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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Is Interviewed About Trump Backtracks On Releasing Follow-Up Strike Video; Crockett Launches Senate Bid With Video Of Trump Insults; Jimmy Kimmel Extends Contract With Disney's ABC Through May 2027. Aired 5:00-6p ET

Aired December 08, 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]

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST, AUTHOR, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT FOR VANITY FAIR: But he saw how the political winds changed. He figured out a way to cozy up to Trump and his allies. You can call that business savvy or you can call that media capitulation. And there's a very vocal argument within the media industry about Paramount, about the Ellisons, about whether they're the right owners for these brands. What is WBD thing? What is the board thing? These are all factors to consider now. This is far from over.

KASIE HUNT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Indeed. Our Brian Stelter, thank you very much for that, sir. Always appreciate you. Jake Tapper is standing by now for "The Lead." Hi, Jake.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kasie. Big game tonight. We'll see you back in "The Arena" tomorrow.

HUNT: There he is. See you soon.

TAPPER: How much influence does President Trump have over big media? "The Lead" starts right now. One of the biggest brands in media, Paramount Skydance, is making an aggressive pitch to own Warner Bros. Discovery. Why it matters? What Trump just said about the new bid? And how his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is a factor in all this? Tech journalist Kara Swisher will be here.

Plus, a Senate race shakeup in Texas. Why former NFL linebacker Colin Allred is abruptly ending his candidacy as outspoken Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett looks to fill the void for Democrats.

And one of the most recognizable faces in rock and roll, Kiss front man Gene Simmons will be here on "The Lead."

Welcome to "The Lead." I'm Jake Tapper. We're going to start with the money lead in what could be a brand-new bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, the company that owns CNN and HBO and HGTV and other cable channels, not to mention film production, places where movies such as "Superman" and "Barbie" and the "Harry Potter" franchise are made and premiere streamer HBO Max. Paramount Skydance is now making a new hostile takeover bid for WBD.

The announcement coming just days after Netflix announced its own plan to buy Warner Bros. and HBO. The price tag, $72 billion. Netflix also offered to take on WBD's existing debt and spin off the cable side of WBD into another company. Now that Netflix deal beat out bids, including one from Paramount Skydance, the company that owns CBS News and Comedy Central and Paramount Pictures.

Instead of accepting defeat, however, Paramount is going straight to WBD shareholders with an all-cash offer. And if accepted, that plan would keep WBD's film and cable portfolio together. Just as news of the hostile takeover went public, 42-year-old chairman and CEO of Paramount Skydance, David Ellison, went on to CNBC to make his case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID ELLISON, CEO AND CHAIRMAN, PARAMOUNT SKYDANCE: We do believe that there has been an inherent bias in this process. Because, again, to make a $30 all-cash offer and to literally text the CEO that our offer is not best and final, and then to not hear back, what do you think the answer is?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Deep in Paramount's plan is a Trump card or should we say President Trump card because President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, his firm, Affinity Partners, is one of several investors for Paramount that is helping it put up the money for this new bid. On top of that, Affinity Partners is heavily invested in by the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund. In terms of inherent bias, one does wonder about the roles of the Saudis and the president's son-in-law as well.

Here's President Trump when asked about all of these just hours ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Paramount for Warner Bros. --

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I don't know enough about it.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Did you speak about Netflix last night, saying you have concerns about them?

TRUMP: I know the companies very well. I know what they're doing. But I have to see. I have to see what percentage of market they have. None of them are particularly great friends of mine. I want to do what's right. It's so very important to do what's right.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): The Paramount deal is supported by Jared Kushner, Mr. President. Would that impact your decision?

TRUMP: If Paramount is? I don't know. I've never spoken with him. He's really trying to work on Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Now, you will recall, it has been only four months since Paramount merged with Skydance in dramatic fashion, and that ended up with the cancellation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," a frequent critic of Trump. Paramount agreed not to implement new DEI policies as part of that deal.

And, of course, the Paramount settlement with Trump for $16 million over a "60 Minutes" interview with then Vice President Kamala Harris. It's an interview that Trump argued was deceitfully edited though legal experts thought that Trump's case was rather weak and media experts say the edits were rather common.

Still, Trump is apparently also still a frequent "60 Minutes" viewer, still watching and he couldn't help but weigh in on the show's interview last night with his new nemesis and former friend, retiring Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia.

