Return to Transcripts main page

The Lead with Jake Tapper

Federal Judge Tossed Indictments Against Comey and James; Trump Admin Touts Progress at Talks to End Russian War on Ukraine; U.S. Supreme Court Leaves Texas Congressional Maps in Limbo. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired November 24, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KASIE HUNT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: All right, thanks so much to our panel. Really appreciate you all for being here on a Thanksgiving week, no less. Thanks to all of you at home for watching as well. Don't forget, you can now stream me real live. Catch up whenever you want in the CNN app. You can scan that Q.R. code. You can also catch and listen to our podcast. There is a Q.R. code for that. You can follow us on X and Instagram @thearenacnn. Erica Hill is standing by for "The Lead." Hi, Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kasie, thank you. Good to see you.

HUNT: Good to see you, too. Have a wonderful show.

HILL: Thanks so much. I'll see you back in "The Arena" tomorrow. Well, so much -- so much for a slow holiday news week. "The Lead" starts right now.

Cases closed. A federal judge tossing the indictments against two perceived Trump opponents, former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, while the judge says the Trump loyalist behind those indictments was unlawfully appointed.

Plus, a Pentagon threat, floating consequential action for one of the Democrats who made a video reminding military members they can disobey illegal orders. The Trump administration dubbing the group the "seditious six."

And let the holiday travel rush begin. The bumpy spots already out there as millions of Americans get ready for their planes, trains, and automobiles as they make their way to Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanks so much for joining us here on "The Lead." I'm Erica Hill, in for Jay Tapper. "The Lead" tonight, a federal judge dismissing the Justice Department's cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, finding the appointment of prosecutor Lindsey Halligan, President Trump's handpicked choice for the Eastern District of Virginia, is invalid and ruling that -- quote -- "all actions flowing from Ms. Halligan's defective appointment were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside." Halligan, of course, is Trump's former personal lawyer. She had no prior experience prosecuting a case and had been interim U.S. attorney for four days before bringing the indictment against Comey. The White House today standing by the decision to name Halligan to that role.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The Department of Justice will be appealing very soon, and it is our position that Lindsey Halligan is extremely qualified for this position, but more importantly, was legally appointed to it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Now, on Friday, Comey's attorneys filed to have the case dismissed after prosecutors said the full grand jury never saw the final indictment Halligan signed. Trump named Halligan to this role, of course, after pushing out the former top prosecutor in that spot, Eric Siebert, who resigned, rather who resisted Trump's pressure to campaign -- to prosecute Letitia James and his other political enemies. Today on Instagram, in reaction to the developments, Comey sharing his gratitude and also a warning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES COMEY, FORMER DIRECTOR, FBI: The president of the United States cannot use the Department of Justice to target his political enemies. I don't care what your politics are. You have to see that as fundamentally un-American and a threat to the rule of law that keeps all of us free. I know that Donald Trump will probably come after me again, and my attitude is going to be the same. I'm innocent, I am not afraid, and I believe in an independent federal judiciary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: New York Attorney General Letitia James saying in a statement she is heartened by today's victory and that she will remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges.

Let's get straight to CNN senior justice correspondent Evan Perez, who joins us now. So, walk us through a little bit more of the reasoning here for this judge deciding to dismiss the case, Evan.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Erica, before I do that, I just want to note one thing that really is still striking after 10 months of the -- of the Trump administration season two, and that is that we have a White House spokeswoman who is announcing that the Justice Department is going to be doing a certain thing, which is appealing this ruling, right?

Previous years and previous administrations, including in the first Trump administration, there was a separation whereby you saw -- you know, you wouldn't see a White House spokesperson speaking for the Justice Department, but here we are. And the judge today was simply following what she says was a Supreme Court precedent and established law that says that there's 120 days whereby the attorney general is allowed to have an interim U.S. attorney in this office and thereafter, it falls to the courts to appoint someone.

Again, while we wait for the Senate to confirm someone permanently in that office, and that has not happened because of the upheaval in that office caused by the president. And so, a couple things that the judge did today in this ruling.

