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New Clues in Search for Gunman Who Killed CEO in New York City; Hegseth's Attorney Says, We May Sue Accuser if He's Not Confirmed; Biden White House Considering Preemptive Pardons for Trump's Perceived Enemies. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired December 06, 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]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Could a moment of flirtation help catch a killer? New pictures unmask the man suspected of shooting and killing a healthcare executive in New York. We've got new details just in on the manhunt.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A defiant Pete Hegseth still fighting to keep his nomination on the table and convince lawmakers that he is the changed man he says he is. Now, his attorney is leveling what's being seen as a threat against a woman who has accused Hegseth of sexual assault.

And the leaded gas of the past may be causing some major health complications today.

I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman. Sara is out today. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: All right. This morning, we're getting new details just in about the man suspected of killing a health care CEO in the middle of Manhattan. Newly released photos show the gunman smiling right there while flirting with the woman. That woman, an employee at the hostel where he stayed, said she asked him to lower his mask during the exchange. That's why we have this picture. That's why the camera caught this moment.

Investigators say the man used a fake New Jersey driver's license to check into that hostel and he paid in cash. We also learned the suspect arrived in New York City ten days before the shooting on a Greyhound Bus that originated in Atlanta.

Now, it's not clear if he got on the bus in Atlanta or someone else -- somewhere else, I should say.

With us now is CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller. John, what people can't see is you were actually on the phone working your sources right up until the minute you come on. You just got off the phone. What is the latest?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, the latest is they had a moment of peace last night while we were sleeping. So they kind of collated the leads they had coming in based on the picture. And, you know, they're racking and stacking them and prioritizing them, but they've assembled teams to go out on everything and they're getting the usual, right? This guy looks like my high school teacher. I think I saw him yesterday. But, you know, the ones that will rise to the top are if they get, you know, four calls about the same person or if they do a background investigation into a name. And it turns out that person, you know, has a giant issue going on in the background about a health care issue. So, they're working through that.

But, they now have a bigger palette to work from because, not just in flying in, doing the murder and, you know, disappearing. In ten days, he could have run into, had contact with, or touched a lot of people.

BERMAN: Ten days in New York City, that really does seem, I don't know, unusual.

MILLER: Focused, mission-oriented, he comes in the first place, he goes is to the Hilton Hotel. He starts his reconnaissance right away. He knows this event is coming up. He knows it's a big place. He's got to obtain that e-bike that he used in his getaway somewhere. He didn't bring it on the bus. They have video of him coming in at the Port Authority bus terminal. He's traveling light. So, he's using that ten days to learn this terrain.

It is highly likely that he's not from here. It's suggested by his travel. But it's also highly likely that not being from here, he probably hasn't been here before. So, he spent that time familiarizing himself. He went to a McDonald's. He took a cab. He's moving about quite a bit.

BERMAN: Any information about the weapon since they have the shell casings and they've been able to get anywhere on that? So the shell casings haven't matched up to other shootings in the NIBIN system. So, this is not a gun that's known to have been involved in other crimes in New York, which makes sense. They're studying a couple of particular weapons that are specifically designed for assassins that, you know, are fitted with silencers, but they're not sure. It could be a ghost gun, untraceable. So, they're going over that.

But that weapon hasn't been recovered, nor has the backpack that he wore during that shooting. He's on video riding a bike into Central Park with that gray backpack, and he's on video coming out of Central Park, 20 blocks north on the other side, without that backpack. They did a fairly good grid search with a mobile field force. And didn't come up with that, but the park is big and complicated.

[07:05:02]

You've been there. They may go back on that and look more.

BERMAN: Oh, that is interesting. So, the idea is the backpack could be out there somewhere in what would be in it could be the next --

MILLER: The other thing they could do is they know the make and brand of that backpack. They could replicate that, do another press briefing and saying, you know, if somebody picked this up, or heard that a friend found this perfectly new backpack, you know, on a park bench and kept it, we want to see it.

BERMAN: All right. John Miller, a lot of new details, we will wait to hear from officials today and, again, from you, I'm sure, not too long from now. Thank you. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Also today, President-elect Donald Trump is returning to the world stage, traveling to Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral. That reopening happens this weekend. Meanwhile, back at home, his pick for defense secretary is still facing an uphill climb on Capitol Hill after a week of meetings and a true media blitz and some pretty blunt and brutal questions, Pete Hegseth remains defiant as he fights to hang on to his nomination.