[17:05:03]

She brought up the Epstein files. It's an issue that she has split with Trump in recent months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): He was extremely angry at me that I had signed the discharge petition to release the files. I fully believe that those women deserve everything they're asking. They're asking for all of it to come out. They deserve it. And he was furious with me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: And the president is furious today as well, except not necessarily with her so much as with "60 Minutes" for airing the interview. He wrote on Truth Social -- quote -- "My real problem with the show wasn't the low I.Q. trader," referring to Greene, "it was that the new ownership of '60 Minutes' Paramount would allow a show like this to air. They are no better than the old ownership" -- unquote.

So, let that be a lesson of sorts, I suppose, to Mr. Ellison or to Mr. Mohammed bin Salman or to Mr. Kushner or any other aspiring news magnate. President Trump is not happy if any news channel airs any criticism of him from anyone.

Here now, CNN contributor and tech journalist Kara Swisher and entertainment journalist and Puck News founder Matt Belloni. Matt, for those unfamiliar with the term "hostile takeover," explain what exactly is Paramount trying to do here. I'm not hearing Matt's audio, so let me -- while we fix that out, let's go to Kara. Kara, today, Netflix --

KARA SWISHER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, OPINION CONTRIBUTING WRITER FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES, PODCAST HOST, TECH JOURNALIST: OK.

TAPPER: -- co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the move by Paramount --

SWISHER: Yes.

TAPPER: -- was -- quote -- "entirely expected." You just heard --

SWISHER: Yes.

TAPPER: -- Paramount's David Ellison said he thinks there has been inherent bias in the process. Were you caught off guard by the hostile takeover? Do you think that there was any bias?

SWISHER: No, not at all. How ridiculous. That seemed rather unsophisticated. And he's -- I mean, he is unsophisticated, actually. No. Of course, there is going to be -- they completely expected it. What was really rich to me was him talking about unfairness when he has Jared Kushner on his side, he has the Saudis. He has been playing up his Trump relationship. They have a sweetheart deal for TikTok, which has to enter the discussion here with the Ellisons.

And so, it was kind of interesting to watch that. Of course, they were going to do a hostile bit. Of course, Netflix, which is a very sophisticated player, and Ted Sarandos, the CEO, a very experienced CEO, had to know that they were going to do this

This will all be up to the shareholders and depending on how much money people pay, ultimately in the end. But there is some question of -- you can't call unfairness when you yourself are touting your unfair advantage by being close to the president.

TAPPER: So, explain, if you would, why -- just to play devil's advocate. So, Paramount Skydance, Ellison says, hey, we were offering $30 a share cash for the whole kitten caboodle, all of it. And Netflix just wants --

SWISHER: Right.

TAPPER: -- part of it, and they're offering like what? Was it 27-50 a share? Why --

SWISHER: Yes.

TAPPER: And Ellison's argument is, you know, the shareholders will make more with our deal, and it doesn't make sense that he wouldn't take ours. Eplain why that's wrong.

SWISHER: No, that's good because they're valuing CNN and you, Jake Tapper, right now at a dollar a share. And so, a lot of analysts said that the thing that's being spun off might be worth more like $3 at least, if not $4 and $5 a share. And so, it's interesting that I think the assets around CNN and the cable are playing a big deal here. So, it depends on what they're worth when the thing is spun off.

They also -- you know, there's also a question of what will do better, what will -- what's the best, where you're going to make cuts. I think Ted is right on those things. Probably CBS, if CBS and CNN were merged, would be massive cuts and same thing with the studios.

And, you know, all of them want this, including Comcast, which is now not going to participate. It's existential that these companies get bigger because of the threats from not just with things like TikTok and where people are spending their money, but also YouTube. That's another name that's got to enter this discussion soon because I think Netflix will argue that, just as other tech companies argue, there's a massive amount of entertainment everywhere now. And so, you can't just limit it to streaming.

TAPPER: So, as you know, so many in the creative community in Hollywood and the unions, the writers' guild, others, have come out against the Netflix deal. David Ellison touched on that in the CNBC interview. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLISON: It's bad for the consumer. It's bad for the creative community. This deal, if it is allowed to move forward, will actually be the death of the theatrical movie business in Hollywood. We're sitting here today trying to save it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What do think of that framing?

SWISHER: Well, I think that the ethical movie experience has been dying and it has nothing to do with Netflix. It has to do with $12 popcorn, bad experiences, bad screens, not giving customers what they want. I mean, I think it's easy to blame a company like Netflix.

