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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Fear And Frustration In New Jersey As Drone Mystery Deepens; UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooter Manhunt Aided By San Francisco Police Tip; Nancy Pelosi In Hospital After Injury On Overseas Trip; Trump Vows To Pardon January 6 Defendants On Day One; "The Statements Change Every Day": Capitol Rioters Try To Understand Trump's Changing Pardon Pledges; Israel Says "Unprecedented Number Of Israelis Spying For Iran; Philadelphia Man Freed After Life Sentence Vacated. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired December 13, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Now, I'm going one on one with Tyree Wallace about his newfound freedom and how he's working to help other formerly wrongfully incarcerated people and others reenter society. Plus, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is in the hospital after falling during an overseas trip. What we're learning about her condition this days after longtime Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell was also injured in a fall.

But we're going to start this hour with the drone mystery now expanding to at least three states and federal officials facing increasing pressure to give the public some kind of explanation for what is really going on.

Today, Connecticut and New York join New Jersey in reporting drones flying over neighborhoods, restricted military sites and near airports. And now New Jersey's governor is asking President Biden to ask for more resources to figure out who is behind these drones and what they're up to. Let's go to CNN's Polo Sandoval in New York.

And Polo, it seems like every few minutes we're getting a new alert from local officials about more drone sightings. Do we have any clarity from officials on who they think is behind these drones?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not quite, at least not yet, Jake. And of course, you recall yesterday you had that conversation with New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer, which basically reaffirmed what he told you yesterday, that he has been briefed by federal authorities. And based on what he's been told, based on what he's been shown, that it basically puts any sort of fears to rest in terms of this being a potential threat to homeland security or to public safety.

So that aside, he still has his questions and also his call for the federal government to fully, briefly the American people, mainly people in New Jersey. He says he's been told what these are not, but he wants to hear what they actually are. And so we continue to hear that. Meanwhile, the White House, the FBI, the Department of Homeland

Security, for their part, they've continued to reaffirm what they've said, really since yesterday. And that is that thus far the evidence that they have seen, they have not. They don't believe that this is a threat. And they also have not received any reports of any drones flying in restricted airspace.

But to your earlier point, Jake, those sightings, they continue. And it's not just civilians, but we've also heard it from elected officials, the U.S. Coast Guard, and most recently from former Maryland governor Larry Hogan that reported that it was last night at his house south of Baltimore that he observed what he described as large drones flying there in the area.

And today, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, as you mentioned, officially putting out a request to the government for resources, information. But he's also warning about these wild conspiracy theories that are certainly taking taken some at least we've heard a lot of them filling that information void. It was just days ago that we heard from an elected official who believed without evidence that in fact it was Iranian mothership off the Jersey coast that was sending these drones in.

Of course, the Pentagon quickly denying that. But there certainly is a concern that with that information void, that we're going to continue to hear these theories that perhaps may not be -- may not make the most sense.

Now, all of this said, we have also heard from government officials who maintain that a vast majority of the videos that have been circulating widely on the internet, they believe that a lot of those are actually simply civilian aircraft operating legally.

TAPPER: All right, Polo Sandoval in New York, thanks so much. Let's bring in Mike Ghassali. He's the Republican mayor of Montvale, New Jersey. Mr. Mayor, thanks for joining us. You posted on X this morning, quote, the feds can't control the airspace. So I am making an emergency declaration. No fly zone for drones over my town, Montvale. Fly at your own risk. Residents, please do not discharge your weapons, unquote. This is a noteworthy step. Do you believe that these drones do in fact pose a threat to public safety?

MAYOR MIKE GHASSALI, MONTVALE, NEW JERSEY: Hello, Jake. So we don't know. We have seen them in the last two weeks. Yesterday there were three of them in sync, flying over the reservoir that we drink from. We don't know where they're coming from, where they are going to, if they're dropping something in the water that we drink. So we are -- the residents are generally in fear by not knowing where they are coming from.

TAPPER: Federal Aviation Administration regulators allow operators of recreational drones to fly up to 400 feet above the ground in airspace that is not controlled by air traffic controllers. How can you enforce this drone no fly zone in your town?

