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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Brian Walshe Charged With Murdering His Missing Wife; White House Strategy To Manage Document's Fallout Takes Shape; Trump On Classified Documents: I Did Nothing Wrong, Joe Did; Veterans Claim Now-Rep. Santos Took $3k From Dying Dog's GoFundMe; Helicopter Crash Near Kyiv Kills 14, Including Ukrainian Interior Minister; Kohberger Search Warrants Unsealed; Glove, Receipts, Other Items Found In Apt.; Pena Arrest Warrant Affidavit Details Alleged Conspiracy To "Cause Death," Serious Injury" To Targeted Democratic Officials; Arrest Warrant Issued For Antique Owner Who Sprayed Homeless Woman. Aired 8- 9p ET
Aired January 18, 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: Now, if the proposal passes, it would extend indefinitely temporary measures that DeSantis signed in 2021, which allow Florida, the government to fine businesses if the businesses require the COVID vaccine.
It is, of course, an example of the government stepping in to make the call, not individual companies, and it's a story we'll continue to watch.
Thanks for joining us. It is time for AC 360.
[20:00:23]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Good evening.
On a day that Brian Walshe was arraigned in the disappearance of his wife, Ana, we learned in horrifying detail what prosecutors say he did to her and the online research they say he did on how. This includes in the space of less than one hour searches for "How to stop a body from decomposing, how to embalm a body," and "10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to."
Ana Walshe is the mother of their three young children. She has been missing since the New Year, and today in a Quincy, Massachusetts Courtroom, prosecutors laid out what they believe her husband did to her.
CNN's Jason Carroll now joins us with the latest.
So talk about the arraignment. Did the prosecutor provide any explanation or motive?
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, you talked about some of those searches there and if you're talking about motive, I will direct you to some of those searches. Two in particular that Walshe allegedly made, one had to do with divorcing, what's the best date for a man to get a divorce. He searched about that. The other was about inheritance and when is the best time in order to get an inheritance after someone has disappeared?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LYNN BELAND, NORFOLK COUNTY ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Rather than divorce, it is believed that Brian Walshe dismembered Ana Walshe and discarded her body.
CARROLL (voice over): Chilling new details revealed in Court by prosecutors describing the evidence against the Massachusetts father who allegedly murdered his wife and tried to cover it up.
Brian Walshe in custody since January 8th when he was charged with misleading investigators searching for his wife was in Court for the arraignment, Wednesday, and formally charged with Ana Walshe's murder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you understand those charges, Mr. Walshe?
BRIAN WALSHE, ALLEGED TO HAVE MURDERED HIS WIFE: I do.
CARROLL (voice over): The prosecution laid out some of the disturbing evidence against Walshe, saying he used his son's iPad to make numerous online searches in the days before and after Ana Walshe disappeared.
BELAND: On December 27th, the defendant Googled "What's the best date to divorce for men? At 4:55 AM on January 1st, he searched how long before a body starts to smell? At 4:58 AM how to stop a body from decomposing?
CARROLL (voice over): A not guilty plea was entered for Walshe who said little in Court, only shook his head once as more of his alleged searches came to light.
BELAND: At 5:20 AM, he searched how to embalm a body. At 5:47 AM, 10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to. At 6:25 AM on the first, how long for someone to be missing to inherit.
CARROLL (voice over): Prosecutors say Ana's employer, a DC real estate firm was the first to report her missing when she didn't show up for work on January 4th. That's when police went to the Walshe's home for a wellbeing check.
BELAND: It was only at this time when they met with the defendant that he first reporter his wife missing.
CARROLL: During the course of the investigation, police found 10 trash bags from a dumpster and trash facility with items including towels, rags, slippers, tape, gloves, cleaning agents, a COVID-19 vaccination card with Ana Walshe's name on it, a hacksaw and a hatchet.
They also discovered personal items including a portion of a necklace, believed to have been worn by Ana Walshe in several photos. Tests of some of the items by the state crime lab determined the presence of DNA from both Ana and Brian Walshe.
After the arraignment, defense attorney, Tracy Miner called out prosecutors for leaks in the case saying in a statement that read: "In my experience, whereas here, the prosecution leaks so-called evidence to the press before they provide it to me, their case isn't that strong."
Miner also said, "It is easy to charge a crime and even easier to say a person committed that crime. It is a much more difficult thing to prove it which we will see if the prosecution can do."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And Jason, prosecutors also released new details about surveillance video and the state of the car that Brian Walshe had.