[17:04:55]

She cites a couple of precedents, including in particular a 1980s ruling from the Office of Legal Counsel written by Sam Alito, of course, who is now a Supreme Court justice, and that goes through all of the history of why this is the way it is, right? After 120 days, it falls to the courts to appoint a U.S. attorney, which this is not what this falls under.

And she closes by also citing the USA versus Trump decision by Judge Cannon last year. You remember that the judge dismissed the charges against Donald Trump in Southern Florida, in particular, because she said that Jack Smith was not lawfully appointed and, therefore, that's why she dismissed this case.

I'll also point out that the judge points -- really goes back to the Attorney General Pam Bondi, who tried to fix this problem with Halligan's appointment by sending a new appointment letter calling her a special attorney and backdating it. The judge made a reference to that, saying that she -- the government has not identified any authority to essentially go back in time, and that's why this judge -- this judge today made this ruling. Erica?

HILL: It is really something. Evan, appreciate it. Thank you.

PEREZ: Sure.

HILL: Also joining me this hour are legal experts, Harry Litman, former deputy assistant attorney general, and Greg Brower, former assistant director for the Office of Congressional Affairs for the FBI. Both are also former U.S. attorneys themselves. Gentlemen, it is good to have you with us tonight.

Harry, when we look at where things stand, this was also, of course, Lindsey Halligan's first ever grand jury appearance, this is an incredibly high-profile case, to have this dismissed so publicly and then to hear that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said she was not only legally appointed, that they would appeal, that she was qualified for the job, when we look at the Lindsey Halligan of it all, what does this mean for her future?

HARRY LITMAN, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Yes, I think her future was already pretty well sealed, Erica, with a series of blunders and pratfalls, including misconduct in the grand jury. Now, an important point to add to what Evan said is those kinds of claims were in another court, the court of Judge Nachmanoff. The reason this one was in Judge Currie's court is because anybody who actually is in that same courtroom as Nachmanoff deals with the U.S. attorney's office every day, and they just -- they've done this in other cases presenting the same issue. But essentially, what the court was saying is the scheme, which is convoluted, is to keep the executive from doing an end around what would otherwise be Congress's constitutional role, and that -- that's the kind of shenanigans that she found were -- were a foot.

But for Lindsey Halligan, you know, not just first time in a grand jury room, first time in a federal prosecutor's office, really unheard of, and there seem to have been some serious mistakes. One slight silver lining for her is they -- these may now be wiped out, depending on how they proceed. But I think her -- like so many who have volunteered to serve the -- the president, I -- I don't think her reputation emerges in -- it emerges in very tattered form.

HILL: Greg, it's also interesting, in the Eastern District of Virginia, we're learning some prosecutors have actually stopped new case filings because of the news about Halligan. What do you make of that?

GREG BROWER, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: Well, this -- this ruling puts anything with her name on it in real jeopardy. We've seen in other districts, the U.S. attorney's offices react in a variety of ways when the acting U.S. attorneys in those districts have been declared unlawfully appointed by the court. And so, for an -- for an acting U.S. attorney who has been deemed unlawfully appointed to be continuing to act raises all kinds of issues that put very real, very important cases in jeopardy, simply because they may have her name on it.

So, this really -- this puts the U.S. attorney's offices around the country that are in similar positions and main justice in a real tough spot in terms of having to figure out now how do they go forward in prosecuting cases, cases that the citizens of this country expect to be prosecuted without putting them in jeopardy from a ruling like this. It's a very real problem for DOJ right now.

HILL: Yes, absolutely. I was also struck, and I think it is important that Evan pointed out that we have Karoline Leavitt there, the White House spokesperson. There's not even an appearance of any sort of separation here, right? Essentially, in some ways, speaking for the DOJ, talking about we will appeal what will happen next. Harry, what does that do to just the rule of law --

LITMAN: Well, for one, it's -- Sorry. For one, it short circuits any sorts of considerations that anybody in prudence would make. To add to Greg's point, if they now appeal and you're 100% right, typically, that would be a whole process. Only the solicitor general could approve of it.