And, by the way, what's fascinating here is in any other kind of situation, the villain would be Netflix because of the way it has changed the economics of Hollywood. But that has a lot to do with how Hollywood has behaved over the past 20 years, ignoring all these changes. Now, consumers seem to like Netflix, right, or else it wouldn't be doing so well.

[17:10:00]

And the question is, how do we change the economics of Hollywood to make theatrical make money or make it be promising? You know, even though -- I haven't gone to the movies in a long time or less so. I went to see "Wicked," I guess, the new "Wicked." But it's really -- this is about the changing economics of Hollywood.

And one of the things that I keep remembering is 15 years ago, Jeff Bewkes, who kind of started this whole thing off, if you think about it, called Netflix the Albanian army is going to beat us. You know, they were making fun of what Netflix was doing. And so, you know, everybody in Hollywood has to start to embrace the changes that consumers have been fast forward on. It will be an interesting thing.

Look, whoever has the best money deal will win. And if the arbitrageurs, the arbs want their money, they want the $30 now versus $32 later, that might have a say in it. But to pretend that this is an unfair thing, it just whoever has the most money and the best deal over time will win this because, you know, Jake, it's China town.

TAPPER: Right.

SWISHER: You know what I mean.

TAPPER: So, yesterday, President Trump, I think, is going to be involved in the process. And this morning, the president, he blasted Paramount owned by David Ellison because he didn't like the fact that they interviewed Marjorie Taylor Greene on "60 Minutes."

SWISHER: Yes.

TAPPER: He posted, there are no better than the old ownership. Since they bought "60 Minutes," it has actually gotten worse. So, I mean, it is not unheard of for President Trump's whims and tastes to impact the FCC and the Justice Department.

SWISHER: Sure. In this case, yes. What struck out to me is a comment, they're not any of my friends. He said that about the Ellisons. I was like, uh-oh. To me, to the Ellisons, that was uh-oh. And Ted Sarandos, he called him fantastic last night.

That was -- what's interesting about Trump, I've heard from Trump people, there's a whole group that are Ellison side, on the Ellison side. There's also a whole group that's advising President Trump, hey, get on the side of the future, which would be Netflix. I think he likes a winner, and he perceives Netflix as winner in some fashion.

He might Mamdani this thing. As you know, you know, he was quite friendly to Zohran Mamdani. You never know what he's going to do here. And the fact that he said none of them are my friends, I was like, wow, ouch kind of thing.

TAPPER: Especially because the Paramount deal has the backing of Jared Kushner, his son-in-law.

SWISHER: Yes.

TAPPER: I mean, that's one of the financiers backing the takeover bid, which also, we should know, includes --

SWISHER: Sure is.

TAPPER: -- Saudis, Qataris, Emiratis.

SWISHER: That's another issue.

TAPPER: And today, SDC filing notes that those have agreed to put for going to governance rights include board representation. But I know there are a lot of people who --

SWISHER: Really?

TAPPER: What do you think -- what do you think about that? I mean, the Saudis getting involved in stuff. I mean, (INAUDIBLE) images of bone sauce.

SWISHER: Yes, exactly, I would agree. They should not be owning any U.S. property. I'm sorry. I mean, they could -- it's fine if they want the golf stuff, I guess. But this is -- these are big media companies. And so, I think the Saudi influences got gone throughout our country with lots of different industries. But this is a problem, the Saudi ownership.

If the Ellisons are so rich, they should pay for it themselves, if they think it's worth it, rather than get other money. They do have some smart money. Apollo, Marc Rowan is really smart. But for some reason, bringing in the Saudis and Jared Kushner just feels even more like a grift, doesn't it?

It's sort of like let all our friends and allies win here, just like they're doing over at TikTok, which is -- they're getting TikTok at such a discount. It's really -- they're practically giving it away for free to friends and allies of Donald Trump. So, I don't know what way he's going to go here. I was really struck by calling Ted fantastic, Ted Sarandos fantastic.

TAPPER: Yes.

SWISHER: And I'm not friends with any of them.

TAPPER: That's very interesting.

SWISHER: Listen to what he says. I think the money people will have the most influence here in the end.

TAPPER: Kara Swisher, always great to have you on.

SWISHER: Thanks a lot.

TAPPER: Apologies to Matt Belloni. I'm not sure what happened with the audio, but we will have him on again soon. Thanks again, Kara.

