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Israeli Security Cabinet Approves Ceasefire Deal With Hezbollah; Netflix Doc Re-Examines JonBenet Ramsey Murder 28 Years Later; Donald Trump Jr: Podcasters May Replace Some Reporters In WH Press Room; Elon Musk Floats Buying MSNBC. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired November 26, 2024 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[14:30:21]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Back to our breaking news. Israel approving a ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
President Biden is going to be speaking on this at any moment, and we'll bring those comments from the Rose Garden to you when they begin.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Let's get some perspective now from CNN military analyst, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.
Colonel Leighton, thank you so much for being with us.
I was curious about something Netanyahu said when he was giving his remarks. In announcing the ceasefire vote, he said that he believed that "the IDF accomplished enough in Lebanon, and that it was time to turn to a political solution."
Despite that, you had protests in Israel outside the defense ministry and even members of the governing bod there arguing that the war shouldn't come to an end. Do you think Israel accomplished all it needed to?
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well Boris, that's a great question. So from Netanyahu's standpoint, he needs to make a move where he goes in a -- in a different direction so that he can, as he mentioned in his speech, refurbish the military and concentrate on Iran.
Plus, he also mentioned that he's awaiting deliveries of U.S. weapons systems, at least I presume they're U.S. weapons systems. He mentioned that that was one of the factors involved here.
So there is a military calculation and a logistical calculation in this.
I think he did accomplish quite a bit. He and the IDF accomplished quite a bit in terms of military objectives. The difficulty with fighting a foe like Hezbollah is that that foe is one that can change quite a bit. And it can also blend into the scenery, so to speak, and become something else for a while before it resumes its activities.
So we have to expect Hezbollah to do just that, to go, in essence, to regroup, retrench and then come back in another form or in a in a modified form as the months and -- and weeks go on here.
But I -- having said that, for the moment, the IDF has accomplished a major series of goals to include the decapitation of the leadership of the Hezbollah leadership. They have gone and, in essence, decimated the entire organizational structure. And they've weakened it from a weapons delivery standpoint as well.
But as we say, all of that, the other thing to keep in mind is that there have been rocket attacks from Lebanon, presumably all of those from Hezbollah were allied groups.
And those are the kinds of things that the Israelis, of course, have to deal with. And they have to have, in essence, discover what their tolerance level for this is.
Obviously, the protesters do not believe that they've done enough. But the IDF is, in essence, moving in a different direction, based on the political direction that they'll be receiving from the cabinet.
KEILAR: And, Cedric, earlier today, Israeli soldiers reached the Litani River in southern Lebanon, and the ceasefire deal stipulates a greater role for the Lebanese Army below the river.
Tell us what's significant about that.
LEIGHTON: So that's -- the Litani River boundary is based on U.N. Resolution 1703, Brianna. And that was done in 2006. And it was never really implemented to the extent that it should have been.
It's, in essence, creating a buffer zone for northern Israel. And it allows the Israelis to bring the citizens that live in northern Israel back into their into -- their residences, into the villages that they inhabit.
So this key significance is that they get this zone and the Lebanese Army, which has had difficulty controlling Hezbollah, to say the least, as a role in it of augmenting the U.N. forces that are already stationed in southern Lebanon.
If the Lebanese Army can do that successfully, that will help the Israelis help them secure that northern area. But there's a risk involved here. The Lebanese Army is not at the same standard as the IDF.
And it is also basically at the behest of Hezbollah and other political factions within Lebanon. And it may not be the most reliable partner to ensure the kind of security that Israel needs.
So this is a risky move for Netanyahu, but it's one that he feels he needs to make, mainly for logistical and political reasons. SANCHEZ: Colonel Cedric Leighton, appreciate the analysis. Thanks so
much for joining us.
LEIGHTON: You bet, Boris
[14:34:45]
SANCHEZ: Next, could a new Netflix documentary on the murder of JonBenet Ramsey lead to an arrest? The director is now revealing who he thinks is responsible and why he believes this decades-old cold case can finally be solved.
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SANCHEZ: A new documentary is reviving hope that one of Americas most infamous cold cases can be solved. The three-part series on Netflix dives into the 1996 killing of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATSY RAMSEY, MOTHER OF JONBENET RAMSEY: Hey, JonBenet.
JOHN RAMSEY, FATHER OF JONBENET RAMSEY: I always fall back to sadness and what you've lost. But I'm glad she was in my life for six years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:40:05]
SANCHEZ: That was her father, John Ramsey. And he found her body the day after Christmas in their Colorado home. He and the documentary's director were actually on CNN today.