[17:10:00]

It would take many days. Now, if they've declared they're going to appeal while that appeal goes forward, just as Greg pointed out, everything is in jeopardy in that office so long as Halligan still remains the acting U.S. attorney. They've chosen to do exactly this in New Jersey. And when the court of appeals rules, it could be a total, you know, overhaul of everything that has been done today or they may feel they're lucky. But what it does is make the decision, I think, seen based on political reasons rather than the whole sorts of strategy considerations that a Department of Justice normally considers.

HILL: When we look at specifically the Comey indictment, this was filed, of course, just days before the statute of limitations, that five-year statute of limitations was set to expire. Comey, though, in his response, I thought it was interesting that he said he didn't believe that this would stop at this point, essentially. He thinks the president could come after him again. Greg, what do think that would look like?

BROWER: Well, it's not clear. I -- I -- I don't doubt what Jim Comey said. But we have to remember that aside from the arguably technical or procedural defenses, this one happened to be effective and resulted in the dismissal of these cases.

There is a big other argument and a motion to dismiss coming eventually if these cases are refiled, and that is the vindictive prosecution argument and motion that inevitably will be made. That is not procedural or technical in any way. That really gets to heart of what these defendants are arguing.

And so, even if somehow these cases are resurrected with new indictments in the future, we're still going to have to, judges will still have to address that bigger issue. Are these cases being brought for purely political reasons?

HILL: Greg Brower, Harry Litman, really appreciate you all for joining us. Thank you.

LITMAN: Thank you. Thanks, Greg.

HILL: Still ahead here, the troubled spots in the holiday forecast as we count down to Thanksgiving. Plus, the new feature on X offering a little insight into the MAGA crowd, details that may surprise some supporters. But first, what the White House is now saying about the proposed peace plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine, one that President Trump hoped would be done by Thanksgiving.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: Turning to our world lead, more back and forth over the latest plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Over the weekend, Secretary of State Marco Rubio touting what he calls tremendous progress in talks with Ukraine over the Trump administration's 28-point proposal. President Trump had set a deadline of this Thursday for Ukraine to say either yes or no to that proposal. As the talks continue, though, so does this deadly war. Several people killed overnight after Russian attacks on Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv. Joining me now, Yevheniia Kravchuk, member of Ukrainian parliament. It's good to have you with us. So, this afternoon, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt --

YEVHENIIA KRAVCHUK, MEMBER, VERKHOVNA RADA: Thank you.

HILL: -- told reporters that President Trump, in her words, remains hopeful and optimistic that a deal can be struck. And here's how Secretary of State Marco Rubio characterized where things stand. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: I can tell you that the items that remain open are not insurmountable. We just need more time than what we have today. I honestly believe we'll get there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: You heard him there saying we need more time than what we have today. He thinks we'll get there. You've said this, you told me briefly in the break this could be a workable framework. What is your understanding of where things stand?

KRAVCHUK: Well, first of all, it is a very fragile process because it does involve multiple actors. It's not just about between Ukraine and the U.S. We are partners. Ukraine is partner with the U.S. We do have Europeans that obviously are alarmed about the security of the continent and that the Europeans are also allies of Ukraine.

And I think that at the end of the day, after this, you know, more time of consulting, obviously, there'll be a conversation between President Zelenskyy and President Trump because some of the most issues were set aside so far.

But at the end of the day, I think that Russia will be the real problem, and we will need to think again what would be the instruments to drag Kremlin, to try to put it into the table of negotiations because we can, you know, meet forever, between us, between allies, but at the end of the day, it's Russia that needs to be influenced as the aggressor.

HILL: And that seems to have been a challenge thus far. President Zelenskyy, in his nightly address, also, you know, warning Ukrainians that Russia was not going to, in his words, ease its pressure, that the attacks would continue. Do you see anything that would bring Kremlin to the table, as you were pointing out?