Coming up, some big news just in for comedian Jimmy Kimmel, another person who often finds himself at odds with President Trump. But first, the president's major shift after saying just last week he had no problem publicly releasing the Pentagon video that shows that second deadly strike on the suspected drug boat. And just how often U.S. citizens are being rounded up in immigration raids led by the Trump administration. Some shocking perspective coming up.

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TAPPER: Internationally, the Trump administration repeatedly insists that the nationwide immigration raids are targeting the worst of the worst. But in point of fact, they are also stopping people who have no criminal records and, in some cases, are actually U.S. citizens. One case in point, a home security camera took this video of agents chasing a New Orleans area woman into her house. Watch to the right of your screen there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Leave me alone!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: In the end, the woman was not arrested. The Department of Homeland Security later issued a statement saying that the woman matched the description of a target agents were looking for, and they identified themselves before she ran away. Her reaction?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACELYN GUZMAN, CHASED BY AGENTS: It's all below me because they did not identify themselves to me. And if they were looking for someone, why didn't they tell me that? And why didn't they show me a photo? Why did he just say, oh, come here, ma'am, come here? That's not how you conduct anything properly if you're looking for someone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: As we said, this is far from an isolated case. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez joins us now. So, Priscilla, you know, on the larger topic, there's this new data from the Deportation Data Project. It's a research group associated with UC Berkeley law school. It shows that nearly 75,000 of this 220,000, so about a third of those who have been detained and/or deported, have actually no criminal records other than their being in the country illegally. Seventy thousand.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right. And the period of time we're looking at here is inauguration day and October 15th. So, that was the time that they were looking at who was being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement specifically. Now, the 75,000 that have no criminal records, those are no criminal records in the U.S.

[17:20:02]

The administration has pushed back on these figures by saying that, well, maybe they have criminal records in their home country. But we don't technically know that either, especially because some of these countries, we don't have information sharing with, and the administration has acknowledged that as well.

But what it tells us, Jake, is that what we're seeing on the ground and hearing from immigration attorneys and advocates is true. We have been hearing from multiple accounts that there are people who are being detained, who have no criminal record beyond their immigration violation of being in the U.S. illegally. And that flies in the face of what the administration is saying that everyone that they get has public safety or could be a public safety and national security threat. So, this is more meat on the bones with this data.

It's also in line with what we have previously reported even over the summer, whereas less than 10% of those detained had serious criminal convictions. There were other charges that some people had. They were pending. They had not yet been convicted.

Now, the Department of Homeland Security says in a statement that the data here is incorrect. They go on to say DHS has arrested nearly 600,000 criminal illegal aliens since January 20th, going on to say that 70% have criminal convictions or pending criminal charges. The 600,000 there is including all of Department of Homeland Security. U.S. Border Patrol is also making arrests. So, the data that we're talking about here initially of the 75,000, that's only ICE.

I'll also say that, again, Jake, even when we hear from senior Trump officials publicly and privately, they will tell you they are going after those targets, but they'll also arrest anyone else that is in the way, that can be other undocumented immigrants. So, really, they're having it both ways here.

TAPPER: And let's -- you have some new reporting about the Trump administration's immigration enforcement in New Orleans. What's that?

ALVAREZ: Yes. So, I have been told by a federal law enforcement official that there have only been 50 arrests in this New Orleans operation that is being led by the top war patrol official, Gregory Bovino. Fifty arrests is not nothing. It's not where they want it to be, though. When they had come into New Orleans last week, they had a goal of up to 5,000 arrests.

But the reality that they have been facing is that when you are not necessarily targeting every single person you're going for and just doing these sweeps, people go underground. They're not going to show up to the usual places they're going to show up to. Well, they're facing that reality.

So, this is far behind where they wanted to be. In Charlotte, for example, they arrested 130 people in two days. They've been there in a week, and they've only hit around 50 arrests.

TAPPER: All right. That's all over us. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Coming up, the surveillance video from Lowe's and CBS shown to jurors in the murder trial of Brian Walshe. Once again, leaving his defense attorneys with a lot of explaining to do.

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[17:25:00]

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TAPPER: In our "Law and Justice League," cleaning supplies, a hacksaw, five bottles of hydrogen peroxide. Today, prosecutors said that surveillance videos show Brian Walshe shopping for these items at Lowe's and at CVS, paying more than $400 in cash during one of those visits. The Massachusetts man is accused of killing his wife in 2023. Walshe denies committing the murder. He did plead guilty to misleading police and to disposing of his wife's remains. Her body is still missing.