KEILAR: Both pushed for retesting some evidence with new technology, specifically a mysterious DNA sample.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAMSEY: Given today's technology, it can be solved. I'm convinced of it, if that technology is used. That's all we're asking the police to do is use the latest technology. They've got to go outside. They don't have the capacity.
If they do that and we come up empty handed, then I'll say, well, thank you. At least we tried. We tried everything that could be done.
JOE BERLINGER, DIRECTOR, "COLD CASE: WHO KILLED JONBENET RAMSEY?" You know, Golden State Killer, Green River Killer, there have been a lot of advances, particularly with genealogical DNA.
To me, it's indisputable that this was the work of an intruder. And completely absurd to think the family did it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Let's bring in CNN's Jean Casarez. She has covered JonBenet's killing for years now and has interviewed John Ramsey, as well as a forensic investigator who tested JonBenet Ramsey clothing.
Jean, what more do you know about this specific DNA sample, this mysterious sample that they're talking about?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what they're talking about right there, first of all, is genetic genealogy, which is the latest DNA testing, right, where you go through that public database. And so many cases are being solved that way.
JonBenet Ramsey, when she was found in the basement of the home, just to -- to set this up for you, she had an 8.5-inch skull fracture. There was a ligament, a ligature around her neck, and it had been pulled so tightly that she was strangled.
She was sexually assaulted, this little 6-year-old girl. There was blood in her underpants. And that blood was determined to be unknown male DNA next to the blood.
And so I interviewed -- during our documentary in 2016 for CNN, I interviewed the forensics investigator who headed up further DNA testing on her underpants, on her pajama bottoms.
And I want you to listen very closely to what that testing of the pajama bottoms found. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FORENSICS INVESTIGATOR: Whoever committed this offense must have pulled down her long johns. But then they'd pull them back up because she was found dressed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And so, the end of that goes on to say that they found unknown male DNA on the pajama bottoms and around the waistband, because they had to determine where they thought they were pulled down.
And that unknown male DNA actually matched the unnamed unknown male DNA in her panties. And that is still unknown to this day. So that is something that is so significant.
And I remember Angela Williamson told me at the time that the issue was that when you test these things, that DNA is eaten up and then you don't have it for further testing.
But what John Ramsey is saying, this is the time to do it, do it now. Any DNA you have, this could provide the answer. And that's why he's really pleading for law enforcement to do this.
SANCHEZ: It's really fascinating to hear from John Ramsey, Jean, in part, because, in the public conscience, there was so much suspicion around JonBenet's family when all of this happened.
And some of that stemmed from the way that police persisted in seeing them as suspects. And he actually talked about this earlier today. Let's listen to John Ramsey now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAMSEY: There were things demonstrated over time that made us believe the police had no common sense and were very focused on us. It was kind of a groupthink effort, and it was an attempted lynching basically.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: It's been known for a long time, I think, Jean, that the way that police handled this crime scene led to a lot of complicating factors in the investigation.
But why were Boulder police hesitant or slow to the idea of an intruder having committed this crime?
CASAREZ: Well, and they came out publicly saying there's an umbrella of suspicion around the parents.
I think initially the family was in the home. JonBenet's body wasn't found until the afternoon. It was found in the basement. And I think they found that strange.
However, the Ramseys said that the body was not in plain view, that -- that you had to go through a door. It was somewhere that was very covered and hidden in that basement.
Number two, there was a ransom note. If you remember, Patsy found that ransom note on the stairs that morning. And it said, "We have your daughter. We've kidnaped your daughter, and we need a ransom amount of $118,000."
[14:44:57]
That was the exact amount of John Ramsey's Christmas bonus that year. Still a very strange fact. It makes no sense. So I think it was that.
I think, also that they believed that someone in the family could have just snapped. In fact, Patsy Ramsey was interrogated very harshly by police. And the handwriting on that ransom note went through forensic testing.
And John Ramsey passed it. Five was the was the number to pass. Patsy Ramsey, in her own voice, said that she had gotten a 4.5. And a lot of law enforcement believed that that was her handwriting.
But we do want to say that law enforcement, after this DNA testing that I just explained, came out and said that, "We are not even looking at the family. It was wrong. We apologize that we did that."
And of course, at that time, Patsy Ramsey had already passed away from -- from cancer.
SANCHEZ: A really significant update to this story. I look forward to watching the documentary.
Jean Casarez, thank you so much for the update.
CASAREZ: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Stay with CNN NEWS CENTRAL. We'll be right back.