KRAVCHUK: Well, obviously, the war chest is shrinking. If you look on the wealth, so-called wealth fund, it shrank from $135 billion in 2022 to just $35 billion. In multiple regions, Russia stopped paying the contracts, like the additional payments from the provinces. So, the sanctions do influence. And, obviously, if sanctions would not be working, then Russians would not be so eagerly, you know, fighting to lift these sanctions and to sort of like return to the business as usual. And I honestly believe that United States is probably the country, the

superpower that Russia is afraid of in the military way, in the way of the economic sanctions. So, I do believe that the United States is crucial to pressure Russia.

HILL: Yes. You talk about the partners, the different parties obviously involved here. British, French and -- the British, the French, and the Germans drafted a counter proposal. A Kremlin spokesperson today called that completely unconstructive. What are you hearing about the elements of that plan, of the Europeans' plan?

[17:20:01]

Perhaps, how that could work with this existing plan from the Trump administration?

KRAVCHUK: Well, obviously, Ukrainian team is working on the initial plan. But it does look different, as I've heard from the comments of the official negotiation team. It doesn't look as 28 points anymore. It's more up to 20. And, as I mentioned, some of the questions, some of the most sensitive issues are being set aside for President Zelenskyy and President Trump to speak and frame this.

But we are in constant negotiations and constant contact with the Europeans. Currently, I'm in the Hague, which is actually, you know, the symbol of justice. And that's why one of the points about this blanket amnesty that Russia is seeking is just the total red line, I think.

HILL: There has been so much made of their relationship between presidents Trump and Zelenskyy. President Trump on social media writing that "Ukraine leadership has expressed zero gratitude for our efforts." Shortly after that, President Zelenskyy posted on X, "Ukraine is grateful to the United States, to every American heart, and personally to President Trump for the assistance -- starting with the Javelins -- has been saving Ukrainian lives." It's important to note he has thanked a number of countries for their support.

I also just want to point out that in our own fact check here at CNN, President Zelenskyy has expressed public gratitude to the U.S. at least 78 times. When you hear this continued refrain, though, from President Trump that President Zelenskyy is effectively not grateful enough for the help, that Ukrainians are not, what do you make of that? What are you hearing from your constituents that there is this constant or near constant push from the U.S. president that he just wants to hear more gratitude?

KRAVCHUK: I think that American people and -- American president has been elected by American people. Of course, deserves thanks. And the free media that report about this work also deserves to say thank you. So, I would add another number of gratitude to American people. By the way, I still have a host family living in Maryland because I was a foreign exchange student when I was just 15 years old.

And it's important to understand that we see United States as our ally and a partner. And I think right now, the autocrats of different countries are watching how this war will end. Will Kremlin just walk out rewarded? Are the rules that were after 1945, that you do not change the borders by force, will be step aside? And, you know, I just met with Taiwanese legislators two days ago. They are quite alarmed on what's going on the European continent.

So, I think that the world is watching and the world is looking on D.C., on Washington, D.C. What would be the response? How to end this war in the just way?

HILL: Yevheniia Kravchuk, really appreciate you joining us tonight. Thank you.

KRAVCHUK: Thank you for having me.

HILL: So here, in the United States, we'll be joined in just a moment by a woman at the center of the fight for 2026 in Texas and Republican efforts to take her seat in effort to win next year's midterms. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: In our politics lead, the court is adding a new layer of uncertainty to next year's midterms in Texas. Last summer, state Republicans redrew congressional district lines with an eye on flipping five Democratic seats to the GOP. Well, then, last Tuesday, a federal appeals court blocked those maps, ruling they are likely an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.

Texas officials appealed on Friday. The U.S. Supreme Court or U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito put that lower court ruling on hold, pending further action by all the justices.

The legal back and forth means a lot to our next guest, Texas Democratic Congresswoman Julie Johnson, who represents a suburban Dallas district directly impacted here. So, congresswoman, good to have you with us tonight. You got 60% of the vote when you were elected. With this redrawn -- redrawn district -- pardon me -- a Republican would likely get about 60% of the vote. So, what is it like watching all of this play out?

REP. JULIE JOHNSON (D-TX): Huh, you know, it's like a ping pong ball going back and forth. You know, it's always very stressful. Let's see what's going to happen with the courts.