Hegseth's lawyer was also on CNN last night and told my colleague, Kaitlan Collins, Hegseth's name has been submitted to the FBI for a background check and also suggested they could take legal action against one of his accusers if he is not confirmed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIMOTHY PARLATORE, ATTORNEY FOR PETE HEGSETH: The false claims of somebody that was part of an extortion that was then put out in violation of a settlement agreement ultimately causes him to lose his future employment opportunities, then, yes, that is something that is worth bringing a lawsuit against her and her friend and potentially even the attorney.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: CNN's Kristen Holmes has much more on all of this for us this morning. Kristen, good morning.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate. Yes, that threat is not going over well. We've already heard from Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, who said it was reprehensible.

But let's talk about where exactly Hegseth stands as of this Friday. We know that coming out of this week, there are no hard noes. That is according to his team. They are still optimistic that there is a pathway for Hegseth to get confirmed. And because of that, Donald Trump has not pulled his support from Pete Hegseth. The two of them spoke yesterday. We know that he told Pete, according to Pete Hegseth, that he had his full support, and that he's still trying to fight for every single vote.

He has more meetings up on the Hill next week, but, of course the question is whether or not Donald Trump continues to maintain that support. We are told the reason that he has not pulled away from Hegseth is twofold. One, the fact that they do believe there's this pathway, that there aren't any hard noes, like what we saw with Attorney General Nominee Matt Gaetz, it was just very clear early on, but, two, a part of what is going on here is the fact that Donald Trump is being told by some of his advisers that they don't want him to seemingly lose again in a battle with lawmakers, that this could be some kind of power struggle. But at the end of the day, we know one thing. This looks very different from the Matt Gaetz situation for a number of reasons. One, Donald Trump isn't really rallying behind Hegseth in the same way. He is clearly lending his support, but he's not personally calling senators, and it doesn't appear that he's going to. J.D. Vance, vice president-elect, is doing that work for him.

But on the other side of this, again, they are still being told that they see an opportunity here for Hegseth to be confirmed as secretary of defense. We'll obviously wait and see. One thing, Kate, to keep in mind, I was told by a senior adviser to Trump that if there are more allegations, more accusations, that could change everything.

BOLDUAN: Yes. I mean, this is a stand by to stand by every moment on this one, that is for sure. Kristen, thank you so much, great reporting, as always. John?

BERMAN: All right, we've got brand new reporting that the Biden administration is considering preemptive pardons for people who may be targeted by President-elect Trump after he retakes power.

Elon Musk spent more than a quarter billion dollars to help elect Donald Trump. What did he expect to get from that endorsement?

And police say drones spotted over New Jersey were flying over critical infrastructure. We've got the new video.

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BOLDUAN: New this morning, sources tell CNN, senior Biden White House aides, administration officials, and attorneys, they are right now holding serious discussions about preemptive pardons possibly and legal aid for people who could be targeted by Donald Trump when he is back in power. The pardons by President Biden that we're talking about here could cover people who haven't even been formally accused of any crimes.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz has new reporting on this for us. And, Katelyn, this would be a big deal. So, who are some of the people that are being discussed right now that the Biden administration might be trying to -- President Biden might be trying to help?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Yes, there's a long list of people who perceive themselves or who are perceived as the potential targets of Donald Trump when he comes back into the presidency. And so the talk across Washington, Kate, right now, is what to do to potentially protect those people or at least give them some support if there is some sort of politically motivated investigations of them.

So, in the discussion of a possible criminal investigation from the federal government that Donald Trump may want to do if he wants to use the Justice Department to do this, there are senior aides in the Biden White House who are discussing, deliberating about the potential need for the broad usage of the presidential pardon power to protect people, giving them preemptive pardons.

[07:10:02]

It's not something that we really ever have seen before. Richard Nixon was preemptively pardoned when he was leaving office by Gerald Ford, but there was a criminal investigation already that was substantial around him. So, this would be a very different thing.

There's also a lot of discussion about how to support people if they do fall under investigation by a coming Trump administration or even by congressional investigators. And so there are a lot of lawyers around town who are talking about, do we get together, do we offer free services, what to do in case there are people like members of Congress or others who are under investigation?

BOLDUAN: Yes. And some of these people even reacting, saying like how they will react if given a pardon when they have not been accused of a crime, and what that would kind of -- how that would put like a veil of some allegation over them when it doesn't even exist, is like a whole other element of this, Katelyn.

POLANTZ: Yes, Kate. I can tell you, prosecutors that I have talked to, former prosecutors, people that live in that world of being former or current Justice Department officials, they often would say, I would never accept a pardon preemptively, given that it would say that I may have done something wrong. There is sort of that veil over acceptance of a pardon that it's an admission of guilt. So, this is a really hypothetical conversation, but it is one that is taking place in the Biden White House.