CARROLL: They did, they did. Prosecutors say that a figure fitting Walshe's description was seen on surveillance cameras trying to empty and dump something into a dumpster. They also say that blood was found in the Walshe's car, the Volvo that was parked at the house.
But despite all of the evidence that the prosecution says that they have in their hands, they also point out that some of the trash bags that Walsh had gotten rid of, they feel as though whatever was inside those trash bags was incinerated before they could get their hands on it -- Anderson.
[20:05:05]
COOPER: Jason Carroll, appreciate it.
Perspective now, what went into making the case and what will go into trying it. Joining us for that, CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, John Miller; former Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism at the New York Police Department, also former FBI Special Agent criminal profiler, Mary Ellen O'Toole; and criminal defense attorney, Mark O'Mara.
John, I mean, there is so much disturbing evidence laid out in Court today. I've just got to say, these Google searches or these internet searches are incredible.
I mean, from 4:55 AM, how long before body starts to smell to 1:08 PM, what happens when you put body parts in ammonia and even the next day, more questions about -- actually, two days later January 3rd. Can baking soda mask or make a body smell good? What happens to hair on a dead body? I mean, this is incriminating.
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: So, it is extraordinarily incriminating and it certainly goes far beyond the probable cause that they would have needed to establish in Court today to bring the charge, but it's not all they know and it is not all they're going to know. The investigation is still very active right now.
What you do see, though, is like the fragments of evidence that will come together. You see two fragments of a motive. One is a search on the 27th. Remember, she disappears on or about the first and isn't reported until the fourth. But on the 27th, he asked, what is the best date for divorce? And then shortly after they believe she was murdered? His question is, how long after death can you inherit?
COOPER: And that question is -- I mean, that's at 6:25 AM on the 21st. That's right after -- that's a few minutes after he searched 10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to, and then allegedly, and then he allegedly searches how long for someone to be missing to inherit. And then after that, 11 minutes later, can you throw away body parts?
MILLER: So, what you see here, Anderson is really telling, which is, there are a couple of ways to do this, and Mary Ellen O'Toole is the expert, but you have the organized defender, the disorganized defender, where the organized defender would have planned all of this out ahead of time, then executed the murder, and then set into motion his plan to cover it up.
In this case, it looks like the murder was spontaneous, because the plan to cover it up seems to follow the murder within moments. So, it doesn't seem that he planned ahead for the killing. It seems he began planning ahead for the cover up after the fact.
COOPER: Mary Ellen, I mean, you heard Jason Carroll's report from the searches that we've been talking about. What stood out to you today in Court?
MARY ELLEN O'TOOLE, RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT PROFILER: Well, a couple -- obviously, a couple of things. The searches did not appear to be idle searches. So, it would be difficult to say in Court, well, I was just -- I was curious about this.
If you are a forensic science student, it would be easier to explain why you would ask those kinds of questions because your research would be directed in those areas. But on the other hand, the searches were supportive by going to stores and making purchases, and then they are supported by evidence that is found by CSI people.
They found the blood, they found the Tyvek suit, and other items of evidence. So, the searches cannot stand by themselves as being idle. So I think that is number one, that's very important.
One of the most compelling searches for me was when there was a search regarding the teeth. Can teeth be significant in identifying someone? That's very -- that was very specific compared to the other searches. And the first, the first consideration that I had was, if the body were found, would there have been damage to the teeth? Again, that was more than just how do you do it, but with specificity about the teeth.
COOPER: Right. I was looking down because that search is on January 2nd, according to authorities at 1:14 PM.
MILLER: Can broken teeth --
COOPER: Right. It was, can you identify a body with broken teeth, which is very -- MILLER: And that's a tell.
COOPER: Yes, it's a very specific -- I mean, it is just so disturbing to think about.
Mark, Walshe's defense attorney said the prosecution's case isn't strong. As a criminal defense attorney, do you agree?
MARK O'MARA, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I think it's the best that she could have said under the circumstances. What she said was don't tell the media before you give it to me.
Look, discovery hasn't even begun. So I will give Miss Miner her due. The only thing she could say is let's do this in a Court not in the media. How dare you give it out before I get it in the normal course of business? That's really the only thing that she could say.
Because don't forget, a defense attorney at this point has to say very little. They have no idea yet what their defense is going to be. They don't know the true strength of the State's case of where they might fit mitigation or defense into, so she did all she can say which was lay the foundation for stop telling the media, only tell me.
COOPER: But I mean, sure. Correct me if I'm wrong, she wasn't -- they weren't leaking this out. This was in Court documents.
