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Some Senate Republicans Want To See Ethics Report On Gaetz; Trump Expected To Name Howard Lutnick As Commerce Secretary; Manhattan DA Agrees To Postpone Trump's Hush Money Sentencing. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired November 19, 2024 - 14:00   ET

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

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Tough sell for President Elect Donald Trump convincing members of his own party to back his pick for attorney general is turning into a true test of strength. We'll have the latest.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Plus, FEMA under fire. The agency's director responding to stunning allegations made by a former worker who was fired after allegedly skipping the homes of Trump supporters while offering aid. But that employee now tells CNN she was simply following protocol.

And prosecutors are set to rest their case today in the trial of an undocumented migrant accused of killing a Georgia nursing student, but not before revealing heartbreaking new details, including the last text message Laken Riley sent minutes before her murder. We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN News Central.

KEILAR: The pressure campaign is building. We are learning that President Elect Trump and former Congressman Matt Gaetz are both making phone calls to try and convince Republican senators to give the attorney general nominee a shot. But there are serious concerns about Gaetz, and they are growing on Capitol Hill. Some lawmakers want to see a House Ethics report on allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use against him.

In the meantime, Trump is preparing to announce more key Cabinet picks, sources telling CNN he's expected to name Wall Street veteran Howard Lutnick as his commerce secretary. And he's already tapped Fox Business host and reality TV personality Sean Duffy to lead the Transportation Department.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is live for us now from West Palm Beach, Florida. Kristen, let's start with Matt Gaetz. Trump not backing down from his controversial pick even though he's quite embattled.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, not just not backing down, but actually doubling down on Matt Gaetz. And I am told that he's spoken to a number of allies, advisers about the likelihood that Matt Gaetz could get confirmed. And seems to be at an understanding that right now, he probably doesn't have the votes in the Senate, which is why he and Gaetz have been making these personal calls to senators, essentially lobbying for Gaetz, asking them to give him a chance, asking what they think, why they would be interested in not voting for Matt Gaetz.

But as you noted, this is actually coming at a time where we're hearing from more and more Republican senators saying they want to actually see that ethics report. It appears, you know, some of these Republican lawmakers are saying they don't need to see it. They just breaks precedent to actually reveal it. But these senators are saying that it's important to them.

Now, we have also learned new reporting from our colleagues Manu Raju and Alayna Treene that J.D. Vance will be up on the Hill this week parading out a series of these Cabinet picks. And that includes Matt Gaetz, who will actually sit down with some of these Republican senators as they try to make a case for him. I'm told Donald Trump has said above all else, above all of his cabinet picks, the attorney general is the most important to him. And they want -- he wants his team to do whatever it takes to get that through the confirmation process.

KEILAR: All right, Kristen Holmes, thank you for that report. Boris.

SANCHEZ: The House Ethics Committee is set to meet tomorrow as members weigh whether to release the findings of their ethics report on allegations of sexual misconduct against Matt Gaetz. The Committee's probe into the Florida Congressman was shelved when Gaetz resigned from Congress after Trump announced him as his choice for attorney general, throwing the public release of that report into question.

Meantime, we're learning that Vice President Elect J.D. Vance will personally bring some of Trump's Cabinet picks to Capitol Hill this week for meetings with key Republican senators. Let's get the latest from Capitol Hill with CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent and the Anchor of Inside Politics Sunday, Manu Raju. Manu, what can you tell us?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, there's a lobbying push that is happening intensifying behind the scenes. Matt Gaetz, for one, has called a number of Republican senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee trying to ask them to such a give him a shot. That was the words from Senator Josh Hawley, who fielded one of those calls, as well as Senator Lindsey Graham.

Now, in addition to J.D. Vance coming to Capitol Hill, president -- for Elect Donald Trump himself making some calls, and the concern is that they may not have the votes in order to get confirmed because there are more than three Republican senators who have concerns about J.D. Vance's nomination. Of course, it would require more than three to kill this nomination during a vote next year if and when this does come to pass.

And there are a growing number of Republican senators who say that the House Ethics Committee report that Speaker Johnson does not want release to the Senate should be released to the Senate. [14:05:05]

And one key Senator, Chuck Grassley, who will chair the Senate Judiciary Committee, told me earlier today that he believes this report should be released in order for them to speed up consideration of this critical nomination.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN, CHUCK GRASSLEY, (R) INCOMING JUDICIARY COMMITTEE CHARMAN: I would suggest if they want a speedy consideration of this, because you've heard my colleagues, especially on the Republican side, say that they have some questions, not only considering what you're asking me about, but it goes beyond that to the FBI, And I think it would help faster consideration the extent to which they would make as much available as they can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Now, this Committee's report, a bipartisan investigation, details allegations of sexual misconduct involving the former Congressman, Matt Gaetz, who resigned abruptly last week in the aftermath of this nomination announcement. That is the reason why Speaker Johnson has said that now that he's a former member, this Committee report essentially should be shelved and not released to the public.

