Return to Transcripts main page

Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Father Of Idaho Murder Victim Maddie Mogen Remembers His Daughter; NY Times: Internal Santos Campaign Background Study Raised Red Flags; Interview With Rep. Brandon Williams (R-NY); Russia Claims It's Taken Eastern Town Of Soledar; Ukrainians Deny Claims; Putin Berates Industry And Trade Minister Over Pace Of Aircraft Orders; Only Child Of Elvis Presley Will Be Laid To Rest At Graceland. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired January 13, 2023 - 20:00   ET

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

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: That was over 11 years ago, 4,180 days to be exact, and it's an issue we've watched closely here on "Out Front" since the very first day this show went on the air also over 11 years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: It has been 59 days since the US lost its top credit rating. What are we doing to get it back?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Barely nothing. America's debt has doubled since I said those words.

Thanks for joining us. AC 360 starts now.

[20:00:28]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Good evening.

We're going to have a live reporting on the fighting in Ukraine, new developments in the Biden documents case, and a CNN exclusive, yet another bizarre twist in the saga of Congressman George Santos in connection to an alleged Ponzi scheme.

But we're going to start tonight with a father who is mourning the death of his daughter who was murdered in Moscow, Idaho. Her name is Madison Mogen. She was one of four University of Idaho students stabbed to death in their off campus house in November.

As you probably know, a 28-year-old man named Bryan Kohberger is charged with the murders. And now, "The New York Times" has uncovered disturbing online postings from the alleged killer when he was a teenager.

He writes in one: "As I hugged my family, I looked into their faces, I see nothing. It is like I'm looking at a video game, but less." He went on to write that he could do: "Whatever I want with little remorse." Kohberger is in custody and maintains his innocence.

Now, these murders of these four students have gotten widespread coverage, but often lost in all of that is the quiet and isolating and lonely grief for the families that they leave behind.

So tonight, we just want you to hear from one dad, Ben Mogen, who misses his daughter, Maddie, very much.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Ben, thank you so much for talking to us. I'm so sorry for your loss and that we are talking under these circumstances.

First of all, how are you? How are you holding up?

BEN MOGEN, FATHER OF IDAHO STABBING VICTIM, MADISON MOGEN: Oh, we're -- my family and I are getting through each day, just one at a time. We all miss Maddie so much. But yes, it is hard, but we are surviving and getting through.

COOPER: Does it feel real? I mean, I keep thinking -- I thought about you and all the families from the moment this happened and I mean, for the weeks of not knowing and you know, not a lot of information. And then I mean, one thing after another. I can't imagine what it has been like.

Grief is hard enough, but to have grief in this situation. Yes, I don't -- I'm not even sure what to ask you, but just -- how do you get through it?

MOGEN: Yes. If it seems real, I mean, it just sometimes when I see her picture, you know, I'll just be somewhere random and I will see her picture up on the TV screen or see her name in print, and I don't know if I'll ever get used to that, really.

It is so -- it is just so surreal, but I've actually been listening to your podcast on, all there is, whenever I've had a chance and it's been really it's been really helpful. That's...

COOPER: I'm glad.

MOGEN: It's really beautiful.

COOPER: I'm glad I'm glad you found something in it that is helpful, because I mean, you've got to hold on to whatever you can, whenever you can.

What was Maddie like? What do you want people to know about her?

MOGEN: Oh, Maddie was -- she was just fun to be around. She was -- she was just smart and funny and beautiful. And she was a good friend. And she was -- you know, when she was younger, we'd have family get- togethers and she has her little cousins, my sister's two kids are younger, and she would -- she would play with them and she would set up these little plays where she would give them little roles and they would come out and perform them for the family. COOPER: She was like a director?

MOGEN: She was kind of the director behind the scenes.

COOPER: That's great.

MOGEN: Yes, right. Yes. She was so much fun, and I mean, she was -- she liked to go and see live music. She got that from me probably. We saw lots of concerts together and she continued to do that, you know, once she went to college and she and her friends would travel to go to shows and...

COOPER: What kind of music did she like?