[20:10:04]
MILLER: I mean, there are a couple of things that came out before they came out in Court documents. On CNN, we broke the stories about Google searches.
But the major information came out in the first affidavit in support of the arrest for misleading the police, and then the rest of it, the stuff we're talking about tonight came out in these public documents filed with the Court, turned over to the defense.
But I think the counselor is right. She is doing her job, which is she has got to stand up and say, my client is innocent and throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks.
COOPER: And Mary Ellen, I mean, watching him, I don't know, do you read much into watching a defendant in a Courtroom and people react to things, I always think in different ways. You can't necessarily judge how somebody behaves in public, I guess.
But it was just fascinating to watch him listening, as prosecutors are reading out these Google searches, reading out the timeline of information they have?
O'TOOLE: Well, absolutely, there was a noted absence of emotion. There was no response, no indication that there were feelings of sadness, or remorse, or guilt -- nothing. It was just a very blank look, and the eyes were just without any kind of depth through them.
The only time that there was a little bit of movement was when it was brought up about the search for the inheritance, and then his eyes sort of went to the side, but I think that was very profound.
And there are many offenders, they don't realize that they come across that way and that may be the case here, because we're dealing with someone that may be devoid of a lot of emotions.
COOPER: Mark, given the amount of evidence that's been laid out so far, I mean, how likely is it that this case goes to trial?
O'MARA: Well, in my opinion, remember, most cases don't, even the high publicity ones. So the idea of seems to be leaning towards, it wasn't well planned as John said. This was not an organized offense. This was very disorganized. This was his plan to cover up much more than plan the murder.
So now we're looking at second degree, and maybe we're looking at second degree with some explanation, with some excuse of mitigation. So the thought is, get with the prosecutor, once the case is strong as it seems to be, and try and work something out to give this guy a potential -- after a long time in prison, a potential for parole, maybe even something less than second degree if there is enough mental health mitigation.
So my thought is, this case would probably not end up in trial, where the risk is a life sentence. Try and work something out with the prosecutor once you've crossed all your T's and dotted all your I's.
COOPER: Mark O'Mara, Mary Ellen O'Toole, John Miller, thank you.
A quick reminder, we're going to be devoting the next hour a Special Edition 360 to "What Happened to Ana?"
John Miller, Mark O'Mara and Mary Ellen O'Toole, and others will be joining us including forensic scientist, Lawrence Kobilinsky, former Federal prosecutor Elie Honig for a closer look into the aspects of this case. It's coming up at 9:00 PM Eastern.
Next for us this hour, the White House's new strategy for getting out ahead of the classified documents story. Also a former President's attempts, the former President's attempts to minimize his own problem right down to calling FBI agents "the Gestapo." Kaitlan Collins and Maggie Haberman join me for that.
And later the newest allegation against the lying Congressman George Santos from a veteran who says that Santos promised to raise money for life-saving surgery for his dog, then he says made off with thousands. See what the congressman is saying about the allegation, ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:17:04]
COOPER: After nearly a week of piecemeal revelations, the naming of a Special Counsel and multiplying political headaches, the Biden administration appears to have settled on a strategy for dealing with his classified documents problem. Also today, the former President has cooked up a new sort of strategy of his own, an argument for why in his words, I did nothing wrong, Joe did.
We'll talk about that in a minute with CNN's Kaitlan Collins and Maggie Haberman.
First, the current President, the new White House strategy and CNN's Phil Mattingly.
Phil, what have we learned?
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, there is no question the rolling disclosures or new discoveries of classified documents last week really put the White House on its back foot in terms of its ability to A., put out a coherent message and B., really focused on the agenda the President has long wanted to talk about. And I think that's where things have been different this week up to this point, a somewhat steadied operation.
As they focused on the things that they have made clear they're going to continue to focus on throughout the course of this investigation. Now, first and foremost, it's the President's agenda itself. His schedule remains mostly unchanged, traveling to California tomorrow to visit storm-hit areas, meeting with world leaders talking about his agenda, that's not changing at all.
There's also very clear attacks and efforts to draw contrast with House Republicans. They have long been the foil for this White House, they certainly have been elevated as such, since they took the majority. And over the course of the last three days, there has been a steady and intense focus on calling out Republicans particularly those they view as hypocritical when compared to President Biden's predecessors own issues with classified documents.
One thing you won't hear, though, Anderson is any new details, any answers to questions that remain unanswered to this point, that is not a shift, but it is also very intentional in terms of what you are going to hear, take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: From this point on, are you not going to be taking questions about the classified documents?
KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I have been very clear over and over again, we are going to be prudent here. We're going to be consistent. This particular matter is being looked at. There is a legal process currently happening at the Department of Justice. And I'm going to refer you to the Department of Justice on any specifics to this particular case. And anything that has to deal with our -- what we're doing here, I would refer you to the White House Counsel's office.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MATTINGLY: Anderson, there will be no engagement, there will be no answers to unanswered questions. Lawyers have made clear, it's not a smart idea, particularly with an investigation that they simply don't have a lot of insight into either in time horizon or in terms of what it will entail in the weeks and months ahead.
COOPER: Does what they're saying in public match what they're saying behind the scenes? I mean, how do people in the White House feel about how this has unfolded?
MATTINGLY: You know, Anderson, it is worth noting that the vast majority of White House officials had no knowledge of this. Over the course of the nearly two months the review was ongoing, and most of them have no involvement in it at this moment in time.
And for those officials, this is a matter of trying to just keep your heads down and keep doing the work that they long planned. This was viewed as a very critical couple of months ahead. The President considering reelection, but also the President's agenda, the implementation of that agenda, something that they wanted to highlight, focus on and really elevate over the course of the months ahead, that's not changing at this point.
[20:20:04]
Officials believe, at least based on what they know, this will all end up showing that they did the right things, however, discombobulated it appeared, obviously, though the Special Counsel has something to say about that.
COOPER: Are there any staff changes expected?
MATTINGLY: That's one thing I have been told by several people, it is just not something that's on the table. The President doesn't blame his team for what's happened. While it may have appeared publicly, to be disjointed at times, to be on their back foot at times, the President believes what his lawyers have done, both personal and in the White House Counsel's Office have been what was necessary from a legal perspective.
And the legal perspective, I think, is by far the most important thing as one official said a couple of days ago to me, that short term pain might be necessary at this point. But as long as the long term this ends up in a resolution that we want to see, this will all net out in a good place -- Anderson.
COOPER: Phil Mattingly, appreciate it.
Now the former President who in a series of postings on a social network managed to mistake the facts that his case again suggest the FBI planted evidence and called FBI agents the Gestapo. Just to remind you, more than 300 classified documents have been recovered from Mar- a-Lago and in today's post, the former President does not explicitly say he did not take any but he certainly suggests he only took the empty folders they came in. Quoting now: "Remember, these were just ordinary inexpensive folders with various words printed on them, but they were a cool keepsake. Perhaps the Gestapo took some of these empty folders when they raided Mar-a-Lago and counted them as a document, which they are not. It's also possible that the Trump-hating Marxist thugs in charge will plant documents while they're in possession of the material." And by saying, "I did nothing wrong. Joe did."
Joining us now, our chief correspondent and "CNN This Morning" co- anchor, Kaitlan Collins; also Maggie Haberman, CNN political analyst and "New York Times" senior political correspondent.
I know it's normal, I guess, at this point, but it is just startling for me to hear a former President of the United States calling FBI agents Gestapo and suggesting that they planted things against the former President.
MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It's normal for him, but it's certainly not normal. And one of the things that was really striking about that sentence is, A., it is straight out of the Roy Cohn playbook, his mentor and former lawyer to --
COOPER: Right, who is immensely sleazy and a horrible person.
HABERMAN: And known for just ruthless bare knuckle tactics, sliming people who he was against, making Nazi references. It's also really strange to describe somebody as both a Nazi and a Marxist in one sentence, but that's a whole other issue.
I do think that what he's saying here is something that I've been hearing from people around him or who have been talking to him for the last couple of days, which is they're trying to minimize his scandal and suggest that Joe Biden's documents are the real problem. This was just something miniscule with Trump. It's just not true.
The sheer volume in terms of what Trump had versus what we know so far that Biden had, is not at all the same. And the big difference, Anderson is the obstructive nature of how Donald Trump handled it, and I just think that can't get lost here.
COOPER: And by the way, and Kaitlan, that obstructive nature. I mean, there continues -- or fights between Trump lawyers and those looking for documents.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: Very much so, I mean, this post is coming and the context is important here as they are still in a dispute with the Justice Department, Trump's legal team, over whether or not he they still have classified documents, whether everything has been turned over, they have still gone back to one of his Custodian of the Records recently and had him attest twice that they turned everything over that suggests they don't believe that they've turned everything over.
It is interesting to me that they use zeroing in on the empty folders. There are about 48 of them, I think, is what the FBI has said, that were found when they conducted that search of his property of Mar-a- Lago.