There are some Republican senators who say they don't have concerns about the underlying allegations, which Gaetz denies, saying it will not affect them one way or the other, including Senator Lindsey Graham.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R) SOUTH CAROLINA: Nobody should be disqualified because of a media report.

RAJU: It's more than -- it's an investigation --

MAN #1: -- investigated by the department --

RAJU: Bipartisan efforts --

GRAHAM: And they didn't proceed forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

And he was referring to the Justice Department's investigation into Matt Gaetz that did not result in any charges here. There are Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, including the outgoing Chairman of the Committee, Dick Durbin, who said today that he wants the Justice Department to preserve all records relating to its investigation into Matt Gaetz.

And I can tell you, Boris, there are Republicans on the Committee who want to see this as well. So a lot of questions still about one, whether they'll see the report as the Committee -- the House Ethics Committee meets tomorrow to make a decision on how to proceed. Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, a quick pivot there by Senator Graham. He tried to escape you, Manu, but you were able to corner him along with the other congressional correspondents. Manu Raju, live on Capitol Hill. Thank you so much.

SANCHEZ: Let's discuss more with our political experts. Shermichael Singleton is a Republican Strategist, and Alyssa Farah Griffin was the White House Communications Director under Donald Trump. Thank you both for being with us. Alyssa, why do you think Trump is pushing so hard for Gaetz to be his Attorney general? What is he uniquely poised to deliver that another nominee might not?

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: That's kind of the perfect question, Boris, because, listen, Matt Gaetz is somebody. He is a practicing attorney. He's a smart guy. He can present well. But he's also a deeply polarizing figure who's been plagued by these allegations. And he's also widely, widely disliked in Congress.

I'd argue he's probably the most disliked member from his effort to unseat Kevin McCarthy. His own personal dealings are well known. Donald Trump likes him because he's a loyalist and he's somebody who he thinks will have a heavy hand and implement his objectives as attorney general. By the way, those are all things Donald Trump as president elect is entitled to.

But the Senate's got a key role here, their advise and consent role. Matt Gaetz not only, I would say, is arguably not particularly qualified for this role. The moral failings and these allegations that have dogged him since he's been in Congress are a very real concern.

But Maggie Haberman's got reporting that tracks with what I've heard from some folks, which is Donald Trump is also willing to accept that he may need to go with someone else. And I think Senate Republicans could lend him an elegant off ramp by saying, you know, Mr. President Elect, we simply don't have the votes. Why not go with your Deputy Attorney General or another nominee?

KEILAR: And I wonder, Shermichael, what you think about the prospects for Matt Gaetz, what they are right now, but also if he is endangered, if there's an appetite for Trump to see many of his nominees, I mean, does that mean that the other controversial nominees have a much better chance of getting through?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: l I think so. I mean, look, I think from the Senate's perspective, if you're the incoming leadership, you can say, Look, Mr. President Elect, we're going to give you everybody else but this particular nominee. I see that as a possibility. I am really uncertain at this point as more committee members request to see that ethics report, I just don't think this is good.

If I'm advising the President Elect at this point, I'm probably saying, sir, we should have a possible Number two. Let us begin the process of doing the background checks on that Number two, you've been given this mandate, if you will. Your numbers are looking great in terms of popularity. You're going to become president in a matter of weeks with a great applause from a sizable percent of the American people.

Let's be in a position to hit the ground running really hard on those consequential issues that people voted for you. Let's not get distracted. And I would present that case to him so that he has that opportunity to choose someone else if he decides.

[14:10:03]

SANCHEZ: If you were in Trump's camp and you were weighing whether to support the release of this House -- House Ethics report, I'm struggling saying that the th and the s --

KEILAR: And I have a really hard time, too, very hard.

SANCHEZ: The House Ethics report, would you want it out there? Because some Republican senators are suggesting that if you just get it out there now, it's a lot easier to try to confirm him than if it's like a drip, drip, drip of information on testimony that's in it. Which do you think?

