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Interview With Former U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper; Israel Recovers Bodies of Three Hostages; Golfer Arrested; New Sean 'Diddy' Combs Video. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired May 17, 2024 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:45]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: New exclusive reporting.

CNN has obtained footage appearing to back up abuse allegations made against music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs. You can see it for yourself ahead.

And the world's number one golfer arrested and charged with a felony just hours before his tee time at a major tournament. So, how did Scottie Scheffler land in jail? Our reporters at the site of the PGA Championship, where he is playing.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: And Israel says it's recovered the bodies of three hostages killed by Hamas at the Nova Music Festival, there remains kept by Hamas until now.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: We begin this hour with disturbing video. It's truly disturbing when you see it.

This is exclusively obtained by CNN, and it really seems to support at least some of the abuse claims against Sean "Diddy" Combs.

DEAN: It's graphic surveillance footage that appears to show Combs repeatedly hitting his then-girlfriend Cassie inside of a hotel. This is back in 2016.

And we do want to warn you, what you're about to see is very disturbing.

KEILAR: CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister is with us now. She has more on her exclusive reporting.

Elizabeth, walk us through what is in this video.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: As you said, this is very disturbing footage, so we do want to warn our viewers.

Now, Cassie Ventura, she dated Sean "Diddy" Combs over the course of a decade. A lot of people know her as a big pop star in the early aughts. Now, she was one of -- she was the first woman to hit Diddy with the first lawsuit that started this domino effect of civil suits that have now come out against him.

In her suit from November of 2023, which was quickly settled within one day, by the way, there is an incident in that complaint that talks about in March 2016, where she alleged that she was assaulted in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel.

Now we have obtained that footage. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): New surveillance footage obtained exclusively by CNN appears to corroborate some of the allegations of abuse against music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs.

The video, captured on multiple cameras, shows Combs assaulting his then-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, in a hallway at a Los Angeles hotel in March 2016. A lawsuit filed by Ventura in November last year and settled the next day reference actions that seem to match those seen in this video.

There is no audio. According to the complaint, Combs became extremely intoxicated and punched Ms. Ventura in the face, giving her a black eye, which, according to the lawsuit, prompted Ventura to try and leave the hotel room. The surveillance video obtained by CNN begins as she enters the hallway.

The complaint says: "As she exited, Mr. Combs awoke and began screaming at Ms. Ventura. He followed her into the hallway of the hotel while yelling at her." The complaint goes on to say: "He grabbed her and then took glass vases in the hallway and threw them at her."

In the surveillance video, Combs can be seen grabbing Ventura and throwing her to the ground. As Ventura lies on the ground, Combs then kicks her twice and attempts to drag her on the floor back to the hotel room.

Ventura is seen picking up a hotel phone. Combs seems to walk back to the hotel room, then returns and appears to shove her in a corner. Moments later, he can be seen throwing an object in her direction. According to Ventura's now-settled lawsuit, the pair began dating several years after they met in 2005. They parted ways in 2019.

Combs' attorney said the decision to settle was in no way an admission of wrongdoing. Ventura declined to comment on the video, but her attorney told CNN: "The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs. Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light."

[13:05:00]

The video hasn't been seen publicly before and comes on the heels of a series of civil lawsuits alleging Combs' involvement in sex trafficking and sexual abuse, allegations Combs has repeatedly denied. In a December 2023 statement, Combs responded to the claims in all the

lawsuits, saying: "Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear. I did not do any of the awful things being alleged."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WAGMEISTER: Now, we have reached out to attorneys for Sean "Diddy" Combs. We have not heard back yet in response to this video.

Now, this is one piece of a lengthy lawsuit that, again, came in November 2023 and was settled. Cassie also has accused Sean "Diddy" Combs of rape, of sex trafficking. She says that she was subjected to a decade of abuse during their relationship.

DEAN: And, Elizabeth, you talked about this a little bit in the story there, but this is just the latest in a string of damaging controversies and accusations against Diddy.

His homes have been raided in relation to that sex trafficking investigation. He's also been accused of sexual assault in five different lawsuits filed in recent months. So, where do things stand more broadly?