Of course, that's among the hundreds of classified documents that were found. Those were folders that were marked as classified, but they were empty, and they raised questions with a Judge in recent months, you know, did there need to be an investigation to where that material went? Was it lost? Was it stolen? Was there something in there that they did not pick up because it wasn't in that folder?
And so it is interesting to me that he's zeroing in on the empty folders when it's not really something he has talked about recently. It makes me question what is happening behind closed doors, and what kinds of questions these prosecutors, these investigators are asking about this.
HABERMAN: Well, she is totally right. He is responding to something that we're not seeing.
COOPER: And what does that mean to you?
HABERMAN: It means to me that there is some issue that the Justice Department has raised about these folders and that they have zeroed in on them. And look, we do know that they are looking for repeated statements from his team in terms of not just the Custodian of Records, but the Justice Department also wants and a Judge said that this should be turned over.
They want to be able to interview the people who did the more recent searches of his properties and found additional stuff. So, that is part of what caught my eye, too.
COOPER: I mean, the most obvious explanation of empty classified folders is that there were ones classified documents in those folders as opposed to he just really liked the writing on the folders themselves.
HABERMAN: I mean, he may have liked the writing on the folders, you know, I'm sure there is some aspect of it that he found cool and okay, but there are protocols for how these folders are supposed to be handled in the White House and I've never heard, I don't know if you've ever heard that you know people who were briefing him were like sure just go ahead and take this. I've never heard of that before.
[20:25:04]
What I do know is that people who would brief him would sometimes feel pressured by him when he wanted to keep something and that it was difficult to say no to the President of the United States, but I've never heard this thing about empty folders.
COOPER: Kaitlan, the Trump circle, are they still making the argument that he had the magical ability to just declassify all of these?
COLLINS: No, but one thing that they are driving home and we'll see how this plays out, I'm still deeply skeptical of it. I'm sure Maggie is, too and so are other CNN reporters, that they think this Biden documents investigation is going to greatly help them and that it is essentially going to --
COOPER: Well, it certainly has already. I mean --
COLLINS: Well, it helps them in the sense that they're trying to muddy the waters. You see Trump trying to draw the distinction there saying that the people who are drawing the distinction in terms of volume and cooperation are wrong.
Legally, though we don't actually know, and the obstruction in what Trump's -- if there is obstruction, what Trump's mindset was here, that's what really matters. And I will say, I heard today on those two people who searched the properties, I heard today, they still have not been interviewed. They're still seeking to do so. We'll see if that ultimately resolves itself, but...
COOPER: It was interesting to me that Steve Scalise either made a mistake or lied the other day when he said that the officials had leaked photographs of that photograph of the documents laid out on the floor. They weren't leaked out, they were part of Court documents.
HABERMAN: Yes, because everything -- first of all, we live in this moment in time now where everything is about, oh, a secret was disclosed and something was improperly disseminated. You're correct. It was part of a Court filing.
The DOJ has been very upfront in its Court filings and really specific on a lot of points, because the Trump team had been putting out so much stuff.
COOPER: If he was mistaken, I thought he would have corrected himself, but I don't know that he has.
Kaitlan Collins, Maggie Haberman, thank you so much.
Up next, the outrageousness of Congressman George Santos' many lies matched only by the newest allegations. Did Santos steal thousands of dollars meant to save the life of a US Navy veteran's dog? What Santos and that veteran are each telling CNN now. We're coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:30:52]
COOPER: That the string of laws that surround rookie Congressman George Santos may be even more widespread than we knew the latest allegations are, well pretty cruel. Two U.S. military veterans say that Santos promised to raise money for life saving surgery for one of the veterans dogs. A dog's owner had served in the Navy he struggled with homelessness while his Pitbull named Sapphire developed a tumor. The other veteran helped to get them off the streets. They claim a crowdfunding campaign started by Santos, who they knew is Anthony Devolder raised about $3,000 in a GoFundMe page, yet they say not a penny went to help him the dog, the dog's owner talked to CNN's Erin Burnett a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RICH OSTHOFF, NAVY VETERAN SAYS SANTOS TOOK MONEY INTENDED FOR HIS DYING DOG: I finally decided to take her to the vet to see what they could do to have it taken care of or removed, and they gave me a $3,000 quote. I was homeless, I didn't have any means to pay for that at all. So, one of the vet techs in the place, said hey, I know this guy. He runs a charity and he saves a lot of animals. I even was dumb enough to give him my bank account and my routing number because he said he was going to put the money right into my account. It never happened. That was when I started smelling something fishy. Let's see that somebody like that that could do something that that dastardly could raise to such high position and this it shouldn't be right, that shouldn't happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Shortly before that interview, Congressman Santos responded to the newest claims telling CNN this morning co-anchor Don Lemon quote, I have no clue what he's talking about. And the crazy part is that anyone that knows me knows I'd go to hell and back for a dog and especially a veteran. So, this is just more of the pylon effect. I have dozens of people reaching out to me and support sharing their stories about their dogs and cats that I helped save and rescue.
