Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Trump Skipping FBI Background Checks for Some Cabinet Picks; Soon, Trial Begins for Undocumented Migrant Accused of Killing Nursing Student Laken Riley on UGA Campus; Biden to Meet With Leaders of Japan, South Korea and Peru at APEC Summit. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired November 15, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking this morning, President-elect Donald Trump going against the norm again, this time in how some of his cabinet picks are being vetted. New details on what's going on behind the scenes as his transition team moves full steam ahead.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And on that RFK Jr. Now officially Donald Trump's picked to head up the country's public health department, a vaccine cynic who has long promoted conspiracy theories about vaccines. The reaction now from people on Capitol Hill to people in the medical field.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The talk is over. It is fight night in America. Mike Tyson slaps YouTuber Jake Paul of the official way in ahead of the showdown.

I'm John Berman with Sara Sidner and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: Breaking news this morning, brand new details about what is and more strikingly what is not happening behind the scenes at Mar-a- Lago as President-elect Trump's shock and awe Dream Team grows. Not happening? FBI background checks for some of the most highly sensitive roles Trump is filling right now. Instead, Trump has bucked the decades-long tradition for a less traditional route. The reason why possibly just as alarming as the action itself, especially after making some of the most controversial picks in modern history, a so- called cabinet in waiting, as The Washington Post calls it this morning, that has Washington on edge.

CNN Zachary Cohen is leading us off. Zachary, you know, forget about all these norms. It appears to be the only normal thing right now is that, well, I don't know what. What are you learning?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: (INAUDIBLE) conventional approach when it comes to how it's vetting its top picks for Donald Trump's incoming administration. And that includes bypassing the traditional FBI background checks for some of these cabinet nominees.

Now, look, Donald Trump is no fan of the national security establishment here in Washington D.C. he's railed against the FBI and against the intelligence community since he was president the first time. But, look, this is bucking a trend and bucking a protocol that's been in place since the aftermath of World War II. It's intended to make sure that cabinet nominees and people for top administration jobs with access to sensitive information don't have any unknown foreign ties or other issues that could create national security problems.

But, look, Donald Trump's team instead opting to go with private researchers to vet their candidates and their cabinet picks so far.

So, this is definitely a shift from the norm so to speak. There's nothing that is legally binding as far as Donald Trump having to opt into the FBI background checks, but it does speak to this deeper level of mistrust that Donald Trump has towards the FBI and towards the national security establishment, but also sort of this disregard for the need for some of these institutional safeguards that do exist.

And the reason is because Donald Trump things that the FBI process is slow, and it could present some problems in terms of getting his agenda implemented quickly. Obviously, this coming though as Trump has named several very controversial figures to top administration jobs, including attorney general and the director of National Intelligence.

So, ultimately, it is Donald Trump's who has the final say over who he appoints and who he gives access to classified information. But, again, this is another divergent from the norm from Donald Trump and really a bucking of a trend that was intended to safeguard our nation's secrets.

SIDNER: What are the biggest concerns? I mean, there's obviously this idea that people will have top security clearance and won't be vetted by the FBI.

COHEN: Absolutely. That is the concern here. And it's something that we saw a little bit of in Donald Trump's first term as president. You'll remember that we previously reported Donald Trump essentially overrode 25 individuals who had their clearance applications denied when he was president the previous time, and that included his son-in- law, Jared Kushner, who was a previously a senior aide in the White House to him.

But, look, Donald Trump has demonstrated that he doesn't really value the background check process, this vetting process that goes in, and has been conducted on top picks for top administration jobs since right after World War II.

The concern here is that people with questionable backgrounds could, you know, use their positions for their own personal benefit or for the benefit of foreign nations.

[07:05:05]

So, this is, you know, a concern, but also something that's very much in line with what we've seen from Donald Trump previously.

SIDNER: It absolutely is blowing up all the norms and now he can do it because he is the president-elect about to head into the office. Zachary Cohen, thank you so much. I appreciate it. Kate?

BOLDUAN: So, Rocky Balboa, AKA Sylvester Stallone, calling Donald Trump the second coming of George Washington, literally saying that last night, and this came during a celebration held at Mar-a-Lago. The president-elect spoke and celebrated during his remarks his growing list of top picks for his next administration, including the controversial ones, calling out and praising his pick for secretary of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr., and also announcing a much less controversial choice for secretary of the interior, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.