But, you know, I've been practicing law in Texas for 35 years, I'm a student of the courts and the law, and I'm very confident that the Supreme Court is going to uphold, ultimately, the trial court's ruling.

I mean, the ruling was very clear. It was -- it's very concise. Judge Brown did a 160-page opinion detailing very clearly, point by point, all the ways that the Texas legislature engaged in racial-based gerrymandering. And so, I'm very confident at the end of the day.

HILL: So, you're confident the Supreme Court will essentially find in your favor. When we look at this, I'm curious, what have you heard from your constituents and including those who did not vote for you?

JOHNSON: Well, you know, people don't like this brazen politics that we're in right now. They want fairness in the system on both sides.

[17:30:00]

You know, mid-decade redistricting is highly unusual. It's not the norm. We normally do it every 10 years through apportionment based on population shifts, and that's how it should be not just this willy- nilly changing of the guard every time political winds change. Does this mean that every single time a legislative body shifts in a state, they're going to do redistricting? I mean, it just leaves way too much uncertainty in the process. I think consistency is what people want and predictability, regardless of what side of the aisle that you're on.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: When we look at where things stand in Congress, of course, the big news over the last couple of days was Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene announcing that she will resign in January. She also took that moment to blast what it was like working on Capitol Hill, frankly, the acrimony, the inaction she sees in Congress. What is your experience? Does she have a point there?

JOHNSON: Oh, absolutely. You know, I really can't disagree with her on it. It is -- it is vicious. The system is designed to -- for both sides not to really mix and mingle, get to know each other, work together, especially with the administration that we have.

They are very heavy handed, especially with Republicans who I think Marjorie was very frustrated within her own ability, lack of ability to get stuff done when her party actually controlled the trifecta. She still wasn't able to move her legislation.

The minority party, we're not able to move anything either. You know, when I was in the Texas legislature, we were able to work a little bit better in a bipartisan fashion. And I think bipartisanship, unfortunately, is -- is not present right now in D.C. And it's really, I think, important for the country that we come back to that.

You know, we need to be able to work together. I was elected by almost 800,000 people, as was she. And the -- you know, so our constituents mutually want us to be able to get it figured out.

HILL: Texas Democratic Congresswoman Julie Johnson, appreciate it. Thank you.

JOHNSON: Absolutely. Great to be with you.

HILL: Still to come here, we are talking holiday travel, the nasty weather that could snarl some of your plans, and the special request to airline passengers today coming directly from the secretary of transportation. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:36:34]

HILL: Breaking news in our National Lead. At least one confirmed tornado in the Houston area this afternoon. A large funnel cloud was seen over Harris County, Texas. You see it there. Damage was reported in several areas. Seven and a half million people in eastern Texas are under a tornado watch until 7:00 p.m. Now, that tornado is actually part of a line of storms that stretches far beyond Texas, as you can see on the map there.

Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is in the CNN Weather Center with a closer look, Derek, at that storm, that system, of course, now moving east.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: There's definitely the potential for some holiday travel impacts, not only on the roads but in the skies, as we've been tracking a line of stronger thunderstorms moving through eastern Texas today. That will advance eastward overnight, impacting Alabama and Georgia for the day on Tuesday.

This is the area that we really need to keep a close eye to the sky. Chattanooga to Atlanta, Birmingham southwestward towards Jackson, Mississippi. Strong winds, large hail, maybe an isolated tornado. Can't be ruled out. This is part of a larger storm system that could cause delays along some of the major east coast airports. And then on the backside of it, cold enough to snow near Minneapolis-St. Paul, potentially into Chicago.

By the day on Wednesday, still some wet weather, potentially causing interruptions at the airports. LaGuardia, for instance, that's for Wednesday. And then the cold front advances eastward for the day on Thursday. So Thanksgiving, actually generally dry, but there will be a lot of winds. That's going to help kick in the lake effect snow machine downwind from Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, as well as Lake Michigan and Lake Superior.

So wind gusts here, very important stuff. Could be over 30 miles per hour, so we'll see how that impacts the balloons at the Big Float. Back to you.