Jacqueline Sweet broke the story, these latest allegations for patch.com. She joins us now. Jacqueline, thanks for being with us. Can you just walk us through the basics of what this veteran alleges that Santos then known as Anthony Devolder promised him and ultimately what happened to the $3,000 that was raised through the GoFundMe.
JACQUELINE SWEET, EDITOR, PATCH: Thanks for having me. So, this veteran told me that and she says 2016 at a period when he was, he was homeless. He was dealing with issues after being after leaving the Navy, PTSD type of issues. He had a service dog that was extremely, extremely important to him, the dog developed a tumor that was life threatening. He brought the dog to his normal vet practice and an employee there said, knew that he was struggling with the financial burden of the surgery, said I know someone who can help you and that person connected the veteran to Congressman Santos who and the veteran knew him as Anthony Devolder.
And Anthony Devolder, establish a GoFundMe using the veteran's dog, using language about the veteran and how important the dog was to him. And through a combination of Anthony Devolder and his network, through social media and the veteran and his friends and family. They raised the money in two to three months, I believe he told me and the veteran was so excited. But then he started getting different kinds of confusing roadblocks. He says that Anthony Devolder said you could only use a certain veterinarian, and then the veterinarian said we can't operate which was not what there was no vet said, he started feeling like things weren't adding up.
COOPER: Right.
SWEET: And eventually just stop answering his calls and the money was gone. And that was it.
COOPER: Do you know that there's the only alleged charity scam that that Santos is alleged to have been part of?
SWEET: So, we don't know a lot about Friends Of Pets United or FOPU was the group that Congressman Santos called a charity even calls it a charity in the text to the veteran. He calls it a registered (INAUDIBLE) charity and that was found and no one could find records of that once the New York Times report broke. People started looking into it, but we don't know a lot about the charity. We know that they're all -- there are many fundraisers that he that he launch, and that were shared in different places we don't know a lot about where the dogs came from, where the money went. So, I think there's a lot more to be uncovered about the animal charity.
[20:35:09]
COOPER: Yes. What was his reaction with the veteran's reaction when he saw Santos suddenly in the national media as a sitting congressman?
SWEET: So, I've talked to a lot of people who knew the Congressman firsthand years ago, and they all have their own very similar, similar but different experiences. And many of them were just shocked to see him on their TV, in national headlines and, and they said, oh, my gosh, that is the person that like the veteran said you'd saw him on TV, and it didn't quite click at first for him. He thought the face look familiar.
And then when the reports that he also went by Anthony Devolder surfaced, that's when the veteran he said, oh, my goodness, this is the person who took my dogs money all those years ago. And he was shocked, but also not shocked, because it 2016 you can see on his Facebook, he's you know, he posted to all his friends. I'm sorry, you guys supported me and don't even money I'm sorry to say that I was that (INAUDIBLE), it was a fraud.
COOPER: Congressman Santos, did he give you a comment or on any of your reporting?
SWEET: No. So, I've done I've been covering a lot of stories. And I've never gotten a response back except for one time and not on this story. So obviously, we reached out for comment. And the only comment that we've heard since was the one that you mentioned that he dedicates his time before was where he said he had no idea who this is, which I assume he's referring to the veteran.
COOPER: Wow, Jacqueline Sweet, I really appreciate it. Thank you so much.
SWEET: Thank you.
COOPER: Just ahead, we're going to have the latest from the helicopter crash in Ukraine near the capitol that killed at least 14 people including senior members of the government.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:40:41] COOPER: Ukraine in mourning tonight after the deaths of what's believed to be the most senior level officials killed since the war there began. A helicopter crash in the Kyiv region killed the interior minister, first deputy and state secretary, others were killed on the ground when a crash near a kindergarten. At least 14 people died including all nine aboard as well as one child, 25 more were injured, including 11 children. No suggestions from any Ukrainian officials of Russian involvement.
President Biden called it a heartbreaking tragedy and Secretary State Blinken noted that the senior officials whom he called colleagues were people that the U.S. had worked with quote, very, very closely.