GHASSALI: Obviously, I don't have the authority. That's a federal space. You know, just to bring the message that we are very frustrated. I have my own drone. If I fly it above 400 feet, like you said, I get a message that I am in violation. And to drop down, they emit a frequency. We are told that these drones are about the size of small car. They don't emit any frequencies, so they can't track them and they can't see where they're coming from and where they are landing.

They are staying in the air for about six hours from the briefing that were told by the state police. But again, that's the scary part, is when they're flying over our reservoirs, over the grid that we have in here, the substations, that's what's so scary.

TAPPER: So that's interesting. I don't own a drone, so I've never experienced that. So you have flown your drone and maybe accidentally gone over 400 feet. What happens? Do you get an immediate text message on your phone, or is this just theoretically what happens?

[17:05:10]

GHASSALI: No. So the phone is connected to the controller, and as soon as it hits 400 feet, it says to drop down. The rule is this has to stay within my line of sight and obviously can't fly over the highways, over the stadiums. And I have to check an app that says before you fly to check for restricted airspace. It will just not fly. These are the rules.

TAPPER: So the state of New Jersey has advised the city of Belleville, New Jersey, that if local police come into contact with a downed drone, they should call the county bomb squad to respond. Have you gotten that guidance from the State of New Jersey as well?

GHASSALI: I have not. We went to a briefing with the state police and the Director of Homeland Security on Wednesday, and were told that we know nothing. And up to this day, we still don't know anything.

TAPPER: Montvale, New Jersey, Mayor Mike Ghassali. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

Let's discuss this all now with Chad Wolf, former acting Homeland Security Secretary during the Trump administration and Executive Director of the America First Policy Institute. Chad, good to see you.

The federal government is saying these drones pose no threat to security, or at least they're saying there's no evidence they pose a threat to security. They're not saying what they are, except they are dismissing some of these sightings as mistaken sightings of lawfully operating manned aircraft.

What is your take on how these agencies, DHS and others, FAA, should be handling this crisis, or at least these questions about what's going on?

CHAD WOLF, FORMER ACTING HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY, TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: Yes, well, thanks for having me on. I think I agree with some of the earlier reporting that talks about transparency. Right. So if they are briefing members of Congress and they're telling them there's nothing to worry about, they need to be briefing the American public. Right. We've now gone on weeks here, and there's been no press conference by the FBI, DHS secretary, the Department of Transportation Secretary, or FAA.

Instead, we get a press release, you know, several days ago, that says nothing. Really nothing to see here. I don't know that's enough for the American people. They want answers. If you're able to brief members of Congress and assure them, and it seems like some of them are assured after these briefings, then let's share that information with the American public.

I think more transparency here helps, even if you don't know exactly what it is, but you've discounted or you've ruled out certain things. I think the American people would like to understand what exactly is going on here from a vulnerability perspective. Obviously, there's critical infrastructure throughout the state of New Jersey. There is restricted airspace throughout the state of New Jersey.

And so the American people are concerned on a variety of different fronts. And the more time that goes by without officials talking about that directly to the American people, I think builds that distrust. And I think that's a lot of what we're talking about.

TAPPER: Give us some possible reasons why, you think, to speculate, if you could, about why government officials might be reluctant to share more information publicly about the drones. I mean, it's possible somebody posited earlier in the show that the U.S. military or U.S. officials are trying to see how alert airports would be if there were some sort of drone attack. What are some other possibilities, do you think?

WOLF: Well, it's a great question. I don't know that I quite buy that these are, you know, airports are being tested. You can certainly do that, and we've seen that done in years past, but you don't see it on this scale. It could be open investigations. It could be a variety of different things where they don't want to reveal what they know and, of course, how they know it.

Again, I think you can be more transparent. You may not be able to tell the American people everything, but the more transparent that you're able to be with them, I think starts to, you know, relieve some of the fears and some of the stories and some of the presumptions that we hear about what's going on.

I have found during my time that, you know, the less you communicate, the more people grow concerned, and then it starts to balloon and gets out of control a little bit.

So, look, they need to figure out what's going on. I think that's first and foremost. I think it's been over a number of weeks. If it's manned aircraft, there's a very easy way to determine and to discern that. And if that's what it is, just tell the American people that's what it is. But when they're not doing that, I think people are left to guess, and that grows a lot of distrust.