CNN's Jean Casarez is following every step of this. Tell us more about these new videos.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: So significant. Before the jury today, they saw these videos. And this first one -- let's look at the one you were just looking at a minute ago because this is January 1st. It is Lowe's. It is less than 24 hours from when his wife died of either sudden death or homicide. And he walks into the store. And, you know, it's interesting. He's got the mask on. He's got the gloves on. Actually, I think this one is January 4th because he went to Lowe's two different times.

But he walks in and when he checks out at the self-checkout, which is very interesting to see, he is helping the checker bag the items. He's calm, cool, collected. He helps to bag the items. At one point, he looks into the camera when you're checking out, he actually sees himself, and he adjusts his hair to make sure his hair looks good.

But his first trip to Home Depot, he bought almost $500 worth of items. And you're talking, just as you said, cleaning supplies, five blue -- five-gallon buckets, latex gloves, Tyvek suit. Of course, at one point, there are the tools. He also goes to Home Depot, though. It's not just Lowe's. He makes three trips altogether to home improvement stores. But he's calm.

One time, he brings his son with him. While they're seeing that testimony -- and that is him entering the store, and that's on January 4th. He brought his little boy with him, his son with him. This is -- I've got to show you a little bit of this if we have time because his son is holding some of the items.

And there is a point where he looks into the camera. I'm not sure if we have time for this, but it's really something and this could really influence a juror if they see this. He looks at the camera, he sees himself, he sees his hair a little disheveled, and he puts it into place because he realized he doesn't look too good. So, that's coming. We better move on to the -- there he goes. Look at him. See?

TAPPER: Yes.

CASAREZ: He gets a kick out of his hair not looking too good. And that is January 4th. All right? The day he reports his wife missing to law enforcement.

Deputy medical examiner takes the stand, shows some of the items from the trash, and he assessed them. He felt -- he found a blood clot, clump of hair, and then also possibly some tissue.

But here's the part that is going to be strong for prosecutors if they decide to make it so. He found a piece of metal on the embedded carpet area, and it had a loop on it. It looked like it was from a necklace, and it said Gucci on it.

[17:30:19]

And the man that -- that she was having the affair with, testified that she had a Gucci necklace, she wore it all the time, and she loved it. So a piece of a necklace with a loop, and Gucci was on it. Why would that piece of necklace be on her neck? So Jake, you know, this is a circumstantial case, and it's piece after piece after piece. Prosecutor has to put it together at the end. JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: All right, Jean Casarez, thank you so much, and when this trial's in session, it's one of many events that you can watch live and get up to the minute -- minute analysis from people like Jean Casarez and Laura Coates. All of that's on the new CNN app. Go to the tab that says Watch, and you can watch all the trial.

Coming up next on The Lead, a shift from President Trump. Last week, he said he'd have no problem if the public saw that Pentagon video of that second deadly strike on the suspected narco boat. The condition he added just hours ago, coming up.

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[17:35:21]

TAPPER: In our World Lead, will the public ever get to see video of that controversial follow-up strike on the alleged drug vote in the Caribbean on September 2nd? President Trump last week said his administration would release video of that follow-up strike that killed survivors, which some lawmakers believe could possibly amount to a war crime.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Whatever they have, we'll certainly release, no problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Whatever they have, we'll certainly release, no problem. And yet, just a few hours ago, the President not only changed his tune, he denied ever having said that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said you would have no problem with releasing the full video of that strike on September 2nd off the coast of Venezuela. Secretary Hegseth now says --

TRUMP: I didn't say that. That's you said that. I didn't say that. Whatever Hegseth wants to do is OK with me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said this weekend that officials were reviewing whether to release that video, and now lawmakers from both parties who were briefed and saw the video say it should be released.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JIM HIMES (D-CT), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: This video was profoundly shaking -- shaken, and I think it's important for Americans to see it.

