWLER: So there, I'm sure the president will focus heavily on that, and that is exactly what my constituents want to hear about.

BASH: Congressman Mike Lawler, Republican of New York, thank you so much for being here, sir. Appreciate it.

LAWLER: Thanks, Dana.

BASH: Up next, the magazine profile that shook Washington so hard, the after effects, kind of still feel them. We've got new reporting about how Susie Wiles' colleagues in the Trump administration are responding to some of her stunning comments about them. And it's not what you would expect.

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[12:54:04]

BASH: Got some news in from Capitol Hill where President Trump's FCC Chair, Brendan Carr is testifying and defending himself against charges that he has politicized his agency and using it as a weapon to silence critics of the president. He has a specific argument and that argument is that the FCC is not an independent agency at all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BEN RAY LUJAN (D-NM): Is the FCC an independent agency?

BRENDAN CARR, FCC CHAIR: Senator, thanks for that question. I think that --

LUJAN: Yes or no is all we need, sir. Yes or no? Is it independent?

CARR: Well, there's a test for this in the law and the key portion of that test --

LUJAN: Just yes or no, Brendan.

CARR: The key portion of that test is --

LUJAN: OK, I'm going to go to Commissioner Trustee. So just so you know, Brendan, on your website, it just simply says, man, the FCC is independent. This isn't a trick question.

CARR: OK. , The FCC is not --

LUJAN: Is it yes or no?

CARR: Is not.

LUJAN: OK.

CARR: Is not independent --

LUJAN: So, is your website wrong? Is your website lying? CARR: Possibly. The FCC is not an independent agency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[12:55:00]

BASH: And my smart panel is back, including CNN Media Analyst Sara Fischer. So, that was going to be one of the questions that I was going to ask you. Is the FCC an independent agency? Was it supposed to be in when it was created? And has it just completely devolved? His argument as Chair of the FCC is, it's not supposed to be.

SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: It is supposed to be, Dana, and it's supposed to enforce the laws that are set by Congress. Before that hearing, or in the morning, I took a screenshot of the FCC website at 11:52 where it called itself an independent agency. 25 minutes later that word "independent" was scrubbed. So clearly, they have made a decision to change their talking points around how they describe this agency.

I should note it comes amid a broader --

BASH: Wow.

FISCHER: -- context of the Supreme Court basically saying that they intend to allow the president to fire FTC Commissioners. Broadly speaking, agencies that were once considered independent don't feel independent anymore.

BASH: And again, he's saying it is not an independent agency. That's a fascinating detail.

FISCHER: Yes.

BASH: They changed the website? Like, while he was testifying?

FISCHER: Yes. 25 minutes in, I had the whole thing screenshot-ed because I knew something like this was going to happen and it did.

BASH: Wow. And not to get too sort of dorky here, but the FCC was created to protect the viewers and the public interests, not to protect the reputation of a president.

FISCHER: And he was pushed on that, the chairman. And basically, he said, look, we're still doing that. We are taking things by a vote here. But ultimately, when asked, is the president your boss? He wasn't giving yes/no answers. He said, well, the president has the power to fire us and that should tell you everything you need to know, Dana.

BASH: Really, really interesting. Let's listen to some more of what the Democrats on this panel said during this hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR, (D-MN): Went on a podcast and suggested that ABC should take Kimmel off the air saying, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.

SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ, (D-HI): I'm asking you, do you think it is appropriate for you to have an opinion at all in your official capacity about what a comedian says as offensive as it may have been?

SEN. ED MARKEY, (D-MA): So you don't regret making that statement? Well, that's a refusal to take accountability for your language, for your use, your abuse of power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Look, it shouldn't be surprising. I mean, as Sara just said, that agencies don't feel independent anymore. Brendan Carr, clearly, is loyal to President Trump. We saw it throughout that mission. So this is something that is dramatically different. It's what Richard Nixon once talked about the idea of having. Now, it seems to be sort of coming true all these years later.

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: It's of course tied to the Supreme Court arguments about whether he can fire people. Right? And one of the things that the justices were talking about in the questioning was whether independent agencies should be independent. But I mean, it does feel like something out of 1984 for the documents of the government to change after someone says it. It's really, it's a stunning thing in itself.

FISCHER: And just what a weird position, quickly, for Chairman Carr. He was so pro broadcast consolidation. As soon as President Trump says, no, I don't like it anymore, he's completely flipped his position.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah. And it's all because the president doesn't like Jimmy Kimmel.

BASH: And others.

HENDERSON: Yeah.

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

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