CNN's Clarissa Ward has details from Kyiv.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A quiet key of suburb turned into an inferno. The sounds of screaming can be heard. Minutes after a helicopter crashed outside an apartment building just steps away from a kindergarten. On board the leadership of Ukraine's interior ministry, including the minister himself, Denys Monastyrskyi and his deputy, Yevhen Yenin.
The chopper was bound for the city of Kharkiv, when it lost control smashing into the kindergarten as it descended. One child was killed. Rescue services work to clear the smoldering wreckage and search for survivors. Its neighbors looked out at the scene of horror.
(INAUIDIBLE) tells us she ran outside as soon as she heard the explosion. We saw only injured children who were on fire. Sorry, she says. They were crying and running out from the school. Ukrainian security services have opened an investigation into the crash. For now, there is no suggestion that foul play was involved. There was heavy fog in the morning. But President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said every death is the result of war even when it is far from the front lines. The wife of Deputy Minister Yenin sobbed in shock as she took in the scene. Another tragedy in a nation that has borne witness to so much horror. As daylight faded, emergency services declared the end of the search and rescue and the bodies were taken away.
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COOPER: Clarissa, what more do we know about the rescue and how many people are still in the hospital?
WARD: So according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Anderson, the rescue lasted nearly nine hours which I think really gives you a sense of just how hard they were looking through this wreckage trying to make sure that nobody else was inside because 14 people were killed, one of them a child, but there are also many people who were injured and they weren't initially sure how many of the people might be unaccounted for. We now know 25 people injured, 10 of them are in a special ward for burns tonight, four of those are children. So, this was a really large rescue operation. And you can definitely feel here Anderson the toll that it's left with people. Zelenskyy also announcing a new interim sort of Acting Minister of Interior would take over from Denys Monastyrskyi who was killed that is the police chief who will be carrying out that role in the interim. But certainly, a lot of heavy hearts here in Kyiv and around Ukraine tonight, Anderson.
COOPER: Yes, I mean, the interior minister, a number of other senior Ukrainian officials, that's going to impact the war effort. I mean, there it's certainly the security situation.
WARD: There's no question that Monastyrskyi was someone who was a key part of the war effort. He just had met with President Zelenskyy in recent days, he was often traveling to hotspots and to front lines. And so, it's a blow on many levels. It's a blow in terms of morale, it's a blow in terms of logistics and the importance of his role and what he was doing with his deputies. And I think also above that there's just this sense of, of the sort of futile tragedy of it that on top of everything that Ukraine has already gone through to have something like this happen this time when there's such a feeling already, that it is a very grim winter and a very tough time in this war and this has really just hit people very hard.
COOPER: Yes, Clarissa Ward, thank you.
[20:45:06]
Coming up tonight, updates on two major cases that we're following the search warrant was released in the case of the Graduate Student charged with killing for college students in Idaho. I'll tell you what they found at his apartment.
Also, the former Republican candidate in New Mexico charged with orchestrating a series of shootings, the homes of Democratic officials. He appeared in court today. We'll have his history and his arrest affidavit, next.
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COOPER: Major developments and two high profile cases were following today. The man charged with orchestrating the political shooting for state and local Democratic officials homes in New Mexico appeared in court for the first time. We'll have that story in a moment.
But first there's new information about the 28-year-old charge and the murders of four University of Idaho students. Today officials unseal the search warrant officers use to search the home and office of Bryan Kohberger.
[20:50:01]
CNN's Veronica Miracle joins us now for more on what officials say they found. What have you learned about the evidence collected?
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson police cast a very wide net in terms of what they were looking for, and they found more than a dozen items that appear to be very significant in this case inside of Bryan Kohberger's apartment. Starting with strands of hair, they found multiple strands of hair, including a possible animal hair. And we know this is important because according to that affidavit, Kaylee Goncalves' dog was home at the time of the murders. They were also looking for blood and bodily fluids and they were able to collect a dark red spot as well as two reddish brown stains from a pillow and two mattress covers with multiple stains.
And another item they were looking for is clothing. That surviving roommate who was home during the time of the attacks according to the affidavit saw the suspect walked past her in dark clothing from head to toe as well as a mask that covered the nose and the face. And while police didn't find clothing that they removed from the apartment, they did find a Walmart receipt with a Dickies tag, as well as two Marshalls receipts and one nitrites type black glove, that's like a medical glove. What they did not find inside this apartment was a murder weapon that still has not been recovered, Anderson.
COOPER: And we know for the warrant investigators were interested in in his internet searches. What were they hoping to find?