TAPPER: The Trump administration is going to take over in a few weeks. Do you have any sense of how the new administration might address this issue if it's still going on at the same time, or how they might handle similar situations going forward?

[17:10:07]

WOLF: Well, again, I'd hope there'd be more transparency. I think, you know, President Trump would say let someone figure it out and brief me every day until you do. And that starts to drive action, that starts to drive resources and attention on it. I'm not sure it's being given the same amount of attention. Perhaps it is, but we don't know because it's not being communicated as such.

And my guess is you would have President Trump tweeting or truthing on this as well and sharing with the American people what he knows and what he's been told. So I think there's just a different level of communication, I would guess, you know, come January, if we're still dealing with this.

TAPPER: Would you serve in the new Trump administration if asked?

WOLF: Look, it's always an honor to serve, particularly when asked by the president, so certainly willing to do that. But again, I'm at the America First Policy Institute and we're doing great work here and I'm very excited to be here as well.

TAPPER: Former Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf, thanks so much. Appreciate your time.

The FBI now revealing they got a tip about Luigi Mangione's identity days before he was arrested in Altoona in the shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO. Those new details and an update on the investigation coming up next.

Plus, new reporting on the behind the scenes conversations as the incoming Trump administration decides which January six rioters it will pardon and who will be left out.

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TAPPER: International lead new questions about exactly when authorities identified the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. With us now are former FBI executive assistant Director for Intelligence Joshua Skule and criminal defense attorney Lexie Rigden.

Joshua, CNN has confirmed, reporting first from the San Francisco Chronicle that San Francisco police identified Luigi Mangione four days before he was arrested on Monday at that McDonald's in Altoona. The tip was relayed to the FBI from San Francisco police. And this afternoon CNN obtained a statement from the FBI saying, quote, FBI New York conducted routine investigative activity and referred this and other leads to the New York City Police Department as part of our assistance to them in their investigation. What do you make of this? Is this just a matter of slow bureaucracy or

so many leads you can only check out at one time? How do we improve this?

JOSHUA SKULE. FORMER FBI EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR INTELLIGENCE: So first, we don't know the context, Jake. We don't know, you know, they say they identified them. There's a picture associated with it. The FBI likely, when they say they did investigative background on it, they likely worked up a it's a bad content profile and went through all of his social media and sent that over to the NYPD.

The NYPD is a very sophisticated, very good police department. But still they did not have DNA. They still did not have fingerprint match and he was not in any databases. I'm not minimizing, but we also don't have full context for what they were doing and what the context was for the lead.

TAPPER: Is there a priority given to tips that come in from other law enforcement agencies versus ones that come in from the general public?

SKULE: Absolutely. You know, their law enforcement is used to identifying people. But still there was a large volume of video evidence. There was a large volume of other leads coming in. They were working around the clock on this and especially on a story that has this amount of attention, I do not think that they minimized it, but there were likely competing other leads as well.

TAPPER: And, Lexie, I want you to take a listen to something the Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, said earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALVIN BRAGG, MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Indications are that the defendant may waive, but that waiver is not complete until a court proceeding, which my understanding from court officials in Pennsylvania cannot happen until Tuesday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Why does it matter when the suspect is transferred from Pennsylvania to New York? I mean, he's in jail now, and it seems likely he'll be in one jail or prison or another, perhaps forever.

LEXIE RIGDEN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, his attorney had gone on record and basically said that he was going to put the state through their paces, that he hadn't seen any evidence that his client had committed the crime. Now, he was very careful in saying hadn't seen, meaning I think what he means is he hadn't been provided with any evidence, which was likely true.

But his attorney even said that he wanted to see what evidence. A little bit of a preview of what evidence New York had, which they would have to show in an extradition hearing. So I'm surprised if he's done an about face and is deciding to waive extradition. But we also don't know what's going on behind the scenes in terms of

negotiation with Pennsylvania about those charges. And so it remains to be seen. I mean, Luigi Mangione is really the one directing this. He's the client. It's his right whether to waive it or not. So he could change his mind also. So, this is obviously a back and forth between two jurisdictions right now.

TAPPER: Lexie, if you were the defense attorney representing Mangione, what approach would you take? How would you argue the case?