SEN. TOM COTTON (R-AR), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: I personally don't -- I don't have any problem with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Those comments follow classified briefings last week where the official who ordered those strikes, Admiral Mitch Bradley, defended the move. Still, interpretations of what the video shows are wildly different. Even though you just heard Senate Intelligence Chair Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas say the video should be released, he also defended the administration's justification for the attack, saying that the survivors of the initial strike were not incapacitated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COTTON: They were not in the water surviving only because they had a life jacket or hanging to a plank of wood. They were sitting on that boat. They were clearly moving around on it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Meanwhile, some other lawmakers, including Congressman Jim Himes, you just saw him in there earlier. He's the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. They say the boat had been clearly incapacitated after the first strike. Let's discuss this with another lawmaker who saw the video, Democratic Senator Jack Reed of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He's the ranking Democrat on the committee. He launched the bipartisan Senate investigation into the strike. He was in the classified briefing with Admiral Bradley. We should also note that Senator Reed served in the 82nd Airborne Division in the U.S. Army Reserves. Thanks so much for being here, Senator. So --

Thanks Jake.

TAPPER: -- what is the holdup on the release of the video? Can Congress make them release the video?

SEN. JACK REED (D-RI), RANKING MEMBER, ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: We have requested the video repeatedly, both myself and Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the chair --

TAPPER: Republican, the chairman. Yes.

REED: We've asked for it. We've asked for a slew of documents as well as the video, as well as the legal opinion that they used to claim everything was done according to the law, particularly the law.

TAPPER: You've seen the legal opinion. You just want to be able to release it.

REED: I've seen the legal opinion, but it has to be released because I -- I don't think it's a compelling argument for the conduct of the operation. So it would be good if real legal scholars on both sides of the aisle could look at it and say this is not adequate or sufficient.

TAPPER: How would you describe the second strike? Were the sailors, I mean were the -- the people on the narco boat, alleged narco boat, were they incapacitated? Were they a threat to the United States? How would you describe what happened?

REED: Well, the video is still classified, but in general terms, they posed no threat to anyone. It was a situation for them of desperation. They had just gone through an extraordinarily traumatic attack by missiles. Eight of their, or nine of their colleagues were dead, and they were in the middle of the Caribbean on what was left of the ship.

TAPPER: Is it true that the -- that that ship was actually headed to Suriname, which meant that likely the drugs were not going to go to the United States, but rather to Europe? Do we know that for a fact?

REED: I can't comment on that. I -- I can make the statement that the significant portion of cocaine coming out of Venezuela is heading for Europe and Africa, not the United States. So, you know, I -- I don't think anyone quite knew exactly where it was going, but the other reports are that the boat had turned around and was heading back to Venezuela, which suggests, again, not a threat to the United States.

[17:39:58]

So there's so many unanswered questions, and that's why it's critical to get the information out. Let the American people see for themselves what happened. Their -- they can make a judgment, and their judgment would be, I think, very sound. Then let's get all the dialogue and the back and forth between the Department of Defense and Admiral Bradley.

I think in the period, upwards of close to an hour, between the first and second strikes, there must have been a significant amount of communication between the Pentagon. Now, Secretary Hegseth says he just looked at it for a second or so and then walked away and was not bothered by it for the rest of the day. I find that hard to believe.

TAPPER: So, as you note, when you talk about the legal justification that you would like to be released, all this focus on the second strike is kind of distracting from the fact that the first strike is also an issue in the sense that this entire operation of what critics call extrajudicial killing, the idea that President Trump has now just decided that people who used to be treated as criminals, narcotic traffickers, are now being considered terrorists, and the U.S. has now just decided, the Trump administration, to kill them the way that they would a member of al-Qaeda.

The Trump administration, when they're ever asked about this, will say things like, will you -- the media and the Democrats are siding with the drug dealers. How do you respond to that?

REED: We're not siding with the drug dealers. We want to make sure that this whole drug trade is disrupted. But we also want to make sure that we follow the law and the basic rationale. I spent some time, as you mentioned, in the Army. The reason we insist that the law of war be carried out by our forces is we expect our opponents to do the same thing, and how can we justify condemning an opponent if they are, you know, breaking the law of war, shooting people who are shipwrecked.

In fact, one of the definitions or models or examples they use is of shipwrecked personnel, and these gentlemen were certainly shipwrecked. Their -- their ship was blown in half, basically. So if we don't enforce, by our conduct, the rules of war, then no one will, I -- I fear, or they won't do it vis-a-vis us, and that is a disservice to the men and women who serve in the uniform in the United States.

TAPPER: The top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island. Thank you so much for being here, sir.

REED: Thank you sir.

TAPPER: Appreciate it.