MIRACLE: They wanted to see if Bryan Kohberger had done any kind of searching around the victims, the house, the neighborhood, or anything around possibly how to murder someone, how to assault, how to cut somebody. They also wanted to know if you looked into data around how to go undetected after committing a crime, they were able to extract a fire TV stick and cord as well as a computer tower. But what kind of data was on those devices, that was not revealed. Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Veronica Miracle, appreciate it. Thanks.
Now to the other development, the first court appearance for Solomon Pena, the former Republican candidate in New Mexico is accused of orchestrating shootings in the homes of four elected Democratic officials.
CNN's Josh Campbell has details on that.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: While we're on the record on Solomon Pena.
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Solomon Pena, wearing a red jumpsuit shackled at his wrist and ankles appearing in front of a judge for the first time since his arrest.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And Mr. Pena, your attorney, you're going to be calling you at that podium behind you.
CAMPBELL (voice-over): He gave a thumbs up to the judge in response to a question and the court ruled the case will move to District Court. The 2020 election denier and former Republican candidate for the New Mexico State House is accused of conspiring with and paying for other men to shoot at the homes of four elected Democratic state leaders.
SAM BREGMAN, BERNALILLO COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: There's a lot of evidence there. We have the electronic communications we have a significant amount of evidence and we're very confident in our case moving forward.
CAMPBELL (voice-over): According to the arrest warrant affidavit Pena, provided quote firearms and cash payments and personally participated in at least one shooting. Additionally, the arrest warrant included images from the phone of one of the co-conspirators photos that were sent to Pena. Those images show Pena with one of the four suspected shooters who were arrested had a gun that police say was used in one of the shootings. Albuquerque's police chief tells CNN Pena's intent went beyond political intimidation.
HAROLD MEDINA, CHIEF, ALBUQUERQUE POLICE: He was becoming more aggressive in his manner and he was starting to ask them to do activities which clearly put lives in danger. I think it may have started in one place, but I think it quickly ended up in another place. And it was a to hurt people.
CAMPBELL (voice-over): Days after his arrest, more details about Pena's criminal past and extremism are emerging. He served roughly seven years in prison for burglary and larceny. Last year after getting crushed by almost 50 percentage points in his bid for a seat in the New Mexico State House, he accused his opponent of rigging the election. One former staffer tells CNN that the 39-year-old was quite eccentric and his allegiance to former President Donald Trump was absolute.
Evidence of Pena's devotion to Trump a prominent. Video appears to show him at three rallies in Washington D.C. And CNN's cameras captured what appears to be Pena at a Trump rally in Phoenix last summer. He would later post a tweet of himself attending. In another post sporting a red MAGA hoodie, Pena wrote he stands with Trump and never conceded his own race in New Mexico. The same type of election conspiracy theory that law enforcement has warned could lead to violence.
BERGMAN: I don't care whether it's a Republican or a Democrat elected leader, violence against elected leaders will not be tolerated.
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COOPER: CNN's Josh Campbell joins us now. What is the status of the potential prosecution of Pena's co-conspirators?
CAMPBELL: Well, we just learned today that one of those alleged co- conspirators has already been federally charged not specifically related to this plot, but on drug and weapons violations. Police say that they're continuing to pour over evidence or trying to determine whether these co-conspirators actually knew the identities of these Democratic officials or whether they were merely hired guns. Police say that they will be working with state and federal prosecutors to explore charges against the entire group, Anderson.
[20:55:08]
COOPER: Josh Campbell, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
I'm going to give you a quick update in a story that we brought you last week, on a San Francisco antique store owner who sprayed a homeless woman with a hose. An arrest warrant has been issued for him Collier Gwin is his name. Gwin is charged with misdemeanor battery for the alleged intentional and unlawful spraying water on and around a woman who was camped outside his store. After the incident last week, Gwin told CNN affiliate KGO that he was not remorseful for spraying the homeless woman identified as Q with a garden hose.
Up next, a "360" special report, what happened to Ana. We're going to explore the stunning new allegations against her husband and now murder suspect Brian Walshe.
Also, the defense strategy with Ana Walshe still missing. The fate of the couple's young children and more.
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COOPER: Good evening, welcome to a special edition of "360," what happened to Ana? Everything that we've learned after a harrowing day in court about what prosecutors believe happened to the Massachusetts mother of three young children has been missing since the new year. What was done to her they say by her husband Brian who was arraigned today on a charge of murder and the chilling details of the alleged research he did on disposing of bodies.
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