RIGDEN: Well, I think it would be important, at least in the short term. Where he's being housed now has got to better than the potential for him going to Rikers Island. So I think that the delays in these cases generally favor the defense. They generally don't favor the prosecution. And so if my client, if Luigi Mangione wanted me to put the state through its paces, that's what I would do. I would make the state prove that he is the person who has been charged in what we assume is going to be the indictment, that they've got the right guy. And then he could also drag this out by appealing these decisions.

Now, we've seen other high profile Pennsylvania inmates like Brian Kohberger, who did not, who waived extradition and didn't fight it. So it's certainly he has the ability to do that. But if I were Luigi's New York attorney and or Pennsylvania attorney, I would be concerned about the strength of the evidence in both of those cases.

[17:20:00]

And ultimately my eye would be toward attacking the sufficiency of the arrest if I could, but trying to cut as good of a deal for him as possible.

TAPPER: Josh, what do you think the FBI is doing behind the scenes right now to see if there are any other credible threats, perhaps individuals inspired by the shooting?

SKULE: Well, I think, Jake, that's always the concern. So they're looking at online rhetoric, they're looking at the volume of threats that is undoubtedly going towards other high profile CEOs. We saw earlier today that a lady down in Florida was charged as well for making threats.

So when any of these things happen, you see a spike in the amount of threats that are going on, and we're seeing that happening right now online.

TAPPER: Lexie, do you think this is going to end up going to trial or will there be a plea deal?

RIGDEN: Well, it really depends on what the state is offering. And the state might not be that incentivized to settle. And I say Pence -- New York I'm referring to because of the high profile nature of this case, they might not be incentivized to settle and offer him really any deals, because the max that you could face for second degree murder in New York is life in prison. And so if Luigi Mangione wants to present some type of a defense, an

affirmative defense, such as acting under an extreme emotional disturbance and try to get this down to manslaughter, I don't -- I think the plea negotiations will not work in that instance. And it really just depends on the strength of the evidence and what the state is offering.

TAPPER: All right, Lexie and Josh, thanks to both you. Appreciate it.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is hospitalized while on a trip overseas. What we're learning tonight about her condition, that story next.

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TAPPER: Breaking news in our politics lead, sources tell CNN that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is in the hospital after falling on stairs. This happened during an official trip with a bipartisan congressional delegation in Luxembourg.

CNN correspondent -- congressional correspondent Lauren Fox with more details on. Lauren, just earlier this week, Republican Senator Mitch McConnell was injured after a fall. Now, former House Speaker Pelosi, how is she doing?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, she was in Luxembourg to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. And this was a bipartisan codel, an opportunity to mark that occasion. And we know very little about exactly what occurred, but what we do know is that she fell on the stairs. And according to her office's statement, they say speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi sustained an injury during an official engagement and was admitted to the hospital for evaluation. Pelosi is currently receiving excellent treatment from doctors and medical professionals. She continues to work and regrets that she's unable to attend the remainder of the codel engagements. She looks forward to returning home to the U.S. soon.

Now, they don't specify exactly when she will return to the US. I will note that I've been talking to Democratic colleagues throughout the day, everyone wishing her well, hoping that she can return to the United States and has a speedy recovery in the days and weeks ahead. Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Lauren Fox, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Turning now to our law and justice lead, several defense attorneys for January 6th Capitol rioters are trying to convince the incoming Trump administration that their clients deserve to be pardoned.

Just recently, in his interview with TIME magazine, President-Elect Trump said one of his first acts in the first nine minutes, I think he said, will be to issue January 6 pardon, saying, quote, I'll be looking at J6 early on, maybe the first nine minutes. He also said, quote, I'm going to do case by case. And if I think they were nonviolent, I think they've been greatly punished. I'm going to look if there's some that were really out of control.

Let's discuss with CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid and CNN crime and justice correspondent Katelyn Polentz. Paula, let me start with you.

How are Trump and his advisors deciding who would even qualify for a pardon?

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's be clear. There are no limits here to the president's power to pardon people for federal offenses. It's Trump who's putting some limits on himself, saying that he'd like to maybe carve out some exceptions for people who were involved in violence.

But how do you make those distinctions when you're dealing with an event that was so violent, so inherently violent? Right. More than 140 police officers were assaulted. Millions of dollars in damage to the U.S. Capitol.