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[14:50:33]
KEILAR: Fifty-five days to the new Trump administration. And Donald Trump Jr says he and his father have discussed shaking up the White House press briefing room so podcasters and independent journalists have more access than legacy media outlets.
SANCHEZ: The president-elect's son made the comments on the podcast, "Triggered," telling co-host, Michael Knowles, it's justified given how the media has behaved.
Listen to this.
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DONALD TRUMP JR, SON OF PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP: Just because they've been there longer, it's like the way Congress functions. Like you get a committee not because you know anything about banking, but because you've been there longer.
And it's like --
MICHAEL KNOWLES, "TRIGGERED" PODCAST HOST: Right.
TRUMP JR: -- it doesn't seem like a great way to do things. So we've had that conversation, like that's a great idea. Dad was like, I think we should do this. And so that may be in the works.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: He says the move will blow up some heads.
CNN chief media analyst, Brian Stelter, is here.
Brian, take us inside the White House briefing room. Who decides who gets the spot and where they sit?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: The White House Correspondents Association decides the seating chart for the 49 assigned seats. But there are ways for an administration to get around that.
During Trump's first term in office, he went through long stretches without having any press briefings at all. And sometimes when his press secretaries did have briefings, people would stand in the back, pro-Trump propaganda outlets would stand in the back and shout questions. So this could change in a variety of ways. I think change is
inevitable when it comes to these briefings. Trump has signaled he wants to do things differently.
It could be great, you know, a greater variety of voices. But it could also go sideways pretty quickly, right?
Let's take what Donald Trump Jr said there. Imagine if a January 6th advocacy group comes in, someone with a podcast, who believes that the January 6th attack was orchestrated by the FBI, was some kind of government plot.
Imagine a voice like that interrupting the briefings and going off in an alternative reality. That -- that would be the danger. That would be the downside risk here.
But certainly, you know there are some podcasters and some new media voices that produce rigorous reporting and should be able to be a part of the press briefing system.
I think the biggest-picture story here, though, is that the press briefings are oftentimes not the best way to break news and make impact.
In this new second Trump term, some of the most impactful reporting is going to happen at the government-agency level. You know what's happening inside these agencies.
And you're not going to get answers about that from a podcast. That's going to require investigative reporting.
KEILAR: What's the concern about who might be cut off? How big of a concern is that?
STELTER: I think there are some concerns about that. But it's too soon to know for sure what might happen.
You know traditionally it is old-school news outlets, like the A.P., Reuters, NBC, CNN, that are covering the president every day that are making up the core of the White House press pool.
I don't expect that to change in a meaningful way. I'd be very surprised if it did.
But bringing in additional voices is something Trump tried before, and it does make sense.
You know, the question, of course, is always about whether this is about information or affirmation, right? If Trump just wants propaganda artists to shout positive comments about him, then that's not informing the public. That's just about affirmation.
And at that point, it just becomes a television show for Trump's loyalists and not a service to the public.
SANCHEZ: Brian, a perennial target of Trump's is MSNBC. And now one of his biggest allies, Elon Musk, was posting memes hinting that he might buy the network.
Comcast has decided to spin off MSNBC as part of its cable holdings, but they haven't actually put it up for sale, right?
STELTER: That's right. That's right. MSNBC is not currently for sale. The spin off's going to take about a year to complete. And for boring tax reasons, it might not be put up for sale even after the spinoff is complete a year from now.
But Musk and his allies are in their chest-thumping phase, right, winning a historic election, celebrating in all sorts of ways, including by trying to troll or, as one source said to me, trying to terrorize the producers at MSNBC, thinking they're going to be sold to a pro-Trump loyalist.
That would be concerning, given that it's a progressive cable news channel offering a different point of view about Trump. But again, looks unlikely from everything I've been told, everything I've heard. It would be hard for MSNBC to be cleaved off. Doesn't mean a buyer might not try.
But Musk, even if he's just kidding about this, he's not the only one talking about the possibility. I've been told more than one liberal billionaire has made outreach just to say, hey, I'm interested if the channel is ever available.
[14:55:00]
So that was a relief to some of the hosts at MSNBC. They definitely don't want Elon Musk up in their business.
KEILAR: Interesting stuff.
Brian Stelter, thank you so much and happy Thanksgiving --
STELTER: Good to see you.
KEILAR: -- if we don't see you before then.
STELTER: You, too.
KEILAR: Any minute, President Biden is going to be speaking from the Rose Garden on Israel announcing that it has approved a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon. We're going to bring those remarks to you live.
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