MOGEN: And -- well she started off -- she started off like in Miley -- "Hannah Montana" and so she listened to that, she watched that show all the time and then one -- I lived in Boise at the time and the next time I came up to visit it, I asked her so what music you've been listening to? And, and she said, oh, mostly DMX.

And so she went from that to listening to hip hop.

COOPER: All of a sudden she changed.

MOGEN: Yes, she has changed, but she listened to everything.

COOPER: The last photos that you took with Maddie. What was that that day like? When was that?

MOGEN: That was on the Fourth of July, this last Fourth of July that we had and yes, that was my -- my wife and my stepdaughter were there and we had a good gathering here.

I was so proud of her. She was going into her last year of college here and she was going to graduate early even With Honors. She was on the Honor Roll every semester and...

COOPER: What was she majoring in?

MOGEN: We were all just so proud of her and -- business. She was business major?

COOPER: What do you think she was doing after?

MOGEN: I don't know. I was really curious to see where she went with this. She could have done anything she wanted to. She was so bright and so good with people and just so -- just had a magnetic personality.

And yes, she could have done anything she wanted to and I couldn't wait to see where she went with things.

COOPER: I mean, when you're going through something like this, some people want to follow everything that's happening in an investigation and others don't. Where do you -- I mean, have you been following this closely? Is it too painful to do that? MOGEN: Yes, it's too painful for me to -- I mean, I get the major

news items either from the -- well, the police were calling me every day and telling me updates up until that day, and since then, it's been a prosecutor -- someone from the past prosecutor's office that stays in touch with me.

But as reading or watching, I can't really do it. I get the main pieces of news I need to from other people, but especially the social media stuff, I just -- I really can't. I can't go down that road. Not yet, at least.

COOPER: Yes, I understand that.

Maddie was best friends with Kaylee Goncalves who was also killed. They went to high school together. I understand they did homework together. Can you talk about their friendship?

MOGEN: Yes, they actually met in Middle School.

COOPER: Wow, in Middle School.

MOGEN: Yes, they went to Charter which is kind of a higher up, they have really high standards for their academics and whatnot. So they went there for three years together. And then they went to the public school for their high school years.

And so they -- yes, they were so close. She was her -- Kaylee's family lives out of town a little bit in Rotherham, and she was out there all the time. And they would go on trips together, family trips. So she went on a few cruises with the family and she was just like another sister to those girls.

COOPER: There's obviously been an outpouring of love and support from not only people in Moscow and the University of Idaho communities, but across the nation. Does that -- do you feel that? Does it does it help at all?

MOGEN: Yes, I definitely feel it and it does help. People have been just so amazing. And so just heartfelt and it does -- we do feel it. My whole family does and I know the other families do, too.

People really can be amazing in hard times to each other.

COOPER: Grief and loss is so isolating or can be so isolating, and that's -- it's nice to feel that at least, you have a sense that there are other people around who are thinking about you and you know, sending you love and thinking about you and Maddie and everybody.

MOGEN: Yes. Yes, I have -- I mean, I didn't realize one of the things that they were saying on the podcast is you get to know someone more after they're gone in some ways and yes, just all the people that that she -- all the people's lives that she touched and I mean going from teachers to old classmates, just people that knew her when she was younger, just for a little bit but that, you know they've come and told us --

COOPER: They've reached out.

[20:10:11]

MOGEN: Maybe a letter or just reached out and let us know, hey, Maddie was so special to us in these different ways.

COOPER: That's beautiful. That's so important. I mean, to suddenly hear from other people who you didn't know their connections to Maddie, but suddenly, you know, a teacher writing you about something she did long ago. I mean, that's beautiful.

MOGEN: Yes, yes. Yes, it is.

COOPER: Is there anything else? I understand -- I heard you talking before we went on air and you were saying the necklace that you're wearing is important to you in in what way?

MOGEN: Yes, I had a birthday right after everything happened. And my sister Katie Mae, she lives in Minneapolis, but she reached out to a local jeweler and she had this necklace made. It says Madison May Mogen. And it says, "Love always." And yes, I wear it every day. And I always will. It will be something that's special forever.

And the other piece is something from my wedding that my wife, Cory and I had made for everybody that came to our wedding. So those are my two -- my two loves of my life.