One option that we're told is on the table is to maybe pardon people who are charged with certain offenses related to January 6th. But even if you take an offense like assault, there are varying degrees of violence related to that. You also have folks like the leaders of some of these far right organizations. Enrique Tarrio is a perfect example.

Enrique Tarrio is a perfect example because he wasn't in Washington. He wasn't engaging in the violence, but he was encouraging it. He was convicted of seditious conspiracy. He's currently in jail serving a multi decade sentence. So what do you do there when he says he doesn't want to pardon someone like that, pretend, does he mean maybe he'll commute the sentence? It's unclear.

But Katelyn and I and our colleagues, we have made calls to everybody and it's clear there is no formal process. They don't have a clear plan. The only thing we know is that Trump's going to do this, he's going to do it quickly.

And I would not be surprised, based on my conversations with sources, if we see something that in fact isn't that nuanced, that's actually pretty broad because whenever we push them on this, the name that of course came up was that of Hunter Biden and President Biden's pardon of his son that extends over a decade. They kept referencing that to say, look, we could pretty much do whatever we want.

TAPPER: And Katelyn, so there is no process for defense attorneys. I mean, if I were a defense attorney representing any of these individuals, I'd be doing everything I could because it does sound as though the sky is potentially the limit.

KATELYN POLENTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. They're reaching out. They're trying to get answers, and they just aren't getting any from what our sources are telling us.

[17:30:00]

Because it's what Trump says, and he's saying this in a way that doesn't have a lot of nuance. He's saying he wants to pardon the nonviolent rioters, but these defenses attorneys, they want to know, do -- are they going to have to submit names of the people that they represent.

They're in touch with at least one person that we were able to find around the transition, a staff member. But it just isn't clear whenever they're making these asks of what do we do nest -- next. Would our people be eligible? There's one person that was a leader of the Proud Boys, Joseph Biggs, who was convicted there. He's writing to Trump personally already asking for clemency.

There are other people who are wondering, you know, is -- would they even be someone who would be applicable for a pardon if they're not in jail anymore, that they serve their time and they're done. Does Trump only want to free people behind bars? So there's a lot of different contours of this class of January 6th defendants, 1,500 or so of them right now, that we just don't know what Trump is actually going to do when he issues that clemency.

TAPPER: Yes. And even that term is so oxymoronic, non-violent rioters. A riot -- a riot is inherently violent. So five guys punch a policeman and like 30 people run in after them. Are those 30 not violent because they didn't do the punching?

POLANTZ: Well, there's a shaking, there's different types of assault.

TAPPER: Right.

POLANTZ: It is a charge that's used in this.

REID: Yes.

POLANTZ: And there can be an assault where you shake a barrier that a police officer is holding onto. But there's also an assault where you take a hockey stick --

TAPPER: Right.

POLANTZ: -- and hit someone with it. Those are the -- that's the range of assaults we're talking about.

REID: Yes. And in speaking with sources, we've learned the one thing they're not going to do is go through a traditional pardon process where individual cases are assessed. I'm told we don't have time for that. We got bigger fish to fry. We're going to do something. We're going to do it quickly because we don't want people, and I quote, rotting in jail while we go through a lengthy process. So this in our reporting, it sounds like there may not be a lot of nuance once whatever this clemency is eventually rolled out.

TAPPER: But meanwhile, I mean, the Justice Department, the FBI, they're still trying to track down people who committed crimes on January 6th, 2021. I mean, first of all, they -- there are people whose photographs exist.

REID: Yes. TAPPER: And they're trying to figure out who they are or where they are after they -- they've identified them. They're the people who left the pipe bombs outside the DNC and RNC. Are those investigations now going to stop because Trump takes office?

REID: Well, let me take them separately. First of all, I expect that this unprecedented investigation January 6th, that these cases will slow or potentially, well, more likely just stop outright, of course, because Trump is offering pardons to people involved in January 6th. Now, when it comes to this adjacent case, whoever left those pipe bombs at the RNC and the DNC, you would hope that would continue. That was kind of a bipartisan crime, but it's unclear right now.

I believe there's still a half a million dollar reward for anyone who has information related to that. So if you know something, you should speak up now because it's not clear if that investigation will continue.