WAGMEISTER: Yes, so he does have six lawsuits against him, but, as you said, five of those directly accuse him of sexual assault.

Now, Diddy is fighting back. As we heard, he has denied all claims against him, including Cassie's. He -- just last week, at the end of last week, he filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit from a Jane Doe. He has also filed to dismiss a portion of a separate lawsuit.

So, up until now, he has maintained his innocence over and over again. Again, he is fighting back, but it will be interesting to hear now what we hear back from his team, because now we do have this video, and this goes against him denying all these allegations across the board.

DEAN: Mm-hmm.

KEILAR: Yes, horrific video and so important to see.

Elizabeth, thank you so much for that exclusive reporting.

Let's talk now with CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson.

Some things that stand out to me, Joey -- and I'm curious what stands out to you -- but the kicking while she's on the ground, the fact of how methodically Cassie puts her hand up to protect her head, kind of like she's a pro at protecting herself against this kind of abuse.

But I just wonder what your reaction is to what we're seeing in this video and what it means.

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, good to be with you, Brianna and Jessica. It means nothing good as it relates to Mr. Combs. I think that the

letting out of the lawsuit initially that we saw in November of 2023 just last year, if he was going to settle that lawsuit, the time to do that would have been certainly the day before it became into the public realm.

As to what we're observing, right, we should believe our eyes, right? Are our eyes lying to us? It's a vicious assault, the kicking, the punch, however you describe it. And I think that, notwithstanding the fact, Brianna, that the lawsuit has been settled, I think you saw that the federal government is investigating, right?

You saw the Homeland Security Investigation agency that was there at his home looking into various allegations that were made in that lawsuit and others with respect to his conduct concerning sexual activities, concerning the consent around that, concerning any other commercial activity.

And I think that's the larger fish to fry here. And so, when you see things like this, it does give credence and credibility to what people were saying, notwithstanding his denials. And I think the federal government is going to be looking into this very carefully as it relates to potentially moving forward in -- I know they're investigating, but in ultimately doing something about that investigation.

We will have to see.

DEAN: And we saw that he just denied all of it just across the board.

Joey, when you have somebody that's saying, I didn't do it, I didn't do it, I didn't do it, and has also, by the way, settled with her in part of the case, what does a video like this, how does that change the dynamic here?

JACKSON: So, Jessica, there's two imperatives, right, when you're a celebrity like this.

I think the first, obviously, is public relations. That's important. You have a brand. You want to protect that brand. There's a lot of money surrounding that, and so there's going to be denials. There's going to be: Nothing to see here. Everyone's after my money. People are crazy.

The other, though, imperative is that, if there's something here, we have many investigatory bodies in the United States that look and evaluate that. And so I think, when you see a tape like this, it is of some concern to authorities to evaluate it further.

Now, you could look at the specific nature of the act here, and you could say, well, what about the local authorities? You may have some statute of limitations problems in terms of the assault, right? Generally, California, I believe where this was, three-year statute of limitations.

But then you look at things that are not statute of limitations, such as human trafficking and that type thing. So I think what we're going to see moving forward is a very active federal government, seeing whether, in parsing the lawsuit, not only as it relates to that specific allegation, but other allegations in that lawsuit -- you heard Elizabeth Wagmeister speak to the issues of the other pending lawsuits.

[13:10:14]

Those will be parsed very carefully to determine what's what. I think people will be called in under subpoena to be -- further the investigation. And if there's anything that's actionable, I think, potentially, that's what we will see, is action.

DEAN: All right, Joey, stay with us.

And if you or someone you know is struggling with intimate partner violence, there are resources, a lot of them, available to you, including the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and that's 800-799- SAFE.

Meantime, happening right now, the world's top ranked golfer, Scottie Scheffler, is playing his second round at the PGA Championship just hours after he was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky, the Masters champion now facing four charges, including felony assault on a police officer.

ESPN's Jeff Darlington reported seeing Scheffler drive around the scene of a fatal traffic accident outside the club, despite being told to stop by police.

KEILAR: That same reporter shot this video of the arrest. You can see Scheffler being escorted away by two officers. He's visibly there in handcuffs.