COOPER: Ben, I'm so sorry, again, that we are talking in these circumstances, but I really appreciate it. And I hope you continue to find strength and peace in your grief.

MOGEN: Thank you so much, and you as well and yours.

COOPER: Ben, thank you so much. I really -- is there anything else you want to say to people or let people know?

MOGEN: One thing that that came up. So when you were talking to Laurie Anderson, she said -- she said something about how when we lose someone, part of part of us dies as well when they die.

And so a lot of years ago, I had a friend named Zach and he lost his fiancee just all of a sudden and he was having a hard time getting through it. And he -- I was talking with him almost every day. And he came across this quote that said something along those lines that said, you know, when that person dies, then the person that we are when we were with them also dies, because we never get to be that person anymore, because we're only that person when we're with them.

And so that always stuck with me. And when someone would lose someone, you know, they would -- when they would come and talk to me about it, I would always bring that up because maybe they could help them in some way.

And I had forgotten that and hadn't used that or thought about it in my own grief since this has happened to us, and when I heard that just the other day, it reminded me, hey, that's what I used to bring up to people when they were going through this. Why haven't I thought about it myself? So, yes, I thought it was special.

COOPER: Yes, well, Laurie brought it up because I was saying I had this feeling after my mom died that I had this feeling of loneliness. And she was pointing out to me and it was revelation to me that you know, I was seeing my mom through the eyes that I was when I was you know, 10 years old say and that the child that I was and because everybody else in my family has died, that there is nobody else who knew that child that I was.

And so that child has died and that was -- for me, that was a revelation. So that's so interesting that that stood out to you as well and that that resonated with you.

MOGEN: Yes, it really did. That was special.

COOPER: Ben, thank you so much. Ben Mogen, appreciate it. I wish you the best.

MOGEN: Thank you so much, Anderson. It means a lot that you had me on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: One father speaking about his grief.

There is much more ahead tonight including Breaking News. New reporting in "The New York Times" about what George Santos' own campaign knew about his deceptions from a study they themselves commissioned. But that stuff next.

Later, Ukraine the latest on some of the fiercest fighting in the war, the battle for a town called Soledar.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:18:23]

COOPER: There is breaking news tonight with George Santos, the New York Republican Congressman who says: "I've lived an honest life" despite having lied about nearly every piece of it, including the statement "I've lived an honest life."

Here is the lead just out on "The New York Times" -- "In late 2021 as he prepared to make a second run for a suburban New York City House seat, George Santos gave permission for his campaign to commission a routine background study on him."

"The Times" report citing three people with knowledge of the study goes on to say: "Some of Mr. Santos' own vendors were so alarmed after seeing this study in late November 2021 that they urged him to drop out of the race and warned that he could risk public humiliation by continuing," and so here we are.

This comes as we have an exclusive of our own about the Congressman's time in a company accused of running a Ponzi scheme and what he told a suspicious customer at the time. Joining us now with more on this new reporting, CNN K-File senior

editor, Andrew Kaczynski.

Andrew, so walk us through what you found.

Sorry, we are having an -- Andrew, sorry, we are having an audio problem with you. I thought it was just my IFB. We'll try to get that fixed. We will try to get back in touch with Andrew.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy continues to stand behind Congressman Santos. Joining us now, one of four Republican members of the House New York delegation who do not. Congressman Brandon Williams who represents the Syracuse-Utica area.

Congressman, you said that you don't think Santos should serve in the House anymore. Is his presence there hurting Republicans' ability to legislate or is it just an embarrassment?

[20:20:00]

REP. BRANDON WILLIAMS (R-NY): Well two things about that, first, you know my frame of reference, I was a Nuclear Submarine Officer in the Navy and so you know, the standard for integrity on submarines is very high as you would imagine.

And second, I would honestly say that I don't think George's presence is impeding our ability to legislate. I would say that it's really interfering with the New York delegation's ability to talk about what we're doing to tell our story.

COOPER: What do you make of Speaker McCarthy's response to all this, which is, he is not going to take action just yet, that the voters elected him to serve, which McCarthy has said. And, you know, we'll see, essentially see what happens down the road.