TAPPER: What about the judges who have already sentenced these people, these non-violent rioters and the violent ones to prison? Have they reacted at all?

POLANTZ: They have. And that's really surprising. They don't often want to say something publicly, but in the past couple weeks, federal judges, the senior most judge in D.C., a Trump appointed judge, they're sitting on the bench talking to rioters, but speaking more broadly about the coming pardon situation because these rioters are saying to them quite clearly, we believe Donald Trump will help us.

One of the judges, Royce Lamberth, he was very careful last Friday I was in court to hear him reiterate that this was a violent attack, these people committed crimes. This was not a peaceful protest. It wasn't First Amendment activity. And then another judge, speaking to someone whose trial he agreed to postpone because of the coming inauguration and some other reasons.

Carl Nichols, Trump appointee, he said blanket pardons for all January 6th defendants or anything close would be beyond frustrating and disappointing, but that's not my call.

TAPPER: Indeed it is not. Indeed it is not his call. All right, Katelyn and Paula, thanks to both of you. Really appreciate it.

Just into The Lead, President-elect Donald Trump weighing in on all those suspicious drones spotted over New Jersey and Connecticut and New York and points beyond posting on Truth Social just moments ago, quote, mystery drone sightings all over the country. Can this really be happening without our government's knowledge? I don't think so. Let the public know. And now, otherwise shoot them down, three exclamation points.

[17:34:19]

The new Trump administration could end up having to handle this mystery in a few weeks, of course. The spy next door, next. What CNN learned about a large alleged spy ring leading to dozens of arrests in recent weeks? Stay with us.

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TAPPER: Back with our World Lead. And you're looking at scenes from inside Syria today, the first Friday of freedom. Massive crowds gathered in northwestern Syria for Friday prayers in Damascus. Syrians were openly celebrating in the center of the city, elated that their brutal dictator Bashar al-Assad is no longer in charge, is no longer in the country. This is just the latest example of dramatic shifts in the Middle East since Hamas launched its brutal terrorist attack on Israel last year.

Since then, Hamas's main backer, Iran, has seen its proxies stumble and crumble and its ally, the Assad regime in Syria, completely dissolved. CNN's Jeremy Diamond uncovers now evidence of an Iranian spy ring that up until recently operated inside Israel, recruiting an alarming number of Israelis with spammy texts and tons of cash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In this low income building in the city of Haifa, Apartment 5 looks just as ordinary as every other until you notice the spot where police broke in. Israeli authorities say the man who lived here, Azis Nisanov, was the leader of a group of Iranian spies.

LEONID GORBACHOVSKY, NEIGHBOR (through translator): I wasn't surprised. I was shocked. It was like thunder amid clear skies.

DIAMOND (voice-over): His next door neighbor, Leonid Gorbachovsky, was home when police pried the door open with a metal bar. He says they turned the place inside out and found piles of cash. Israeli police say Nisanov led a seven person cell of Israelis who gathered intelligence for Iran for more than two years and are now awaiting trial. And the Haifa 7 are allegedly just one cell. Israeli authorities say they have uncovered multiple spy rings in recent months.

[17:40:25]

MAOR GOREN, ISRAELI POLICE SUPERINTENDENT: If you go check the last years, the last decades, we can count on two hands how many people got arrested. For this last six months, we have over 30 Israeli citizens that got arrested.

DIAMOND: So that's unprecedented.

GOREN: Yes, of course.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Superintendent Maor Goren, who oversaw the investigations, says the arrests foiled multiple assassination plots as well as ongoing intelligence gathering efforts.

DIAMOND: While some of these alleged Iranian spies were accused of plotting to kill senior Israeli officials, others had a different task. Photographing Israeli military bases like the Nevatim Airbase right behind me. And Israeli officials say those photographs, that information actually helped the Iranians carry out those ballistic missile attacks in April as well as in October.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Missiles struck Nevatim Airbase in both of those attacks. And while the base's location is known to Iran, police believe zoomed in photos and videos provided additional targeting intelligence.

GOREN: Some of them got recruited by the Iranian by using the social media.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Many of those telegram messages provided by Israel's Shin Bet Security Service are wildly unsophisticated, spam style messages offering interesting and exciting jobs that pay a very high salary. In one series of messages provided by the Israeli police, an alleged Iranian handler writes, we just need brave men. Are you brave for a lot of money? Before tasking their mark with buying gasoline and setting off forest fires.