BOLDUAN: Yes, hypothetical and also very real at the same time. It's great to see and great reporting, as always. Thank you so much.

Coming up for us, the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO has sparked a flood of reaction online, some of which has been described as morbid glee about insurance companies and people angry about insurance companies and being denied medical claims, even in the face of, we're talking about a murder of a husband and father here. So, this is all also now putting into the spotlight the need and review of executive security. That's one focus we're looking at ahead.

And why Kash Patel, Trump's pick to lead the FBI, is thrilling followers of the conspiracy theory group, QAnon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Patel has dipped his toe into this QAnon world a bit over the years, has flirted with us.

KASH PATEL, TRUMP FBI DIRECTOR NOMINEE: On Truth Social, there's a Q account. Whether or not it's the real Q, I'm not going to get into.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you a Q (INAUDIBLE)?

PATEL: So, like everything else, you have to have fun with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[07:20:00]

BERMAN: All right. New this morning, these brand new campaign filings show that Elon Musk spent at least $260 million to help elect Donald Trump.

CNN's Matt Egan is here with the details, By my math, it's more than a quarter of a billion dollars, Matt.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: That's right, John. Listen, we should warn our viewers, if you are a little bit bothered by the influence of money in politics, you might find this segment disturbing because, yes, the richest guy on the planet bankrolled Donald Trump to the tune of $260 million. It's a staggering amount of money. It's also stunning because remember, Musk, he used to back Democrats. He donated to Hillary Clinton, to Barack Obama, albeit by smaller amounts.

He also, just two years ago, he said that Trump was too old to be president and suggested that he should ride off into the sunset. Instead, he ended up using his almost limitless financial power to bankroll Trump, and he donated to three super PACS.

Now, we knew about America PAC, more than $200 million. This was the group that spent a lot of money in battleground states. But new FEC filings show that he also bankrolled two other groups that had emerged in the final days of the campaign, including RBG PAC.

Now, this made an ad splash by linking Trump's abortion record to the views of former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Now, Ginsburg's great granddaughter ended up saying that the advertising there was misleading but it's very interesting that we didn't even know about this until now.

Also, he backed another super PAC that was trying to persuade supporters of RFK Jr. to back Trump again in battleground states. He put all this together and he spent a lot of money to get Trump elected. Now, he's got the ear of the president, the future president, and he's also got this key role at DOGE, the government efficiency panel, that is brainstorming ways to slash government spending and also cut regulation. And some of those rules, John, could influence companies that Elon Musk runs and owns.

BERMAN: I was going to ask, what's he getting for this investment? They're sort of the long-term, which may be the cuts in regulation, but in the very short-term, what's happened since Donald Trump's victory?

EGAN: Well, listen, it's been very, very positive for Elon Musk. Look at just Tesla. This company's share price up 3 percent the other day, it's up 47 percent since Election Day. Investors are betting that Tesla is going to benefit from this influential role that Musk has, especially around E.V.s, right? There's been talk that maybe the Trump administration could take away some of the E.V. tax credits that help Tesla's rivals, maybe green light some of the regulations around full self-driving, artificial intelligence as well.

Now, we've seen Elon Musk's net worth go straight up since Election Day. Look at this, almost $100 billion increase in since Election Day for Musk.

BERMAN: An increase of $100 billion?

EGAN: Increase. And look at where he is in the world rankings among all the richest people. He's basically running away with this thing. He's up more than $100 billion on the next closest guy. Musk's net worth now above $360 billion, John.

BERMAN: So, $250 million of election spending is like pocket change.

EGAN: Paid off pretty quickly.

BERMAN: All right. Matt Egan, thank you very much for that.

[07:25:01]

All right, the lawyer for Pete Hegseth launches new threats against the woman who was accused Hegseth of a sexual assault. And we've got new reporting on what Donald Trump is not doing to get Hegseth confirmed.

And this morning, resignations and major backlash after one newspaper owner announced plans for a new A.I.-powered tool to detect bias.

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BOLDUAN: There are new details and a key new break in the search for the man who murdered the CEO of UnitedHealthcare on the streets of New York. Investigators have now learned the suspect arrived in New York City ten days before the shooting on a Greyhound Bus. That bus originating in Atlanta, though it's unclear when and where he got on.

Investigators also say the man used a fake New Jersey driver's license to check into a hostel on the upper west side when he arrived.

[07:30:05]