There has been request that the Ethics Committee investigate. What do you make of McCarthy's position?

WILLIAMS: Well, you know, I haven't spoken with the Speaker on this topic. But, you know, I would hope that the Speaker is committed to due process, that's really what we'd want by the leading member in our -- in the House of Representatives, and that sounds like what he's committed to is allow ethics and the FEC to shepherd this.

And that's really what you want from your leaders. I think, you know, in New York, we can talk about how we are affected, but it sounds to me, like he is doing the right thing.

COOPER: What do you think needs to happen for your party to be able to move forward? I mean, do you think Congressman Santos should just resign now?

WILLIAMS: He should go back to his private life, you know, being a private citizen and resolve these issues. There were really two -- you know, there are new revelations every day, Anderson, as you know. There was an oppo research file that the Democratic Party published, I

think back in August, you know, that outlined all of these issues. I think that was the basis of "The New York Times article."

So a lot of these things have been known for quite a while. And, you know, so the timing of all this is a mystery to me, but I've not been in politics. So I'm just reacting to what I'm seeing. I think he should resign.

COOPER: Congressman Williams, I appreciate your time. Thank you so much.

WILLIAMS: Yes. No, thank you.

COOPER: We fixed our audio problems. I want to go back to Andrew Kaczynski. So Andrew, walk us through what you found.

ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN K-FILE SENIOR EDITOR: Yes, so Santos worked at this investment firm in 2020 and 2021. It was called Harbor City Capital. He served as the Regional Director for the New York office. And the SEC, basically shut this place down in 2021, right around the time that Santos left. They called it a classic Ponzi scheme in their complaint against the company.

Now, what Santos has said, last year, "The Daily Beast" reported on the Ponzi scheme. And he said, you know, I don't know, didn't know about it. I'm just as shocked as everyone else.

But what our reporting has found, has called it into question, in an exchange with a customer. Let's take a look at that exchange so people can see what happened.

Now, you can see that this customer is raising concerns to Mr. Santos about what is essentially the company went out and they told people that if they invested with what the SEC says is now a Ponzi scheme, all of their investment would basically be backed by this line of credit from banks.

And here we have this customer telling Mr. Santos, you know, I looked into this. I called my bank. They said it's fraudulent. And most importantly, here is -- this is April 2020. The SEC doesn't take action against them until April 2021.

So this is more than a year before that that Santos was alerted to possible fraud at the company.

COOPER: And I mean, this isn't all the investigation found. What was Santos saying at the time about Harbor City Capital?

KACZYNSKI: So when Santos was running for office in 2020, he said a number of things about his time at Harbor City. He called himself the head guy in the New York office. He said he was an executive, and interesting, he also claimed that he was posting for all of these customers these massive, massive returns. Let's take a listen to this clip from 2020. And what he told one interviewer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. GEORGE SANTOS (R-NY): Currently, at Harbor City Capital, I manage a $1.5 billion fund, right, and I know how to manage it well. I give record returns.

To anybody who watches this, they will understand, I'm giving you know a 12 percent fixed yield income return a year which nobody in the market is giving for. And we're giving 12.

We're also giving up to 20 to 26 percent in IRR return on our investors capital.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KACZYNSKI: So we reached out to Mr. Santos or Congressman Santos now, a couple of times over text message we reached out to his spokesperson, we didn't hear back.

We did hear back from his private attorney we asked him about the tweet. He didn't directly respond to our question, which is, you know, What did Mr. Santos know about this Ponzi scheme? When did he know it?

[20:25:14]

KACZYNSKI: He gave us a statement basically saying, you know, in light of the ongoing investigation and for the benefit of the victims, it would be inappropriate to respond, other than to say Congressman Santos was completely unaware of any illegal activity at Harbor City.

COOPER: All right, Andrew Kaczynski, fascinating. Thank you.

Just ahead, the intense fighting over a small town in Eastern Ukraine, a new video of a major explosion targeting Russian forces.

We will have a live report on the fighting from Soledar, which has become a focal point for Russian war effort desperate for a victory.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: We have some new images in the fight over a Ukrainian town the Russians are claiming as a victory, although as you are about to hear, the situation is unclear. This, from the eastern town of Soledar, you can see what are believed to be Russian soldiers marching here walking in the direction of a green roofed house and then there's massive explosion in what appears to have been a shelter for Russian troops.