ODED AILAM, FORMER MOSSAD OFFICIAL: It's worked. And based on theory of the big numbers.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Oded Ailam, a former top Mossad official, says Iran is more interested in casting a wide net than in recruiting skilled operatives.

AILAM: And they say to themselves, OK, if we fail here, we'll go to the next one. And they don't really care of the outcome.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Unlike previous Iranian intelligence efforts in Israel, which have largely involved Palestinian recruits, the majority of those arrested in the last year have been Jewish Israelis. Many of them knew immigrants, according to the police. They were also often poor or had criminal histories. People like Slava Gushchin, who lived in this apartment and was allegedly part of the Haifa cell.

For neighbors like Ricky and Moshe, who saw him struggling and had given him food and clothes --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shock, shock.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): No one could believe it. People that know him, that also brought him food and everything, they want to kill him.

DIAMOND (voice-over): -- a sense of betrayal for the accused spy next door.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DIAMOND: And, Jake, Iran did not return a request for comment about these spying allegations. As for Azis Nisanov, the alleged leader of the Haifa 7, I spoke to his attorney who did not deny that Nisanov photograph these military bases, but said that he did not know he was working for Iran. He said that Nisanov's motivations were purely financial and that he did not believe he was harming Israel's security. Jake?

[17:43:32]

TAPPER: All right, Jeremy Diamond, thanks so much. Appreciate it. After more than two decades behind bars, Tyree Wallace's conviction has been vacated for a crime he has always insisted he did not commit. And now Tyree is joining The Lead to share his story and his plans to help other people who are incarcerated. Stay with us.

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TAPPER: In our Law and Justice Lead, for 26 years, Philadelphia man, Tyree Wallace, was serving a life sentence without parole for a murder he insists he did not commit. There was no physical evidence tying Wallace to the crime. And the witnesses who testified against him were either discredited or recanted.

With the help of attorneys and the motivation to not die in prison, Wallace's sentence was reduced, and last month, he walked out of prison.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER (voice-over): Tyree Wallace's 20th birthday was anything but a celebration. Instead of cake, he was served a life sentence.

TYREE WALLACE, FREED AFTER LIFE SENTENCED REDUCED: I literally believe that I couldn't be found guilty because I didn't commit the crime.

TAPPER (voice-over): Since 1997, Wallace has been sitting in a Pennsylvania prison convicted of the robbery and murder of John Su Kang, a Philadelphia deli owner. Despite there being no physical evidence tying Wallace to the crime.

WALLACE: The evidence of my innocence is clear, overwhelming, and is incontrovertible.

TAPPER (voice-over): Wallace found a new purpose in prison, trying to better himself and his fellow inmates.

WALLACE: I want to prioritize freedom. I don't want to die in prison. I said, I'm going to have a positive impact on as many of these men leaving as I possibly can.

TAPPER (voice-over): While serving time at SCI Phoenix, Wallace founded two nonprofits. The first was called Mann Up, a peer support group for incarcerated men.

WALLACE: It was all about men assuming their position of supporting community in their communities, you know, being better fathers, being better husbands, uplifting, respecting, and supporting women.

[17:49:59]

TAPPER (voice-over): And inmates involved in Wallace's second nonprofit, Systemic Reformative Change, or SRC, used money they made working prison jobs to donate science kits to a Philadelphia school. It was through this nonprofit work that Wallace got in touch with David Perry, an attorney at Blank Rome in Philadelphia.

TAPPER: What made you believe him? Why was this case compelling?

DAVID PERRY, ATTORNEY, BLANK ROME: I knew that one of his co- defendants had flat out been telling people that Tyree had no involvement in this case. The more I dug in, the more I realized that it was completely based on testimony by all very vulnerable young men.

TAPPER (voice-over): Perry enlisted the help of another attorney, Keir Bradford-Grey. And last year, they filed a petition arguing Tyree Wallace's innocence, saying one of Wallace's co-defendants admitted Wallace was not present for the crime, that every witness who provided testimony against Wallace later recanted it or was discredited, and that there was no physical or forensic evidence of any kind pointing to Wallace's guilt.