SINGLETON: I mean, look, if he's confirmed, what you don't want is for someone to leak it, number one. Number two, if you're a senator, you want to know what's in it, because let's say they ultimately confirm to vote for the former Congressman, and then a litany of information comes out after the fact, then you put a lot of these senators in really bad predicaments with a lot of their constituents, with the media. So they're looking at this from a very different perspective.

I'm sure their staff is advising them. Before we make a determination, let's make sure we assess all of the information, whether it's public or not. If I'm the President Elect, I'm standing out of this. Allow the Senate to make whatever decision they want. You want to protect the principal.

Again, he's popular, he's doing well. Mr. President, this isn't our battle. Let the Senate do what they need to do. Let the House decide if they want to release it to the senators. For us, we have more important things to focus on, like what your first 90 days are going to look like.

KEILAR: You have Trump, Gaetz, and Vance, and they are lobbying senators. So there -- I mean, he's very invested in this, Alyssa. And I just wonder what you -- as we see these, there's really two factors here, right? For some Republican senators, there's the, okay, well, how much of Trump's good graces are we willing to forego if we are going to rebuff him on this?

And then on the other hand, even though Trump has been elected, and I'm sure he likes to, you know, say he has a mandate and he thinks he has a lot of capital, it is finite -- we know that it is finite at some point. And I wonder, the other factor being, he's got to think, how much time, how much capital do I want to spend on this one guy? So how do you see that interacting? GRIFFIN: Well, listen, I think there's kind of two theories of the

case. I was in the White House working for Pence for both when Ronny Jackson was considered briefly to head up the Veterans Affairs Department. And he ended up ultimately not going through confirmation and it being pulled back because there was this drip, drip of allegations. And Donald Trump ended up making the decision to go another direction.

The complete opposite of that I would say would be Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, where there was a moment where the White House basically said, you need to fight for yourself or we're going to pull your nomination. And that was somebody who there weren't the concerns over the credentials and the qualifications for the role in the way that there was Ronny Jackson.

I see Gaetz more as a Ronny Jackson in this case. But listen, senators are looking at this, let's call it tapestry of nominees from Donald Trump in kind of gauging who are the ones that we actually want to expend the political will to deal with.

And what I'm hearing, talking to, I've talked to a number of Republican Senate leadership staffers and it's really, there's some concerns about Pete Hegseth who' benefited from sort of being behind the scenes. Well, Gaetz is front and center. And this is someone who, while a veteran who served this country, has allegations of his own and also probably the thinnest record resume in history to be the Chief of DOD.

So I think they're weighing, you know, is that where we want to direct our perhaps second chance of blocking someone, or is it an RFK? There's a lot to analyze. So these are all conversations that are happening in real time. But I think Gaetz is very much seen as the first conversation that Republicans need to make a decision on. And I think the best -- the most appetite is that his nomination somehow be pulled so it doesn't go to an open committee confirmation hearing.

KEILAR: A tapestry of nominations. It's like a friendship quilt or something --

GRIFFIN: Very strange, tapestry.

KEILAR: You have a way with words, my friend. Alyssa Farah Griffin, Shermichael Singleton, thank you so much to both of you.

We continue to follow breaking news. The Manhattan district Attorney's office agreeing to postpone Donald Trump's sentencing in his criminal hush money case. We have some new details.

SANCHEZ: Plus, the Director of FEMA on the hot seat on Capitol Hill facing tough questions about a supervisor fired for allegedly telling hurricane relief teams to bypass the homes of Trump supporters.

And the President Elect looking to make good on his mass deportation plans. But now one group is suing to learn details about what that plan may actually look like. We're going to talk to someone behind the lawsuit. Still ahead on CNN News Central. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:19:09]

KEILAR: Breaking news. In Donald Trump's criminal hush money case, the Manhattan DA is actually agreeing to postpone sentencing, but does not want the case thrown out altogether.

SANCHEZ: The President Elect was found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in this case, making him the first convicted felon elected to the Nation's highest office. CNN's Paula Reid and Kara Scannell are covering this breaking news. Kara, what are the details?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So the District Attorney is saying that they want to defend the conviction in this case that was returned by 12 New Yorkers in May, but they're saying that they will agree to postpone the sentencing in this case. Part of the reason, they said, is that Trump's attorneys plan to file a motion to dismiss the case based on a number of factors. And the DA's office is saying that they are going to oppose that.

And because whatever the decision is, it will likely get appealed. That would ultimately end up postponing the sentencing. So they're saying at the outset they're not going to oppose it, but they are going to defend the conviction.