Big political talker today. The race for Senate in Texas, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett has decided to enter the race. Is it a long shot bid? Can she win? We'll get into that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:47:11]

TAPPER: Brand new in our Politics Lead, Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett is getting into the Texas Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, with the help of President Trump? Well, here's her new campaign launch video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: She's a very low IQ person.

Somebody said the other day, she's one of the leaders of the party. I said, you've got to be kidding.

Now they're going to rely on Crockett.

Crockett's going to bring them back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The news comes after former Congressman Colin Allred dropped out of the race this morning. My panel's here to discuss. Karen, what do you think of that -- that launch video?

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I love it. Good for her. It's different, right? I mean this is -- in this media environment, you've got to break through, and that's one way to break through. And she clearly understands, at least to start in a primary, right, you've got to raise money. And how do you raise money? You raise money by saying, this is the guy that we're going to -- this is what going to be fighting against, right? So I -- I thought it was great. I love it.

TAPPER: And here's what --

FINNEY: And she looks gorgeous, by the way.

TAPPER: Here's what former Congressman Allred, a former NFL player, told CNN's Dana Bash earlier today about his decision to withdraw his bid for Senate and run for a House seat instead. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Jasmine Crockett is very openly considering running. Is that part of why you decided to not run anymore?

COLIN ALLRED (D), FORMER TEXAS REPRESENTATIVE: Yes. Of course it is. And I think, you know, listen, Jasmine's a friend of mine, and -- and we've served together. I've known her since before we were both, you know, in elected office. But it was about the fact that with, you know, three strong candidates running that we would certainly have a runoff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So this does leave the Democratic primary field open right now, pretty much between State Representative James Talarico, who we had on the show last week, and now Congresswoman Crockett. Who do you think will be the stronger Democrat to take on the Republican? And -- and it's really -- it's not just a throwaway because it's Texas, because it does look like the Republicans in Texas are not going to stick with their incumbent Senator John Cornyn --

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, yes.

TAPPER: And they're going to go with a guy who's got a lot more baggage.

SINGLETON: It's probably going to be Ken Paxton. I'd be surprised if Cornyn figured out a way to -- to pull that out, the hat out of the bag, as they say. But I was talking to someone who's close to the Congresswoman, and they made two interesting points to me. If it is Ken Paxton, they personally believe that Jasmine Crockett, according to some early internal data, would be a more superior candidate than Talarico.

Two, Texas has the largest number of black voters of any southern state, which I actually did not know. I was just made aware of this. And so they're looking at those dynamics, and they're saying, hey, we think we could have a competitive opportunity to potentially win the state.

Now, as a conservative, I am a bit worried about Paxton. I think we should have to, we should stick with -- with Cornyn. That would be in our best interest, but it doesn't appear to be what Texas voters want, Jake. And so if that's a decision that they choose, it's going to be a tough race ahead.

[17:50:07]

TAPPER: Well, let's talk about that. The polls on the Republican side, recent polls show the incumbent Senator John Cornyn, he's running behind Attorney General Paxton, and Congressman Wesley Hunt, who is something of a conservative firebrand as well. How do you see all the math on this? I mean, there is an argument to be made that -- that maybe Democrats should go with a more centrist candidate if -- if -- if the seat is actually up for grabs. I'm not saying I'm making it.

FINNEY: No, no. Agreed. And look, that is going to be what you hear from, I would argue, probably the party committees, right? Because they like to play it safe. But here's the thing about someone like a Jasmine Crockett. Number one, she is going to excite new voters and potentially, depending upon how they're thinking about the race, take a look at the state and say, how do I get those black voters who aren't voting, who aren't registered? Let's get them registered. Let's get them engaged. Let's do the same thing with Latino voters.

Meanwhile, on the Republican side, it feels like, I mean, to say Ken Paxton has baggage is a very generous way to say it, right? And so the Republican side is going to have to have a conversation about, well, which do we want -- what do we want to defend? The status quo? The baggage? What -- you know, what are we doing here? And particularly in a -- in an era where, let's be clear, Republicans are going to have a tough year next year. The economy is not necessarily going to get better.

Inflation is still high. The cost that people are spending right now at Christmas time running up their credit card debt --

TAPPER: Yes.

FINNEY: -- is going to hit them next year. So it's going to be a tough year for Republicans.

TAPPER: Shermichael, what is the problem with Cornyn? He's a very conservative Republican. He's an establishment figure by now. Why is the MAGA base against him?