Now the video has been geo located by CNN. Commentary by a Ukrainian soldier on a much longer version of the video says this happened on the outskirts of the town and that they have been watching the house for some time.

[20:30:16]

Now, we want to go to CNN's Ben Wedeman who's in Ukraine, has been near the fighting. But first want to give you a taste of what trench warfare in the 21st Century now looks like. This from Ben and the team he's traveling with.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What we're seeing as Ukrainian forces are holding steady in these positions, and they seem to be faring going back and forth, perhaps taking troops out of Soledar in what looks like a fairly organized, pull back.

As far as the situation in Soledar goes even here, just two and a half miles away, the situation is not altogether clear. Some of the soldiers tell us it's fallen. Some of us -- some of them tell us that it's still at least part of it in the hands of the Ukrainians. But we can still hear a fair amount of fire coming from that area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: And Ben joins us now from Kramatorsk, which is roughly an hour from Soledar. Are you -- Ben, are you getting any more indications that Ukrainians are preparing to siege the town to Russian forces or any more clarification of exactly what the status of the town is?

WEDEMAN: Well, we have these conflicting claims, Anderson, the Russian saying they've seized it, they have complete control of it. The Ukrainian saying that they still have part of it under their control.

Now, CNN has spoken to soldier inside Soledar who say -- who would indicate that there are small pockets of Ukrainian forces still inside, but they're divided from one another, they have problems communicating with one another. So, the situation is unclear.

What we saw was that certainly on the outskirts of the town, they have set up defensive positions pretty well dug in defensive positions. And it may be a matter of time before they simply have to pull out because of the intensity of the Russian onslaught that has been going on for weeks.

And we've seen in the past that, for instance, in Severodonetsk in June, the Ukrainians pulled out after putting up quite a fight. And Lysychansk in July. So, at a certain point, there real diminishing returns to fighting house to house, street to street taking heavy casualties. And as that video you referred to, of that house been hit on the outskirts of Soledar, they are really hitting the Russians hard every step of the way. Anderson?

COOPER: Ben, I was watching All Quiet on the Western Front the other day, and it just was seeing you in that trench. It just -- it's amazing to me in this day and age, there's trench warfare going on in Europe.

WEDEMAN: Well, the fact of the matter is, in many of the wars I've covered, when you're in an area that's under fire, under fire from artillery, rockets and mortars, there's no better place to hide than a trench, the earth provides a lot of protection. And certainly, in this environment, where the Russians really depend on heavy artillery to really grind down their enemy. Certainly, the trenches are still the best way to protect yourself in that really harsh environment. Anderson.

COOPER: Ben Wedeman, I appreciate it. Thank you. The Russian war effort has also been the focal point of some public infighting among Russian leaders. For instance, there's been a tug of war between the Defense Ministry and the private mercenary group Wagner over credit for the fighting in Soledar.

Plus, today, Vladimir Putin publicly braided his Minister of Industry and Trade for he says acting too slowly in completing orders for military and civilian aircraft.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Why are you fooling around?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It will be ready during this quarter, based on the funds available under the budget.

PUTIN (through translator): I want all of this to be done within a month.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We will try to do our best.

PUTIN (through translator): No, do not try to do your best please get it done in a month. No later you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: I'm joined now by CNN National Security Analyst Steve Hall, a former CIA Chief of Russian Operations and CNN Contributor, Jill Dougherty, a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center.

Steve, it's interesting to see Vladimir Putin saying that, I mean, one I would not want to be on the receiving end of that from any boss, let alone Vladimir Putin. But it's also clear Vladimir Putin wants to be seen as being tough on, you know, on this bureaucrat?

STEVE HALL, FORMER CIA CHIEF OF RUSSIA OPERATIONS: Yeah, Anderson, this is obviously nothing but show and showmanship. I mean Putin has done this before. He does it with oligarchs occasionally where he sort of upgrades and downgrades them publicly.