[14:20:01]

And in this letter to the judge, they write, "No current law establishes that a president's temporary immunity from prosecution requires dismissal of a post-trial criminal proceeding that was initiated at a time when the defendant was not immune from criminal prosecution, and that is based on unofficial conduct for which the defendant is also not immune." Saying that the judge has many things to consider, but also within that, not just the presidency, but the integrity of the criminal justice system, the concept that no one is above the law.

So prosecutors laying out here that they do want to defend this verdict and that they are willing to litigate for it. They also asked the judge to move quickly, asking for them -- for the judge to set a deadline for Trump's lawyers to file this motion and give the prosecution a deadline of December 9th. So indicating that they do want to get this litigation underway and ultimately so they can continue to defend this conviction. Guys.

KEILAR: And Paula, you though, have been talking to sources inside of Trump's circle. How are they looking at this?

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, inside Trump's inner circle, they're viewing this as an enormous victory because not only will they not have to deal with the immediate issue of sentencing while he's President Elect assembling his cabinet, they're confident that they can probably get this entire case dismissed on appeal. We've been saying at this very table for a few years now that their goal with regard to the two federal cases and the two state cases was to try to put them off as long as possible. Now, they were not able to indefinitely delay the Manhattan case. He was tried. He was convicted on 34 counts. But then the next goal for them was to push off sentencing as long as they could. And here they have been successful.

So now he will not like the face sentencing in Manhattan before he goes back to the White House. The two federal cases against him. As we've reported, Jack Smith is discussing with top Justice Department officials how to dissolve those cases, wind them down before he even gets back to the White House. And the case down in Georgia remains in limbo.

So this has been a spectacular success for the Trump legal team in implementing this strategy of helping their client avoid legal consequence. I will say they also got a huge assist from the Supreme Court that delayed weighing in on the federal January 6th case for about seven months. Had they done that faster, it's possible he could have faced a federal trial. But of course, he can dismiss federal cases as president and even pardon himself.

SANCHEZ: So what comes next?

REID: So more litigation. We'll continue to sit here and talk about this issue of whether the case should be dismissed. There's a few different grounds that they've argued that on. They have argued that the immunity potentially decision from the Supreme Court should apply here. There's a larger appeal just based on issues in the case.

And now they're going to argue that because he's President Elect, he has constitutional protections and the case should be dismissed. So we're going to continue to see them fighting this case in Manhattan trying to get the whole thing tossed with the goal of not having that sentencing in 2029.

But of course, I will say his Defense Attorney, Dodd Blanche, he's of course expected to be the deputy attorney general. He'll be very busy running the Justice Department. That's a huge job. You run the day to day operations. So it's unclear who's going to continue to litigate this for him.

KEILAR: If he's looking for a job after that, I guess there would be one for him, Paula. Paula Reid, Sara Scannell, thank you so much to both of you.

And happening now, the head of FEMA is on Capitol Hill and very much on the hot seat. Deanne Criswell facing questions about disaster relief and whether the agency avoided helping people with Trump signs in their yards in hard hit areas.

Plus, talks are underway between Israel and Hezbollah over a potential cease fire agreement. Up next, we'll tell you why the U.S. Official at the center of these talks believes that a deal is, quote, "within our grasp".

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[14:28:30]

KEILAR: Some optimism today in the Middle East where U.S. Envoy Amos Hochstein is meeting Lebanese about a potential cease fire deal between Israel and Hezbollah. The American diplomat says an agreement is, quote, "within our grasp". And this is coming after more than a year of hostilities and a major Israel offensive that was launched in September.

CNN's Oren Liebermann is following the latest from the Pentagon. So, Orrin, how close to a deal are the two sides here?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CORRESPONDENT: Brian -- Brianna, we are potentially closer than we've ever been to seeing an agreement between Israel and Lebanon that would end the fighting. And yet we're not there yet. And it may not be able to get across the finish line here because of the details here.

Lebanese officials have said much of what's in the draft agreement they agree to, but they're trying to clarify some unclear points. And according to those officials, it would be a temporary 60 day ceasefire with the idea of getting to a much longer permanent agreement. And that agreement would get back to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.

The reason that's important is because that's the resolution that ended the 2006 war. And a key part of that is that in southern Lebanon, the only military forces allowed would be the Lebanese military itself as well as U.N. Forces. That's something Israel wants to see.

So if the broad outline is there, why aren't we across the finish line yet? Well, Lebanon itself is quite trying to clarify some unclear points and that's why Amos Hochstein is there right now, trying to see if it's possible there. But also, according to an Israeli source, a deal isn't quite yet imminent.