SINGLETON: I think that Paxton, for a lot of MAGA voters in Texas, appear more closely aligned with President Trump in terms of his rhetoric. But I will add, even individuals like Chris LaCivita, co- campaign chair, or co-campaign manager of the President's recent presidential campaign, he's even been on X talking pretty relentlessly about the need for Republicans to support Cornyn over Paxton and over the congressman.

I think he's even said a couple weeks ago the congressman should just get out of the race altogether.

TAPPER: Wesley Hunt.

SINGLETON: So Wesley Hunt.

TAPPER: Yes.

SINGLETON: And so it shows you that even those close to the President recognize the importance of this seat. They don't want to give Paxton the opportunity to lose a seat to someone like Jasmine Crockett. And I know there's a lot that one can say about the congresswoman on my side, but I do not underestimate her at all. I think she is very articulate in terms of her political skills, and her ability to mobilize voters, Black and Hispanics, is something that as a Republican strategist, I am watching. TAPPER: So Marjorie Taylor Greene, who's retiring in early January, she went on "60 Minutes," talked about the -- the support that House Republicans have for President Trump. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does the support come about because they're afraid that they'll get death threats?

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (D-GA): I think they're terrified to step out of line and get a nasty Truth Social post on them. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they're watching what happened to you?

GREENE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Behind the scenes, do they talk differently?

GREENE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The President went after her on Truth Social, calling her Marjorie "Traitor" Brown Greene, turns brown under stress. I'm not sure what that's about. And saying she went bad because he jilted her. He's also angry with Paramount for airing the show, calling out CBS's new owners. Very quickly, if you could.

FINNEY: OK.

TAPPER: What -- what do you make of all this drama?

SINGLETON: I'm not surprised. I mean, look, I -- I think some of the reporting is true that Marjorie did want to run for Senate in Georgia. And I'm -- I'm not saying that just because the White House is saying it. I went to college in Georgia. I know a lot of Republicans there. And I have asked, what is the issue with her and the President? And some people, including those close to the party chair, Josh McKoon, have made it clear to me that she was a bit frustrated that she did not get that support. And so I think, as a result, she dropped out and now she's trashing the President.

TAPPER: Quick answer. What do you think?

FINNEY: She said the quiet part out loud. She said what I think we all have assumed for the last 10 months.

TAPPER: Everybody is afraid. Every is afraid.

FINNEY: Absolutely.

TAPPER: Yes. Well, death threats come with those Truth Social posts.

FINNEY: And your children get threatened.

TAPPER: Yes. Karen Finney and Shermichael Singleton, thanks to both of you. Always great to have you.

[17:54:19]

Coming up next, the big news from comedian Jimmy Kimmel about his future at ABC.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Some breaking news in our Pop Culture Lead. Right now in Los Angeles, Jimmy Kimmel is watching The Lead. And the good news for you at home is that you are still going to be able to watch Jimmy Kimmel because the breaking news is he's renewing his contract with Disney's ABC to keep hosting his late night show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, for another year. CNN's Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter here. Brian, after Disney pulled Kimmel off the airwaves for a time earlier this year, violation of the First Amendment, all that stuff, let's just breeze by it for a second. Is this news a surprise?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Not a surprise, because when ABC did bench him back in September amid government pressure, then when ABC reversed course and brought him back on the air triumphantly, it was clear that Kimmel was the big winner of that episode. He gained more power and leverage from that outrageous episode of government censorship.

Kimmel confirming this news about the content extension on Instagram a few minutes ago, by the way, saying, I am pleased to announce another no talent year. No talent is one of the phrases President Trump likes to use when attacking Kimmel, which Trump has done with regularity as recently as this past weekend. But it is important and notable whenever these media companies like Disney decide to stand with talent despite Trumpian pressure.

And look, these companies are under tremendous pressure today. The nonprofit advocacy group Free Press said the size and scope and scale of Trump's chilling campaign against the First Amendment is, quote, unprecedented in U.S. history. And viewers are right to be on guard. Viewers are right to be looking out for examples of capitulation.

[18:00:02]

But in the Kimmel gate episode, consumer backlash mattered a lot. Viewers voted. Some of them canceled their Disney plus accounts. And that really did matter to the bottom line of Disney. So it is no surprise Disney wants to stay in business with Jimmy Kimmel for at least another year.

TAPPER: All right. Yes, but millions of people canceled Disney Plus, I think as a result of them yanking him. Brian Stelter, thanks so much.