[20:35:08]

There's, of course, any number of ways that Putin could have done this privately, which would be sort of more in the Western tradition, where you sit down, you know, a subordinate who's not performing well. But this is all for show. He wants to show that in the case of the war going badly, it's not his fault, and that he's taking very, very strong measures against those whose fault it is. And my assessment is that'll play pretty well, domestically with Russians who believe that to be the case. They always think the leader of the country is sort of above all of this. And he just needs to lean on his people a little better. So, I think it's for them, and I think it'll play pretty well.

COOPER: Jill, do you agree, this is public performance?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Oh, there's no question. And remember, at the beginning of the war, he did basically the same thing in a shocking event, when he really excoriated, humiliated, the head of SVR Intelligence, Mr. Sergey Naryshkin. He did the very same thing. I mean, and with a smirk on his face. So, this is, as Steve was saying, this is classic preaching.

COOPER: Steve, Russia pointed Putin's Chief of General Staff as the military commander of what they're still calling a special military operation. What do you think that is about? I mean, what's putting trying to accomplish with that move? Is it to have the next fall guy? Is it a sign of that the Russian forces are going to start to improve?

HALL: You know, Kremlinology is an opaque science at best. It's really, really hard to try to figure out what is in Putin's mind. And that's because --

COOPER: There's generations of intelligence folks who have tried to engage in Kremlinology or Sovietology.

HALL: Yeah, I mean it's a hard study, because there's so much going on, you know, so, start from where Putin sees himself. First and foremost, the most important thing for Putin, is it winning the Ukrainian war? That's important. Is it maintaining, you know, Russia is a great nation? That's important. But it's all about Vladimir Putin. It's all about himself, preserving himself and his style of government. So, what he's trying to do is he's trying to set people against each other to see who the strongest person is.

Of course, if it doesn't go well, it's going to end up on the new, you know, the newly appointed commander, Gerasimov, who's been around for quite a while. So, this is no good thing for him. It's no great assignment to not be in charge of the Ukrainian war. But he's also setting himself, he's setting -- Putin and setting Gerasimov up against others in the Kremlin who are vying for power, guys like Prigozhin, the Head of Wagner. So, this is -- there's all this politics going on, some of which has to do with the war, much more of has to do with internal Kremlin politics.

COOPER: Jill, do you see this shuffling of responsibility as a sign of instability?

DOUGHERTY: I think it's a sign of frustration by the president -- by President Putin, that the war isn't going well. I think it's also kind of a power shift. You know, Putin's modus operandi for a long time has been to kind of balance people who are below him. And they may have very different viewpoints. And then, look at what we were just talking about, this fight between Prigozhin, the head of that private military contractor, groups, the Wagner Group, and he is in direct verbal fight with the defense ministry. He is claiming credit for his guys taking Soledar. And so, this is really extraordinary.

And, you know, Putin has allowed this type of stuff to happen. And it's happening publicly. But in the old days, you would say, well, he won't let that go on for too long. But right now, we're not quite sure. I mean, can he hold it together? Is Prigozhin really, really getting powerful? You know, what's happening to the military? So, there are a lot of questions, I think, the deal with Putin -- the Putin's ability to control the situation.

COOPER: Jill Dougherty, Steve Hall, it's fascinating, I appreciate it. Thank you.

Coming up, new video of the last days of Lisa Marie Presley to remember the life and legacy of Elvis Presley's only child.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:42:59]

COOPER: We have new video tonight from the last days of Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter and only child of Elvis Presley who died Thursday at the age of 54 after an apparent cardiac arrest. This from the Golden Globes on Tuesday. Lisa Marie Presley attended in support of the biopic Elvis that came out last year. You can see her walk down the stairs. They're being helped walking slowly. A family spokesperson for Presley says she will be buried at Graceland next to her beloved son, Ben, and there was a quote who died by suicide more than two years ago. Symbolic of someone lived her entire life in the spotlight, but as one mourner said did not have an easy life. Our Randi Kaye has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're very close to your father?

LISA MARIE PRESLEY, THE ONLY DAUGHTER OF ELVIS PRESLEY: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was the daddy-daughter kind of thing?

PRESLEY: Yeah, very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was he like as a father?

PRESLEY: Very, you know, adoring, very sweet.

RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Lisa Marie Presley was just nine years old when her father Elvis died from a heart attack in 1977. In 2003, she told Rolling Stone that when her father kissed her goodnight for the last time, she had a feeling something would happen. Adding she was obsessed with death at a very early age.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How would you deal with all the attention of his death?

PRESLEY: There was so many masses of people mourning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the right, man.

PRESLEY: Yeah, in front of me fainting, carrying on and I remember watching, you know, as the casket was there, they were coming through and they were -- there was a line. And I just remember sitting on the stairwell not knowing what to do with that.

KAYE: Lisa Marie was Elvis and Priscilla Presley's only child born in 1968. After her parents separated when she was just four, Lisa Marie split her time between her mom's house in Los Angeles and her father's Graceland estate in Memphis. Her childhood was far from perfect. After she began experimenting with drugs, her mother sent her to private school. In 2003, she told the LA Times I never really fit into school. I didn't really have any direction.

[20:45:01]

Music was her escape. She went on to record three studio albums. Her 2003 debut album To Whom It May Concern reached number five on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold. She performed duets with the likes of Pat Benatar.

(MUSIC)

KAYE: She once told Larry King, perhaps she was a bit naive and choosing the same career as her father.

PRESLEY: Yeah, I have been a huge music lover. It's always had a huge impact on me. I want to write. I want to sing. I want to do the same thing for others. Have my music hopefully do that for others one day, not realizing, you know what I sort of had to climb. I had an idea a little bit, but I think that I underestimated the whole thing.

KAYE: She recorded duets with her father, adding her voice to some of Elvis's earlier recordings.

(MUSIC)

KAYE: Lisa Marie told ABC she inherited a rebellious side from her father.

PRESLEY: Alive and well in me. Yes, and to the point where my own children are like, mom, stop, stop. What are you doing? Don't say that. You can't do that.

KAYE: For decades the tabloids tract Lisa Marie Presley.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tabloids have been rough.

PRESLEY: They're rough. They're really rough.

KAYE: Her love life always grabbed headlines. She was married four times. She had two children with her first husband, Danny Keough, then just 20 days after they divorced, she said I do to Michael Jackson, the King of Pop.

PRESLEY: When he wants to lock into you, and he wants to intrigue you or capture you or, you know, whatever he wants to do with you. He can do it.

KAYE: The couple made romantic music videos together and stunned audiences at the MTV Video Music Awards. MICHAEL JACKSON: Nobody thought this would last.

KAYE: But the marriage didn't last. They divorced in 1996, after about two years of marriage. She married actor Nicolas Cage in 2002, but they split after just three months.

She tied the knot with Michael Lockwood in 2006 and in 2008, gave birth to twins. By 2016, she had filed for divorce. Lisa Marie had a theory about why her marriages didn't work out. As she told the Daily Mail in 2003, it had to do with her own father. I'm looking for someone similar to him and nobody could ever compare. He was so extraordinary a present she said not even as an entertainer just as a person.

With her father's death, Lisa Marie Presley learned at an early age what it means to grieve. Years later, she would experience tremendous grief again when her 27-year-old son Benjamin Keough took his life in 2020.

Last year, Lisa Marie wrote an essay about grief for People Magazine. She wrote in part, grief does not stop or go away in any sense, a year or years after the loss. Grief is something you will have to carry with you for the rest of your life. Grief is incredibly lonely. It's a real choice to keep going. That's exactly what she did keep going. On Tuesday night she was on the red carpet for the Golden Globes, where the movie Elvis about her father's life was up for several awards.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did this movie mean to you and your family?

PRESLEY: Everything. It just -- it's so incredible. I -- there's no words.

KAYE: Lisa Marie Presley had a front row seat to Austin Butler winning the Golden Globe for his portrayal of her father, Elvis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some people want to put me in jail, for Wells Movie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And have you gotten to know Austin Butler a little bit?

PRESLEY: Yeah. I (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

PRESLEY: A lot, a lot, actually. I adore him.