HILL: Well, some of that extreme weather is already impacting what is essentially Super Bowl season for travel in America, from the roads to the air. CNN's Pete Muntean keeping an eye on all of it. And it's only Monday.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Only Monday.

HILL: We're going to keep you very busy, my friend.

MUNTEAN: Yes, and we're just getting started for what's going to be a huge week for the travel rush. Not totally without snags today. The FAA briefly imposed a ground stop for some flights going to both main airports in Dallas. DFW in Dallas love that was due to an air traffic control radio frequency outage. Those issues over for now. And the good thing is, it's not tomorrow because Tuesday is expected to be the busiest of a week in terms of the number of flights in the air, 52,000 flights expected to be handled by air traffic controllers in the U.S. on Tuesday.

That number will tick down on Wednesday and again on Thursday, then rise again into the weekend. The head of the Federal Aviation Administration just said this is the Super Bowl for air travel on the heels of a government shutdown that caused widespread travel issues.

Air traffic controllers are getting paid again and staffing shortages have gone down. But Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy just said it is now on passengers to hold up their end of the deal. He's been pushing what the Trump administration calls a new golden age of air travel.

A big part of that is what Duffy calls a civility campaign. Duffy says it's important to say please and thank you to flight attendants and pilots. Always a good idea. And dress well like people did boarding flights back in the 1950s. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN DUFFY, SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION: I call this just maybe dressing with some respect. You know, whether it's a pair of jeans and a -- and a decent shirt, I would encourage people to maybe dress a little better, which encourage us -- encourages us to maybe behave a little better. Let's try not to wear slippers and -- and pajamas as we come to the airport. I think that's positive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:40:07]

MUNTEAN: Begs mentioning the number of unruly passenger incidents has gone way, way down from the high back in 2021 when fights and ugliness on planes occurred with a lot of regularity due in part to mask mandates. But this year has not been without issues. There have been 1,400 cases of unruly passengers reported by flight crew since the start of this year. It's more than four times lower than where we were four years ago. You know, flying is pretty tough these days. Can't really fault anybody for wanting to be comfortable on board a commercial flight, Erica.

HILL: Yes, it's true. I would say no matter what, definitely an exception for all children, if they need to fly in their PJs, totally fine.

MUNTEAN: Right.

HILL: Pete, thank you. We'll see you tomorrow at the airport in your PJs and your slippers.

MUNTEAN: You know it.

HILL: What CNN is hearing today in the home district of Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene just after that Friday night surprise announcing she plans to leave office in just a matter of weeks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:45:23]

HILL: In our Politics Lead, CNN went directly to Georgia. We wanted to hear from the voters who are represented by Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. So here's a bit of what they told my colleague, Jeff Zeleny, about her surprise announcement to leave office in January.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID GULDENSCHUH, GEORGIA VOTER: She's not most politicians. I mean, she went to Washington to get some things accomplished and I think was totally frustrated by the dysfunction in Washington. And again, the other things that I've mentioned, the Charlie Kirk assassination, the threats and -- and then the falling out with President Trump, just -- that was -- she didn't need it anymore.

VIRGINIA MCCHESNEY, GEORGIA VOTER: If one were to say, what has Marjorie Taylor Greene done for her entire district, which goes from the edge of Atlanta up to almost Tennessee, what has she done? We can't name a thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Jeff Zeleny, we'll have more tonight on Anderson Cooper 360 coming up at 8:00 p.m. For now, though, let's discuss a little bit about what we heard there and what is ahead. Shermichael Singleton joining us along with Meghan Hays. So, Shermichael, when we look at this, the Congresswoman has really pushed back against any report that this resignation is tied to a run for the White House in 2028, or frankly, any other elected office. What do you make of her departure?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I actually think she's probably at some point going to announce a new media venture. Maybe a major organization is courting her to be a guest host. Hint, hint, I think you may know where I'm leading when I say that. But I don't think it's politics. I think she's done.