Take a listen to this officer on the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, he's going to jail.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK? He's going to jail, and there ain't nothing you can do about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Well, Scheffler then was booked into jail. He was released not long after, though, with enough time to get back to the course for his second-round tee time.

CNN's Andy Scholes is following all of this.

Scheffler actually out on the course right now.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes. KEILAR: I was reading that other players have been kind of going up to him, checking in on him. What's the reaction been from Scheffler himself?

SCHOLES: Well, Brianna and Jessica, Scheffler called this whole thing really a huge misunderstanding.

And this really has been the strangest morning in golf history. But, despite all of that happened, it hasn't rattled Scheffler. He made his tee time, birded two of his first three holes. He's two under through nine. He's only three shots off the lead there at the PGA Championship.

But, before taking off, Scheffler did release this statement, saying: "This morning, I was proceeding as directed by police officers. It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so, considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier. And there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do. I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I'm hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today.

"Of course, all of us involved in the tournament express our deepest sympathies to the family of the man who passed away earlier in the accident this morning. It truly puts everything in perspective."

Now, as you mentioned, ESPN's Jeff Darlington, he was at the scene when this was all unfolding. And he gave this account of what happened on "SportsCenter." Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF DARLINGTON, ESPN: Scottie Scheffler has been detained by police officers, placed in the back of a police vehicle in handcuffs after he tried to pull around what he believed to be security, ended up being police officers.

They told him to stop. When he didn't stop, the police officer attached himself to the vehicle. Scheffler then traveled another 10 yards before stopping the car. The police officer then grabbed at his arm, attempting to pull him out of the car, before Scheffler eventually opened the door, at which point the police officer pulled Scheffler out of the car, pushed him up against the car and immediately placed him in handcuffs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now, according to the police report, the officer involved was dragged to the ground and suffered pain, swelling and abrasions to his left wrist after Scheffler's car accelerated forward. That officer was taken to the hospital.

Now, Jessica and Brianna, I can tell you, of all people for this to happen to, Scheffler, I mean, one of the most unlikely. I mean, he is one of the nicest, most well-liked guys on tour. He just had his first child a week-and-a-half ago. And he's on one of the best runs in golf history right now. He's won four out of his last five starts. And he just won the Masters.

So, again, this -- this happened to him. And it's surprising too, because, the players, they drive in marked vehicles at these tournaments. It -- his car had "PGA" -- you know, "PGA Championship" on the side of it. So, he was clearly someone who could -- needed to get into the course.

So, for him to be pulled over or stopped the way it was and for all this to go down the way it did, kind of puzzling that it happened this way.

DEAN: All that context really adds -- there's a lot of layers here, yes, that are going to have to be sorted out.

KEILAR: Definitely. I would say, when I talk about -- I was explaining Scheffler to someone who doesn't follow golf. And I would say he's giving Sunday school teacher, OK?

DEAN: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

DEAN: Yes.

KEILAR: OK? That's sort of the vibe. That's sort of what it is.

DEAN: Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

SCHOLES: Right.

KEILAR: So, yes.

DEAN: And so it is -- it is surprising.

All right, Andy Scholes, thanks so much for laying that all out for us.

Let's bring back CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson.

Joey, to that note, how serious are these charges against him?

JACKSON: Yes, so Jessica, in the event that they're determined to be true, it's a Class C felony. That is the assault against the police officer, punishable by five to 10 years, but not so fast.

[13:15:08]

Every case turns on its facts. And if it is a misunderstanding, that's another thing. What kind of misunderstanding? We understand that, apparently, the police were there, and there was a fatal accident. They were investigating that. We understand that he was proceeding, that is, Mr. Scheffler, with his car into the actual tournament.

And it could be, because they have also charged him with failing to obey and that he was moving forward and reckless driving, did he not hear the commands of the officer? Did he misinterpret it or not know that he should stop at that particular time?

What happened when the officer laid hands on him? Was he attentive to the fact that it was an officer? Was he doing it intentionally? Did he do it unknowingly? So there's so much to get to before you get to the actual issue of, it's a crime, he intentionally assaulted an officer.