PERRY: It was a very thinly based conviction. Even to this day, I would defy you to meet one human being who would come forward and say, Tyree did this.

TAPPER (voice-over): This summer, Tyree Wallace's conviction was vacated. And last month, Wallace walked out of prison after pleading guilty to a lesser charge and being sentenced to less time than he had already served.

WALLACE: I am not anomaly. Unfortunately, there are far too many people who are in prison now who didn't commit the crime.

TAPPER (voice-over): According to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Pennsylvania has a 54 percent recidivism rate, meaning more than half of the people who get out of prison in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will end up back inside. But Wallace's nonprofit is working to help prevent that by helping other ex-prisoners get reintegrated back into society.

WALLACE: Once somebody has repaid their debt to society, the number one priority should be, how do we help him or her or however they identify, reintegrate back into society? How do we make this person be successful?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: The judge in Tyree Wallace's case found there was not enough evidence at the time to fully exonerate him. But Tyree says he will fight for his exoneration now that he's out of prison. It is also worth noting that Tyree's defense team was working with Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner.

Coming up, is it time to say goodbye to daylight savings time? Our last leads are next.

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[17:51:57] TAPPER: In our Sports Lead, it's a rivalry unlike any other. We're less than 24 hours away from the annual Army Navy game, with the team set to face off for their 125th time. The day is filled with pomp, circumstance and history. But as CNN's coy wire reports from the site of tomorrow's game, there is also a lot of pride on the line.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: All right, we are here in the NFL's Washington Commander Stadium, where it all will go down, the 125th Army-Navy Game. One of the greatest rivalries in the world, dating back to 1890, this game features some of the best, brightest, most disciplined people fighting for bragging rights of a lifetime. This is America's game, and it's said it's the only game where everyone playing would sacrifice their life for everyone watching.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This game represents more than just us, the players, all the people that have come before us have served this country. They've sacrificed their lives for this country. So it's a great honor to play in this game.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It represents a battle between two of the nation's best forces. Honestly, you know, it's always the most physical battle of the year. It's the most intense battle of the year. And that's what it represents. It represents the epitome of football.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's everything for our program and our guys. And, you know, this is the game we'll remember forever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: This game is so important, highlighting the future defenders of our nation that 10 sitting U.S. presidents have attended. President- elect Donald Trump is scheduled to attend the game once again, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance representing U.S. Marine Corps. A secretary of defense nominee Pete Hegseth served in the Minnesota Army National Guard and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Navy JAG officer. America's game highlighting some of this nation's brightest young leaders who've committed themselves to serving their country. It's a rivalry like no other. Game time is Saturday, 3:00 p.m. Eastern.

TAPPER: All right, Coy Wire, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

Our last lead starts in our Politics Lead. This afternoon, President- elect Trump said that the Republican Party will try to eliminate Daylight Saving Time after he takes office. Trump called the time change, quote, inconvenient and costly to our nation. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who were tapped to lead Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, previously expressed their support for getting rid of Daylight Saving Time. So has the secretary of state nominee Marco Rubio.

In our World Lead, your annual reminder not to go too hard at the company Christmas party, a lesson apparently ignored by one staff member at Buckingham Palace. A 24-year-old palace maid was arrested for allegedly smashing glasses and fighting a bar employee. According to a palace spokesperson, the gathering of around 50 staff members at a local bar was an informal social gathering and not an official palace Christmas party.

In our Money Lead, what's on tap? Well, until now, the most popular beer choice in America was Bud Light. That was until Michelob Ultra dethroned Bud Light in draft shares last month, marking an end to several decades of dominance. Bud Light also dropped to third place in grocery and convenience store sales during the summer.

Coming up on Sunday on State of the Union, I'm going to speak exclusively, something of an exit interview with outgoing Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah. He wraps up his final weeks as a U.S. senator. We take the measure of his career. That's Sunday morning at 9:00 Eastern and again at noon only here on CNN.

[18:00:13]

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, and on the TikTok at JakeTapper. You can follow the show on X at TheLeadCNN. If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can listen to the show whence you get your podcasts.

The news continues on CNN with Wolf Blitzer in The Situation Room. You can see me tomorrow night on dinner in a movie, "Die Hard." That's on TBS. And then I'll see you Sunday morning.