CNN's Steve Contorno has much more on this. And what is Donald Trump saying about all of the -- I mean, there's more and more every day, but all of the picks and the announcements he's making here.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, good morning, Kate. These were Donald Trump's first extensive remarks in front of cameras about his incoming administration. He joked that he has already had to tell House Speaker Mike Johnson to, quote, just relax, Mike, because he is picking so many people from their slim House majority. He also laid out what his plans are for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his new role as health secretary, saying, quote, we want you to come up with things and ideas and what you've been talking about for a long time.

Of course, one of the things RFK Jr. has been talking about for a long time is this debunked idea that vaccines have some sort of effect on children's health negatively in terms of autism and conspiracies like that.

Also in attendance yesterday was Doug Collins, the former representative who will be leading Donald Trump's secretary -- will be secretary of Veteran Affairs. Doug Burgum, as you said, also made an appearance and he will be the interior secretary, Trump announced. Also in attendance was Elon Musk, who has been by Donald Trump's side nearly nonstop since the election night. And he had some -- or Trump had some words to say about his new confidant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: We have a man who has a seriously high I.Q. You know, I'm a person that believes in high I.Q.s and his is about as high as they get. He launched a rocket three weeks ago, and then he went to Pennsylvania to campaign because he considered this more important than launching rockets that cost billions of dollars. Elon Musk. Elon.

What a job. What a job he does. He's a great -- and he happens to be a really good guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: One person who did not come up, Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump's choice to lead the Justice Department, Kate.

BOLDUAN: And Steve, the president-elect's facing some, is going to need to be facing some questions now about his pick for Defense Secretary today.

CONTORNO: Yes. Some new details we are learning overnight about Pete Hegseth, the Fox News host who Donald Trump has chosen to lead the Defense Department. And I'm going to walk you through some of what we learned, an incident involving a sexual incident of a nature. It happened early in the morning of October 8th, 2017 in Monterey, California at the Hyatt Regency, where he was a speaker at the California Federation of Republican Women.

According to a city statement, he was not identified in the statement as the alleged assailant, but it did identify him as, quote, someone involved in the investigation. There were no weapons involved according to this statement, but it also did not provide any names or ages of anyone else involved. And they said that the city of Monterey said it would not release the full police reports. There was one injury noted in the statement, a right thigh contusion, but no other details about what took place.

Trump campaign did release a statement about this last night to CNN saying, quote, Mr. Hegseth has vigorously denied any and all accusations and no charges were filed. We look forward to his confirmation as United States secretary of defense so he can get started on day one to make America safe and great again. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Steve Contorno, thank you so much. John?

BERMAN: All right, this morning the trial begins of an undocumented immigrant charged with killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.

Detention facilities and executive orders, we have new details on the preparations underway for Donald Trump's mass deportation plans.

And a plane forced to do a U-turn over the Atlantic five hours into the flight. We've got new reporting on what happened on board.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

BERMAN: This morning, the undocumented migrant accused of killing nursing student Laken Riley goes on trial in Athens, Georgia.

Jose Ibarra agreed to waive his right to a jury trial. The judge alone will decide his fate. He has pleaded not guilty.

CNN's Rafael Romo is in Athens, Georgia. What do we expect to see this morning, Rafael?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Well, one thing is that the trial that is expected to start here at the courthouse at 9:00 in the morning is going to move much, much quicker, John, and that's because on Tuesday, the case took an unexpected turn when Prosecutor Sheila Ross told the court that her team had been approached by the defense because they wanted to have a bench trial instead of a trial by jury, which means that the judge is going to ultimately decide whether the defendant is guilty or not. Athens Clark County Superior Court Judge Patrick Haggard has already approved the deal, but before doing so, he wanted to make sure that the defendant, Jose Antonio Ibarra, knew exactly what he was getting into. Through an interpreter, he said, yes, and the judge wanted to make sure that he understood that once the decision had been made, there was no way to reverse it, to go back.

The judge also wanted to know if the defendant had made the decision under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and he also said no.