And even if she wanted to explore the potential for federal office or running for governor in Georgia, a political strategist and Megan knows this very well. You have to ask yourself, what is the constituency at a minimum that will give a candidate a base that you can grow to get independence, for example? Well, for Marjorie Taylor Greene, originally it was sort of Magdalene Republicans. Well, we've seen what has happened over the past couple of weeks with her and President Trump.

I would, for the most part, cancel that group out by a pretty significant percentage. Then the next question becomes for me as a strategist, well, we have our Brian Kemp. He's the governor of Georgia. We have Kemp's type of Republicans, the traditional Mitt Romney type Republicans. Would they vote for Marjorie Taylor Greene? Well, if I were to produce a voter profile, I would argue that most of those voters will probably be a bit antagonistic to Marjorie Taylor Greene and some of her posturing since she's been in Congress.

So then you really zero those two groups out. And it's like, well, where is this magical voter that Marjorie Taylor Greene could attract? I just don't see it. So I think it'll be something in the media space.

HILL: All right. Well, we'll watch this space. You let us know if you hear anything else. Shermichael. As we look at all this --

SINGLETON: I will.

HILL: -- it is remarkable to look at Marjorie Taylor Greene going from staunch Trump ally to now being a target of the President's leaving Congress altogether. What is the message to other Republicans, Megan, in this moment?

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING: The message to other Republicans is you cannot disagree with Donald Trump or he will turn his target onto you and he will turn the MAGA base onto you, making life extremely hard, one, to get anything done in Congress and two, get reelected in your seat. So you have to choose whether or not you're going to do right by your constituents or you're going to do right by Donald Trump, because right now they are -- they are not the same thing.

HILL: One of Greene's soon-to-be former colleagues, Congressman Tim Burchett, was asked about her departure. Here's some of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think that there's room in the party for members who don't agree with the President on everything?

REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): There's always room, ma'am. People are going to argue or they're going to have differences. But I mean, President Trump's the biggest dog in the pound, ma'am. And you can -- you can take him on if you want. But the results are always the same.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: I was, you know, sort of to what we're hearing from Meghan in some ways. I mean, Shermichael, will the results always be the same?

SINGLETON: At least for the foreseeable future. I mean, look, I think you got to have some type of intellectual disagreement in the party, particularly now when we're trying to figure out what the overall message is going to be in 2026. For example, you're going to have some Republicans in very tight districts, purple districts, who may need to somewhat distance themselves from the President on certain issues in order to remain and retain that seat.

The President certainly would not like that. But I would advise the president say, hey, sir, we got maybe 15 members who really need to take some different positions on certain issues. Let's give them the room to do so, because it is far more advantageous and important to us and your agenda that we maintain the House by any means necessary, even if it means taking on some criticisms from people within the party. And I think you sort of got to give folks that leeway, because, again, the ultimate goal is to maintain the House so that the President's agenda can continue to move forward.

[17:50:19]

If you don't permit that, then Democrats regain, and there's a probability that they may try impeachment again. And that's certainly not what the President wants.

HILL: I would like to be a fly on the wall for that conversation. All right, we're going to shift gears here just a little bit away from the politics. Earlier today, First Lady Melania Trump welcomed the White House Christmas tree. So burning question for you guys, as we are now officially in the holiday season, it is Thanksgiving Monday. I just declared that a thing. Meghan, when is the appropriate time to begin decorating for the holidays?

HAYS: I am a firm believer that you do it after Thanksgiving because I like a live tree, but I am not going to steal anyone's joy. So if they want to go decorate for Christmas right now, go forth and conquer. A lot of my friends have had their Christmas decorations up for weeks.

HILL: I have seen more and more. I feel like it's happening earlier every year, not just the outdoor Christmas lights, but when I'm driving around town, the Christmas trees as well. Inside, I'm with you. I'm a live tree girl, so I'm going to wait a little bit. Shermichael, what's your timing?

SINGLETON: You know, in my house, my wife dictates everything. So whenever she wants things up or down, I just say, yes, babe, whatever you want. So I really don't have much to say on this one. I think the decorations look beautiful. Meghan, my wife would be in agreement with you. She wants a real tree. I'm trying to push her towards a fake one. We'll see where we land.