And so that, I think, we're going to have to parse out. I think potential bodycam, if it's available, with regard to that specific interaction amongst him and the officer will be critical to show what his intentions are, what his actions are, and really the essence of exactly what occurred.

As we look there at the charges and this, very briefly, in terms of the second-degree assault, that's the punishable by five to 10 years. Again, we're not there yet. That's an allegation. Prosecutors are going to have to look and evaluate this. Third-degree criminal mischief is when you're damaging property. Reckless driving is what it says it is.

You're driving in a manner that a reasonable and prudent person wouldn't drive. And disregarding signals is when, "Hey, stop," and you continue to go. The most serious one, though, is that assault. We will see, factually, whether there was assault or whether there was something very much less so.

KEILAR: Yes, let's talk about that assault charge a little bit more.

And we should mention, through his attorney, Scheffler has said that he actually thought he was following the instructions of one officer, and then he encountered another officer, who was the detective who this sort of altercation seemed to occur with. And that's where he says the misunderstanding occurred. He thought he was following the initial instructions here.

On the assault issue, I mean, it -- this idea, we see from the police report, is that this officer was kind of dragged a little bit. I mean, just ex -- I'm just trying to understand how that happens, short of an officer holding on to a moving vehicle and if that is sort of customary to do.

JACKSON: Yes, so, Brianna, I think there's a couple of things to parse out on that.

The first thing is whether or not he knew, right, that is, Mr. Scheffler, knew that it was an officer. If it's a detective, are they in plainclothes? Are they not? The other issue is, what instructions was he given? Were those instructions inconsistent? Was one person telling him to do something in law enforcement and another person telling him to do another?

Was it accidental, such that he was going to the side where the person was dragged, that is, the law enforcement officer, or was it intentional? And so those are all the quirky facts. Obviously, if you do something intentional under the law, or even if you're reckless, that you consciously disregard the risk that your behavior could result in something, that's criminal. Sometimes, things are accidental. And that's what gets us into the

misunderstanding category. But we will really have to see if this video footage available or other surveillance, what the specific conduct was, before we could proclaim whether it was, A, a misunderstanding or, B, something in the criminal variety.

KEILAR: Yes, well, these kinds of things happens -- happen all the time. We don't always focus on them because it's not the number one golfer that it happens to, but it's just a reminder that, sometimes, these kinds of things happen to a lot of people.

Joey Jackson, thank you so much as we continue to follow this.

We're also following this very important developing story out of Gaza, where Israeli forces say that they have found the bodies of three hostages in a Hamas tunnel, what this means, as critical negotiations for a cease-fire are under way.

DEAN: Plus, a key figure in the Arizona fake electors scheme heads to court, Trump ally and former election attorney John Eastman facing a judge for his role in subverting Arizona's 2020 election results.

We will tell you what happened during today's hearing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:23:25]

DEAN: We have breaking news now.

Israel says it has recovered the bodies of three hostages inside a tunnel in Gaza. They have been identified as Shani Louk, Amit Buskila, and Yitzhak Gelernter.

The Israeli military saying the hostages escaped from the attack on the Nova Music Festival on October 7, only to be killed at a kibbutz, the IDF saying Hamas took their bodies then to Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAR ADM. DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESPERSON: We will leave no stone unturned. We will do everything in our power to find our hostages and bring them home. We will not rest until we do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying in a statement -- quote -- "The heart breaks for the great loss. We will return all our hostages, the dead and alive alike."

It continues: "I congratulate our brave forces, who with determined action, have returned our sons and daughters home."

And for more on this breaking news, we are joined now by former Defense Secretary under President Trump Mark Esper. He also serves on the board as a strategic adviser for several aerospace and defense- related companies.

Secretary Esper, it is great to have you here with us.

Just first, it is striking, these bodies. Each of these people have a family. We were thinking back to that video of Shani Louk in the back of that pickup truck being paraded through a street. It really drives home that there are still so many hostages, families and loved ones who don't know where these people are or if they're dead or alive and that we are months and months beyond October 7 at this point.