KAYE: She was asked that night if she planned to keep in touch with Austin Butler. Her answer was an emphatic yes. But fate intervened. Lisa Marie Presley was 54.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And we'll be right back with more news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [20:53:25]

COOPER: It is Friday night of course and Harry Enten is here and just because it's Friday the 13th doesn't mean some Americans aren't testing their luck tonight. The Mega Millions jackpot now stands at $1.35 billion dollars. It's the second largest prize in its history. If you win and take the lump sum option it's a mere 724.6 million. But before you start picking out your new mansions or coming up with their new names for yachts, Harry Enten is here with a different kind of check to present to you a reality check. Are you going to crush jackpot dreams tonight?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA ANALYST: You know I leave the reality checks a little bit to our buddy John Avlon, but I will point out this, the chance of winning the Mega Millions is north of one and 300 million. You know, Mega millions is even more of a rip off than the Powerball. You know, I remember we were here a few months ago to talk about the Powerball. The Powerball is actually closer to one and 292 million. And there are other things that you have a better chance of doing.

Let's say you're, you know, a Britain, a random Britain, what's the chance you're actually the monarch? It's about one in 67 million. So maybe you could be King Charles. And perhaps you want to be as tall as me. So, I'm 6'2" although I'm sitting so you can't really see it. You have about a one in 20 chance of being at least 6'2" if you're a man in this country.

COOPER: So, why are there -- I feel like we're seeing more huge jackpots lately.

ENTEN: Yeah, we really are. You know, as I pointed out earlier, you know, we were here in November that was actually the largest jackpot. That was a Powerball it was north of $2 billion. All of the biggest jackpots including this one which ranks fourth if we include Powerball and Mega Millions have occurred in the last, let's say, six, seven years. So, the fact is, it's not your imagination. If you've been thinking, man, we really been seeing a lot of billion dollar jackpots. It used to be a really rare thing but these days it seems just --

[20:55:05]

COOPER: More people are playing or?

ENTEN: OK, now this is fun, because I like math. You like math, it's Friday the 13th. We can like math together.

COOPER: OK, sure.

ENTEN: So essentially, what happened was the Powerball and Mega Millions folks were like, you know what?

COOPER: Did you just turn across your arm?

ENTEN: I just try to cross my arm maybe like a teacher.

COOPER: OK.

ENTEN: Maybe like a teacher, you know. And essentially what they did was, hey, we want to drive these jackpots up, we want to lengthen the odds. So, what did they do? They added more balls. So essentially, the Powerball folks, they added more of their regular balls, while the Mega Millions folks add in more of the mega balls, and I'm going to try and say balls as many times in this segment as possible. And in doing so they lengthen the odds. They made it harder to win the jackpot. And then it drives those jackpots to go higher and higher and higher, just like Jackie Wilson once said.

COOPER: So, why is it harder to win?

ENTEN: So, that is why it's harder to win.

COOPER: That is.

ENTEN: That is why it's hard to win because they added more balls. As I said, they added more balls, I don't know what else you want to hear from me. I can say it 1000 times over.

COOPER: Off the rails. So, where -- does every state -- I mean, where are the states that you can still not say who you are if you win?

ENTEN: Yeah. So, this I think is key. Let's just say that you want it -- you manage to win that one in $303 million, a 3 million shot, right?

COOPER: Let me see if you can work balls into this.

ENTEN: I -- well, let's see if I can do it. If you match all six balls, what there was, not that hard.

COOPER: OK.

ENTEN: If you managed to do it, you want to remain anonymous, right? You don't want to be, you know, your neighbors bothering you. There are 16 states that allow you to remain anonymous.

COOPER: OK.

ENTEN:OK. Even though, well, north of 80% of the public believes you should be able to remain anonymous, there are 16 states we have them highlight in your screen. The closest one to you and me at this point is New Jersey, which just recently passed a law allowing big jackpot winners.

COOPER: So, you've done that study that most of the country wants to remain anonymous?

ENTEN: Most of the country wants -- there's polling for everything, Anderson. And let me assure you and if there isn't, I will go out and take the poll for you.

COOPER: All right, Harry Enten, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you.

COOPER: Ahead, Republicans turning up the heat of the controversy over President Biden's classified documents. Now, the White House is shifting into crisis mode. We'll talk with FBI Veteran Andrew McCabe ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)