Now, Jose Antonio Ibarra is an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela. He crossed the border illegally in 2022. He faces ten counts, including murder and aggravated assault with the intent to rape. The prosecution is seeking life in prison without parole. And as for the way the trial will be conducted now that it's going to be a bench trial, John, the judge will hear arguments by both the defense and the prosecution as we would normally. But the main difference here is that, ultimately, he is going to decide on a verdict and also on sentencing.

According to the indictment, Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University, was attacked by the defendant when she was out for a morning run in February. And the indictment also says that the defendant hit her in the head with a rock and asphyxiated her.

Also, things were not going very good for the defense, John. For one thing, the defense was asking for a motion to have a phone fingerprint and DNA evidence thrown out. The judge said no. Also, they were asking for a change of venue. And also the judge denied that motion. John, back to you.

BERMAN: All right, some of the details here so painful. Rafael Romo, thank you for your reporting. Sara?

SIDNER: All right ahead, President Biden on what everyone believes is his last presidential trip abroad. We are live in Peru with the details on that critical meeting.

And authorities in Texas arrest a man they say was planning a 9/11- style attack. What that man was planning and how he was caught, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

SIDNER: And what's likely the last big trip of his presidency before Donald Trump takes office, President Biden in Lima, Peru, for the Asia pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, known as APAC. Today, he'll meet with leaders of Japan, South Korea and Peru ahead of his meeting with China's Xi Jinping tomorrow.

CNN Senior White House Correspondent Kayla Tausche, she is traveling with the president. Kayla, what are you expecting the messaging to be here? And, of course, all of these leaders know that the incoming president will not be Joe Biden. KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, you're exactly right. We expect the public message from President Biden to be the same as it was the last four years, according to his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan. And that message is that allies are vital to America's own national security and strength, both at home and around the world.

But, of course, the unspoken message is that those alliances are set to be upended come January when President-elect Donald Trump returns for a second term. And U.S. Officials acknowledge that there's an awkwardness here in South America as those very world leaders are all preparing amongst themselves to brace for that second term and to try to immunize their economies against the threat of tariffs and other things that Trump could wage against them as he did in his first term. In the words of one U.S. official, we may physically be here in South America, but anyone can think about is what's happening in West Palm Beach and in Washington, D.C.

And when I've asked about, building on prior efforts to so-called Trump-proof some of the agreements and partnerships that they've tried to fortify for the last four years, officials have said that countries don't want to be locked into a binding agreement that may put them on a back foot when it comes to dealing with the incoming Trump administration.

So, that's the backdrop to these meetings that are set to be taking place here in Lima, as well as in Rio de Janeiro, where President Biden will be heading for the G20 after a stop in the Amazon, to deliver a speech on climate and conservation.

Of course, there will be a very, very high stakes for that meeting with China's President Xi Jinping. It's set to be more of a bookend discussion. But, of course, given the fact that these are the leaders of the two global superpowers, we expect there to be discussions of China's role in Russia's war in Ukraine, the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, which the U.S. has been pressing for, for four years, and then trying to chart some progress on the issues that they discussed at this very summit one year ago, and that is military level communication and efforts to curb illicit fentanyl.

So, we'll wait and see exactly what, if anything, that meeting can deliver. Experts say that perhaps these Chinese leaders will be withholding any potential deliverables because they want to save them for negotiating with the future Trump administration. But, certainly, the Biden team wants to be able to lock that meeting and have that discussion and show that there has been some if any progress made during his term.

[07:25:02]

Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Kayla Tausche in Lima, Peru, for us, thank you so much for that. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail to let Robert F. Kennedy Jr., quote, go wild on public health if he won. And now he is making good on that controversial pick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And I just looked at the news reports, people like you, Bobby. Don't get too popular, Bobby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: That's actually pretty funny. Why some doctors are in disbelief this man was just picked to head up the nation's public health department.

And a Justice Department official says detention in one particular jail is, quote/unquote, a death sentence. What a month-long federal investigation into one Georgia detention center is now revealing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: President-elect Donald Trump's pick to head up the country's public health agency, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nominated to be the secretary of Health and Human Services. During the campaign, Trump essentially promised this was coming, declaring that he wanted RFK to go, quote, wild on America's public health agencies, leaving some of the very people who have spent their entire careers in medicine and public health in disbelief.

[07:30:04]

For one, he has been a dominant force in promoting vaccine conspiracy theories and misinformation.