[13:25:07]

MARK ESPER, FORMER U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Yes, Jessica, it's really tragic to get this news, these people who were -- have been found in the tunnels.

And the story is even worse. What the reporting is telling us is that they were actually killed on October 7 in Israel, and their bodies were taken by Hamas back into Gaza, and they have been there for, what, six, seven months now.

And it's just a tragic story. It talks to the -- speaks to the brutality of Hamas that would do this. And, look, I'm glad there's closure for the parents. They can welcome home -- or the relatives of all three of them -- welcome them home and lay them to rest.

But it's just a tragic tale of what's happening there. And you hit on the bigger point, and that is this, that there are 132 or so Israelis, some of whom are Americans too, by the way, who are still being held by Hamas. We believe that 32, 33, 34 them so far are deceased.

And that means fewer than 100 are alive. I really think we have to question how many of them really are alive. And I would assume, I would hope that, during these negotiations, that Israel is demanding proof of life.

For all we know, most of them may have been killed by now. I hate to say that, but we have no idea what Hamas is doing in this. And it's just a -- it's a real tragedy that this has gone on for so long at this point.

DEAN: And you touch on something that is important too, because part of this is weaved in with these negotiations, these cease-fire and hostage negotiations.

And so I'm curious, what kind of impact do you think this news might have on those negotiations?

ESPER: Well, I think it has a big impact.

Again, I -- Hamas has said for several weeks now that they can't identify where all 132 are. Maybe that's true. Maybe that's not true. Maybe the fact is that they do know where they are, and most of them, again, may not be alive. So that's number one.

Number two is, it just speaks to the humanitarian -- the morality of the Israeli people that would -- that would eagerly swap even the deceased body of a loved one for 40, 50 Palestinians, which is what Hamas is demanding. So, I think it speaks to the virtue of the Israeli people to do that.

But I -- again, I think it speaks to the brutality of Hamas that they continue to hold on to these people, both living and the deceased now, for seven months and continue to use, as regrettably, the Palestinian civilians in Gaza as human shields. It's just a very difficult part of this, and we know that the Israeli people, the Israeli government want to accomplish two things, and probably in this order.

Number one is return all the hostages, dead and alive, and, number two, wipe out Hamas once and for all. And so these things at times can be in conflict, and that seems to be where things stand right now.

DEAN: And there's also the question about what happens after this is over, the long-term strategy in Gaza, as it were.

And we know that the IDF has sent troops back into areas of Northern Gaza that it had withdrawn from to fight against Hamas militants who have now returned in this kind of power vacuum that exists. And Israel's defense minister, Gallant, has said that he opposes military rule in Gaza. He's called on Netanyahu to rule that out.

How do they make a plan for what comes next after all of this? And how does that also then layer in with what we're dealing with right now as they try to get a hostage deal and a cease-fire?

ESPER: Yes, I think that's a critical point, Jessica.

The two big strategic questions, for me, are, what happens in the interim after Israel accomplishes its military objectives, and then what happens long term? Both rest on the shoulders of the Israeli government and arguably right with Benjamin Netanyahu.

And, as you pointed out, the Israeli defense minister publicly challenged Netanyahu to come up with a plan, saying that we need a political outcome. And he's absolutely right to say that.

And so the question is, who will govern and provide policing services, who will provide public services, who will make sure security is intact during the time in which -- after Israel accomplishes its military objective and begins pulling out?

And there's been suggestions of some type of U.N. force or a pan-Arab force or something like that. But that's very unclear. And it's something that may be -- may be weeks, but probably months away. And then the long-term solution is, will there be a two-state solution, Palestinians and Israelis living side by side in peace and security?

And, if so, who will govern? Who will be in charge? And, again, this rests back on the Israeli government, principally Benjamin Netanyahu, who has rejected that vision, and for most others, to include the United States, who's -- who believe that is the way forward.

DEAN: We will see how it unfolds.

Secretary Mark Esper, thanks so much. We appreciate your time.

ESPER: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Still ahead today: Former Trump attorney John Eastman becomes the first of 18 defendants arraigned on charges stemming from the 2020 fake electors scheme in Arizona. We're in Phoenix.

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