HILL: Here's my solution for you, two trees. You can have one real one, one fake one in a different room.

SINGLETON: That's not bad idea.

HILL: It's a fantasy. Take it and run with it. You're going to win big points with that one. I mean, in all seriousness, I feel like each year it is getting a little earlier. Could it be the divisiveness that we see in this country, the intensity of politics in the U.S. right now that maybe plays a role in people looking for, I don't know, any sign of joy?

HAYS: Yes, I think so. Absolutely. I think people are looking to talk about anything away from politics, to have anything in their house that's not political, something that gives them joy and, you know, Christmas lights and Christmas decorations or holiday decorations in general just bring a lot of happiness to people in general. So I think that people are looking for something else to -- to do and to talk about and to think about other than politics. HILL: Well, I wish you both a lovely Thanksgiving holiday coming up. Safe travels. I know Shermichael has an early flight coming up. I will see you both very soon. Thank you.

SINGLETON: Thank you.

HILL: And just a heads up for you as you're planning your Thanksgiving day, I have great news. Thanksgiving in America is back. John Berman and I had such a great time last year. We recruited Sara Sidner. The three of us will be joining you to bring you the biggest parades across the country, not just here in New York City. We're moving all around the country to bring you a little spice from a number of different cities. Our coverage kicks off Thursday morning, 8:00 Eastern, right here live on CNN. What's that? You're traveling? You're going to be at the airport? Don't worry. You can watch it on the CNN app. We've got you covered.

[17:53:07]

Still to come here on The Lead, revealing the source, the new features on X that allow you to see who is really posting what on that site. Why it's been a bit of a surprise for some, especially some in the MAGA crowd.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: In the Tech Lead, a new feature on X has some users investigating their favorite political accounts perhaps a little bit more carefully this week. So the new About the Account tool is meant to give X users more information about just that. Who's posting? How long they've been on the platform? And also where they are posting from. Joining me is CNN's Hadas Gold. So perhaps some surprises in the from category for some of these accounts, Hadas.

HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this new feature was rolled out just over the weekend. And what it does is it allows you on the profile to click on the date of when the account was created. And then you can see where this account is actually based. And a lot of users were pointing out that some really big, and a lot of them pro-MAGA, pro-Trump accounts post a lot about U.S. politics but are not actually even based in the United States. We have some examples that we can show.

One account called MAGA Nation has more than 392,000 followers. It says America First, calls itself a patriot voice for we the people, posts exclusively pro-Trump content. But as you can see there, it's based in Eastern Europe. There's a Barron Trump fan account, has more than 500,000 followers. It's also based in Eastern Europe.

Now, this is part of a toggle that people can say whether it will say their country or specific region. That's for fear for some people of free speech issues. But other people might want to, you know, hide what country they are in. That's another account you see right there that calls itself America First.

It featured Karoline Leavitt's picture. It's actually based in Bangladesh. Now, it's not 100 percent. People can use VPNs. There could be some errors. They're still working out the kinks in this new feature. But it goes to show you how much of the online discourse might not actually be authentic, and that X is not necessarily a reflection of real life. And there's motivations here. There's obviously the political motivations, foreign influence campaigns we've seen from back in 2016.

But also there's financial because creators on X, they get paid for real money based off of their followers and based off the number of engagements that they have. And for X, they also have a motivation because they want to show that they have authentic users. We're all about to get bombarded with a bunch of A.I. generated social media accounts. And for X and especially their advertisers, they want to show that they have authentic content.

HILL: So to that point, it being authentic, is X leadership working to do anything to root out some of these bots or even misleading accounts?

GOLD: Yes. So we have actually seen some of these accounts. There was one Ivanka Trump fan account had more than a million followers. It was actually based in Nigeria that has since been suspended. They haven't said where they're going to be suspending these accounts. Nikita Bier, who is the ex's head of product, said this is an important first step to securing the integrity of the global town square. But he did say that more features are coming.

[18:00:03]

HILL: All right, we'll be watching. Hadas, appreciate it. Thank you.